It isn't really an issue if she can or can't be saved. It's who doesn't get saved, or what problem goes unaddressed, while trying to do that. Time is as ever our most precious resource, and trying to pull her back before she goes past the point of no return might not be the better choice when placed into context.

Sad truth is, you can't have everything.
 
I'm of the opinion that saving Rin is worth the effort. It's a good thing to do in general, it's good for Shirou (pulling her back from the brink, despite the stuff Rin's already done, will help him in managing his whole Hero of Justice thing), and it's downright necessary to keep Sakura and probably Ayako happy. Just writing Rin off will make things much harder in the long run.
 
Yeah, Canon Rin TALKS like a hardass magi but she always hesitates at the last step and usually gets smashed good right there.

Blame Tokiomi and Kotomine
Canon Rin is a genuinely good person trying to emulate genuinely shitty role models.

It's kind of her personal tragedy that she's already a far better person than her father, and completely incapable of seeing it.

and that's why she's my fav
 
5.8 - It Returns

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb3UmzOqios

[... If Ayako wants it]

But the witches will help her.

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!



"If Ayako wants it, we should keep it around."

Medea stares at you, it was her third look. You had begun to classify them, the first was her normal, impassive look. The second was the look she used when she was annoyed with you. This was a third look, a mixture of the two, she used that when she wanted to kill you. You had begun to see it more and more lately.

"Ooooh, good boy! Yes, I am very useful, now just let me get to those soft, supple fingEEERRRS?!" Rubies attempt at being… whatever the hell it was doing, was interrupted by Circe picking up the stick with a long pair of wooden tongs. Where exactly she had pulled them from you had no idea.

Circe twists the stick this way and that, observing it as it wiggles and twists within the tongs. "Indeed," then Circe smiles. "We can certainly teach Ayako, after all, we are good witches and help the training of others, don't we, my dear pupil?" Circe asks, turning her gaze towards Medea.

"I am far from a 'good witch'," Medea growls. "And in any case, something of that nature should not be in the hands of a stupid girl that has no idea what she is getting in the middle of."

"Hey!" Ayako says, looking more than mildly offended. "I get good grades!"

"And yet you are a fool regardless," Medea says, with the same tone one might use to discuss the weather. "For multiple reasons, but it is not my pla-"

"Name one you blue-haired bitch." Ayako replies.

"Perhaps getting stabbed and deciding that you were pleased having that happen in the future? Or perhaps continuing to involve yourself in the Grail War despite knowing you had no means of defending yourself within it. Or perhaps charging a compound filled with criminals on the off-chance your boyfriend had been kidnapped."

Ayako's eyes narrow. "I had good reason for all three of those."

Medea says nothing in response, instead, she turns her gaze to you. "I see like attracts like even in this age."

"Medea-dear, jealously is an abysmal look for a woman your age," Circe says.

Caster's head turns so hard she threatens to snap it as she focuses on Circe, the witch is still squatting by the doorway, grinning. Ruby for… her? part wasn't struggling anymore either. "I have little to be jealous of, and do not use my name so freely."

Circe moves a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my apologies. Were you hoping he had forgotten it so that when you next deign to reveal it he can woo you by stating he didn't care about your past? Again?"

"Circe." Medea growls.

The hand lowers, revealing a vicious, mocking grin. "Yes, that is indeed my name." Circe then points to you and Ayako. "And that's Shirou and Ayako, do keep up my dear pupil. I do understand that your brain is old and your loins are dry, but I do not understand how you plan on seducing that boy without remembering his name."

"Out… get…" Medea says,

"Oh dear, she's lost the ability to speak," Circe says, looking now a tad worried. She then looks to Ayako. "I'll clean up the lobby and put your family in order, would you mind getting some clothes together? I would… recommend staying with Shirou for the time being," the smile then returns. "To better assist in your training in how to use this device, and to… ward off any threats, might I say."

"Threats? Like… the… people like her running around?" Ayako asks, pointing at Medea.

Circe's smile grows a touch. "Yes, but not in the manner you are perhaps thinking."

Ayako blinks, confusion on her face. "I don't… what?"

"He has started to fight back, however, attacking his opponents from the front and behind." Circe continues.

Oh. "Circe… can you please go handle her parents? I'll help Ayako pack… if she's alright with coming with me."

"Not sure how I'm going to tell my parents I'm staying over at a crime lord's house," Ayako says.

"You're on a school trip," Circe replies, standing and making her way down the hallway. "I'll modify their memories to make it as such."

"You can do that?" Ayako asks curiously.

"There is very little our magic cannot do girl," Medea replies with a sigh. "Now, pack, before anything else idiotic happens. This conversation sin't ove-"

*BANG*

Circe goes flying back down the hallway in an explosion of dust, dirt, stone and wood. You briefly make out something on top of her before she lands with a crash against the end of the hallway, and by extension, at the foot of the door to Ayako's room. The witch was splayed out, back against the ground, Ruby still hand loosely in her opposite hand via the tongs as she got her bearings.

"Nevermind." Medea says.

Atop Circe, the cause of her fall, was a man, and the man stood quickly, and you took a step back on instinct as he nearly brushed against the ceiling in doing so. The man was taller than Kuzuki was, and that teacher was already one of the tallest men you had ever met. He was dressed in a blue and gold… uniform of some sort, you didn't recognize the make, but it was old. It was also torn to shred, bits of it were missing, and gashes cut into the material to reveal bloody skin underneath. His hair was white, but… oddly unnaturally so, in a way, you couldn't quite describe. In one hand he held an old-fashioned flintlock pistol, in the other, a slightly curved sword. He tucked the second away quickly, reaching down to aid Circe. "My apologies madam."

Circe blinks, looking as confused as Ayako was earlier as the man helps Circe back up. He then takes a step back, and looks around the space for a moment, before settling on the three of you in the room. "Good morning."

"Good… morning?" Ayako offers.

The man smiles, a tight-lipped thing. "Master Shirou, I would recommend evacuating these premises immediately." Then he turns, making his way back towards the front door, leaving you to sit there in confusion.

What?




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4xsfkhcw-A



Then you hear it,

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

A loud cry like that of a wounded animal echoes down the hall, shaking the wood and causing you to stumble where you stood. Nausea tears through you, as does… fear. Your body screams at you to run, to get away from whatever it was that made that sound. But you knew what made that sound, you had dealt with it once already…

And now it was back again.

You move forward, past Circe, and past the obliterated front door and into the open. There, standing in the road was…

Before you had only seen it in the dark, it somehow made even less sense in the day among people. It was a man, at least in shape. But there was no rhyme or reason to it. Limbs jutted out of limbs, the body was twisted, distorted, bending in ways and shapes no human or living thing besides could deal with. Eyes emerged from the flesh, blinking and searching. And it was howling.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!


There was a thing that shouldn't exist, something that didn't belong to this world in the middle of Fuyuki. It had escaped the dark, it had escaped your nightmares. And it was now standing amidst the parked cars and signs of life like an errant thing that shouldn't be. A glitch in reality, there was nothing correct about its existence.

The man who had crashed into the house raised his pistol and fired. The monster stumbled back, then charged forward. Its body shifted and changed shape as it moved, jerking from one position to the next, slobbering mouths and grasping hands all over. The wicked spear you saw before gouged through the earth, carving up the asphalt like it was sand to try and stab at the man. He for his part narrowly moves out of the way, then disappears from view, moving further up the street. But you heard another shot ring out, and the monster turned and chased after him, away from the house and further into the neighborhood.

"What the hell is that!?" Ayako screeches.

"It is what attacked your brother," Medea replies. "Shirou, we cannot stay here."

… That much was obvious. The monster was here, but so was Ayako's family. You could not, under any circumstances, allow her or her family to come to harm. But that man… who was he? He looked like he was leading the monster away from you all deliberately at that last moment. You knew how powerful that thing was.

But you also wanted it gone from this town. And the monster had disappeared from the dark of the night and was here now, in Fuyuki, in the daylight and around people it would easily slaughter fighting a servant.

You take in a breath, thinking for a split second. Then you speak.



[] [Escape with Ayako's Parents]

[] [Have one of the servants leave with Ayako's parents and brother, you and another servant will help the man]

[] [Write-in]
 
"Medea-dear, jealously is an abysmal look for a woman your age," Circe says.

"Oh, my apologies. Were you hoping he had forgotten it so that when you next deign to reveal it he can woo you by stating he didn't care about your past? Again?"

"Yes, that is indeed my name." Circe then points to you and Ayako. "And that's Shirou and Ayako, do keep up my dear pupil. I do understand that your brain is old and your loins are dry, but I do not understand how you plan on seducing that boy without remembering his name."

... ... wow I didn't know Circe was a fire mage because DAMN Medea got roasted

Ayako blinks, confusion on her face. "I don't… what?"

"He has started to fight back, however, attacking his opponents from the front and behind." Circe continues.

Oh.

... I don't follow

Atop Circe, the cause of her fall, was a man, and the man stood quickly, and you took a step back on instinct as he nearly brushed against the ceiling in doing so. The man was taller than Kuzuki was, and that teacher was already one of the tallest men you had ever met. He was dressed in a blue and gold… uniform of some sort, you didn't recognize the make, but it was old. It was also torn to shred, bits of it were missing, and gashes cut into the material to reveal bloody skin underneath. His hair was white, but… oddly unnaturally so, in a way, you couldn't quite describe. In one hand he held an old-fashioned flintlock pistol, in the other, a slightly curved sword. He tucked the second away quickly, reaching down to aid Circe. "My apologies madam."

.. ...

...

WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!

"Master Shirou, I would recommend evacuating these premises immediately."

... at least they are polite.


umm... Circe has Ruby...wonder if we could send Ayako to go grab it to bring up the number of combatants.
 
Medea stares at you, it was her third look. You had begun to classify them, the first was her normal, impassive look. The second was the look she used when she was annoyed with you. This was a third look, a mixture of the two, she used that when she wanted to kill you. You had begun to see it more and more lately.
Aww look at him! He's learning!

Now, pack, before anything else idiotic happens.

Oh Medea, you can't just hand the universe a straight line like that.

"It is what attacked your brother," Medea replies. "Shirou, we cannot stay here."

Well, if there was one way to get Ayako to immediately attempt to claw back on the magical girl uniform, it's this one!


Circe got laid and she's obliquely gloating about it.

WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!

I believe it's Ruler, since when we saw him summoned, he certainly seemed to be about to fight this same beasty:

He flexed his hand, feeling the saber strapped to his side. There was something in these woods, something… different, something evil. Not the same evil, but similar. He turned his head, ever so slowly to see it watching him. A hulking form, bulging with muscle and with madness in his eyes. It stared at him, he stared back. Then it moved, and the man whose life had been defined by battles fought again.

He had never been a ruler, he had been a leader to be certain, a guide, a voice of reason as necessary, and if truly required a tyrant. But the role of a ruler had been thrust upon him, he had served then, and now… he would again.

umm... Circe has Ruby...wonder if we could send Ayako to go grab it to bring up the number of combatants.

I'm more wondering if Ruby + Ayako can get Ayako's family to safety while the rest of the crew engages.

This vote is a bit of a thinker.
 
[] [Escape with Ayako's Parents]
While this would be the smart option, I imagine the other one is more likely to be done by our MC

[X] [Have one of the servants leave with Ayako's parents and brother, you and another servant will help the man]
 
You know, we seduced RECRUITED Ruby, we might as well put her to use.

[X] [Write-in] Have Ruby and Ayako take her family to safety while Shirou and the Witches (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.

I'd go to a concert by Shirou and the Witches.
 
[X] [Write-in] Have Ruby and Ayako take her family to safety while Shirou and the Witches (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.
 
[X] [Write-in] Have Circe take Ayako's family to safety while Shirou, Ayako, Ruby and Medea (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.
 
Last edited:
[x] [Have one of the servants leave with Ayako's parents and brother, you and another servant will help the man]

Hi ho
Hi ho
It's off to the Tiger Dojo we go

Also hi George
 
[X] [Write-in] Have Ruby and Ayako take her family to safety while Shirou and the Witches (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.
Uh, no. Remember what happened last time Ruby was left alone with Ayako and her family?

[X] [Write-in] Have Circe take Ayako's family to safety while Shirou, Ayako, Ruby and Medea (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.
 
[X] [Write-in] Have Ruby and Ayako take her family to safety while Shirou and the Witches (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.

YOLO
 

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb3UmzOqios

[... If Ayako wants it]

But the witches will help her.

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!



"If Ayako wants it, we should keep it around."

Medea stares at you, it was her third look. You had begun to classify them, the first was her normal, impassive look. The second was the look she used when she was annoyed with you. This was a third look, a mixture of the two, she used that when she wanted to kill you. You had begun to see it more and more lately.

"Ooooh, good boy! Yes, I am very useful, now just let me get to those soft, supple fingEEERRRS?!" Rubies attempt at being… whatever the hell it was doing, was interrupted by Circe picking up the stick with a long pair of wooden tongs. Where exactly she had pulled them from you had no idea.

Circe twists the stick this way and that, observing it as it wiggles and twists within the tongs. "Indeed," then Circe smiles. "We can certainly teach Ayako, after all, we are good witches and help the training of others, don't we, my dear pupil?" Circe asks, turning her gaze towards Medea.

"I am far from a 'good witch'," Medea growls. "And in any case, something of that nature should not be in the hands of a stupid girl that has no idea what she is getting in the middle of."

"Hey!" Ayako says, looking more than mildly offended. "I get good grades!"

"And yet you are a fool regardless," Medea says, with the same tone one might use to discuss the weather. "For multiple reasons, but it is not my pla-"

"Name one you blue-haired bitch." Ayako replies.

"Perhaps getting stabbed and deciding that you were pleased having that happen in the future? Or perhaps continuing to involve yourself in the Grail War despite knowing you had no means of defending yourself within it. Or perhaps charging a compound filled with criminals on the off-chance your boyfriend had been kidnapped."

Ayako's eyes narrow. "I had good reason for all three of those."

Medea says nothing in response, instead, she turns her gaze to you. "I see like attracts like even in this age."

"Medea-dear, jealously is an abysmal look for a woman your age," Circe says.

Caster's head turns so hard she threatens to snap it as she focuses on Circe, the witch is still squatting by the doorway, grinning. Ruby for… her? part wasn't struggling anymore either. "I have little to be jealous of, and do not use my name so freely."

Circe moves a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my apologies. Were you hoping he had forgotten it so that when you next deign to reveal it he can woo you by stating he didn't care about your past? Again?"

"Circe." Medea growls.

The hand lowers, revealing a vicious, mocking grin. "Yes, that is indeed my name." Circe then points to you and Ayako. "And that's Shirou and Ayako, do keep up my dear pupil. I do understand that your brain is old and your loins are dry, but I do not understand how you plan on seducing that boy without remembering his name."

"Out… get…" Medea says,

"Oh dear, she's lost the ability to speak," Circe says, looking now a tad worried. She then looks to Ayako. "I'll clean up the lobby and put your family in order, would you mind getting some clothes together? I would… recommend staying with Shirou for the time being," the smile then returns. "To better assist in your training in how to use this device, and to… ward off any threats, might I say."

"Threats? Like… the… people like her running around?" Ayako asks, pointing at Medea.

Circe's smile grows a touch. "Yes, but not in the manner you are perhaps thinking."

Ayako blinks, confusion on her face. "I don't… what?"

"He has started to fight back, however, attacking his opponents from the front and behind." Circe continues.

Oh. "Circe… can you please go handle her parents? I'll help Ayako pack… if she's alright with coming with me."

"Not sure how I'm going to tell my parents I'm staying over at a crime lord's house," Ayako says.

"You're on a school trip," Circe replies, standing and making her way down the hallway. "I'll modify their memories to make it as such."

"You can do that?" Ayako asks curiously.

"There is very little our magic cannot do girl," Medea replies with a sigh. "Now, pack, before anything else idiotic happens. This conversation sin't ove-"

*BANG*

Circe goes flying back down the hallway in an explosion of dust, dirt, stone and wood. You briefly make out something on top of her before she lands with a crash against the end of the hallway, and by extension, at the foot of the door to Ayako's room. The witch was splayed out, back against the ground, Ruby still hand loosely in her opposite hand via the tongs as she got her bearings.

"Nevermind." Medea says.

Atop Circe, the cause of her fall, was a man, and the man stood quickly, and you took a step back on instinct as he nearly brushed against the ceiling in doing so. The man was taller than Kuzuki was, and that teacher was already one of the tallest men you had ever met. He was dressed in a blue and gold… uniform of some sort, you didn't recognize the make, but it was old. It was also torn to shred, bits of it were missing, and gashes cut into the material to reveal bloody skin underneath. His hair was white, but… oddly unnaturally so, in a way, you couldn't quite describe. In one hand he held an old-fashioned flintlock pistol, in the other, a slightly curved sword. He tucked the second away quickly, reaching down to aid Circe. "My apologies madam."

Circe blinks, looking as confused as Ayako was earlier as the man helps Circe back up. He then takes a step back, and looks around the space for a moment, before settling on the three of you in the room. "Good morning."

"Good… morning?" Ayako offers.

The man smiles, a tight-lipped thing. "Master Shirou, I would recommend evacuating these premises immediately." Then he turns, making his way back towards the front door, leaving you to sit there in confusion.

What?




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4xsfkhcw-A



Then you hear it,

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

A loud cry like that of a wounded animal echoes down the hall, shaking the wood and causing you to stumble where you stood. Nausea tears through you, as does… fear. Your body screams at you to run, to get away from whatever it was that made that sound. But you knew what made that sound, you had dealt with it once already…

And now it was back again.

You move forward, past Circe, and past the obliterated front door and into the open. There, standing in the road was…

Before you had only seen it in the dark, it somehow made even less sense in the day among people. It was a man, at least in shape. But there was no rhyme or reason to it. Limbs jutted out of limbs, the body was twisted, distorted, bending in ways and shapes no human or living thing besides could deal with. Eyes emerged from the flesh, blinking and searching. And it was howling.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

There was a thing that shouldn't exist, something that didn't belong to this world in the middle of Fuyuki. It had escaped the dark, it had escaped your nightmares. And it was now standing amidst the parked cars and signs of life like an errant thing that shouldn't be. A glitch in reality, there was nothing correct about its existence.

The man who had crashed into the house raised his pistol and fired. The monster stumbled back, then charged forward. Its body shifted and changed shape as it moved, jerking from one position to the next, slobbering mouths and grasping hands all over. The wicked spear you saw before gouged through the earth, carving up the asphalt like it was sand to try and stab at the man. He for his part narrowly moves out of the way, then disappears from view, moving further up the street. But you heard another shot ring out, and the monster turned and chased after him, away from the house and further into the neighborhood.

"What the hell is that!?" Ayako screeches.

"It is what attacked your brother," Medea replies. "Shirou, we cannot stay here."

… That much was obvious. The monster was here, but so was Ayako's family. You could not, under any circumstances, allow her or her family to come to harm. But that man… who was he? He looked like he was leading the monster away from you all deliberately at that last moment. You knew how powerful that thing was.

But you also wanted it gone from this town. And the monster had disappeared from the dark of the night and was here now, in Fuyuki, in the daylight and around people it would easily slaughter fighting a servant.

You take in a breath, thinking for a split second. Then you speak.



[] [Escape with Ayako's Parents]

[] [Have one of the servants leave with Ayako's parents and brother, you and another servant will help the man]

[] [Write-in]


[X] [Write-in] - Have Circe grab Ayako and her family. Stay with Medea and summon Mordred to help fight this thing off.
 
[X] [Write-in] Have Circe take Ayako's family to safety while Shirou, Ayako, Ruby and Medea (and any Servants we can get here without a command seal) go to help the man.

Medea I know you think I'm a total moron, but it is imperative that you help me get my hero fix by helping me, this random girl using a tool she clearly can't use, and whoever else happens to be in the area, help this guy we've never met before while Circe saves the soon to be brainwashed by an evil stick's girls parents to safety. This is a perfect plan that can in no way shape or form go wrong or result in emotional trauma for anyone involved.

Why are you looking at me like that?
 
Let's analyze this situation a little more carefully before we get ourselves killed (again). We're fighting Lancer Alter who's some sort of terrifying monster. What he's lost in technique and intellect he's made up in sheer strength and speed. Also like most frontline fighter type servants he's probably annoyingly resistant to magic. On our side we have
  • Shirou knows some basic magecraft and can perform projection though he's yet to master it. However he spent most of his mana this morning to restore Mordred's sanity
  • Medea is a caster type who does best on a carefully prepared battleground of her choosing. This fight is not her forte. She can turn into a touhou boss but if Lancer has the kind of magic resistance I suspect he does that won't do much. Also she's reliant on Shirou for mana and he's mostly out right now
  • Circe is another caster type who's unlikely to do well in sudden front line combat
  • Ruby is an incredibly powerful weapon that provides an infinite mana source but Ayako has had zero combat experience and is unlikely to do well wielding her in a sudden life or death situation
  • Ruler is a complete unknown. He's a historical figure not a mythological one so we can't even really speculate what powers the grail has seen fit to give him
If we attempt to fight with this team composition we are almost certainly going to die. The correct way to use a servant like Medea is to plan ahead, prepare a situation where you can win, and lure the enemy there, not suddenly jump into fights. However it would be really good to eliminate Lancer now before he can do any more damage. If we want to do that we need to commit all the way without taking half measures. Shirou can eliminate the mana supply issue and increase his own combat utility by temporarily borrowing Ruby from Ayako and he can get a front line fighter to the field by burning a command seal to summon Mordred.

[X] [Write-in] Temporarily borrow Ruby from Ayako and use her yourself. Summon Mordred. Have Circe take Ayako and her parents to safety. Take Lancer down
 
"Medea-dear, jealously is an abysmal look for a woman your age," Circe says.

Caster's head turns so hard she threatens to snap it as she focuses on Circe, the witch is still squatting by the doorway, grinning. Ruby for… her? part wasn't struggling anymore either. "I have little to be jealous of, and do not use my name so freely."

Circe moves a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my apologies. Were you hoping he had forgotten it so that when you next deign to reveal it he can woo you by stating he didn't care about your past? Again?"

"Circe." Medea growls.

The hand lowers, revealing a vicious, mocking grin. "Yes, that is indeed my name." Circe then points to you and Ayako. "And that's Shirou and Ayako, do keep up my dear pupil. I do understand that your brain is old and your loins are dry, but I do not understand how you plan on seducing that boy without remembering his name."

"Out… get…" Medea says,

"Oh dear, she's lost the ability to speak," Circe says, looking now a tad worried. She then looks to Ayako. "I'll clean up the lobby and put your family in order, would you mind getting some clothes together? I would… recommend staying with Shirou for the time being," the smile then returns. "To better assist in your training in how to use this device, and to… ward off any threats, might I say."
🤣🤣
I love this crazy pig witch. More fanworks need to feature Circe taking the shit out of other Greeks, starting with Penthesilia, and not sparing Hector or Helen of Troy. Fantastic work as always Erien. Much appreciated.
 
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