Fate/Stay TFF: March for The Holy Grail

[Zenithos]

Since there isn't a thread for it yet, I took the liberty of making one Btw, the three of us will alternate in posting but essentially we write most posts together.

Oh, and we have a theme song - The Rune Trio's Theme Song

Futaba Detective Agency, TFF City

'My name is Beyond, aged 15. Nothing special to report. Occupation - High school student, substitute detective at my uncle's detective agency, apprentice rune mage, and, as of last week...'

"LAN-CHAN!" A voice shook the detective office. "That doth be the vacuum cleaner! Not the rice cooker!"

'....a babysitter...' Beyond sighed as he looked over the city from the comfort of his window sill. 'Yes, as of last week, I became the 'Master' of two rather messed-up valkyrie twins, who I have come to call Rei-chan and Lan-chan, short for their classes, Rider and Lancer respectively.'

"But..., Rei-chan, it has this electricity plug thing..." came another, rather apologetic voice.

"Lan-chan, all the electric appliances in this house are fitted with electric plugs." Rei-chan sighed.

"Oh, whatever."

'The twins essentially look quite similar - both have waist-length silky snow-blonde hair, look and stature of an adolescent, with emerald green eyes. Only, Lan-chan has taken to tying her hair into a loop braid looping around a free cascade of hair behind her head while Rei-chan can't seem to be bothered with fashion.'

'By the way, this is the Futaba detective agency that belongs to my uncle Futaba. He's away on an international case somewhere so he asked me to hold the fort for him while I'm on study leave here in Japan. I was allowed to handle minor cases, though so far I've only come across two cases of missing wallets and a lost parakeet. Not that I'm begging for anything more, off course.'

"Beyond-sama, thy supper is ready." came Rei-chan's usual courteous voice. Beyond looked around to see lunch for three set out on their small apartment dining table. Rei-chan seemed to the quieter, politer, yet distant character of the two, and seems to keep a lot of stock by duty and rules. She carefully folded her apron before kneeling down by the table to serve the rice, her actions elegant and refined.

"Yes! Dinner!" Lan-chan came bounding to the table from the kitchen with three plates balanced on both arms. She is, to put it simply, quite the polar opposite of her sister. Beyond had learned all to well that feeding her sugar was bad, real bad. Her ground state was one of hyperactivity and perpetual cheerfulness. Friendly and outgoing, that is what Lan-chan is from the very outset. It also seems she's gotten used to present day speech, though the same can't be said for her grasp of modern day appliances.

"Hmmm, a week has gone by and we haven't even had our first battle yet." Lan-chan commented through a mouthful of rice.

"Speak not with your mouth full." Rei-chan reproached.

"Hey, this is how meals are eaten in Valhalla." Lan-chan shrugged.

"That be the manner of eating meals BY EINHERJAR standards in Valhalla." Rei-chan said with dissaproval etched all over her face. "We are valkyrie. Please preserve some dignity in that title."

"Hai, hai..." Lan-chan said, waving off Rei-chan's lecture. "Anyway, we've really got to get out there and hand it to all the other masters and servants!"

"...Not to be insulting, but our powers as they are now presents no great threat to the other masters." Rei-chan pointed out, matter-of-factly.

"Yes, yes, I know I'm a useless Master..." Beyond sighed.

"Don't worry, Master, even if you are useless, lacking manna, is an utter novice, and possess no experience whatsoever, you are still our master." Lan-chan said in an attempt to cheer Beyond up.

"...gee, thanks...I feel so much better now..." Beyond drooped further.

"I would not worry much. We still have the Dreipnir Valenti." Rei-chan said. "If push comes to shove, we may rely on them."

"Anyway, about these other masters and servants, any idea what they...." Beyond began, before...

CRASH...

It all happened in an instant...

Part of the wall had burst inwards, most of the room's tatami mats had exploded, and another hole had appeared in the wall opposite.

Beyond lay breathing hard, pinned against another wall with Rei-chan holding him protectively. With instincts bordering on precognition Rei-chan had, practically, tackled Beyond in the gut out of the way of the attack.

"A...A little subtlety wouldn't hurt..." Beyond gasped, trying to regain the wind blown out of him.

Their dinner on the other hand was safely held aloft, unharmed atop its table, by Lan-chan, who had leapt to the other side of the room with the table in hand.

"So our supper is more important than thy master?" Rei-chan raised an eyebrow.

"You've got him covered." Lan-chan waived dismissively.

"You dodged my attack well..." A figure emerged from the cloud of dust and plaster obscuring the hole in the wall. "But not for long, for my lance will find its mark." The figure brandished the lance in question threateningly. "My spear crushes all in its way and pierces through stone and steel alike!"

"Hmmm, this will prove quite troublesome to repair..." Rei-chan sighed as she appraised the damage to the room while dusting off her apron.

"Hey! Don't gobble all the food yourself!" Beyond shouted, noticing that Lan-chan had set the table down and resumed eating. "I want my share!"

"Come come now, fighting over food is unnecessary. There be plenty more in the kitchen." Rei-chan said with the proud smile of a cook.

"H-HEY!" The figure in blue shouted, sensing that his presence was being ignored completely. "LISTEN TO ME! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL, STARTING WITH THAT LAME-ASS WEAKLING OVER THERE!" He leveled his spear at Beyond. "YEAH, YOU, WITH THE SPECTACULARLY CRAPPY HAIRCUT!"

"....I didn't know this wasn't in style anymore..." Beyond commented with a hand mirror in hand.

"I've got to agree with him, it is a little lame for a mage." Lan-chan nodded sagely.

"DIE!" The enemy servant lunged forwards with his spear raised...

CLASH...

His blood-red spear was pinned into the ground by another ornate-looking spear edged with runes. The enemy Lancer's eyes travelled up the length of the spear until it met its wielder, a girl in blue and white light armour, complete with frilly skirt armour, her eyes set with a grin on her face. "I've been looking forwards to this."

"So you're the servant..." Lancer's smirk widened. "Another Lancer, huh? This will be quite interesting....if you were my target..." He spun around and threw his spear at his query, Beyond. "Without a Master, you are nothing!"

Unbeknownst to Lancer, Beyond had slipped an extra Dreipnir Valenti ring onto his finger while he had the chance which grants him an extra helping of manna, courtesy of the original Dreipnir ring.

With a clang and a shower of sparks, the lance had been deflected into a nearby bookcase which exploded quite violently with splinters and questionable gentlemen magazines of dubious nature under the force of the spear.

"You shall not touch our Master while we yet live." Rei-chan, dressed in a similar blue and white valkyrie armour, said in a calm, cold voice.

"...two servants?! Twins?!" Lancer took a cautious step backwards as his spear flew back into his hand. "...I didn't hear anything about this!"

"Off course you didn't. People don't generally live to tell the tale." A dark malicious grin crept across Lan's face.

"...Master, could you please stop eating during the crucial moments?" Rei-chan asked.

"Oh? Buth I needth energyth." Beyond pointed out through a mouthful of rice. "It's either that or sharing body fluids and stuff, you know."

"...good point..." The twins sweatdropped.

 

[Cyberscythe195]

Slums, TFF City

'I have to get home. I have a test tomorrow I have to study for and I have to work the graveyard shift at the supermarket'

Let it be said that Matsuki Sousuke is not a normal boy. An orphan who has only known poverty, he has been juggling school work and work since he was eight.

*Achoo*

'Was someone talking behind my back? I hope I didn't screw up with one of my jobs or homework assignments.'

He stopped. In front of him were a bunch of tough looking gang members drinking. 'It's best that I avoid confrontation... again.'

He closed his eyes and focused. He felt the familiar rush of mana flow through him (not that he knew what that was) and envelop his body. He opened his eyes.

He looked down at his feet, only to not see anything at all. He resumed his course.
The sound of running fills the empty streets.

-A few minutes later-

He was finally nearing his home, a small beat up, one room apartment he rented out. It was located in a near forsaken apartment building next to the local dump. Nevertheless, it was his home. He had deactivated the invisibility spell he had cast earlier.

æAlmost there. ItÆs almost 11:00 pm too. I just need to get my uniform before heading out. Rent is also due soon. I guess I need to skip out on meals for the next few days again.Æ

He walked up to the entrance of the building. Pulling out a key, he unlocked the door and entered the apartment building. That was when he noticed something.

æIsnÆt Baki-san on security tonight?Æ

Even though he knew his apartment housed all sorts of unsavory characters, he still didnÆt realize how gravely criminal they actually were. It was only his unreasonably high rent payments that prevented him from being kicked out by the Yakuza that used this building in their operationsà that and he unknowingly performed a number of courier missions to other Yakuza heads. Due to the nature of the building, security was in place twenty four seven.

æI guess he had something else to do.Æ

He headed towards the stairs. æWhatÆs that smell?Æ He thought as he got closer to the door.

He opened ità and found its source, a dead body. æBaki-san?Æ The heavy set black security guard had been cut up in various places. Sousuke also noticed a puncture through the heart.

ôWhat this? Another one. I thought I had slain all of the villains that this place housed.ö Sousuke looked up to identify the newcomerÆs voice. He was stunned.

æAn angel?Æ

It was a young woman clad in white. 6 wings protruded from her back. Long flowing blond hair danced with an invisible wind. Her skin was a beautiful, porcelain white. She was simply gorgeous. She seemed to radiate a soft, loving, caring aura. She smiled at him. A soft, serene smile that accented her face.

ôI am very sorry, but you must die for the greater good.ö

She drew her blade. It was a golden blade that radiated power and divinity.

æWhy? What did I do?Æ

She swungà only to meet thin air. She looked up to see the teenager run outside. She frowned and flew after him.

____________________________________________________________________

*Huff. Huff. Huff.*

He ran.

æIÆve got to get away and call the police.Æ
He kept running. In the night sky, under the full moon, descended the angel.

He stopped. Calling forth the familiar feeling of energy flowing through his body, he activated his invisibility spell.

The angel only turned her head curiously, before speaking.

ôWhy do you try to hide from me? Your soul will still be as bright as day. Come now and stop doing this foolish thing. If you donÆt move, I swear that there wonÆt be any pain. IÆm not a cruel angel, even against my enemy.ö

ôWhy are you trying to kill me?ö
She smiled.

ôMy master has told me that that building over there houses a number of vile people who take advantage of others. Thus it would be okay for me to purge the place of sinners and intake their life energy. This way, their lives will still be meaningful. So come now. Die so that your life will have meaning despite the evils you have committed.ö

æWas she insane?Æ

He tried to run again, but found her in front of him once more.
ôGoodbye young man. Do not worry. Your life will now be meaningful.ö

She raised her bladeà

 

[Epsilon]

Slums, TFF City

Before she could bring her blade down, the ground that they were both standing on began to shake violently, causing the angel to fall squarely on her butt. "Owie!"

"W-what the hell?" squeaked out Sousuke as his invisibility spell dissipated while he tried to maintain his balance against a wall. He then cried out in pain as his left arm felt like it was on fire.

It was at that same moment that a small vortex of magical energy apppeared on the ground only a few feet away from the angel and the human. As the burning sensation started to fade away, a person in a red cloak completely emerged from the portal. Although completely covered, the cloak was tight enough to highlight that the cloaked person was female.

She hovered above the ground as the portal vanished before she lowered herself on the ground and addressed the human. "I ask of you... are you my Master?"

"Uh........." Not the most intelligent answer he could give but considering the circumstances, one can understand his rather slow reaction.

She approached the human and used one of her long fingernails to easily tear off the youth's left sleeve to reveal strange markings on his left bicep. "Command Mantra..."

"Uh... hey, I actually liked that shirt. And do you know how much that cost me?" She ignored Sousuke while mumbling some rapid incantations under her breath.

"The contract is complete..."

"A foul demoness! Prepare to be vanquished!!" The human male squeaked in surprise as the angel got up and prepared to swing her sword again.

"Begone!!" The red cloaked female merely waved an arm to fire a large fireball towards the angel and sent her flying into another direction of the city. She hadn't spent too much mana on it since she needed to be careful with what she had at the moment.

"Um...... cool."

"We will need a shelter to rest ourselves. Do you know of any place, Master?"

"Well, since that angel chick mentioned that she diced all the guys in my apartment, it'll draw attention."

The red cloaked female frowned underneath her hood. "Then I seem to have no choice but to use that resort..." She reached into her sleeves and drew a card with a picture on one side and a red blank slate on the other. "Come forth, Nightmare!!"

With a flash of fire, a black horse that emitted ebony flames was summoned to the street. The cloaked female easily got on and extended a hand to her new Master. "Get on."

"Uh... can I at least get a few things from my apartment first?"

-Approximately 1 hour later-

"And that's basically the whole gist of things. She told me that you would be the guy who can help us out... so please help?" Sousuke bowed low before the stunned priest.

"I promise you that we shall not impose on your person more than necessary. We only require sanctuary for tonight."

Epsilon resisted the urge to sigh. 'God give me strength... if not that, at least five double doubles to make it through tonight.'

 

[Epsilon]

Church, TFF City

"So...... how's life as a priest? Boring?" Sousuke, being unable to sleep due to the earlier excitement, started talking like a chatterbox. His red-cloaked Servant (who had merely identified herself as Caster when asked earlier) had already chosen a small spot in the building to rest.

"Not really. I help people with various problems. I really can't go into detail about it though," replied Epsilon as he enjoyed his second cup of coffee.

"Aw, come on! I wanna hear about something interesting!" whined the young man.

"There's nothing really interesting to tell. I get all sorts of little confessions from various visitors about different aspects of life from... self-discovery to love." Before he could go on further, he heard some rather unusual noises from beyond the closed gateway of his Church.

"We have company."

"Who is it? That crazy Angel again?"

"If she's truly loyal to God, she would not trespass in an aggressive manner. I believe it's something else." He got up from his stool after placing his mug down and opened the door a tiny bit.

That turned out to be a bit of a mistake as several black dogs and crows burst through to surround the trio. "Real smart idea checking out that sound," muttered Sousuke.

"Okay... whatever happens, can we please keep collateral damage to a minimum?! I really don't want to explain why the Church got destroyed to my superiors and peers!"

"Then we shall take this fight outside." With a quick chant, Caster used a brief transportation spell that transferred the beasts and the combatants out in the open.

"Looks like this'll be a messy one," sighed Epsilon as he summoned the Black Keys.

"Don't despair for help is on the way!" shouted a voice from above. The trio looked up to see a female silhouette bathed in the glow of the full moon's light.

"Flying out to smash the wicked in the West...
Striding in the stop evil in the East...
The one who the people know to be Justice!
The messenger of love, justice and the moon! I am...... PHANTASMOON!!!"

"........."

She then snapped her fingers. "Right... I forgot something!" She hopped down briefly from the roof before reappearing with a male figure in a school uniform and glasses in her arms. "And this is my fated lover...... STUDENT KAMEN!!"

"Arcueid, can you please stop this?"

"But Shiki, the priest said that being spontaneous is something that's needed to keep a romantic relationship healthy!"

All eyes turned to Epsilon who just groaned and covered his face with his spare hand. "I knew I shouldn't have mentioned Sailor Moon to her..."

 

[Ray]

Somewhere in the higher districts of TFF City.

'Hold on... hold on...'

The white haired young girl ran the mantra over and over through her head as the Circle of Restraint threatened to buckle, the mana only seconds away from running rampant.

Suffice to say, the Summoning was not going well. She'd done something wrong, she knew.

'Hold on... hold on...'

"and... thou shalt c-come forth..."

Trembling all over, the girl's face twisted into an angry frown as her knees started to shake, sweat running down her brow and getting into her eyes as the effort of the summoning began to prove almost too much for her lite body.

'Hold on... hold on...'

"...b-by my side..."

Cautiously, barely managing to keep her concentration, she drew one of the Rule Makers from its sheath. The blade almost slipped from her sweaty left hand's grasp, but she managed to hold firm, bringing it towards her right wrist, which she held above the Circle's central diagram.

An unearthly wind blew through the chamber, shaking her to the core. But she had to do this. She had to fix her mistake. She had to succeed.

'Just a little bit longer...'

With all the caution her shaking hands could muster, she pricked a vein slightly with the Rule Maker, allowing three drops of blood to fall onto the center of the Circle.

"Oh, Guardian of the Balance!"

The red light of the Circle flared once more as the winds picked up, and this time her knees did give out, sending her sprawling as the Rule Maker clattered against the floor.

For a second, her vision blurred, and all she could hear was the howling wind, and the distant, menacing clanking of a chain. And then it all went black.

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

When she came to, less than a minute afterward, she was presented with a cold room, the Circle gone, and no sign of the summoning having worked.

"Nothing?" she muttered disappointedly as she arduously stood up, picking the Rule Maker and placing it back into its sheath.

"Nothing?" a voice answered back, "Why, I should be offended!"

The girl nearly jumped in fright, a cold shiver running down her body as she instantly turned around to find herself face to face with the speaker.

He was a smirking, olive-skinned man, standing quite a few heads taller than the girl. A ripped, tattered trenchcoat, so blue it was almost black, covered his dark clothing, and a black bandana covered his head, pulled down to completely obscure the upper left side of his face, leaving only a single brown eye to look down at her. His hands were protected by shiny black leather gloves, each one bearing a different arcane diagram and inscription in bold white.

The man's smirk widened as he noticed the girl staring at him.

"Forgive me, but I do hope that your stunned silence does not mean that you aren't my Mistress. Or am I wrong?"

"I-" the girl muttered, dumbfound, "Yes! I mean, no! I- dammit, yes, yes I am your Master!"

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Clearly, the summoning had messed with her mind, she thought, to have her acting like such a fool in front of someone who was supposed to be her Servant.

Gathering her wits, she lifted her right arm, proudly displaying the command seals on her pale wrist to the man before her.

"I am your Master," she said to him forcefully, "and by virtue of the Contract we have both signed, you will obey me!"

The Servant shrugged, still smirking.

"I don't see why not," he told her, "but... would it be of any inconvenience for me to know my Mistress' name?"

The girl frowned, bringing her hand up to flick a single strand of white hair off her brow.

"I- no, of course it wouldn't matter. I'm Theresa. Theresa Biancanotte. And you..."

"I, Mistress," the man answered casually, "am the Servant Archer."

"Archer..." Theresa muttered under her breath, trying to hide her disappointment. This was not what she had been aiming for. Saber, perhaps, or Lancer...

"You don't seem all too pleased," the Servant said frankly, smirk still there, "but worry not. I will soon pay for myself. I can feel it in the strands of the world. If you had enough power to summon me, then you are no doubt the strongest of all the Magi in this war. And I have no doubt that I am the strongest Servant ever."

Theresa looked suspicious at the display of utter confidence, bordering on arrogance, even, but there was something about the way he said it... something that brought a small smile to her lips.

She nodded.

"Very well then, Archer. But there's one last thing..."

"Is there, Mistress?"

"Your name. I didn't get it."

"Ah," the Servant muttered, strangely pointed teeth showing as his smirk turned into a discrete smile, "I've been called many things, Mistress. One of them was my birth name, which is unknown and inconsequential. Others were different, but most simply unpleasant. There is, however, one name..."

He brought his right hand up, tapping his chin with a finger. The movement displayed the inscription on the glove perfectly, finally allowing Theresa to make it out. There, in bold white letters, read: "GOD'S MIND ARRESTED."

For some reason, a shiver ran down Theresa's spine as she read the message, and a small part of her mind couldn't help but somehow feel that perhaps she shouldn't have asked.

"There is one name, Mistress," the Servant went on, observing her reactions with a delighted expression, "You see, the people call me..."

He smiled again, stretching the dramatic pause for as long as he could.

Somewhere in the distance, a crow screeched.

"...Aries."

 

[Cyberscythe195]

Outside of Church, TFF City

Amusing events aside, Sousuke was, and still is, completely lost. By some unknown virtue, he accepted that random angel tried to kill him and he was saved by some random woman who called herself caster. She could summon flaming horses and led them to a church for sanctuary.

The priest seemed normal enough, until he pulled out those wacked out weapons and his friends were composed of two anime otaku.

The worst part was that he missed work. Of course, he only realised this as of right now, the shock from the continuous random events finally wearing off of him. 'I should have asked Ms. Caster to bring me to the supermarket instead. I still have bills to pay after all.'

He looked up at the dogs, the various people around him, and himself. 'Safety first I suppose.' He dissappeared from sight.

The others watched as Sousuke appeared to suddenly have suddenly dissappeared in thin air.

There was a silence. Then a scream.

Caster suddenly became a whirlwind of motion. She moved towards the various animals and tore through them in a sea of fire, ice, wind, water, and earth. She screamed again. This time, it was in desperation.

"Master. Master!" She was nearly hysterical. "You fucking bastards. If you dare to even graze a single hair on his head, I will rip your soul out of your pathetic mortal body and feed it to Lucifer himself."

"..." Sousuke sweatdropped. "Um, I haven't really known you long, but thanks for caring about me... I think."

She began to look around frantically. Searching for her master. 'What happened to him? I can't sense him at all.'

"Uh yeah." Epsilon said. "He's still right here. On my right to be precise. Aren't servants supposed to be able to sense their masters at all times?"

Sousuke decided to spare her the trouble and reappeared.

"Oomph." He felt a well endowed body tackle him into the ground.

"Don't you fucking dare do that again. You hear me or I'll..."
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Misunderstanding the reason behind her distress, much like the others who were watching, comforted the woman.

He turned to Epsilon. "You. What the hell is this servant, master, magic, angel, stuff all about?"

Epsilon sighed and wished for that cup of coffee even more than ever. "Well..."

 

[Epsilon]

Outside of Church, TFF City

Before Epsilon could start talking, he felt a new dark presence in the area. "Heads up guys!"

"Eh? WHOA!!" Sousuke yelped as Caster yanked him back from the ground in which he had previously occupied as a shadow with a mouth full of sharp teeth tried to bite into him. "What the hell?!"

"...... these beasts... the shadows... are they coming from...?" Shiki trailed off as he heard that infuriating smug chuckle come from one of the darkened corners a good distance away from the Church. A large man stepped out with pale skin, short grey hair and a dark trench coat covering his black clad body.

"Nrvnqsr Chaos, I presume?" growled Epsilon under his breath.

"To think that we would meet the Tenth of the Twenty Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles here..." murmured Caster.

Nrvnqsr Chaos merely focused his gaze at the 'magical girl'. "So we meet again, True Ancestor."

"Impossible... we defeated you last year!" gasped Phastasmoon.

"If you're here... that probably means the Night of Walachia has risen again... but the reports from the Church said that Tatari had been subdued! Argh... where's a coffee when you need one?!"

"No matter... we'll simply have to take him out again." Shiki removed his glasses and took out his knife.

"I won't be that easy to defeat!" shouted the Dead Apostle as he unleashed even more beasts upon the party.

 

[Ray]

Pricey Hotel rooftop, Higher Districts of TFF City

A powerful wind, cold as ice, swept through the rooftops of TFF City, its howling cry certain to dampen the screams of those that would soon be dying. Truly, this was a beautiful-

"HMMPH! HMMPH!"

Theresa Biancanotte spat out a stream of curses as she ripped a newspaper the wind had blown into her face into shreds, throwing the pieces into the air only to have them fly back at her.

"What... the hell... is THIS!?"

"It is but the call of the night, Mistress!" answered her Servant, Aries, seemingly oblivious to her problems and unaffected by the wind save for an incredibly dramatic flaring of his dark blue coat, "The world's crows are ready to feast, and it will be a splendid feast indeed!"

Theresa tuned him out, looking around for the cause of her predicament. This wind was completely unnatural, surely something was affecting it.

She froze as her eyes found the answer. Twirling around Aries' left hand, dancing around in what looked to be malevolent glee, was a small spark of dark energy.

"Archer!" she called out, "Archer, is this your doing!?"

Her Servant turned to look at her, casually giving her a cocky nod and a look that made Theresa want to strangle him.

"Stop it, Archer!" she ordered, "Now! Don't make me have to use a Command Spell!"

Her Servant sighed in slight exasperation, but dutifully obeyed, smothering the dark energy with his fingers.

The wind immediately stopped, giving way to a cool, calm breeze.

"You should relax a bit, Mistress," a smiling Aries said as things settled down, "I was merely adding a much needed spot of drama..."

"Shut up," the girl ordered, "and stop calling me Mistress. Master is a universal term in this war."

"Ah, but calling you Mistress sounds so much more delicious, Mistress..." Aries replied, "Almost like... cake."

Theresa just stared at him, feeling her face twitch in anger. Fists clenching in an attempt to calm herself down, she turned away from her Servant, directing her gaze down the rooftop they were standing on and unto the empty street below.

'We've found nothing so far...' she thought angrily, 'Perhaps we should have just stayed in the mansion? No... finding our enemies in broad daylight tomorrow will be impossible.'

Sighing, she turned back towards her Servant.

"There's nothing here, Archer, so we'll have to head further outside the higher districts," she told him, "Take me there, and no fancy wind tricks! That's an order!"

Aries only smiled.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outside of Church, TFF City

"Aspirat primo, fortuna labori!"

"If that means we're really fucking lucky, then yes," Theresa muttered to her Servant as she watched the chaos unfold outside the church from a nearby rooftop.

Clearly, fortune was on their side. It had taken very little time since they'd renewed their search to find a Master for them to succeed.

And what a success it was! The fool of a Master, and his Servant, a Caster-class no less, were busy fending off an attack by some insane man with animals sprouting out of his body. Standing besides them, their apparent comrades in arms fought for their lives.

None of them were aware of what was going on behind their backs.

"What are your orders, Mistress?" Aries asked, smiling in satisfaction.

"Let me think..." Theresa whispered, "we could easily take that Master out, he's too fool to even command his Servant properly. The real problem are his comrades and that nutjob they're fighting. To top it off, one of them is a Mediator. That could cause problems. Care to evaluate?"

Aries shrugged nonchalantly, then ran his eyes over the battle.

"A direct assault would be useless here. Though that Master seems incompetent and no Caster servant should be able to last against me in close combat, the Mediator and his friends seem powerful, and they probably won't tolerate a battle between Masters so close to the Church. To top it off, the man they're fighting looks rather... unhinged. He'd probably have no qualms against attacking me just as he's attacking them."

"Thus, I'd recommend a sneak attack. I'll jump in while they're distracted and eliminate the Master. If the Servant notices in time to attack me, I'll lure her away from the Church and battle her there. As I said before, the Caster class is no match against a Knight-class servant like me, so finishing this job should be nice, simple, and clean."

Theresa nodded.

"Alright then, Archer," she said, "Grab the Master and attempt to avoid conflict with the Servant, but don't hesitate to engage her if she presses her attack. And don't eliminate the boy yet, just knock him out. I want to rip his command spells off before we kill him."

A strange smile decorated Aries' face at that last sentence, pointed teeth showing off dangerously. Calmly, he snapped his fingers, light bending around him as a long, whip-like bladed chain appeared from midair, seemingly uncoiling from under the right sleeve of his coat to float around him like a spiked barrier.

"Your wish," he said, "is my command."

And he jumped down into the fray.

 

[Cyberscythe195]

Outside of Church, TFF City

There was one thing that Sousuke learned to follow very early on in his life. It would save him through many a dangerous situation and definitely saved his sanity.

It would also serve him just as well when a new random whip wielding maniac decides to appear out of nowhere and try to kill him... again.

Don't Panic

Of course, while he didn't, persay, panic, he did miraculously get startled enough to fall just at the correct angle to dodge the initial strike. With the man's element of surprise lost, as well as for him gaining initiative, he decided quickly to... run away very very fast.

With the ease of many years of usage, he (unknowingly) cast invisibilty on himself once more, immediately removing his presence effectively to the three evil alligned members present. Much to their confusion, again, of course.

Sousuke ran like a bat out of hell right back into the Church, well... would have, if he didn't have this feeling that he should at least try and help his newfound, if not just a tad bit insane, friends.

"I still need them to explain to me what the hell is going on here. I do owe Ms. Caster my life... again. I need to return the favor... somehow."

-Meanwhile-

Berith, was enraged beyond belief. Her master had disappeared without a trace, again. She looked at the newcomer who dared endanger her goals. 'I will not be stopped. This world will be mine.'

She drew a bit of demonic energy from her pendant, a failsafe for emergency situations, such as this.

She began her incantation, in a tongue no mortal man should ever subject themselves. Each word she whispered in hurried breath overflowed with corruption, maliciousness, pain, agony, suffering....

One word flowed after another in a river of pure evil... and then she stopped she only looked at her prey once, and smirked with pure malice...

Hell's Retribution

The man screamed, a scream that spoke of untold pain and suffering. One that had never, ever, been released from his lips.

 

[Ray]

Outside of Church, TFF City

The scream echoed through the dark street as the light seemed to envelop Aries, his body turning into dust on the spot.

Caster smiled.

"Overconfident fools like that," she proclaimed, "always, always make me- urghk!"

There was a burst of inky black mist, and Aries' whip-like chain was coiled around her, pressing down on her like a snake trying to crush its prey.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Aries muttered, calmly holding onto the chain with his right hand, "predictability gets you nowhere, my dear."

"An illusion!" Caster yelled, face scrounging up in pain as the bladed links of the chain, formerly pressed harmlessly against her, began to turn their sharp edge against her pale skin, "Bastard!"

"Such rough language," Aries chided, "is unbecoming for a lady. And twice as unbecoming considering I could flay you on the-"

His eyes widened, and he had only a second to act as Caster used three unbound fingers to launch a surprise fireball at him. Flipping back to avoid it, Aries swung his chain through the air, releasing Caster and sending her smashing against a nearby concrete building.

He watched her stumble out of the rubble, smirking at her as she glared at him.

"Looks like this will be an interesting fight..."

 

[Cyberscythe195]

Outside of Church. TFF City

Before the two could continue their combat, they were kindly reminded of their current plight by an assault from two lions and an eagle. Of course caster and archer burned and slashed through these pests respectively, but were none the less forced to stop their fight.

Especially, when the elephants started rolling...

Caster began casting spell after spell in a storm of fire, ice, wind, water, earth, and lightning. Archer unloaded a heavy barrage of bullets into uncoming enemies. Arcuied and Shiki easily dealt with the foes they faced.

Epsilon just wished for coffee as he unleashed the power of the black keys he wielded.

-Back to Sousuke (532 beasts remaining)

Fortunately for the young and clueless master, he was able to avoid the rush of enemies as he tried to make his way into one of the many surrounding buildings. Most unfortunately, most of them were closed.

'I need to get to a phone and call for police, the army, or something.' The futility of his actions aside with him being unaware of the nature of his situation, he desperately hoped that his friends would be able to hold on.

'Think Sousuke think.' He began running towards one of the further away buildings when Nrvnqsr Chaos batted away one of the fireballs into his direction, sending him flying.

"Shit..." He curled his body into a ball, hoping to minimize the impact somehow.

*Crash!* He felt his body smash through a window, his body wincing at the shards of glass that stuck into his arm before....

*plunck* He landed into an air mattress.

"Ugh" He gingerly stood up and pulled the shards out of his left arm. Then he sighed. "That was dangerous, but I was lucky that mattress was where it was."

He began to look around for a phone.

'Goddammit, a sporting goods store should have a phone somewhere...'

He found it and checked the line, only to hear the dead tone.

"Shit... and I still don't know what's going." He looked around.

'No one to help us, no one to answer a phone. That and my only way to get a clear answer is out there fighting something I don't understand.'

"I need to fight."

He looked around for anything that could be considered a weapon.

'Let's see... machete, knives, guns, rifles, more knives, there... found it.'

He took the professional grade, hunting bow off of its pedestal on the wall. 'Now for some arrows and a scope.'

A few minutes later, he was armed with two hunting daggers, a bow with night scope, arrows, and a few flares. He also jacked an outdoor med kit in case his friends got injured. He himself got into a few scuffles during one of his many jobs.

'I'm good to go.' He began his long trek up the stairs.

-A few minutes later (Beast count: 478 remaining)

"Huff, Huff... made it"

He finally made it to the top of the stair case and unto the building roof top. 'Why do I feel so tired?'

During his trip up the stairs, he felt his energy falling considerably.

'Guess I gotta work out more or something.'

He drew his bow and peered into the scope. He sighed in relief. Apparently, everyone was holding their own. He prepped an arrow and aimed.

*Twang* The arrow flew and hit one of the eageles dead on in the head.

He prepped another arrow. *Twang* *Twang* *Twang*

The others could only wonder as invisible arrows suddenly appeared in their enemies heads.

He got ready to loose another when he noticed twenty avians break off of the main fight into the air. 'They must have noticed me, but how?'

The avians, instead of heading in his direction, headed towards a different building.
'But why?' He followed them on his scope and realized why. On a different building was a young girl.

'A bystander, but what's up with those daggers.' The avians started dive bombing the girl. He noticed how the odd guy that tried to kill him began trying to fight his way back to the girl.

'Are they together?' Then he noticed a particularly nasty hit delivered to the girl's leg.

'no time to think' He began knocking them down one by one.