The Next Day:

Hakuno's usual poker face had been wavering since she'd received the call. An incident had occurred at a student's apartment. resulting in the occupant's injury. It wasn't confirmed if a Servant had specifically caused this, but apparently all the evidence made it all but guaranteed. In any case, Hakuno was to ask the neighbours if the had seen or heard anything. To her understanding, a firearm was involved, so surely *that* was heard, right?

It was still quite nerve-wracking, however. This was the most serious incident Hakunon had been assigned to since she joined this humble little Servant-themed police force. And while she doubted the perpetrator was still skulking around, ready to pounce, the plain-faced student couldn't help but take solace in her own Servant's proximity.
As they neared the apartment blocks, her hazel eyes swept the area. She couldn't detect anything odd in her surroundings...but really, that offered her nothing. Hakuno wasn't known for sniffing out the unknown with a cursory glance.

"...Right, um..." she had to at least try and conduct herself properly! She was there to assist the victim and the witnesses! Letting her own nerves get the best of her would be counter-productive! After a moment, she tried again, "Okay. Saber... would you mind patrolling the area? Maybe see if there's any clues lying around. I'll go knock on some doors."

Her left hand drifted to the armband on her right, gripping it tightly between her fingers. No point in worrying about the worst-case scenario. Saber was so reliable (and cute, that was important to note too), there was no need to waste time fretting.

If the perpetrator had still been there, she would have set upon them immediately.

Benienma had not officially served in the capacity of a guardian and judge for some time, though she still could if she so chose. But that did not mean her skills in that regard had dulled, and now that she served as part of the city's law enforcement... she simply would not, could not, do anything but her best. That poor girl, shot for what seemed to be no reason. Even if there was a reason, how could it possibly be a justified one? She was recovering, certainly, but if she hadn't survived...

The culprit had to be found. As soon as possible. They had to locate the perpetrator as soon as possible and bring him to justice. It was just a simple fact.

The tiny redhead nodded towards her Master.

"Of course, Master," she said, simply, her gaze shifting from the scene of the crime itself to the surrounding area. With that, she swiftly began her investigating, scanning the area. Not only with her own eyes, but the eyes of a large number of sparrows that had flown to her side.

@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y

Lancelot had put his Master's position to work over night and managed to contact some more of the knights--bringing them together both with the note that the king would be there, and that Gawain's disappointing record couldn't be allowed to stand. It was making the arena registration room quite crowded right now--not only was there Lancelot, Mordred, Arturia, Mordred's Master, and Arturia's Master, but Tristan and Gareth had also been found, and there was a rather large preponderance of armour. Like they might need to go out and fight at any second.

It was leaving the man in charge of the bureaucracy quite overwhelmed; this was both rather a lot to add to the schedule and scheduling appropriate matches to demonstrate the level they should enter the contests in was even more trouble: though it might seem ridiculous to test the Knights of the Round Table in such a manner, no single person could accurately tell where the heroes of the past fell in relation to one another. The mere fact that someone as seemingly useless as a Roman Emperor could fight forced throwing preconceptions out the window.

"Arturia, this is taking aaaaages," Laetitia whined, not happy about being stuck here with everyone else whilst the paperwork slowly got processed. Ah... she'd wanted to sleep in today, but here she was woken up and dragged along, "Can't we just have you and Mordred in the afternoon and the rest of us can go buy breakfast and watch?"

She assumed that Seria wanted to get out of here too...

The commotion at the arena's registration board was getting pretty wild. Nothing else could be expected of a day when none other than the Knights of the Round Table decided to attend the competition.

Commemorating their comeback with a brawl was only natural, of course. Especially when no one was supposed to die in the process.

Mordred was grinning her usual excited grin. Now that the secret of her identity had been revealed to the whole world to see, she was feeling even more confident than usual. For most of the waiting time she stuck with Gawain and Gareth—teasing the former and doting on the later.

Meanwhile, a certain red-haired knight stood in a corner. A sad look could be seen in his face as he turned his sightless-gaze toward his peers.

"To think that we would all be able to meet again in a circumstance like this. However, even in the midst of such joy there's sadness to be had. Even if it's not for us," Tristan said as he sat down and began to play a song to pass the time.

How very distressing indeed.


"That does seem awfully convenient," Othis said as Holmes explained the news for her.

She finished her breakfast—as well as some early morning work—by the time she heard it and came to the detective's side. "I would like to take a look at this in person indeed. But I think we might have problems getting the authority to investigate the site. Not that I think it'll be an issue for you of all people to find a way around it," Othis said as she packed a few things in her bag, including a very inconspicuous notebook.

"Would you like me call a taxi, or are we going to walk?" She asked while contemplating possible titles for a story based on this.

"Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Sunken City, perhaps?"

"Actually, thinking about this. While we are on the way to the port, can I ask what you know about Atlantis, Holmes?"

The sound of BB's self-proclaimed (and self-composed) theme song blasting from the room over, followed by the eventual silence into the sound of a running shower, was enough of an indication to Meltryllis that her Master had finally woken up from having to deal with her poison. It was likely that the necessary fear had wormed its way into her heart, which meant that things were all going according to plan thus far. So long as she remained at arm's length and acted impartially as a Master, then the Alter Ego would have no qualms about what she had done. Not like she had in the first place, though.

"I see that you've finally managed to get off of your bed. It's a miracle, really; I had expected you to remain curled up in bed for the rest of the morning," she remarked as Nanako walked into the kitchen. Before she could verbally abuse her Master any more than, that, though, a piercing voice—BB's, of course—shouted out the ever-quintessential introduction to her program before her visage appeared on the television. The AI, it seemed, was fuming.

"Hey, what's the big idea, leaving me hanging like that?! Senpai, you're horrible! The worst! Scum of the earth!" BB scolded, the TV's speakers loud enough for Meltryllis to feel the vibrations from where she was seated. "Well, it's your first day of vacation, so this magnanimous BB-chan will cut you some slack for now, but in! Any! Case!"

With that, a map popped up on the screen, right next to BB; it looked to be an overhead diagram of Fusang City, with their current position and a marker indicating... Something near the southern side of the city.

"Alright, you two... Okay, maybe just senpai, but I'll address you both for now. Both of you, head to this location, right over here, and deal with the anomaly that just popped up. The sooner, the better. Am I clear? I'm clear, riiiight~?" she added, pointing at a route with her baton before leaning towards the camera on the other side of the TV.

"Yes, yes, I understand, BB," Meltryllis responded, rolling her eyes as if the AI's outburst hadn't fazed her in the least. "Well? How about you, Master?"

@VitaVitaAR


Holmes simply smiled wordlessly at Othis' remark about 'authorization' as he rose from his chair, dusting off his outfit as he walked towards the door.

"A taxi shall do, Miss Obberhausen. Walking may give us the reprieve of collecting our thoughts, but when the only course of action is to gather more information, then time is of the essence. Wouldn't you think so?" he responded in turn, walking towards the door nonchalantly before waiting for his Master to catch up. "If it is my knowledge of Atlantis that you desire, though, then the most that I have is a combination of Sir Francis Drake's testimony coupled with a few miscellaneous facts thereafter. If you wish to hear those en route, I would not mind in the least."

---

The prompt arrival of a taxi coupled with a small lecture meant that the ride felt considerably shorter than it might have been otherwise—no, the fact that the taxi had arrived so promptly was worthy of at least some note. It was as if someone was waiting for them to head out in the first place, which necessitated some degree of caution from here on out.

"We're here, you two," the taxi driver spoke as the port, trading vessels and all, came into view outside the window. With a quick exchange of cash, both the Ruler and his Master were soon simply standing idly by at the entrance to the locale.

"This is... A tad too convenient, wouldn't you say? I have a sneaking suspicion that something is amiss. Remain cautious, Miss Obberhausen, for we know not what force it is that desires our attention."

@KoL

---

---

The most notable thing about the crime scene was probably how haphazardly it was left. The culprit, it seemed, had come and gone like a storm. The security camera, positioned right outside the apartment, for example, was shot clean through with a rifle bullet not unlike the one that had wounded the girl living in the complex. More notable than that, though, was the lack of evidence of leaving. No, rather than that, as the birds soon noticed, the Servant who had done this act had not left via the stairs or the elevator. No, they had instead leaped off of the railing and, having landed in the gardens beneath, left behind footprints on impact. The number of tracks left over, distinct by the means of what sort of imprint they left, simply showed that whoever did this didn't care enough about being traced to even attempt to cover up what they had done.

The dirt that they tracked thereafter seemed to indicate that the shooter had headed west, though there was only so far to follow the trail before it petered out entirely. With this newfound knowledge in hand, the sparrows soon returned to their master to report their discoveries.

@RolePlayerRoxas

There was a chance that she might need to make an appearance later to submit some alchemy-related coursework--or, as far as the Einzbern was concerned, spend five minutes doing it before wandering off--and the girl had thought... why not take the time on the way in to get something to eat? On one of the streets near the university, there was a nice crepe stand, and what was wrong with having something like that just after breakfast...?

It was hard to read Altera's interests, but she assumed the Servant wanted one too, and they were just about to leave the stand--when the Saber almost teleported from the homunculus' perspective, blocking the road in one direction and frowning. Perhaps that was because of the incoming danger or maybe it was because her crepe had transformed into a rainbow-coloured sword. It was quite hard to tell.

The cause for her concern was quite obvious: a rapidly advancing man with an enraged expression on his face, dressed entirely in black. Clearly a Servant... and one who seemed to be too much of a risk in his current state to allow to approach her Master. Yet he wasn't outright attacking her, and the response to his charge was therefore nonlethal: although the dark-skinned Servant attacked, ice shooting up where the whiplike sword struck... she did so considerably in advance of the approaching Hijikata, as a deterrent.

"It may be taking some time, but it is important that we undergo the proper process for entry into these contests," responded the blonde knight. She, too, was now clad in her gleaming armor, though Excalibur was currently unsummoned. "As much as the idea of having breakfast is appealing, this is the correct course of action."

To be alongside even a few of her knights, once again... to see Lancelot, Gawain, Gareth, Tristan, and Mordred standing together as allies once more... It caused the King of Knights to feel a lightness in her heart. Even with the memory of all the ways in which she had made mistakes lingering in her mind, perhaps she simply couldn't help it? It was something Arturia had longed for all along, she realized. Even when she had believed she must eradicate her presence in history, the truth was that she did still desire to fight alongside her comrades again. And that desire was being granted. She couldn't help but wonder if more of her knights would be summoned.

... Was it... was it right for her to hope these things? Was it right for her to desire to see all her knights once again?

She simply couldn't accept that it was, and yet it was impossible for her to stop feeling as such.

It couldn't be helped that she was struggling to actually speak with her knights, either, one hand placed to her chest as her mind attempted to find the proper words.

Seria was, unlike the other present Master, feeling rather proud. Yes, she had planned to enter the arena in the first place. After all, what better way was there to show how powerful the Servant you had summoned as then defeating enemies in the arena? This was just the opportunity to show off, like she'd wanted!

The Archer, Tristan, seemed pretty mopey though... was that part of his legend? Seria had to confess, out of the Knights of the Round Table, he was one of the ones she knew less about. But maybe seeming him in action would help her learn?

She had nothing but confidence in Mordred.

@Raineh Daze@KoL

---

Nanako didn't say anything to Meltryllis. After all, nothing she could say would help. The fact was simply that Meltryllis quite clearly hated her, and nothing Nanako could do would change that. The thing that would make her Servant happiest was if they barely interacted. At least, that was the thought in the dark-haired girl's mind as she dully nodded towards the Alter Ego. She wanted to try and make her Servant happy, so... so that was what she had to do, wasn't it?

Her tired mind was suddenly jolted to attention, however, when BB's voice rang out from her TV. But, unlike the first time, where Nanako had been exasperated and attempted to grapple with the idea that an AI from the future(possibly even not the same future as they were heading towards), after the initial shock Nanako simply quietly nodded to the girl on her TV's request. There wasn't much else she could do now, was there?

"... Let's go..." Nanako said, simply, as she began to gather her things.

She hadn't even attempted to make herself breakfast.

@PKMNB0Y

Despite what should have logically been enough exhaustion to force him to pause, Jason continued to follow the Servant as he charged through the early morning streets—or, more accurately, Jason continued to be dragged along in his wake. His legs had long since felt like they had turned to lead, and given that he was by no means neither a marathon runner nor did he have the stamina to keep pace with a Servant for so long, the young man found himself flapping in the breeze like a kite as the kimono-clad man held the back of his shirt in a vice-like grip.

Jason had the sense to continue to attempt to stare forwards, though, which meant that when a wall of ice suddenly appeared in front of the pair, he was the first (and only one) to freak out.

"H-hey, what are you doing?! If you keep moving like this, we'll—"

"Shut up, kid," came the immediate reply as Jason was promptly thrown into the air. Within the span of a single breath, the Berserker leaped into the air and, readying his rifle, blew a hole through the obstruction. Catching Jason on the other side (once again by the collar of his shirt), the Servant switched his rifle for a katana and pointed at the apparent source of the obstruction.

"Are you Satsuma? Choshu? I'm in the middle of something right now, so hurry up and answer me or I'll cut you down where you stand," was the immediate declaration from Hijikata, flicking Jason off somewhere to the side as he went tumbling off to the side of the road.

@Raineh Daze


Given that her Master had given no real retort towards anything said or done thus far today, the purple-haired Alter Ego silently wondered, though only momentarily, if the punishment she had deemed appropriate had done something to the girl's brain to make her so obedient. In her situation, Meltryllis wouldn't have taken any straight orders from BB without a reason at minimum, and given that the two of them were simply told to just "go to a location", the least that could be done was a brief summary regarding said problem.

"...Mmm... Melt, did you do something last night?" BB asked as she watched Nanako leave the apartment complex in silence after retrieving her phone. "I was only joking about being mad, but it's really no fun bullying someone who can't fight back, you know."

"Be quiet, BB. If you were aware there was a problem, you'd probably just try to make it worse anyways," Melt shot back as she got off the the couch and followed after her Master. "Just let us know when we're near the problem and I'll handle it on my own. No need to involve that useless child right now."

"Oh? Well, if you're so confident, then you can just leave, Melt. I look forward to seeing your results; you'll know what the problem is when you see it."

With those parting words, BB turned off the TV, leaving a silence that seemed to hang in the air. Rolling her eyes, the Alter Ego calmly exited the apartment and glared at Nanako.

"Just stay quiet and bring me over to the place BB showed. I'm not so stupid so as to force you to fight when I know you're as useless as they come, so let's hurry up and get this over with before she starts shrieking in my face again."

@VitaVitaAR

For a few moments, Nanako simply listened to Meltryllis and BB talk to one another. Maybe she should have asked why BB had wanted them to go to this place... but that would probably just make everything worse, wouldn't it? It was better just to stay quiet.

The route that the strange purple-haired girl had provided was one that went through numerous back alleys and other more isolated, less-inhabited areas. Nanako didn't even want to question this, for by this point she was absolutely certain that Meltryllis would hate even hearing her speak. But... she'd have to say something eventually, wouldn't she...?

The lack of even breakfast, and sleep, was quite clear in the way that Nanako's step seemed somewhat unsteady. Though, as she went, her mind slowly awakened. She would still feel tired most of the day, but eventually her mind would at least be clearer. For the moment, however, she felt as if she was in a fog.

Combined with her current state of mind, this was hardly the best condition for her to be in. But in spite of this, she had managed to follow BB's directions more or less to the letter.

The location BB had indicated was the 'new construction zone', an area of Fusang that had been designated for new buildings but only the basic framework had been constructed. Nanako didn't know why(and was hardly in the state to remember), but for some reason construction had currently ceased. There were plans to continue, but for the moment...

It was notable that no-one was here already. Surely, there would be someone to keep intruders out, right? And yet there wasn't.

There was no-one.

That wasn't all, though. Undeniably, Meltryllis would feel a sort of prickling sensation, the feeling of being watched. Of understanding there was at least one another presence here, among the unfinished frameworks. But unfortunately, this was a location that wasn't difficult to hide in...

But they weren't alone.

@PKMNB0Y

---

There were a few things that Benienma could determine from the information that her sparrows had conveyed to her. To begin with, this crime didn't seem premeditated. It seemed to be spur of the moment, by a culprit who didn't care at all about being discovered. Aside from shooting the camera, there wasn't any desire to cover their tracks. Unfortunately, this didn't mean they had left a very clear trail, aside from heading west. Given Fusang's density, that didn't make it any easier to determine the direction they had gone in. Additionally, the crime was obviously perpetrated by a Servant...

At the moment, there wasn't enough information to come to a clear conclusion on the basis of determining who the culprit was. After a few moments, Benienma decided to report back to her Master.

"The culprit committed this crime in the moment dechi," she began, "There's no attempt to cover their tracks aside from shooting the camera, and they didn't try and use any kind of subtlety dechi. I think this crime was done in the spur of the moment, but I can't figure anything else out about the perpetrator dechi. They fled west, but that's all I was able to determine."

She paused for a moment.

"I think we should talk to the victim as soon as possible dechi."

@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y

"Thank you for your time."

Hakuno bowed as the apartment resident closed their door with a grim expression. She could hardly blame them for being worried, given the nature of the disturbance, and happening so close by, too. Still, she had given her word that no one was in any danger. With any luck it sounded convincing, coming from her.

Still, she hadn't been able to learn a whole lot. No one had actually seen the commotion, and the perpetrator was gone by the time any witnesses had approached. Of course, the shots were heard, but that was that could be confirmed. If nothing else, it at least raised the likelihood of a Servant being behind this from 'almost definitely' to 'seriously who else could've done it?'.

Benienma returned to provide her report as Hakuno pondered, and she listened as the small Saber exposited what details she was able to determine. It was frustratingly little to go on, but that wasn't Benienma's fault. After another moment, Hakuno tried to voice what barely-legible thread she could from the scant clues.

"...There was evidence of a summoning circle... the attack and escape from the scene would indicate a Servant..."

Was it really something as simple as a summoning gone awry? The victim may have tried to obtain a Servant, who wound up being uncontrollable? Could it be a Berserker? Hakuno really hoped not. The idea of a Berserker with firearms was frankly far more terrifying to her than most Chaotic-Evil Servants.

The brunette nodded at Benienma's suggestion. They would need to speak with the victim before they could hypothesise any further, anyway. The sooner her fears were debunked, the quicker they could effectively track down the rogue Servant.

"Once I get word she's well enough, let's see her."

@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y

The look Laetitia gave her Servant was rather unamused, "You've already submitted yourself. They need to make them for at least five knights over the course of the day if Bedivere or Kay or someone doesn't climb out from behind a table and the fights already planned go ahead."

The blonde pointed at the clearly frazzled worker, "Don't you think that guy would have a better time if we could please go and get some breakfast and wait until the afternoon!?"

Lancelot was once again feeling awkward--with Gawain and Gareth there, what could he say. "I'm sorry I killed you/your sister, but it was for a good reason?" Tristan was being his usual sad self, though it was safe to say that he, too, was taking a jab at Gawain's rather disappointing underperformance yesterday. But, yes, perhaps Mordred had a point...

"Mordred, there no need to be so harsh on Sir Gawain. I'm sure that in future matches the handicap of the sun setting will be removed and he won't let us down again."

"I have a feeling that maybe I should be less confident about that..."

And Gareth didn't seem to hate him, or was a much better liar than Lancelot had ever given her credit for. Excellent.

---

"Samurai man, you should be more careful with your Master... oh, and another crepe," Alkyrieaze said, turning to face the Japanese man that her Servant had... unexpectedly assailed, and then back to the alarmed stall owner. She even took a bite of hers; with Altera in the way, it had to be perfectly safe. A gun...? Archer? No, not if he was thinking a German child and... well... Altera were Japanese. Definitely Berserker or similarly addled.

With her sword readied and once again interposed between Alkyrieaze and Hijikata, Altera held back on obliterating this man... for the moment. The homunculus was quite insistent on restraint. "Altera, King of the Xiongnu. I will not allow you to take one step closer."

To the comments of those opposing him, Hijikata simply breathed out through his nose and glared at the Servant pointing her weapon at him. Despite being a Berserker, he had enough sense about him to realize what the girl was saying—not that it mattered, of course.

"That kid will be fine; I've seen people roughed up worse," he responded in turn, his weapon still aimed towards Altera. "But if you're just here to protect some little girl, then get the hell out of my way. I don't have the time to be playing silly games like these."

By this point, Jason (who had thus found himself rolling across the pavement) had finally managed to right himself, having taken more damage from the aftermath of the throw than anything else, and slowly dragged himself to his feet. He was still out of breath, of course, but seeing that his Servant was confronting another only caused him to worry further.

"What are you trying to do—" he began to ask, only to be stopped by a rifle bullet whizzing a few centimeters away from his head.

"Stay quiet and let me handle the negotiations. You're a nuisance, so just wait for me to finish up here before you go yammering about," was the reply from Hijikata as he put his rifle away and stared back at the duo in front of him. "So, what will it be? Are you going to move, or am I going to have to cut through you both to get anywhere?"

@Raineh Daze


Following her Master's directions came as a simple matter of course, and given that the girl had said nothing and acted far more demure than she had yesterday, Meltryllis silently internalized the punishment that she had concocted as effective enough to instill a sense of fear into the girl.

"As it should be," she mused to herself as the pair made their way to their intended destination. A half-complete building was not exactly the most promising of locations to have to deal with something, but it was better than any further open exposure of her own abilities. A few steps toward the compound, though, and the Alter Ego felt a shiver down her spine. This was unlike the Moon Cell, where all combat was fairly straightforward; there was cover here, and cover meant things could hide and ambush them.

"Hmph. So it's like that, BB? A combat test?" she remarked, the irritation in her voice clear as she made her way into the compound. The immediate sound of something whizzing at her head from the side, however, caused Meltryllis to lean backwards. The source—a crossbow bolt—was embedded into the wall, and when the Alter Ego turned to face the source of the arrow, there was nothing to be seen.

"Predictable. An Archer, then? Master, stay close; if you get hit by a stray arrow, I can't guarantee that you'll live to see the next day."

@VitaVitaAR

"Hey, useless Master, aren't you going to rein in this Berserker? Use a Command Seal, or at least try to. If he shoots you, Altera can cut him down. You might make it to a hospital," the Einzbern said, sounding rather cheerful about the entire endeavour, even with the threat of major harm, "Now, Altera, we're not leaving until you get another crepe, so try not to break the scenery."

The warlord nodded. Two objectives: destroy the Berserker if he went for his own Master or leave with a dessert. Against a sane opponent this would need no fighting and they would just wait until the dessert was made and the roadblock left of its own accord. This was not a sane opponent and no doubt there would be fighting if there was any delay. Something she was made to do.

"You heard my Master. We cannot leave yet."

There was no sign of the attacker, at least for the moment. Unfortunately, this was an excellent location to launch an ambush from. The half-completely building offered an excellent piece of cover, and moments later that was proven.

It wasn't just a single crossbow bolt. That would have been too simple. From different windows, almost as if the shooter was in multiple places at once(or perhaps moving quickly enough to fire from different windows?) shadowy projectiles began to rain down towards Meltryllis. Even now, Nanako couldn't help but feel concerned, and frightened. Even in a city of Servants, she had never anticipated being in an actual combat zone.

Even in her currently exhausted frame of mind, Nanako both understood how dangerous the situation had become and was aware that Meltryllis likely didn't want to so much as see her at the first chance she had. And so, after the initial few crossbow bolts, the girl was quick to duck behind a piece of construction equipment close to her Servant, some sort of machine she didn't recognize. She wasn't exactly in the situation or the state of mind to try and work out what it was. Leaning against it, even now, Nanako couldn't help but peek slightly around the corner to see just what was happening.

But this wasn't the end of it.

A set of thunderous footfalls announced the arrival of another opponent! This one as a hulking, muscular figure, clad in what looked like some sort of roman armor and wielding some sort of sword. It was difficult to discern features beyond that, as his body was cloaked in darkness, but Nanako thought she could see a slavering tongue hanging from the charging figure's mouth as he was upon her in a flash, raising his sword!

In that instant, Nanako's tired mind snapped to attention. Survival instincts flared to activity, just as her mana flowed through her limbs. With the assault on Meltryllis showing no sign of relenting, she had to... she had to do something! That sword, it would... if she didn't she could... she could...!

Nanako slammed one hand to the ground, magical energy blazing through her open circuits. She wasn't the strongest magus, but she could do enough for this!

"Wind! Listen to me and unleash your wrath!"

It was a simple, single-action spell, all she could do with the time she was given. A wild, twisting line of green light rocketed through the earth until it arrived beneath the piece of machinery that Nanako had hidden behind, and with a sudden burst of air it was lifted off the ground and hurtled through the air, slamming right into the monstrous shadow figure and sending his attack off-course! Desperately, Nanako scrambled away as the figure stumbled back!

@PKMNB0Y

---

Benienma nodded, a grave expression on her small, soft-featured face.

"I think it must be an out of control Servant dechi," she said. It was the only explanation that made sense. Everything was so sudden, so it couldn't have been a pre-meditated act by the summoner. At the very least, that wasn't likely. Which meant that it was most likely the Servant acting on their own, and abducting their master to boot. Additionally, the most likely class for such behavior was Berserker. It wasn't a guarantee, of course, but it was what the small Saber now suspected.

"We'll know the moment we can get a testimony dechi," she added, "I sent one of my-"

As if on cue, a sparrow fluttered in through a nearby window. When Benienma raised her hand, it landed neatly on her small finger, chirping rapidly.

"... Perfect!" declared the small redhead, "The victim has just awakened dechi! We'll be able to get her testimony dechi."

@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y

"...Okay. Let's get the visit over with, and we can let her rest," Hakuno nodded to the small Servant. Having to relive being attacked by a Servant would not be a pleasant experience, Hakuno figured, but it had to be done. She spent most of the journey silently contemplating how best to approach the poor girl. No doubt the victim would be more reassured by a mature, possibly grizzled type of detective, and not a walking piece of cardboard and her frankly adorable sidekick?

Soon enough, they had reached the hospital that Mary had been taken to. Putting on her best 'official' face, Hakuno entered and spoke with a receptionist, confirming her identity and reason for visiting. In short order, she was taken to the room Mary was currently residing in. After an inhale to try and calm her nerves, she knocked on the door and slid it open, entering.

"...Saikawa Mary," Hakuno tried to keep the nervous quiver out of her voice as she addressed the injured girl, roughly around her own age, "I'm sorry to bother you. I'm Kishinami Hakuno of the Counter-Crime Force," she indicated the small Servant at her side, "And this is my partner, Saber."

Hakuno approached the bed, glancing at Mary's injury. Obviously, it had been treated already, and looked nowhere near as bad as it probably did a shor time ago. Still, to be attacked like that in Fusang...
"If you're able, I'd like to hear about what happened at the time of the incident," Hakuno spoke again, "with... as much detail as you can manage. If we know who we're looking for, we'll catch the culprit in no time."

Between Hijikata's own threats and the possibility in being wrapped up in even more trouble, Jason could only take a deep breath as he processed the other Master's words. Certainly, letting the Berserker run rampant meant that he, personally, wouldn't be harmed...

But letting things proceed as they were would mean that he also wouldn't be dragged off by the police and... Well, all things considered, being thrown into a detention hall for his break wasn't much better than being on the run instead.

"...Alright, let's just try this, then! By my Command Seal, I order you: stand down!"

Brandishing the marks on the back of his hand, Jason watched and waited.

And waited.

And nothing had changed. The Berserker barely shrugged—no, barely even made note of what he had done, which caused Jason to furrow his brows in worry.

"Stand down, I said!"

Despite using a second Command Seal, though, those present would find out that, other than a marginally more irritated Berserker standing at the ready, nothing had actually changed.

"I... What? But—" Jason began to say, flustered as he looked at the back of his hand for a moment before hearing the sound of another gunshot ring out. This one, however, was aimed at Altera's head.

"If that's your decision, then that's how it'll be," he said, charging forward at the enemy Saber before leaping into the air, katana drawn and readied for a slash at her head.

@Raineh Daze


When the hail of arrows arrived, the purple-haired Servant wasted no time in beginning to evade. Spinning around gracefully about the floor, Meltryllis watched as the arrows whizzed by her body and lodged themselves into the ground or the walls opposite their origin. From a distance, it could be seen as simply toying with her opponent.

But this was simply how she fought.

As the barrage of projectiles continued, Meltryllis pressed ahead, only barely noting that her Master was caught up in her own battle off to the side. It took but a moment for her to break off from pursuing the Archer hiding in the shadows and instead turn most of her focus towards the large, hulking shadow that Nanako had just thrown off course.

"I guess that staying close may have been asking a bit too much of you," Meltryllis sighed as she swung her body around, slamming into the enemy with one of her legs and launching it towards the other side of the room. "That Archer's gone missing again, since I had to spend time getting that... Thing off of you, so stay on your guard."

It was, admittedly, quite irritating to let the more mobile target escape, but if her Master died here, then it wouldn't matter if she caught her quarry. Even she knew this much.

@VitaVitaAR

---

---

The hospital room that Hakuno walked into was all but silent, and despite the relative hustle and bustle of people outside the room, it seemed that there had been no visitors for Mary up until then. The young woman, now dressed in a hospital gown as she quietly turned towards the door, simply nodded in response to the girl's request. It seemed that, despite everything that had happened that morning, she was in a well enough state to speak.

"A-ah... Alright..." she began, nodding her head as she watched the Master-Servant pair walk inside and take their seats. "It, um... It's not that long a story, really... I, um... There was someone that I knew who had been having a bad streak of luck recently, and, um... We hadn't talked in a while, so I suggested we hang out for a little bit. One thing led to another, and, um... Well, we decided to try and summon a Servant. I can't really remember much after that, though... All I remember was a lot of shouting, a few gunshots, and the next thing I knew, I was lying in a pool of my own blood..."

Mary shook her head, almost as if attempting to wave off what had just been said. Her right hand subtly glossed over the dressing that had been put over the wound, with the bullets having passed through her cleanly instead of lodging themselves with. The wounds were still very much present, and despite having been sewn up, the phantom pains that came from them still lingered around.

"I, um... If there's anything specific you want to know, though, I'll do my best to try and remember..."

@RolePlayerRoxas

Nanako opened her mouth. For a moment, she wanted to say she'd taken cover because of the arrow barrage. Because it was still close, and that if she took cover it wouldn't force Meltryllis to have to consider her when she dodged too. But then she shut her mouth just as quickly. All she would do if she spoke would have been to upset Meltryllis. Nothing she could say would do any good. So she took the admonishment.

... If she was being honest, the sight of Meltryllis's dance through the arrows had been so beautiful it made her heart hurt even more. Her Servant was graceful and lovely, and yet she had ruined everything about the friendly relationship they could have built. The relationship she had envisioned when she thought about summoning a Servant...

Weakly, Nanako shook her head. Now wasn't the time, it couldn't be...!

The hulking figure with the Roman sword slowly rose, having cratered the wall with its impact. It did not move as a natural creature, its upper body bent backwards before reaching a more normal posture with an ugly snapping sound. Had Meltryllis's kick broken something inside its body? Had the snapping sound been it self-repairing?

"... Oppressssooooorrrr..." it groaned, stepping forward, maw hanging open to reveal that hanging tongue once more, drool dribbling to the ground.

"Wh... what is that...?" Nanako found herself saying, as the shadowy figure raised its sword once more, preparing to charge. But that wasn't all.

With more time to take stock of the situation, and able to see past the damaged wall, Nanako realized with horror why there were no workers around. All she saw was a single arm laying limply, blood pooling around it... blood on the more distant walls, blood... there was so much blood beyond the damaged wall. They were dead... the workers here were dead...!

A hail of arrows suddenly rained down from the upper windows! This time, it looked as if they were aimed to try and drive both Nanako and Meltryllis towards the hulking shadow beast!

@PKMNB0Y

Given the guttural moan from the thing that she had just launched across the area, Meltryllis could only give a frown of disgust as she prepared herself to strike once more. It looked to be some mockery of a Servant—a failed experiment or a summoning, perhaps—and was thus barely even worth the reaction she had thus given it. The sooner it was destroyed, the better; to be frank, she didn't even want to turn this thing into EXP. The thought of whatever made this thing up being used as her body was quite disgusting, and undesirable would have been putting that lightly.

"I haven't a clue, but it'll be dead soon enough," she remarked in turn, taking a pose as if to move forward before another stream of arrows forced her to move. It wasn't a shot aimed at them without any reason, and given the situation it was likely that the Archer and this thing were working in conjunction.

"Don't get shot; follow my lead, or die trying."

With that, Meltryllis sprang forward, spinning vertically in midair as she launched a shockwave of energy at the enemy in front of the two before swinging her prosthetic leg squarely onto its head. The force of the impact was enough to allow her to do a backflip onto the ceiling, from which she rocketed forth in an attempt to destroy its head.

Assuming that this wasn't some sort of blob-creature as opposed to something with vaguely human anatomy, the succeeding blow would kill it... Assuming that she wasn't forced to mitigate the blow due to that nuisance of an Archer prioritizing its comrade over her Master. Hopefully, that child would have enough sense (or adrenaline) about her to keep up in the first place.

@VitaVitaAR


To the Knights of the Round Table waiting around in the reception area for their paperwork to be filed, the arrival of one brown-haired Archer would prove to be a boon. Following close behind him, another Servant quietly fidgeted around, taking occasional glances at the all-too-famous entourage in front of her.

"My apologies for the delay," the former said, bowing his head towards the Servants present before glancing behind himself, as if to make sure the other Servant at his side had not fallen behind. "My name is Chiron, and I have been called here to help you all with registration at the arena. As your deeds precede you, however, it seems that we were unable to find enough participants able at this time to match you equally. As such, it seems that I will be among those that will match one of you in combat today. I shall judge you fairly all the same, so please, do not hesitate in showing your strength henceforth."

"U-um... Oh my gosh, it's the actual Knights of the Round Table..." muttered the other Servant, a little bit off to the side as she nervously glanced at everyone who had thus gathered in front of her before Chiron smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Come on, it's your turn now. You wished to introduce yourself, did you not?"

"Y-yes!" she exclaimed in turn, her back immediately straightening before she bowed to the knights in front of her. "Bradamante, of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins! I've heard so much about all of you from the great Merlin, and, and..."

As the Servant's thoughts began to diverge, Chiron simply laughed and turned back to the Servants who he had been addressing thus far.

"I apologize for her excitability; ever since she had been summoned, Bradamante has been coming to watch the Knights of the Round Table fight whenever she has been able—which, to be quite frank, only really meant Gawain's matches thus far. She has volunteered to aid me in my endeavors today, so please, show her higher heights to strive for."

@Raineh Daze@KoL

"Oh, come on, guys. Stop worrying about this old stuff, let's just have a good time here and then go celebrate just like we did after showing those Picts who's boss in Britain," Mordred said as she noticed the mood brewing up between the other Knights once again. And then, she pulled Gareth by the shoulders once again—clacking their armors together—before adding, "Right, sis?"

Her excited grin gave way to a puzzled frown once they were addressed by a certain weirdly mismatched duo.

"Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" Mordred said to the mentor-like Archer while squinting her eyes as if trying to pull the information out of the depths of her memories. Anyway, she quickly shrugged it off once something far more more outlandish came from the mouth of his blonde tagalong.

"Did you say Merlin? How in the world do you know that pervert weasel? Wait, never mind that, you mean the Paladins like the same ones of that pink-haired chick I saw on a magazine some other da—" she began saying before being sharply interrupted by a certain brooding Archer's harp.

"Bombarding others with questions without giving them even a chance to answer is a sad thing to do, Sir Mordred," Tristan said in his typical overly melodramatic tone, after interrupting Mordred's excited ramblings.

"Yeah, like you're one to talk, Saddy. Hmph," the Knight of Treachery retorted, almost out of obligation, even though she didn't say anything else.

Tristan then, looked—even though his eyes were still closed—right at Bradamante and nodded slightly as if he were reassuring himself of something. No doubt a feeling that his fellow friends Lancelot and Gawain would understand as well as him.

"I assure you that we will do our best, Lord Chiron," he said to his fellow Archer.


Othis took notes of the words spoken by Holmes during the trip, making a point of not missing a single one of them in order to have better material for her project later on. Doing so proved to be a nice way to spend the travel time, since the ride was short that she barely noticed when they arrived at their desired location.

However, that was not the only reason for their ride to be so short...

"Indeed," Othis said after listening to Holmes' cautionary words. "This situation is too good to not have anything fishy behind it," she added, unable to resist the urge of saying that line while they are the port.

"With the way this is being set up, I wouldn't find it strange to find a boat ready for us the moment we step into the pier," she said as she stood beside Holmes.

"I guess that we won't find out if we don't go and ask," Othis said as she walked towards the pier's administration office while paying careful attention to their surrounding.

For one of Greek myth's most celebrated teachers to be assigned to judging their abilities was a high honour--though with Mordred's interest in the man and unexpected recollection, the traitor knight would insist on being the first to take the opportunity. Though there was no reason that any of the knights should be able to remember meeting with someone that had long been turned into a constellation by their time...

Bradamante's reaction was more familiar. Exceedingly so, given Sir Gareth had reacted the exact same way when everyone convened for the first time today. The prudent thing to do was to interrupt the gushing before she got too carried away and forgot why they were here--and before she might notice Tristan or Gawain's attitudes. He wasn't going to do something so forward with such a fervent admirer. No matter their outfit.

"You've had contact with Merlin? Do you mind explaining before we fight?" If that wizard was still around, there was no telling what tricks he might get up to. Or whose dreams he might invade.

---

"You have to be the single most pathetic Master I've seen so far," Alkyrieaze said, looking at the amazing lack of results, "My previous model could control Heracles and you can't even command seal someone to not fight."

Of course, whilst the child was saying this and walking round to be closer to Jason, Altera was reacting to the shot with all appropriateness: cutting the bullet out of the air, and bringing the Sword of Mars down to engage the Berserker in melee. Something that, perhaps unsurprisingly, was decisively in her advantage: even were her parameters not superior, a divine construct was an advantageous melee weapon over a Servant's katana. Particularly one with more resemblance to a whip than a sword.

And Altera was just as aggressive a fighter.

The homunculus, meanwhile, was simply sighing as she tried to think of how to end this. Not that killing a berserker was all that bad in her mind, but it would be inconvenient, which meant... finding some other way to get him to stop fighting than lop limbs off. Fortunately, she had the skills of her predecessors, even if she was even more hopeless in fighting, which meant as soon as she was close enough to Jason... and so long as Altera kept Hijikata away...

One or two hairs from her head made an excellent noose around the throat. Alchemical wire was quite beyond a normal person to break. Oh, he might protest when he realised what the child had so quickly done, but--"Berserker, if you don't stop fighting, you Master dies, and you fail whatever your mission is."