Confringentur 2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night sequel

SVS · Jan 22, 2021

[X] Plan First Offensive

"I don't mind if we have to harm them in the course of battle, but unless it's absolutely necessary I would prefer we not have to kill them."

"I agree with Tomoe-san. Harm coming to our enemies is unavoidable if they have chosen to fight us; but I refuse to kill any of them, and I refuse to put myself in a position where killing one of them is the only way out."

"Fuck that. You think those bitches would give killing us a second thought? If we're in a position ta take one'a those bitches out permanently, you better believe I'm fucking taking it. 'Specially if it's that pink bitch or the master'a their Archer."

"I just want that pink bitch and the monocle chick dead for hurting Oriko. I don't care one way or another about what happens to any of the rest."

You probably didn't need to ask that question to guess the answers you would receive; and hell, you could probably close your ears and correctly guess what each of your teammates' answers would be without ever hearing them give it. To no one's surprise, their answers are exactly what you expected them to be. The problem, then , is that their votes create a tie between letting the masters live, or killing them along with their servants. If you throw your hat into the ring for killing them, you know Oriko will continue to refuse, to the point that her refusal may even harm the team cohesion. But if you throw your hat into the ring for sparing the enemy masters, you also know there's very little that will stop Kyouko from wanting Wakaba Mirai or Usagi Satomi dead, just as there's very little that will stop Kirika from wanting Wakaba Mirai or Asami Saki dead.

No matter how you look at it, there isn't an option you can take where the whole team will feel good about taking it. "I'm glad we got that out of the way first," you say. "It's not going to make this any easier going forward, but at least I know where we all stand without having to guess."

"Don't be so modest Akemi-san." Tomoe-san waves your words off, saying "I'm sure you know us all well enough that you didn't need to ask."

"True. I suppose it goes without saying that we need to defeat their servants in order to stand a chance of winning, but I guess I was foolish enough to hope we might be able to reach a consensus on dealing with the enemy puella magi," you say. "Unfortunately we haven't, and unfortunately I knew we wouldn't." You glance around the Tomoe living room; Hitomi isn't present, but she said as much to you when you texted everyone for a meeting. She'll be along later, after her boyfriend goes back to Chigasaki. So that just leaves one more member of the team to try and break the tie.

"Don't look at me," Nurse Ortensia says as you do just that. "I'm just the Overseer. I don't have any particular preference for whether those girls die or not. Only their servants need to be defeated in order for you to win."

"Oh, don't give us that 'neutrality' crap," Kirika spits. "Even if you don't wanna admit it, deep down I know you care what happens to Oriko, so just admit that you've got thoughts one way or another about these girls."

"So we're still tied without Hitomi here to break it," you say. "That's fine. We can work that out once she gets here. For now, we need to talk about how we plan to proceed over the course of the next few days. Oriko, would you care to take things from here?"

"Of course, Akemi-san." Oriko assumes your position as you sit back down at the table. "Last night, Archer dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the enemy's Archer. If she's alive, then the Saints are doing an excellent job of hiding her, because I don't see her at all in our future. While I hate to get our hopes up in the event that she isn't dead, we can assume that we'll have the next few days free of any fire support from the enemy, at least. Tomoe-san and I have been talking about how best to take advantage of our good fortune, and we think that, while we have the initiative, we should take this opportunity to launch some probing strikes into the enemy's territory. We're presently at a loss for critical information like the quality of their defenses or their daily movements, and now that their Archer is out of the picture we believe the time is right to obtain that information."

So far, it appears that everyone is on board with Oriko's suggestion, based solely on their faces as they listen to her. "Now, assuming we leave the construction team to their duties, we will be left with Saber, Archer, Rider, and Berserker comprising our primary strike team, along with the five of us, assuming we all decide to participate." Oriko turns to Nurse Ortensia, saying "I won't force you to participate, Caren-san. I know your magecraft isn't well-suited for fighting something like a puella magi; and I won't force Shizuki-san to join, either."

You nod. "I'd like for her to one day be comfortable enough with her magecraft, as well as with some basic combat and survival techniques, that she's able to join us in some capacity; but until she's ready it's probably best if she stays behind and commands Saber through her master's vision."

"So, we're leaving out the ones still working on our base?" Kyouko asks. "How convenient that you two-" Her eyes dart back and forth between Tomoe-san and Oriko "-would be the ones coming up with this, when it's yer servants who are hanging back."

Kirika leans over, smacking Kyouko in the back of her head. "Don't talk about Oriko like that!" she shouts. "Come on now! You know Oriko better than that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kyouko winces as she rubs the back of her head. "Christ, couldn't ya go a little easier on me, though? That almost hurt."

Oriko's gaze bores a pair of holes into Kyouko's face; at least, that's what you would expect from the intensity with which she stares at the redhead. "If you take the Lord's name in vain in my presence one more time, Sakura-san, I will be the one to slap you."

"All right, I get it. Geez." Kyouko rolls her eyes. "How the hell'd you end up caring more about this stuff than me? You weren't even brought up in the faith."

Tomoe-san coughs into her hand. "Perhaps we should get back to discussing our plan of attack?" she suggests. "If we're all on board with the idea Mikuni-san has proposed, can I assume you each have your own thoughts about how we should proceed with our attack? We've got a number of options, as I see it. Without the enemy's Archer to stop us, we could bombard their base of operations, for example; or perhaps we could catch them off-guard while they're out on patrol? Or perhaps we'd prefer to take the chivalrous route and announce our intentions to their face, similar to how they announced their intentions to us a few nights ago?"

"I would prefer not to attack their base directly," Oriko says. "They've already set a bad precedent by attacking us on neutral territory. If we choose to lower ourselves to their level and attack their base, we might inadvertently incite them to attack our own base in return. With construction still slated to take another few days, I would prefer we not give them that incentive, at least not until our own base is set up with sufficient defensive capabilities." Tomoe-san nods in agreement with Oriko, who then adds "Also, I'd feel bad for the museum if we attacked their base. It didn't ask to be used by them in that fashion, and we'd be destroying a possibly priceless collection of vintage bears if we launched our attacks carelessly."

"So?" Kyouko asks. "You think they cared what the church felt when they had Archer level it? Don't get me wrong, I think you've got a good idea about not provoking'em ta attack our base until we're all set up ta counter'em, but why the fuck d'ya think I should care about their building when they didn't care about mine?"

"I think a sneak attack would be best," Kirika says. "I hate to admit it, but they've got stronger servants than we do, so if we go and announce our intentions to fight them, we're just gonna get clobbered. But if we pull a fast one on'em, then maybe we'll get lucky and take one out before they know what's going on. If everythign goes well, we swoop in and take the rest down, easy-peasy; and if it doesn't work, then we fall back and try again later. Either way, we're in a much better position if we don't announce ourselves like a bunch of stupid shounen anime villains."

Tomoe-san smiles. "That's... Surprisingly thoughtful of you, Kure-san," she says. Kirika's face reads something to the effect of "Come on, Tomoe, I'm single-minded, but I'm not stupid," or something like that. But she remains quiet, allowing Tomoe-san to continue. "I agree with Kure-san, then. Even though we've taken out the enemy's Archer, they still have their own Saber, Lancer, Rider, and Berserker to contend with. If Lancer and Berserker are anywhere near as strong as their Saber and Rider, we won't be able to defeat them in a head-on confrontation while we're still limiting our forces. But if we attack them when they aren't expecting, we might be able to catch them off-guard before they have a chance to bring the brunt of their servant force to bear against us."

"And kill'em, right?"

"I would prefer if we didn't kill them," Tomoe-san says to Kyouko. "If we could make allies of Mikuni-san and Kure-san, then I want to believe we could do the same for at least some of these girls, if it's at all possible."

Oriko nods along with Tomoe-san's words. "Even if their actions are... Disturbing, they are not beyond redemption. If we can defeat them without killing them, I have to believe it would be possible to turn them back into good people, the same as you and Akemi-san did for Kirika and I."

Nurse Ortensia stares at Oriko as she speaks, nodding occasionally as a sly smirk crosses her lips. When you look to her, she responds with another "Don't look at me," before saying "I don't particularly care how you girls choose to defeat them. Just make sure you aren't doing anything that would compromise your position on the world stage, and you won't have any problems from me, the Church, or the Mage's Association."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," you say.

What do you think should be the rules of engagement should be?
[ ] Only their servants have to be defeated; go out of your way to avoid killing any of the Saints
[ ] Only their servants have to be defeated; but you won't avoid killing if you have to
[ ] Kill them all; let God sort them out
[ ]Other (write-in)

What do you think the best plan of attack would be?
[ ] Bombard their base
[ ] Sneak attack
[ ] Declare your intentions and fight them openly
[ ] Other (write-in)

Do you have anything else to add?
[ ] Yes (before Hitomi arrives) (write-in)
[ ] Yes (after Hitomi arrives) (write-in)
[ ] No

[ ] Wat do?

BONUS
Do you want to see Oriko's tattoo?
[ ] Yes; before you leave, if she's okay with showing you
[ ] Yes; after you return, if she's okay with showing you
[ ] No; it's none of your business that Oriko got a tattoo

SVS · Jan 22, 2021

[X] Plan Blitzkrieg

"I don't particularly care how you girls choose to defeat them," Nurse Ortensia says, looking at you with the same disinterested blank slate she always wears on her face. " Just make sure you aren't doing anything that would compromise your position on the world stage, and you won't have any problems from me, the Church, or the Mage's Association."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," you say. "As for your suggestion-" You turn to Kirika, making sure to also catch Tomoe-san in your gaze, and say "-I think your idea has merit, but I also think it needs to be modified slightly."

"Huh?"

"As Oriko said, if we attack their base, we might inadvertently wind up incentivising them to attack our base in turn. So, logically, if we launch a surprise attack on one of them, that might incentivise the others to do the same to one of us." You really do hate to invoke your sister's weakness for her lover, but you feel like it's the best way to get your point across. "Let's flip the situation; how would you feel if the Pleiades Saints were to gang up and launch a surprise attack on Oriko while you were unable to defend her? How would that make you feel?"

"I'd kill them," Kirika says in a low grow. "I wouldn't even need Berserker to do it. I'd peel the flesh from their bones, gouge their eyes out, carve them up piece by piece. I'd-"

"Dearest, it was just an example," Oriko says. "There's no need to get angry." Her soothing words succeed in placating Kirika, who leans into Oriko's side, where she is welcomed with a kiss and an arm around her shoulder. "But I do see Akemi-san's point. We can't face them head-on because the quality of their servants is better than ours, but we can't isolate and pick them off in surprise attacks either or else we risk them retaliating in kind." Oriko turns to you, and asks "So, what did you wish to propose instead?"

"That we ambush a group of them while they're out on patrol. We'll still have the element of surprise giving us the advantage, and if they choose to retaliate in kind afterwards, there won't just be the one of who has to repel them alone. Additionally, I'd like to weigh in and attempt to break our tie, since Hitomi is running late." And because Hitomi shouldn't even be participating in battles against the Saints to start with. It's taken you a few minutes to weigh the pros and cons of each position, but you think you're comfortable weighing in with "We only need to defeat their servants. I understand why that may put us in a less than ideal position, trying to go gently against opponents who won't show the same courtesy to us, but I believe Oriko makes the best argument. We need to retain the moral high ground, and if there's any change of redeeming those girls we won't be able to do so if they're dead."

Oriko and Tomoe-san nod their heads, while Kyouko and Kirika look less than pleased by your decision. Nurse Ortensia, true to form, displays no reaction one way or another. "If we can take their Soul Gems away from them, we might be able to use that as some form of leverage against them. That would remove not just the Saint whose Soul Gem we've taken, but we could also potentially bargain for additional Saints to give up the War effort if we show them we aren't as bad as they think."

"And once we've redeemed them-" Once; not if. Oriko says that with such surety, with such faith, that redemption is not only possible but assured for those girls. "-assuming things still work the same for them as it did for us, they should be able to resummon their servants after the fact, if they wanted to," Oriko says. "I don't know if they would want to, but if they've developed the bonds with their servants that we have with ours it would be cruel not to give them the same choice."

Your team isn't in agreement, but the current vote stands at three-to-two, one abstaining, and one absent who you think would tip the scales even further in your favour. You know Kirika can be soothed as long as Oriko remains unharmed, but Kyouko's wrath is another matter entirely; because unlike Kirika to Oriko, there's no way for the harm the Saints have done to her to heal. Perhaps now would actually be a good time to raise the matter of rebuilding the Sakura Church with Kyouko, Oriko, and Nurse Ortensia? Maybe some other time, once the amount on your plate has been reduced.

But while you wait for Hitomi to arrive, there is still something you wish to bring up with Oriko. "I hope you don't think me rude for prying, but I just learned earlier today that you and Kirika got tattoos when you went to Italy over the summer," you say, hoping to raise your inquiry delicately without overstepping your boundaries. "It came as something of a shock for me to learn; even more so when Kirika told me that it was your idea, and not hers."

"Is that a problem, Akemi-san?"

"No, not at all." You know the connotation tattoos have in Japan, but living your every day staring at the Command Seals tattooing the back of your own hand, it's something you've since stopped caring too much about. "I was just curious as to why you wanted one, and maybe if you'd tell me what it's of, if that's not too much for me to ask."

"I got a phoenix, spread out across my back and shoulders. I had to move some of my Command Seals down lower on my back for it to fit, but all in all I'm quite pleased with the job the tattoo artist did working around them." A dragon and a phoenix; somehow, you should have guessed as soon as Kirika told you that she and Oriko both had tattoos. "As for why I got it, it would probably be easier to explain if I were to show it to you. Would you like to see it?"

"Maybe some other time," you reply. You're still dealing with the surprise of learning that your sister and her lover have tattoos; and dealing with the shock of seeing your sister wearing absolutely nothing that came before. "Still, I'm surprised at how openly you'll admit to it, even to me. What would your uncle think if he learned you got a tattoo?"

"I don't care what my uncle thinks of me any more. If he refuses to accept who I am and who I love, then there's no reason for me to care about what he thinks of me any longer."

Just as Oriko speaks those words to your mind, you hear the chime of the doorbell, and a muffled "Sorry I'm late," coming from the hallway. Tomoe-san excuses herself from the table in order to let Hitomi in. "It's just so hard to say goodbye, knowing that Makoto-san lives in Chigaksaki and is always so busy with schoolwork."

"I know what you mean," Kirika says, as Hitomi removes her shoes and joins the rest of the team. "Me and Oriko barely have time for each other anymore, what with school and my job always keeping us busy. It's fine if you need to take a day to spend with your boyfriend."

Oriko nods, chiming in to say "We all decided a long time ago that we'd always be there to cover for one another in case of just such a thing; and I believe we've all covered for each other at some point in the past year and a half."

"I mean, saving the world's nice and all, but what's the point of saving it if yer too busy saving it ta spend time with the people yer saving it because of?" Kyouko asks. "Like, I know that sounds confusing, but think of it like- Say you've got someone ya really like. Yer gunna wanna keep them safe, right? But say ya spend soo much time trying ta keep them safe that ya never have any time just fer them? Sooner or later, yer not gunna have'em any more, right? So it's always a good idea to make sure yer taking time fer yerself while yer playing hero, or else playing hero's gunna get real lonely."

"I used to close myself off from having relationships," Tomoe-san says. "But then Akemi-san, and Mikuni-san and Kure-san, showed me that it was possible to balance my duties as a puella magi with a love life. Now, my biggest problem is that all of the guys I date turn out to be jerks." Tomoe-san shakes her head, adding with a sigh "Why are all the good men either taken or gay?"

"That's why you need to start dating girls," Kirika says.

"Yes, well..." Hitomi coughs into her hand and says "I believe this was supposed to be a strategy meeting, not a relationship circle; yes?" The more serious-minded members of your team nod their heads. "So, now that I'm here, what do you need from me?"

"We were planning on making an expedition into Asunaro to ambush the Saints while they're on patrol," you say. "So far, the plan is to bring Saber, Archer, Rider, and Berserker, along with at least the five of us." You turn to Nurse Ortensia for a moment, saying for her benefit as well as Hitomi's "Nurse Ortensia is welcome to join us, and her Church magecraft would be useful if we encountered another fake witch, but we'd prefer if you stayed behind and monitored Saber through your master's vision. I know you've been working on your Mystic Code, but you aren't ready for the reality of puella magi combat; keeping you behind is safer for you than letting you join us."

"I see. I suppose that makes sense," Hitomi says. "When were you planning on leaving for this attack?"

[ ] Right now
[ ] Later at night (write-in a later time)

Once you're in Asunaro, do you
[ ] stick together, and move as a single uni
[ ] split off into teams
-[ ] How do you divide the teams up?
--[ ] One team of all masters, one team of all servants
--[ ] Assign team compositions randomly
--[ ] Divide masters and servants up evenly (or as evenly as you can)
--[ ] Is Nurse Ortensia coming with you? (this would make an even six masters)

Is there anything else you need to address?
[ ] No
[ ] Yes (write-in)

SVS · Jan 23, 2021

[X] Plan Bringing The Fight To The Saints

"So far, the plan is to bring Saber, Archer, Rider, and Berserker, along with at least the five of us." You turn to Nurse Ortensia for a moment, saying for her benefit as well as Hitomi's "Nurse Ortensia is welcome to join us, and her Church magecraft would be useful if we encountered another fake witch, but we'd prefer if you stayed behind and monitored Saber through your master's vision. I know you've been working on your Mystic Code, but you aren't ready for the reality of puella magi combat; keeping you behind is safer for you than letting you join us."

"I see. I suppose that makes sense," Hitomi says. "When were you planning on leaving for this attack?"

"As soon as possible, if there are no objections." You look around the room, fishing for objectives. Fortunately, you find none. Everyone present is in accord that the attack will move forward. "All right, it looks like we're all in agreement." You turn to Oriko, asking her "Before we move forward with the attack, can you see about checking the Saints' patrol route? Maybe their anti-clairvoyance measures only shield them for as long as they're inside their base; if so,maybe we can figure out when and where their next patrol will be."

"That shouldn't be too difficult," Oriko says, before closing her eyes and falling into the trance you've come to associate with the use of her magical ability. Her remains silent for only a few seconds, before returning to reality to say "They do indeed appear when they aren't inside their base. I see their next patrol at... Well, if we leave shortly we shouldn't have any trouble arriving in time to intercept them. I see three of them moving on the ground, and another two moving along the rooftops. I don't see any servants, but it's possible they're concealed in spirit form."

"That's good," Tomoe-san says. "Hopefully it won't take us long to come up with a decent plan of attack. I assume we weren't planning on just rushing in with no thought given to proper tactics; Akemi-san, do you have any suggestions?"

"If they're moving in a group of three and another group of two, then our best bet is probably going to be to move as a single unit," you say, after thinking things over for a few moments. "That way, our group has numerical superiority over any one group we encounter, and we'll retain parity if their two groups join together. The exception is going to have to be Archer." You turn to your father, who has taken a seat on Caster's plush couch. "Not to knock your abilities in a close fight, but you're much better at engaging enemies from a distance, and without their Archer to intercept you you'll have free reign to give us all the air support we need."

"Do you want me taking any special precautions while I'm at it?" Archer asks. "I know I won't have to worry about being seen by the enemy Archer, but I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve if you still think I should stay hidden while I'm working."

"I'll leave it to your discretion," you reply. "We don't have to deal with their Archer, but their Lancer, Caster, and Berserker are still unknowns to us. It's entirely possible one of them has something that would be able to deal with you if you aren't taking effective concealment precautions. I'll leave the decision up to you what kind of concealment you choose."

"I can think of a few things," Archer says. "I can also think of a few things we can do to up our chances even further." Archer looks over at Hitomi, saying to her "Did Saber remember to take those spears with him on his way out last night? If we're going into battle, I'm sure he's going to want one of them."

Hitomi looks at Archer, confused. "Saber did remember to take those spears with him, but I suppose I'm a little confused. He's a Saber, isn't he? Shouldn't he be using his swords?"

"Forgive me for not informing you, master," Saber says, appearing beside Hitomi. "But in life, I never was one to use two of the same weapon. I had two swords, yes, but I would only ever use one, wielding a spear in my other hand. It is possible to summon me as a Lancer-class servant as well because of this, but there I will appear with two spears instead."

"I see," Hitomi says. "You'll forgive me, Saber. I'm rather new to all of this, and I haven't entirely learned what to expect."

"For reference, I'm an Archer but I can use swords," Archer says. "Rider has a spear, just like a Lancer, as well as a shield; our Caster fights by shootings swords from golden portals to his treasure vault; and our Assassin isn't even supposed to be one. We're not exactly the most conforming group of servants around; and speaking of strange weapons- Hey, Kirika-!"

Kirika looks up as Archer calls her name, asking "What's up, dad?"

"Call Berserker. I've got something he'll want to see."

Kirika does as Archer asks; not through a Command Seal, as you neither see nor feel the power of one being burned from her hand; she probably just called him up through their shared master-servant link. A few seconds later, Berserker appears beside his master, looking calm, composed, and very un-Berserker-like in his dark suit and tie. Hitomi is going to have to get used to the eccentricities of your servants eventually. "You wished to show me something, Archer?" he asks, straightening his tie.

"Sure did." Under his breath you hear Archer mutter the first line of his mantra, this time choosing to Project a fairly nondescript Chinese halberd. The grip is wrapped in leather, and a few red feathers adorn the head, but on the whole it looks like an unremarkable weapon. "You see this?" Archer asks as he hands the weapon over to Berserker. "This little beauty can turn into any kind of weapon you need it to be."

"This is a stick, Archer," Berserker says in the most unimpressed deadpan you've ever heard from the servant. "How can a stick become any kind of weapon other than a stick?"

"Huh. I thought for sure you, of all heroic spirits, would be able to figure out how that little beauty works, but if it's really got you confused I can-"

"It was a joke, Archer. Of course I know how to use this weapon." Berserker cuts Archer off with the punchline to possibly the worst joke you've ever heard. "My master has told me I do not need to be so serious all the time, and encouraged me to give humour a try. Evidently, I must improve my attempts at humour to suit a more modern audience." Berserker gives Archer a moment to let his attempt settle, before adding "I thank you for the weapon. It should be no problem to use this."

The team is in agreement about when to attack. You know when the Saints will be on patrol, and how many they will have with them at that time. Archer has made sure Saber and Berserker are adequately armed and ready for battle. Is there anything left that needs to be addressed before you can leave? Yes there is. You turn to Nurse Ortensia, who has been staring at her cousin in quiet contemplation for some time. You wonder what she could be thinking about. "Nurse Ortensia, did you want to come with us?" you ask, your words finally catching her attention. "You don't have to, especially since Assassin won't be coming with us, but in case we run into a witch your abilities would be good to have."

"I suppose I can manage tagging along," Nurse Ortensia says. "If something happened to Oriko, none of my relatives would ever let me hear the end of it. Someone has to be there to watch out for her, and I suppose it's better if an adult does that."

Oriko smiles, leaning over to give her cousin a brief hug. "Then we should be all set," you say. "Kyouko, how feasible would it be for Rider to carry all of us in his chariot?"

"He'd have ta make a couple trips, but he could probably do it," Kyouko says. "I mean, I don't know why ya need him ta do it, 'specially if Big White says we got time ta spare before they go on patrol. But whatever. Just gunna add this ta yer tab, and we're good ta go."

And good to go you are.

Your party stands atop the roof of a building near where the Saints' patrol route will take them. Everyone is dealing with the commute swimmingly, save for Nurse Ortensia who hadn't previously enjoyed the experience of a chariot ride with Kyouko's Rider servant before. "There they are."

You spot a group of three girls; the first of the three, the one leading the pack, you recognise as Asami Saki. Beside her are two other girls you don't recognise; one with short orange hair and a rather sporty-looking white-and-orange costume that looks like an athletic jersey; while the other girl has short black hair, a large pointed black hat similar to that of a stereotypical witch, and an outfit so revealing it almost reminds you of the original Assassin servant you encountered, the master-less serial killer who called herself 'Jack the Ripper'. It barely covers her body at all, save for the long black cape that conceals her figure from the back. You do not see the second group, the pair moving over rooftops, but you expect they will be arriving as soon as their allies are in danger.

[ ] What's your plan of attack? (write-in)

SVS · Jan 24, 2021

[X] Plan Charm Lock

Your party stands atop the roof of a building near where the Saints' patrol route will take them. Everyone is dealing with the commute swimmingly, save for Nurse Ortensia who hadn't previously enjoyed the experience of a chariot ride with Kyouko's Rider servant before. "There they are."

You spot a group of three girls; the first of the three, the one leading the pack, you recognise as Asami Saki. Beside her are two other girls you don't recognise; one with short orange hair and a rather sporty-looking white-and-orange costume that looks like an athletic jersey; while the other girl has short black hair, a large pointed black hat similar to that of a stereotypical witch, and an outfit so revealing it almost reminds you of the original Assassin servant you encountered, the master-less serial killer who called herself 'Jack the Ripper'. The outfit barely covers her body at all, save for the long black cape that conceals her figure from the back. You do not see the second group, the pair moving over rooftops, but you expect they will be arriving as soon as their allies are in danger.

A flock of sparrows flies over your head as you turn to Oriko, and you ask her in a low whisper "When should we be expecting the two groups to meet up?"

"It won't be long now," Oriko replies. "Were you thinking of attacking when they're all together?"

You shake your head. "I can see Asami Saki down there with the other two, and I'd bet anything that that means they have Wakaba MIrai moving with the rooftop group; she's just too strong for them to have left her behind when they're down a servant. I don't know who the other two are, but if I had to guess I'd say they're the masters of Lancer and Berserker. If we attacked now, it would tip the rooftop team off to our presence, and I'm sure their Rider could get here in no time to provide heavy support. It would be smarter to wait until the rooftop team passes us, and then hit them as hard and as fast as we can. That should be enough to knock Wakaba Mirai out of the fight, meaning we won't have to deal with that Rider of hers."

"What makes you so sure the other two are the masters of Lancer and Berserker?" Tomoe-san asks.

"Again, process of elimination. We know their Assassin is a healer, so chances are good she's not particularly well-suited to combat; and unless their Caster is like ours, it would make more sense for them to stay behind and provide support. On the other hand, Lancer and Berserker are both high-powered and combat-oriented classes, so it would make more sense to bring them along if you were on patrol and possibly expecting to run into a fight."

"You mean like us?" Kirika asks. The flock of sparrows makes another brief pass over your heads, before heading off further west.

"Exactly."

"If you're certain they'll be bringing along their Rider, then perhaps it was foolish of you to leave Assassin behind," Nurse Ortensia says. "I know she's far from perfect, but she's got a class advantage over him, and she's at least capable of holding her own."

"If we're in trouble and we need Assassin, I wouldn't mind paying you back if you had to use a Command Seal to call her over," Oriko says. She turns to you, adding "But for all we know, know, leaving Lancer, Caster, and Assassin behind might have been a mistake."

"So, what's the plan then?" Kirika asks. "'Cause from the sound of all this, we fucked up."

You need a few moments to think about how best to approach the impending battle, but it is Tomoe-san who speaks up. "Once they're all together, have Rider rush them with his chariot. Then, while they're all distracted, we'll have Saber and Berserker engage their servants, while we focus on the masters and try to take their Soul Gems." Tomoe-san looks over to Oriko and Kirika, adding "Mikuni-san, we'll need you to use your barriers to force them into disadvantageous positions so this is easier for us. Kure-san, you'll support MIkuni-san."

"Right."

"Can do!"

"Nuh-uh," Kyouko interjects as Oriko and Kirika acknowledge their orders. "Rider's chariot is too much fer what we're trying ta do; fer me, I mean. Thing sucks my mana like a hoover if I have him use it fer too long. Better just ta have him dash over there and hit'em with his shield. That'll do about the same amount'a damage but fer a way lower burden on me."

Tomoe-san turns to Kyouko, saying "All right then, we'll do it your way. I assume you know your servant better than I do, so that's fine with me if you have a more cost-efficient way of using him." Kyouko nods, allowing Tomoe-san to move on, turning from Kyouko to you as she says "The three of us will focus on incapacitating the Saints themselves. I want ribbons, chains, and ice whenever possible." Addressing you specifically, Tomoe-san adds "Akemi-san, if Archer has anything that can incapacitate the enemy Rider, he's to use it at the first opportunity. We cannot afford to let him run rampant while we're trying to beat them."

As soon as the words have left Tomoe-san's mouth, you see Wakaba Mirai leaping down from the nearby rooftop, arriving on foot to join the others. Wasn't there supposed to be another girl moving with her? Where is she? "Hey Homura- The girl with black hair is the one who looks like Kazusa Michiru. If you can, try to prioritise grabbing her Soul Gem. I want to know what's going on."

"We'll try." You report Archer's words back to the others. "Archer wants us to prioritise taking the black-haired girl's Soul Gem. He wants to know why she looks like Kazusa Michiru." Hold on, something's not right. During the brief window in which Archer held your attention, the situation has changed. Asami Saki and the girl with orange hair have disappeared, and on the ground you see Wakaba Mirai giving orders to the black-haired girl.

"It's a trap," Oriko says. "The ground team broke off, and the rooftop team only had one person. They're surrounding us."

Something has gone terribly wrong.

The city of Asunaro is silent, save for the flock of sparrows which return to once again circle over your head, their presence - reminiscent of vultures circling a battlefield waiting to pick the carcasses of the dead - now ominous instead of mundane. "I was wondering if you girls would be following up last night's performance." The voice of Asami Saki announces her presence, cutting through the silence. Standing beside her is the girl with orange hair, sporting a cocky grin on her face as she crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't know whether to call you girls brave, or stupid, for daring to attack us on our own turf."

"We could say the same about you," Tomoe-san says, drawing her muskets as she wheels around to face the two interlopers. Beside her, Kyouko calls on her spear and a Sowilo rune, and Kirika readies her claws with a look of wild mania filling her eyes. "You girls dared to attack us on our turf as well; several times, in fact." You ready your bow, and beside you Oriko has called on a number of drones, but as you look around, you see that your team is surrounded. Asami Saki and the orange-haired girl in front of you; and Wakaba MIrai and the black-haired girl taking up position behind you. "Pardon us for deciding we'd like to return the favour."

"I'll be sure to keep you conscious long enough for you to regret your decision," Asami Saki says. You have only a brief moment to confirm the identity of the two unknown servants before they spring out and attack; they are both woman, with the darker-garbed of the pair being the one you guess is Lancer. She wears a dark, skintight bodysuit decorated in black and gold, and as she charges forward with two spears, the brilliant ruby hanging over her brow gleams as it catches the nonexistent moonlight. It reminds you of a Soul Gem. Her face is uncomfortably familiar - is that Assassin? - though framed by hair of a slightly redder shade than that belonging to Nurse Ortensia's Assassin.

Lancer makes for Rider, while Berserker and her master make for your own Berserker and Kirika. The enemy's Berserker is tall, with long bright crimson hair blowing in every direction even without a breeze, and a sword and shield that gleam even without light. She wears white and red and leather armour of brown, and a fur-lined cape flows out behind her as she and Berserker clash blades.

And then there are the enemy's Saber and Rider, who have not appeared yet, still need to be contended with; to say nothing of the unknown abilities of the Saints' two newly-appearing masters.

[ ] Wat do?

NEW
Major characters unlocked!

The seventh and final master of the Pleiades Saints, master of their Lancer servant. Subaru Kazumi wears the appearance of Kazusa Michiru, a puella magi whom Archer met in Asunaro a year and a half ago. Why she wears another girl's appearance, and what happened to Kazusa Michiru in the first place, are unknown.

Lancer of Blue is Scáthach, the famed teacher of heroes from the tales of Cú Chulainn, and rival and twin sister to Assassin of Blue. She does not know that her sister has also been summoned, and how she would react to learning of her sister's presence in this War is anyone's guess. Also anyone's guess is what a heroic spirit believed to be unsummonable is doing appearing as a summoned servant.

Maki Kaoru is the master of Berserker of Blue. She's an athletic opponent, easily rivaling Kure Kirika in terms of her agility and physical flexibility.

Berserker of Blue is Boudica, a queen of the British Iceni tribe during the first century who gained fame when her army of inferior numbers rebelled against and defeated the invading Roman Army three times before being defeated, ironically in a battle when her forces were greater in number. It would probably be wise not to let her learn that two masters of the Green Faction are of Italian descent. Who knows what she might do.

SVS · Jan 25, 2021

[X] Plan Archer's A Charming Guy (part 1)

You have only a brief moment to confirm the identity of the two unknown servants before they spring out and attack; they are both woman, with the darker-garbed of the pair being the one you guess is Lancer. She wears a dark, skintight bodysuit decorated in black and gold, and as she charges forward with two spears, the brilliant ruby hanging over her brow gleams as it catches the nonexistent moonlight. It reminds you of a Soul Gem. Her face is uncomfortably familiar - is that Assassin? - though framed by hair of a slightly redder shade than that belonging to Nurse Ortensia's Assassin. That can't possibly be Assassin, you think, as you scan the enemy servant with your master's vision.

Strength - B
Endurance - B
Agility - A
Mana - C
Luck - D
Noble Phantasm - A+

Magic Resistance - A

God Slayer - B
Hero Creation - A
Item Construction (Spear) - C
Primordial Rune -
W̸̪͝i̴̙͋͠s̴͎̺̪̞̑d̷̹̲̣̏͑o̴̡̓m̴̺̯̬̓͝͝ ̸̨̟̰̤͘o̸̱̗͇̓͑̿̚f̸̝̯̩̾ ̵͔̹͕̔̂ͅD̸̨̰̘̅̒̈ú̵̄͒̀̈́͜ň̵͎͚ ̸̭̠̙̘̓S̸̹̅͜͠c̵̪̱̆̑͜á̸̮̪́̋̓i̴̛̲͌t̴̡̹̋h̶͇̆͠ ̶̞̬̙̳̒̉̃̕-̴̩̄̿ ̷̧̼̻̠͊͒̑͠A̴̖̘͍͆̓̐͒+̷̱̟̖̓̂

Gáe Bolg: Soaring Spear of Piercing Death - B+
The cursed spear of Cú Chulainn, which originally belonged to another, has returned to its original owner's possession. Carved from the bones of the great beast Curruid by the warrior-woman Scáthach, the Gáe Bolg is a weapon whose strike is sure to pierce the heart of its opponent when thrust. However, when thrown from the foot, the Gáe Bolg soars with enough force to break the back of an entire army. A powerful, two-in-one spear that combines both abilities into a single Noble Phantasm.

Ǵ̷̪̺͔͇̍̈̀̇̐̒̃͒͛͗̚͜͝͠ą̷̨̧̧͙̘͇̥̮̫̮̥̤̪̘͐̈́̀͋͘͠t̶̜̥̘̥̟̬͈̭͗̿̈́ͅę̸̨̡̛̛̮̬̰̞͖͕̃̍̐͐͐͛͊̀̃̋̈́̓͝ ̵̞͕̰̓͆̂̂̏͛̅̿͗͛̚͠ǫ̶͇̟̭̯͙̦͓̦̟̬͉͍̘̆ͅf̵̢̭̹̖̦̉̈́̄̑͜ͅ ̶̡̜̼̮̭̗̠͖̭͇͍̲̻̣͍̎͋̋̑̕͠Ṣ̷̨̣̪̠̦̗͎̮̌k̶̛̬̑̑̎̽̈́̋y̸̡̢̡̛͓̪͓̩̮͓̱̗̘͇͇̽͐̈̅̍̏̅ẽ̵̖͚̬͇̯͍̤̓̌͌̃̋̾̈̈́̊͘ ̵͙̦̇̽͌̔́-̵̰̂̔͂́͘ ̶̰͇̪̮͚͖̻̩̳͉̰͕̲͙̄̒͌͂͊͝ͅÄ̴̜̤̜͑̑͂͑͂̈́̔̌̕͠͠͠͠+̶̡̪͕̞͙̫̙͈̭̞͕̹̱̏̑̚
Ï̵̜̪̳̳̃̾͊ ̵͚̘̼̦̭̭̦̻̰̈́͌̑̕͜w̶̢͚͍̼̜̍͋͌̿̊̓͌̈́̊̋̊̽͝î̴̡̠̙ḽ̴̖̦̈͆̊́̑͒̚͠ļ̶̙̯̱̞͆̉̏̓̉͗̑͌͑͐͝ ̵̩̤͙̬̃̃̽̅͊̌̈́͛͒͊͘̕͝n̸͔͉̹͐̔̑̔̿͒͝o̶̡͙̪͌̍̅̈́̕ͅṱ̷̛̮͖̅̀̓͋̋̽̎̍͛͝ ̷̨͎̫͖̪̩̱̘̔͂́̑̿̈́̕͘͜g̷̰͎̱̲̓̔͜͝ȓ̶̙̗̜̫̣͉͖̬̰̪̆͑̽̓͝o̵̘̎́ẁ̶̨͔̺͙̤̟͓̦̫̥̥̻ ̵̘̥͎̖̤̪̥̣̆̓̌̆͆̃͗̈̽͊̄́͋o̴̢̟̻͚̲̹̠̖̺̱̬̲̦͐͐̾̈̉͜l̵̡̙̭̤̯̥̰̲͖̰̈̊̀̉͑d̴̨͙̹̠̯͍̦͈͍̺̲̹͎͍͊̐̆̊̀̉͜͝.̴̧̙̮͙̦̞͈͖͉̫͇̹̬͌̈́̀̅ ̷̠͉̳̣̠̻̪̗͎̑̈́̾͠I̸͎͍͍̟̥̹͚̹̖̽̆̃̽ ̴̧͚̙̹͖̻̤͕̠̞̰͒̎̇̓̐̏ŵ̶̛̯̠̟̞͆͛̋̅͌̒͠i̴̡̲͓͕̠̗̺͇͖͍̘͌̒̈́͘l̴̛̫͉͎͚͎͖̜̠̏͒͂͐̊̀̆̏̚͝͠͝l̷̻͚̠̯͖͓̜̞̫͔̇͘ͅ ̶̻͖͍̬̭̠̘̫͌̌̾͠n̶̼͛̌̀̓̓͗͝o̵̜͒̑͝t̸̡̧͍̻̤̭͍͎̪̞̥̝͕̀ ̵̡̡̢͖͍͙̱̱͙͚͍̰̱̈͗͑̈́͊̀́́͆͒̅̒͆͝d̷̡̉ḭ̷͓͕̪̻̪̗̊̊̾̌͘ͅè̸͓̼̖͓̖̰̣̦.̶̛̣̣̝̤̣͔͈̥̪͖̖͗̀̄̑̃̀̓̅̔͘͝͝ ̴̡̜̦̩͕͕̗͎̘͍̩̈́̌͋̑̍͊͒̆̓̿̈́̐̍͒̚I̸̬͖̟̬̯̞̖͐͂̽̽̆͐̇͘͝'̷̢̢͚͕̜̤̼͔̬́̂̓̊̇̐̈́̆̆̚͝͠ͅv̶̡̧̪͈͈̤͎̲̰̪̣̆́́̑̈́̓̈́̀̀̾͐̅̚̕͠é̷̹̹͓̖̠̥̰͍̯̼̬̣͑̓͛̈́̑̚̚͠ ̵̯̹̹̩̖̩̼͈̳̥̪͓͛̇̕c̷̨̢̧̰̪̹̪͙͙̗͂̓̈́͐͆͝ḩ̵̱̦̮͍̺̠͖̗̥̻̈́̈́̆͝ͅa̶̡̤̤̼̦͕͈̪̥͙̼̮̹͒̈͋̌̀ͅñ̵̹͉͓̈́̈ǧ̵̛̖̆́̀͐͗͛̈̽̾̆̿͝ę̵̠͚̠̃̏̐̏̂̒͝d̸̜̞͚͖̻̺̪̀͂̔̅͛͊̔̉͌̊̿̿̏͠ͅ ̸̝̰̄͌̐̀̎́̊̃̈́͗ͅi̷̡͇̼͕̹̥̘̼͇̺͚͔̤͛̑͜n̴̡̮̗̅̇͜ṭ̵̡̙̜̮̭̥̹͇͉͕͊̈́̌͐̕͝ơ̴̻̙̞͉̦͉͔̤͉̯̇̀ ̸̠͓͇͚̜͊̆̊̿́̂̓͐̃͛̏̇̋͋͝ͅ'̵̛̬̦̽̽̈́̆̉t̷̨̞͎͈̲̲̏͗̈́̏̽̆̓̊̀̿͠h̷̢̺̤̝̭͎̭̉̇͂̒̔͊̈̆͊̎͜a̷̗͚̞̪̲̟̱͙̙̎̅t̶̘͖̿̋̄̆͐̉̇̀̾̍̃͆̚̚͝ͅ'̶̥͔͋̅̽̽̃̾̀̀̅͋̄ ̷̢̨̥̝̞͉̗̻͉̥͍͍̱̾̎̀́͛͌ͅw̴̖̖̻̘̯̄̍̒̍̌̒̈̀̕̕͘h̴̨̡̛͇̥̭̲̺͈̤̱̯͉̩̞͇̍̑̾̿i̷̞̩̘̪̰͖̙̝̙̝̅̀̈́͋̈̓̋̊͋̀͂͗̏͗͘ͅc̴̪̱̮̙̫̬̙͍͒̽̒h̵͈̰͎̥͒͛̀̇͠͝ͅ ̴̡̖̱͙̪͓͊͜͠ͅį̴͔͚̩̩̦̬̼̳̭͍͙͖̭̈́̂̀̅̆̇͆̐̄s̵̨̜̱̝̖̞̩͙̙̥͚̞̰̹̣̿̇͂̀͊̾̽̒̓̿̄͠͝͝ ̷̛͈͎̼̭̳̬̱͕͕̹͒͒̋̽̑̈́̃͐̕ͅi̷͍͊̈́̽͊̓͒̏̑̚͝͠ḿ̴̲͌̒m̴̨͖̲̜͓͖̘̫̘̙̮͚̐͒̎̔͌̈́͌̽̃̕͜ǫ̶̡̧͇̤̻̲̗̟̮̖͍͉̍̔̽̐̈́̍͋͒̏̌̚̕͝r̴̢̛̥̙͈̞͇̜͓͕̪̳̗̅̄͑̄̃͗̄͒͛͝͠ͅt̷̨̧̯͕̟̫̳͖̦̗̭̫͍̓̾͌͌̅̽͜ä̶̞̬̗̻̟̗̣̻̭́̏̒͒̎̅̊̅̄̌̐̇͘͜͝ĺ̵̢̛̗͙̩̙̀͂̓̄́͋͑̎̀͘̕̚͠.̸̢͎̗̳̲̲̫̳̪̈̐̈́ͅͅ ̴̡̛̙̲͎͕̥̾̑̀́̒͌̄̈̎͊̂̐́͠ͅS̵̟͚̫̳̻͍̆̇͒̈̆̓̚͠͝ų̶̨̝̬̫̠̗̗̎͊̎̏͂̃̑̉̍̃̽̚ͅͅr̸̜̻͔̖̤̆͆̓͑̃̄ę̸̡͇̯̼̞̖̘͇̲̻̯͛͌̑͑̓͂͐̚͝ ̴̧̼̝͐̈́̐̈͊̈́̀̀̊́͌̚͝͝ͅe̷̬̟̣̣̺̦̎͒̿͗̌̿̆͋̾̕͠ǹ̶̨̡͕̤̟̗͎̥̞̼͈̘̯͕̒͗͗́̑̇o̴̡̦̝͆̾̿͊͂ư̸̡̢͕̹͚̳̻͉͔͉̣̳̻͇̣̑͑͋́̿͊̉̊̅͐͗̾͝g̵̨̼͎͇̩͛̏h̶̥͇̩͗͛̑͋̾̄͒̅̃̈́,̸̥͖̜̥̻̩͙̩͓̬̊̾̔̋͋͜͝͠ ̷̡̹̲̥̯̅͐̐̈́̃̒̃̽̀̎̆͗͜͠I̷̢̢͕̖̖̩̭̪̳̖͓̻̭͝ ̴͍̫̝̬̺̲͍͉̩̱͎̜̓͊̽́̉͒͘̚c̵̠̫̭̗͙͉̯̦̪̦͙̫̟̲̜̈́͒̐͌̋͂̚à̸̧̬̋̀̉̅̃̈́̈́̽̽̏̆ͅņ̶̝͕͇̩̮̣̻̥̘̟͎͕̯͠ ̴̧̗̘͋̈̽̅̆̋͂̽̚͝n̷̥̲͔̏ở̶̱͛͗̌͛̏̐̒͛͗̋͘ ̴̺̱̪̙̓͗̄l̵̢̢̛̖̙̬̦̱̲͉̗̃̏̈͗͘o̴̰͈̹̱͓̲͂̌̽̉̓̿̋̍͝͠͝n̸̦̞̹̣̈́ͅģ̸̡̧̣̱̤̹̣̯͌̾͒͑̈́̒̐̔̉̋̉͐̈́̏ȩ̴̛̯̜̱̓̇̓̅̒̍͆̽̎͂̀ṙ̷̲̙̦̟̜͚̭͈̜͓̘̜̬̐̄̔́̄̈́͗̔́̄̅̈́̚͘ͅ ̴̟̉̒̎̔̉r̷̨͇̗͕̙͖̞̙̬̊̒͜͝͠͠ė̷̡͙͈̮͙͖̲̇̑̄̔̒͘m̸̺̍́̃͂̉͗͛̽͌̈́̏̐̂͛̚ę̵͖̥̙̤͙̤͔̪̟̊̏̃̌̀͆m̵̡̢͓̺̊̓̿́͠b̶̯̟̜̰̹͊̂͐̋̊̔̈͊̂̈́̌̄̕̚̚e̶͔̦͗͂̓̃̕r̴̟̭̗̣͍̬̳͒͗̌̇͝ ̵̡̡̧̠̫̝͕̝̞̙̗͊̿̔̈͜ͅḛ̵͕̏̈́͘͝x̴̢͕͖̲͈̬̳͚͈̼̰̄̄̿̉̓͝à̸̟̲̘̩̯͔̲̯͙̖͗͜c̷̢̡͈͖̺̥͖̬̊͐͐̿̍t̶̜̐̍̇̋̿̿͊͋̉̚l̸̮̙̜͙͇̯͓͉̤̩̲͍̜̎̂̒̔̓ÿ̶̢̛̻̙͉̻̤̗̱̣̻͔̟̦̜́͐͐̎̚̚͘͝ ̷̬͌͐̉͆̓̚h̶̯͉͕͍͇̺̠̗̬̺̻̪̓̈͗̀̏̔̓̌͑̅̓̄̂ö̸̡̗̹̦́̋̓̂̑ẉ̶̻͕̞̅́̄̐̏͒̿͗͘ ̶̛̞̫͎͙̻̻͖͊̋͌̀͘͝ṁ̵̧̨̘͍̯̙̤̥̙̭̞̟͕̦̰̀͊͝͠ų̴̛͉͉̩̞̯͙́̓͗̆̔̓͋́̔̚͝͝c̴̢̲͕͍͓̩̲̻͎̃̕͠h̴̦̼̙͉̱͈͍̆͛̐̉͛̑͝ͅ ̶͖͙̤̗͆̉̅̌́̒͊͝t̴̛̛̘̺̥̯̥̥͈̟͚̆͐̐̋̍̆̀̂̂̓̉͜͝į̷̧̳̼̱̠̣̯̗͎͍̞̲͉̀̎̆̄̓̏̂͜m̶̮̭̫̥͉̭̫̻̂̐̌̀͆̚͝e̶̳̣͔͌̾̏́͗̓̋̿̂̅͆̔ ̶̡̢̜̪̠̠̘̥̼͖̤͙͕͕̠̀̈́́͌͊͑͝ḧ̸̡͓͈̲͔̪̘͇̣̫̩̥̼́̈́̽̋̎͊̿̓̆̊͌̒̀̕͝ä̸̛̞̬͈̳͎̮̥̲̻̲̩́͛̿̽̔͑͘̕͝v̶͚̯̖̫̮͉̖̯̝͉̦̺͚͂̓̿͂̔̊̓́̋̾͌͝͠ͅe̵͈͉͓̺̎͆̓̓͌͠͠ ̵̨͕̲̭͔̠̼̫̾̓͝p̵̠̭͐̅͋͛͂̾̊́̇̍̕â̶̢̨̫̪̲̳͎̱͙̓̊͂̅̋́̕̕͝ș̵̨̖̠̬̭͓̹͓̫̮̱͙̽̽͆͒͐́̐̚ͅs̴̢̧̮̜̪̗̤̥̱̱͙̊̾̐̋̉̽̒̆͘͝ȩ̸̛̳͎̜͓̭̥̙͖̬͔̥̬̍̂̽͗̓̀̐̔̀̂̋̇̕͝d̷̨̦̯̺̬̙͓̗̪̳̬̭̖͆̅̔͛͋̂̋̐ ̷̝͔̺̦̍̏̅̀̎̑͋̑͜͝͠ṡ̷͔̥̝̖̠͈̰͉͇̩͕͌̾́͂̈́̍̐̀̌͂͜͠i̸̡͍͈̜̥̟̱̲͍̘̠̘̇̓̆̑͒͗͝n̵̮̫̝͚̦͉͎͉͍̉̌̽̈́̉̏̊̚͝͝ͅḉ̴̹̘͚̙͕̱̗̦̖̟͑e̸͍̳̼̼̜̻͕̙̥̦͔͂͛͂́͐ ̶̢̨̮͔̼͔͙͓̬̹̣́̐͝t̴͙̟̰̗̭̪̩͉̽̀̓̍ͅh̶̛̥̝͕̮̱͓̟͆̏̑͒̈́̈̌͐̒̎͘̕͝͝ͅe̸̞̓̓̓̄̀͒̿͒͌͗̽̅͘ ̶͍̜͓̹͖̐̓̅́̂̅̔́̈̔͂͠f̴̖̝͕̬̳̦̜̙͈̼̬̺̠͖͛̃̔i̴̡̛̛̤̥͎̤̙̭̜̗̞̎̇̐͑̌͜ŗ̵̤̫͎͖̖̝͕̤̑̃ͅs̵̖̜̯̥̲̻̳̝̏t̴̹̼͈̘̩͓̭̱̾̓̈́́̄̍͌͆͒̚͝ ̶̩̮̬̰̬̩̭̻̹̩̆̋̉̈̽͛̊͝͠t̴̛̛̛͍̬͚̰̏̔͗ȉ̷̡͚̘͔͇̼͇̜͇̣̦̻͙̇́̑̃̕͝ͅm̶̢͔̞̻̰͚̖̦̙̜͍̿̅͆e̸̮͍̭̙̳̜̰͑̑̊̋̿̿́͂̐̓̚͠ ̸̡̭͖͓̬̱̯̼̗͔͔̹̖͎͙̂̓̈̈̀̐̒̊̔̚Ị̶̦͖̑̽͒̊̃̓̈́ ̸͔͓̦͉̫̦̦̟̼͇̝̺̗̈́́̑͑̓̅̓̍̈́̎́̽̕͠p̸̡̢̦̟͔̘̜̌̾̒͂͒́̌͛̽̒̔̕͜͝ͅì̷̡̢̝͈̲͉̭͑̈́̀c̷̞͇̺̤̾̏̋̾̍͋̉͂͠ͅḱ̷̡̩̥̭͎̙̻̺̫͈́̄͛͒̒̃̋̌̍̋̈́̐̕e̸͕̻̘̊̽́͌͆̇͊̀͋̚͠ḏ̵̢̨̞͕̯̖̜͓̆̅͗͋̍̂͠͝ ̷̧͇͉̜͎͉̎̏̄̓͂̄͂̿̿̎́̕͜͠u̵̠͔͕̖͇͔̎̄̎͗̅̒̇̊͂͌̏̕̚p̴̲̗̈̿̃̊̌̄̍̎̑̚͘͝͠ ̴̞̞̩̹͗̈́̉̂͘̚͠a̷̹̙͖͗̐͛́̎͆̏̎ ̶̢̧̥͈͚̼̩̺͒̇̀͆š̵̡̪͓̣͚̙̲̱͉͖͍̆͌̂͂̈̔̃̚̚ͅp̵̛̘̆̎̿̌́͛͝ë̸̡͕̝̜̼̳͖͎̹̓̓̐́̕ȃ̵͔̹̜͇̥̮̩͍̤͚̱̩͍̼̝͐̾͘̕r̸̗̻̼̳̻̭͈̘̹͊̉̃͐̑̑͌̉́ ̸̨̡̲̺͇̥͈̥͆̂́̎͐̈́̆̚i̷̲̅̆͊̆̓̾́͝͝n̵͍̩̦̬͙̈́̂̊̇͛̆̍͆̐̋͆͘̕͠͠ͅ ̴̧͖̰̻͉̞̝̤̹̈́̔̑̔̊̈́̔̽̾̓͐̐̚m̴̨͉̀͑̋̍͐̋̊̏̿͗̑̉͛͠y̸̧̼͚̤̫͊̍̌̾̌̌̿ ̶̧̯͈͈͙̠̟̰̦̏̎̑̐͗̊̀̒̚h̴̨̨̲̞͈͓͕̦͓̰̎̈̏̏̚͝͝à̴̙̬̮͕̹͒̾̿n̴͕̫̜͇̩̹̅̄͐̒͂̌̌̅̊͒͘d̸̛̠͉̞̜͚̝̲̯̄͂̐̅̐̅͜͝.̴̢͕͔̤̙̟̜̝͍̫̪͔̮̀̐̃ ̸̡̧̡͕̝̻̺͚̠͉̼̤̈́̅̉̉̋͊̎̔̿̂͝I̶̢̧̱̥̹̖̫̣̘̝̬̬̟͂̚͠ẗ̷̗̝͉͉͉̙̯͉́̏͜ͅ ̶̢̡͚̰͚͖̯͎͍͉̹͙͎̩̓̈́i̷͉̘̫͉̥͆̍́͊̇̍͑̽̕s̷̠̳̒̾̅̆̉͑͋͊̎̔̉̆̓̾́ ̷̖̖͂̔͒̇́͗͗͂̑̒̌̍d̸̞́͌͊̆̂͒̓̿̚͠͠͠i̵̧̧͉̟̥̗͚̓́̾̽̍̀f̵̧̩̹̼͇͓̳̜̗̱̪̫̙̦̠̈́͑̆̆̚̚f̷̢̡͕̩͙͚͉̦̝̼̟͉̲͋͛̾͛͊̓̇̾͜͠ě̴̡͙̹͙̫̼̲͎̘̠̘̀̔̒̄͋̓̽̈̕̚ͅr̴̟̰̞̹͕̬̽̃͐͋̓̽ȩ̶͓͉͕͈̬̣͈͕̤̺͓̄n̵̡͈̼̲͎̘͙͎̬̻̹͑́̀̀͛͜͝ͅͅẗ̸̖̦̮́͛ ̸̨̥̭̣̥͉̠̭͙͎̌̌͋̓̈́̀͒̀̍̂̀͆͝͝͝ͅf̸̞̄̅̐͊̒̄r̶͈͓̔͗̊̄̀̾̾͠͝͝o̸̦̙͕̜̪͇͉̣̾̉́͂̑̽̀́ṁ̶̨̬̝̠̰̩̺̪̳̞̈́́ ̷̡̦̪̯͇͍̔̐͛͐̐͋͜ṡ̵̡͈͒͜ò̷̳̮̳̼m̸̡͓̰̼̻͙͕͚͆́̎͌͛͛̓̓̃͠͠ė̵̛̥̼̥̖̤̫͇̞̱͉̠̈́͑̌́̑͋̿͜ͅt̸͚͉̠͇͕̒̒̾̍͘ͅḥ̷̟̪̙̀̍̋͗͆͂̾̓̿̐̎̂̕ͅi̴̭̣̩̔̿̚͠ñ̸̗̞̀̍̐̂͠͝͝͝ͅg̴̟̭̦̥̭̠̮̝͙̺̈́̑̄̏̽͐̄͛͑̃͘͝ ̶̡͙͔̖̠̮̮̱̩̺̱̘̫̭̮͗̔͋̎̚̚͝g̵̪̿̈́̎̀͂̀̎ǫ̴̡͉̦̟̝̲͛̍͝ͅǫ̶̢̧̰͙̼̜̥͚͔̞̯̆̒̍̏͜ͅd̷̟̹̫̗̲̝͚͚̓̃̅͗͐̀͝.̷̰͐̐̿ ̷͈̳̩̬̓̀͆̊̕̕Ĩ̴̢̩̼̼͇͊̇̃͊́͝ ̴͓͑̅̾̌̔͋͑̇͐̑͗͝w̴̢̜̯͖̥̣̣͌̾̾̈́̉͊ả̸͎̭̰͍͚̳͎̬͊̂͂͌n̸̡̛̥͙̥͓̟͎͔̯̰̣̊̑̅̊̋̀͐̉̎͝t̴̫̥̪͐͊̒ ̶̨͉͍̞͎̱̟̮́̉́͛̀̓̓͛̌̔̀̕͘͝y̸̡̙̠̓́͑͑o̴͈͚̫̔̋͗͛ȕ̴͙̩͔̤̻̫͖̟̘̲̈́̍͜ ̸̡̦̫̖̣͓̙̮̣̩̠̬̥̦͌̓̅̿̎̐̌́̽̀̊̚̕͝t̸̛̟͓͉͔̪̋̈́̿̑̍̓̓̓̔͑̉͌́͝ǫ̶̘̺̩̱̝͈͔̽̔ ̵̧̙͕̹̗̙̹̪̈̀̆̌̔̃̇͂̿̍͛̎͊͝ͅk̶̛͔̭̖̲͉̬̦̊̓̈́̎͂̽̒̈́̾̅̀ȋ̷̪̲̹̈́̄̐́͠͝l̶̨̢̧̢͍̳̞̟̝̬̲̩̲͕̎͊̇̐͋̊̓l̴̳͓̾͊͒͑ ̴̢̯͈̯̘̆̾̏̔̈́̏̅̇̚m̷̢̬͉̬͇̖̑̌e̷̦͉̰̩͚̤̯̺͐.̶̛̩̩̪̹͔̙̭̮͇̥̟̓͐̌̊̏̿̿̆́̚ ̸̢̳͎̳̖͇̩̀͛̿́̀̿͗̎͑̎ͅI̶̢̛̜̥̟̝̫̪̱̭͍̟̓̈́̓͘ ̴̡̓͒́͑͐͐̉̚͜w̴̢̧̧̡̨̺̭̯̭͈̣̝̱͖͍̍͝ạ̷̛̼̳̫̱͔͒̒̍͘n̸̢̛͇͎̰̠͚̣͚͓̜̟̫̟͍̻̓̎͛t̵̙͎̠͕́̉̓̊̄̂̀̎͝ͅ ̵̡͔̙̩̰̙͔̱͕͕̭̻̳̍̌̀͂͜d̶̡̺̮͕̗͍̼̣̘̮̉̿̈́̽̚e̴̢̪̟͖̐̃̏͘͝a̶̯̙͎̳͆̽͊̒̽̑̓͝t̵͕̹̬̀̓͜h̵̰̹͒̈́̃ ̴̡̧̧̛͎͙͍̘͉̯̖̙̲̲̌̅̌͑́̀̈́̊̽̿̚͝ȁ̴̟͎̹̳̳̈́̍͆͂̒̐̿͝ś̸͎̣̞͋͝ ̶̛͔̭̞̬̺̈́̒̔̐͆̐̐̄̿̍̚͘͝a̷̛̘̞̟̭̩̫̗̖̰͔̾͂̉̎̑́̒̓͐̿͘ ̸̺͍͗ͅp̵̢͓̹̺̱̞͕̺͎͖̠̹̏̀̾̉̈̓̓̋̒̓̃̋̌͐̽ȇ̵̞̲̹̘̙͉̳̳̺̯͕̓̎̾̈́̌̄̉̓̑̋ŕ̴̢̜̲̣̠̣̜̝̠̻̤͋͊̋͐s̵̻̜̰͉͇̬͔͚͉͑̄͊͘ŏ̶̰̬͚̬̺̝̺͋̽̀̍̈́́͒̽̌͝͝n̴̻̲̱͔͓̻̫͙̮̬̹̣̞̦̈́͛͌̌̽̍̏͘͜.̵̨̲̖̥͓̈́̀̓̅̊͒̋̀̀͆͌͘̕͠͝ ̶̬̏

Your master's vision confirms that the enemy's Lancer is in fact not your own team's Assassin. You recall Assassin having a twin sister; this is most likely her. Her physical parameters are on the higher end of average - that, in and of itself, isn't enough to cause you worry - but her ability to slay the divine is worrisome, because it means she can bypass Rider's protection and potentially harm him. In addition, her final skill and her second Noble Phantasm leave you terrified. Why can you not read them? Attempting to do so is like staring at the witch-runes for far too long; or worse. You feel your mind going numb before you force yourself to pull away and focus on the battle in front of you.

Of course, your worst fears are confirmed when you see the enemy Lancer making for Rider, while Berserker and her master make for your own Berserker and Kirika. The enemy's Berserker is tall, with long bright crimson hair blowing in every direction even without a breeze, and a sword and shield that gleam even without light. She wears white and red and leather armour of brown, and a fur-lined cape flows out behind her as she and Berserker clash blades. You trust Berserker to have a handle on his opponent, but you still believe it pertinent to check on the enemy Berserker, in case she too has something off about her that might throw the battle against you.

Strength - B+
Endurance - B+
Agility - A+
Mana - D
Luck - C
Noble Phantasm - A+

Mad Enhancement - D++
Riding - C--

Affection of the War Goddess (Andraste) - A
Battle Fervor - EX
Charisma - B--

Esuprastus - B
Named after her husband and given to her by Andraste as a Sword of Selection, much like Gram and Caliburn. However, due to its significantly lesser fame, its power as a Noble Phantasm is lesser than those more famous swords. Rather than being classed as an anti-fortress, this Noble Phantasm might be better thought of as an anti-house.

Icenian Exemplar - B
Boudica's Chariot. Sealed with the activation of Affection of the War Goddess due to the forgoing of her Riding skill. When called upon, it actively shields all allies under Boudica's leadership. It's also as fast as Gordius Wheel, though it cannot fly like Gordius Wheel, meaning that it can be used offensively and for travel but has limited maneuverability.

Thrice-fold Victory -A+
A manifestation of Boudica's three major wins, followed by a pathetic defeat to an army only a tenth the size of her own. Upon each battle, a + parameter is applied to each of Boudica's stats, up to two applied on the third battle. Using However, this causes her to undergo severe rank-downs upon the fourth battle, after which Thrice-fold Victory will be reset.

The enemy's Berserker leaves you completely stupefied. Her physical parameters are all on the higher end, matching those of your own Berserker, except all of them have an additional modifier attached to them. Her skills are similarly on the high, and she possesses three Noble Phantasms. As she clashes blades with Berserker, her mental faculties appear to be similar to his; she doesn't appear to be affected by the Mad Enhancement you had expected would plague a Berserker. In fact, she seems as competent as Kirika's Berserker, if not demonstratively outmatched in terms of the versatility of their current weapons. A shield and sword can only get you so far against an opponent whose weapon can be anything.

You don't have any more time to dwell on these new opponents; you've got your own battle to fight. Tomoe-san and Kyouko break off to focus on Wakaba Mirai and the girl who looks like Kazusa Michiru, and as soon as you take your eyes off Kirika the orange-haired girl has pile-driven her through the roof, leaving only you and Oriko to deal with Asami Saki. You know Oriko doesn't have the footwork to keep up with someone as fast as Asami Saki, so that just leaves you. "You seem lost," Asami Saki says to you, as electricity writhes around her arms. "Do Lancer and Berserker really have you that worried? If you'd prefer, you can surrender right now."

"No thanks," you say, drawing your bow and readying a flight of arrows. "I think I'll trust in my team's servants and take my chances against you."

You loose, arrows of ice soaring not to where Asami Saki is, but where you think she will be. You aren't trying to seriously harm her; if you do that, her Saber who has yet to make an appearance may decide to step in and fight, so as long as you can immobilise without grievously harming Asami Saki, you'll be satisfied. Her lightning whips lash out at you, but Oriko throws up a barrier between you and Asami Saki's attack, breaking it immediately to retaliate with a barrage of mana bolts from her drones. No matter how many times Asami Saki dodges, you'll repeat this as many times as it takes, because it's all part of the plan. The plan to herd Asami Saki into position so you can take her Soul Gem.

A position Asami Saki seems none too keen on letting you herd her into, as she immediately bounds backwards to the building next to this one. Uttering "Trace on," under your breath, you course mana through your body to Reinforce your legs as you bound off in pursuit, with Oriko following not far behind. Are you sure you should be following me?" you ask, as you loose another volley of arrows towards your opponent. What if someone else needs the help?"

"Nobody else is in immediate danger," Oriko replies, calling on a pair of barriers to herd Asami Saki into the path of your arrows' flight. "I should be able to help you for a little while, at least."

You'll trust Oriko to know best, and resume the attack. Asami Saki bounds off of Oriko's barriers, letting her hands get caught in your path of your arrows rather than anything more vital. "I don't really need these to hurt you," she says, bounding forward and proving her point by punching you several times in the face with her frozen-over fists. You quickly recover, loosing another volley of arrows as you fall back. "Is that all you can do?" Asami Saki asks, pulsing her coils of electricity to heat the surrounding air before your arrows can freeze her any further. "Your arrows are cute, but if that's all you can do then you're hardly a match for m-"

A giant, transparent hand silences Asami Saki, its swift punch sends her flying as Oriko says "You really shouldn't brag so much," before her drones scatter, reforming into a series of barriers.

Asami Saki picks herself up, water dripping from her sleeves as the coursing electricity wrapped around her arms melt the ice covering her hands. "You're Lancer's master, right?" she asks Oriko. "What are you doing hiding him away? Scared Saber will beat her again? Scared she'll die?"

"No, I-" Oriko's words are cut off as the roof shakes. The entire building shakes, courtesy of the two dueling Berserker casually crashing one another through its walls at every opportunity. The orange-haired girl had done the same thing, pile-driving Kirika through the roof and into the building below; now, it would appear that the two Berserkers are alternatively attempting to either aide their master, impede the enemy master, or impede one another from either attempt. You won't take your eyes off the battle to check which Berserker is winning, but- "Kirika!" Oriko's eyes go wide, and she immediately turns tail and makes for the hole in the adjacent building's roof.

"I'm guessing something bad has happened to the little black one?" Asami Saki asks. "That would be such a shame, wouldn't it? After all those girls she's killed, wouldn't it be fitting for something bad to have finally happened to her?" Oh, that does it. You don't waste any time bringing your bow up, loosing another volley of arrows towards Asami Saki. "That's more like it! Let's get back in the swing of things, shall we?"

SVS · Jan 26, 2021

[X] Plan Archer's A Charming Guy (part 2)

Before her brain had registered that she was being attacked, Kirika had been rammed through the roof by the orange-haired girl. She hit the floor, hard, wincing as she crashed into a piece of rubble dangerously close to where her Soul Gem sat on her back. Maki Kaoru, landing beside her, quickly turned and delivered a powerful kick to Kirika's side, sending her flying into the wall.

"So, you're one of those two little murderers, right?" Kaoru asked. "How's it feel, knowing that the shoe's on the other foot now?"

"It'd feel better if the shoe actually fit, 'cause you're seriously out of date with that accusation" Kirika replied as she pulled herself up, readying both her claws and her body for her opponent to charge again. "I haven't killed anyone in eighteen months. If I did, Oriko'd be really mad at me."

"Would she now?"

"She's my everything," Kirika replied. "I'd hate to disappoint her." Kirika swung her claws as she charged forward, but Kaoru made no effort to dodge her blows, only crossing her arms in front of her face. Kirika's claws sliced cleanly through the fabric of her opponent's clothes, but shattered the instant they struck the flesh underneath. Or what passed for flesh, that is. "What?" Kirika tried again, and again, calling on her claws and striking at her opponent three more times in rapid succession, but each time she tried her claws were broken when they struck Kaoru's arms.

With her opponent's sleeves torn to shreds, Kirika could now see what was going on. The skin on Kaoru's arms was completely smooth and black, like a piece of obsidian. "You done yet?" Kaoru asked as the skin of her legs turned the same glossy black colour as her arms. "Then it's my turn." Her single kick was easy to avoid, her punch easy to block; but even the passing of Kaoru's leg was enough to knock the wind out of Kirika's lungs, and her punch easily shattered Kirika's arm.

"Guess it's time to get serious, then," Kirika said, wincing as she forced her broken arm into a fighting posture. "Time Alter: Double Accel!"

Kirika leaped forward, using the force of her own body's acceleration as a projectile weapon against her opponent as she drew another set of claws. Her claws still shattered against Kaoru's blackened skin, but this time the force of her kicks moving at two-times speed was enough to send the orange-haired girl flying. Kaoru crashed into the wall with enough force to leave a crater, and had to quickly pull herself to safety as Kirika struck, her claws embedding themselves in the wall. Kaoru retaliated with another kick, but Kirika released her hold on her claws, performing a backflip up the wall to avoid the attack, before dropping with her legs spread open. With one swift motion, she caught the orange-haired girl's head between her thighs, twisting her body around as the two of them fell to ensure a clean blow to Kaoru's immobilised head. That was finally enough to draw blood.

"You're almost as fast as Saki," Kaoru said as she pulled herself up, wiping away the blood running down the side of her face. "That's good; means you might actually be a challenge!"

"You're wrong," Kirika said, tensing her body to pounce as soon as she declared "I'm faster. Time Alter: Triple Accel!"

Kaoru ducked, attempting to strike with a rolling kick while Kirika was still airborne, but Kirika was faster. Wheeling her body around in midair, Kirika retaliated with a kick of her own. Only Kaoru's timely raising of her arm prevented the kick from liquefying her head, but Kirika had already kicked off of Kaoru's arm before she could counter. The pair grappled as Kirika rebounded into her opponent, with Kirika again drawing blood when she headbutted Kaoru, before sending her flying with a three-times-speed kick to the chest. "I'll be taking your Soul Gem now!" Kirika proclaimed as she charged towards Kaoru at three-times speed, only to be interrupted as the wall beside her was blown to pieces.

Two dueling servants came crashing through the wall just as Kaoru picked herself up off the ground. The two Berserkers were opposites in every way; one, a male with dark hair and black armour; the other, a female with bright hair and white cloth. Their weapons were a blur as they fought, neither shield nor sword, nor whatever the male Berserker was holding - for the weapon appeared to change its shape with every swing, attempting to find purchase where the female Berserker would allow for none - finding their opening to harm the enemy. The ground under their feet shattered as they fought, and the entire building shook as its foundations gave way to the rage of the clashing servants of madness.

"Berserker!" Both Kirika and Kaoru shouted to their servants in unison, sparing only a moment from their own battle to look at one another as they both called out to the same servant.

The female Berserker was the first to break their stalemate. When the chance presented itself, she spun her entire body around, using her long cape like a combination of whip and shield to break through the flurry of blows coming from the male Berserker. Her attack forced him to duck, but that only brought him in range of a punishing blow from her leg. The male Berserker tossed his weapon into the air as he flew, repositioning himself to land on his hands in order to deliver a series of punishing kicks when the female Berserker attempted to close the gap during his flight. His weapon came down in the form of a hammer, crashing against her raised shield as he quickly retrieved it, renewing the onslaught.

"Kick her ass, Berserker!"

"Don't let him beat you, Berserker!"

The female Berserker spun again, once more using her cape as a weapon, but this time the male Berserker was prepared. He parried her blows, before breaking his weapon into two smaller swords, striking through her defenses once, twice, before rejoining them into a single weapon to strike thrice. The female Berserker was thrown, back through the wall, and for a brief moment it looked as though the male Berserker would join his master in the fight against her orange-haired opponent; until the female Berserker - bloodied, but not yet broken - dove back into the fight again, tackling the male Berserker and crashing their bodies through the opposite wall.

Without wasting a beat, Kaoru lunged as soon as the coast was clear of their rampaging servants, but Kirika ducked. She grabbed the orange-haired girl's outstretched arm and used it as leverage to fling her opponent across the empty room. Crashing into the wall, the orange-haired girl disappeared from Kirika's field of view for an instant, before reappearing behind her.

"Got you!" Kirika cried, wheeling her entire body around as she drew her claws. "I wonder how much it'd hurt if I stuck these claws right through your face-!" Her claws penetrated, but they penetrated the air, and not the face of her opponent. "What?" Standing by the wall where she knew she had kicked the orange-haired girl into, Kirika could now see another girl, except this one had long blue hair, and was holding an open book in her hands. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment Kirika could see her own amber eyes reflecting in the sheen of the other girl's glasses. Then, the sound of cracking glass filled her ears, and she wheeled around in time to see the orange-haired girl's fist breaking through one of Oriko's barriers. It took only a fraction of a second more for her hand to punch through the barrier, and both her and her opponent's eyes went wide as Kirika felt something penetrate through her intestines, before her body lost all feeling below the waist.

"Kirika!" That was Oriko's voice... Oriko's gotten a lot taller lately, Kirika thought; and the ground's gotten a lot closer, too.

Oriko looked down at Kirika, who was splayed out on the ground with a fist-sized hole going clean through her body; then she looked at the pair of girls who stood over Kirika. An army of drones formed behind Oriko, each one thrumming with mana. "Oriko..." Kirika barely managed to sputter out the name. "Be careful, they... The orange one's skin is like diamonds; I couldn't put a scratch on her."

"Is that so?" Oriko asked. Her eyes narrowed, and her drones formed into a pair of long barrelled lattices. "Then I'll just have to hit her with something that can."

"You might want to reconsider attacking me right now," Kaoru said. "Wouldn't want to hit this, would you?" In Kaoru's hand, her blackened fingers slick with blood, was a bright orange diamond. "So, what's it going to be? Revenge, or reason?"

Just then, snow fell down from the sky, passing through the hole Kaoru had made when she tackled Kirika into the building. Snow in October was unusual in Japan, and the falling white flakes caught the attentions of Oriko, Kaoru, and Umika. No, it wasn't snow at all... At the snowflakes came to land, it quickly became apparent that they were not snowflakes at all, but white lily petals. "Oriko... Tell me I'm dreaming, and this is all just a really weird metaphor for how in love with you I am..."

"I'm sorry, dearest, but this isn't a dream," Oriko replied. An urgent signal pierced through her mind, and she saw what those fallen white lilies really were. "You said I had two options," Oriko said, turning to Kaoru, the drones comprising her lattices glowing white-hot as they readied their charge. "Well, I just thought of a third option. You won't die, of course, but I can guarantee you won't like it."

SVS · Jan 26, 2021

[X] Plan Archer's A Charming Guy (part 3)

The opening shot was fired by Mami, her muskets firing in sequence one by one on the girl who was her opponent. Wakaba MIrai had made straight for Kyouko, so that left Mami with the black-haired girl, the one who looked like Kazusa Michiru but wasn't. In the brief second between when Mami's muskets were discarded and when her new volley was ready, Kazumi charged, swinging wide with the long black weapon in her hands. It wasn't quite a spear - more like a staff with the arms of a cross near the head - and it came down like a hammer. The roof splintered from its blow as Mami jumped out of the way. "Sorry!" Kazumi shouted, as Mami landed on the roof of the building next door. "I promise this'll go a lot smoother if you just stand still!"

"How curious," Mami said, calling on another volley of muskets, which opened fire as soon as they were ready. "Are you concerned about the collateral damage, or about me?"

"Yes!" Kazumi swung her staff around, catching Mami in the stomach. Despite the crunch that resounded as the staff crashed into Mami's ribs, it was Kazumi who was wincing the harder of the two from that attack. "I don't want to hurt you! I just don't want you to hurt my friends!"

"Mami!"

Kyouko turned her head as the impact of Kazumi's attack echoed, but her moment of distraction was enough for Mirai to take the lead, dealing a punishing blow to Kyouko as she yelled "Keep your eyes on me, moron!"

"I'm fine, Sakura-san," Mami said as she scrambled to her feet. Her breathing was harsh - that attack had definitely broken at least one rib, she was sure of it - but she wasn't about to let a few broken ribs slow her down. "Keep your eyes on your own battle!" It wasn't as though she was missing her shots; each one had found their mark on the black-haired girl. But like the other girl Mami had shot at, the black-haired girl's body kept regenerating with every shot Mami took.

Mami called on another musket, but Kazumi swing her staff, knocking the weapon's shot far off into the distance. But at this close a range... Ribbons wrapped themselves around Mami's leg to form a turbine-powered greave, and with a cry of "Turbina Dinamo!" she kicked, sending Kazumi flying high into the air. With her opponent airborne, Mami opened fire, but rather than letting her body absorb the hits, Kazumi swung her staff in a wide arc, blocking each bullet in sequence before landing, and charging Mami with her staff. A ring of muskets formed around Mami as the two dueled, muskets firing in sequence as Kazumi blocked or tanked each shot made on her.

On the building beside them, Rider clashed spears with the enemy Lancer. Rider was faster on foot than his opponent, but she was far and away more flexible, more fluid, able to bend her body to avoid his strikes in ways he had never seen before, save perhaps from his master and her allies. Rider struck with all his speed, but the enemy Lancer gave him no opening to exploit that speed; and unlike him, she wasn't limited to just the one spear. As soon as he had struck, her fingers traced the Tiwaz rune, and she called down another three spears to prevent him from reaching her. She wasn't so much throwing her spears as she was launching them, as Caster might with swords from his Gate of Babylon. Rider parried with his shield, but spears found their way around to his backside. Rider spun around, taking the hit but preventing the spears from penetrating his heel. She really was able to harm him, huh?

Crimson bullets soared over the battlefield, homing in on the enemy Lancer, but with little more effort than the wave of her spear each of his shots was knocked aside. Without missing a beat, she swatted Archer's arrows from the sky one by one, all the while weaving in and out of Rider's strikes as though it were nothing to her. The enemy's Saber and Rider had yet to show themselves, but with Archer off providing fire support, Saber guarding the otherwise-useless master of Assassin, and Rider and Berserker being kept busy with their own battles, Rider didn't know if their team could even handle those opponents appearing. Spears clashed, and Rider brought around his shield to bash the enemy Lancer's face in. Instead, she used his shield as a springboard, leaping high into the air and avoiding the next thrust of his spear, before tracing the Tiwaz rune once again and calling on spears of her own to rain down. Their bodies were a blur of colours as they clashed, spear and shield and spear in constant flux.

Mami had no trouble ignoring the fight between Rider and the enemy Lancer, but Kazumi made the mistake of diverting her eyes for just a moment to watch the clash of spears between her servant and her enemy's; in that moment, Mami struck. A volley of musket-fire overwhelmed Kazumi, a swift kick disarmed her of her spear, and a flick of Mami's wrist called forth a trail of ribbons marked with crimson Berkano runes along their length. In seconds, Mami had Kazumi immobilised within her ribbons. The black-haired girl struggled against the bindings, but the Berkano-laced ribbons were too strong for her to break free of.

"I'm terribly sorry about this, dear," Mami said to Kazumi, reaching for the crimson bauble hanging from her right ear. "This will only hurt for a moment." Mami tugged, ripping the Soul Gem from Kazumi's ear. Mami didn't smile as her eyes locked on the thin trail of crimson trickling down Kazumi's earlobe, but as long as her opponent wasn't going anywhere, she felt comfortable pocketing the Soul Gem.

"G̸i̷v̵e̵ ̶t̴h̸a̸t̶ ̷b̵a̸c̵k̷.̵.̶.̴" Kazumi growled, struggling even harder against her bindings. "G̷̥͓͝i̴͉̇v̷̝͊͗ę̶̝̏͠ ̸̯͍̀̆ḭ̴̥̀͑t̷̟̍ ̸͖̖̅͋b̴̖̞̌ä̵͙̈́c̸̢̻̋k̸̢͕͑!̵̡̇̄" Before Mami could reinforce her bindings, Kazumi had ripped herself free, grabbing for her staff before leaping on top of Mami. "T̸͖͔̈́h̶͖̻͍͆̚a̵͖̣̅̾ṱ̸̊̈͠'̷̬̝̀̀ş̵͙̉͝ ̸̖̱̱͑̓̕m̵̢̋̾̎ḯ̸̟̖͘ń̷̘͖͇ḕ̶̡̲̚!̴̠̠̅͠ ̵̜̠̌G̵̢͍̊í̷͓̘v̶̡͕̼͑e̷̟̺̐͘ ̷͕͈͓̂i̴͈̾̆͂t̸͕̓ ̷̡̔͌̈́b̴̳̪̿̈̆͜a̷̘̗͒c̵͔̅͒k̶̳̞̝̀ ̶̺͆͂t̵͔̫́̂̈́o̷̗̜͑̆̑͜ ̷̛͕̏͘m̴̦̭͆e̷͔̮͑!̷̨̬͆" Kazumi's charge knocked Mami to the ground, pressing her staff tightly against Mami's chest to keep her pinned down. Wild mania filled Kazumi's eyes; she leaned in, biting down on Mami's ear. Sharp pain shot through the right side of Mami's head, and something wet stuck to her cheek and the side of her jaw. When Kazumi reared her head up, Mami could see a piece of her ear clenched tightly between Kazumi's bloodstained teeth.

Kazumi spat Mami's ear out and leaned in again, biting her neck this time. Mami felt Kazumi's teeth break the skin, but before she let the girl tear a chunk from her neck, she called on a volley of muskets, forcing Kazumi back and off of her as her guns expended their ammunition. She clamped her hand down on her neck, but that did little to staunch the bleeding, and left Mami with only one hand with which to fight back. It's not like she'd actually die if she bled out. Throwing caution to the wind in the name of finishing the fight quicker, Mami eschewed putting pressure on her neck wound and called on a volley of muskets for each hand.

Mami readied her guns to fire, as Kazumi brought her staff up. "L̸̙̦͆͝ĩ̸̙͍̟̈́̇m̸̭͓͈̿̓̈́̐ì̵̡̠̓ţ̸͔̱̝̐̈̚͝i̶̩̜͍͆̍̈́́ ̵̫͒͌͛Ȅ̶̝̽̀̇s̶̺͉̥̞̐̚-!̷̦́̆" Her screaming was unintelligible, but something strange happened in that moment; white flakes of snow, falling from the sky. No, those weren't snowflakes...

Petals of white drifted down from the sky; Archer's work, no doubt, Mami thought, paying the petals no mind. Her opponent, on the other hand...

Unlike Mami, Kazumi was completely enraptured by the falling petals, only somewhat snapping out of it once the novelty had worn off. The look of wild mania had yet to leave her eyes, but in the brief moment in which she was calm Mami did all she could, lashing Kazumi in several layers of Berkano-laced ribbons. "I'll have to remember to thank Archer for the assistance when this is all over," Mami said, stifling a grimace as her injured ear and neck throbbed with pain. The side of her face and much of her shirt were stained a deep crimson, but she didn't have the luxury of paying any mind to her appearance at the moment. This was- "Ooh-" Mami caught herself as her body listed; she couldn't afford to go falling unconscious in the middle of a fight. "Now, what to do about you...?"

"Tch."

Watching Assassin's sister deflect your arrows as though they aren't even worth her time is really grating on your nerves. First, there's the fact that Scáthach shouldn't even be possible to summon as a servant. Second, even though her sister would be the first choice to fight her, there's the slight Geis problem that prevents just that from happening. Third, the second problem means your team is down one servant when it comes to countering Scáthach in the future; and by the look of things, you're going to need a servant who can counter her. You feel a phantom pain in your heart as you gaze upon the spear in her hand; it's another Gáe Bolg, no doubt about it; and for some reason, she has the ability to make multiple copies of it.

You can see Homura, doing you proud as she uses the skills you taught her to keep the leader of the Pleiades Saints at bay. So far, the enemy's Saber hasn't shown himself; that's good, and it problably won't change until Homura goes in for the kill - or for her Soul Gem, as the case may be - so hopefully you've still got time before you have to worry about Sigurd appearing. Oriko had been supporting Homura as well, for a time, until she suddenly rushed off towards the hole the orange-haired girl had tackled Kirika into. Speaking of Kirika, you can see her and the orange girl tangling through one of the holes their Berserkers have made in the course of their own fight. Berserker was right; Kirika really has been improving. She's gotten some good hits in, but so far nothing she's done has gotten though the black armour the orange-haired girl's skin is covered in.

Meanwhile, Kyouko and the master of the enemy's Rider are going at it - again - and thankfully the enemy Rider hasn't made an appearance either. That's good.

That's not good. Your eyes widen as you see Kirika suddenly freeze up, moments before the orange-haired girl blows through one of Oriko's barriers; and straight through Kirika's chest. That's your daughter. That's Homura's Big Sis and Minako's little Halloween pumpkin; and now there's a hole through her chest. Your hands clench; and if that weren't bad enough you see Kazusa Michiru - or whoever it is that looks like her - has seemingly gone berserk and, after tackling Tomoe to the ground, is attempting to eat her like a feral Dead Apostle.

Things have taken a turn for the worse in no time at all, and you'd be damned if you don't do anything to save your eldest daughter and her teammate. "Trace, on!" You've got in mind a certain weapon for this; you hope it works. It has to work. You envision the sword of Chevalier d'Eon, working the Projection into your preferred form which you nock upon your bowstring. You're sure the morning news will have something to say about this.

"Fleur de Lys!"

You turn your head just as a million white lily petals fall from the sky, burning their beauty into your vision just long enough for it to matter. "What was that?" Asami saki asks.

"That was probably our Archer," you say. "I'm not sure what all of that was about, but I trust Archer not to do something like that without a reason."

"Uh-huh." Asami Saki nods; strange; you two should be fighting right now, shouldn't you?

You're glad you aren't fighting when an urgent message reaches your mind's ear. "Akemi-san, there's two girls down here with Kirika and I," you hear Oriko's voice saying from inside your head. So that was why she dove after Kirika earlier. Does that mean something's happened to Kirika? "They... They've got Kirika's Soul Gem, and she's too badly injured to move on her own."

Oh, fuck. This is just what you needed to hear, that the Saints have one of your team's Soul Gems in their possession; and it's the one belonging to your Big Sis, too. Mom is going to kill you if she finds out.

"How about we make a deal," Asami Saki says. A deal? Wasn't this the girl who just a few nights ago was talking about this being a war of extermination? "By now, I'm sure you've heard that your little serial killer friend is currently without a Soul Gem, no? Well, one of ours is currently without a Soul Gem as well. So, let's make a trade. Hers, for Kazumi's; how does that sound?"

[ ] Accept the deal
-[ ] and leave Asunaro
--[ ] What do you do after returning home? (write-in)
-[ ] but keep fighting
--[ ] What's the plan if you decide to keep fighting? (write-in)
[ ] Reject the deal
-[ ] What do you counter with? (write-in)

SVS · Jan 29, 2021

[X] Plan Gem for a Gem (Less War Crimes, More Diplomacy)

You turn your head just as a million white lily petals fall from the sky, burning their beauty into your vision just long enough for it to matter. "What was that?" Asami saki asks.

"That was probably our Archer," you say. "I'm not sure what all of that was about, but I trust Archer not to do something like that without a reason."

"Uh-huh." Asami Ssaki nods; strange; you two should be fighting right now, shouldn't you? "

You're glad you aren't fighting when an urgent message reaches your mind's ear. "Akemi-san, there's two girls down here with Kirika and I," you hear Oriko's voice saying from inside your head. So that was why she dove after Kirika earlier. Does that mean something's happened to Kirika? "They... They've got Kirika's Soul Gem, and she's too badly injured to move on her own."

Oh, fuck. This is just what you needed to hear, that the Saints have one of your team's Soul Gems in their possession; and it's the one belonging to your Big Sis, too. Mom is going to kill you if she finds out.

"How about we make a deal," Asami Saki says. A deal? Wasn't this the girl who just a few nights ago was talking about this being a war of extermination? "By now, I'm sure you've heard that your little serial killer friend is currently without a Soul Gem, no? Well, one of ours is currently without a Soul Gem as well. So, let's make a trade. Hers, for Kazumi's; how does that sound?"

You know what? You're going to grill AsamI Saki over this, because for a girl who was talking about exterminating your side no matter the cost, suddenly offering you a deal is just a little too suspicious. "Weren't you the one who said this would be a war of extermination, with no neutral ground between us? Why offer me a deal now, when you've already gone and made your position very obvious?"

"Kazumi is too important to leave in your team's hands," Asami Saki says. "As much as I hate to give up one of your side's Soul Gems, I can't afford to let Kazumi remain with you."

Part of you wants to call Asami Saki's bluff; to test her, to see how important this 'Kazumi' is to her; but the smarter part of you refrains, because they have Kirika's Soul Gem. You wouldn't let them have the Soul Gem of any member of your team, but you refuse to stand for letting them walk away with your Big Sis. Risking that push, calling Asami Saki's bluff and biting off more than she's willing to give you, might only lead to something bad happening to Kirika. "I understand," you say. You aren't stupid, though. You won't let them know how important Kirika is to you. "In that case, on behalf of my team I'm willing to accept your offer. Kirika's Soul Gem, for Kazumi's."

Asami Saki nods, and you give her a moment to issue her orders to whichever member of her team has Kirika's Soul Gem. "Tomoe-san, one of the Saints has Kirika's Soul Gem, so we're making a deal. We give them Kazumi's Soul Gem back, and they give us Kirika's Soul Gem back."

"Kure-san? Oh... Yes, of course. I understand, Akemi-san. I'll give this back to her at once. She's been... Quite temperamental without it, so this is fine."

"Are you okay?"

"I won't die, though I can't say I'm the best I've ever looked."

"Okay," you say to Asami Saki. "Tomoe-san is going to give Kazumi her Soul Gem back. Did you get confirmation from your side that Kirika will get hers back as well?" An "Of course," from Asami Saki does little to inspire confidence in your ability to trust her. "You should know that if you go back on this deal, I have no problem instructing Archer to level Angelica Bears."

"I see," Asami Saki says. "You're really serious about getting that little goblin's Soul Gem back, aren't you?"

"I will not tolerate you calling my older sister a goblin," you say, earning you a wordless scowl from AsamI Saki. "Besides, I thought your complaint with us had to do with the fake witches, not with the past actions of Oriko and Kirika. We'd like to see them gone as well, you know; why insist on dragging this conflict on when we could be working together towards a common goal?"

"How do we know we can even trust you?" Asami Saki asks. "Kyubey told us how you turned Tomoe Mami against him, and how you allied with a pair of serial killers to drive him out of Mitakihara. Even if I believed you when you said you wanted to get rid of the fake witches, why should I trust anything you say with a track record like that?"

"And you think the Inucbator is any more trustworthy than I am?" You won't say it, but you honestly feel some degree of pity for Asami Saki right now if she's that willing to take the Incubator's words at face value. "Do you know why Oriko and Kirika killed in the first place?"

"To keep Kyubey busy so he wasn't able to contract with the girl he wanted to."

She really does believe everything the Incubator tells her, doesn't she? She isn't wrong; but she's missing so many key elements to that story as to make what little she does know worthless. "Let's try something different, then," you say. "Why did Kanna Niko create the homunculus named Hijiri Kanna?"

Asami Saki shrugs. "She never told me her reason," she says. "It was something she said she had to do once she made her wish; I never bothered asking her to tell me more than that. Why do you ask?"

"Because I've spoken with Hijiri Kanna, and she's expressed a rather unhealthy desire to kill her creator for making her and giving her false memories of a life that isn't hers."

"I see." Asami Saki passes you, likely having received a message from her teammate that the deal is complete. "I'll be looking forward to the day when we don't have to do this any more," she says. "Despite how I might come off, I don't particularly enjoy this business. I just happen to need you girls gone, and taking your Soul Gems is the simplest way to accomplish that."

"Before you go, let me ask you something," you say. You hear Asami Saki's footsteps stop at your words, and you ask her "Do you believe it's possible for a bad person to turn over a new leaf?"

"If there is a God, then I'd pray to him for that to be possible."

With those words, Asami Saki disappears, rejoining her allies and leaving you and yours to return to Mitakihara to lick your wounds. Some of you will have more wounds to lick than others. "What happened to you?" you ask Tomoe-san as soon as you get a look at her. Her face and shirt are covered in blood, and there's a fairly large chunk missing from her right ear that leaves only the topmost edge still attached to her head. Are those teeth marks in her neck, too? "I guess you weren't kidding when you said you've looked better."

Tomoe-san nods. "That girl became quite aggressive once I took her Soul Gem," she says. "She pinned me down with her staff, and..." She gestures to her face and what remains of her ear. "This was the result." Oriko and Kirika appear next, with Oriko leading a bloodied but whole Kirika by the hand. Upon spotting them, Tomoe-san turns to Oriko and says "The rest of my ear is over on that building," as she points to the roof next door. "I'll be fine if you choose to regrow it instead, but at least if we pick it up we're leaving one fewer piece of evidence."

"Of course," Oriko says. Turning to Kyouko, who had come over with Tomoe-san, she asks "Sakura-san, could you go and retrieve Tomoe-san's ear so I can patch her up?"

Kyouko grumbles, but to her credit she goes off and retrieves Tomoe-san's ear. Oriko sits Kirika down on the roof, and you take your seat beside her. As soon as the two of you share a glance, you both have only one thing to say to the other. "Mom cannot find out about this."

"You girls sure are keeping a lot of things from Minako," Archer says, choosing that moment to appear. Rather than addressing you and Kirika immediately, Archer looks to Tomoe-san as Oriko sets about healing her ear, saying "Looks like Kazusa did a number on you, didn't she? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"It did at the time," Tomoe-san says. "Thankfully, Mikuni-san has gotten quite good at using Uruz, so I imagine I'll be feeling right as rain in by morning." She touches a hand to her neck, gently fingering where 'Kazumi' bit her, adding "I just hope this doesn't leave a mark."

A "Psh" sound escapes Kirika's lips. "If someone asks, just tell them your boyfriend got a little overzealous."

"I'm single, Kure-san," Tomoe-san says. "My boyfriend was being an inconsiderate jerk, so I dumped him. You know that."

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," Archer says, turning on Kirika's words to face you and she. "I heard you two whispering about keeping something else a secret from Minako earlier this morning, too. Want to tell me what that was all about?"

[ ] Say nothing
[ ] Tell Archer about Kirika's tattoo

When you return to Mitakihara,
[ ] Wat do?

SVS · Jan 30, 2021

[X] Plan: Licking Wounds

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," Archer says, turning on Kirika's words to face you and she. "I heard you two whispering about keeping something else a secret from Minako earlier this morning, too. Want to tell me what that was all about?"

You and Kirika again look to one another for the correct answer. You certainly aren't going to betray her secret to dad; that would be almost as bad as telling mom, since there's nothing stopping Archer from telling Minako once he's heard about Kirika's tattoo. "Sorry," you say, shaking your head. "That's not my business to tell you."

"Alright, then how about you?" Archer asks, turning Kirika. Your older sister looks to be of much the same mind as you, and she too gives no answer. "Be that way, then," Archer says, looking over the both of you with a disapproving stare. Then, his gaze softens, and he crouches down to wrap his arms around the both of you. "I'm just glad you're both okay after all this."

"You know, I hate to disrupt this touching reuinion, but we really should be going." Nurse Ortensia, who has been standing off to the side uselessly for the duration of the fight, emerges from her hiding spot with Saber in tow. You feel bad for Hitomi. You left her at home to keep her safe, and she ended up not having to have Saber even do anything. She must be so bored right now. "Just because those girls are letting you leave now doesn't mean they won't be back later. We should hurry, before one of you actually needs medical attention."

"Well, that was pretty much a wash."

Your words are those which everyone can agree on; there isn't a single head shaking in opposition upon your return to the Tomoe apartment. All but one. "While I absolutely agree that tonight could have gone better," Tomoe-san says, "I don't believe we should simply write the night off. We have to have learned something about our opponents that we didn't know before. I know I did."

"Alright then," Kyouko says. "Why don't you start, since yer so confident that we all must'a learned something?"

Tomoe-san rises to Kyouko's taunt, and says "That girl I fought, the one who looks like Kazusa Michiru; there's something... Off, about her. Obviously, she's wearing the face of a dead girl, but she had a rather disturbed reaction to having her Soul Gem taken." Tomoe-san's hand finds its way to her right ear; it still looks a little red from where Oriko reattached it, and you wonder whether it still hurts along the bite line. "Now, it's possible she merely acted out of fear for what I might do with her Soul Gem after taking it. If we assume the other Saints have given her the same story they all seem to believe, it's not that far out of the realm of possibility; but I doubt it. I've never seen a person act so feral before. She almost reminded me more of a witch than she did a person."

Archer nods along with Tomoe-san's words. "It wasn't a witch she reminded me of, but that Kazusa-lookalike definitely reminded me of something feral," he says. "Caster said the real Kazusa turned a few months ago, right? Maybe there's a connection? We don't really know the full extent of what their experiments have accomplished. For all we know, maybe they did find a way to turn a witch back into a puella magi."

"Then wouldn't that mean that they've also found a way to bypass the Incubator's system?" Kirika asks. "If that's the case, then what do they have a beef with us for if they're doing the same thing we are?"

"The Incubator is manipulating them," you say. "I don't know the extent to which it is, but Asami Saki all but confirmed it when she and I spoke. She trusts it completely." You shake your head, calling her "The fool." Well, since she was so willing to speak up, how about- "Kirika, you're up next. What did you learn fighting that orange-haired girl?"

"She's got this crazy-strong black coating she gets over her skin," Kirika says. "It shattered my claws every time I'd try attacking; I couldn't put a dent in her at all, not unless I went for the head." Kirika's hand lands on her stomach; you didn't see the severity of her injury, but Oriko said it was bad enough that Kirika couldn't move. "She was able to punch right through one of Oriko's barriers like it was nothing, and then she kept going, right through my stomach, too. Grabbed my Soul Gem right off the back of my belt and tore it out through the front."

You almost drop your teacup; Hitomi does drop her teacup. Several others seated at the table are similarly shocked by Kirika's revelation. "Don't worry about it, Shizuki-san," Tomoe-san says to Hitomi. "I'll clean that up for you."

"But like, the funny thing is," Kirika continues, "I don't actually think she meant to do that. See, she had another girl with her down there, some chick with blue hair and glasses, and they set everything up so I'd be distracted by the blue-haired girl's illusions, while the orange-haired girl swiped my Soul Gem. But then Oriko shows up with one of her barriers, I turn around when I hear the orange-haired girl breaking through, and BOOM! Hole through my stomach. But when I saw her eyes, she really looked like she hadn't been expecting that. I think she just thought she'd swipe my Soul Gem, but Oriko's barrier showing up and getting me to turn threw a wrench in that."

Oriko hangs her head. "I'm terribly sorry, dearest," she says, as she leans over to kiss Kirika on the cheek. "I saw you were in danger so I sent a barrier down to protect you. I didn't know you'd be getting hurt because of me."

"It's fine, I could never stay mad at you."

"The one with blue hair and glasses is named Misaki Umika," Hijiri Kanna says. She hasn't been present for most of the evening, so hearing her voice coming from behind you is certainly a surprise. "She has the power to alter or create memories," she says to Kirika. "I suppose, properly applied to your short-term memories, that could also allow her to make you believe you saw something that wasn't there. Not quite illusion magic, but close enough, for her purposes."

"Does anyone have anything else they would like to add?" Tomoe-san asks as she looks over at Kyouko, who has yet to speak since disparaging Tomoe-san's words earlier. "Perhaps you saw something in Rider's fight with the enemy Lancer, Sakura-san?"

"Yeah, and I don't know what the fuck it was I saw," Kyouko replies. "She's crazy-strong, first off, and when I tried ta read her second Noble Phantasm it was like my brain was melting." You nod, knowing well the feeling Kyouko was describing. "From the look'a things, she's able ta hurt Rider, so that's not good."

"Their Lancer servant is Scáthach," Archer says. "She's the twin sister of our own Assassin. She should also be impossible to summon as a servant, no account of the World having banished her for becoming too powerful. The fact that these girls have managed to summon her is... Disconcerting, to say the least, and doesn't bode well for us if the stories about her are true."

The name of the enemy's Lancer is enough to draw Nurse Ortensia's attention. "Now that is very interesting," she says, wearing a smirk on her face you don't quite like the look of. "I wonder how Assassin would react if she knew her sister had also been summoned?"

"Probably very poorly," Archer says. Why does this woman have to be Oriko's cousin? You can't even recall the last time a smile from Oriko terrified you the way even a casual upturn of the lip does from Nurse Ortensia. "She's got a Noble Phantasm preventing her from coming into conflict with her sister; I doubt Scáthach being present will do her any favours if she knows they won't be able to fight."

"What about their Berserker?" Tomoe-san's asks Kirika. "You must have seen her when she and our Berserker fought. What's she like?"

"I didn't really get much of a look at her," Kirika replies. "She's got pretty good stats, some busted skills that give her massive rank-ups on all her parameters, and this one Noble Phantasm that looks like she can just outright pump herself and her team up by a huge amount. Oh, and I think she's able to control how much Mad Enhancement she has on at any given time. She was able to hold her own against Berserker even when he was hitting her with everything he had."

Kirika looks around the room; nobody else has anything to say about her. "I'm not sure who she was either," you say. "I know I saw her before she took off after Berserker, but I don't have much of an idea who she is. Long red hair and a chariot as one of her Noble Phantasms doesn't mean much to me, I'm afraid." Maybe if you had paid more attention in history class you could figure her identity out through the mentions to a goddess named Andraste in her skills and Noble Phantasms, but nothing comes to you at the moment.

[ ] Wat do?

SVS · Jan 31, 2021

[x] Plan Shifting Priorities

You wish you could say more about the enemy's Berserker. Maybe if you had paid more attention in history class you could figure her identity out through the mentions to a goddess named Andraste in her skills and Noble Phantasms, but no further clues to her identity come to you at the moment. "Regardless of Berserker's identity, there's one other thing I think we've learned tonight," you say. You look over to Oriko, saying not just to her, but to everyone "I think it's safe to assume that Oriko's precognition won't be of much help to us going forward, given how tonight turned out for us."

"How sure of that can we be?" Tomoe-san asks. "Mikuni-san was correct when she saw them moving in two groups, and we know there was a fifth girl moving with them, according to what Mikuni-san and Kure-san saw in the other building. They caught us off-guard, but she wasn't wrong."

"That's just the problem, Tomoe-san," Oriko says. "I wasn't wrong in what I saw, and they were still able to take us by surprise. Either their ability to hide from my precognition is better than we thought, and they can not only hide themselves but selectively influence what I'm able to see, or they have some form of early-warning system in place that will make any attempt on our part to initiate an attack on them worthless, with or without my abilities."

"Then we avoid initiating attacks on them for now," you say. "For right now, why don't we focus on trying to deal with our fake witch problem. Archer and I have Tohsaka-san taking a look at one of the fake Grief Seeds, and hopefully soon she'll have some information for us we can make use of, and we'll be able to address that problem more directly. Maybe, if we're really lucky-" God forbid you ever experience that kind of luck. "-we'll be able to get rid of them entirely, and we'll have that much of an easier time addressing one of the complaints the Saints have with us."

"Yeah, but we still gotta deal with their whole beef with Crazy and Big White," Kyouko adds, casting a thumb in the direction of Oriko and Kirika. "As long as they think those two are still killers, ain't like there's anything we can do ta make those girls come to the table."

"So then we'll force them to come," Kirika says. "We'll tie them up and force them to listen to us. That's what we did the last time some girls had a problem with me and Oriko, isn't it?"

"We did that as an object of last resort," Oriko says;" And, that was back when Akemi-san still had her time magic. Something tells me that it won't be so easy for us to get away with kidnapping any of those girls this time."

You nod your head; the loss of your time magic complicates your ability to handle this situation in a way you don't think you could have anticipated as long as you still had it. Who knew you would ever long for the days when you were still forced to carry that burden.

Snacks and a further light discussion of the night's events follow your initial laying out of the enemy team's capabilities. Hijiri Kanna leaves once Tomoe-san decides to cut everyone off from tea and snacks. Kirika is feigning a yawn and stretching an arm over Oriko's shoulder; an obvious fake, but the yawns similarly coming from Hitomi aren't. "Well, I think that about wraps tonight up," Tomoe-san says. "I don't mean to sound rude by kicking you all out, but it is getting rather late, and we all have school tomorrow."

"Don't stay up too late, you hear?" you say to Homura and Kirika as the three of you return home. "You've got school tomorrow." Turning to Kirika in particular, you add "And you've got to get up an hour early to catch the train to Shirome. I don't want you girls staying up late and being too tired to go to school tomorrow."

"We know, dad." Kirika pouts, saying as she crosses her arms over her chest, saying "Shouldn't we be saying the same thing to you? Mom's got to go to work tomorrow, so you shouldn't be keeping her up all night with the bone of your sword." "Besides, we can hear you two when you go at it."

"Actually, Minako got the day off tomorrow," you say. "She made sure to get the day off so she could be there to cheer both of you on at your schools' sports festivals tomorrow."

"Oh."

Kirika sounds as though she hadn't been expecting that; well, she is gone most of the week. It's not like she would have heard something you and Minako have been discussing the same way Homura would. "That said, I'm still going to make sure that Minako gets a good night's sleep so she can be at her best to cheer you girls on." You smile, giving each of your daughters a hug as you shuffle them off to Homura's bedroom. "Now, get some sleep you two."

You hate to sound like such a nag, especially when you know your daughters don't get tired the same way normal girls their age might; but you can't help it. You didn't bring either of them into this world, but you love them both like they were your own flesh and blood. The thought of how far they've come from when they first met makes you smile. You're proud of how far they've come since then; and for the way in which their friendship allowed you to meet the woman of your dreams. Minako is reading a book as you enter, which she sets down on the bedside table as you take a seat beside her; one of her school books, you notice, some tome on marketing by the text on the cover. "Well, how did everything go tonight?" she asks, flashing you the hypnotic ruby gaze you fell in love with. "Are our girls still in one piece?"

"Our girls are fine," you say. "We're all in one piece, thankfully." You won't mention to her what you saw happen to Kirika. She doesn't need to know that. You lean in and give her a kiss, saying "I hope you weren't waiting just for me to come back; were you?"

Minako bats a playful eye your way as she makes a playful roar. "Well, for one part of you in particular," Minako says. "I'm kidding. Actually, there's been something on my mind that I've wanted to ask you for a long time now..." You don't like it when Minako's voice loses its playfulness around you. Almost instinctively, you've moved your body so that Minako is leaning into your arms and chest, and she looks up at you as she asks "Do you ever wish I weren't... Used goods?"

You blink. "Huh?" you ask. "Why would I care about that?"

"Well I mean, you're smart, funny, charming... You do all the shopping, the cooking, and the housework... You're great with kids... You could have any woman you wanted; so is someone like me... Really okay? You could have done so much better than me when we first met; someone younger, who didn't have kids, maybe you'd even prefer to have a virgin if you had the chance. I'm just... Me."

You wrap your arms tightly around Minako. "You're right, I could have any woman I wanted," you say to her; "And the woman I want is you. I don't care that you weren't a virgin when we met; hell, I wasn't. I don't care that you've got a kid, either. If Kirika had never been born, then she and Homura never would have become friends, and I never would have met you. Kirika's a great girl, and I know my life wouldn't be as fulfilling without her and you in it." You kiss Minako, brushing aside a few loose locks that had fallen over her face as you say to her "You've got so much going for you. You've got a great personality; you're smart, strong-willed, and driven; you care so much about the people closest to you..." Your hands find their way to certain parts of Minako's anatomy as you add "You're drop-dead gorgeous, too. But most importantly, you're a great mom. Any guy would be lucky to have you and Kirika in his life. I know I am."

Minako's lips crash against yours before you have time to react. Not that you'd do anything other than accept them, but some warning would have been nice, all the same. Minako breaks her kiss, and her hands find their way to the buttons on your shirt and the buckle of your belt as she says in a low, husky voice "I'm a great mom, huh? Prove it, Archer. Put a baby in me."

"You know I can't do that," you are forced to reply. Your body is incapable of giving Minako a child, and you know you've told her countless times. Then again, you know she's not saying that because she expects things to have changed from the last time you told her.

"That's because we're not trying hard enough." What did you just tell yourself? "Come on, I won't be young forever. I want your child while I'm still young enough to enjoy being a mother."

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?"

You lie awake in your bed, forced to listen as the springs in your parents' mattress are put to the test. You stare out into the darkness; Kirika is already fast asleep, softly moaning Oriko's name as she dreams. Your hand touches something warm and furry; that would be Amy, curled up beside you like she always does. Why did you even bother buying her her own bed if she's always going to crawl in bed with you?

You reach for one of your pillows and hold it close against your head, trying as hard as you can to block out the sound. This is going to be a long night. Hopefully they finish soon.

Day 5 Complete

Confringentur 2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night sequel

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