Edward stood around, a bit flustered with his cheeks showing signs of the faint pinkish glow. This gave off signs that he was a little bit embarrassed at what transpired just now. He tried to shook it off as she listened to her, slightly going off eye contact from time to time.

What she said about this era being somewhat at peace, he tried to correct her by stating something until the light sound of shuffling was heard. He looked under to see the stone move on its own as it poked Lancer's feet... he had a dumbfounded look. It was smart but at the same time kinda ridiculous. It was a miracle that no child or waiter saw a moving stone toward their table. Yes, a miracle indeed.

"...what do you say, Master? Care for a change of the night's entertainment?" This was the distraction he was looking for, the distraction to keep his fidgety outlook from coming out. He stopped and slammed a fist down the table, looking like he shook from anger and then suddenly looking up at Lancer with an excited look, the gritting of his teeth should be enough of a hint.

"HAHA!" He spoke up, the majority of the tables turning to him with a surprised look. Edward grabbed hold of Lancer's hand as they walked out... of course leaving some money on the table despite not eating. No matter, it's just a teensy loss on the rich boy.

...

The "couple" walked out with the blonde rich kid holding his servant's hand tight now with both of them as he raised them up. "Do you have any idea where the fighting is?! If so! Lead me and we shall do battle in this first battle! LET US DRAW FIRST BLOOD!. He sounded quite enthusiastic about this fight. He knows full well what he's getting into... kinda... maybe?

@Feyblue

"Uwaaah!?"

Wait, why was Rider pulling her cheeks? Aaah, this wasn't right at all! He was trying to talk to her about doing what she wants?! The tiny, tan-skinned girl squirmed in her Servant's grip, pulling away from the Servant as much as she could. But, naturally, there could be no comparison in strength. Even a normal human would easily overpowered Estelle, a tiny, fragile girl with nearly no physical strength to speak of. It wasn't necessary to discuss how easily a Servant could do the same.

The moment she was released, the white-haired Master flopped back into her seat with a yelp, wiggling there for a few moments before sitting bolt upright and rubbing her cheeks. That was... that was... that was really mean!

"I know that, Rider!" cried Estelle, thrusting her hands down at her sides as she did. This was just... just embarrassing, too, having someone else treat her that way! "... But still... a wish is something pretty big, isn't it? It can be anything..."

She sank back into her seat, thoughts of her future swirling in her mind. "So I feel like if I take my family's desires into account, I can understand what I want better. I don't want to win and then be unable to decide what I want, right?"

This might not have been entirely true. But Rider didn't need to know that. She didn't need to tell anyone what she really wanted until it happened.

"Besides, I'm sure whatever conclusion I come to is something my family would have wanted, it's only natural!"

As if to distract herself from the embarrassment of her cheeks being pulled, Estelle folded her arms and let out a prideful huff.

"It's the Varianbec pride, united in ideals even when only one of us remains! Whatever I decide on will be what my family desired, I'm certain!"

This, at least, fell in line with what she both said to Rider and what she felt inside. The things she hadn't said to anyone.

@Blackstripe

---

Lancer sighed to herself and shook her head, but smiled nevertheless. Sure, she'd lost out on a nice candlelit dinner for two, but she supposed that was to be expected. It seemed regardless of who her Master was or what name he called himself, some things never changed. The man she served would always thirst for battle, for glory, for victory. So long as there was a prize to be had, he would seek it without hesitation or delay, overcoming all obstacles in his path. So, that hadn't changed... even in this peaceable era, where her Master was but an out of place boy on the cusp of manhood, struggling to make his way in a time and place that was ill suited to his ambition. Even if he didn't realize the truth of her mystery, and of the curse she had inadvertently borne with her upon the both of them, there were still some things that had remained constant. That, for now, was more than enough to give her reassurance.

Lancer gently steered their path into a darkened alleyway, glancing from side to side to ensure that they wouldn't be seen. It would have been a pain to erase the memories of anyone who might have witnessed what followed, and even more troublesome to hunt them down and kill them. "As you wish, my dear Master," She said, giving a gentle smile as she released the stone clutched in her hand. Immediately, it lifted off into the air, and floated steadily upward and over the rooftops to the west, retracing its steps to its destination.



Now, then... the only matter at hand was to follow it, but it would have been terribly boring to just run on foot. Not to mention that they'd be making a spectacle of themselves. She probably should have asked permission for what she did next, but... she was to proceed with all due haste, yes? Her orders had been given, had they not? So, grinning cheekily to herself, she abruptly withdrew her hand from Edward's grasp, and then wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, looking up with a sly smile.

"Now Master, do hold on tightly, alright?" This was his only warning before a second later, Lancer braced herself against the ground, then leaped violently upward into the air. In an instant, they accelerated far beyond the human eye's ability to track their progress, yet all that Edward would feel was a gentle breeze as they found themselves soaring ever-higher... and then completely failed to descend again. Lancer laughed to herself, hopping and twirling upon thin air, arms wrapped around her master all the while as if waltzing upon the clouds. With each step she took, a faint pulse of formless energy split the air beneath her like the beating of the wings of an unseen bird.



Dancing thus across the air, Lancer rapidly tracked the stone in its flight, soaring over the city with the ease of a casual stroll. As she drew closer to her destination, a golden light began to envelop her, and her previous casual attire began to be replaced by something else. A white cloak fluttered upon the wind, and gilded scales shimmered in the light of the moon as the Servant descended along with her Master upon a towering rooftop, overlooking the area surrounding the Church.

With a metallic clang, the spiked butt of a long spear with a curving blade of white steel planted itself in the concrete, and Lancer's own armored sabatons resounded against the pavement as she released her Master and strode to the edge of the rooftop. She stood silhouetted against the darkness of the night, the ornamental wings of her armor like those of an eagle seeking its prey. In an instant, she had been transformed from a young maiden to a radiant golden warrior, who thus stood sternly overlooking the battlefield below.

"Good grief," She sighed, shaking her head. It seemed that there was already a battle underway close to the Church, but she couldn't make out the details of who was fighting or what weapons they employed, as her view was obstructed by a large cloud of smoke. Elsewhere, her stone had gone off on the trail of some other Servant fast absconded, signaling that there were others still in the area.

"The war's only just begun, and they're all already trying so hard to kill each other." She shrugged, plucking her spear back from and giving it an experimental twirl, testing its familiar weight in her hands. Its undulating blade split the air cleanly like a thunderclap, sending a mighty wind billowing outward from the rooftop. The old rush, the old power, the old thrill of battle... She hadn't felt this way in far too long. Already, she could feel the old fire alight in her bosom, and she knew that this time, she would not fail in upholding the oath she swore.

"Well, whatever," She turned back to her Master, and spread her arms as if inviting him once more to an embrace. "The battle here seems quite dull, and it's unbecoming to interrupt when warriors are giving their all. What say you we go hunting instead for more elusive game, and seek those who've already turned tail and fled?" Although she spoke highly of matters of pride and honor, truth be told, those words meant little when it came to her reasoning. Rather, it seemed to her that intervening in an already desperate battle seemed far too likely to make herself - and, more importantly, her master - into the targets of the combatants already committed to the fight. But, if there was a Servant who had already run away, then didn't it stand to reason that they'd have done so because they were weak? It was hardly honorable to dispose of a fleeing, weakened enemy... But honorable though she'd have liked to call herself, seeing this war won was much more important than any sort of empty pride.

The impatient rich kid tapped his foot, waiting to be led to the direction of the battle. His entire form itching to see and hear the clash of blades between the Knight classes... at least he hoped it was between the Knight Classes...

"Now Master, do hold on tightly, alright?" Lancer spoke as she grabbed his waist. Which gave him a dumbfounded look. Why would she be hugging him now shouldn't she lead him already? "Now's not the time for huuuuuu-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Oh right... Servants could do that. Perhaps that's the one thing he forgot as his Servant leaped through rooftops toward the designated battlefield.

The "couple" landed on a nice vantage point. It is quite dark so it was pretty hard to make out who was fighting, no doubt about it... it had already begun and that filled his entire being with excitement. "Arsenal: First Set."

A glow of yellow light illuminated brightly into his right hand, the same with his left and one behind his back before a sword of steel (right hand), a kite-shaped shield of the same metal as the sword... only it had his family crest embedded on its center (left hand) and a long iron spear behind that could be used as a javelin if he felt like it. "Steel Skin (Reinforcement)"

A burst of yellow light came from him as he sighed out of the feeling of Prana that rushed out of his body. He was pumped. Real pumped. However, Lancer's suggestion to find someone who had fled wasn't something he'd wanted to do... unless of course it was an Assassin Class or a Caster Class since he believed those two are nothing but cowards who work in the shadows.

"The battle here seems quite dull, and it's unbecoming to interrupt when warriors are giving their all. What say you we go hunting instead for more elusive game, and seek those who've already turned tail and fled?" This concerned Edward... a lot... would she resort to that sort of thing? Not if he did anything about it.

The Scawthorne Heir looked around for any stones that might creep up towards Lancer. So far he hasn't seen anything.

"Well if someone did fled, they would have at least tripped on your little "detection runes". It led us here and whoever is currently fighting has no intention of leaving anytime soon." He said as he stretched, looking down on the battlefield with a grin. "And besides... if it's dull... let's hype it up a bit! It's not fun to run away from a fight! Don't be a coward and steadfast!" He said as he used his shield to bang his chest plate with a bang.

He's pretty stubborn and a bit arrogant. Should Lancer follow him into battle or further convince him about the ones watching as well?

@Feyblue

violet = speaking

lightcoral = thinking/mental communication with servant

---

She also dove away from the oncoming curse Mira had randomly cast in her direction, simultaneously putting up a quick ice barrier to protect herself, and thus by these things she managed to dodge the curse completely.

Yet, though this was her reaction at first she attempted to regain her face's color as well as her overall composure to ensure things did not go....poorly with what she did next.

As much as she loved her little adorable murderer, that fact that Jack was still a mental serial killer despite all of that had briefly passed by her mind as the thought of making the small girl breakfast had hit her. In reality, Jack had killed a lot of people, her mentality was more than a little skewed, and those were all things Elizabeth herself had kept well in mind...aside from this moment in time.

What had been an attempt to leave friendly feelings with another master had in fact turned into Jack, with her Noble Phantasms, assaulting the other pair the moment after Elizabeth herself had left the scene entirely. The drain on her prana from the Noble Phantasms activating, the feeling she knew was Jack initiating combat...it was not a pleasant one in this situation, though if she had given the order to do such a thing to her little girl it would have been a different story altogether on her end. But now, from the sounds of battle, the prana flaring up that even she could pick up on due to her proximity, and aforementioned things it was obvious what she needed to do next.

'Jack, disengage your Noble Phantasms, get away from the situation over there right this instant, come to where i am, and tell me everything you just did back there,' the female master communicated to her servant mentally, her tone taking on a notably more serious and lecturing note to it that even a little child could viably understand as essentially being 'Get back here now' at the very least. That, and Mommy was not completely happy right now with what she felt had just happened.

She did not sound as mad as she could be, given that Jack's skills would easily erase any memory of what Jack had just done, even in the case enemies had seen her or such. So at least that might mean...ah, yes. Perhaps this "incident" could be made up, as it were, and she could use this to her advantage. It was something, at least if the other pair didn't instantly attack anyone else who dared to show up after that...

Maria... had failed? No, that wasn't right. Maria had worked perfectly, unleashing its curse into an appropriate target and tearing apart their insides but... it was Saber instead. Saber that was too strong for the knives to tear apart in a single blow. Then she would just have to finish it manually; killing a heavily injured Servant inside the Mist before they worked out what they were really fighting would be easy for her--

It was a good thing that the Assassin hadn't remained in one place after launching the curse, as it made Archer's shots miss by larger margins than might have been expected; she had a chance to see them coming. What was that Servant playing at? If she got in and started fighting, then all they might do is take out Saber and her Master, which would make the assassination easier...

Which was exactly what the Master deserved. She had attacked--attacked and failed, but attacked all the same--Mother for no reason. It would be too kind to use Maria on her once the Servant was down, she would cut everything out one by one--

But Mother wanted her to retreat. Why? Why when she was so close to removing one of the biggest enemies in the war? It didn't make sense but she couldn't disobey Mother. The small Servant once again moved within the Mist, moving back towards the town--away from Mother, but it wouldn't matter; this gave someone like her alleys and paths to disappear between, moving across property boundaries and taking the long route around the Church, to circle up through its graveyard and arrive from behind.

Yet as soon as she was gone, the Mist rapidly dissipated, leaving no sign or memory of its presence--or anything about the attack itself save for the injuries inflicted and, perhaps, the signs of magecraft used.

Information Erasure: B

"We struck because they were going to attack, but Saber took the blow herself."

@Crusader Lord

That taste of iron in her mouth. It wasn't unfamiliar, but never before had it been caused by this sort of injury. Of all the damage that had been done to her body in life, she had never been afflicted by a curse that attacked the interior of her body like this. A curse that...

A curse...

A... curse...?

Ah...? She'd been attacked, but by what? By... by what? There was still blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth... still absolute agony burning through her body, but... there was nothing. Had it been Caster? To attack the interior of her body without harming the outside, surely that must be magecraft, strong enough to bypass her Resistance. And yet there was no longer anything here. Had Caster attacked simply to test the waters, and then retreated just as quickly? Such an act was fitting for a class that could not fight in close combat with proficiency, but... but...

Ah...

Panting, her legs trembling, Saber fell to her knees, catching herself on one hand before she could hit the floor. Some crimson droplets still fell from her mouth. She couldn't remember the circumstances, but how...? There was blood everywhere, she'd vomited blood, and yet she couldn't remember why?

"M... Master..." she gasped, forcing herself back to her feet, doing her best to steady herself. The damage done to her body could wait. What was important now was Mira's wellbeing.

"M-Master... you... were not injured, were you...?" she asked, turning to face the other girl as she did. Regardless of how her body felt now, it didn't matter when her Master needed protection and there was an enemy Servant nearby.

@Blackstripe@Raineh Daze@Feyblue@Crusader Lord@WanderingSpirit

@Crusader Lord

Hasabe went down to eat a second slice before realizing that there were only two slices of pizza remaining. How does she eat so fast? If she's only a summoned spirit, does that mean she has to eat? And if she doesn't, would that just leave Hasabe starving in the end, especially with how much pizza slices she can consume per minute. Thinking fast, Hasabe snapped his arm up to close the pizza box, taking it away and to the fridge. It can't be helped, after all, that they need to go to the Church now, but he also wants some food left for when they get back. He makes sure to take his trusty Hydroflask and fill it with the Pepsi before Faber just goes and chugs the whole thing. He's trying to move fast, though obviously he can't match the speed of a Servant. Still, though, Hasabe's something short of an idiot, so he'll just keep on trying regardless. He hopes his suddenness catches Faber off guard, as well, at the very least.

After securing his dinner, Hasabe grabbed his car keys. He was still wearing his work uniform, but he didn't feel like getting nagged on by Faber about him taking too much time changing instead of getting in the Church. He grabs his favorite jacket from off his coach, throwing it in as he made his way to the door.

"Alright... let's head on over to the Church, then. Like you said, it's best we checked in as soon as possible." Hasabe said, as he zipped up his jacket, looking to Faber.

"Oh, but you won't leave any marks on my car's roof while you're on top of it, right? I don't want to ruin its paint or anything..."

---

Lancer sighed. She'd been hoping to avoid a direct confrontation so early on, when she still didn't know anything about her enemies, but if her Master insisted, then she'd have no choice but to do as she'd been ordered. She gazed down from the rooftop as the smoke that had clouded the battlefield began to disperse, leaving two figures standing battered but unbowed at the center of a large crater. One appeared to be some kind of Witch, and the other was a blood-soaked woman in strange attire that Lancer didn't recognize. Were they both Heroic Spirits? The Witch certainly more looked the part, but she didn't seem to have been the one fighting, which was quite peculiar.

On paper, this looked like a perfect opportunity to attack. At least one of her enemies was severely wounded, and the other seemed exhausted. With her speed and power, she could hypothetically dispose of both of them without much difficulty. But, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that moving recklessly would only be her own undoing. Up until a moment ago, there had been a battle going on inside that cloud, but now, the two people who'd emerged appeared to be allies. Aside from that, she'd seen something fired into the smoke, and neither of these two seemed as though their wounds had been inflicted by a projectile. That meant that there was at least one more Servant in the area, if not more, and that one of them was, more likely than not, allied with the two figures in the area. Even if they hadn't intended it, the two wounded combatants had become the bait in a quite enticing snare. But Lancer wouldn't allow herself to be blindsided by such obvious treachery. She wouldn't risk losing the one she served through another underhanded trick...!

Even without taking the other Servants into account, however, there was no reason to be hesitant when one was on the verge of death. If she pushed the attack, then she'd be immediately struck by the wounded Servant's Noble Phantasm. Without any idea how it functioned, or how the attack would be delivered, she'd have no choice but to trust to blind luck to survive. Even if fortune was on her side, which wasn't guaranteed, she likely wouldn't escape unscathed. At that point, her advantages would be negated, and she'd be faced with a straightforward battle. Even without the intervention of other Heroic Spirits, it wasn't certain that she would win.

In that case, she'd rather err on the side of caution. Even if it meant letting one enemy escape for today, it might give her valuable knowledge of her enemies' capabilities to simply investigate without committing fully to a fight. If she made her own presence known, but didn't approach any further than she had to, it was possible that the unseen supporter of this injured fighter might deign to show himself, and at that point, she more than trusted in her ability to counterattack.

"If this is the foe you wish me to face, then so be it. However, I have but one request, and a word of warning." She stared her Master gravely in the eye. Even if she phrased it as a suggestion, it was obvious that she meant her words as an order to be obeyed. "There are likely yet other Servants in the area, but I don't see their Masters anywhere. Until such time as they reveal themselves, let us stick to their example. Allow me to fight in your place, and demonstrate for you what I am capable of. After all, you yourself said you didn't want to fall prey to an assassin so quickly as this, did you not?"

Whether or not he heeded her words was up to him. Even if he did decide to join the fight, she was certain she could protect him... But things would be easier if she didn't have to worry about having to use that. So, giving an elegant bow, she hopped gingerly backward, shouldering her spear as she fell over the edge of the rooftop and began to plummet downward. Giving a slight twitch in midair, she bounced seemingly off of nothing and flipped head-over-heels, soaring gracefully into the night, and towards the battlefield...

---

As the smoke cleared, releasing its choking grip on her lungs, Mira coughed, taking air in heaving gasps. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get a view of her target. A view... what had been obstructing her view in the first place? No matter. Her breath was returning, and the enemy was nowhere to be seen. She'd seen some kind of flash through the eyes of her familiars, just before her curse could connect... And... was that ice? A barrier? Impossible! To think that her strongest curse had been turned aside so easily... Even if she'd cast it hastily, the amount of Prana it would take to stop her bloody needle in its tracks was immense... There hadn't been time to recite any lengthy incantation or make any preparations, which meant... it had been effortlessly stopped in its tracks by a single action?! To think that such prodigious magecraft could even exist within the modern world, that a modern mage could exceed her own power without even exerting herself... it was unthinkable! Impossible! There must have been some sort of mistake. Had this been the work of some sort of tool or artifact she hadn't counted on? But what if it wasn't? What if the enemy Master was simply that far above her own level? The outside truly was terrifying...

But there was no time to worry about that. The unseen Servant had fled without a trace, its attempted murder having failed. In that case, they couldn't afford to stay any longer, either. They had to get to neutral territory, quickly, before anyone else could attack them!

"S-Saber!" Mira called, rushing to her Servant's side as her vision cleared. She reached out her arms to support her without thinking, too scared of her enemies to be afraid of her own protector and guardian. "I wasn't hurt, no... B-but more importantly than that, are you alright?" Even though she'd tried fixing her Servant's injuries, there was a lingering influence that resisted her every effort. As a master of curses herself, its nature was obvious to her - but its form and scale were both utterly incomprehensible to her. Having burned so much Prana trying to attack the enemy Magus, it was difficult for her to make any progress beyond closing Saber's wounds on the surface. This would do little more than ease her pain a bit, however, since the inside of her body was still struggling to contain the curse... If they had to fight again, then-

Metal clacked against metal as two hands clapped together in applause from directly behind the Witch. Mira spun, her eyes taking a moment to refocus in the moonlight before the figure standing there, on the brink of the crater, became clearer to her.

The woman's golden hair fluttered in the breeze, glistening like gold beneath the light of the crescent moon hanging in the sky behind her. She was clad hear to foot in matching hues, her arms and armor as radiant as the dawn. Her skin was milky white, and her eyes as bright as emeralds. Just by standing there, it was as if the world around her seemed dimmer by comparison, drowned out as everything was by her own radiance. She was more like a doll, or a statue, or a work of art than she was like a Human being - an impossible, peerless beauty the likes of which Mira could only compare to the heroines of her storybooks. There was no doubt, then, this woman was... An enemy Servant! But how? Her flock had been circling the area the entire time! How hadn't she noticed her until she had already landed? Could it be that she'd simply been moving so fast that the eyes of the Witch's familiars couldn't even see her?! Then that meant... was she as fast as Rider?!

Lancer smirked to herself, finishing her round of applause and giving a respectful, elegant bow, flourishing her sleek, long-bladed spear as she did so. The tip planted itself in the dirt with an audible snap, and she leaned casually against it, crossing her legs one over the other. "A splendid show, a splendid show indeed! Saber, is it? Judging by your words just now, and your current, unenviable condition, allow me to venture a guess at the happenings of this spectacle." She placed a fingertip theatrically to her chin in an obvious gesture of contemplation, before pounding her fist within her open palm. "Ah, I know! You endured another Servant's Noble Phantasm to protect your Master, didn't you? Truly, such selfless loyalty does you credit, Servant of the Sword!" Once more she applauded, her grin growing wider.

Of course, even if they were enemies, and even though nothing save her own precaution was preventing Lancer from trying to take Saber's life right now, she nevertheless meant every word she said. That selfless dedication to preserving her Master's life... it was exactly the same devotion she herself lived for. Her respect for this other Servant was thus meant entirely in earnest. However, her words also had a hidden meaning. She knew that Saber was entirely spent, and had just sustained an injury that would cripple her fighting abilities. Her praise was thus, at the same time, an acknowledgement of the fact that as they were now, she held every advantage.

Now that she'd made it clear exactly where they stood, however, she wasn't planning on making the first move, or even obstructing the other Servant's path. Indeed, her position was tenuous now, and she knew it... Already, she was likely being targeted by the remaining Servant, and if she showed hostility towards Saber, then she'd have two enemies to face instead of one. However, although she appeared to be simply lazing about without a care in the world, in fact, she was keeping a close watch out for any further attacks that might be launched, either towards her or towards the Servant in the crater. Between her speed, her preparation, and her resilience to such attacks, there was no doubt in her mind. The moment this unseen ranged assailant took the bait, she'd be able to defend herself, then chase him down before he could escape and go into hiding again. And, if he didn't, then if nothing else, she might at least be able to learn some of Saber's abilities by feinting an attack and then withdrawing in order to bait out her Noble Phantasm...

Mira's heart sank. This Servant had been listening to their conversation, which meant she knew exactly what sort of condition Saber was in. If she tried to attack them, then it would be all over. She'd have no choice but to use a Command Seal to retreat to her manor. It was a valuable thing to waste, but if it was a choice between either that or certain death...

"You're Lancer, then," She murmured, hiding a grimace as she hung her head. The enemy really was all around her, just waiting for the chance to strike. If only she'd stayed home and sent a familiar in her place! This was all her fault... It was her fault Saber was injured, because she'd been careless enough to trust the words of an enemy Master who was only trying to deceive her...!

"What makes you say that? I could be any number of things! Maybe I'm just a Caster with the good sense to armor myself before a battle?" She raised a gauntleted hand, as if admiring the craftsmanship of her own attire, before giving a quiet giggle. "Ooh! I know! I might even be Berserker!" She hopped away from her planted spear, raising both hands above her head and curling her fingers like claws. "Rawr! Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawr!" She growled quite enthusiastically. Mira bit her lip. She was being mocked by this annoyingly smug woman...! Lancer didn't seem to notice the young Witch's mounting anger, as she craned her head over one shoulder, cupping a hand over her mouth and giving a very painfully audible stage whisper. "Master, I think I've managed to fool them!"

"Your tricks aren't fooling anyone!" Mira interjected, cutting her off with a yell that managed to be quite forceful despite the fact that her voice was on the verge of breaking. "For one thing, we already fought Berserker, and you're far too fast to be a Caster! There's only one kind of Servant that matches your description, and you know it, Lancer!"

"Spoilsport," Lancer sighed, reaching out and snatching up her spear with the air of a disappointed child gathering up her toys and going home. "Well, whatever. Well, then, Master of Saber, what will it be? Don't tell me you're going to have that beaten up Servant of yours fight me. You should have realized by now that you don't stand a-" She shouldered her weapon and took a step forward, her smirk broadening. That is, until something snapped beneath her leg. Was that... a string? No, a hair? Lancer's eyes went wide, and she immediately backpedaled on instinct as for a split second, a creeping numbness ran up the offending limb, as if it had turned suddenly to wood. She gazed down incredulously, as even though the curse was purged from her system a moment later, the fact that it had even had an effect on her at all was nigh unbelievable. And on top of that, not even she had even noticed it was there! Just how careless could she be?



Mira's hopes rose in an instant as the approaching Servant stepped right onto the patch of ground she'd cursed earlier in her fight, triggering one of the many taut hairs she'd stretched like wires around the area. In an instant, the curse backed by a full aria she'd recited in her head poured into the Servant's body... And then was immediately banished, a moment later. Of course, she'd been a fool to expect that something like that would protect her from a member of one of the three Knight classes, especially since she'd been diverting so much of her energy to Saber at the time she'd cast the spell. Even so, Lancer gave a nervous laugh that gave way to an admiring whistle. "Well, now that's just downright frightful. Don't tell me you knew I was coming?" She laughed it off, but didn't approach any further, her eyes darting back and forth across the clearing. So, there were traps, possibly everywhere around the area... That must have been why the other Servants had retreated. Damn. Now she really couldn't afford to get any closer, since even with her level of Magic Resistance, dealing with curses like this would only serve to distract her from her real enemy, who was probably targeting her even now. Talk about troublesome...

Saber, she's not attacking. Now's our chance. Do you think you can run fast enough to reach the Church before she overtakes us? Failing that, the mansion? I know you're hurt... I'm sorry... This is all my fault... But I'm begging you... Even if it takes a Command Seal, we have to get out of here now! Mira clutched her hand tightly to her chest, the warmth of the Command Seals seeming to invite her to use them... It would be so easy to escape, if only she was willing to make a small sacrifice... But what if she needed them more later? What would she do then...?

Now, then... You should have seen your chance by now. What will you do, my mysterious assailant? Why don't you try taking that shot...?

The magus took a surprisingly long route towards the beach, encouraging her Servant to adopt a spiritual form once they reached areas that would--quite obviously--cause problems if the unaware caught sight of somebody as distinctively unusual as Berserker. There were two reasons that Johanna took a path through populous areas, the first being that it was still early enough that if any Master did catch up, they would be bound by the need to keep the war from becoming public knowledge--and with people straggling home from a night out, Redrock proper was still too busy.

The second reason was more material: get something to eat before everything shut down for the night. If there was a skill that Johanna was going to claim no affinity for whatsoever, it was in cooking, and after stopping to pick up something, her path towards the beaches got substantially more direct. The streets got darker and the lighting more sparse as she walked along the beach-side road, straying from the more popular areas as even the buildings started to get further and further spread out.

It was almost completely dark when they stopped, now on a bumpy side road with even less illumination. Here, the sound of waves was perfectly clear; it must have been nearly high tide from how close they were. Through a simple picket fence, she lead the way into one-story building--a surprisingly new building despite the path leading to it, appealing to those looking for somewhere close to the beach but not too crowded. Though small, with a bare handful of rooms, the majority was open plan, with one side entirely glass to look towards the ocean even at low tide across the short beach. And almost entirely unprotected--barely had she managed to set up the most rudimentary of alarms that afternoon, though it had been helped by not needing to really cover approaches from the sea.

As she finally settled into eating the purchased burger, Johanna indicated the other one, left on a low table: "You might not need to eat, but it would be a waste of having a body not to."

Assuming that she'd been followed the whole way.

@Cu Chulainn

At the suggestion of using bones to decorate the catacombs, Caster could only tilt her head and pout. Bones and skulls weren't cute! They'd give entirely the wrong idea about them, too. She wasn't exactly into gothic horror, for one thing; they were always so depressing and scary, and the endings were all far too bleak and sad! She preferred stories with happy endings, the kind that gave children hopes and dreams, and made them realize the true wonder of the world around them.

And even if her Master had some odd, questionable tastes in the kind of media she enjoyed, she couldn't possibly be the kind of person who'd... Well...

...The important thing right now, though, was that it was teatime! Caster had drawn up a small table, the frilled cloth atop it looking rather out of place in the dingy caverns. Atop that, various colourful snacks and delicate chinaware were arranged elegantly, and steam billowed from the spout of the teapot. Several chairs were set around it, although only two were in use right now, and Caster was so small that her book had been placed on her chair to boost her height a little.

"Mmmm, nothing beats teatime with friends! But we don't have many friends right now..." For a moment, Caster's face fell, although the doll-like girl perked up immediately as she began to pour tea into two cups. "I do rather adore chai, Master! The spices... A little bit of sugar... And tea definitely falls under "everything nice", wouldn't you say? Aaah... Now, what to have after my macarons... Scones? Biscuits? That reminds me, they call biscuits "cookies" here don't they? And... Biscuits here are a kind of scone... That's just... Too confusing! If I ask for biscuits I should get biscuits and if I ask for scones I should get scones. Getting scones when I ask for biscuits is simply madness, and I don't want to go amongst mad people!"

With her pinky extended gracefully, Caster took a sip of tea, whilst greedily piling macarons onto her plate. This was so much fun with just Master... Just imaging how much more fun it would be when they met all their new friends!
@Blackstripe

Archer hmphed to himself mentally as he watched the scene below him unfold. There was a strange gap in his memory, a blank space where there should be none in both his quiver and his mind. Perhaps some strange mental trick from one of his adversaries. More importantly though, one of his targets was squawking like an indignant rooster and generally making a fool of herself. He had taken a shot, at someone somewhere, that much was plain to him, so they must know they were all in danger of being targeted.

Well, Archer was certain he had hunted more dangerous foes, it would be fine enough to see how she reacted to being hunted and take some measure of her. His own maneuverability was unsurpassed with few exceptions, so he had confidence he could shake his quarry if his true attack afterward failed. Besides, he needed distraction until this war was over and he could rest again.

Archer knocked a single arrow, pulled back and let fly with contemptuous lack of effort, aiming to let the fletching just brush by Lancer's head so the missile would bury itself in the ground with a notable thunk.

Let them think he missed. His next arrow would not.

---

It was a credit to Archer's skill with a bow that his projectile flew with such speed that even Lancer, who was searching intently for it, only noticed it out of the corner of her eye just as it reached her. Even so, although his arrow was fast, the Heroic Spirit of the Lance, vaunted for her speed, was faster. The air split with a sound like a thunderclap in miniature as the jagged, axe-like edge of her polearm swept upward, its luminescent blade seeming to ripple and undulate like lightning as it split the projectile cleanly in two.



A look of bemusement, followed by a snarl of anger, and then finally a smug grin flashed across the blonde Servant's face, and her keen eyes immediately retraced the path taken by the arrow. "Really, now, you had your chance to try to kill me and chose to show off instead?" She was being underestimated... She'd have to make her enemy regret that. In that direction, there were only so many large enough buildings that the shot could have been fired from... Her enemy was no doubt already on the move, but she didn't intend to let him get away without paying for his hubris.

Without any warning to either the nearby Witch or her wounded Servant, Lancer braced herself in an instant, then leaped into the air, spinning her spear back around and leveling it ahead of her with her right hand as a rune-engraved golden shield took form in her left. The ground shook and the air howled, and faster than the eye could see, the golden armored Lancer almost seemed to vanish, blurring like a thunderbolt as she streaked with insane speed towards her target.



She reached the first large rooftop in the direction of the first attack in a matter of seconds, but her enemy was nowhere to be found. She rebounded off the side of this building, wasting no time and launching herself straight for the second. Another dead end. Now there were only two more, but she needn't have checked both. She was getting close now, close enough to make out a shape atop the farther of the two, almost two miles from her original position. She braced herself once again, this time not on any surface, but upon the air itself. With a tremendous release of energy, she shot forward, accelerating as quickly as possible towards her target, lance leveled to deliver a single, earthshaking thrust while her shield was prepared to hopefully intercept any return fire aimed directly at her. It was far from an elegant attack, but if she'd gauged this Servant correctly, then complexity was hardly needed. Her opponent specialized in eliminating enemies from a distance through surprise attacks. That meant she was mostly likely dealing either with Archer or Assassin, enemies whose main threat came not from their direct combat ability, but rather from their ability to eliminate unsuspecting targets and destroy superior foes without giving them the chance to fight. This time, she wouldn't allow all her efforts to be undone by such underhanded tricks and knavery. She'd eliminate this unsightly adversary before he got another chance!

---

Archer let a grim smile spread across his face in pleased surprise as the woman managed to get her weapon up in time to defeat his arrow. Few could match the swiftness of his shots, perhaps this war would stir him from his melancholy after all! He delighted in her initial flash of fury and her self-assured demeanor as she realized his arrow had been but a mocking gesture, and his heart soared with excitement at that first flash of speed, her lightning swift form clearly visible to his archer's eyes but no less impressive in spite of that. He noted with keen interest the way she pushed off of the air itself, racing towards him with spear outstretched like one of his own arrows.

Let's see if she can catch me before I strike her from the sky.



Archer leaped back and up himself as she raced toward him through the sky, but as reached the height of his jump he was swept up and to the side by a torrent of air at great speed. He didn't run through space as if on a solid platform, nor did he jet out like a modern rocket. Instead it was if the wind itself had become a swift river on which he rafted, or else it had transformed itself into an invisible steed on which he rode. Rushing away at a sharp curve from the rooftop, Archer flashed a grin at the spearwoman as he nocked two arrows to his bow, his long hair and jacket whipping in his self-created wind. There was no malice or mockery in him at that moment, merely enjoyment at pushing his skills further.

"Did you think me a fool, or merely incompetent?"

Archer let both arrows fly in Lancer's general direction. However both attacks looked to go obviously wide of the reach of either lance or shield and sail harmlessly past her and into the distance, as if riding on a current of air and trying to launch two arrows at once had thrown off his aim far too much as he evaded her charge.

"More importantly, did you truly think those shots were the limits of my art?!"

As he spoke, the seemingly impossible happened. Archer's arrows made a sharp, sudden turn in mid-flight so that they would strike Lancer from behind instead of missing entirely, stabbing one from each side if they struck.

"Know this, Servant of the Lance! There is nothing in this world beyond the reach of my arrows!"

---

Lancer skidded to a stop, the soles of her metallic faulds carving a swathe across the concrete of the rooftop as her spear struck... nothing. Her eyes shot upward in an instant to find Archer rapidly ascending. And yet, he hadn't leaped away from her strike, but rather, it was as if he was... floating? No, more than just that... the currents of the air had changed somehow, as if bending to and guiding his movements. It was a skill much like that which she bore authority over, and yet, it was also its polar opposite. While her own ability created wind from prana, forcing the air to bend to her will, this was more like surrendering his own body to the winds, which aided him in turn. His speed still wasn't on the same level as her own, but his maneuverability outstripped hers by a great degree. Perhaps this battle wouldn't be so easy as she'd hoped...

But there was no time to think. As Archer gave his boast, circling the rooftop, her eyes traced the arrows which were aimed at her and then fired. She raised her shield to intercept them, except-!

...They weren't even aimed properly. Once again, both of his shots missed her, by the same precise degree as his first arrow had deviated from her body. The similarity was too great to be a coincidence, and Archer was still as confident as ever, so then...

...His real attack still hadn't begun! The wind was still howling! Lancer spun, pivoting on the ball of her foot without so much as a second to spare. As she'd thought, his body wasn't the only thing he'd entrusted to the air... Both of his shots had instantly reversed course the moment they'd passed her, fully accelerating to their original speed and aiming to strike her from behind! This was no longer simple archery, but rather, it was as if she was fighting the very weather itself!

However, even in the face of such an attack, she couldn't afford to let up on her assault. If his shots would track her regardless of her location or what defenses she placed between her body and his arrows, then she'd have to personally destroy each projectile he fired rather than simply dodging or blocking with her shield. If she didn't, then even one with her protection would doubtless be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of arrows launched against her. But, at the same time, if she didn't press the attack, he'd once more open a gap between them which she'd be forced to close. That meant that she had to attack him while also defending herself...

As she turned, her shield flickered out of view just as swiftly as it had appeared. Yet, at the same time, using her own rotation as leverage, she raised her spear... and threw it with as much force as she could muster directly towards Archer. Now empty-handed, she faced down the two incoming arrows, the hand that had formerly held her shield upraised as her fingers swiftly inscribed three quick strokes into the air in front of her.

The arrows were only a fraction of a centimeter away from her when the Ansuz rune activated. In an instant, a roaring surge of searing flames erupted forth in front of her, reducing each to a cinder just before they could strike true. Lancer exhaled, catching her breath as the fire vanished just as swiftly as it had appeared. She reached upward, and her spear, regardless of whether it struck Archer or missed him, seemed to reduce itself momentarily to energy and blurred back into her grasp, like the return stroke of a thunderbolt rising upward towards the heavens. Taking hold of it, she leaped high into the air, taking a moment to try to break line of sight within the clouds as she raised a finger to her face, inscribing another rune upon her own forehead. The prana burned into the air, taking physical form to impose a will upon her intent. In an instant, her sight grew clearer, her eyes now tracking more keenly the motions of the fleeting Archer. And, now that she could track his course through the air... she could push the attack!

"Indeed, perhaps you're not half the fool I thought," Lancer's echoing voice laughed over the roaring wind, coming from somewhere amidst the clouds above. "I'd thought you a cowardly Assassin, but it seems you're truly worthy of the class you bear, Archer!"

Suddenly, the wind stopped, then changed directions.

"But even so, the reach of your arrows matters not if they yet cannot overtake their target, Servant of the Bow!" Rebounding with a blast of wind, she shot back downward, bursting through the clouds with such speed that by the time Archer saw her, she would already be bringing down the axe-blade of her polearm straight towards him! "I'll have your head as a trophy for my Master!"

violet = speaking

lightcoral = thinking/mental communication with servant

---

The female master cautiously moved back from where the curse had tried to assault her, using another single action to remove the ice wall she had thrown up to protect herself after finally managing to get back up on her feet. Letting out a small sigh, Elizabeth could note the presence of something going on where Jack had been. And indeed, the ice wielder's advice to Mira remained true: With what had happened, someone would try to come and capitalize on this moment if anyone remained behind. Albeit she had not expected her own little Assassin to do such a thing without orders, but yet at the same time the small white haired girl's actions made sense when she thought about it a little more. Still, with the sounds of combat and the prana flaring up from where Jack and the terrified looking girl and her Saber had been, Elizabeth felt justified about pulling Jack away now with things going more mental than they had been before.
Frustrating. This first night so far was being frustrating to a certain extent at least.

'Well...if they were going to attack, and it seems the master girl did in my direction, then you did well in attacking them. However, i can sense and hear more enemies joining in on what was started back there, probably sensing the previous battle and coming here, and that could have been very dangerous for you even if Saber and her master had been killed.' the female master communicated to her little servant through their mental link, trying to make a point about things, sounding stern in her words over the communication but also trying to not be too hard on her little Jack for trying to help her as well,'At least, since we do not know who all of our enemies are. While this was a good looking opportunity to attack an enemy, it was not the best situation since others were able to join in. So we have to choose our attacks more carefully, at least to make sure we can get things done before others have a chance to join in on things. I don't know what i would do if i lost you either....'

Sighing aloud to herself afterwards, not liking the thoughts of losing the little servant she had admittedly become attached to in their brief time together, the female master dusted herself off and, using reinforcement again, blitzed back in the direction of the church. It was something she could do right now, at least, to get away from the enemies around here. More so than that, she could try to find a certain someone she had talked with before. A certain monkey man and his strangely no-death-advocating master who had revealed some choice secrets about one or two of the others thus far. They had discussed an alliance of sorts for a brief time, and perhaps now they could continue their...talks in better safety than before.

'For now, let's look for the tall lady and the monkey man we saw before in the church. To be safe, though, make sure you have Presence Concealment active while we do, just to be safe. We'll meet where they are,' Elizabeth communicated to her servant as well as she ran, hoping between the two of them they could find their prospective allies in this conflict. At least, if those two still wanted to be allies. So caution and having a concealed Jack would be ideal in case this woman needed to be..."removed" due to self-defense.

Though really, Elizabeth held no ill will towards the woman and her servant, no actual evil intent, and perhaps those two believed such as well in return to at least some minor extent so as to not attack them on sight. If they were lucky, that is, after what had just happened out there.

@Raineh Daze

---

orange = speaking

lightblue = thinking/mental communication with master

---

The female servant crossed her arms, but let a small smirke come to her face as her master hurried about getting ready and such. As hard as she was being at times on him, like a "nagging mother" as she perceived such a thing possibly being called in these modern times, it was all for a very serious reason. This boy, this growing young man who seemed to have such potential as a human being, was involved in what was essentially a bloodbath. A ritual whose nature was that of a "war", carving death into the landscape in various hues and bloodcurdling screams of death if her own knowledge of death was sufficient to paint a picture. Though they were both overall not necessary for the ritual's completion at all, at the same time they were in danger from those who might see them as "interlopers"....or worse, "easy prey" to try to up and kill to further things.

Not that she was ever going to be easy to kill in any regard, but at the same time she was not exactly under the belief that she was the strongest thing summoned either. Compared to a "proper" servant, there were things she lacked. But she could fight, and she could kill. That was what mattered. And if her master wanted to pursue the Grail at some point, she was obligated to help him with that. For now, however, her goal was to keep this idiot alive through this conflict as best as she could. And making sure they were square with the war's Moderator would be a starting point for that.

"If we run into enemies, the paint won't be anything we need to worry about. But still, i will try my best to avoid messing up the pain on your car, Master," the female servant said, pursing her lips as she entered spiritual form once more, vanishing from Hasabe's eyes.

Time to get rolling.





To say the two had been moving at high speeds was an understatement, despite she herself being in spirit form and sitting on the roof in a relaxed, easygoing manner for the moment being. Roaring down the roads and her master's hopefully "safe" back way to get to the church in good time, the car Hasabe drove was moving at a great pace to get the two to their destination hopefully before enemies took note of them at all. Ah. Weren't maneuvers around corners and turns like this called "drifting" in this day and age? It seemed risky, but rather fun to see as the car zoomed about.

She had managed to pressure her master enough to drive at high speeds, at least, to help set her own mind at ease during this trip. Now if only she could drive a dammed car and maybe she could try some of this for herself, but alas:



She really had no chance of doing so. Still, she could see the church getting nearer and nearer, though a worrying thing came into her senses as well. Prana being released like crazy. That could only mean one thing so close to this spot...servants and fighting. And perhaps it was similar to the bursts of prana she had felt before whilst they were not as close to their destination. Perhaps two fights had broken out among the servants already?

'Master, keep an eye out for anything strange as we approach the church and park on its grounds. I can sense enemies clashing at least twice since we started out to come here, so ensuring we are on neutral ground as swiftly as possible is advised,' the female servant communicated in a stern but serious tone to her master, to try to make sure he understood what the current situation was, though after a moment she seemed to instictevly add another thing, ' And make sure to be polite to whomever the Moderator is once we get inside. We don't want to make a scene or put ourselves in a bad situation by fiddling with our words or angering them somehow.'

Once a nagging mother to her master, always a nagging mother to her master.

Never change, Faber, never change.

@Cu Chulainn

Oh, that was it? Mother had been worried for her safety! It made sense now; it wasn't that she hadn't wanted the enemies removed as promptly as possible, she simply wanted to make sure that her Servant wasn't in any danger from it. It was a bit of an unnecessary worry in her opinion, since with a little trickery within the Mist it wouldn't be too impossible to get other Servants to fight each other whilst leaving their Masters open, but...

It was nice to know that Mother cared about her.

She might not be able to understand why Mother wanted to work with this other Master but she could hardly disobey on tracking them down, and nodded once. From concealment, there had been a good idea of what direction Berserker had taken the Master and from there... she guessed towards the town? It was a gamble but with her speed and concealment, going from rooftop to rooftop let her cover a lot of ground quite quickly. It helped to have a distinctive quarry in the end: finding the magus simply meant spotting the tallest person in the streets and following them the rest of the way, out towards the ocean and into a deserted environment. It would be a perfect setup.

But Mother didn't want that, and the Servant stood around, waiting.

---

Of course, once the other magus stepped over the boundary, she was alerted mid-bite and set the burger down. At this time of night it could only be another one of the Masters... but which? It wouldn't be Rider's and it was unlikely any of the others would be so hasty to chase her down in the middle of the night. The answer, as Johanna opened the door, turned out to be Assassin's. So it seemed that they were going to be working together after all?

"It's a good thing I bought extra. I hope you and your Servant don't mind burgers?" Well, she'd bought the extra for breakfast... and maybe lunch if Berserker decided that eating once was enough. But cold or reheated burgers weren't something to be too stingy about and hospitality was the first thing to offer to a prospective ally.

Lancer had departed, in pursuit of Archer. The situation had become... intense, far more so then she had hoped. The pain was still blazing away within her body. Saber took a deep, ragged breath. Normally, she would have asserted that maintaining an offensive strategy was best, but at the moment... Her Master was at risk. More then anything else, her Master's life was important. This was something the black-haired swordswoman knew deep within her heart.

"... Master... you should use a familiar later tonight to contact the overseer," she said, managing to speak. With that, she swiftly scooped her Master into her arms, one arm under her legs and another under her back. There was pain from the core of her frame protesting at this action, but now was quite simply not the time to give in to such a feeling. Instead, she held the other girl close to her body. It was her duty to protect her Master. "... These injuries will heal..."

She would protect Mira. No matter what.

No matter what.

With a wheeze of pain, Saber bent forward. She could hear the sounds of Archer and Lancer's furious battle...

She had memorized the path back to Mira's home. And so, without a moment's pause, she broke into a sprint with a burst of speed, tucking Mira against herself as she did.

Saber had to heal. Until she did, she would comply with her Master's more defensive inclinations. For now, she just had to keep going and ignore the pain burning through her insides as she did.

---

Archer was suitably impressed by not only Lancer's speed, but her resourcefulness. As her polearm sailed toward him thanks to a preternaturally powerful throw it was easy enough for the floating warrior to simply dip aside of the weapon's path on an eddy of wind as he continued onward and away, though the evasion did slow his retreat as she'd hoped. More interesting was the fiery display she'd used to destroy his arrows, by the looks of it some kind of writing-based magic. She possessed quite a versatile skill, it seemed. As her axe-headed spear disappeared from his peripheral vision, Archer nocked three arrows to his bowstring, preparing for her renewed attack against him. She leaped not directly at him as she'd done before, but high into the cloud cover, perhaps counting on that to conceal her from view for a surprise attack.



However, she was mistaken if she thought simple clouds were enough to conceal her from the eyes of a true archer! Though he feigned confusion, looking wildly about for her and occasionally twisting his bow about as if searching for a target, he kept her firmly in his peripheral vision at all times. When he saw the brief fraction of a moment where her momentum changed and reversed, Archer's path suddenly curved aside in a sharp roll and he drew back and released all three arrows. One of the missiles drove straight forward as the others curved sharply into a pincer pattern from above and below, meaning to converge where he judged she would be and strike from three different angles.

"Don't underestimate a marksman's eyes or else your speed will only bring you to the underworld more quickly!"

Lancer was astoundingly fast, it was true, perhaps even a bit faster than the wind on which Archer rode. But so long as his keen eyesight enabled him to aim where she was going to be instead of where she was, he could still strike her no matter her speed.

He was confident he could avoid another falcon-like dive. Ride The Wind seemed to be more maneuverable than her own technique if his eyes judged rightly. On the other hand, he was no longer certain he could defeat the warrior woman through direct battle without using his true strength.

A shame to kill off one so interesting so early on, though I shan't be picky! But if I can only slip away and survive, I should still have something interesting to report to my lunatic Master. it's really been some time since I had this much excitement..."