Fate / Arcana IC

Archer & Lily

Lily shook her head at Archer's words. She couldn't manage much more than that at the moment.

There were hotels, but she certainly couldn't afford them. She had no friends to reach out to.

"Tell me about you," Lily asked in a constricted voice. She wanted to forget about her situation. She wanted to focus on anything - anything at all - that would keep her from thinking about Delphine's last expression.

--------------------

Caster & O'Neal

An anomaly? O'Neal furrowed his brow. What could sort of anomaly was it, and which Servant was affected?

It was clear that he wasn't going to get that information from Malcom though - or anything else, for that matter. O'Neal sneered, standing up from his chair.

"I'll be in touch," he said. Malcom may think he had free reign here, but as soon as he determined the extent of the magus' abilities and usefulness, he would take no pain in squashing him.

O'Neal stalked out of the room and back onto the streets. Caster was nowhere to be seen.

"Caster?" he called out. A moment later, a form appeared beside him.

"There's no need to yell," Caster said smoothly. "I know where you are at all times."

Was that supposed to comfort him? O'Neal frowned.

"Let's go. We have a lot to discuss."

Caster nodded, then took to spirit form. It gave him the creeps, but it was probably better that way. The last thing he needed was anyone to see some ghoul from the past following him around.

Unsurprisingly, Henry wasn’t quite sure what to make of the words of the masked man. Generally, people don’t take well to learning there was a dead person in front of them. But… he had a nasty feeling the man was telling the truth. At least, the man thought he was. It was only now he was leaning against the counter that he realised; the door from here to the shop was open. There was no way he wouldn’t have heard someone coming in, especially if they’d broken the window or smashed it open. That meant the man hadn’t come in from there… and there was nowhere but the air itself he could have appeared from to be here right now…

But the Grail… what was that about? That wasn’t real, was it? The way Assassin painted it, it seemed to be painting it, he’d be given some sort of wish if he won. Surely that was just childish folly; the power to do that sort of magic didn’t exist. Oh, he believed in magic, he practised it. One that was considered quite dark, much to his eternal annoyance. But even for him there was a line, and being told he could have anything he wanted was hard to swallow. It was hard not to just dismiss this all of some lunatic’s fever dream!

…And yet… the Servant’s final words did allure him… He was right, if this was true…. If this was true, it’d certainly be more of a thrill than his live now… an escape from this drab dark cellar of a shop. A real adventure… it was tempting… very, very, tempting…

“I… it is, I guess… blimey, whatever you want, ey? That’s… well, who’d turn that down?” The butcher murmured, looking at the counter; at the cleaver sat there. Could it be true? Could he really get away from all of this? But… but he hadn’t summoned this man! He didn’t even know who he was! He sighed, rubbing his temple with the palm of his hand.

“Christ, this all sounds crazy talk… say I believe you. I thought the Grail was a myth? King Arthur or something, right? I mean, even if that was true… what sort of hero would you be claiming to be? Is your name literally Assassin? Are the other Servants all called names like that? Not many people 'round here would call a thug who murdered for cash a hero... err, no offence meant. I'm sure you're better that."

He was not sure at all.

-----

One of legends? Interesting… Elaina thought herself more than capable, but she was surprised at how forward he was. He thought she was really that good? Well, she wouldn’t argue otherwise…

It was perhaps fortunate that Elaina had missed the start of that sentence, preventing a line of questioning related to meaning of ‘their’ rather than ‘our’. The fact he already held herself was already pleasing enough.

“I see,” she said, finishing her meal. “So it seems if we wish to win this beastly thing, we should try and acquire something we can use. Luckily for you, I can buy pretty much any horse I desire. Money is no problem for me, as you may have noticed. Indeed, we can go the zoo and purchase every animal there if you wanted, I’m sure a tiger or a lion would make an intimidating sight.”

Not bothering to ponder how she would fit into that (after all, why would she need to ride anything? She would stay in the carriage the horse was pulling of course. Any peasant horse could be controlled by her servants), she finished wiped the crumbs away with a napkin. Ah, yes… in all the excitement, she had forgotten to introduce herself. While normally she would just scoff and laugh at the poor fool who didn’t know who she was, but with all this talk about wishes and the like, she found herself in a rather buoyant mood.

“Elaina Clemency dear.” She replied sweetly, moving to pour herself a cup of tea. “In the very flesh, as it were. Head of Clemency Industries, perhaps, no, definitely, the biggest workhouse industry owner in the world. We have six of them in London alone, seven once we get the contract in Newsburry Avenue… which we shall…”

Now stirring her cup with a spoon, she stared at Rider and smiled. An act she clearly did not practise much, it looked… off.

“Know this Rider, if what you are saying is true, you have just netted yourself a very powerful ally. In this town, there is nothing I can’t make happen. The Grail could be ours within the week if we wanted. And you say, all we have to do is kill six other people? I don’t think I even need you for that! I could easily pay for someone to take care of them… once we know who they are, of course. I take it this won’t be so easy that you’d already have a list of names, would you dear?”

-Elizabeth-

Elizabeth paused, her mind going blank with the information given. Any wish. Her mind raced to fully digest what that meant. Any wish? As in anything? The sheer magnitude of the whole notion was grinding her mind. Was such a thing even possible?

Truth be told Elizabeth wasn't that well knowledgeable in other magecraft, not only is there a huge secrecy that every family protects, but her mind seems incapable of processing branches of magecraft outside her own. Even the most basic of all.

After what would be an uncomfortable pause from Elizabeth's part she resumes her movements and completes the task of dressing herself. Her eyes turning to Saber only briefly, there was gleam of something in them, it was hard to understand it, but Elizabeth was filled with determination.

"Shall we eat over it?"

Her tone was strong but not imposing. It was clear that the mention of a wish had clicked something in her brain. Elizabeth who at first was hesitant and uncaring about the war. Now seemed ready to jump in head first in to it. She wanted to talk about more specific things over her meal.

_______________________________________________

-Archer-

Archer glanced at Lily for a second and then thought for himself for a second, placing his hand on his chin. Certainly he could tell her a tale, perhaps that would calm her down. But, his tale is hardly...

"Hmmm, well I was born on lands covered by green hills and forests. The wind was calm and soothing to the skin and the weather was much warmer than of this land.~"

Archer's word almost sound like a song, and unusual one but one that spoke of great pride but also great loss. Despite the smile of joy in Archer's face his eyes seemed sad.

"We lived of the land and the animals that we shepherd. However, not everything was peaceful, our lands were luchfull and many wanted them for themselves. So while we were shepherds we were also warriors. We dreamed of the day that we could protect our lands, the day that we would become the hero of so many tales before us.... But then...Well, I suppose when war actually arrived many of us realized that there was no beauty or glory in it."

__________________________________________________________

-Rider-

Rider gave a gleeful smile

"Haha! This might be my chance to try riding an elephant! Hahaha, riding such a beast over the enemy until they are nothing but dust! I can already see it!"

Rider laughed, he always dreamed of riding these powerful war like beast into battle in his time. But his superiors thought of him mad for even considering such a pagan beast. Although Rider was listening to Elaina, because he could not understand the words that she was throwing he chose to ignore them. Although he still participated in her excitement towards her titles and feats.

"Hmm, while I do not doubt that would be capable of that against the Masters. The Servants are a different story. We Servants are legends that have long since surpassed the limits of humanity. It is impossible for a Master to defeat a Servant."

Rider proclaimed, although he was happy with Elaina he could feel her lack of grasp in what a Servant is capable.

-Saber-

A slow smile spread across Saber's face. Her Master seemed to have finally taken interest in this war. "Of course. I will join you in feasting to celebrate our meeting." Saber responded with a nod.

"And after we have finished eating, we shall share stories of our lives and prepare our battle plan for dealing with the other Servants." She continued, following Elizabeth out into the hallway. "Only those you trust with your life should be present for those discussions though. The less people who know my identity, the better."

She had already said as much, but Saber felt it necessary to repeat the words. Her Master had seemed somewhat eccentric so far, and a slip of concentration could mean the difference between victory and defeat in this war.

-------------------------------------------

-William, Lancer-

"And that's how it ended?" William asked, looking dumbfounded.

"Unfortunately, yes." Lancer responded with a frown. "But I've come to terms with it over time."

William shook his head, but he didn't comment on it again. Judging from the look on her face, Lancer honestly hadn't come to terms with it, and it probably wasn't something she wanted to discuss at length. "So, I suppose we should probably scope out the competition tonight then?" He said, changing the subject.

"That would be ideal." Lancer said, turning her attention more fully to her Master. "My specialty doesn't lie in seeking out enemies though. So, locating them will be a matter of luck, to some degree."

William nodded, pushing himself to his feet. "We'll wait for nightfall, if that's okay with you. Until then, I should go about my normal business. Otherwise, there might be unwanted questions."

"Agreed." Lancer also rose to her feet, stretching her arms into the air. "I'll accompany you in the meantime..."

He stood in front of the aged door, keys held in a hand that trembled with excitement.

Managing to go through the rest of his shift without any other mishaps, Elliot had returned to the mysterious door that had occupied the majority of his thoughts since its discovery. He had ensured that there was no one else around to witness him before attempting to open the door.

Carefully inserting the first key into the keyhole, he slowly rotated his wrist. However, the key did not budge. Evidently the key was not for this door.

Switching to another key, Elliot attempted to open the door again. The door remained securely locked.

A feeling of impatience was growing inside him. He needed to know what was behind that door. It couldn’t be nothing, given the amount of effort someone had taken to hide it! It was like an itch that he couldn’t scratch, and only learning what lay beyond would cure him.

Trying key after key, Elliot became more desperate. His movement became more erratic and less composed as hope that one of the keys would open the door slipped from sight.

Eventually, he held the last key. It was visibly damaged- various scratches covered it, and parts of the key had chipped away.

Offering a silent prayer, Elliot inserted the key. Twisting the key, he felt a slight resistance. Putting more strength into the action, Elliot turned the key.

A click echoed from the keyhole. It was open!

Pushing the door open slightly, Elliot peered into the darkness beyond. It appeared to open onto a staircase, spiraling downwards to the left. Beyond that, he couldn’t see. An unlit candle sat inside a lamp, resting on a ledge to the right. A tinderbox was placed next to it.

Reaching over, Elliot took the tinderbox and lit the candle. Soft, warm light emanated from the lamp.

With eagerness in his step, Elliot descended the staircase into the darkness, the lamp casting light down the stairs.

Assassin & Henry

“I… it is, I guess… blimey, whatever you want, ey? That’s… well, who’d turn that down?”

Assassin grinned at Henry's words, looking very pleased.

"That's the spirit," he said silkily. To Henry, it must have felt like he'd made a deal with a devil.

"Just because something is a myth, it doesn't mean it can't become real," Assassin said in answer to his question. "I myself am proof of that. But I assure you, it's very real."

He smiled at Henry's bumbling words and stroked his chin coyly.

"Assassin is merely my Class, a way to classify Servants and hide their identity. It seems I have much to teach you, Master."

He stalked close to Henry, bringing up his bloodstained fingertip to rest on Henry's chin.

"I must correct your assessment of me first, however. I have never murdered.... for cash."

His grin widened, baring impossibly white teeth.

"But you are right. I am not a hero."

_______________________________________________

Archer & Lily

Lily reclined on the bench, listening intently to Archer's words. He had a very rich, warm voice, and she was quickly lost in the words of his tale. They were so full of emotion that for a moment she felt transported back to the days of her childhood, where every story transported her to a land of magic and chivalry.

But as his words trailed off, she frowned and looked away into the distance.

"Delphine... the Cormiers... They believe this "War' will bring glory to the victor."

She looked up at Archer, her gaze heavy.

"But people are going to get hurt, aren't they? Going to die..." she murmured. "I don't understand everything yet, but it is a War. And there's only one way to win a war."

[OOC: Payne, I have Berserker and Caster wrapped up for the moment. Assassin is done, unless aradials wants to add anything. As for Archer and Lily, you can lead us in there whenever you like.]

As Elliot descended the cold stone steps, the air around him grew colder as the natural light filtering from the door receded. His clothing did little to alleviate the temperature, and soon his breath appeared as mist in front of his face. Before long, he reached the bottom of the spiral steps, face to face with another door, also locked. Using the same key as before, Elliot unlocked it and entered the room beyond.

The dim light being cast by the lamp made it difficult to discern the size of the room. He could make out several bookshelves, along with what appeared to be a desk. The scent of aging wood and paper filled the room.

Walking over to the nearest bookshelf, Elliot raised the lamp in order to read the spine of a book:

Magecraft in History

Elliot’s pulse quickened. He had found them! He had long suspected that there would be such documents hidden somewhere in the Archives, and here they were! Seizing a handful of loose paper, he strode over to the desk, placing the lamp to the side, and began reading.

Though difficult to read due to the limited lighting, he could more or less distinguish the text written on the parchment he held:

“The mages of the East practice vastly different crafts to those of more local origin. This is possibly due to significant cultural differences between our two societies. Among the rituals and rites that I witnessed during my time there was a rather peculiar event called the Holy Grail War.”

Elliot’s eyes widened at the mention of the Holy Grail War. He reread the paragraph, not trusting his eyesight in these lighting conditions. But his eyes were not deceiving him. He held in his hands a document written by someone who had witnessed a War!

The sound of a door creaking along with echoing footsteps and subdued voices emanating from behind his back snapped Elliot out of his reverie.

Someone was coming.

…Henry was now fully aware that in a bad position. Perhaps he had been hoping that somehow, there was some sanity in the man in front of him. He… oh Christ, what was he getting himself in to? Every second made less and less sense, perhaps the live of adventure wouldn’t be worth it after all. Maybe he just stay here, alone, away from the crazy people of the world. People like Assassin… the sheer amount of something terrifyingly wrong exuded from him, like the small of off food, or the decay of meat.

But it was pointless to think like that, wasn’t it? He didn’t have a choice now. If he decided to run for the door… Assassin would kill him. There was no doubt of that. He was stuck with him… and even if he did decide to run… Henry wasn’t sure how long he was going to live around this man anyway. All he could do was hope to last as long as he could...

Swallowing his growing fear, Henry put on his most set face, and pushed the finger away in defiance, trying his best to meet the gaze of the madman in front of him.

“No… I can safely say I worked that one out Assassin. Now for the love of God, tell me everything about what’s going on.”

------

Even Elaina couldn’t resist smiling at Rider’s laugh; had he really thought she was serious? He must have, he genuinely seemed interested in pursuing that line of thought… It was strange, for once Eliana felt amused around another’s happiness, rather than her usual bile, smugness and arrogance. Maybe this was why he’d been summoned to her…

He seemed impressed however, even if she suspected he hadn’t taken everything in. …That made sense actually. If he was a hero, would he even know what a workhouse was? Probably not… nevermind, that would soon change. It was interesting though, she hadn’t considered that the Servants would be untouchable to her. That meant she’d have to trust this person to take care of them… which, she never liked doing. No sense letting others do what you can do better, and all of that. Still, it looked like there was a lot she needed to learn, and in a short amount of time. She pursed her lips, considering all that was said.

“I see… well, for once, it seems like I am at a disadvantage. If you really are the hero you claim to be, I guess that makes sense why there would be such a difference in power… I guess then, I should let you take the Servant, and I will deal with the other Masters…”

She shrugged, raising herself from the table. Planning could wait until she was more familiar with everything. With a spring in her step she headed for the room’s exit, gesturing for the man to follow.

“Maybe, at least. We'll see. Come Rider. Let’s prepare, shall we? I’m sure we both have a lot of admin we need to go through before we start our victory in earnest!”

And just like that she was gone through the door, fully expecting her new ally to follow.

((Think both of these are now fine for the timeskip!))

-Archer-

Archer gazed down at Lily, her words weighting him down. 'glory to the victor' Those words were heavy for Archer, like a knife slicing through his heart. He knew already, this war wasn't like his own, there was no alliances or cease fires. Only one Servant could live by the end.

"Yes, we Servants must fight to the death. It is the unfortunate reality of this 'war'"

Archer looked at the sky, his voice filled with determination. He would win, he had too, to protect the life of this lady before him he HAD to.

"I'll protect you, no mater what happens."

Responsibility weights Archer, he knew his words would be a heavy curse for such a girl. But this was all he could do. Protect her and have her depend on him. That's all he is.

Swiftly hiding the document inside his waistcoat, Elliot extinguished the lamp, plunging the room in darkness. Getting out from behind the desk, he moved behind one of the bookshelves, crouching low.

As he concealed himself, the door opened. From the voices, he recognized one of the people as Marianne.

“Hold on, let me just sort out his darkness.”

Elliot heard the click of fingers snapping, a small light blooming into existence. The other person, a man, struck a conversation with Marianne.

“Are you sure you locked up earlier? It certainly seems like you forgot to.”

“Nonsense, I most assuredly did. Considering that my keys were missing, coupled with the fact that the doors were unlocked seem to indicate that someone stole my keys in order to gain access to this room.”

You’re not wrong there, Elliot thought to himself. He heard the pair move further into the room, separated from him by only a bookshelf. As they approached the desk, Elliot slowly moved towards the open door.

“Who left this here? Look, the candle’s still smoking. Someone must have been down here recently.”

“Maybe they forgot to lock up?”

While their attention was distracted, Elliot used the opportunity to exit the room and ascend the stairs, taking care not to make a sound on the way.

Swiftly arriving back at the entrance to the Archives, he changed out of the borrowed uniform and donned his coat, placing the document in an inside pocket. Exiting the staff room, he saw that Marianne had also come back to the reception, her furrowed brow showing frustration etched onto her face. He made his way towards her, and held out the keys.

“Marianne, I found these keys in the staff room. Do you happen to know who these belong to?” he lied.

“What…yes, they’re mine. What were they doing in the staff room though?” Marianne reached out and took the keys back.

“I could’ve sworn I put them on the desk…” she muttered under her breath. She gave Elliot a look.

“You definitely found them in the staff room, right?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?” he responded, managing to keep a straight face.

Marianne regarded him with a look that almost said that she didn’t believe him.

“Oh, no reason…”

“Well, if that’s all, I’ll be off now. Goodbye.” He turned around and made his way out of the Archives, not looking back once.

Well, he had been cut short of exploring that room, but at least he had something to go on. He couldn’t wait to return home and peruse the document further.

[OOC- I'm wrapped up here ready for timeskip.]

Lily felt a heavy weight on her heart, but Archer's words still managed to warm her. She hadn't wanted any of this, but at least she wasn't completely alone. Archer was still something of an enigma to her, but she could trust him. At the moment, that was the only thing she could be sure of.

"Thank you," she said, attempting a smile. She looked up into the sky, watching the clouds drift overhead. Her eyelids felt heavy.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she murmured. "But I want to help you too. I don't want to let you down."

The bench was hard and a little damp, but it might as well have been a cloud for how exhausted she was. Sleeping in the middle of Hyde Park was a terrible idea, but at the moment, she couldn't bring herself to care.

[OOC: I think everyone is ready now, Payne.]

Later that evening...

-Malcom-

"And so it begins..." Malcom said to no one in particular. His fingers slowly traced the edge of the insignia on the table where he sat, almost as if he couldn't resist touching the markings. "If only there weren't the variable... It could make results inaccurate." He reached for his deck of cards, pulling one from the top, but he placed it back into the deck without looking. A true scientist knew that his own influence was the greatest variable of all. Getting himself involved in the experiment at this point would only further skew the results...

-Saber-

Saber looked at her figure in the mirror, tracing the lines of the suit coat Elizabeth had given her. It had been rather tight across the chest before some alterations, but now it hugged her figure rather well. She'd also taken the time to bring her hair to task, twisting it into a single, copper braid that ran down to the small of her back. "Yes, I believe this will be suitable." She said with a smile. "It doesn't limit my mobility, and it will let me move about freely without raising any unwanted curiosity."

"So." She turned to Elizabeth, giving the heels of her polished shoes one final tap on the floor to seat them properly. "What's to be our business this evening?"

-William, Lancer-

"Anything?" William asked from where he stood on the balcony below Lancer.

"No." Lancer responded from her perch atop the tower. "If I knew what I was looking for, I could find them from here, but I don't know what other Servants were summoned."

"Then perhaps we should take a more direct approach?" William suggested, waving towards the city to indicate his intentions.

Lancer frowned but twisted through the air, planting a foot on the building next door and gliding back down to the balcony in a graceful motion. "I prefer to know what kind of situation I'm going into beforehand, but since we have no information, I suspect that's the best course of action." She took one more look over her shoulder before turning her attention to William. "Would you rather accompany me or stay here?"

William paused to think about that for a moment. Staying here would mean not being in Lancer's way, but it would also leave him open to an attack without her nearby. He fished the three cards out of his pocket and looked down at them. "I can't support you from here." William said, looking over to his Servant.

"Decision made then." Lancer nodded, turning towards the door.

Berserker/Jekyll

How long had it been? His mind was still scrambled - only bits and pieces of the last few hours remained.

The servants had stopped screaming for him. No, they simply weren't around here - wherever here was.

Henry Jekyll staggered through an alleyway, his vision reeling. He had to get back to his workshop, and quickly. He had to figure out what was going on. But where the devil was he?

Jekyll left the alleyway and found himself on a street across from a park. Yes, Hyde Park. He recognized that. He need only cross through the park and reorient himself.

It was dark by now, and not many people were strolling about at this time. Jekyll drew the collar of his coat up, not wanting to be seen or recognized, and noticed what a shabby state it was in. What had he been doing?

He'd only just crossed into the park when he staggered against a tree. Something was bubbling, boiling, frothing up inside him. Why? Why why why?

Not now. Not again.

He was only dimly aware of a presence. He couldn't see it - only feel it and know that it was his enemy.

It had to die.

--------------------

Archer & Lily

Lily sat up suddenly, her body sending jolts of pain through her in the process. Sleeping on this bench had not been a wise idea after all.

"Archer?" she murmured, looking about for his reassuring figure. She froze, suddenly alarmed at what could only be described as a wave of murderous intent. In through the trees, she could make out a figure stalking toward her - a huge, lumbering beast of a man.

Lily jumped to her feet, eyes wide in terror. Her only exposure to this War so far had been Archer, who could easily have passed for a gentleman.

But this... this was clearly not human.

This.... was a Servant.

-Elizabeth-

Elizabeth examines Saber as she observed herself in the mirror. She was actually quite impressed, she looked better than any male butler she had ever seen. Thanks to her feminine yet strong and robust appearance, she could easily disguise for a young man. The only thing that even made it evident that Saber was female were her breasts. It actually was difficult to get the suit altered for her, specially due to it's anomaly. It's not everyday one asks for a male suit to be remodelled to fit a woman's features.

But alas, everything seemed to be in place. At the same time that she asked for the suit she took care of paper works and dismissed most of her maids and butlers. She didn't fire them, only temporarily sent them to other houses that she had acquaintances. Hopefully after the war was over she could get them back.

Saber seemed to be finished and with her voice brought back Elizabeth to reality. She blushes and looks sideways.

"We're going to hunt. The remaining staff should leave tonight. So I would prefer to take whatever conflict that could happen outside of this mansion."

She looked through the window. Truth be told Elizabeth was nervous, so nervous that she feels like she would commit suicide if she just waited home. This was the chance the was begging for. The light at the end of the tunnel. She can't let it escape


________________________________________

-Archer-

The bloodlust was palpable. This was disappointing, Archer had hoped that the first Servant he would encounter was something different from a Berserker. But he conceded, he wasn't just going to stand there waiting. Picking up Lily with a single arm, it could easily be taken as a prince picking up a princess was it not for the murderous intent flooding the park.

"It's fine."

Taking a stance, Archer materialises a large metal objective, a large blade made to pierce armor like flesh. It could easily be mistaken by an exotic javelin that had been cut by half it's size. With one hand holding into it and another one holding Lily. He was ready to either fight or flee depending from what this Servant behaved.

Archer & Lily, Berserker/Jekyll

It was strange. Was she hallucinating? Lily couldn't explain it, but she was able to understand the capabilities of the monster - Berserker - facing them, as well as her own Servant. The enemy was stronger, but Archer was faster. Would that be enough?

Archer didn't seem to concerned. In fact-

Lily squeaked as she was suddenly lifted into the air by Archer, as though she weighed no more than a child. In his other hand, he summoned an unusual projectile weapon. He seemed to be ready for either fight or flight.

Berserker crouched, and then leaped.

He might have been slower than Archer, but that meant little. In a moment he was upon them, his massive fists swinging down to pulverize them.

--------------------

Caster & O'Neal

Caster narrowed his eyes, attentive. O'Neal paused, wondering what had come over his Servant.

"The Grail War has begun," Caster said softly. "Archer does battle. And..."

He trailed off. Strangely, he couldn't quite figure out who Archer was fighting. This must be the anomaly that the Mediator had mentioned.

"Do you want to interfere?" O'Neal asked. Caster shook his head slowly.

"No... there's no need. Besides, we have our own matters to attend."

--------------------

Assassin

The dark streets of London... So familiar. No, they really hadn't changed at all.

Assassin smiled, soaking in the power of the darkness. No doubt, the other Servants would be eager to begin battle with each other. His interests lay elsewhere, however. He needed to reestablish his legend in the pubic eye.

He watched as a figure stole through the shadowy streets below, her long hair streaming out behind her. She walked strongly, confidently.... foolishly

Assassin's smile widened. He had business tonight, but who said business couldn't be mixed with pleasure?

-Archer-

Archer already expected the attack. Although this was the first battle, he knew that there would be no courtesy with Berserker. He would charge at him like a wild beast craving for blood. And so already expecting it, Archer leaped back at the slightest movement from Berserker.

Archer's arm swings and the air is cut as the large dart flys straight to Berserker's head.

"I'm not exactly the best in unprepared fights. But luckily this is Berserker, a wild man should be simple to handle."

Archer reassures Lily. Of course he wasn't expecting to beat Berserker. But he should be able to keep it away until it's Master get's bored and calls him back.

Another dart appears in his hand and is immediately thrown. Archer wasn't going to waste time, there was only two objectives in his head right now. Protect Lily and keeping Berserker in check.

Simple? Nothing about this felt simple.

Lily braced herself and cried out as Archer leaped back suddenly to avoid the attack. His large dart flew through the air, sinking into Berserker's arm as he defended his head. The other he deflected aside, air chugging through his heaving chest.

There was something about him... Something Lily couldn't quite place. He wasn't a normal Servant, if Archer was anything to go by. He was...

Berserker snatched up the bench Lily had been sleeping on a minute ago and swung it around at Archer like a misshapen club, bellowing like a beast.

"Hey!"

Alas for Assassin, he didn't get long to sample his prey. Henry pulled him back in the room, looking both bewildered and horrified.

“Come on man, you need to concentrate! We… Christ, you can’t just kill her! She’s… God if I know who she is, but she didn’t seem like she was in this. Get your head in the game! You can think of all your legacy crap after we’ve scouted around for a bit. We’re at a disadvantage already, if we get caught while you’re chasing someone… well, there isn’t going to much of a fight for them, is there?”

Another sigh, then Henry stuck his head out the window. …No, she hadn’t heard them. With a shake of his head, he looked at the crazed man was more. Needless to say, it hadn’t been a fun few hours for the butcher. This ‘Grail’ seemed less and less appealing the more Assassin explained everything. He figured he was alright with killing the other servants... and probably the master. As Assassin had told him, really it was self-defence; after all, they’d be trying to be doing the same thing to him. Naturally, Assassin said he would be in no danger, and naturally as well, Henry didn’t believe him. His laugh of confidence had been anything but…

Now they were in the middle of London, way past the areas Henry was familiar with. It looked remarkably run down; he was fairly certain with a kick or blast of magic he could knock the whole place down. Assassin had offered that he could stay at his home, that he wouldn’t be necessary. Henry had declined for two reasons; if a Servant found him alone he would be doomed, and, if Assassin was left alone… well, he didn’t think the woman he’d just saved’s fate would be bright enough for her to survive the night. Sure, Assassin would be annoyed. But damn everything if he were to let some poor lass get murdered over this nutjob’s twisted fantasy. Someone needed to keep the man in check, or who knew what’d he do? Henry’s hand moved to his pocket, brushing the cards there. At least he had these… they didn’t sound a great amount of use, but maybe in an emergency he could help out. A shiver crept over him, and he had to hug himself to keep warm. It was too cold to be in the middle of nowhere...

“Christ it's cold… You sure you can concentrate? You already dragged here to God knows where… I don’t even recognise this place. You sure you’re getting a good viewing point here? Because all it feels like is that we’re just waiting for some random woman to kill. Focus on the Masters! Last thing I need is a bunch of cops coming after us… Can you even sense the others at all? Are they even remotely close?”

----

Meanwhile, Elaina was finishing buttoning up her blue woollen coat. Today had been… interesting . That was probably the best word for it. She’d learnt a lot from the man called Rider, most of it pretty exciting. This war seemed something she could really win! Of course, she hadn’t exactly worked out her wish yet. Probably money or something. Not that that really mattered, she had plenty times for that. And admittedly, she rather liked Rider. A far lot more than most of the people around her, at least. It didn’t help he looked and acted at the very least semi-competently, compared to the sea of idiots that surrounded her daily. He was… what was the word? Intriguing, that was it. They’d had nearly a day together, and she still had many questions to ask. …She hoped he’d stick around a while. Hopefully, they could stretch the war out a few days. He seemed to bring the best out to her… to an extent. Her enemies and workers weren't getting any breaks any time soon.

“Yes… I think we are good to go.”

She nodded to herself, marvelling at her own looks in the mirror. They were in the entrance hall of her workhouse, the area for once empty of servants and workers. After all, she couldn't risk anyone else seeing her Servant. She turned to face Rider, twirling the parasol in her hand over and over.

“So, we do a brief walk around the area, for around three hours. If we find another servant, we defeat them and come back. We don’t want to risk fighting too many Servants, do we? We have to let the rabble fight each other. I’m sure with you by my side we can steam-roll any opponent, but still, accidents can happen!”

A small smirk, looking as delightful as usual.

“I think that’s a good plan, unless you can think up a better one. We can even go locate the zoo or the nearest stables if you wsih. Come then, shall we head off? Or is there something you think we need to do first?”

-Archer-

Archer eyed Berserker, despite lacking sanity he seems capable of understanding lethal attacks. Archer had heard of warriors in the far north that would drug themselves into a trance of pure bloodlust.

Archer threw another dart, this time aiming at the bench. The dart cut through it like butter leaving the swing of Berserker just out of reach of Archer.

He smirks, again another dart is thrown, this time aiming the chest. Archer could see through Berserker's antics, primitive and wild, it would need a lot more to get Archer to move.

_______________________________________________


-Rider-

His eyes drifted to the sky, the smoke covering the sky like a fog. He releases a deep breath, vapor escaping his mouth revealing to himself how cold it was.

"I sense a battle."

His blood was boiling with excitement. He couldn't tell where, but Servants were fighting right now. Looking now at Elaina he gives her his charismatic smile.

"You speak wisely and like an advisor. I think the plan is good. But, I wonder one thing, where in this city is the largest open area?"

Rider assumed that the first place a Servant would be in would be open areas, after all, there is no greater battlefield than an open area.

-Saber-

Saber nodded at Elizabeth's assessment of the situation. "That's agreeable." She responded, taking a few steps towards her Master. "It's wise to make sure civilians don't get pulled into the conflict, and although most other Servants will agree on that point, it's certainly not a sentiment that all of us share."

Giving the coat another tug to make sure it was firmly seated over her shoulders, Saber gave Elizabeth a half-smile. "I can also agree with not bringing any unwanted conflict home. Hopefully, we can avoid bringing any trouble back here, so that it remains a safe refuge for us to rest."

Her Master seemed to be suffering from sort of internal turmoil, but there was little she could do about it. Saber had never been a 'feeling' person. Perhaps the thrill of the hunt would be a distraction from whatever troubled Elizabeth though...

"Thank you for this." Saber said as they stepped out into the hallway. "It's far more intricate than anything I've ever made with needle and thread. Such a gift would have been fit for a queen in my day." A secretive smile accompanied that comment as Saber made her way down the hall.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-William, Lancer-

"I'd venture that the big one is Berserker." Lancer said from her perch in the tree. "The other isn't as clear. Perhaps Rider?"

"Should we get ourselves involved?" William asked from the base of the tree. He couldn't even make out the shapes of the combatants from here. How in the world Lancer could see them so clearly was beyond him.

"I could eliminate them both from here." Lancer responded, sounding grim.

William sensed a 'but' in there somewhere.

"But," There it was... "There would be unwanted casualties." Lancer didn't sound happy about that.

William didn't much care for it either, but he had learned to get all the information first. "How many casualties?"

Lancer frowned, but her eyes focused as she scanned the scene in the distance. "A young woman, who I assume is a Master, is with the unknown one. Aside from her, there are a few buildings on the edge of the park that would be leveled. I'm unsure of whether or not they house people, but considering the chimneys are smoking, I would assume it's quite likely that at least someone is inside."

"Too many." William said, and Lancer nodded, her facial features softening just a little. Clearly, she didn't want to catch anyone else in the conflict. "We'll have to be a little more subtle. For now, let's get closer. I want to see if I recognize the Master, and I want to see what a Servant is really capable of."

"Very well." Lancer put a foot against the tree trunk and launched herself forward, gliding to the next tree. "I'll keep an eye on the skies. You know the way, yes?"

"I know the way." William responded, just in time for her to disappear into the foliage above. Well, time for a good run...

Archer & Lily, Berserker

Berserker roared in frustration as Archer severed the bench in his hand, making it swing impotently through the air. It wasn't enough to make him give up, however. Berserker pitched the mangled remnants of the bench at Archer, even as the dart flew and pierced him in the chest.

Lily screamed as the bench hurtled past them, just barely missing thanks to Archer's fast reflexes. Her relief at the near miss only lasted a moment, however. She tuned to look at Archer, who had dislodged the dart from his chest and gripped it tightly in his massive fist. With the other hand, he touched the bloody wound, staining his hands in red.

"Archer..." Lily murmured, eyes widening. Something... something very bad was happening.

Berserker smeared the blood onto his face, his eyes blazing a murderous crimson. But it was the sudden burst of power that brought Lily's heart into her throat. He seemed to be radiating power. His strength and endurance were even higher now, and his agility was enough to match even Archer's.

"Archer!"

The words were barely out of Lily's throat before Berserker was upon them, swinging the dart in his hand to skewer Archer's heart.

--------------------

Caster & O'Neal, Elliot

"Are you sure about this?"

O'Neal didn't feel that Caster was intending to betray him, but he learned to never trust others more than he could help. And he certainly didn't know Caster well enough to feel very certain about anything the magus Servant schemed.

"Draining mana from the inhabitants of the city would be more efficient," Caster said, stroking his mustache. "But that could make for any easy trail to us. This is the best alternative. If you were a magus yourself, it would be another matter..."

He drifted off, shrugging beneath his cloak. O'Neal glowered at him. As if he'd set one more foot in the world of magic than he had to...

"And you're sure about this one? Why him?" O'Neal asked - or demanded, rather. Caster looked solemn as he looked up into the night sky.

"He's full of quality latent circuits, but his overt power is not enough to pose a problem. An ideal candidate. More than that, however..."

He turned to regard O'Neal, his eyes full of an intensity O'Neal hadn't seen before.

"I've seen the measure of his soul."

There was really no response for that. O'Neal frowned and looked away.

"Shall I accompany you?" he asked. Caster shook his head.

"There's really no need. I'll manage better on my own," he said, sweeping his cloak. "I shall return before long, Master."

With that, he vanished into thin air.

[OOC: Sned, if you want to post Elliot reading that book he got his hands on, I'll respond after that.]

--------------------

Assassin & Henry

Assassin turned his gaze on Henry, the sight enough to sound a violent shiver down the man's spin. After a moment, the Servant smiled - not his usual, wide smile but a thin, razor-shape one.

"My apologies, Master," he said calmly. Henry was proving to be far more of a nuisance than he'd anticipated. He hoped the scent of loathing and hatred for the stagnant and mundane that he'd detected on the butcher would have been enough to bring the man to life. But no... he was just as dreary as the rest of London's inhabitants.

Oh well. For the time being, he'd have to make due. He couldn't afford to draw too much attention to himself just yet.

"The more reckless Masters will be scouring the city for battles tonight," he said, turning back to the window. "One's already begun. But, as my name implies, direct battles are not my forte. We must lie in wait for the opportunity to strike a distracted or defenseless Master."[/b]

The library complex was quiet, having long closed its gates for the day. The only sign of life was a solitary light emanating from one of the windows in the house to its right. Rubbing his weary eyes, Elliot turned the page of the book he had lifted from the Archives. It had certainly been worth the trouble of acquiring it, at least, in his eyes.

The writer had described his journey to the East, and of a Holy Grail War he had witnessed there. According to his recollections, the War consisted of seven mages, known as Masters, summoning powerful spirits from humanity’s past to fight on their behalf, the victor being granted a single wish.

So now he had a clearer idea of what this War meant. Elliot leaned back in his chair, pondering the next issue- how on earth was he going to take part in one? Judging by what he had read, it wasn’t something that was openly advertised. And then there was the undoubtedly difficult task of summoning a spirit. He did not think he would be able to perform such a task with his skills, or knowledge. Perhaps the writer knew more, but had deliberately omitted such information from his work. That seemed like a logical conclusion- after all, from the description, it seemed that the Holy Grail War was a fairly destructive occasion, should its participants allow it. It was easy to assume that the writer had gone to great lengths to avoid the same happening to London.

Well, that just meant that Elliot would have to locate the writer, and ask him himself. Luckily for him, he had a whole library of information to exploit. He had a name- now he just needed to find a census or some other similar document.

-Elizabeth-

Elizabeth turns to Saber, examining the suit once more this time to understand what she meant. She chuckles, covering her mouth to hide her smile.

"I think you mean King, Saber. Those clothes were made for men."

Elizabeth continued to chucked, in her mind she imagined the Queen in a butler suit, which while degrading towards the Queen was certainly amusing.

"Anyway, you don't have to thank me. We're partners right? Seems natural to help each other then."

Elizabeth continued to walk. As they walked they passed various sites, since the rich sites were closer to Elizabeth's house, those ended up being the first to pass through. But as she had expected, at this hour there was little movement outside of the homes. Then they went to the poor side of the city.

This is when things turned grim.

"This place makes me sick."

Streets covered with garbage and filth, a thick fog that made it impossible to see further than a couple feet. Whores and less friendly men could be seen here and then waiting for someone, likely a costumer or victim. Elizabeth had come here many times for more reasons than she can count. But she never got used to the sheer misery of this area of the city.

__________________________________

-Archer-

"Wha-?"

Archer did not expect this, how could he? Berserker was pierced in the chest by his dart. That would be enough to kill a horse in his time. Archer was only able to do what he knows best. Back away.

With a single back step Archer was several feet away from Berserker. It was remarkable really, Berserker was right now as fast as Archer and yet he could catch him.

"How troublesome..."

Archer sighs. Had it been any other hero that surprise boost in power would have caught them of guard and resulted in some wound at minimum. But not Archer, if he was fighter that would have been dangerous, but never once did this encounter become a fight in his mind.

"Lily concentrate."

Archer commanded, his voice still the same gentle voice, but firm.

"I need you to understand the war you were thrown into."

Archer could run away from Berserker easily. It didn't mater how much faster Berserker could become, no one was better than him at escaping from an enemy. But he knew Lily was in shock and confusion, he hoped that this encounter would allow her to gain resolve to survive.

"Still, that's a bit unfair you know? A hero that grows stronger with every wound."

He complained at Berserker.

Archer & Lily, Berserker

So this... was the Holy Grail War.

She'd lost a home and the closest thing she had to a family for this... this senseless violence and brutality.

She looked at Berserker, into the eyes of madness. How many people would he hurt or even kill like this? What about the other Servants?

Lily wriggled out of Archer's arm. She didn't want to be a burden to him. Not right now.

Berserker was charging toward them again, like a destructive whirlwind, mindlessly determined to crush the opponent in front of him.

"Archer, if you can you beat him..." she said quietly, her expression set. "Then do it."

-Archer-

Archer smiled at Lily command, he understood that she had mentally prepared herself at least for this enemy.

Relaxing his arms, he opened his hands and between his fingers darts started to appear. Four darts in each hand, making a total of eight. He hummed to himself as he started to create distance from Lily. He could tell Berserker wanted only him, not his Master.

"Well, then Berserker, shall we finally start this dance?"

Archer runs sideways, creating even more distance between him and Lily. He wanted to take this battle away from her. But not just that, he needed to stack the deck in his favor. He throws the darts, the eight flying through the air all aiming for several lethal areas, heart, head, throat, groin, lungs, etc...

Archer runs towards the small forest in the park and throws even more darts, repeating the process on where they were aiming.