[IC] Fate/Transcendent Paradigm—Take 3 (Closed)

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Kumozaki Keisuke

Keisuke's eyes widened in involuntary shock as Saber raised her blade in the air and revealed its true form. The radiance of the sword outshone whatever was giving the cavern light, and the Enforcer took a few steps back as he realized that the Saber was about to fire her Noble Phantasm...

In the middle of the cavern.

"Oh, this is going to be—" he began to mutter as the Saber let loose a giant beam of energy, aimed straight at the giant wolf that the Archer had just launched to the far side of the cave.

As soon as the energy from Saber's sword was loosed, the corrupted Lancer immediately decided to let go of the Berserker's arm in an attempt to move to the side away from the blast. That hesitation, of course, was her undoing; without a moment's delay, the Lancer was kicked into the path of the beam before the Berserker bounded back to the rest of the group.

The brilliant flash lasted but for mere minutes, but as the dust settled and the cavern began to shake, two things were made clear. First among them was that the Lancer was nowhere to be found, and the second was that the giant wolf was now missing half of its body. No, rather, the entire left side of the creature was now missing, with the smell of smoldering fur and flesh permeating that section of the room. Without even a pair of legs to stand on, the once-formidable beast collapsed and turned to ash entirely. In its wake, however, was a single golden cup.

With the cave beginning to shake, however, Keisuke glanced at the object before deciding that personally deciding to retrieve it was a fool's errand. In other words...

"Someone who can move quickly, retrieve whatever was dropped and meet us outside!" he declared, only to see that the Berserker was already well ahead of him in doing so. With a quiet nod, the Master quickly motioned to the others in a hasty call to retreat before the cave collapsed in its entirety.

---

By some miracle or another, the fight had ended without casualties, and the object that the Berserker had retrieved—a golden cup, likely the 'Holy Grail' mentioned prior—was something that his support was asking to have returned to the base immediately for analysis. In other words, the issue that he and his servants had been sent here to resolve was now over and done with.

"Good job, everyone," he declared to the group as a portal opened up in front of him. Let's go back and take a bit of a break from this whole ordeal."

With a glance towards Arturia (who was eyeing the little girl who had just arrived), Keisuke nodded and entered the portal, the Servants with him following suit.

Save the Valkyries, though; it seemed like they had something to settle on their own.

---

"Well done on your first mission, everyone."

The voice of the old man who had set all of these matters up in the first place was the first to greet the group once they had returned to the facility, though the owner thereof was nowhere to be seen.

"I see you've made contact with a few other Servants during your stay there. The facility should be able to maintain their existence, so do not worry about them being too much of a burden. That being said, only so many will be able to come along with you on your future missions, so do be mindful of that. That is all; you are free to spend the next week as you wish. Dismissed."

With that, the source of the voice went offline, leaving the group alone in the room.

"Hm... Well, I'll go hand this thing off to the staff," Keisuke said, nodding to the Servants as he walked ahead of them. "If you're a new tagalong, the ones who were contracted first can probably give you a quick rundown of how this place functions. I'll see you all... For... I think it's dinner soon?"

With a shrug, the Enforcer (and the rest of the Servants) left the room and dispersed.

Tomoe Gozen

With the whole ordeal finished and the hunt over, the Archer found it nice to be able to relax in her room, if only for the few hours before dinner began. Her Master was off handling... Whatever it was that needed handling, and she now had the time to go and experiment with the new electronic "game console" that had arrived during their excursion.

The concept of a "fighting game" was novel to her—an electronic device wherein people who had no capability to fight could mimic those who could? It was almost beyond her, even with the Throne giving her marginal knowledge of the technology of this era.

"That being said... I must try this for myself," she muttered to herself as she started up the device and began to fiddle with it.

There was only so long before dinner, so this wouldn't take too long to try... Right?

@Raineh Daze@KoL@VitaVitaAR

[VitaVitaAR]

Saber

Perhaps, normally, Saber would have been drawn to the idea of dinner. After all, the food of this time was so excellent... that, and after the experience they had in the singularity, a meal seemed like an excellent idea. Fenrir, such a great beast... she had only been able to slay it in a single blow because it was stunned. That, and the nature of the singularities themselves... who was responsible for such a thing? So far, it was impossible to discern. Whoever it was had access the the Holy Grail... not only one, but many, that they could distribute just like that. On top of that, the corruption that had overtaken Brynhildr was something wholly unnatural. That black mud, seething with red...

But on top of that...

Illyasviel von Einzbern. The daughter of the woman who had once been in her charge. Somehow, she had been summoned here as a Servant. The King of Knights couldn't understand how such a thing could have occurred, but undeniably it was the case.

She hesitated for some time before deciding to approach the small, white-haired girl.

"... Illyasviel...?"

@PKMNB0Y@Raineh Daze

[KoL]

Eleonor

“You really are the real deal, huh? A true professional trying to save the world… for a small fee, of course,” a distinctly youngish female voice said in a nonchalant tone just as Keisuke reached the staff’s quarters where he had to bring the fruit of his, and his Servants’, work to. “Though, I don’t think this is that bad either. If I have to work with someone, I’d prefer it if they could be a little more easygoing, but a reliable personality is the next best thing,” the owner of the voice said without even getting up from the chair that she occupied, or at least turning it around to face the door.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even introduce myself and am already making a bad impression,” she said, finally catching up to her own rudeness but still not seemingly giving it too much mind even as she got back to her feet and faced Keisuke. The selfish red headed girl extended a hand marked with a set of Command Spells which vaguely resembled a rose, or perhaps flames, towards him. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, I’m the second Master chosen by Master Kaleidoscope to help with this project, Eleonor Evangeline. Apologies for not being able to join you earlier but the staff here wouldn’t let me do a Rayshift without taking care of… some medical concerns first,” the girl said in a much more friendly way.

[VitaVitaAR]

Caster

If Keisuke or Eleonor were hoping to have a serious first meeting where they could learn about one another, they were sadly mistaken.

"Oh, so we have a new Master?"

Skuld seemed to materialize from no-where, stepping out from behind Keisuke(at least as far as anyone could tell). She immediately stepped towards the newcomer, looking her over in an appraising fashion as as she did. After a few moments of this examination, she determined that this was someone worthy of her attentions.

Perhaps moreso then Keisuke. In fact, definitely moreso then Keisuke.

"Mmm, and a beautiful one, too... fufu~" a grin crossed the Caster's face as she approached the new Master, "I am the Great Elven Queen, Princess Skuld, summoned as Caster!"

She cast a sly glance back at Keisuke, before returning her focus to the new Master.

"To be frank, I think you're much more interesting than Keisuke," she continued, with a shrug of her slight shoulders, "Did you know he wouldn't give me any attention at all? Even though I'm one of the greatest seductresses of Norse Mythology!"

She let out a huff, placing her hands on her hips, before leaning towards the new girl and smiling.

"Of course... I'm sure you have far better taste, don't you...~?"

@PKMNB0Y@KoL

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Kumozaki Keisuke

Hearing an unfamiliar voice as he entered the staff room caused Keisuke to stop for a moment, trying to figure out if said voice belonged to anyone he had interacted with thus far before actually processing her words. That single second of pause gave way to curiosity, however, as he turned towards the source: a young woman who declared herself to be another Master. The Enforcer, of course, had some mixed feelings about suddenly having a new collaborator. One one hand, it was a miracle in and of itself to have someone else to help handle all of the Servants while out on a mission, given how eccentric they all seemed to be. That also meant the possibility to commanding on two fronts, which meant that handling multiple issues at a time was possible if necessary.

On the other hand, another Master meant another unknown added into the mix. He was no mind reader, after all.

"Miss Evangeline, then?" he asked, making sure to reserve any actual judgement until he could parse a bit more of her personality as he shook her hand. "Though I will contest the point about being a mercenary, that matter can wait. I look forward to—"

Before he could complete his sentence, though, the new Caster he had 'picked up' from their last mission arrived and immediately began to do... Something.

"...In any case, I look forward to working with you in the future," he said, ignoring the Caster's remarks and smug look as he handed off the Grail to the Atlas Alchemist on standby. No matter how he looked at that Servant, all he could see was a child trying to mimic an adult—uncomfortably so, no less. "In any case, yes, this is... Skuld, a Caster-class Servant. I assume you were monitoring the feed as I was out on the field, so her capabilities should be relatively apparent."

While he would acknowledge the girl, he would not allow her to run away with the conversation. The priority now was making sure that his new co-worker was fully up to date with everything before the next mission.

@KoL@VitaVitaAR

[KoL]

Lancer

“Ugh, why does this kind of thing have to happen with me?” Lancer complained just as they arrived back into their headquarters. The final moments of the cave battle somehow triggered the her Migraine, perhaps because of the influence of that black mud. Even though Elizabeth never touched it, as Antihero, she could feel the power humming from it, almost as it it were whispering dark truths on the pink-haired Lancer’s ears.

“What did I do to deserve this? Even when I’m trying to make up for everything, this… argh! I guess that I just need to be alone sometime,” Lancer grunted, clutching her head as she walked down the headquarters’ hallways, towards her room. Elizabeth could only hope that staff member would be unlucky enough to cross her path since the dragon girl didn’t know what she was capable of doing in this state.

Or better, it was the fact that she knew what she could do that made Elizabeth sick.

Berserker

The battle ended in a way that she wasn’t expecting. To say the truth, who would think that one of their allies would literally drop a cave on their heads just to take down an enemy? Perhaps, if it was Heracles doing it… but that girl was King of Knights. You’d expect that one of the most revered Heroic Spirits would be more considerate of her allies. Or maybe she was a leader of the same caliber as Jason. There was no way for Atalanta to know, nor any reason for her to care. As long as this so called mission would allow her to ensure that there would still be a tomorrow waiting for all children, she could tolerate even being roped in the same boat as that man once again.

The feral Berserker didn’t come out of her soliloquy until they reached what the others said to be their headquarters. “So, this the place where you assemble thy forces, huh? It looks sterile to the point of feeling unnatural,” Atalanta said to no one in particular, before turning around to address the blonde, short stacked Caster. “I still have questions about what you meant when we first met. If thou art not busy I would appreciate an explanation, while you show me how this facility is organized,” she said in her own archaic way of speech that didn’t feel like it belonged to a member of the Berserker Class at all.

Eleonor Evangeline

“I’m sorry about that. The thing is that since so many Enforcers behave like that, some of us end up generalizing it without thinking,” Eleonor said, offering a smile as an apology, while shaking Keisuke’s hand. “I hope that we can—” before she could say anything else, a small, girly-looking being pretty much wedged herself between the them and began to spout her virtues, or perhaps — given her mannerisms — was she trying to woo Eleonor? Whatever was the answer, the mage couldn’t help but smiling back at the smallish Casters, especially when the alternative was chuckling which probably isn’t the wisest choice in this situation.

“There there, aren’t you a good Caster?” Eleonor said, patting Caster on the head. “Of course I’ve seen most of what happened from the Command Center. All of you worked very hard, so I guess that you deserve a reward. What do you say about this...” she said while still patting Caster’s head. With her free hand, Eleonor conjured a crimson rose, as read as her own hair, and knelt down, offering it to the smallish sorceress. “Is it a gift worth of a great seductress such as yourself?” she asked as a coy smile graced her lips.

[Raineh Daze]

Sitonai

Although she hadn't been summoned by this Master, it was quite interesting to be brought back to Chaldea with him. Not that there was much of a contract... pseudo-Servants and Illyasviel's body made for an interesting combination. It would have helped to get time to look around and familiarise herself with the layout of the base, perhaps offer to contribute to the Masters' work--after all, even if Louhi's methods were hardly replicable by modern magi, Illya was simply a modern alchemist and an Einzbern to boot. Though the concept of working within a budget was a bit unusual...

But Saber had some questions for her.

"You recognise this body? Calling us Illyasviel is probably the best name," the girl said after some thought, wondering if Saber had actually identified her this time. Of course, there was more to her than Illya, but any pseudo-Servant was a composite... and having all three made for an interesting balance to her original personality.

---

Nero

"Umu? What do you mean...?"

She probably wasn't the best tour guide, either.

[VitaVitaAR]

Caster

"See? This is the sheer disregard he pays me," Skuld commented, with a huff, as she glanced towards Keisuke. The disregard for her looks, her efforts, it was all quite frustrating for the smallish Caster. At least, that's how she had perceived the man's behavior. As a result, she had judged him an unworthy Master. Were this a Holy Grail War, well... this would not had boded well for his continued existence, but the circumstances were quite different in this case. There was no need for a violent parting, and without the desperation of the situation known as a Holy Grail War, there was no need to actually harm him. Treating him as some sort of philistine for not acknowledging her seductive nature, however, was perfectly acceptable.

The pat on her head, however, immediately caused the half-elven girl's irritation to rise. That wasn't how one treated a Princess, nor a Queen! That was how someone treated a child! And she was most certainly, absolutely, not a child! But then... Then a rose appeared in Eleonor's hands, and she offered it to Skuld.

"... Hmph, well..."

The Caster-class Servant brushed her hair back with a flourish.

"I shall forgive you for treating me as a child and patting my head in such a manner!" she declared, "For this rose is indeed a beautiful offering for a beautiful member of royalty~ Fufufu, perhaps I shall indeed favor you~?"

She took the rose carefully, admiring it not only for its appearance, but for its creation: The manifestation of such a construct was an interesting application of magecraft.

@PKMNB0Y@KoL

---

Saber

Of course, to assume that Illyasviel had performed such feats under her own power, no matter how adept the Einzbern were at magecraft. It was also somewhat disquieting, that the little girl she had seen before was not host to spirits of a thus-far unknown nature. At the same time, however, she appeared to refer to herself as Illyasviel rather than anything else. To Saber, this indicated that the dominate nature of the girl was likely Irisviel's daughter. At least, it was what she had hoped.

It was still quite confusing, as well. Somehow, Illyasviel had become the vessel for... one or more spirits, causing her to be summoned as a Servant? Arturia had not even been aware such a thing was possible. But the fact was that, before her, stood the daughter of the woman she had once done everything that she could to protect.

On her honor as a knight, there was only one choice that seemed right.

"... I... I do not understand how such a thing has happened to you, Illyasviel. I did not even know such a thing was possible... a human hosting a spirit in order to be summoned as a Servant... But you are at least in part Irisviel's daughter," Saber began, "And so I will do all I can to ensure your safety."

@Raineh Daze

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Kumozaki Keisuke

Keisuke held back a smirk as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. Despite not wanting to be treated like a child despite acting like one, the Caster in front of him still seemed to be swayed by the other Master's words. If her actions couldn't be treated like those of a child who had just been given some small form of validation, what else could they be described as?

"Well, if that much is enough to satisfy you..." he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders as he moved over to check whatever documents had been drudged up on their destination. The only thing that was known, it seemed, was that their destination was Egypt.

"First freezing cold eastern Europe, and now the sands of the Sahara... Maybe I should put in a request for my suit to be upgraded as a Mystic Code..." he sighed, shaking his head in annoyance at the prospect of sand getting everywhere. There was no lock on the era yet, nor was there any information on what they might possibly face, but that didn't make the situation any better.

"Is there an estimate on when your calculations will be complete by?" the Enforcer asked, placing the information to the side as he decided to do some research over the course of the next week in between training.

"Calculations will be complete in three to four days; the rest will be calibrating the device and making sure that it remains stable," one staff member chimed in, to which Keisuke simply nodded before turning to Eleonor.

"So... Do you plan on formally introducing yourself to the other Servants at dinner, or do you plan on meeting with them all individually before then?" he asked, pulling up a seat next to a computer and beginning to look for documentation about their next destination.

@KoL@VitaVitaAR

[KoL]

Eleonor

“Hmm~ treating you like a child?” Eleonor said in a playful tone as she observed how Skuld’s attention was caught by the gift. “Oh, I see~ Because you were summoned in another era, you didn’t get updated with enough knowledge of the modern world, did you? Even a legendary mage such as yourself would have trouble keeping up with the times,” the red headed mage said as she pulled one of the books from the stack she had been reading until now and presented it to the diminutive Caster.

“As you can see, this kind of thing is all the rage between today’s lovers,” Eleonor said as she flipped through the pages of what Keisuke would probably be able to recognize as some sort of romantic light novel, until she found a page that had the illustration of a girl — not that bigger than Skuld — blushing as she stood on the receiving end of an affectionate head patting. “You can have it, if you want,” she said before turning her attention back to the more vital matters of their quest.

“Egypt, huh? I guess that I’ll have to pack some extra sunscreen, if that’s where we are going to go next,” Eleonor commented idly as she heard about their next destination.

“Well, we shall see what happens first. If I find some of them before dinner, I’ll gladly introduce myself... right?” she answered Keisuke’s question while taking the time to pet Skuld one final time before getting back up to her feet. “But, if that doesn’t happen, I’ll sure be there to make myself know during dinner. You’ve picked up quite an interesting an interesting collection just in this first outing. I’m very curious to know what they are all about.

Atlanta

“Hast thou forgotten what you did back in Scandinavia? I’m asking why thou hath that interest in me?” Atalanta asked the confused blonde Caster. She didn’t remember knowing anyone like her in life, however, there was always the possibility that this was one of the many Heroic Spirits that had an admiration for the exploits of Greek heroes. Or maybe, this Caster was just obsessed with Atalanta herself? If it was the former case, Atalanta wouldn’t mind humoring her, but the later raised all kinds of alarms bells to the feline archer.

[VitaVitaAR]

Caster

"Ah..."

There it was, in ink. Of course, Skuld had received plenty of knowledge about the modern world! It was part of being summoned as a Servant, after all. But this... this was certainly some information she had not been privy to. How could such a thing have happened?! Her, a master of the art of seduction, being unaware of something relating to the modern romantic behavior?! Ah, that girl looked so flustered on the page, having a hand pet her hair... To be honest, the more that the Caster-class Servant looked at it, the more appealing it became.

That settled it. Skuld would settle for nothing less then having her head patted after every single good performance in combat. Which, of course, meant every single performance she made in combat, as the Elven Queen was invariably going to meet success in her endeavors. Unless there were valkyries involved again but she was hardly about to think of such matters.

"Of... of course I knew that!" she said, after the final headpat, placing her hands on her hips, "I was simply granting you a test in order to gauge your knowledge of romance, which you have passed with flying colors~"

Of course, she took the book. What other knowledge had been hidden from her?!

@KoL