Michiko,
Hotel Room Summoning

Vision slowly returned to Michiko, rubbing her eyes every now and then as she stared up at the confident figure she had summoned into being. Eyes now corrected, she took in Lancer with a couple of slow astonished blinks. At some point along the line, she'd forgotten to close her mouth completely. Heroic Spirit indeed, being in the presence of this woman, the feeling she put out, was enough to overwhelm the bookish girl, pushing her into a stunned silence.

Lancer's words broke her out of the stupor, the introductory speech even helping the girls confidence a little. Where she thought she was destined to die in this war, now she only felt it was likely she was going to die. Better than nothing. She slowly stood, suddenly dropping into a deep bow before her Servant.

"Michiko!" She squeaked out, frowning at the sudden loss of control over her own volume. "Kuroda Michiko. You don't need to call me Master." The girl tried her best to look up at the Lancer, anxiety rising in her gut. She took a deep breath, trying to find some of her fathers nature within her.

"Welcome to the War, Lancer. Um... considering this is the first night, I guess I should go announce myself to the proctor, right? Are you supposed to come along for that?" She tried to keep things going, as not to lapse into an awkward silence which would only serve to torment the poor girl. "Unless you want to do something else, of course! I mean...this is also your first night in this world, so I can understand if you want to go out..." Now she was rambling.

She really wasn't cut out for this.

---

Xiang,
Alleyway Summoning

Well, that certainly was not something she was expecting out of her master. Marianne seemed to be able to walk the walk, as well as...look the look? Bleh. A pleasant surprise, one which showed she could definitely work with this Master to get things done. There was one matter which she definitely intended to bring up - that being the other girl present who Marianne had taken with her. Gave her a weird feeling in her gut, but it probably didn't matter. Anything Marianne intended to do with the girl, Xiang had probably done worse at one point.

Xiang followed her Master's lead, jumping from her standing position to a mid-way point of the alley wall, head angled to look over her shoulder to get a good glimpse at the window. She then pushed herself off, going through the air at a high angle and through the open window and into the safe house with no visible effort. She lands with a practised grace, arms crossed. Xiang took in the safe house with an appreciative nod and grin. This room hit all the right spots with her - comfy but practical.

"Two, if you'd indulge me." Xiang made her way over to the couches in the room, making herself comfy by laying her legs across with with her upper-body propped against the rest at the end.

"First, when do you want to get started? Second, what's with her?" Xiang nodded to the unconscious girl with an arched brow.

"Midnight Planning"
Marianne's Safehouse, Septum

---

Marianne smiles to herself and takes a lengthy drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke up towards the ceiling and watching it rise. For just a moment, silence fills the warmly lit Safe house, but its owner does finally break the silence and speak-

"Regarding the girl, she is a leftover from my summoning preparations. I took her in case I ended up needing more blood, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Now she is probably going to turn out as a midnight snack, in order to recover my energy. Virgins are quite good for that, you see?"

"Now, as for our plans for the war..." She sits up straight and leans over the coffee table, looking over the map placed meaningfully atop it. "I think that it would be in our best interests to reserve this night for reconnaissance."

"Once we've rested a little, I was thinking that perhaps we should survey this district of the city, to see if any other Masters may be present in the area. I am no magus, so any skills you have that might help us in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Regardless, once we've determined either the presence of enemies or otherwise in this region, we can return here and make our preparations for tomorrow's war."

Now, Marianne sinks back into her couch and smiles at Rider. Once again, she asks, "Anything else that you think we should discuss, Rider?"

---

"Partnership"
Butcher's Shop, Septum

---

Colour returns to Saber's skin as she begins to visibly blush, embarrassed by the fact that she was being lifted up and tended to by her Master. If she was not so weakened, she would have likely pushed her Master away and walked to the table herself, but it seemed like that was not an option. Her Master carefully sets Saber onto a nearby table, before getting to work on healing her injuries.

Saber apologizes, "I'm sorry, Master.", before coughing up a small bit more blood than before. She doesn't speak again after this, allowing her Master's healing magic to restore what damage her internal organs had taken before she finally lets out a sigh of relief. Her breathing stabilizes, and when she finally voices her thoughts on the situation, her voice seems steady and clear.

"Thank you for the assistance, Master. I don't know what happened with the summoning, but the physical damage I received seems fully healed."

Now that she was able to talk freely, Saber's french accent was more prominent Her expression was pleasant, but clearly quite tired. Suddenly, she frowns as if noticing something was wrong, and immediately puts on another apologetic smile.

"There is, however, the matter of damage to my spirit. I do not know how extensive it is, and I will not know until I enter battle, but I seem to have lost some of my skills..." She pauses, feeling for her hip and finding the hilt of her sword. She smiles slightly, but her next words are just a continuation of the earlier ritual.

"We have yet to finish our contract, Master. It would help with my recovery if we could do that as soon as possible."

With more grace than before, Saber sits up from the table and steps on to the ground, once again kneeling before Beatrice in order to continue the ceremony. She looks up at her Master's face in the gloom, smiling with appreciation for what she had done for her. Once more, she speaks the ceremonial words...

"Master, my Lady, do you accept my blade?"

As her aria subsided and the green glow slowly began to faded from her Servant's body, Beatrice opened her eyes to look upon Saber once more. The young woman's wounds seemed to be fading at a stable rate along with the green glow, and Saber seemed to have the presence of mind to stop straining herself after giving a short apology.

For her part, Beatrice just gave the Servant of the Sword a soft smile and waited for the green light to fade. The girl seemed to dip back into silence after that, aside from the heavy pants of her laboured breath; the woman thought it would be inappropriate to say anything more right now. She'd have plenty of time to tease her later, after all.

At any rate, the healing was soon done; Saber's breath stabilized into a healthy flow, and with a sigh of relief thanked her Master for her efforts to help her.

"No problem, Saber. A Master has to be vigilant and alert at all times if they intend to support a hopeless Servant," Beatrice said, in the same tone as she had addressed Saber with before, simultaneously expressing care and teasing the Servant.

She couldn't quite make out whether or not Saber had heard her; it was quite possible the trauma of the last few minutes were still blurring her senses. Perhaps that was for the best, but Beatrice didn't quite get to dwell on that thought; almost immediately afterwards, Saber's expression changed from pleasant, if elated, to disconcerted, and then to apologetic.

"... Well, that's a problem," Beatrice muttered aloud as her Servant described the effects of the seemingly-botched summoning to her, shifting from the dual-prongued tone of before to a more sincere, troubled one. From what she'd heard of Servants, it was the matter of skills and their unique Noble Phantasms that could decide battles rather than the simple matter of raw parameters; if Saber had lost the use of her skills, she'd be at a heavy disadvantage to others who retained theirs. Her Noble Phantasms could potentially make up for that, but a loss of both skills and parameters made that seem unlikely.

'Hopeless indeed,' Beatrice thought to herself, crossing her arms and sighing as she began to ponder her options.

The sensible option, as far as she could discern, would be to sit out of the War for however long it took Saber to return to full strength. That had its own problems, however; they would still be in danger if they were targeted by a powerful Servant, and the recovery time could be extensive for a complicated being such as a Servant.
That and it would be totally BORING to sit out of the biggest battle royale on the face of the earth for god-knows how long. Beatrice pondered means of trying to advance the process; but as far as she could discern, these means would either deprive her and Saber of resources that could be better used later or were... well... she somehow doubted Saber would consent to that kind of thing, and she wouldn't waste a command seal on something so ridiculous. Even if Saber was kind of cute...
...
'Let's not think about this right now.' Beatrice thought to herself, a light red flush filling her cheeks before she was snapped back to attention by Saber continuing.

Oh, that was right. They hadn't properly formed the contract yet. That would certainly help; at the very least, the flow of prana would ensure the Servant's eventual recovery.

So, as Saber lifted herself from the table and knelt before her, Beatrice nodded to the girl and offered her her own hand as she spoke;

"Master, my Lady, do you accept my blade?"

And holding out her hand to Saber, Beatrice affirmed their contract in an authoritative tone;
"I, Beatrice Edelfelt, accept the fealty of Servant Saber. I place my fate in the balance of your blade as you place yours in the balance of our contract."

Xiang,
Alleyway Summoning

---

"Ooh? My Partner is a Jiang-Shi? That'd explain why you're so good at jumping."

Yeah, okay, she wasn't expecting that her Master could be a cannibal but there were worse things. Possibly...not really. Xiang let out a sigh, throwing her legs over the side of the couch and standing once more at full height. She approached her Master with slow, deliberate steps. Xiang wasn't exactly the sort to give a flying pigs ass about these kinds of things, but if it was her Partner then she felt she had a duty to at least do or say something about this. So she did what came naturally.

Xiang leaned down to eye height with her Master, and brought a hand up menacingly...only to flick her lightly on the forehead.

"Eating people is bad manners, incredibly rude. Not to mention how bad that looks if you're intending to go somewhere good after you die. You should really think about these kinds of things!" That was the voice of a mother chiding her child, a very experienced mother at that. Xiang huffed, shaking her head at her Master's antics. "I'll let it go for now, because you did it before I arrived - but from now on, at least make an effort to pick a scumbag or something." She wasn't mad, just disappointed. With that she focused on the clearly more important matter, the War.

"Getting a lay of the land - good idea." Upright once again, Rider moved to look out of the window they'd jumped in from, taking a deep breath. "I'm not the most magical of individuals either, believe it or not. Don't believe I ever met a magus in life. Seems we're a bit out of luck in that department then." She brought a hand to her chin, the other arm acting as a rest for the elbow. She remained silent for a few moments, thinking.

"I have a plan, if you'd here it. It may be a bit risky, but if played right we can make up for our inability to immediately identify Masters."

Annaliisa


London,
One week ago...

Annaliisa sat atop a building, yawning in boredom as her legs dangled over the edge. She sighed, popping open a bottle of lemon Fanta, and took a swig as she continued to wait for her target to pass by. Just then, a vintage BMW came down the road, and Annaliisa smiled as she saw a tiny beetle hanging on to the car. Good. At least her familiar hadn't been noticed. Her demeanor instantly shifted from boredom to excitement, and with a surge of prana, she Reinforced her body and summoned flames around her arms and legs.

“SURPRISE, FUCKER!” She bellowed as she crashed down on the roof of the classic car, punching a hole through it as she slid inside, landing in the backseat, right next to the magus she was seeking. Annaliisa threw a punch directly in front of her, and her fist went through the seat and head of the driver of the car, exploding both from the impact and heat of her punch.

“Wha-” The magus didn’t even have time to utter a word in confusion before Annaliisa drove a flaming elbow into his throat, crushing the man’s trachea instantly.

“Shouldn’t have gone around telling everyone in the Clock Tower you were chosen for the Holy Grail War, idiot.” Annaliisa scoffed at the fresh corpse as she let the flames surrounding her limbs dissipate, pulling out a knife in one hand and a cell phone in the other. She dialed a number before resting her phone between her cheek and shoulder, using one hand to steady the magus’s body as she hacked his right arm off with his knife.

“Hey, Eric?” She asked, returning to her bored expression now that there was nothing to entertain her. “You still practice surgery magecraft? I’ve got something I need you to transplant onto my arm.”

___


Septum, apartment
Present time

Annaliisa nodded to herself in satisfaction as she performed the finishing touches on her summoning circle. An ancient, rusted dagger lay in the center of it as she began to fill the circle with several vials of her own blood. Over the past week, she’d drawn out a little of her blood each day in preparation for the ritual. The catalyst had been taken from the car of the magus she’d killed for her Command Seals, and the man’s credit card had funded her flight to Septum, as well as several meals at five-star restaurants.

At least no one would be interrupting her here. She’d hypnotized the couple who lived in this apartment as soon as she arrived, and with any luck, they’d be well on their way to a month-long vacation in Tahiti. From her family’s credit card records, her sister was clearly already in the city, having rented out a hotel room for herself. Sloppy of Beatrice. Then again, Annaliisa had blatantly told her that she hadn’t been chosen for the Grail War, so she supposed Beatrice wasn’t going to expect that someone had access to her account records. Well, maybe if she got lucky, the two would get to have a nice, drawn-out brawl. God knows they’d never be able to do so at home.

With the ritual preparations finished, she stood up and held her hands out, beginning the chant.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
Repeat five times, shatter once filled.
... I announce.
Your body is bequeathed to me, my body and fate lies in the balance of your sword.
In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by these terms, this reason- then answer me.
Here is my oath. I am the one who shall become all the good of the world, and I am the one who shall lay out all the evil of the world.
You, seven heavens clad in the words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"

And the room exploded into light.

_______________________________

Rider

The Servant opened his eyes, surveying the scene before him as the Grail pumped knowledge of the modern era inside his mind. So, he had been summoned for a Grail War, then. Any wish he desired would be granted? Rider paused for a moment. His true self in the Throne of Heroes had desired to go back and undo his greatest defeat, but even that paled compared to the opportunity that awaited him in this era. What he had once considered to be the world was really only a mere country, and there was so much more that he could unite under his banner. Yes...if he won this War, then he would wish for the opportunity to bring the whole world under his rule. No more foolish wars. No more fighting among the people of this earth. His ambition would unite man under a rule of strength and reason.

And to that end, he would need to win the Holy Grail War. Rider looked into his summoner’s eyes, whirling his cape back behind his iron armor.

“You who have summoned me: I am Servant Rider. Are you to be my Master in this war?”

Hotel Room - Summoning location.

---

Oh, it would seem she had been summoned by an innocent little dove. If this was still in her time, she would have taken her under her wing. But there was something that irritates her somehow...

"Oi..."

Lancer stepped closer to Michiko. With one fluid movement, Lancer raised Michiko from the bow, and raised her face to hers.

She then pinched Michiko's cheeks, pulling as she did so.

The resulting strange faces she could make was more than Lancer could stand, sending her laughing loudly.

"Master! Do not be so uptight. While it is perfectly understandable to worship me and feel awed by my great presence, doing so in the open will also inform someone that there is a magnificent Servant under your command. I request worshiping me like the great person I am be limited to only safe locations. Come! Let us meet this... Proctor."

With that, Lancer turned into spirit form, invisible, and intangible, but still ready for combat.

Lancer did not mention anything about her diminished capabilities however. It seems there wasn't a lot of prana channelling to her from her Master; Lancer will need to conserve and manage what she had. She didn't think it would even be possible to summon her greatest trump card at this time, not without draining a lot of prana from herself. But... she had no idea what sort of alternate ways she could gather prana with, aside from consuming the souls of others, and that was the one thing she will not, and will never do. Any Master who wishes so would have to use a Command Seal to force her to.

"Lead the way, Master. Err... Michiko." She spoke with a disembodied voice.

"Resolutions"
Butcher's Shop, Septum

---

Once Beatrice accepts her Servant's oath of fealty, Saber wastes no time finishing the contract and binding herself to the power of the Command Seal.

"Then the contract is completed. On my blade, I swear that I will grant your wish, no matter what it may require of me."

She rises to her feet now, bowing her head one last time before redirecting her attention to her surroundings. She was still a little unsteady, but the healing and prana supply had greatly improved her condition, enough so that she had no difficulty standing on her own.

Curious, she turns to Beatrice and asks "Master... this place, is it your home? I do not mean to complain, but this does not feel like a fitting dwelling for a woman such as yourself, and it seems to be rather...poorly stocked for a base of operations."

---

"Warm start"
Marianne's Safehouse

---

Marianne laughs pleasantly at her partner's observations, but quickly becomes confused by the reactions they caused. Her own Servant was...scolding her, and for something she had to do no less. She puts on a resigned frown once Rider flicks her forehead, responding with a little bit of wisdom she had picked up from many years of hunting humans.

"Hrmm, Rider, if I don't eat healthy I won't be able to maintain good health myself. It's nice to comfort yourself in knowing you're only eating the scum of the earth, but it does little good when you end up sick to your stomach and covered in sores."

"Still...if it bothers you that much, I'll hunt less wholesome meals, even if it ends up weakening me in the long run."

She doesn't seem at all satisfied with the compromise, but she doesn't discuss the topic further. Instead, she idly rests her head on her prey's lap while listening to Rider's suggestions. Hearing that she had some sort of plan, Marianne wastes no time prying for details.

"Well, let's hear it then. We seem to be of poor advantage, and it's still early in the war, so such risk will not prove especially harmful if we are able to gain any sort of edge through it."

Assassin- Nemo

As the apartment room filled with light, all fell silent after the initial rush of air; and slowly, ever so slowly, the room seemed to drain of all feeling.
The light cleared, revealing fog and smoke billowing out from the spent magical circle; the warm glow of the circle was gone, with only a cold, dead dimness in its wake. Whatever light had been in the room before was now gone, undoubtedly snuffed out by the force of the ritual that had just taken place, as was the same with whatever had warmed it.
It was cold, dark and silent.

And then that cold, dark silence was shattered by the sudden sound of footsteps.
From the smoky fog created by the summoning, emerged a tall, gaunt man; clad head to toe in iron armour defined with all manner of scars, gashes and dents, soaked in a coppery sheen of blood. A helmet upon his head revealed his face; and a pair of piercing, icy blue eyes.
He stepped from the circle and the fog, the scarred armour not making so much as a sound as it glided fluidly over itself, and stared at Annaliisa for a single long moment.
The air around him was impregnable; he seemed more like a ghost or a phantom than a glorious spirit of old, with the only indication he was any more than a grim spectre the flow of prana now emerging between himself and the girl before him.

The moment passed. He stared.

And then he let out a deep sigh and waved his hand to disperse the fog.

"Are all these bloody special effects really necessary?" He asked in a deep, smooth voice, in a tone that seemed to convey sarcastic irritation of all things, a the dark atmosphere fading away in an instant as the fog seemed to dissolve into nothing, as he reached up to remove his helmet.
The man could now be seen to have a head of somewhat untidy black hair, not overgrown but simply unruly, and the imperceivable, phantom-esque aura that had hung about him just moments before was completely gone as he muttered something under his breath about 'magi' and 'theatrics'.

Another moment passed. The man tucked his helmet under his arm and, looking at the girl before him with some manner of interest, knelt before her in a display of fealty.
"I am Assassin, the Servant called by the Grail to act as your dagger in this coming war. I ask you thus; are you my Master?"
_________

Beatrice

Beatrice nodded to Saber as their contract was completed, withdrawing her hand and walking over to the other side of the room where her tools were located as her Servant pulled herself to her feet, missing the bow directed towards her as she went.
She hadn't bought a whole lot with her; just her catalyst, what she'd need to draw a summoning circle, and what she'd need if she bumped into a fellow Master on the way over. Hitches aside, the night had gone well; she wouldn't need to use Grasscutter tonight.
A shame, really. She'd hoped she might find at least one other Master to have some fun with before they summoned their Servant. Oh well.
too bad for them.

Whatever the case, it seemed as if she'd be bringing more back with her than what she came with; not only did she have Saber in tow, she'd helped herself to some of the packaged meat she'd found whilst preparing the cellar for the summoning. A simple spell would be enough to preserve it until she got back to the room and her cooler; and hey, it'd be great to have some half-decent food to cook when Saber and herself inevitably had to go stake a place out. Beat catching pigeons, anyway. Not enough meat on those little bastards for her taste.

It was then that Beatrice was distracted again from her train of thought by Saber; and as the Servant asked her if this was where she lived, Beatrice couldn't help but outright break into laughter.

"Oh, Saber, you are hopeless. No, this is my workshop. Not even my main one, even! Just set it up a few days ago so I'd have a place to summon a Servant in peace. I'm staying over the other end of town, though I'd be lying if I said that place was any tidier than this~!"

Annaliisa and Nemo

Annaliisa stared for a moment, surprised at her Servant’s irreverent demeanor. Weren’t heroes of past ages supposed to be more...heroic? Or at least trying to be? And then she shrugged. No matter. Hell, it might even be better this way. A knight in shining armor might have been grating to listen to after a while.

“Well,” Annaliisa brushed her hair back, an apathetic expression on her face. “I suppose. I did summon you.” Never mind that she’d killed what was supposed to be his original Master and stolen all of his goodies. “And the ‘theatrics’ weren’t my fault, either. Blame the bloody ritual for that one. Honestly though, you’re one to talk. You complain about showmanship and then kneel like some kind of knight?”

“Well, pardon me,” Assassin replied simply in complete deadpan, nonetheless taking it as a hint that his display had served its purpose, “And the question stands, Magi. Are you the one who summoned me here? Are you my Master?”

“Alright, yes. I’m your Master. Happy now?” Annaliisa sighed, turning away to pull out another bottle of her favorite lemon Fanta, taking a swig. “Bloody hell, are you going to be like this the whole time?”
“The ritual is complete, so yes,” Was Assassin’s initial response to Annaliisa, as he felt the flow of prana between the two of them strengthen as she confirmed their contract; and as she took another verbal potshot at him, he himself sighed. “Perhaps, perhaps not. I suppose it depends.”

Taking his attention away from his Master for a second, he took a look around the room; as of the force of the ritual that had just occured, the room had darkened, but that hardly mattered to Assassin. With the benefits his body afforded him, he could see clearly, if somewhat unfocusedly, in the dim darkness of the room.

He seemed to be in the living room; at least, that was the impression he got from the furniture and rolled-up rug shunted off to the side to make way for the summoning circle used in his ritual. The curtains were drawn, wisely enough, and there seemed to be several crates, packages and boxes stashed over in one of the far corners of the room. Nothing particularly interested Assassin outright; there was a strange, flat device propped up on a table that would have interested him had the Grail not dumped the knowledge about it straight into his head when he saw it. That killed the interest a little bit.

“That aside, Master, have you any orders for me? The Grail War begins the very moment a Servant is summoned; if you have any task you would have me carry out, I wouldn’t hesitate in issuing it.”

“Go scout around the city for yourself. I’ve already had a look in the past few days. If you see an enemy Servant, feel free to engage at your discretion.” Annaliisa shrugged, kicking back onto the couch in the room. “You see a Master, ping me over our link and keep them in your sight. I’m in this Grail War to fight magi.” She paused for a second, frowning. “And if you see a redheaded Master that’s female and kind of looks like me...keep her alive and not permanently injured.” Hell, this would have been easier if she’d gotten a Knight-class Servant. Now she just wanted to fly back to London for a kip and kick that idiot magus’s corpse for leaving her with a catalyst for an Assassin.

Assassin’s only response was to nod before fading and turning to leave; his only real thoughts as he left revolved around his Master’s motives. She wanted to fight other Magi? Then why summon an Assassin, intended to approach Masters in secrecy and kill them efficiently? Had she thought this through properly?

‘This could be a problem,’ Assassin just thought to himself as his dematerialized form slipped through the door of the apartment, before another problem suddenly occurred to him.
He paused, still dematerialized, and looked down at himself in spirit form.

As useful and intimidating as the armour could well be in a combat situation, it… left a hell of a lot to be desired for the practical purpose of reconnaissance or stealth. Damn that Innocent Monster skill, this wouldn’t do.

“I suppose, Master,” Assassin called out to Annaliisa, as he glided back through the wall and rematerialized in the hall, “That you wouldn’t happen to have a practical change of clothes that would fit me? The Grail seems to have dealt me an odd hand in terms of my Class situation; to make full use of Presence Concealment, I may need something less attention grabbing than, well-”

Walking into the living room where Annaliisa was still slumped across the sofa with her strange lemon drink (which Assassin had to admit looked pretty damn refreshing), Assassin gestured up and down himself; drawing attention to his bloodstained and scarred armour as he did so.

“- This,” he finished, dropping his arms as he stared at his lounging Master.

Annaliisa took a look at Assassin’s armor for a moment before nodding her assent. “Fine.” She jerked a finger towards the room to her right. “The couple that used to live here left some clothes. You’ll probably find something decent in their closet.”

Assassin just nodded before dematerializing and gliding through the wall of the room. A cursory search of the closet yielded promising enough results; whilst he would have preferred something else, the trousers and shirts seemed a decent enough fit for his frame, and the somewhat oversized old coat would be conductive enough to blending in. He’d just have to look for something better later, he supposed.

“Back in a few hours, then,” Assassin yelled to his Master from across the rooms whilst still dematerialized, taking just a few last moments to flatten down his hair with some leftover water in the sink before gliding through the walls and out into the night.

The Gates of Heaven are open. The question for the night, is of course who will close them. What an interesting tale, what a magnificent freak show, what an excellent troupe. Indeed, this entire war was the greatest show on earth~!

And yet, her master still managed to give it a run for its money in terms of entertainment value. Yes, she was an excellent master, the perfect master for her.

Except not really.

"Oh, sounds like someone needs disciplined~! I've never met a girl from Cipangu before, but you're a pretty bold girl, saying you want to be the one on top." Fear not, for her tone of voice and smile were completely normal and not disturbing at all. With that done, she turned to the other pair present and nearby. Oh, that means that they had come in allied, huh? What sort of faction could it be? That would be something to discuss with her master, though it seemed that both her allies had already acknowledged her presence. Excellent.

Now, all that was needed, other than information, was a place to talk about the information. Needless to say, a roof with 360 possibility for long range sneak attack was probably bad. That said, it'd probably be for the best if they went inside.

"Hello, 'allies', so, what's the plan?"

"I'll leave that decision to my Master, assuming of course that she and your own planned out a relatively appropriate base of operations. Though...considering their choice in summoning location, I do have to wonder."

Words spoken by an invisible Servant. The synchronization of Qi with the world had been decreased such that the words were still acknowledgeable, even if invisibility was still effectively maintained. The reason for this choice was slightly complex, it was more than simply the strategic desire to be out of sight.

Yes...it would seem that the world had made him the bearer of not one, but two curses. The only question was if he would ever be forced to use it.

"My own capabilities are well-suited to an open area like a plain, and the capability of vision there ought to be rather useful. If that's not conducive with everyone else, I'm capable of operating anywhere."

---

"Yes, indeed I am!"

William Ellis heaved out a joyous laugh as he spread his arms wide. In his own mind he was taking in the light of the World itself, basking in his own glory for what he had managed to achieve.

To a bystander, he appeared as the sort of individual who should be tackled and arrested for going onto a chlld soccer field.

"I, William Ellis, welcome you back to the world, my partner!"

Though it is a mistake to call the idiotic "foolish". William Ellis, or as that one Lord of the Clock Tower called him, "Quick Disks," was certainly idiotic, but he was no fool. As he spoke, Clairvoyance was naturally used on the Servant before him, and the inscription of runes upon the stone tablets he carried began.

"Now, Rider, what would you say about going on a walk around this landmass? I've of course seen the maps and whatnot, but it helps to legitimately see the landscape ahead of time, don't you think?"

Xiang,
Marianne's Safehouse

Well, when it's put like that it just makes her feel bad. Xiang sighed, rubbing her chin in thought. It wasn't particularly relevant, but this kind of conversation was good for breaking the ice a little. Better to have a Partner you can openly talk with after all.

"Can't be helped then..." She lowered her head, defeated by her Masters reasoning. "If that's how you stay strong, then eat as you wish. I will not impede you in doing what you must do." Xiang nodded. It wouldn't be the first time she'd allowed something unsavoury to happen under her watch. Such was the reality of the life she lived, nasty things happened and sometimes you just had to go with it.

She cleared her throat, going back to the matter of planning. It was a relatively simple idea, one she'd used plenty of times in life in situations similar to this. However, it was not entirely a tactic of her making - a certain war philosopher had that credit. Xiang had merely refined it. The Rider turned to face her Master, a mischievous smile tugging at her face.

"Tell me, Partner, how do you feel about the work of-"

---

Michiko,
Apartment Summoning

"Hnaaagh..."

Things were going well for Michiko. A few seconds past summoning her servant and Lancer was already making her look absurd. The girl flailed her hands a little in protest, unable to form whole words as her cheeks were tugged, pulled and pushed to make an arrange of silly faces. Lancer found it hilarious, Michiko just found it embarrassing. Upon release she cupped her face with a groan, taking in her servants words as she spoke.

"I-I was just being polite! I'm unsure what's appropriate when talking to a Heroic Spirit..."

"We can do that tomorrow when it's safer. We should just...look around, I guess? How much do you know about the modern world?"

In truth, Michiko just wanted to get outside for some air, this was just a good excuse for it. The summoning had sort of exhausted her, and being inside certainly wasn't helping the approaching mother of all headaches. Getting the lay of the land was the more productive option for the night. She continued to speak to the incorporeal form of Lancer, making her way towards the door.

Admittedly she also wanted to hang around to spend some time with her Servant. The older woman was undoubtedly cool - and she hadn't even done anything yet!

"A lot has changed, and I've never been to this place before. It'd be nice to check out the city a bit."

---

The Gardener,
Lakeside Summoning

"Mmh?"

Rider rubbed the back of his neck, looking at their surroundings for a while in silence other than the occasional hum and glance to William.

"That will be a very long walk." He said with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes. His hands came to rest at the back of his head, closing his eyes. "You do have a point though, Master. There's a map and then there's getting a feel for the land."

His Master was an eager one, perhaps overly so. Who could blame him? The promise of the grail was grand, but it was that prize which could draw out the worst in people. Then there was the laughter... definitely reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place who at this exact moement. Rider would not go as far as to call the man in front of him a fool, he could tell there was brilliance at work in his mind, but possibly overinflated. The type of personality he could handle in small doses - but hopefully the Gardener could work that out of him.

If not...well. That was a thought for another time.

"Is that it for introductions? I was hoping for something a little bit more social." The servant snapped his fingers. "Lets shoot questions back and forth, just so we know who we're working with!" Whoever Rider was, he was the happy sort, a jovial eagerness carrying on his voice.

"I will start. What do you wish from the grail, Master?"

"Relocation"
Septum

---

Saber blushed a little at her Master's comments, but her smile does not falter.

"That is...a relief."

She took one final look at the gloomy cellar, as if commiting it to memory, before walking towards the stairwell. Once she reached the foot of the stairs, she turned and asked, "Shall we leave, then?"

"Yeah, good idea. It smells in here," Beatrice replies offhandedly to her Servant as she finished packing up her things, as she made a quick decision; this still being a temporary workshop, she could stand to leave a few bags worth of equipment and supplies behind and come back for them later. With a mile or so between here and her hotel room, she would only take what was pressing. Namely, her jewels, her meat and the sheathed sword propped up against the table they were set down upon.
"Fair warning, Saber," She began, as she started to load up her bag with the stones and sausages, "Even if you're limited, you'd best keep focused on the way. I'll break any Magus who thinks they can get in a cheap shot, but Servants are another matter. If I die, I'm sending you a bill for it, straight from Hell."

Saber smiled at Beatrice comfortingly, "But of course, Master. I have pledged my sword to your name, for as long as we are together, I will never let anything harm you."

After this, something seemed to be bothering her. She didn't frown, but her smile seemed just a little less bright compared to before. She stood in front of the stairwell, pausing and quietly looking up it while she waited for her Master to finish packing; apparently deep in thought.

Beatrice, seemingly oblivious to the subtle shift in her Servant's mood, simply followed after Saber as she starts towards the stairs, hefting her bag and sword with seemingly no effort at all as she heads toward the exit.
In reality, however, the woman couldn't help but detect the Servant's mental gear shift; but rather than chase it up, she chooses to disregard it for now. Any more small talk can wait until they're back at the hotel, lest they give an opening to an enemy. She couldn't help but be curious about her Servant's lack of reaction to the casual blasphemy, however.

Saber follows the stairs upwards and into the dark of the Butcher's shop, carefully vigilant for any abnormalities in her surroundings. Even here, in what could be considered friendly territory, she would have to be especially careful for sneak attacks. Even with defensive spells in place, an Assassin would have no problem sneaking up on them...and with her weakened as she was, she wasn't sure that she would be able to protect her Master from multiple opponents.

The shop was deathly quiet, aside from the subtle sounds of her and her Master's breathing. Without speaking, the two of them carefully made their way out to the storefront.

Out into the cold night.
________
Assassin/Nemo

Septum was quiet at night, Assassin observed as he moved quietly through the empty streets, undeterred by the cold breeze that swept across the city.
The silence was only broken by the occasional passing car, and the even more occasional passerby. Nobody paid him any mind; even with his Presence Concealment inactive, he would be unidentifiable as a Servant, indistinguishable from some nightowl with poor fashion sense.

He'd been gone for around half an hour since he had first been summoned; already, he'd covered a dozen or so miles of the city, committing the layout of the place to his Grail-enhanced sense of bearing as he dipped in and out of the shadows to put on bursts of speed; as he took up and down the buildings of the place to broaden his vision.

'This is what became of the world after the war, eh?' Assassin thought to himself from his vantage point, high atop one of the taller buildings in one of the residential areas of Septum; the cold wind blasting into him as he looked out over the vast cityscape in the distance.
Far away, lights beaconed out without fear; his senses could pick out the sounds of movement and commotion in the near-distance of the greater city, and a cursory glance found that those walking the city streets did so without apprehension. Compared to the time he had emerged from, there was nothing twisted, dark or impure about this place; it was as if he'd come to a land he would have dreamed of all those years ago.

Assassin paused, and thought; and thinking done, he took a seat and sat there for a while.
And he smiled softly as he looked out over the city.

"Following Beatrice and Saber From Above"

Hungry... so... so hungry...

Thought the ghastly and disfigured looking knight as he followed the two as they left the shop. For a while, he continued to follow them without making any sort of needless action as to draw unwanted attention to himself. Though, the more he watched them, the more impatient and hungry he became. He couldn't help it. It was just who he was. His very being, his very existence for that matter was to corrupt, devour, conquer, and kill. That, is what this Servant's true purpose in life was. Growling through his disfigured, shark-like, and yellow teeth, the knight silently followed. He could remember his orders oh so very well by his Master.

"You may scout out the other Masters and Servants to see how they are, but you are by no means to kill them. Understood?" spoke the person before him when he was created. He could remember how mad he would have been were it anyone else giving him those orders. Heck, were it anyone else, he would have slain them there and inflicted all kinds of travesties upon their mangled flesh. However, this person was different. This was someone who he had all the respect for, and would die a hundred times for. So, he listened to the orders given to him despite how wrong they were and how silly they were against his very nature... his very fiber of his being.

Though, that was when he realized something. Materializing himself, the knight grinned with a sinister idea. His Master told him not to kill, but he never said that he couldn't have a little fun with those he scouted out. Focusing back onto the Master, he gripped the large blade dangling from his back with much enthusiasm, as a sudden vulgar and foul stench began enveloping the blade. A deathly green coated it, just before what looked like darkness itself began to pour from the eye-sockets of the helm and mouth of his helmet. Not only where they coming from there, but any other opening joint as well.

A blood-curdling laughter roared from the helm of the infested knight as jumped off the building and slid down it with his armored boots, before leaping directly at Beatrice; swinging his gigantic two-handed sword overhead onto her. He could sense and smell the Servant nearby; he was craving for a good fight and some time to kill and mess with his prey. If he had to beat this Master to an inch of her life to get the Servant to fight, then he'd do so if it meant for him to feed.

---

"The Chapel of Septum"

"Oh hey, our first guests... but damn, they actually look civilized," groans Kalameet as he stands up from the seat behind the altar and walks towards Regulus and Charlie. "So, I take it you two are here to get some information, or just to get yourselves properly introduced to The Overseer? Well, there's no need to, since I already know your names, I did send out the names, Mr. Simms, and... Beast, as you have been summoned," grinned the Overseer as he kicked his heel against the floor.

"You're being disrespectful to the holy chapel, again..." murmured the maiden.

"It doesn't matter much, it's just a building. Nothing more, nothing less. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delays in starting the war... been waiting on a few things-"

"He's lying by the way."

"-and I've just been wanting for things to be perfect is all. Anyway, now that you two have come all the out here to the middle of good o' Septum," Kalameet snapped his fingers, and as he did a tray of tea along with some small handheld cakes appeared, before gesturing them towards the duo, "would you like some refreshments?"

"I have no ambition for the Grail."

William spoke calmly as he pulled out a can of spray paint and a stencil for said spray paint.

"I've simply entered this war to show the magi who wish to seek the Holy Grail the utter power of a true distinguished magus, and the insurmountable gap in abilities. Though, when I do obtain it, access to the Akashic Record is certainly a bonus."

In other words, he was here for pubstomping.

"Midnight Assault"
Streets of Septum

---

As she walks a few meters abreast of the dematerialized Saber in the cold, peaceful night, the first warning sign that Beatrice suddenly comprehends is the sudden acrid stench that suddenly wafts out into the air.
The woman pauses, and stops dead in her tracks.
And then the second warning sign comes not even a second later as the silent air is shattered into utter chaos by a spat of demonic laughter; as something large, black and VERY ominous descends towards herself and Saber from on high.
"SHIT," Beatrice yells out, Od igniting within her as she prepares to reinforce her body-

But it wasn't necessary.

"I won't let you!"

Accompanied by an explosion of warm, protective light, Saber materializes directly between her Master and the imminent threat of the dark knight. There's only one move to make, she thinks to herself desperately. I just hope that I have enough energy to pull this off...

Something was in her hands now, something that hadn't been there before. Without wasting any time, Saber plants the newly formed standard into the ground and calls out a name that seems to shatter the world.

"Luminosité Eternalle!"

The dark knight's blade comes crashing down to strike Saber, but she shows absolute confidence in her weapon. She raises it to block her enemy's attack, causing a brilliant flash of light where the two knight's weapons met. Her expression quickly changes from confident to surprised, spurring her to place both hands on her standard and grimace at the force of her enemy's attack...

"The Plagued Knight"

"FINALLY!" roars the disgusting knight as green saliva spews forth from his mouth and onto Saber, completely ignoring the blinding light before him. "I've been wanting a good challenge like this! Master said not to kill... but he'll forgive me once I prove to him if you're worthy opponents or not!" laughs the tyrannical thing as he forcefully holds his ground and begins pushing back Saber. His green smoldering eyes brimmer ever brightly, with his black tongue tracing his lips as the excitement of battle fills him. The thoughts of torturing and killing these two slowly... first the Master by infecting her with all kinds of sicknesses that would kill an elephant, the idea itself causing him to laugh louder and louder with madness, while the Servant watches. Then, the Servant while feasting on her pure body. Corrupting it with all the world's diseases would make for a perfect trophy that would indeed make his master proud.

"I'ma get you both, just you wait and see... They will be pleased to see how well I've done in not only scouting, but taking care of you weaklings!"

Leaping back and letting out another blood-curdling howl. the plagued-filled knight swung his sword... which immediately caused a form of liquid to spray towards the two. "Come on! Show me just how well you two work together!" roared the knight as the liquid began to touch the nearby walls... which immediately began to dissolve; it was clear that the liquid was some type of acid.

" Our base of operations is on the plain out here. My abilities excel out here, which will make any kind of attack on us useless. It also sounds like you will benefit here as well. Now, for the most part, we will have to stay inside and turtle. Alexis isn't very mobile as it is, so one of you two Servants will have to constantly be protecting her. I'll be doing field work, with one of you two Servants. Now, I want the two of you to decide which one of you will be constantly protecting Alexis, and which one will be out with me. Or, if you two want to rotate, that is fine with me. "

Amarita began to walk down the stairs of the roof, gesturing the others to follow as well. Of course, Amarita was going to be doing all of the scout work every day, including today. Would it be easier working with her won Servant? Of course, but he was probably a better guardian. She could be wrong of course, and maybe Alexis' Servant was really the better protector out of the two.

The two Servants could decide that matter, Amarita had to prepare herself. She'd be heading out soon, and hopefully she would be able to gather some kind of information while she was out doing things.

Where would she go? Hmmm . .

I guess it depended on the Servant. She would need to make a split decision when that time came, which would probably be any moment now.

Either way, she would make sure that she returned with good news. She wasn't going to be walking away the loser in this war, let alone during the first night.

"Very well, Master. Surveying the land beforehand is a good tactic. Hmm hmm... As expected of the one who summoned me. And I must admit I am curious to see how this era had developed from mine."

"A lot has changed, and I've never been to this place before. It'd be nice to check out the city a bit."

The city was..... huge. Buildings that stretched up to the sky, these moving cars rushing through the streets. Had Lancer not been filled with knowledge of this era beforehand, she would have suspected sorcery or some sort of divine trick. That or she drank too much with....

She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the past she was once in.

In any case, she was a bit impressed with most everything. Knowing about them was different to actually seeing them in person. If someone were to tell her in the past there would be moving boxes powered by the liquified remains of things long past dead, she'd slay them for lying, and just because she didn't like people spouting random things at her. There seemed to be a lot of food in this age; there were vendors selling hotdogs and the likes. Though, like the city she came from, there were traces of filth and poverty, if one were to look in the right place.

The streets they walked through certainly makes it seem the city was prospering; there were a lot of people walking about, people in shops selling all manner of goods, those people giving out free things, and those people holding those signs certainly seemed nice.

"'Repent for the end is near?' I see, so you have oracles in this age as well."

Getting used to the fact that her servant had - and still was - groping her chest, Alexis managed to form an idea of calm and collectivity, ceasing her stuttering and sitting upright as if she didn't have a legendary spirit clinging onto her chest. It was at this moment, when embarrassment had left her mind when the primal senses had finally managed to warn her of what her ally and her servant had been alerted of long ago.

Her servant was abnormal. Although her stats and even appearance threatened to say failure, something about the servant she had summoned was just... primarily dangerous. She couldn't point out what it could possibly be, but that would be to figure out in due time. For now, it was late and it was time to consider their immediate options in a less open area. And with that, unlike Amarita who wasn't using a wheelchair Alexis headed towards the elevator.