Nobody slept at Chaldea. It was a cruel reality that sleep wasn't on the table, even during the most peaceful times. But as the organization became closer and closer to the final end goal of their research, excitement was everywhere. Everybody worked. Everybody did multiple shifts. The dream of the Rayshift was so close, and today was the morning of the day when it all came together.

The night before, the leaders of Chaldea had gathered the first of many teams who would bus using the miracle of the Rayshift. To breach into the past. To see and observe the things that slipped off balance. It was a task only suited for the most elite and well suited among them to such things. Those chosen had been given the privilege to become the first Masters of Chaldea, who would lead servants.

That was yesterday though. Today, the team would wake up to the sounds of alarms. Clock alarms, and the charming voice of the facility's top scientist, architect, linguist, inventor, pa- Just assume he did a lot...



"Morning morning you lucky ducklings!" The ecstatic voice of Raphael echoed through the room. His smile was contagious, and his bright red outfit made him stand out quite abit in comparison to the grey metal walls of the facility. "You all slept a good 9 hours, which was 7 hours more than anybody else in the facility!" He swept his hands back, holding them in a Y sort of shape. "Now, there are still a few hours before we finally do our first major Rayshift and officially set you chicks to work! But until then, get some food, talk to your summoned servants, and whatever else you might have on your minds. Servants don't need to eat our sleep, so chances are they've scattered through the facility. If you don't have them all together by the time we Rayshift, you'll be going without them." Raphael prattled, while the team was no doubt getting dressed.

"If you have any questions, don't ask them here. Because I'm a TV and can't actually hear you. Ask me in person." And with that, the TV blipped off, and the most important day of many lives in the Chaldea facility began.

As the Masters began to wake up and the other Servants mucked off to do whatever they do, Assassin spent most of the night taking advantage of the time he had to himself by exploring every secret nook and cranny of Chaldea that he could get access to. Invisibility and Presence Concealment were real blessings in accomplishing this, after all. Knowing all these were important later, for the time between missions. For now, this snooping around only served as good practice for his abilities. Gotta keep those old bones moving, after all.

At the moment, Assassin had decided to find a place to rest, more excited to wait for prospects of truly putting his profession into practice than getting himself in trouble. And out of all the places he chose to wait, it was in one of the storage areas, more specifically the one the Masters would have to go to in order to get themselves properly equipped for their first mission. Of course, while he was definitely there, where he was specifically was a mystery, waiting to be found out. Even if his own Master attempted to see through his vision through their connection, he would only see pitch darkness... or more accurately, dimmed steel gray.

There was indeed a surprise, a "prank" waiting for the Masters in the room, one they would not suspect... or understand, really. Those youngsters are too uninitiated for true comedy, after all. They'd have to be wiser than others of their age to truly understand Assassin's sense of humor. Of course, this surprise was not at all an act of malicious intent, but rather, something benign and harmless...


Laying on one of the steel tables in the equipment room was a pickle, seemingly placed there sometime last night...

((Collab between Duoya and Letter Bee))

Chaldea Base

Daniel wanted to meet with his new partner, Charlotte, before the singularity began. He already knew quite a bit about her from what information Chaldea was willing to release, but he wanted to sow the seeds of a good working relationship anyway. So he walked the corridors, hoping to find Charlotte at random - He knew she'd be setting something on fire, so she might probably be in the training rooms? Either way, Daniel had plenty of time to seek out his future partner - Hopefully they can have a decent chat first before resolving time problems!

Charlotte was indeed nearby, as the sounds of grunting and smell of burning wood indicated. Having left the door wide open, Charlotte was exercising in one of Chaldea's weight rooms and training her magecraft as well. Her breathing was somewhat strained, and it seemed she had been training hard for at least an hour. Maybe it was the stress of her new environment, or the difficulty in meeting the expectations of so many strangers. Whatever the case, the girl seemed noticeably more upbeat than she usually did, which was saying something given her personality.

Entering the room, Daniel waves and says, "Hello, sorry to interrupt, but mind if we talk? My name is Daniel Palailogos, and I'm your new partner!"

Speaking of partnerships, Daniel should also try and collect some of the alchemic potions he had been brewing in one of Chaldea's spare observation rooms. After all, he can only make them a few times per day.

However, making new friends was more important, especially as many of Daniel's existing friends disappeared after a few weeks. And yes, he had suspicions about that, especially with the homunculi and 'designer baby' children he had played with back in his youth. Despite that, Chaldea can still be reformed and still deserved his loyalty. The Church and the Magus' Association were worse.

So he waited for Charlotte to respond.

Chalotte seemed to jump into a defensive posture at the sound of Daniel's voice, similar to a cat that was tapped from behind. She immediately turned around, and lowered her barbell in order to more carefully appraise her visitor. Her eyes seemed to inspect Daniel similarly to a prisoner inspecting fresh inmates before she broke into a broad smile and introduced herself.

"Greetings, Daniel! It's nice to meet you! So far everyone here has been pretty okay, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt!"

She quickly paused her rather curt greeting with a bombastic pose, similar to what one would expect from a Saturday Morning Cartoon Hero. She continued her introductions undisturbed by the crude transition.

"I go by many names far and wide! Champion of all that burns, Burning Soul of Justice, Ultimate Warrior Supreme... However, seeing as we will be partners for the time being, I grant you the right to call me whatever you wish!"

She dropped the pose when she was done speaking, and went back to her weight, talking as she did so.

"Unless you want to stick to a first name basis, I'm cool with that too."

Daniel smiled, trying not to be infatuated as he was saving himself for other boys, "First name basis, then! And those are all cool titles!"

He looked around at the burning wreckage of the training room and said, "And you're strong, too! I'm already honored to be partnered beside someone like you."

Then, he looks from side to side, "So... Not to be Don Juan - I had to spend all my Command Spells to get him not to sleep with my parents and focus on Chaldea's other personnel instead - But want to talk about what types of boys or girls you like, or would you find that vulgar? If the latter, let's talk about favored fighting styles! I use plastic toy guns - Toy versions of Nonmages' weapons - to get people to underestimate me before I strike them with bursts of explosive liquid and various poisons..."

Charlotte finished her last set that required a barbell, and decided to shift to Magecraft training. It helped that Daniel had just started talking about their fighting styles, since she saw it as a chance to brag about her prowess.

"I don't really deal with those kind of things - it's pretty boring to be dating and doing that kind of stuff when you could be adventuring, or doing something super badass!"

A small ball of fire appeared from the bandages covering her arms as she spoke, lightly floating in the air in a wave-like motion.

"I'm always willing to share my secret to my countless victories, however! I burn things - as a matter of fact, you could say I'm the greatest in the world at burning things! I plan on asking Caster for pointers if he has any, but not..."

Charlotte paused, suddenly remembering that the person she was talking to actually said something before she began monologuing.

"Wait, you use guns? Even if you're not firing musket balls, how do you reload at a decent speed? I thought guns needed gunpowder!"

Daniel said, "They used to. However, a century or two ago, new chemical explosives were developed, starting with nitrocellulouse. Now, at present, actual guns can have cartridges of twelve bullets each planted into a stock, and once the safety is off, the firing mechanism can then ignite the explosive compound inside the bullet and fire it through the barrel - What we call the long pipe that makes up the part of the gun which faces the enemy's front - When the trigger is clicked. Note that those kinds of guns are restricted to people 18 and above in many countries, so again, I use the toy version."

He draws the Alchemic Blaster, a plastic gun which operated through pump action, and said, "Basically, in the mundane world, children play with toy guns which are filled with water, which they squirt at others through a pump-action mechanism that uses the pressure of the human finger on the trigger. My version uses the same thing, only the pumps are engraved with tiny runes or script which boost the force of the explosive compounds, poisons, or healing potions shot towards an enemy or in the last case, friend. That and instead of filling the gun directly with the compound, I use cartridges of my own which contain a compressed version of the compound in question."

Daniel then drew a small rectangular cartridge from his belt and loaded it into his 'toy' gun's stock, then pointed it at an already-wrecked target, "Each cartridge is good for three to six squirts."

Then he shot at the alread-wrecked piece of training equipment, the glob of liquid starfire hiting it, blowing it up, then causing the pieces which were left to keep burning until they were molten metal. Blinking, the boy said, "Okay... I did not mean to do that."

I hope I didn't show her up! he thought, before blurting out, "I know you can reach higher temeperatures, though. That and your Flame Magecraft is still superior in that you can prevent yourself from targeting civilians or turn the fire off if it unintentionally hits one. Actually, that must be the greatest challenge of the task we're going to undertake, saving people and not burning innocents who were just in the wrong place and time..."

As Daniel talked in the beginningm Charlotte adopted a blank starshe commonly had when something was far above her understanding. It wasn't until he actually used the weapon that Charlotte started to nod, releasing an excited and guttural laugh as the training dummy she had been assaulting blew up and melted. She rushed up and clapped the boy on his shoulder, shaking him lightly as she did so.

"That's what I call a demonstration, hell yeah! You're alright if you can pull stuff like that off, Braniac! You gotta show me more when we get out on the field, we could raise hell if we team up."

She paused slightly and raised her chin however, sporting a smug grin.

"Could be better though - you're right when you said I can get it even hotter, and my control is a bit better... I think? Never tested that part, huh..."

Charlotte shrugged and made her way to the door, leaving her weights lying on the ground and not bothering to clean them up.

"At the very least, good to know I didn't end up with a lame partner that didn't get how sick fire is, y'know? Anyways, I gotta hit the canteen for breakfast - see you around, chief."

Daniel waved and said, "Goodbye and thanks!"

“Sounds like things are getting moving,” The Saber said, brushing the back of his head. “I don’t know if you guys care about the walk of shame or whatever, but it seems like a lot of people had to pull all-nighters. Think they’ll be jealous you got to have some fun?” He looked to the rest of the people in the room, winking cheerily.

The five women were all still looking fairly exhausted. It was going to be a pretty difficult work day for them, most likely.

“Jessica, Angie, Mary, Monica, Tina, right?” He said, making rough eye contact with each in turn. It wasn’t as though he needed to physically maintain his list any longer; that was simply a function of his Noble Phantasm. Plus, women tended to find it rude when you got out the quill right after the deed was done. While he wasn’t above running out on people the morning after, it wouldn’t be a good idea to build up resentment with people who’d be working with him for an unknown amount of time going forward. “I’ve heard people say bad things about workplace relationships, but I’m sure we’re on the same page about what this is,” He said, to little response from the exhausted women. “If you’re feeling up for round two in a week or so, I’ll be around.”

“Adiós, ladies.” He smiled, and spun a cigarette in his fingers before gripping it in a brief salute towards the women. Then, he stuck it in his mouth and casually walked from the room. It was time to get to work.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the other Servants since they were men - he was sure they’d prove valuable allies and all, but chatting about tactics wasn’t his top priority right after being summoned back into the world. As for what it had been, well, that should be pretty obvious.

His Master, though, had certainty stood out. Some kid, who’d had the guts to boss him around right off the bat. “Still, to think he’d go that far…” Saber muttered under his breath. Not only using a command seal, but using even three. Perhaps it was better for him to use all of those command seals right off the bat than on some other whim later, but it was annoying nonetheless.

“I guess I do have that kind of reputation.” He sighed. Three command seals made for a pretty strong order, overall. But there was a flaw in the wording. For a Servant like Don Juan, a command to not touch a single woman in any particular group - it was as good as an order to sleep with every single other woman in that group.

Still, he’d pretty much been planning on that from the start, so all that the pressure from those orders did was give him a nasty itch that he could feel beneath his skin.

Scratching it had been fun, though.

Oi, Master. Don Juan spoke telepathically, Hope you didn’t try and see through my eyes last night. It was the sort of show a kid shouldn’t see. Well, he knew the kid hadn’t been peeking, he just wanted to needle the kid a little. In fact, you should stay out of my eyes while we’re in Chaldea. You never know what you might see~

He wandered through the halls, trying to get a sense of the layout of the place that would be his home for the foreseeable future. For the time being, there was no need to rush.

---

---

"One hour. That's how long I've been gone and you already burnt something down Master, that's a new record," Charlotte heard a voice behind her, turning around she would find a tall dark-skinned man, wearing a black shirt underneath an open white and yellow coat that left his rather muscular arms exposed. Her Servant Lancer with a wry smile on his face, "Maybe I should get one of those 'fire extinguishers' for my stay as your Servant. What do you think, Master?"

When he was summoned Yasuke expected many things, but one thing he didn't expect was his Master being a pyromaniac who almost burnt down her room not even five minutes after the contract was sealed. It was impressive in a way, he who once had to wrangle a crazy person in life will now wrangle another in death.

"But that's enough about your blazing tendencies. I see you already made a friend, a fellow lover of flames I presume?" He asked jokingly, while he knew that the other Master, Daniel if he remembered it right, looked to be more of a stuffy type than a 'burn the house down for fun' type the chance of teasing his Master was too much to pass on.

"But seriously please tell me he wasn't the one who made the mess in your bedroom. Dealing with you and the Saber is already looking like it's gonna be a handful you know? I don't want to add another pyromaniac to the list." He said in a more serious tone.

---

Daniel

I want to make this clear, Daniel responded to Don Juan’s telepathic message. I am not really interested in what you do as long as it’s not with my family. Just don’t shatter the domestic bliss of my home life and we’re good, okay? Now, I am going to start a discussion on tactics I want you to listen in on - Can you multitask?

Then he went to answer Yasuke, saying, “I like fire, yes - I am a person of many interests, and fire is a good tool for someone who wants to be a ‘Magus Killer’.”

A pause, “All my life, ever since I was aware of the corrupt nature of the Clock Tower and the Church, I’ve been researching ways to kill Magi, the more powerful, the better. I’ve also searched whatever intelligence reports, rumors, and wild stories I can wheedle out of Chaldea’s staff - Which includes my parents - for rumors of people or monsters effective at killing powerful Mages and Church Enforcers and the methods they use to be effective at said killing.”

Then he turned to Charlotte, “And I am glad to have one of the most skilled Pyromancers that I know as part of my team, and I know we’ll save many lives together and defeat those who would corrupt the timelines.”

He hoped that Don Juan didn’t go after 17-year olds - Wait, that’s legal in Europe and most of the world - Because Charlotte was beautiful and he just gave the Servant another glance at her.

Back to Yasuke, “And with your help, I’m sure we can keep collateral damage to a minimum, same for Don Juan and his own abilities! Heck, with DJ’s ‘ultra-redemption’ Noble Phantasm, we might even redeem a few evildoers instead of just killing them! Actually, with you and DJ’s immense resistances to damage, Crazy Horse’s scouting skills, plus Autocylus’ various abilities which can solve a problem without killing -”

It was then that Daniel decided to contact Auto telepathically, Auto, what are you doing right now? Can I see through your eyes for a bit? Also, I’m having an ad-hoc tactical discussion right now - Want to join?

Then back to the discussion, “Either way, we’d be an unstoppable force of Magus and Churchmen-killers, disposing of corrupt individuals to save innocent people! Can’t one think of a better career path?”

"One hour. That's how long I've been gone and you already burnt something down Master, that's a new record,"

Charlotte stopped in her tracks as she was making her way to the canteen, and she barely made it a few steps out of the training room. She recognized the voice and turned to meet her new Servant.

"Maybe I should get one of those 'fire extinguishers' for my stay as your Servant. What do you think, Master?"

"Like a pail of water? That's rude of you, to assume such a thing could stop my Burning Soul!"

Charlotte chuckled a little too loudly for comfort at her own statement, before nodding her head to herself.

"And I would think you'd be appreciative that I withheld myself for an entire hour. The last time I remember doing that was on the plane ride here, and that was awful..."

She stopped as she listened to the new discussion underway between her Servant and Daniel. While she didn't really care for the morality behind becoming a 'Magus Killer,' especially considering her willingness to be a regular killer, she never really considered the Church or the Clock Tower to be especially corrupt. She even visited it one time with her family, and while she refused to take classes, the Clock Tower itself seemed like a very respectable foundation... If a bit elitist.

Well, a bit was pretty generous, considering some of the things she saw in her very brief visit.

Charlotte knocked herself out of her trance when she heard her name being spoken, specifically focusing back in when Daniel complimented her. She smugly nodded at the recognition of her skills. She didn't really understand the part about timelines, even when members of Chaldea Staff explained it to her in detail, but she didn't really mind ignorance unless it would become an issue later on.

"There you have it, Lancer! And I would call what I do to my room 'making it homey' rather than 'making a mess.' Anyways, I'm going to the Canteen to get some food, and maybe look for Caster afterward - you guys are welcome to follow if you want. Just be sure not to babysit too much if you come, Lancer."

THE MAGNIFICENT GENIUS OF THE ERA STEPS INTO THE ROOM!
___________________________________________________________________________________________///
@Letter Bee@Duoya@Heavy Snark

"You know Daniel, a Magus Killer may at first sound like an ideal path for a young man, but for a child to be touting so highly about it while still confined in the balanced space of Chaldea makes one imagine it's less about the structure or profession and more about a singular aspect of genocide." That voice, dripping with smugness could belong to no other than Raphael. Before today, Chaldea had summoned only a few other servants. This one in particular operated nearly every aspect of the facility, so he knew everything going on inside. "In layman's terms, a magus killer seeks to only kill those that might disrupt the tentative balance the world has found itself in. Bragging so openly about it as a career profession makes it seem like you're less interested in that balance, and more about the killing."

Raphael brushed the cuff of his bright red suit, and turned his attention to Charlotte. "Am I to believe you haven't eaten yet? That simply won't do! I shall accompany you to the mess hall. Daniel, I notice that none of your servants are here, while Miss Charlotte has already gathered one of hers. If you don't have Don Juan and Autocylus with you when we set off, I'll be having to lock them in the closet where they can drive each other insane."

With his hand, he pressed on Charlotte's back. Escorting her to the mess hall. Leaning in, he whispered to her. "I understand Daniel can be difficult to work with. If you wish to request a different partner for your first mission, I can look at the applications again and pull in somebody else."

They turned down a hall, and right there was the mess hall. People who were only half-awake were gathered. Some having just gotten up from their short naps, or others hoping to get some food before they go to bed. Raphael stepped forth first, glancing at the menu. It was quite extensive. A few of the chefs had been trained by Raphael himself, so to that extent they had become five star chefs.
"I'll have scrambled eggs and bacon. What do you want, dear? Oh and Lancer, what do you want too... I guess."

Assassin chuckled to himself at the request of his bewildered Master. To think he allowed himself to be summoned by the most idealistic child in Chaldea... Well, it made some amount of sense given the mission, but to waste all his Command Spells for such an inconsequential reason? Assassin felt like whatever strategy they'd discuss would likely fall flat. Not like he could go up and join the conversation if he wanted to, either. After all, it seems Assassin was in quite the pickle.

Sorry kid, but that's a 'no' on both your questions. Like I said when I was summoned, I'll help Chaldea restore Human Order and all that, but I'm playing by my own rules. Ya lost the authority to tell me otherwise, anyway! Hah!

Assassin's words were as harsh as the tone of his voice, which was that of an almost comical exaggeration of a crotchety old man. However, Assassin once again spoke to Daniel, but in hushed whispers this time, ignoring the fact that the tone of his mentally projected voice would hide nothing as no one else would hear their conversation regardless.

To tell ya the truth, kid, I'm... having a bit of trouble where I'm at. Mind if you sneak on over here in the equipment room and help an old man out? You'll know it when you see it.

Daniel

Daniel frowned at that, then said to Raphael, “Yeah… I’m aware I sounded like an insensitive dickhead just earlier - Apologies for my arrogance just there.”

He decided not to address Raphael’s other points, and Auto’s message to him gave the boy an excuse to do something else than ponder whether what he wanted can be construed as ‘Genocidal’. So he said, “I’ll join you guys later - Maybe 30 minutes to an hour. Autocylus is calling me and I think he seriously needs my help. Or, who knows, it might be a prank - I’m not entirely blind.”

And with that, Daniel zoomed off to the equipment room, saying, “Again, I’ll join you guys later - Sorry about this!”

Once in the equipment room, and anticipating a way to reconcile with Auto (best-case scenario), Daniel found the ‘pickle’ which was just lying around there, and thought, It’d better not be something gross, before picking it up to examine, already anticipating that it’d be a humiliating but not truly cruel prank.

A twinge of discomfort, a twinge of discomfort which came from suppressing any thought that things would not go his way. Breath in, breath out, relax. You may be ‘safe’, but you’ve probably sowed the seeds of resentment to the others. By being too open about your desires, you exposed them to ridicule… As well as legitimate criticism.

A pause, as Auto’s prank presumably came into action. Damnit.

@Cu Chulainn@Reflection@Duoya

Those with a high IQ would likely surmise that Assassin had used his ability to change his form in order to assume the shape of a pickle. While that may be one of the funniest things one would see in their life, that was sadly not the case. There was no silly face on the other side of the pickle, for it was a normal pickle. It felt pickly, smelled pickly, and would likely taste pickly should Daniel decide to eat it. Rather than being a silly harmless prank involving a brined cucumber, what instead happened was something Daniel could possibly not foresee as the feeling of cold, sharp steel pressed against his neck.

Assassin appeared behind his Master, holding the flat end of one of his many knives against his neck. It wasn't enough to cut for sure, but it was definitely threatening. Before Daniel could react, Assassin moved with his superior speed, pulling one of his arms behind his back as he held him tightly.

"You shouldn't have come alone, kid. If you still had your command spells, you could possibly stop me from slicing your throat right now. You wouldn't have to use them to command us, either... the mere threat of them would have kept me at bay from gutting ya. How can you save the world if ya can't save yourself?"

Assassin continued to hold his blade against Daniel's neck for only a few more seconds before finally letting go, slinking back with a yawn. The knife had disappeared, and all that was left was Assassin's sly, shit-eating grin.

"When we go on the field, your best bet is to stick near one of the other Servants, unless you want another Assassin to cut you down like I would have done. You're only a liability to us now that you don't have your command spells on ya! Consider this a lesson from the man who taught the big guy how to throw down! Hah!"

With that laugh, Assassin took the pickle from Daniel's hands, taking a bite from it while walking off.

"Well, would you look at that! Those girlies Saber brought to his room last night were right! Pickles are delicious..."

And so, Assassin went off to enjoy his breakfast, paying no heed to the child he likely scarred for life. Those scars will make him tough, after all...

Daniel

Surprise. Pride in his Servant’s abilities. And finally, a feeling of frustrating weakness due to how Autocylus had shown him more of his blind spots. Then a realization: His acting like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread had alienated two of his Servants (although with Don Juan, he at least had the excuse that the Saber would have destroyed his family life), and if not for Charlotte liking his Alchemic Blaster’s effects, Daniel might have alienated his fellow Master as well. This was bad, real bad. If he didn’t shape up soon, he’d doom Human History to destruction and collapse.

Now to run back to the cafeteria - If Daniel ate fast, he’d be able to fill his stomach with something actually good before he and Charlotte went to Rayshift. Then he remembered that he needed Auto and Don Juan, along with Crazy Horse, with him when it was time to travel through history. He decided to contact the last Servant, hoping that his tone was much more humble from now on, Rider, would you mind coming to where I am so we can have a quick meal before the mission? Saber and Assassin will join us later - Despite strained relations between us, I don’t think they’d like Raphael to lock them up in a closet, which yes, was actually said by the guy.

Either way, if Daniel managed to get to the cafeteria long enough for a quick meal, he’d ask for a Gyro from the Chefs, and eat it as quickly as he could without wasting a single piece of ground meat - He had it drilled into his head from the age of six that wasting food was bad. He also asked for a wheatgrass shake for additional nutrition. Nevertheless, he said to Charlotte should they meet, “Sorry for being late, I and Auto had to talk about how I can protect myself from other Assassins in the mission.”

This time, he closed off his connection to his other servants so that he can privately think, And by ‘how I can protect myself’, he reminded me that he himself could have slit my throat at any time because of my naivete and my over-optimism. Oh, my God, oh, my God, I really made bad choices at the beginning!

Either way, if he had one hour left, he’d take a full thirty minutes to calm down, breathing in and out as he waited for his Servants - Or at least Crazy Horse - to arrive. Will they come? Will they publicly disobey? Were they even aware that Raphael will lock them up if they fail to show up? Hopefully, the call for adventure will be enough to get them to come, even if they won’t necessarily obey him. Either way, he’d message Don Juan and Autocylus one more time, saying, Saber, Assassin, I would like to have you know that Raphael will lock you two up in a closet - With each other - If you two don’t come with me and Crazy Horse.

Then a thought, Fair warning, by the way, Chaldea may provide you with prana instead of me - Unless I am misremembering - but they will still be outraged if we fail to coordinate in the mission, especially if I die and their ‘investment’ in raising me dies with it.

Cutting off the link as he walked towards the Rayshift Room, Daniel then began thinking up solutions to his present predicament. A Ruler-class Servant can give me extra Command Spells, and also the capability to keep the others in line with the right Noble Phantasms. And I know what my own Imperial bloodline can help me summon.

Yes, if he survived long enough to summon Constantine the Great, that might solve his problems with Don Juan and Autocylus. But he wasn’t so blind that he needed to improve his own personal capabilities as well, because if he didn’t, then he’d just be relying on ‘miracle solutions’ without making himself better...

I want to make this clear, Daniel responded to Don Juan’s telepathic message. I am not really interested in what you do as long as it’s not with my family. Just don’t shatter the domestic bliss of my home life and we’re good, okay? Now, I am going to start a discussion on tactics I want you to listen in on - Can you multitask?

Domestic bliss, huh?Don Juan scratched his chin. Can’t say I’ve seen much of that in my life. Women who got chained to a weak fool who simply wishes to admire them as a trophy, women who shut themselves away like a flower in a walled garden, women who simply threw themselves at the first man to show them affection, without even sampling what the world has to offer… I’ve seen plenty of that. And they’re all happy to throw themselves at me in the end.

He chuckled to himself as he walked down the corridor. Though I’m sure you know your parents better than I do, Master.

Listening in on the tactical discussion, such as it was, Saber had little to add. They were certainly a versatile group, and whatever obstacles they would be facing were hard to predict, specifically. The kid at least seemed able to grasp the strengths of his Servants. Saber was optimistic. He didn’t have much to add, though. In fact, he ended up a little distracted for a while, chatting with a scientist who crossed his path.

---

Saber, Assassin, I would like to have you know that Raphael will lock you two up in a closet - With each other - If you two don’t come with me and Crazy Horse.

Fair warning, by the way, Chaldea may provide you with prana instead of me - Unless I am misremembering - but they will still be outraged if we fail to coordinate in the mission, especially if I die and their ‘investment’ in raising me dies with it.

Ah, Master, there’s no need for that kind of threat, Saber said, laughing to himself a little. Well, if you want to threaten someone, you need to know what they fear, and I can’t say I’m scared of you or an artist. That Assassin, maybe - but I think he’s in the same situation. And good luck catching him, honestly.

He wandered towards the place his Master was headed, and caught up in no time. “Yo!” He grinned, giving the kid a slap on the back. The sort of slap that would be considered a little hard by human standards, but wasn’t going to do any harm. “Listen kid, I think we got off on the wrong foot, so I’ll give you a little friendly advice. You want a team to work together, you gotta figure out what they have in common, what drives you all. If you want to be a leader, it’s often best to just sit back for a while and figure the team out. It takes a while to develop the kind of skills where you can just look at someone and see what approach is right with them.”

“Really, motivating people isn’t so different from threatening them; you just gotta find the right lever. Honestly, I’m not that great at it myself, but you learn to pick up on things here and there.”

He yawned, theatrically, and picked at his teeth. “If you go in on a bunch of assumptions, you’re just gonna end up making mistakes. And you made a couple of big ones with those command seals.”

His eyes flashed towards Daniel, and his tone sharpened from the friendliness it had held before. “Keep up the attitude, and I’ll fuck your dad. How’s that for a threat?”

For a moment, he held his gaze, before chuckling and lighting a cigarette. “Well, I’m sure it won’t come to that. I’m looking to keep things professional around here. Or, at least, not looking to create a hostile working environment. I have my fun, and then when it comes time to deal with these singularities, we get down to work. Sound good?” He smiled, and almost went to offer the kid a cigarette, before remembering his age and twitching the hand back.

---

---

"Oi Oi Oi kid, settle down with the backstory - I only met you for five minutes at most. I appreciate the enthusiasm about defeating mages and the drive about how we're gonna win this, but ya gotta think a little before you decide to announce your hatred of sorcerers in a place run mostly by sorcerers, anyway I gotta go before my Master here burns down the breakfast buffet," Lancer said before following along with his Master.

While he could appreciate dramatic speeches due to being around his Lord for so long there was a certain time and place for them, it just wasn't the same when someone unloaded one right into you when you barely know them. 'Gotta give him an A for effort though, the kid has conviction, it's kinda sad how rare it is to find someone with drive nowadays,' Lancer mused before the familiar voice of a smug painter broke him out of his thoughts.

"Ah, Michelangelo, nice to see the upper echelons hanging out with us down in middle management," Truth be told, Yasuke didn't like the Caster very much. Not only was he a smug jackass but the Jesuits couldn't shut about him and his paintings back when he was a slave (they are not even that good! That Leonardo fellow was way better). That's why he drew particular pleasure in getting his name wrong just to watch the painter "correct" him; it was one of those little things in life that made Yasuke happy. Plus it's not like the Caster didn't deserve it, coming unto his Master like some spectral renaissance creep.

Interposing himself between Raphael and Charlotte Yasuke scratched his chin as he looked at the menu. "Hmm, I guess I'll take some Natto and eggs. So, Raph, it looks like you and my Master are getting along pretty well. A seventeen-year-old pyromaniac and the incarnated spirit of the man who painted the Sistine Chapel, truly an unlikely friendship, don't you think?"

---

---

Ah, Master is calling for me.

Rider stirred for the first time in what seemed to be hours. He roused himself from a seat in the corner in one of the staff's break rooms, startling some of the poor people who'd forgotten he was there. It was nice, Rider often thought, watching those that lived and worked in Chaldea taking time to relax. Whenever the man wasn't with his Master, he could be found in the common areas of the building. Despite what many had come to believe, Rider wasn't an introvert. Being around others filled him with warmth. He just... didn't always like being made a spectacle of. He was content to just watch over everyone. However, when his Master called for him, he went.

Admittedly, he was relieved that the other two servants bound to Daniel would meet them later. It wasn't that he disliked Saber or Assassin, but the thought of the four of them sitting down together made him cringe. Daniel, Saber, Assassin, and himself - Rider... all of them had completely different personalities, and it made interacting with any of them in a group an ambitious endeavor. I would much rather meet them as brothers in arms than table mates.

Once at the canteen, Rider hovered at the door for a moment before gliding inside. Even without his mantle, Rider appeared out of place without the uniform the staff wore, but he wasn't the only one. He caught the eyes of Lancer and his master Charlotte for the briefest of moments and gave them a nod. He extended the same courtesy to Chaldea's own Caster beside them. Raphael was an exuberant man, but he seemed to have a good heart. Daniel wasn't far, and the boy was already shoveling food into his mouth. He seemed... not upset per se, but unnerved by something. Perhaps he was nervous about the mission they would soon undertake. That was understandable.

"Master," the Lakota warrior greeted. Daniel had mentioned sharing a meal, but rushing to eat wasn't the best way to do that in Rider's opinion. Instead, he stood silently by and gave Daniel a small smile that he hoped was reassuring, if only a little bit. When Daniel made his way toward the Rayshift room, Rider was close behind. As promised, one of the other servants appeared in step with them. The other man had some good insights, although what prompted them Rider didn't know. Something must have happened again. Rider's mouth was pressed into a thin line when Saber brought up the situation with their master's command seals. Something like that again...? That was a messy situation, one Rider had tried to distance himself from as much as possible. He definitely didn't need to know about Saber's sexscapades.

"Saber..." Rider's tone was stiff, but it wasn't his place to come between his Master and another servant under his command unless the circumstances were dire. Instead, Rider fixed the promiscuous man with a pointed look before raising his chin and motioning to the sign on the wall just ahead of them. One that clearly read no smoking.

Charlotte was only a few feet away from the others when she heard another person begin talking, and she turned to identify them. She nodded at the new arrival as he addressed her, flashing a grin as she did so.

"Good to hear you're joining, Raphael! I'm always willing to share a meal with others, even if you guys don't really need to eat! You don't mind, right Lancer?"

Charlotte didn't even register the physical contact as Raphael placed his hand on Charlotte's back, considering she was fairly open with physical contact. She was more so focused on the whispered comment on Daniel's compatibility. She ordinarily would not condone talking behind someone's back, but it would have made everyone upset if she called Raphael out on that at the moment. Instead, she quickly whispered a response to the painter.

"I don't mind Daniel, I've known far less agreeable people. Besides, being difficult to work with isn't that important to me - as long as you guys think he can help, I'm plenty happy."

When they've finally arrived at the Canteen, Charlotte tried to spot her other servants - Caster specifically, since she had questions to ask him about Flame Magecraft. When she failed to spot them, she resorted to moving to a random unoccupied table instead. She'd have to find them at a later time, it seemed.

As the others ordered, Charlotte spent time perusing the menu. Normally she would have gone with something like Barbeque, but since it was morning, it didn't appear like the Canteen was serving any... The thought of making a request came to mind, but it wouldn't be worth all the effort when there were plenty of other things to eat. Besides, she was new here - pissing off the chefs wouldn't be cool.

"I guess I'll have Pancakes - do we have any peppers that I can have?"

She missed most of what Yasuke and Raphael were talking to each other about, but now that she had ordered her breakfast, Charlotte's attention was brought back to something important.

"Actually, do either of you guys know where Caster and Archer are? I haven't seen them yet today. If not, we could go on an adventure searching for them, Lancer!"

Charlotte paused for several seconds, mulling over Raphael's responsibilities and tasks at Chaldea. She eventually decided that it wouldn't be a problem to invite him, even if Yasuke didn't seem to be too friendly with him.

"You could come too if you want, Raphael - you're probably busy with the whole Ray-whatever thing, though."

@Heavy Snark@Reflection

King Mu

Ask and you shall receive.

Caster had been preoccupied on this delightful day of Chaldea, taking the time to wander and finding himself in a storage cupboard, embracing the serenity that awaited within, taking the time to enjoy the bliss of isolation for a few moments as he had developed a new theory of immortality, for it was possible mortality could be merely a concept of perception, one that the universe upheld. If someone perceived you as a mortal, then you could die. But if no one perceived you at all?

Then who knows.

He emerged with a sigh, readjusting his glasses as it occurred to him that it was likely his Master was already active and on some kind of valiant journey. Just thinking of her ambitious spirit made him chuckle, it always reminded him of his journey to Kunlun and that heroic Charioteer. He sauntered through the halls towards the canteen, somehow radiating a wayward aura as well as one of authority as he entered the canteen, preparing himself for something of a feast, or perhaps somewhere to just sit and observe the chaos that undoubtedly would occur with some of his fellow Heroic Spirits.

"Apologies for my absence, the pursuit of eternity brought me away from my usual duties," he announced as he entered, his robes gliding along with him as he approached Charlotte and Yasuke, eyeing up the others with a curious glance. "Lancer, I am pleased to see you have kept us tethered to this mortal coil whilst I was busy, Master I suspect you engaged in behavior with risk attached? A treacherous road that could harm not only yourself but the three of us as well." He gave Lancer a warm smile of sincerity and gave his master a chuckle, happy he walked in on them talking about some form of adventure.

He turned his attention to his fellow Caster, his gaze shifting to one of interest and intrigue, one he often held with the man, always intrigued by his means and his history. A man of the arts was always a man that Mu held in high standing, the arts kept his legend alive after all, without art, culture would be nothing.

"Ah, it is our Italian friend, what brings you to us at this hour?" he addressed him with a smile, intrigued by the nature of his being here, knowing that if Raphael was conversing with his Master then something must be afoot, a mystery that he would quite like to get his teeth into. He held no ill will towards caster, both of them had mystery behind them and he held them as his equal but was always suspicious of him none the less, and he was well aware that lancer was not his biggest fan.

Daniel

Daniel faced a choice. Take Saber/Don Juan’s advice to heart as soon as possible, or delay out of pride, and thus risk blundering earlier. The answer was obvious as he said, “I understand. Apologies for my previous conduct. Hopefully it’s not too late to mend relations between me and the other Servants.”

A pause, “So… Instead of just threats, I also have to use rewards, as well as find out what you guys want as rewards instead of just assuming things. And also not show favoritism when doing so would impact the performance of the group - Even if I have preferences, I should respect all my servants equally and not reward any of them any more than the others.”

He smiled at Crazy Horse as the latter arrived, but not too overtly. Daniel quite liked the Rider-class Servant but did not want to show favoritism like he had said before. Then back to Don Juan, “But yeah, to answer what you said earlier, my mother and father do love each other to the point where it’s embarrassing. I mean, they did lay it on a bit thick with how the Magus’ Association and the Church are corrupt and how they’d find my existence abhorrent at best, but everyone has flaws and it’s not like they’re not telling the truth...”

Daniel knew his parents were being slightly manipulative, but also that the best manipulations were the ones rooted in fact. Then to Rider, he said, “Adventure is coming - I really cannot wait. Assassin should arrive soon, though, and then we can go.”

As Caster/King Mu arrived, Daniel waved at the old man and said, “Hello! Glad to see you, Your Majesty! With you and Charlotte around, we’re going to be set for success!”

THE MAGNIFICENT GENIUS OF THE ERA STEPS INTO THE ROOM!
___________________________________________________________________________________________///
@Letter Bee@Duoya@Heavy Snark@Scallop

Raphael turned to the chefs, all of whom it turned out... Were him. All in different outfits. The head chef. The waiter. The su chef. All rolls were occupied by what was a perfect replica of Raphael himself. Except for the bustboy... He'd never stoop that low, and it was some sort of automated process. It probably wasn't a surprise, considering they'd been there for a few weeks already, and Daniel a few years. Still, the animatronics Raphael had invented to aid as his assistants through-out Chaldea and fulfill more mundane roles... Was impressive. Perhaps King Mu would have some opinions to give on their construction.

"Well dear Lancer, I must remind you that I am not Michelangelo. Though, I understand the confusion." Raphael corrected, still unaware the mistake was intentional. "Michelangelo was a major inspiration when I was in Rome. Why, his work at the Sistine chapel was a major inspiration, despite our rivalry. I actually scrapped a work I had been growing dissatisfied and used his works as inspiration and guidance. As such, you can look at my own masterwork, "Disputa" and see some of the influence in posture that I took from Michelangelo's. OH, but I digress! That stuffy old man isn't here to talk about himself, so why should I build him up before his own appearance?"

With a sigh, he gathered up plates for each person in the room, balancing them easily in each hand, and then unfurling some mechanical limbs from his back that carried the one that he could not hold in his hands. A showcase of his intellect.

Placing down each plate, he began to eat alongside Charlotte, though food for servants isn't really needed. It was still enjoyable to eat eggs and toast.

"Oh, but it seems part of your search has already arrived." Raphael said, gesturing to the suddenly appearing King Mu. He had to admit, the fact that the king also possessed an animatronic had been of great interest to him. If they had more time, he might have even requested to study it and see if he could gleam any inspiration from it. "Oh Mu, I am here merely because I wish to speak plainly with everybody here. As your mission control, I can't have any of you not knowing or trusting my words. A strong relationship is paramount to my work."

Though, with that said, he turned to the master candidate. "Miss Charlotte, I will not be able to assist you in finding Miss... Medb, simply because her entire existence offends me in much the way Daniel's Saber candidate does." Raphael said, with a slight pursing to his lips. He wasn't subtle about it, but even then the sexual behaviors of other servants was... Not something he showed much care for. He just couldn't stand it. Such meaningless distractions! Tsk!

"But, I do recommend that you all join me a bit earlier. We're actually bumping the schedule up a bit. Since we've received word there is a storm incoming, and we'd rather get your test over and done with well before it hits. Just in case it causes some kind of interference with the machines." With that, he patted himself down, handed his plate off to Yasuke to take care of, and left the room.

______________________________
Please start making your ways to the Rayshifting chamber.

The fact that all the cooking roles were occupied by a single person was still a bit confusing to Charlotte - even if calling them a single person was wrong, and they were all really machines that looked like the same person. Charlotte hardly understood the concept of an animatronic in the first place, even when it was explained to her by some of the Chaldea staff.

It didn't matter much when the food finally came out, however. Charlotte was excited to start eating and quickly poured enough syrup on the stack to cause any reasonable person distress. She noted that there weren't any peppers - a disappointment, considering her affection for spicy foods. She was only partially into her meal, however, when another person joined the table.

"Apologies for my absence, the pursuit of eternity brought me away from my usual duties. Lancer, I am pleased to see you have kept us tethered to this mortal coil whilst I was busy, Master I suspect you engaged in behavior with risk attached? A treacherous road that could harm not only yourself but the three of us as well."

"Caster, we were just going to start looking for you! My skill as a Master must be so great, I didn't even have a chance to do anything risky before our quest was completed..."

Charlotte rubbed her chin and adopted a smug grin, before returning to her meal. She listened to Rapahel as he talked to the others at the table, but perked up and stopped finished her meal as he addressed her.

"Miss Charlotte, I will not be able to assist you in finding Miss... Medb, simply because her entire existence offends me in much the way Daniel's Saber candidate does."

"Dang, that's pretty crappy... Well, we'll probably be able to find her on our own. Especially if finding Caster was any indication!"

Charlotte didn't process the insult that Rapahel directed at her servant, more distracted by the fact that she would need to find her final Servant if she wanted to go to the Ray-something place without feeling guilty. After all, they were all a team, so they'd need to meet up soon, right? Charlotte turned to Yasuke and Mu as Raphael left the canteen.

"Alright... Do you guys have any idea where we could find Archer? I'd really like to find her before that storm Rapahel was talking about shows up."

@Reflection@Scallop@Heavy Snark