Fate/Mark Last

[Phantom Zero]

Location: Master's Crummy Basement
Time: 7:16 PM

The summoning circle surged with light, bolts of prana being fired off here and there, the wind throwing things about, and just other sorts of chaos all around. Really, at this point it looked like Rayne had ballsed up on a whole 'nother unexpected level, what with the sheer amount of 'what-the-actual-hell-is-happening' going on. Fortunately it wouldn't continue for too long, though it did end with a bang - well, giant burst of all-encompassing light and blaring noise - filling up the room with the full force of the summoning circle's energy. It was loud, it was bright, and it probably shook the house's foundation.

All these various happenings... couldn't have been a good sign for things to come. But it was too late to stop it now. What was done was done, and now Rayne would have to live with the consequences of what she had called forth unto this world. The best the Master could probably do is hope it wouldn't end horribly and in a pool of her own blood.

"MWAHAHAHAHA!" a voice bellowed from within the nexus of prana and light, "I HAVE BEEN FREED FROM MY DEMONIC! MY FIENDISH! MY INFERNAL PLANE! LIE PROSTRATE BEFORE ME, MORTALS!"

...Oh lord.

Fortunately the mist of prana and flashy lights began to fade, turning the room back into its previous - albeit now much more messy - pre-summon appearance. Now Rayne would be able to actually see what kind of - presumably satanic and demonic - existence she had summoned from the depths of the abyss with her (apparently) botched summoning ritual.

It was... a young looking fellow, white haired and clad in robes, posed with arms outstretched as if he were addressing a crowd and not just a teenager and her little brother. Definitely didn't look to be a great hero of old, or a diabolical demonspawn. Sorry. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Good luck next time, Rayne Kanzaki.

"...Of course I'm just kidding. Do you know what it's like, not being able to let yourself loose for such a long time? It certainly isn't very fun," the summon spoke, dropping his arms and heaving a sigh at that last bit, "But it's not all bad..." The young man waltzed on over towards Rayne. "...Since I have a lovely lady like yourself around," he said, tilting her chin up to make eye contact with her. "I am the Servant Caster summoned to fight in this Holy Grail War," he smirked, "So tell me girl, are you just another pretty face..."

"Or are you worthy... to be my Master?"

 

[Mosaic]

Master of Archer

[tr][/tr][tr][/tr][tr]
Luca took a mental note of her last words. "Hmm…an archer, huh?" he looked a little disappointed, frowning. He hoped that she would be a saber. He wanted a berserker too, but it was obvious that she wasn't one the moment she appeared. He was told that he would have a hard time controlling a Berserker, but he still wanted one. They were considered better servants than Saber. ...But he got a knight class at least. Getting her some more mana might be a good strategy. Smiling again, Luca watched as Archer's eyes wandered about the room. She didn't seem particularly impressed. He didn't blame her. The apartment certainly wasn't chosen for its looks…or space. Luca was surprised by her questions as the servant got herself comfortable on the couch. "You can just call me Luca." That's strange, weren't servants supposed to automatically adapt in the age that they're summoned in? Luca stared up in thought. Did I make some sort of mistake during the summon? I thought I did a pretty good job. He turned his attention back to his servant. Oh well. I guess I could get to know her more this way. "The year is 2104. We're in December right now, there's only several more days until the new year." He lightly places his index finger on his lip in thought. "Do you really not know much about this time period?" Luca smiled at her kindly. "Maybe if I knew what time period you were from, I'd be easier for me to inform you." [/tr]

 

[Nevvy]

Setting: the very messy basement
Time: 7:17 pm

Rayne had already dragged her brother halfway back up the stairs by the light of the lightning storm of a summoning circle. The sound of the cackling servant made her switch arms and hold up her right hand in defense, specifically the defense of using her command seals. Demon or not or whatever it was, anything summoned by the contract would be bound by the command seals. Though it would disqualify her, if she had to she could probably kill it right away. Their lives were far more important than a matter of winning the war. Prostrating was pointless and would get her hand cut off if the thing was generous as it probably knew just as well as she did that despite how weak she might be, she was not completely helpless against it. Pushing Nevar gently down to the ground to keep him even another foot out of the way, she stood up to face the... very normal looking boy.

"By the right of my command seal, I wha-" she trailed off, not really sure what to make of him but still held up her command seals menacingly behind herself rather than in front where it was more likely that her arm would be taken off at the elbow or wrist and her command seals taken from her so she couldn't use them. The boy hardly looked like some demonic spawn but she supposed it was possible for one to take human form. The mark on the back of her hand continued to glow, awaiting her orders. She looked him over up and down, trying to place exactly who or what she had summoned to determine whether she should be scared of it or not. Then the jokes started and the confusion grew only greater. When she met his eyes, she felt her face heat up and her legs turned to jelly. With what little recognition of the situation she had left, she tore her gaze away and retreated back a couple steps not that it would make a different to a Servant. Even the weakest of Servants were much stronger and faster than she could hope to be even with her physical enhancement magic. Letting him get this close without being sure that it was safe was a huge lapse in attention.

"Caster, huh?" she asked, not really sure what she could say. Worthy was a pretty strong word for her concerning being a magus. Him knowing her name was pretty surprising too though she guessed it could be passed off as one of his many abilities.

"I am your master, worthy or not," she decided on, choosing her words carefully. This boy radiated power though she had no idea just how capable or not he might be. She didn't have much to gauge against and figured that just about any Servant must invoke the awe of just about any living magus. The feeling in her legs was slowly coming back but she was careful not to look directly at him again for fear of falling under his spell again. Of course, he could probably force it on her if he wished but it wasn't about to be invited.

 

[Pyralithia]

Master of Rider, purple

Setting: Killala's Apartment
Time: 7:20pm
Nearby: None
~~~~~~~~~

Kil raises an eyebrow at the young girl as she proceeds to announce her class and the need of ground rules as she made her way to Killala's bed, looking quite displeased with it in fact. Her eyes widen slightly as Rider proceeds to toss her belongings, including a stuffed tiger shes had since she was 6, off her bed. Folding her arms against her chest Kil listens to Rider, a twitch starting to form on her brow with each rule stated. When Rider suddenly stands before her in what she assumed was suppose to be a menacing stance, Kil cant help the giggle that escapes her lips. Noticing her slip she covers her mouth trying to stifle them. She was obviously not intimidated by the blonde that could be mistaken as a 3rd grader in this time period.

Taking a step back Kil lowers her head, a small smile on her lips her magenta eyes gleaming a dangerous light as she leans down so shes eye level with Rider, her hands clasped behind her back. "I accept all but 1 and 5. I will not refer to you as Ma'am, in exchange you wont refer to me as Master, Killala or Kil is fine with me. I'll call you Rider, unless you wish to give me your real name, but I'll still go with Rider within a vicinity of enemies. And your free to fight however you wish, I wont hinder you, but we will plan and collaborate together to win this war. Despite what you may think, this is not a solo mission, you need me and I need you. Now is that all? Or would you like to continue showing your overwhelming pleasure of having me as a Master? Or can we just get to work on the reason we're even here?" Her voice is deadly calm, her tone showing no room for argument, though a heavy sarcasm mares it toward the end as she straightens back up.

Just like that though the dangerous gleam is gone from her eyes and a full smile comes to her lips as she stretches her arms above her head "It seems I have indeed summoned a strong servant, even your deceiving appearance is a bonus in it will most likely make our enemies underestimate you." She says honestly with a light tone, Kil could tell Rider was more than a young girl with a serious attitude, much more

 

[Pastor ćhoi]

Master of Killala, red

Murder was on Rider's face. It was in the tension in her shoulders and the way her legs suddenly seemed a little straighter: the spring before the lion's pounce. It was in the way her hands curled into fists and the way she stepped closer to throttle the life out of-

Oh fuck it, it wasn't working. What was the C-rank charisma equivalent in one of her weird skills for anyway? People responded to what she could do, not her impeccable presentation of herself.

Rider's laughed her noblewoman's laugh, a light chuckle as she raised her hand to her mouth. "It is good to see that my subordinate has spirit. You might get a promotion yet. Excuse my rudeness, I had to see how you would fire under demand. Also, I come into this world and the thrones of heroes shoves the fact that the Russian Empire is still alive and kicking, albeit under different names, and the rest of us are lost. It is infuriating to see how history had panned out - but this will change. Formal introductions then: Hello, Killed. My name is Rider, and this is riding hood - I suggest you step back."

Her hands glowed with a black light - the same light that accompanied her summoning, and a giant mass of bloodred metal bigger than rider appeared in her arms, one that looked, beneath all the spikes and funnels and tubes, vaguely like a giant...gun? It occupied half of the small room, and there was a noise coming from it, a sort of whirl and a roar and a-

It was a heartbeat.

A heartbeat.

The roar was a heartbeat, in and out, a constant rhythm to it, yet somehow, paradoxically, still feeling like a distant echo.

And the whirl-

It was breath. Perhaps not in the sense of air, but it was breathing.

"You are much bigger than in life, riding hood. Have you been feasting on the tsar's soldiers in hell? Or canadian scum? Say hello to your new servitor, riding hood. Her name is Killed, do not make her her namesake. We going to war again, and this time, we are killing them all." Rider said, a small smile on her face. Riding hood purred appreciatively, which came out as a tormented scream from the deepest abyss of satan's hell. As if anticipating her question about why her noble phantasm wasn't a...ridee, Rider simply added, almost as an afterthought. "It is in the name."

 

[UltimaCircuit]

Luca's Apartment/Vicinity

"What time period I'm from? It seems that my reputation and achievements have already been forgotten. How sad. I will not tell you when I was born, for it would give too much away and I still do not completely trust you - sorry if that seems offensive. Though, the last time I was alive and walking about the earth was in between the years 2000 and 2005.... it seems that you guys have not really advanced that much, considering the look of you apartment - sorry.... again."

Archer did not want to seem so rude right off the bat, but it seemed to her as if almost everything unimpressive was put up into one place - her master's home. She removed herself from the couch and stood up, looking for a certain thing, and that certain thing was about ten feet away from her. With a smile, she grabbed her master's hand and dragged him to the door. With her free hand, she opened the door and out the two went. Once outside, she released her masters hand and looked in awe at the city before them. The lights from the city pulsated with a warmth that she had not experienced during her life. Cars, very advanced compared to her time, littered the road as they traveled from one point to another. Snow slowly fell from the sky and onto the ground, forming large clumps that would eventually become a plaything for children the next morning.

A huge grin came upon her face. She was about climb to the top of a building and hop around the city, but she did not. She did not want to tarnish her image right in front of her master. She put her free hand to her mouth and coughed, regaining her composure.

"Master, for our first course of action I believe that we should travel about the city so I can learn of vantage points that can be used during this war. Also, since I have not given you something to call me in public, I will now. Just refer to me as Silia or 'Big Sis' since you do not look... old. Me being your big sister would be a good cover for the two of us."

 

[Mosaic]

Master of Archer

[tr][/tr][tr][/tr][tr][/tr][tr][/tr][tr]

From the sounds of it, the servant's ascent into the thrones of heroes only happened around a hundred years ago. The woman was very frank as she answered his question. He was about to speak when the servant suddenly approached him, grabbing his hand. Wondering what the servant was thinking, Luca followed as she led the two of them out of the small apartment. Archer stopped once they were out the door and seemed mesmerized by the scenery. She looked rather pleased as she looked out towards the city, like a child going to a festival for the first time. The snowflakes melted in her white hair as her hair fluttered in the cold breeze. "…?" Luca noticed Archer looking at another building, before she turned her attention him and coughed. Luca listened quietly as she suggested that he referred to her as his older sister. Old sister, huh? So she knew that he wasn't normal. He glanced back at the door of his apartment. Now that Teresa was gone, he didn't have anyone to act as his parent in case the neighbors decided to come talk to them. Having Archer act as his older sister as a cover was a good idea. They were both foreigners, no one would question whether they were siblings or not. "Alright." He smiled. Luca looked out towards the city. "Since you're an archer, you're free to go scouting on your own." He turned his gaze back to Archer. "But I don't want to send you out there until I know about your abilities. If I don't even know what you're capable of, I won't be able to form any strategies." [/tr]

 

[RareSecret]

Vivianne Lucille Aufort

Lucille felt intimidated by the crimson eyes that seemed like they were looking into her soul. Who knows what's going on in the servant's mind while he was staring at her? "Your Saber Servant has come in response to your summons..." The servant stated in response to her question. "Saber." Lucille whispered to herself in amazement. Saber was rumored to be one of the best cards you could pull. She was actually able to summon a Saber unlike her great-grandfather who summoned Caster a few Holy Grail Wars ago. Even though she managed to summon Saber, she could still lose to another servant.

"Saber is fine...You can call me Saber." The servant spoke. The servant's eyes finally stopped piercing her as they scanned her bedroom. She let a sigh out as she finally felt relief from those eyes. After a while, the servants eyes looked at her again but not with the same intensity as before. "My sword will henceforth be at your side. Your fate is henceforth my fate. The pact is now sealed." Lucille smiled. It seemed that Saber approved of her and that'll make the war a lot easier. "I'm pleased to meet you, Saber." Lucille replied as she jumped off of the furniture she was sitting on. She walked towards the servant and stopped right in front of him. Lucille then curtsied. "May we both work together to fulfill our wishes."

Lucille then walked away from the servant and messed up the magic circle drawn with chalk with her foot. "I don't suppose you know the layout of the town too well. I have only been here for three months so I don't know much about the layout either, but I can show you the places I do know. I think it's best that we go for a walk." With that said, Lucille perked up and from her bedroom and into the living room. Since she had her white blouse, red skirt and knee-high socks on she was almost ready to go. She took a black coat with silver buttons from the coat rack and put it on. She placed her black shoes to one foot after the other too. She unlocked her door before she remembered something. "I don't think your armor is appropriate for modern-day Japan. I think it's best you change."

 

[Phantom Zero]

Ilsesviel von Einzbern and Servant Lancer

Prelude to War
Location: Einzbern Castle, Germany
Time: 7:00AM

Cold winter winds howled outside of the chapel, the chill making its way inside. It was an aged building, evocative of times long past, though still grand and beautiful nonetheless. Its stone was smooth, like perfectly carved marble, and the stained glass depicted not images of a church, but of milestones in the work of its owners: the Einzbern.

For its size, the chapel was empty and silent. Neither the sound of steps, nor whispered prayers on the wind. Just the howling of wind and the shifting of its frame. There were no figures of household servants or members of the reclusive family. Just an encompassing emptiness. It was truly a place with more ghosts of the past than people of the present.

...And still, it was not even close to the emptiness of the castle looming over it. The home of those that dwelled in this spiritual land.

The chapel doors creaked open and slammed shut, and another ghost entered. Her pale hair and porcelain skin were otherworldly, but her crimson eyes.... were cold and full of mortal bitterness. Ilsesviel von Einzbern strode towards the front of the chapel, before removing an item from her pocket and haphazardly tossing it onto the altar. Before her lay a summoning circle engraved into the floor. The symbol of doom for the six who had come before her.

And yet, it was also her one hope.

The hybrid raised the hand bearing her Command Seals and chanted:

"Ye first, O silver, O iron.
O stone of the foundation, O Archude of the Contract.
Hear me in the name of my great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg.
Let the descending winds become a wall.
Let the gates in four directions close, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked road leading to the kingdom rotate."

"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
Five perfections for each repetition.
And now, let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead!"

"—Set.
Let thy body rest under my dominion, let my fate (doom) rest in thy blade.
If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail and if thou wilt obey this will and reason, then answer my summoning!"

"—I make my oath here.
I am the person who is to become the virtue of all Heaven.
I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades."

"Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words,
come past thy restraining rings,
O keeper of the balance—!"

Upon the utterance of the first few lines, the circle began to shimmer and a supernatural mist began forming, billowing out and around the summoner. As the Master chanted line after line, the shimmering light became brighter and brighter, the roaring smoke became louder and louder, and the pull of prana became stronger and stronger. Until finally, it reached its apex.

The roar of prana was the only audible noise as the world went white.


Location: Einzbern Castle, Germany
Time: 7:05AM
~~~~~~~~~~

Black smoke swirls inside the circle as silver and dark blue prana sparks like electricity from within. First Lancer's spikey royal blue hair could be seen within the chaos, than his scarlet eyes, than his shoulders. Suddenly a bright white wall of light engulfs Lancer for a few moments before it all fades at once revealing all of Lancer as he stands before his new master. His green short spear resting lazily against one shoulder as he slowly looks down on the white haired maiden before him.

'Hmm....She looks fragile, but I can feel a strong Magic within her....' After a moment of examining his new master, Lancer drops to one knee, kneeling with his head slightly bowed before her. "Your servant has heard your summons, if you are thy Master fair Maiden" His thick celtic broque could be heard in his deep, husky voice as he addresses the lady before him with respect, though there was a hint of charm to his tone as a slight smirk comes to his lips.

Location: Einzbern Castle, Germany
Time: 7:06AM

Ilsesviel stared at the Servant before her impassively. No surprises here: this man was exactly the one the Einzberns were looking to summon. And even if it wasn't, her Master's Clairvoyance indicated that she had summoned a being of immense power nonetheless. This Servant was the face of her salvation, the one thing she absolutely needed. Victory was incredibly - no, impossibly important. "Indeed I am, Servant Lancer," she finally answered, voice spoken with a definitive hint of determination in her tone, "Or should I say ********* *********?"

"But let's not waste time on pleasantries. Come now," Ilse said, turning on her heel and striding towards the exit of the chapel as she waved Lancer over to follow, "We have a plane to catch, and it wouldn't be prudent to miss the Holy Grail War."

***​

Location: Fuyuki City Airport, Japan
Time: 7:15PM

The private jet touched down on the runway with a THUD!, waking the heir of the Einzbern from her long slumber. They were finally here. Fuyuki City, the setting of failures past. Well damn that. This time there had to be no mistakes. Lancer would defeat the other Servants, and then she'd finally get the one thing she desired more than anything else.

The white haired lady exited the jet and glanced around the surrounding runway. Nothing of note, no Servants, no Masters. She waited outside the stairs leading into the jet, arms crossed.

"Lancer," Ilsesviel spoke imperatively, "What do you think?"

Caster

Location: Master's Crummy Basement 2: Electric Boogaloo
Time: 7:17

"Tch."

Caster backed away from his Master. His arms were crossed, and the white haired youth looked at her with a disapproving and grim expression on his face. "You're a magus right?" he questioned, seating his disapproving figure atop of a pile of assorted books as he rotated his hand to suggest he wished for a response.

"Any decent magus should be able to negate my crappy Mystic Eyes by channeling prana to negate it. How troublesome. I've got my work cut out for me this time around," the Servant sighed matter-of-factly, before plucking a book from the top of the pile and idly flipping through it. "Hmm. What's this...? " he remarked, having apparently just switched priorities from his question into the contents of the pile he was sitting on. He picked up another and then "Hmmm"'d harder as he delved deeper into the pile, apparently not actually reading but rather just skimming for the important points.

"...So girlie! Looks like your family specializes in origin casting," Caster remarked, tossing the third book to a pile in the corner, "How fun! It's unorthodox, I love it! ...But it's probably not all too useful to pass down in a Crest, eh? Now then, what's your specialty?"

 

[Hologram Summer]

Taka was certainly not going with the former moniker that his Servant suggested as it was a dead giveaway to his true identity. "Let's go with Berserker then." nodded nodded the young man in approval. The onmyoji's mind was still boggled as to how he would utilize this Heroic Spirit in the upcoming battles. If the texts he studied were correct, a Servant from the Berserker class were once warriors who had gone berserk in battle at some point in their life. So why did the holy grail summon the Servant he had right now? It just didn't add up...

He was caught off guard by his Servant's question, taking note that the man possessed great observational skills amidst the grip of madness. Taka flashed a weary smile on his lips and began collecting the dogū figurines he had used earlier. "To be perfectly honest, yes I am somewhat disappointed..." sighed Taka, bending over to take the clay statue near his Servant's feet. Berserker then went on to elevate his worth, guaranteeing Taka of victory by having him as his servant. He wasn't quite convinced yet that victory was at the palm of their hands but Berserker's words gave some reassurance at least. "Hm hm hm, I'll be counting on you then Berserker." chuckled Taka, extending a handshake towards his Servant as a formal sign of his cooperation.

"My wish? Hmm, well I joined this competition for different purposes you see." started Taka, taking the last dogū from the ground and stuffing the lot in his bag. "I want the world to recognize my magecraft as superior from the rest. I wish to restore Onmyodo to its former glory and winning this war would pave the way for that." explained Taka, his eyes glowing with optimism as he did. "As for the wish, perhaps something would occur to me once we get there. For now, let's focus on besting the other Masters and Servants."

With his cleanup done, Taka decided that it would be best to return to his workshop and get started in formulating strategies with his new ally. "We'll have to do something about your appearance. The mark you've left in this world has made you easy to recognize." suggested Taka.

 

[Nevvy]

Setting: The Kanzaki basement
Time: 7:18 pm

Right. She probably could have broken out of the mystic eyes with a bit of prana but she hadn't really been able to think straight at the time and her magic knowledge was a bit limited anyway. It wasn't second nature for to use it to fix problems.

"Yes, I am a magus..." she said, not really winning to argue over the point that she wasn't a very good one. After all, she couldn't handle any element well, couldn't manage the simplest of curses, and had only the smallest capability with healing, "My magic revolves around spell stacking and physical enhancement."

She purposely avoided saying that her origin was effort because it was about as deplorable as it sounded. Her father hadn't passed down his crest before he died and she wasn't sure that he would have anyway given how much he cared. The servant had already basically deckared his supremacy and was thumbing through their stuff. While she didn't really care about it, it was kind of rude.

"So what if I'm not that great of a magus? I'm still your master," Rayne said, feeling uncomfortable with the current situation but unsure of how to establish that she was not going to be a mere prana supply battery. She still had no idea who this servant was and was far too intimidated to ask but it was clear that h ed was doing more of scoping her out than the other way around.

----

Setting: the shrine
Time: 9:02 pm

The fuhrer took Taka's hand in his with tears in his eyes before giving him a hug.

"So you too have tasted the bitterness of ridicule and defeat, being treated as second class and laughed at by society. I truly feel for you as my own Germany was trampled upon once too, made to eat dirt and wallow in the embarassment of having lost as the devils took everything from them. It must be this that drew me to you," the dictator declared, completely ignoring personal space. He stepped back when questioned on his appearance, though. He was aware that he had lost the war but not much between then and now.

"Just what mark upon society might I have left?" he asked with a grim tone, all too aware that the victor wrote history as they pleased.

 

[Akashi]

S A B E R, #3366ff

He stood there, clad in armor, listening to the young girl before him. She was quite the lively one. Especially after the formal greeting she displayed. A smile almost came across his face, before his Master walked away. She definetly piqued his interest. Saber decided to follow her, before he stopped in his tracks. "Yes, Master. I'll do my best to honor your wish, and to obtain the Holy Grail for you.." He firmly denounced, before he decided to move, and follow her, towards the exit.

Moments later, he had a brief stop by the door this time. As his Master kept on speaking, she made a fairly good point. With the knowledge the Holy Grail had bestown upon him. This was definetely not the era he came from. It, at the same time, made him curious as to where he was. "Yes, Master, if that is your wish.." Standing there, he gazed around the apartment, only to notice a few squared, but thick books, or thats what he thought they were. He grabbed one of them, and looked inside, from a page to another.

It was apparently a magazine, from the current time and age. His crimson eyes narrowed down, as he kept exploring the interesting thing he was holding. He could see that there were people in the book, in some unusual clothing, but as he kept on going, he got the gist of it. "So this is what the people wear nowadays.." Saber was thinking out loud, as he flipped onto the next page. One attire specifically drew his attention. "Hmm.. I like this piece of clothing.." He uttered.

Clasping the magazine with one hand, his armor glowed for a second, before it disappeared into the astral plane. It switched with the clothing he saw in the magazine. It was basically an attire or a costume, which he would have no idea about, a general wears. The color of his clothing was black, with a white shirt underneath, along with a black tie. It resembled an elegant tuxedo/suit alot, though a hat followed thereafter, placing itself on his head. He was also wearing black gloves, and black shiny shoes. "Would this do.. Master?" He asked for her opinion, followed by him bowing his head, respectively, since she knew more about this than himself.

He grabbed the hat with one hand, as his white silky hair fell down, with small bangs on both the sides. His crimson eyes gazing upon his Master. However now, Saber inspected her for a second, noticing the prana dwelling inside her and the type of Magus she was. She was a fairly adept one at that. Perhaps she was also the right one the Holy Grail chose for him. After hearing what she had to say about his new 'look', he decided to ask her a few questions.

"Master, if I may.." He started, after he followed her out the room. "What should I, perhaps, call you.. Master?" He posed her a simple question. It was basically a matter of give and take. For Saber, the best course of action was to ask her the same thing she did, earlier, and get some additional information.

"Also.. What day and age is this? What era are we in?"

 

[Accelerator]

Freyja van Falken, pink

Tch....

Freyja clicked her tongue in retort to the Servant's remarks about her. She had summoned a servant that she was confident that would be a great match for her personality but to be belittled by the very same servant she summoned was the greatest humiliation she had ever personally experienced. If she was one of those tsundere characters portrayed in many of those japanese animated programs, she would have already thrown a tantrum for the Servant's disrespect. However, she was certainly not a tsundere. She knew better than to be swept by her own emotions as she is fully aware of how it can cloud one's judgment. As such, she merely let it pass for now. It is to be expected that such a battle-hardened veteran would look down upon a particularly young looking girl. But as the old saying goes, one must not judge a book by its cover.

"It is unwise to judge me according to my age, Assassin. And for the reason I have purposely summoned you... There are numerous. Class-wise, I summoned an Assassin-class servant because of personal reasons. The Falkens were forced to live in the shadows while the more influential, bigger families basked in the light. As such, it is only fitting for I, Freyja Telesma van Falken to summon a servant that operates the same way as I do... Working from the shadows. Assassin, I did not choose the other classes because you are the one most suited to be my partner. Besides, we have other advantages as well and I know you're aware of it." Freyja stated in a calm yet stern voice.

 

[Artorias]

Assassin, red

He listened to her long sentence, his armor disappearing off his body as he was left in a traditional type of clothing. One that symbolized his people and from where he really came from. No weapon was by his side though as he crossed his arms and gave a slight bow. "I meant no disrespect My Lady...I just thought that someone with more battle experience would summon me for the Grail." He was unlike other Servants. He was probably more Loyal than any of the other servants, and not because she was so demanding or because she summoned him purposely and with a relic. He was a man of loyalty, though History remembers him as a Assassin and nothing more. He let out a small sigh before standing straight up and looking at her.

"Falken...that is not a Japanese surname." He suddenly blurted out. He didn't know much of the West, but he assumed her name was from the Western Countries. His eyes studied her for a moment before glancing at his surroundings. They were in what seemed like a basement. A very dark and damp basement, how fitting for an Assassin to be summoned in a room that fitted him. He chuckled to himself softly before getting his composure back and looking over the small woman in front of him.

"So, My Lady. What is the first order of business. The war will start shortly and we need a plan." He was in no way taking charge of this little partnership, just stating the obvious so she didn't pay attention to calling her a child earlier.

Also, he did not care that the style of clothing has changed. The kimono he wore now was comfortable, easy to move in and it was just meant for when he wasn't inside of his armor. The world was new to him and all the common knowledge that flooded his mind was taking quite a bit to get use to. So many things have changed, but one thing always stayed the same.

How to kill someone from the shadows.

 

[Accelerator]

Freyja van Falken, pink

Freyja could only sigh when he heard Assassin's assumptions towards her. It seemed he thought she lacked the necessary battle experience to win this war. But he was much much mistaken. She needed to get these things cleared up as her servant has definitely little faith in her abilities in spite of his loyalty.

"Oh I have experience, my dear Assassin. In preparation for my training, my family had dispatched numerous mercenaries and mages alike to dispose of me. I dealt with them accordingly but they had served their purpose in providing me the general knowledge of live combat and survival. Don't worry, I did not kill most of them. Just the ones that needed to be taken care off in such a manner." Freyja told him nonchalantly.

A satisfied grin appeared on Freyja's face uppon hearing Assassin's reply. She truly had summoned the perfect servant for her. However, there was one thing she needed to ask her servant before plotting their actions.

"Getting down to business already? I like your style, Assassin. However, I need to ask you one thing first. What do you desire from the grail? I, on the other hand, carry the hopes and wishes of my family. It is to break free from the shackles that had bound us to the shadows and stand alongside, if not above the other families. In layman's terms, what my family desires is equality if not superiority. Now I ask you, my servant. What is your wish for the Holy Grail. Only when we know each other's desires can we truly understand each other and work hand in hand in achieving our goals." She asked inquisitively.

 

[RareSecret]

Vivianne Lucille Aufort

"Would this do.. Master?" Saber asked after he magically changed into the outfit displayed in the fashion magazine that her father sent her from France . It was his attempt at making her feel more at home in Japan. "Magnifique!" Lucille exclaimed. The outfit reminisced a butler in a way, but the formal suit suited him and his role so well. She had to be surprised that he would choose something so fitting. "Looks like we are ready to go." Lucille said to Saber as she opened her front door and into the hallway.

She walked down the hallway and into the elevator with her servant following her all the way. Inside the elevator, Saber asked her a few questions. Like any good master, Lucille responded. "We are in the 22nd century. To be more specific, December of the year 2104. I don't really know what they would call this era here in Japan," The elevator opened on the ground floor and she stepped out. Lucille walked towards the exit as she talked. She made sure to wave at the security guard at the desk to let him know that she was going out. "You can address me as anything that you like other than Vivianne. I usually go by Lucille so if that suits your taste then go ahead and call me that." By the time she finished her sentence she had already walked out the double doors.

Lucille stepped outside into the snow and thought a little before she planned the route they were going to take. "First, is the park. Then, we will walk passed the school without actually stopping there so you can get a look of it. We will end our walk around Fuyuki City with us standing on top of the building so you can get a view of the city. You may not be able to see the little details but it's pretty up there." She explained to Saber. Lucille then gave a nod to herself to verify the plan within her head before she started to walk in the direction of the park.

Lucille arrived at the park fairly quickly since it wasn't too far from her apartment and she knew the way since it was one of the first places she visited when she came to Fuyuki City. She sat down on one of the benches available as she looked at the scorched park. "No need to stand there. You can sit." Lucille said when she noticed Saber standing. "This park is in really bad shape. It doesn't seem that bad since it is night time but during the day it is so sad. I can tell that there was a fire here but the story behind that is unknown to me."

 

[Hologram Summer]

"W-Wait a minute! Get a hold of yourself, Berserker." gasped Taka when Berserker the teary-eyed Servant all but lunged at him and started invading his personal space. He then went on to say that his and Taka's story paralleled each other as the reputation of his own country has been run to the ground after they lost the war. The onmyoji pondered if that was why he had summoned this Berserker in the first place. Hmm... He may have a point there. The clan master told me that the Holy Grail chooses a suitable Servant for each Master.

"Hmm? You don't know? I've read that Servants should have all the information they need to assimilate into the era they've been summoned. Perhaps the process is gradual rather than instant?" asked the young man when his servant inquired about his reputation in modern times. "To put it bluntly, you were depicted as a vicious tyrant who plunged the world into the chaos now known as World War 2. Your crusade to elevate your country's supremacy has been considered as a genocidal bid for power. Your persecution of the Jews has been viewed as complete madness through prejudice. Your life and legacy is taught to children all over the world as a cautionary tale to never follow the same path you took in life." he explained. "Any educated man or woman will be able to discern your true identity with just one look. We shouldn't give that advantage to our opponents."

Taka was thinking of creating a charm for Berserker to cloud the perception of those who would look upon him but he was worried that it would be ineffective against other Servants or magi who were more powerful than him. Having his Servant modify his appearance would be a better course of action.

 

[Akashi]

S A B E R, #3366ff

Saber was satisfied with the reaction from his Master. Following her, he stepped into the elevator, and a few minutes later, walked outside and past the receptionist and the security guard. He did not pay much attention to them, he just inspected his surroundings as they eventually exited the building. "I see.. So this is the 23rd century..." He repeated her words, thinking how advanced the world may have become, or if anything from his own past would linger around in the current day and age.

His attention was brought back from the chain of his thoughts, as her Master preferred to rather be addressed as Lucille, and not Vivianne or Aufort. "Very well. Lucille it is." He simply agreed, though with small smile plastered on his face. Walking beside her, as the weather was quite mesmerizing. The ground was white. Trees were covered in snow. Snowflakes were literally dropping down from the sky, just like rain. It was definetly not the first time he saw something like this, but it had been such a long while since he could feel the cold touch of the weather, the climate and the atmosphere.

Moments later, the plan was to visit a few places, such as a park, and the school his Master was attending and anything else which was deemed neccessary for him. Saber was actually getting used to the 23rd century. Having been summoned by the Holy Grail, every important detail for the current time he was leaped into was still burning into his mind. The knowledge bestowed upon him was very interesting. He also knew that this was also the city where the many Holy Grail wars had happened.

Minutes later, they had arrived at their first destination, the park. Listening to Lucille as she told him about the park and a significant tale regarding the place before them, he couldn't agree more. As he looked around their surroundings, he could feel the tragedy that had strucked the park and how many lives were lost. "I'd rather stand, Lucille.. Just in case..." He respectively said no to her suggestion as he gazed around, and walked next to the bench she was sitting on.

Diverting his attention towards his Master, he spoke up. "You never know if another Servant is around. Albeit I would sense them. I'd rather be on guard at all times. Like I mentioned earlier, your fate is henceforth my fate. And if anything did happen to you, it would affect me. And that works both ways." He thoroughly explained his reasoning for declining her offer.

Looking back at the park, he had an inkling about why it was in its current shape, the park, that is. "I can also sense that this park was through some tragic event in the past, and many lives were perished here. Just like you mentioned, something awful occured here.." Saber strongly stated. Even if he was not a part of the countless wars in Fuyuki City, he knew that the Holy Grail was at the center of it. As seconds passed by, he narrowed his eyes.

His expression turned serious, a glimmer of glint was shown in both his crimson eyes. "Things won't be easy from now and for days to come. So let me ask you this, Lucille. Are you ready for whats to come?" He openly asked her. He wanted to know how strong her commitment to her Servant, to achieve her goal, to win the Holy Grail was. He wanted to see if she had the strength to survive in the hurdles to come, but most importantly, if she had the guts to do whatever it took in order to get what she wanted.

 

[Artorias]

Assassin, red

He listened to her and didn't speak a word. So she murdered people that her family hired? Would they really try 100% to kill the daughter of the person that hired them, it seems like a set up and very hard to believe, but he didn't question it. Instead he nodded his head, his long, midnight black hair bobbing slightly as he did so. It was very common from the time he came from for men to have long hair and no one thought about it. He didn't like the basement that they seemed to converse in, a small frown coming across his face before it was turned away at her question.

She wanted to know his wish already? Well, his wish was a selfish one but one great enough that the Grail would actually summon him. His wish made him think however, would it come true? "I wish to become a real Samurai. History remembers me as a Murderer and not as the Honorable man I really am..." He chuckled at the thought of it. It was a foolish wish, and he would explain why it would be foolish to her.

"However if we do win and I get my wish...then would this of really happened? I mean, if I become a Samurai in the past then I would of never become your Servant as the Assassin class...then this whole thing would of never happened." He may only have general knowledge, and this whole paradox thing was part of it. Would his wish come true if he became a Samurai? If he became a Samurai then he would of never wished to become a Samurai, meaning he might not have the chance to become one. It was too much to worry about, he could only hope he was granted his wish.

"That is my wish, to be remembered for my honorable deeds on the battlefields...not to be remembered as I already was." He wasn't content with his past life. He grew up, thrust into the role of becoming an Assassin, one without real honor. His true passion lied being on the battlefield, honorably and fighting for his Lord. Even if his achievements in life changed, and he was no longer a hero for his people, he would be content.

"Maybe I will think of something new when the time comes. Maybe I will wish for Japan to become the mightiest country...." The general knowledge from his Master flooded into his mind about World War 2, and the role the Japanese played in it. He shook his head in silence before looking towards his Master.

 

[Pyralithia]

Servant of Ilsesviel von Einzbern, #08c24c

Lancer stood up looking down at his new master from his 6'6 height, he felt like a giant standing before her but that wasnt anything new for him. Absently twirling his spear around with one hand he gives her a nod of acknowledgement an impressed light in his eyes "It seems I have been summoned by quite the strong Master." He states with mild pride in his voice, following behind Ilse he lays the spear against his neck/shoulders both forearms resting on each end lazily. "We're to travel then? I must say missing the chance for battle would be highly dissapointing. But I imagine my armor is not suited for your century...." Stopping just outside the chapel he closes his eyes taking a deep breath as a dark blue light engulfs him from the neck down, after a moment it fades. Just like that his armor is gone, replaced by khaki pants, a black skin tight tank, black combat boots with silver skulls down the sides, and a navy blue/silver biker jacket.

Grinning he steps beside Ilse "Now...Shall we?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lancer grimaced slightly as the aircraft landed with a jarring THUD! His hands, now clad in black fingerless gloves, were securely gripping the arm rests. Glancing to Ilse he makes a "Tch" sound as she awakes with no concern, he on the other hand hadnt slept a wink since the blasted machine they were riding upon left the earth he liked oh so much. Once the Jet finally stopped taxiing Lancer relaxed slightly, getting up with Ilse he follows her as they depart the hellish machine.

Taking a deep breath of the nice, fresh, unfiltered air he lets out a relieved sigh as his boots hit the ground. His scarlet eyes scan the area around them with a feral keenness his spear currently in spiritual form so he didnt attract unwanted attention. "I think I rather ride on horseback for a week straight than fly on the contraption once more." He grouses truthfully, thick sarcasm in his tone, before getting to what Ilse truly wanted to know. "I am no Mage Mi'lady but I can feel the leylines and the Prana that runs within them just by standing here. This town is indeed the The Holy Grail's battleground." His voice was void of all sarcasm, taking a deadly serious tone as he gazes at the city lights glimmering in the distance. He could already feel the tension, the bloodlust, in the air, the war was about to begin. A devilish smile comes to his lips, his pulse rising in anticipation of the battles to come