[IC] Fate/Grand Order - Advent of the World Shattering Star

[vancexentan]

"The followings are the inner workings of the servants at hand." Archimedes starts with a sigh loathing the fact he will open up the secrets of the fellow servants. "The Famous Tiger General of Shu-Han China who served under Liu Bei even prior to his exodus south. The last and longest lived of the Tiger Generals he served under Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shao at varying points in his career." Archimedes started to say as he listed off some of the generals greatest accomplishments. "He is listed as Lancer Class Servant. Meaning he has no access to his Sword of Light he stole from Cao Cao in Liu Bei's exodus. In its stead he has a spear technique listed as Anti-Army. Though its technique is more suited to impaling, and destroying a singular target he none the less is capable of defeating a small army of soldiers. Listed skills include Battle Continuation, and Bravery." comments Archimedes simply. "The Legendary Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage. His skills are legendary among generals of his era. His manifestation is Rider. He has skills such as Military Tactics, and Charisma at a high level. His noble phantasm aside from his steed is Carthago Delenda Est. The ability to drain mana, and water from his opponents with each strike if they cannot defeat him he will surely kill them quickly." comments the caster with a fair hint of respect for the general.

"The Traitor General, and assassin, Mitsuhide Akechi. Summoned as Assassin, and the one who killed his lord The Demon King Nobunaga he comes with much prejudice from Japanese individuals. His skills include Knight Tactics, and Mana Burst. His Noble Phantasm is listed as...Burning of the Demon King: This Noble Phantasm represents the thing he was mostly known for: his betrayal against Nobunaga which led to the death of his lord, by setting Honno-ji Temple on fire along with his army. It is somehow a reality marble making it like Honno-ji Temple, where the target is placed in. Assassin also has his army along as nameless Heroic Spirits with the target's parameters dropped by at least one rank unless they have magic resistance. The fight is a duel to the death, and if the opponent fails to land the blow to finish Akechi then the Phantasm will burn the opponent alive. Quite a bold tactic for an assassin."

"The fourth and final member of the Team is the one who is the most different. A Caster class like myself. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Summoned as what appears as a younger individual. A Russian spiritualist with an affinity with a group she is the founder of Modern Occultist beliefs. Skills include Mana Tuning, and Search for the Unknown. She is considerably weaker than the former servants but has skill in magic the provides incredibly useful support capabilities. She uses Sanat Kumara to summon a large disk that can destroy a small group, or army when called upon. The members of Team A not in this group have yet to be assembled as we have yet to pull the full team together here in Chaldea. Togami insisted Team A was still capable however, and as such was allowed to leave on the mission. There should be at least two more members designated Team A who are currently stationed near the Clocktower. Their relevance to this case is currently null and are considered a non-issue at the moment."

[Rezod92]

@vancexentan

"Hmmm, quite the roster. Makes one wonder how-wait.... hold on a second.", commented the Griggs family heir before he caught a tidbit in Archimedes' debrief. "There were two Team A members that weren't with the initial group? They aren't even here?"

On one hand, the two missing members were spared the unknown fate of Team A, but on the other hand....

Team A went into a Singularity down two Masters, which translated into two Servants they didn't have. That number could've made all the difference between Team A going missing/KIA and Team B not being here and still going about our day. Plus, they weren't even here! This isn't some annual convention that comes around once a year, this is the Preservation of Human History we're talking about here! All hands should be on deck! Hell, why not add those two to Team B!? That way, there'd be more Masters, which means more Servants and a better chance for.....

Conner pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Scarlett's argument and criticism made a lot more sense now.

"On second thought, forget what I said. It doesn't matter and the clock is ticking. Let's just hope that the Servants we get are just as good and capable."

[vancexentan]

Once Achimdes said his peace, and it seemed like the discussion was dying down. The director motioned for the group to follow him. "Come the time of summoning is at hand." he said promptly. Orson led them down a hallway Leon had not visited in a long time. He had not summoned a servant before though he had made contracts with a few in place of those who had. At times he had helped some servants assist them more fully in missions as not all the allies they had during singularities were necessarily from Chaldea. He was somewhat nervous he had to lead by example now. He had to step up to the plate in place of the now displaced Togami. Keiji Togami...he was the best mage Leon knew and that meant bigger boots than he could fill. But he would not measure his place by Togami he would do what he could in order to save the world with his own abilities. As they funneled down a few hallways they entered a rather large chamber with a bizarre circle in the middle of it surrounded by all sorts of technological gadgets. It was the FATE system in all it's glory. The machine was already being prepped by agents of Chaldea.

"Normally catalysts would be involved however with the system in place given here it's more of a call to arms for a servant that would be willing to assist us. Though we may end up with darker servants due to that. There is no guarantee on who you will receive. You could receive someone as weak as Marie Antoinette, or someone as insane as Ivan the Terrible. All the same Leon will go first this time to make sure everything goes properly. Mister Winchester already knows the oath. Come on now follow me." Archimedes said with a calm disposition as if this was just another day for him personally. He seemed use to being the center piece to this whole thing at this point. Archimedes' magic was necessary in order to make the machine work properly and as such he was also a part of most rituals.

Leon didn't need to even think, he didn't hesitate this was his duty. He took long struts until he was in a small semi circle located inside the larger circle. The giant machine radiated with a white light as he did so as he looked around himself he could only wonder what exactly would happen next. He kept the butterflies in his belly from messing with him too much by keeping his eyes focused on the prize in front of him. Archimedes entered the circle on the other side inside a similar circle to Leon. He raised his hands and said a spell faster than Leon could imagine was possible as the giant emitter above the circle began to glow Leon raised his hand. "Leon I believe we're ready for you to say your incantation. Please keep notice of what he says." Archimedes said calmly as he readied himself for Leon's summoing.

Leon moved forward taking his spot in front of the circle, in a spot designated by a different colored circle just outside of the bigger one. The placement was designated to minimalize the chance for getting hurt by machinery, and or a mistake in the incantation allowing for the individual to be pulled back.

"Let silver, and steel be the essence.
Let stone, and the archduke of contracts be the foundation of our connection.
Let rise a wall against the destruction that shall come.
Let the four cardinal gates close to open up a new world.
Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

Leon began as he held up his right hand, and his left hand over the right side of forearm. He breathed in deeply speaking calmly, with but with passion. He calmly controlled himself as he saw the circle light up as white light formed around him. The machine had inner rings spiral around him in a bizarre set of motions he half paid attention to. The inner circle spun around quickly speeding up more, and more.

"Let it be declared now;
your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.
I ask of you to willing submit to the service of the world.
Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

Leon shouted out proudly as the circle lit up brightly even more so than before. It seemed the thing was responding properly to Leon's summons. The circle began to crackle with magic as the emitter projected a beam of light magic into the floor as the machine sped up significantly.

"An oath shall be sworn here.
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."

Leon noticed however that something was off normally the machine made white light only but the circle began to glow gold which meant something bizarre was happening. Archimedes though didn't appear to be fazed but he was interested, more so than he was before. He couldn't interrupt Leon's incantation.

"This is a call to preserve the future!
This is a call to serve mankind;
This is a call to save the world!"

Leon said aloud with pride as he felt some wind kick back. Well shit this really was working...

"From the highest Heaven, and from the deepest hell attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!" Leon shouted out loudly as he felt the magical restraints kick back preventing him from falling over with a surge of sparkling magic but there was electricity forming around it a powerful heroic spirit was called.

The circle spun, and spun faster as the light surged around the room. A chaotic maelstrom of technologically assisted magic calling a long dead being back into this world. Leon, and no one else could see what was happening. However the magic died off as quick as it had began. Leon breathed in heavily as he looked towards the shimmering prana vanishing towards the middle of the circle vaguely aware of a burning feeling on his right hand. Leon pulled back looking at his hand. Three swords now adorned his right hand. The summoning had worked it would seem and once more he had three summoning spells on his hand. A familiar feeling but not the most comfortable. His uncle often compared servants to slaves. But so be it.

In the middle of the circle stood a single...man? In gleaming silver armor with red accents and his face covered in a silver helmet that seemed to cover the entirety of it. In his hand was a sword made of fine steel, and silver. Red accents around the hilt. The armored figure stood up. He, or at least Leon assumed it was a male, stood up and stretched out their arms. "'Bout freaking time..." to Leon and then said with a voice that rung with confidence.

"I am Saber, name's Mordred. Is my father here?" the man said as he removed his helmet. And suddenly Leon's whole disposition changed on the matter. The face inside without a doubt was female. The blonde hair, and the way her face looked made it clear. Mordred...the traitor knight? Was a girl?. "So the world needs saving eh!? Good! I'm looking for a good fight!" Mordred stated to her new master stated as she moved up to meet Leon leaving space for the next summon as he moved to Leon's side and offered him a hand.

"Mordred of the Round Table. Knight of Londinium. I'm glad to meet you. I'm Leon, your master. Unfortunately Arthur has not yet answered our calls." Leon said a bit taken a back as he went to shake Mordred's hand, the servant laughed heartily and pulled him in close. "Don't give me that shit you got it? I'm still better than you, but if you're going to be my master you're going to need to have a back bone! Also don't give me that shit about the king either. Dad's the best but i'm better than Dad! Just wanted to make sure. Let's do this!" She says as she suddenly pushes Leon aside and walks around the room looking at the technology, and eyeing up Caster. "An interesting summoning for Leon. I was half expecting William Tell. Still even with Mordred's reputation we have secured a formidable front line combatant. A fine addition to Chaldea." Orson said bluntly as he motioned for the next individual to move forward with the summoning shortly after the techs confirmed that the cycle would be reset shortly.

[Rezod92]

@vancexentan

"Whoa..."

Truly, that was all Conner could say as he stood wide-eyed and slack jawed from witnessing, for the first time, a Servant summoning....and what strong start to Team B's roster.

Sir Mordred of the Round Table! The knight that brought the end of Camelot and King Arthur's reign! And also....a.......woman?

I have so many questions...

But such questions will have to wait as the young stepped forward.

"I'll go next. Any later and I'll be too nervous to say the oath right.", replied Conner as he walked and placed himself where Leon once stood previously. Seeing Archimedes give him the go-ahead nod, he raised his right hand forward, the emitter above glowing once.

Conner took a deep breath to steady his nerves and heart....and he began his chant.

"Let silver, and steel be the essence.
Let stone, and the archduke of contracts be the foundation of our connection.
Let rise a wall against the destruction that shall come.
Let the four cardinal gates close to open up a new world.
Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

Much like before, a ring of white light formed around Conner, inner rings spiraling with ever-increasing haste. The young man carried on.

"Let it be declared now;
your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.
I ask of you to willing submit to the service of the world.
Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

The circle brightens. The literal lightshow begins, once more.

"An oath shall be sworn here.
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."

Again, like before, a golden ring appears. If Conner wasn't so focused on completing his chant, he would've noticed Archimedes raise an eyebrow at this. The 18 year old would later learn that seeing two gold rings in a row during a Servant summoning was very rare.

"This is a call to preserve the future!
This is a call to serve mankind;
This is a call to save the world!"

Eyes narrowing as he felt the wind howl against him, he laid his left hand on his outstretched arm, steadying himself as he started to feel a burning sensation on the top of his right hand. This is it!

"From the highest Heaven, and from the deepest hell attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

As soon as Conner finished his oath, the light from the accumulated magic exploded, temporarily blinding everyone as a Servant was brought into the world. As the light quickly faded away, Conner checked his right hand and, sure enough, his Command Seals had appeared. A simple yet intricate of a tree without leaves, divided into three equal segments. He then turned his gaze toward the center of the summoning circle. And there.....stood his Servant.

A petite young girl with peach colored hair, her bangs completely hiding her eyes, wearing what appeared to be a white wedding dress, complete with a veil that fluttered behind her head. What caught Conner's attention the most was the golden horn that protruded from her forehead, as well as the golden prongs on both sides of her head, adorned with brown ribbons. On her hip was a golden egg-shaped capsule and in her hands, a large battle mace. The girl looked around the room, seemingly lost for a moment, before turning toward Conner.

"Uhhhhhhh...", the girl moaned, tilting her head. "Ber....ser...ker. Fran....ken.....stein. Mas....ter?"

For a solid three seconds, Conner was left stunned over the fact that the first Servant he had just summoned was an iconic figure from classic horror fiction, who was also a woman, until realizing said Servant just asked him a question.

"Uhhh, right. Ahem, sorry.", said Conner, a bit embarrassed and shaking his head. "You said your name was Frankenstein. As in Frankenstein's monster?"

Frankenstein gave off a disapproved grunt but nodded, something that Conner would take note of. He would also take note of the amount of clarity she was displaying. She was talking very simplistic and in broken sentences but other than that, she understood what he was saying. Weren't Berserkers suppose to be afflicted with madness?

"Alright, then. To answer your question, yes. I am your Master. My name is Conner and I'm happy to meet you. You already know the stakes, right?"

"Mmmm.", the Berserker nodded once more.

"Good. We got our work cut out for us and then some, so let's work together and save this world, yeah?"

With a final nod to each other, Conner led his Servant off to the to where Leon and Mordred stood. Frankenstein's gaze would linger on the blonde knight as an unusual feeling of familiarity passed over her. Why did it feel like she had seen this particular Saber before?

[Enkryption]

In equal measures, Scarlett was listening and not - the words, as spoken by Libra, Capricorn, and, presumably, Elise to follow suit, they flowed into her; meaningless, worthless; a pledge made in hope and faith. To summon a Servant was to abandon the principle belief in such things, and embrace the hopelessness and endlessness of the war you invoked upon yourself until it was done.

"Forgo silver and steel; the essence is blood and marrow," Scarlett began, as she set her Mystic Codes into the center of the ritual and stepped back, chanting, "Transmute our connection, a contract of muscle and bone. Erect a wall of flesh against utter destruction heralded. Let it be quartered keys into that lock the Cardinal Doors to our world. And, let each be turned five times around - breaking the afforded time asunder, that simply..."

Scarlett focused on Heartstring - the Aztec sacrificial dagger could afford her quite the Servant, if luck favoured her in this endeavour. "Let the road, thrice-forked, from the Crown until the Kingdom turn once more. And, let it be known henceforth," she says, "your flesh is to serve me, and my power is to serve you. To this end, I ask you to willingly submit to this service in my name. Harken to me, if you will, and submit to subservice to my will and truth."

Narrowing her eyes, Scarlett continued, "For an oath is to be forged here; so I shall obtain all virtues Heavensent, and so I shall rule over all vices Hellbound. Mine is no summon, but a draft to preserve the future, to serve humanity, and to save the world!"

"Rise forth from the depths of Hell! Descend swift from the apex of Heaven! Attended by the Three Great Words of Power, storm forth from the Ring of Restraint, Protector of the Holy Balance!"

Once the oath was finished, altered as it was, a blinding surge of light would burst forth from the accumulated mana, revealing a man that was a bit taller than Leon standing with his back turned to Scarlett. He had the appearance of a matured warrior, the slightest hint of graying in his hair showing the age of the Servant she’d summoned. Judging from the lance sheathed comfortably upon his back, there was no doubt that he was of the Lancer class. Turning to face her, he would give an aloof smile before saying: "Well, you completely fucked up the oath, but I still found my way here, Master. To you who reeks of blood, I swear the lance of Celtchar. Got any Monsters that need slaying?”

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, "I showered this morning, you smelly asshole," she says, sniffing the air, "I can't help the scent any more than you can. But, you could complement my deodorant, at least." Chastising Celtchar, Scarlett didn't look up from Heartstring and Heartbeat. Clucking her tongue, she sighed, "Well, you aren't my first draft pick, but you look competent. Ulster Cycle Irish, if I can wager a guess. Not on par with Cu Culann, but leagues beyond Diramund."

Celtchar’s nostrils flared up a bit at the comparison, saying: "Listen, not everyone’s a freak like that hound and not everyone’s got a curse that makes them beautiful. I’m the Grey Knight of Ulster, and while I know history remembers those dicks a lot better than me…" he would unsheathe his lance from his back and proudly stamp its shaft against the ground. "I guarantee neither of them are as good at slaying Monsters as I am. So, just play to my strengths or whatever and we’ll win."

Going over, Celtchar would gingerly poke Scarlett’s forehead, leaning down a bit before saying: "I’m just glad my Master isn’t someone who seems afraid to get their hands a little dirty."

"Blood stains more than my hands," Scarlett says, lifting his chin with her off-coloured hand, "I like you. I would have probably shot anyone else without the sense to stand on their own and fuck blessings." Scarlett smirked, as she flicked her knife; the obsidian blade swishing through the air. "That little oath isn't going to bind my mind to you, just because," she says, "A drop of blood, however, that's worth remembering."

Celtchar would deftly catch her knife with the bare point of his lance, an absolutely flawless block intercepted by the tip of the blade. "Heh. Diarmuid was always the one that gave better speeches. But if its a drop of my blood you need, all you had to do was ask. Or, enforce a geas on me. A command spell wouldn’t even be necessary, my despicable Master," he would say, before grabbing Scarlett’s wrist and her knife, and cutting a gash across his palm after removing his glove.

"Yada yada I am your sword, and I’ll die like a dog properly if it comes to that. Now, put that thing away before I start thinking you’re just into bleeding out men you meet."

Scarlett smirked. "Hardly," she says. "Libra. Capricorn. Director. Don't remember their names. Don't put the effort forward. Too much else is more important to remember, in my academic opinion," she sliced her palm, and let Heartstring drink, before slicing a bit of her hair, "Consider this a matter of necessity. I need to remember you, so I'm putting you forward in my memory..." Scarlett clenched her bloody hand into tight fist with her blood and hair mixing, before she opened it; healed and containing two translucent vials on a chain with her blood and Celtchar's mixed.

"A blood pact, if you will," Scarlett says, presenting him a necklace. "Now, I won't forget your name, Celtchar. My little, Irish mosquito."

"Yeaaaah, please call me literally anything other than a mosquito," Celtchar said, accepting the necklace and tightening it, letting it hang from his wrist instead of his neck.

"No," Scarlett chirped in a manner that could almost be cute, if she weren't everything but. Celtchar could, likely, see through her fragility and attire - he was partnered with a killer, playing at being normal.

That was perfectly fine with the Ulster hero, seeing as he was little better than a boasting warrior proficient in slaying impossible beasts. Heroic Spirits often made their way to the Throne atop a pile of bodies, so who was he to judge his monster of a Master so long as she kept it to battles, and wasn’t bleeding everyone dry? Turning and standing at her side, Celtchar would pat her back. "Off to a fantastic start, you and I. Also, word of advice: Don’t ever ask me to unsheathe my Noble Phantasm. Its a bit temperamental, and if I don’t bathe it in enough blood, I bet it’ll just go for you from the smell. …Bit of a pain, but I promise its worth it once it gets going."

"Don't give me a reason to ask, then," Scarlett says, plainly. "Now, if we needn't do elsewise, you can help me grade these papers. I'm sure the Throne afforded you the knowledge to do basic Algebra II and Calculus?"

"Now is REALLY not the time for this, Master!"

[The Irish Tree]

"I see...thanks Archimedes. I'm struggling to find a common weakness they might have, but maybe its one of those things where a stronger Servant is more likely to lose to this particular problem. I was thinking military experience was a common point, but Helena isn't exactly a general or anything."

---

"Last one's me. C'mon, A-Grade..." Elise would say under her breath, clenching her right hand and holding it out.

"Let silver and steel be the essence..." she would say, her Magic Circuits coming alight as she recited the same oath as everyone else, the incantation to summon her Servant.

"An oath shall be sworn here..." Now, was the appointed time. The proper place. The vessel of power would descend and manifest, Elise's guardian against the dangers of the past, and the necessary tool to protect the future.

"From the highest Heaven, and from the deepest hell attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!" The spell would complete in full, the incantation causing the summoning circle to alight with the power induced by the Third Magic, the Throne answering Elise's summons and bringing forth her Servant.

---

As Elise finished her rendition of the oath, and the blinding lights of heroism died out, she would be left with no Servant of Yore, no valiant hero of days gone, of stories told, and legends made. No. All she would be left with was a dingy, old tea kettle that was puffing steam from a nonexistent flame.

Oh, and it was musical, too, as the steam whistled an oddly familiar, but pitch shifted (gotta avoid that copyright strike) tune that any child of the right generation knew by heart.

Elise would stare in the most point-blank, undeniable confusion as she looked around, seeing that the other summons had succeeded. She checked her shoulder as it felt like it was on fire, seeing the command spells forming on it and…a tea kettle.

She’d summoned a tea kettle.

Going over, she would carefully grab the handle of it, seeing as there was absolutely no way she hadn’t passed out and was hallucinating right now. After all, there was no way a mage of her caliber failed a summoning ritual.

And she was definitely not on the verge of a panic attack at the thought of going into battle against Servants throwing hot tea at them.

"Ara ara~! I know I'm hot, but you never grab a lady by her tail, you know!"

"...Hey, Conner, can you just like, slap me across the face so I know I’m not dreaming? The tea kettle is talking…" she said, looking very tired already.

"You don't need that twerp to do what I can do!" Elise would suddenly eat a faceful of scaldingly cold water. Like, a bucket of ice on her face.

Elise would fall on her back, releasing the tea kettle as she was splashed, shaking her face in surprise. "W-Wait, if you can talk and you’re an object…are you some sort of Yōkai Servant?"

"Is there a chicken around, because someone just won herself a dinner!" Suddenly, very long, shapely legs popped out of the hind of the kettle, while slender, graceful arms popped out the front, and an attractive, in a rather matronly way, woman popped her head out of the mouth of the belly - wearing the kettle lid on her head like a hat. "Yo dayo!"

A long pause would be Elise’s answer, before she slumped on her back, smiling. "Okay, for a second there, you got me. So, you’re a Servant that can shapeshift…or, no. Perhaps that tea kettle is your true form, and this body is the one you shapeshift into…" Elise would stand, before walking around her Servant. "...Caster? Would you reveal your True Name to me?"

Smirking, the woman would, all too suddenly, explode into the air, and grow to several times her size. "My name?! My name!?" she asks, as a giant half-kettle, half-woman parts - doing her best to sexily pose - before sucked her ladu pieces in the metal kettle the size of half the room. "Honey! You can call me many things! Attractive! Sexy! Stylish! Rogue! Earl Grey, and Debonair!" she says, before kicking a door our of the side of the kettle like it was a house, "Boom, baby! You're standing before the Empress of Tea, the Savior of Simping Priests, the Thousand Cups Princess, herself!" The woman coyly hid behind her giant as hell, fluffy as fuck raccoon tail, as she boasted, "Casters wanna be me! Masters wanna see me! Everyone loves me! The one and only, Tea Kettle Servant! Bunbuku Chagama, at your service!"

"And, lemme tell ya, you ain't never had a Servant like me!" Bunbuku winked.

"If you start singing copyrighted material I will use a command spell to stop you," Elise warned, before smiling. "Gotta admit though…I’m curious what you can do in a fight."

"Oh, the usual Tea Kettle stuff. Set stuff on fire. Blow things up. Set blown up things on fire. Set a tidal wave of sake on fire. End world thirst, or flood the planet. You know, basic first grade magic class stuff," Bunbuku says, casually puffing on her kiseru.

That all definitely did not sound like usual Tea Kettle stuff.

But, Elise would judge that as being sufficient. A Caster-class Servant was low on mana consumption, so she was glad this one seemed to be on the more offensive side of things. "You make sake too?"

"Tea is the speciality of a Tea Kettle, but one as magnificent as myself, I'm not behold to one specialty, and fermented tea leaves will afford you alcohol all the same," Bunbuku says.

"Though, I've no revelations in making it, if you intend to ask. Unless you wanna talk about tea sake!"

Elise would clasp her hands together and beam. "Oh, don’t worry about that part. I think you and I are gonna get along juuuust fine," she would say, before going over and patting Bunbuku on the shoulder.

"But, of course! Everyone gets along with Tea Kettles," Bunbuku says, puffing her kiseru; the smoke smelled strong as hell of Earl Grey, with its distinctly black pepper smell.

Despite summoning what to most was a decidedly weak Servant, her legend stemming from a tea kettle, Elise had a feeling her compatibility with Bunbuku Chaguma would mean they’d work swimmingly well together. "Sip of absinthe?" Elise offered, holding up the drinking horn she’d had on her hip the whole time.

"Needs a bit more age," Bunbuku says, drawing the horn to her lips, and blowing smoke into the belly of it. Elise could feel the magic of the old, the era of Japan where it was at its apex of magic, before it dissipated like steam. "Try that."

"Oh, I trust that its perfect now. Just, a bit on the job. I figured its okay for a Servant to have a sip, but the Director might kill me if I’m drinking on the job. Off the job however? I’ll have to see how much a tea kettle can drink." Elise smirked, confident she could drink her Servant under the table.

Bunbuku Chagama's lips tugged into a tiny smirk, 'What a fun friend I have... Nine-hundred-ninety-nine to go...' before she beamed, "To unhealthy choices, and, uh, saving the world, I guess!"

[vancexentan]

@Rezod92

"Hey! Its you again? Seriously? Fate really has a weird sense of humor huh?" Mordred said strolling past her master up to Berserker. She looked Fran dead on with a rather serious face before it turned mischievous. "Alright I'll let it go this time you hear? I don't remember much about it but I know when I'm looking at someone who's hit me hard enough to knock me on my ass. Not many people can do that!" Saber said as she gave Berserker a wide grin. "Hey! you with the silly looking hair cut! You're her master so make sure she keeps up with me out there got it? No slacking off." Mordred says ignoring the comments in return for hers as she strolls back to her own Master as if she didn't do anything "You know you can show some tact..." Leon admonishes her as she rolls her eyes and pats him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it master. Besides you'll get use to it." Mordred says as she clangs her sword against her armored body and awaits the summons of the other servants. "Hey Archimedes how does Mordred remember that anyway? Aren't they blank slates?" Leon asked as the caster servant shook his head. "Chaldea is a singularity itself. Servants here have displayed a knowledge of previous grail wars when called upon here. Its a side effect of us being protected against dangers that would otherwise effect us. After all we serve as protectors of humanity." Archimedes stated flatly as he looked over to Mordred with some annoyance who returned a glare at him.

@Enkryption
@The Irish Tree

Mordred looked towards the conversation that Lancer was having with his master, and started to more forcefully tap her sword against her armor as their face twisted in annoyance. "I can tell already those two are going to piss me off. Talking like that like I'm not right here." Mordred grumbles as Leon groans deeply, "You're going to be a pain in the ass aren't you?" Leon said as Mordred frowned at him this time and the glance made Leon correct himself, "What I MEAN is that you're going to complain about everything aren't you?" Leon said as Mordred shook her head. "Hell no, what do I look like? Tristan? I'm going to beat up everything that gets in our way. Only good thing about this summonings is that I don't need to worry about some dumb grail. I mean its awesome to get your wish, and all, but at the same time, this time I get time to relax, and I don't need to worry about you dying constantly. I get to fight a bunch, I get to eat some new foods, and I get to fight some more what's there to not want?" Mordred states loudly. Leon was at the very least content to know Mordred operated on a very thug like system of war, food, and more war. At the very least he wouldn't need to drag her heels when he needed them the most.

However when the next servant came her visage was much more confused, and generally unsure about the new arrival. A teapot caster? What the hell was that? Fucking Shakesphere was a caster, this one was just a hot water heater on legs. Still she tried not to complain knowing that Leon had already called them out on that possibility just a moment before hand. The girl, and the kettle at least got along well...still if they flooded the area with water that'd make moving around in heavy armor a pain in the ass. Luckily she was a servant now, and that made the whole effort a lot less effort consuming.

As Orson watched the last of the summons go by The Director spoke up, "All good additions to our collection, a strong lancer, a competent berserker, and a useful caster class servant will make for a well made party. Long range will be an issue. If at all possible prioritize rescuing Helena, and her master first. Her spells will make an excellent addition to this formidable party." Orson said directing the group's attention to him momentarily. "I want all of you to understand each other. If you need a moment to talk, and collect yourselves I will provide this brief moment. Afterwards we will prepare for Rayshift duty in the coffins. Once you're ready please inform Leon so that we may get ready." Orson spoke to all of them as if he was just a simple manager getting the employees ready to work through a hard day at a shopping mall rather than saving the lives of Team A, and possibly the foundations of human society. Still Leon couldn't help but wonder if he was just trying to maintain some sense of calm himself. He was probably stressed out especially after the conversation with Scarlett.

[The Irish Tree]

In the span of time that Mordred would be surprised by Bunbuku’s existence, Elise would already be working on getting to know her Servant as best she was able, examining her status in detail through their magic circuit connection. "You’re surprisingly tough for a Caster…and your luck is through the roof," she noted.

"I’m just that damn awesome," Bunbuku says, clicking her kiseru’s flint with a smirk. "Bestower of Eight Virtue, I can even dodge Gae Bolg and Zabaniya. That’s just how hype I am. You can bow, or kneel. Doesn’t matter."

"Got it, but let’s hope you don’t go up against stuff like that to begin with," Elise said, not stopping as she took notes and took a knee, asking: "So how do you fight exactly? Scalding hot water thrown via magecraft? Physical attacks delivered via your Mana Burst skills?"

"This pipe. This gourd. And, deez nuts," Bunbuku smirked.

Elise visibly cringed at that last statement.

"Oh, c’mon, Master, smile a little - a lot - and often," Bunbuku says, pulling Elise’s cheeks up.

Elise sighed as her cheeks were tugged. "I guess. Either way, you seem dependable enough, even if you’re about as serious as a clown in a pie factory."

"Pie? Lame," Bunbuku says. "Dependability is a two-way, though, Master, so you better hold up your end of the highway."

"Y’know what, that’s fair," Elise said, getting up. "As a magus, my expertise is in potion-making. I may not have a lot of directly useful spells in combat, but I do have non-toxic potions that should work even on a Servant. Healing, Mana Infusion, Strengthening…I even have a poison that drives enemies a little insane." Putting a hand into the pouch hanging off her side with her drinking horn attached, she would pull out small ampoule bottles, marked and colored. "I also make the best wine you’ll ever drink, so at some point, I’ll age some sake for us to party with."

"Oh, that sounds like it would make for a wonderful sweetener," Bunbuku says.

"I know, right!?" Elise said, glad SOMEONE appreciated good drinks around here.

Afterwards, Elise would inform Leon of their readiness.

[Enkryption]

"So, this is what we have to deal with? A mouthy cunt with a sword, whatever that stitched up mess is, a walking, talk, Miss Potts, and my contribution of a bloody old man with a pointy stick," Scarlett says, taking a critical appraisal, since their Director thought it best to point out their lack of range. "I suppose, as far as Servants go, this isn’t a bad lot - sword, hammer, spear, and spellcaster; pretty generic set up, though, begs the question," she says, "What are we supposed to do? Stay back, and play Babysitter Battery, while the Servants do all the work? End up in the same position at your vaulted Team A?"

"More to the point, why should we prioritize finding your Team A’s Ranged Master first and foremost," Scarlett asks, "What? Because we didn’t happen to summon an Archer, or specialized ranged-type Servant of another Class, you think we’re inherently weaker without this Helena and her Master," she crossed her arms, Heartstring held in a loose grip that belied how swiftly she could strength it, "And, if we find someone else? Can we reasonably ignore them? They aren’t priority, after all."

"Oi, Oi…Master, are you the kind of person that just complains about every order given?" Celtchar asked, rubbing the back of his neck before cracking it side to side. "And, the more allies we have in general, the better. Just because they’re not a priority doesn’t mean you turn them away. For someone who’s a teacher you sure don’t like thinking on your feet, huh?" Celtchar would then turn to face her, adding on: "And, also, as my Master your job is to provide support and keep yourself from dying while distracting the enemy or taking down lesser threats. So, don’t engage Servants without backup. Otherwise, I’ll be left high and dry, and you’ll be left bleeding out on the floor. Sound good?"

"Complaint and Concerns are two sides of the same coin," Scarlett says, sharply. Heartstring pulsed in time with hers, as she tightened her hold upon it. "And, we’ll establish very simply ground rules, here, and now, Celtchar," she says, "Insult my profession again, and I will put a bullet between your eyes without hesitation. Underestimate me again, and I will prove I am not a distraction, but a threat,"she says, "The Throne of Heroes gave you power, you position, and your mission. Every bit of strength you have is borrowed, curtailed upon the Human-born Legends and Fables. Mine are earned. I will defend them to my last breath - be that you lance run me through or my own blood piercing my skull."

"Surely, the merits of respecting hardwork and honoring victories through trial are not lost on you?"

A brief pause would overtake Celtchar, while he idly wondered if this Master was even worth the migraines she was going to cause with her attitude. Borrowed power? Bullets between his eyes? It was the equivalent of a child throwing a tantrum at an adult and claiming they were technically correct. But, none of that particularly mattered as the corners of his mouth tugged into a smile. "Deal then. Oh, and, say that the throne gave me every ounce of my power again, and I’ll run you through so fast you won’t even have a chance to say ‘oops’. Got it?" he asked, stooping to his Master’s eye-level, looking her dead in the eyes.

She’d know the eyes of a mercenary warrior, one who survived by killing. Those weren’t the eyes of someone who stood on laurels and borrowed power. Those were the eyes of a man who’s sole concern was what needed killing and what he’d get out of it. "I’m glad my Master has some balls at least. Mages tend to cower in fear at the idea of something that can kill them in an instant and isn’t a little lapdog. Saber over there is probably the most dangerous one here in a straight fight. But, do keep one thing in mind," he’d say, standing back up and letting Scarlett have her personal space back. "My body’s made of magic. If I bleed, I can be fixed easy enough. And if I die, it doesn’t affect you. But if you die, we both die. So, that should make it obvious that I don’t want you dying. Simple math, right teach?"

"Simple," Scarlett says, before she stepped back - her right arm bleeding, and Heartbeat pressed to her temple. "Multiplication. Division. Addition. Subtraction. Escalation. Submission. Tension. Resolution," she says, trigger discipline on display, as she held the gun without shaking. "It seems, though...." she smiled, tilted her head, "We’ve reached an accord. So, we’ll play by your rules, for now," Scarlett beamed, "I like a man of action, after all. Reminds me of the old days. Maybe, I can refire that flame again."

"A... hm...." Scarlett drifted off, as her arm crackled and healed, and extended her right hand; hostler her weapon. "Master. Servant. Scarlett. Celtchar," she says, “Scar and Char!? We have a partnership nickname!”

Celtchar was taking this seriously up until the goofy nickname, losing his footing all of a sudden. "The hell!? You’re bleeding and have a gun to your head and THAT’S the last thing out of your mouth!?" he questioned. "...Now I’m slightly regretting telling you my True Name…" he said, sighing. "Anyways, heal yourself before you bleed out. The mission hasn’t even started yet and you’re wounded.”"

"What wound," Scarlett asks, keeping her arm extended, the slice gone, and all that was left was paling skin - rough and uneven, from years of bloodletting and alchemical healing. "C’mon, shake. You wanna be friends, right? Shake," she asks, "Or, is that too much for an old man, like you?"

Celtchar chuckled, before taking her hand. "You’re fucking bizarre, Master. I like it. Oi, Director. I think we’re good to go. We’ll find your Caster Master and whoever else we can."

"As he said, let us be off," Scarlett says, pleasantly.

[Rezod92]

@vancexentan

"Hey! Its you again? Seriously? Fate really has a weird sense of humor huh?" Mordred said strolling past her master up to Berserker. She looked Fran dead on with a rather serious face before it turned mischievous. "Alright I'll let it go this time you hear? I don't remember much about it but I know when I'm looking at someone who's hit me hard enough to knock me on my ass. Not many people can do that!" Saber said as she gave Berserker a wide grin.

"....Hmm.", Fran replied with a nod....and a small smile. She did, indeed, remembered Mordred and the fight they had in a previous Grail War. Despite the loss she took in that battle, the fact that the blonde Saber acknowledged her strength was.....uplifting.

"Hey! you with the silly looking hair cut! You're her master so make sure she keeps up with me out there got it? No slacking off." Mordred says ignoring the comments in return for hers as she strolls back to her own Master as if she didn't do anything.

S-Silly!?

"Errr....y-yeah. Heard you, loud and clear. I'll...do my best.", responded Conner, more as an afterthought as he still caught up on the previous comment. Silly hair cut? Oh, that woman did NOT understand...

Next to summon was Scarlett....who ended getting a monster-killing Lancer.

Conner noticed Fran gripping her mace tightly and a frown marring her visage.

"Hey, relax.", he reassured the Berserker. "Celtchar is on our side, he won't hunt you. Would kinda defeat the purpose of all this, don't you think?"

Then Elise went last, her Servant being....

"That has got to be the most flamboyant Caster I have ever seen.", the young man commented, surprised and amused at Bunbuku Chagama's.....unique introduction.

"Nnnnnn...", mumbled Fran, feeling a sense of foreboding, but less of impending doom and more of an incoming headache. Bunbuku's outgoing attitude reminded her of another Servant she met in the past, a certain Rider of pink hair. She hoped the Caster Servant wouldn't be as annoying as he was...

In the end, Team B now had a Saber, Berserker, Lancer and Caster to their ranks.

"Okay, so our chances have gone from 'hopelessly impossible' to 'won't immediately die when we get there'......eh. Gotta start somewhere, I guess.", Conner said with a shrug, attempting to hide his nervousness through acting nonchalant.

Something which Fran saw through.

"Wor....ried?", Fran asked her Master, tilting her heard quizzingly. Conner looked at the Berserker for a moment before turning away with a resigned sigh.

"For a Berserker, nothing gets past you, huh?", he began with a honest smirk. "To be more accurate, you could say I'm scared. Who wouldn't be? Anyone here who says otherwise is a damn idiot and a liar. So many things can go wrong when we get there. Hell, they may already have, given Team A's unknown fate. So yeah, I'm scared. And yet....here we are. So why not give it the old college try?"

Despite having fear of the unknown dangers that await them, to see her young Master stand tall to face such fears, to face such dangers...

....Such bravery was something Fran could definitely get behind and protect, along with humanity's future.

"Aah! Aaaah!", Fran concurred with Conner with a firm nod. If his bravery was not enough, then she'll gladly lend some of hers.

Seeing this, Conner gave a resolved nod of his own before turning to Leon.

"Fran and I are ready to go." Conner announced, already giving his Servant a nickname. "Call it, Cap."

[vancexentan]

"Simply put the orders are as followed for masters: Use your command seals to make sure your servants do not suffer a shattering of their spirit origin if they enter against an enemy servant, or creature they harms them, provide support with spells, or weapons, that you see fit. There is no priority on who to rescue first, if there is anyone to rescue, simply take what I say as a recommendation from my own personal thoughts on the matter. Ultimately you will follow Leon's orders to some extent, or another. That being said do not mistake me for Amisphere if anyone here is at threat of causing mission failure, which would be the destruction of Team B, or aiding in the further destabilization of Fuyuki, Japan's current state into an even worse singularity we will terminate the coffins of either Team A, if they have become hostiles, or Team B if it turns out one of you has an issue with prospective of being the heroes." Comments Orson with more stern punctuation as he wraps his hand behind his back. Mordred after choosing to not start a fight for the moment with the, from her perspective, the bitchy master of lancer turned to Orson. "The hell are you on about? You going to kill the masters if you find them 'wanting' or something? That's pretty brutal. Also kind of an asshole thing to say to a group risking their necks." Mordred commented bluntly as Caster spoke up this time, "This is the fate of humanity Saber. We will not take half measures on this matter. The individuals gathered were choose for their skill, or the expertise in some sort of combat or magecraft. That being said a threat to humanity is still just that. I believe that should be enough said. Simply put 'don't be a traitor'. And everything will be fine. The alternative is having the servant cut off from mana and one of the masters being replaced by Team C's captain, and sub captain if such an thing is an issue. We have alternatives." comments Archimedes with no hint of remorse for his backing of Orson. Leon grimaced at the thought of being cut off in his coffin but duty calls he was here as a savior to humanity, a hero. He had no intentions of messing up here. So everything will be fine.

After a brief travel to the Sleeping Coffins Rayshfit room. Team B is informed that they will be dropped right in the middle of Fuyuki in a vacant house, it would be best that they do all they can to not cause too much trouble, and establish what exactly is going on. For good measure each of them is given a emergency microphone directly stiched into their mystic code's collar. They were made by Archimedes to talk directly to Chaldea in case of system failure and they can't communicate with the normal system. As the Team enters their sleeping coffins the process activates and they are soon whisked out of their body....

===========

Chapter 1: Desolate Fuyuki

As the crew arrives shortly in a rather dusty house some furniture covers the room with some bowls in the sink, and cooking supplies laid out but none of which seemed to be touched. It was a traditional looking house. Leon looks around and coughs a bit as Saber appears by his side, and so do the others. Its sparsely furnished, and the people in the house who were here before seemed to have left very little behind. He moves to the window in another room, and looks outside. "I don't know why but this place pisses me off...a whole lot.". Saber mumbled as she watched Leon move towards the window, and looked around some more and starts to investigate the place to see if he can try and make use of it as a makeshift base. From what he saw outside the sky was a light grey like it was about to rain. The outside of the house had an impact creator of some sort. Looked like a servant fight, or perhaps something left from whatever happened in Fuyuki. Otherwise the house seemed like a typical Japanese house...a bit bigger than usual but nice? If not for the fact Mordred felt like the place was not to her liking he'd suggest sticking around it for a bit. However off into the distance he could see the sky scrappers from the main city off in the distance...they didn't appear to be powered as there was no blinking lights? Looks like it was indeed abandoned.

[Rezod92]

@vancexentan

"Ugh....God, I hate that feeling.", muttered Conner, shaking his head to rid himself of vertigo as he and his teammates stood in middle of a seemingly deserted Japanese house, Fran standing beside him. "Well, let's not waste any time with this. Fran, go spirit form and scout the surrounding estate. If you see something, do not engage and just keep an eye on whatever's out there. We wouldn't want trouble busting through that door when we just got our feet on the ground."

"Hmmm.", Fran responded with a nod, disappearing to go do her task.

Meanwhile, Conner moved to the window and saw the same darkened sky-scrappers. Feeling a hunch, he went over to the nearest light switch and flipped it on.

The room remained unlit.

"A city wide power outage? Was it like this before Team A dropped in as well?"

[vancexentan]

"That's the problem...even for the suburbs it doesn't look like anyone's around." Leon said as he opened the window carefully and waited a minute to confirm his suspicion of the matter. Nothing. Blank, No cars, no birds, no nothing. It was as if the whole world had been turned blank. Leon was about to search himself when Mordred came along, and shoved a newspaper into his hands. Mordred's face was on guard ready to move, and clarent was out but otherwise she didn't say much. "Looks like...there was servant combat in the streets. Some claimed to see a man running in wolfskin clothes running after a little girl in Fuyuki Park in the den of night...Achimedes can you check what time it is here?" Leon said as he got the caster to phone in. "Checking...it would seem that this period's date check this at...a week ago roughly?" the caster said a bit unsure if his answer was right. "What the hell do you mean 'maybe' don't give me that shit. You're the god damn eyes, and ears." Saber growled out at the caster who sighed in response and appeared in front of her in a sheen of blue light. "The paper dates back a week but Team A was deployed in this singularity for the equivalent of two days now. I can't confirm anything in the city but there is movement detected nearby. Not of the living variety. Looks like Bone soldiers. Skeletons made into weapons by some sort of mage, or caster. Deal with them at your leisure. They aren't close enough to be an immediate threat, and I detect no movement, or traces of prana nearby. For now you are safe."

[The Irish Tree]

Well, that was comforting. At least they'd only die from a vague threat of stranding them in time if they turned traitor. Conveniently mentioned after authority was questioned. Right now, Elise was really glad she hadn't taken a swig of her horn in front of Orson, since he seemed like a huge stickler for policy, and Archimedes was enough of a stick in the mud that he saw zero issue with that.

...She'd treat herself and Bunbuku once they got back, hoping they wouldn't have to fight Team A. They were cream of the crop with top-line Servants, so that was pretty much a death sentence. With the Rayshift nausea passing in time, Elise would shake her head and take in her surroundings. "Quaint," she commented, looking out a window beside Conner. "If its low-level bone soldiers without their controller nearby, that probably means we're looking at a proficient enough mage to send them out in droves without needing to control them," she commented.

Bunbuku Chaguma, do you think you can erect a bounded field? Even a basic alarm or barrier can do. Unless you'd rather go out and crack some skulls," Elise offered, smiling at her Servant.

---

...So that was how he would play it then? Some part of Celtchar was thinking this whole mission seemed like too much of a hassle with the zero information Chaldea had. Was Team A dead or alive? Were their vitals being faked? What could have beaten top-class Servants? None of that really mattered though with the vague threat to Team B meaning his Master's life was on the line. So for now, he'd obey without question. Leaning a hand on his Master's shoulder, he'd whisper: "It'll be okay. Just trust me. If you can't trust anything else, trust your weapon. If you can't trust authority, trust the mission. If you can't trust yourself, trust your instincts And if your instincts are screaming that you're in danger..." He would thrust a thumb at his chest, saying: "Call my name and I'll come running. That's why its great that you've got it memorized now."

To a Servant, the rayshift process was no different than materializing, with the Master as their anchor. Right away a plan was formed to have Frankenstein scout around the grounds which-

"...Wait, we're having the Berserker scout? I mean, as long as its just the estate but..." Celtchar audibly questioned, before shaking his head. "Alright, that aside, if a Mage is cowering somewhere and licking their wounds, its gotta be somewhere they can set up a workshop. Master, Team Leader, I could scout further out. Try and sense magic in remote locations. For now though..." Celtchar would beam, drawing his lance from his back, still in its sheathe. "If there's a Servant in the newspaper, that's already pretty bad. Master, Leader, want me to go out and see what the deal is?"

[Enkryption]

Scarlett looked over at their Director. 'So, that's the name of the game is it? A threat to your authority, and you cower behind your name, your power, and your title. Spineless,' she thought, as their Director detailed the mission outline, 'Pull the plug. Team B for Bitches Expendable. Never you mind, your precious Team A failed you - possibly turned rogue, turned their backs on your little mission to fortify their own power. Pathetic,' Scarlett tightened her grip on Heartbeat, as CHALDEAS's Caster chimed in, 'Of course, kiss up Caster. That's all your Class is good for. Hope you powder your nose later with how brown it must get. I know you must buy lipstick daily to kiss that ass so much. Don't be a traitor, when your --'

It was only the soft touch of Celtchar's hand upon her shoulder that roused Scarlett from her seething thoughts, and dispelled the hateful storm with calmly offered words - not of encouragement, but stipulation. Edicts. Simple. Plain. Easy to follow. Trust in herself, her Codes, the mission, and most importantly, in him; the Servant, honour-bound to defend and serve her.

"Right, then," Scarlett says, her voice soft and, almost, melodic, as she departed with him to their aptly named coffins. The Director would kill them, at any moment he deemed they were a threat - be that to Humanity, as he claimed, or his Authority, as he'd subconsciously shown by bandying about his family name and directorial position. He was no Animusphere, that was certain. However, Scarlett never knew any of them, either, so what difference did it make? Their Director was just another Mage; another power-hungry, bureaucratic asshole pretending he was altruistic and just, when he was just full of shit.

Climbing into her coffin, Scarlett chuckled at the morbid irony of it...

...before she was suddenly somewhere else in time and space. A house. Dimly lit. Decrepit. It was cozy, in a way; she might have said as much aloud. An errant thought. It didn't distract her from the matter at hand. They needed a lay of the land, and to that end, she and her Lancer were best suited to the task of --

Then, Capricorn told Berserker to scout the surrounding estate. It was Celtchar's questioning that affirmed she wasn't hearing things. Berserker? Scout? The mentally deficient Class was supposed to watch over them?

"Are you serious," she asks, "You send a Berserker to scout? The Servant with the shortest fuse on a hair-thin trigger is supposed to be our first line of defense?" Scarlett glared at Capricorn, "Not to mention, you summoned the Berserker that can barely form a sentence. I really hope, if anything is out there, we can get a sense of it with "Yes" or "No" questions!"

Maybe, death was preferable. If this was the level of incompetence she was dealing with, Scarlett had a feeling she would be dead before they got to the end.

" Let's go find the Summoner, and stop the flow of Skeletons, Celtchar," Scarlett says, once he suggested they seek out the summoning Mage. "You'll fare better, if you can fight at full strength. My blood is my ammo and your fuel," she says, "I'll support you, and you'll defend me. As partners should."

---

"Ara ara~. Now, why would I do that," Bunbuku asks, smoking casually. "Berserker's got this. I'm sure the Pettan Knight will be a boon, as well, when she's done arguing nothing with Archie," she says, "No sense in wasting my magic, unless there's a reason. I am better served starting tea. After all, before electrical power, there was fire and steam. And, those happen to be my specialties."

Bunbuku would set off for the kitchen to see if there was another she could get to cooking. Sure, there were boundless actual reasons to set off a Bounded Field - Assassin, chief among them - but... well, no but. If she didn't get an explicit request, she wasn't wasting magic on anything that didn't relate to tea. It wasn't being difficult, it was having common sense - after all, if she tied her magic up in a Bounded Field, how would she make any tea in this gods forsaken wreck of a house?

And, speaking of, what kind of tea was she to make...

[Rezod92]

@vancexentan @Enkryption @The Irish Tree

Conner would raise an eyebrow at Scarlett. He could feel Fran's growing irritation with the woman's comment. Did she not hear what he said?

"Yes, I'm having my Berserker on lookout duty.", Conner began his explanation. "In case you didn't hear, or you just didn't care to hear, I told Fran to scout the surrounding estate and to not engage anything if she saw something. Now, according to what Archimedes just said, there are skeletons nearby, but not near enough for Fran to warrant her going after them. I'm well aware of how Berserkers normally behave, but so far, the one I got is slightly different. Yes, she speaks very simplistic and in broken sentences, but she is understandable and to the point. That showed me that her mind has enough clarity to not be that effected by her Madness Enchantment unless a mind-altering enemy is around, so therefore I trust her in doing this task. She's keeping to the property and not out into streets. Fran is probably on the roof of the house right now."

Ah.

Fran's response echoed in his mind, confirming that she was where he thought she was.

"I did this so that we have an immediate sentry on guard for anything that would've jumped us as soon as we set foot here. Now, your Lancer put up a good idea. While Berserker keeps lookout for our temporary base, you and Celtchar can go out and see what else is out there. If you put down the mage that's summoning all of these undead, that'd be a good step forward. Hell, if Leon is willing, have Saber join you."

[vancexentan]

"Look I have my orders ready, and set. Once we're all sure we're not about to be ambushed we'll make our way down to the city of Fuyuki itself. Its probably where we'll find the servants, or some sort of activity." Leon says aloud as he takes in the opinions of everyone present seemingly want to set up shop but wanting to make sure that they weren't stuck in one place to long. He imagined that staying here wouldn't solve anything either as Caster had already informed them of what was happening. "Hold up, look I'll back Capricorn or whatever his name is over there. Berserker's master. If Berserker says there's nothing there's probably nothing if Archimedes says there's nothing that's also encouraging. But if you got some sort of sensing ability go ahead, and give it a try. I got a nack for sensing danger, and I don't feel anything but something's wrong with this whole fucking city." Saber grumbled none too helpfully identifying that she felt something was off but couldn't tell what, or at least didn't specify what. "Long range sensor is back online...I'm detecting a possible number of servants near the river. Bridge section to be exact to your far east. I'm not sure what servant it could be but its not one of ours it seems. I don't detect the sensors I attached to Team A." Archimedes said as he tried his best to communicate with the team.

"Lancer since you offered do you want to take point while Saber takes the rear? Have our strongest vanguard protect the masters up front, and back while caster, and Berserker look out to our east, and west." Leon suggested as Mordred vehemently argued, "Me in the back? Are you nuts? Master just find me a car, and i'll drive you guys there." Mordred grumbled as he suddenly felt an uneasy pang in his belly like that would be an awful idea. Saber driving? Reasonable but it was also Mordred who in the short time he's known her seemed to be very blunt. Didn't seem like the easy driving person. "I'm worried about gridlock, we can smash through but it also makes us a prime target when we're all bunched up together in my opinion." Leon said as he gave the others to chance in favor of Saber, or not. "I do want to know if you guys would rather stay here, and let the servants clear the path first though. This place doesn't look too fancy which must mean we're in a rural area, or else Japan has very conservative living styles. My point being that the space is probably wide open."

[Rezod92]

@vancexentan

"I think we'd be better off if we stayed put. There's a lot we don't know going on in this city aside from what we've read on the newspaper, and if Saber is getting antsy from just being here, then it'd be wise to tread carefu-"

"Ah!"

Hearing that familiar yelp, Conner turned to see Fran reappearing, back from her scouting.

"Oh, Fran. What did...you......find....."

The young man's question trailed off as he looked at the item his Berserker was holding.

A bloodied knife.

".....Where?"

"One...of....bed....ro...oms. Bl....ood....there....too."

Taking the weapon, Conner turned back and showed it to the rest of his team.

"I don't suppose one of the members of Team A had a knife on them, did they?", he asked.

[vancexentan]

"Archimedes?" Leon said as he walked forward towards Conner as he reached forward with a small device connected to his mystic code and scanned the bloodied knife. "I've been on missions with a few of Team A before but mostly? No. Togami specialized in his time-" Leon began as he suddenly remembered people COULD be watching besides him, and decided to keep quiet on that front. However after a brief amount of time..."Blood Type O. Registers of the same blood type...Miranda Einzbern. However DNA tests confirm that it is not her DNA." Archimedes replied as commented on the matter with vague interest as he took another moment to consider. "My skill tells me that this individual weapon was used to kill someone...a human. I don't know who. Blood registers as similar to that of the Tohsaka blood. However...irregularities can't confirm what something tampering with the blood from the body. Magecraft confirmed used on the knife. Reinforcement magic it seems." comments Archimedes further as if he was very intrigued but at the same time couldn't be bothered to over think it. Saber vanished looked at the knife herself. "Huh? Well if I had to guess whoever got killed with that thing was killed in their sleep. Or at least a weakened state. Look at it no blood on the hilt. All on the blade, no marks on the blade itself. On top of it looks like a kitchen knife." comments Saber as she walks up to Leon and leans forward. "Just a guess though I'm no expert. Always preferred the thought of killing dad face to face. Like a real knight." Saber says scoffing at the idea. "Thanks for looking Berserker." Leon says smiling kindly to her.

[The Irish Tree]

Lancer and Scarlett Mobilizing

As soon as Libra mentioned Saber, Scarlett was already out the window; armed and moving out. Loosely, he’d given her the right to go-ahead at her ready, and that was all she wanted - to be away from him, away from Capricorn, before she did something beyond speak. To be lectured about not listening, and then demonstrated monstrous hypocrisy - That little shit. I’m not listening? I readily agreed with Celtchar, and then suddenly, I’m being told I should follow through on an idea I already said yes to!? - on the highest level before Leon tried to make a plan that she neither cared to hear or follow.

“Celtchar, I can handle myself on the ground. So, you take to the rooves,” she says, “Unless you can do that spooky ghost thing, in which case, let’s swap. The rooves aren’t so far apart that I can’t jump the gaps.”

Prior to departing, Celtchar would sigh, holding his sheathed lance over his shoulders with his arms over it. "Yeah, I’m all for taking point. Don’t worry, I’ll scope out the river. But don’t hang around too long. Place reeks of something wrong with it…Saber’s instincts are on the money." Heading towards the window, his body would begin to dissolve as he entered his spirit form, giving one last regard to Leon and Connor by saying: "If you’re gonna stay put, do as mages do and make it a pain in the ass to get inside."

Catching up with little effort to Scarlett, Celtchar would re-materialize, running backwards atop the rooftops while looking at his Master. "Archimedes said the bridge is a hot zone, so I’m going to make that a caution area. I know we agreed to fight together, but if its multiple Servants, I’ll have to ask you to stand back. And, sure I can move in my Spirit form, but are you sure you wouldn’t rather take the road?"

Dropping down before Scarlett, Celtchar would say: "Also, don’t forget one important thing. To trust me. I’ll keep you safe if the situation calls for it."

“I’m a gunner. I specialize in the high ground and staying back,” Scarlett says, “Unless there’s an Archer or an offensive Caster present, I will be safe in your shadow,” she says, smiling up at him. “However, I am glad I can trust you... I have.... I.... hrm...”

Scarlett seemed wary to speak, glancing at her collar, where her issued Mystic Code’s radio was located.

Celtchar would note her hesitancy to speak, before smirking. "Oh I know, I’m as devilishly handsome as Diarmuid and have completely stolen the words from your mouth," he said, slicking his hair back with a hand, before descending beside her, taking his lance and gouging the Earth while keeping the facade up, writing out: “Shh” in the concrete. "My ridiculously handsome face aside, let’s get you up on the rooftops. I’ll turn any skeletons we run into into bone meal," he said, picking Scarlett up in his arms before depositing her on the roof.

Scarlett would meep, blushing as she was pulled up, before she pulled out her “helpful book”, and started writing in Gaelic script with a bit of Modern Irish script to fill in the blanks.

<I don’t trust Orson.> Scarlett sucked on her pen nib, as before the green pen hit the page again. <I don’t trust Archimedes, either.>

Snatching the book, Celtchar would write with her pen in a much messier script, saying: <That’s okay. Just trust me then.>

Scarlett nodded, taking the book back. <I feel like you are the only one I can. However...> Her eyes turned to look at him, before she continued. <How much of that loyalty is in me, and not the oath that binds we?>

Another snatching, this time with Celtchar saying: "Are you drawing my handsome face in there? Nice, nice, my beard looks perfect in that color," as he wrote out: <Your oath fucking sucked, so…all of it?>

“Not much else to do, while you’re carrying me. Damn bridge must be far off...” Scarlett says, before writing out. <Screw you. I’m an Alchemist. Not a fucking Mage. As you’ve seen, I’m a woman of action.>

Celtchar smirked. "Who the hell said I was carrying you all the way there?" he said before putting her on her feet. Fast as could be he would write: <Alchemist, mage, all the same. At least you have balls. Let’s go.>

“You better not slow down,” Scarlett says, nodding to his written message. “Since I have a life force, I’ll play the role of bait. Skeletons love that kind of shit,” she says, “Sound like a plan?”

"Not really. It’d be better to go along to the bridge and avoid fighting as much as we can aside from mopping up stragglers."

“Yes, but if we turn the enemy force’s attention in a direction we favour...” Scarlett hinted.

"So long as I get to crack some skulls, I guess I don’t care. Let’s go!"

Scarlett smiled, and started for the bridge. “The plan is simple,” she says, “We’ll go underneath it, to the other side, and then attack from there in quick strikes. That will open the enemy to a flanking attack.”

"Got it. But if we spot a Servant, you let me do the fighting."

“Deal,” Scarlett says, “Still Heart.” she says, before Cletchar could hear her heartbeat slow down to dangerously slow BPM. She was all but perfectly hidden to anything listening hard enough.

With their plan in motion, Celtchar and Scarlett would cut their way to the bridge, ready to face whatever awaited them as the vanguard…

---

Meanwhile…

Elise stared in horror at the knife being presented. So that was human blood…and from a renowned family’s member. Something had gone wrong with this place to be certain but…had it been caused by interference, or a naturally occurring branch in a series of decisions? Regardless, Elise would shake her head, saying: "So, we have a knife, a blood type, and that’s it…we don’t really have a lot to go on with this. But…maybe we should do as Celtchar said and fortify this place if we’re going to stay put. But…frankly, I’m not the type of Mage with a lot of spells for fortifying an area. Best I can do is make a minor bounded field with some of the plants but that would take a ritual."

Getting an idea, Elise would go and get Bunbuku in the kitchen to see if the knife had come from the kitchen…and it certainly seemed it had, judging from the missing knife in the sharpening block. "Bunbuku, we might be having the Servants mobilize towards the bridge. Think you’re combat ready?"

“Yeah, but I don’t see the point,” Bunbuku says. “Scarry and Charry already left. I assume they are going to the bridge,” she says, “If I had to guess, based on the average warrior tactics, they are going to cross the bridge somehow, and distract, so better for Mordy and Franny to go, and hit them from behind.”

Elise would shake her head, saying: "If we knew the enemy numbers that’d be a valid tactic. But we need to bring out all our firepower just in case we’re up against an equal or greater number of Servants. After all, do you think Celtchar could take on five of Mordred if it came down to it? Just based on what you can tell about their strengths?"

“Probably,” Bunbuku says. “Charry isn’t stupid. He would goad Mordy into a trap - he seem like the hunter-type, after all - and take each of them out, one by one,” she says, “Not to mention his lance and its bloody smell... well... we’ll worry about that if it comes to it.”

Elise wasn’t sure how Bunbuku figured any one Servant could beat five strong Sabers, but would say: "Okay, but you have to admit he’d fare better with backup. Regardless, please, just get ready. Much as I look forward to your cooking, right now clearing out hostiles is our top priority."

“Is that not what his Master is for,” Bunbuku asks.

Elise sighed, before saying: "Bunbuku…I’m talking Servant-level backup. Besides, if you’re not there…" She would suddenly point at Bunbuku Chagama, and say: "Who would make sure that Lancer gets a nice hot cup of tea after a raging battle!?"

Bunbuku sighed, before drawing on her kiseru. “Guilt tripping me,” she asks. “I’m impressed.”

Elise playfully stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, knocking herself on the head once. "Caught me! But I am a mage y’know. And its more efficient than burning a Command Spell."

“Very well,” Bunbuku says. “Come along. I’m sure it’s best that we get to moving on. If anything, perhaps, it is best I come along, since my Noble Phantasm will be quite useful.”

"Mhm, mhm. I’ll go with you and the other Servants too. Once everyone’s ready, of course."

“Do hurry them up,” Bunbuku says. “I’m not made of either time or patience.”

Elise would go ahead and get things ready, wondering how a tea kettle lacked patience.

Fire burned hot. But, water yielded at its own pace. And yet, fire still burned hot, impatiently trying to bring the water to its temperature, until it did so.

Returning to the men of the squad, she would say: "So, Bunbuku is ready to depart. How long do you think until we can get Frankenstein and Mordred ready to move?"