Confringentur 2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night sequel
- Thread starter SVS
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Around here
Thanks, I hate it.
Day 30 Chapter 1
- Location
- Around here
Day 30 Begin
No alarm wakes you on the morning of November the first. No call to arms; no notification from your phone that your familiars have spotted anything; no telepathic communication from Oriko saying that Lancer's Bounded Fields have been broken; nothing. You wake on the morning of November the first in peace, quiet, and comfort, opening your eyes to the sight of your father sitting beside your bed.
"Did you have a nice sleep?" Archer asks, giving you a few moments to collect yourself before saying "I brought over some fresh water and fish from Shirome, so we could have a real breakfast. Everyone else is already in the kitchen."
"Dad…?" It takes you a few moments to shake off your sleep, and to come to your senses with the realisation that the sky isn't falling down around your head at this very instant. Suddenly, you remember where you are, and you ask Archer "What about mom? Is she safe?"
"I made sure to put her on the first train out of here," Archer replies. "She should be arriving at the station near her parents' place shortly." Archer leans over, placing a hand on your shoulder with a smile, and saying "Your mom's safe, Homura."
You drag yourself out of bed and follow Archer into the kitchen, where Oriko, Kirika, and your trio of guests from Archer's old haunt of Fuyuki are waiting. "Morning, sis," Kirika says, beckoning you to join her at the table, where you can see freshly grilled fish, rice, and tofu served up all neat and tidy and smelling like the most delicious breakfast you've ever smelled.
Mom was right, you think to yourself as you take a seat next to Kirika. Dad can make even grilled fish and rice a celebration.
"All right, so what's the plan?" asks Tohsaka-san, stabbing at her fish with her chopsticks and using them to gesture at you. "Illya told us that you think Sidonia's going to go off at eight in the morning. That doesn't give us a whole lot of time to prepare. So what are we thinking?"
"Broad strokes at the moment," you say. The plan is to have our squishier members kept safe in one of Ramesses' Noble Phantasms, while our stronger members hits Sidonia with everything they've got. Archer, Lancer, and Assassin will take care of Sigurd, and hopefully everyone that's keeping something away from Sidonia will be able to keep that up until the fight is over."
That means Tohsaka-san, Matou Sakura, and Tomoe-san. "Do you think you and Matou Sakura can accomplish that?"
Tohsaka-san and Matou Sakura both nod their heads. "That shouldn't be too much of an issue," Matou Sakura says. "It's unfortunate that Sister and I didn't have the time to set up any better of a Bounded Field, since we were both so busy doing other things, but between the two of us I don't think it should be a problem, especially if Illya is willing to assist us."
Aunt Illya has to shake her head. "I'll be needed to command Berserker on the front lines," she says to Matou Sakura. "But you've got Rider; she'll be fine, won't she?"
"I believe Rider may wish to assist Kure-san's Berserker, as payment for the attempt he and Uncle Kariya made to save me," Matou Sakura says. "I'd prefer if she stayed here and helped Sister and I hold down the fort, but I won't tell her she can't do what she's best at if it looks like the fighting isn't going to be taking place here."
"Nah, it's fine,' Kirika says to Matou Sakura. "Seriously, tell your Rider that she's needed more here than out there. We've got lots of people lined up to take a swing at Sidonia, so just make sure you're doing what you can to keep that stupid book of hers out of her hands. Got it?"
"Dearest, there's no need to raise your voice," Oriko says to Kirika. "They're just trying to figure out how they can help us the best, that's all."
"I know that," Kirika says. "But, like, between all the other servants we've got on our side, it's not like one more Rider's gonna make a difference. It's better if she stays here and keeps that book safe, right?" Kirika looks down at her lap, and awkwardly mutters something that sounds suspiciously like "Even if it would be kinda cool to see her and Berserker fighting together…"
"Oh, that's right," Archer says. "Homura, Kirika, after breakfast, there's something I want to talk to you two about. Alone."
Breakfast passes, and while the other members of your household convene in the living room for a more lengthy discussion of the day's schedule-to-be, led by Oriko and Aunt Illya, who were actually at the meeting last night, you, Archer, and Kirika stay behind in the kitchen. You and Kirika look to each other, confused. Kirika in particular, you see swallowing a visible lump in her throat. "So, uh, dad, what did you want to talk to us about?" she asks, hesitantly. "Are we… Are we in trouble?"
"Is this because I freaked mom out last night with those familiars I made?" You hope that isn't the case. Sure, the miniature you was unsettling, but Archer already knows about your experiments with your familiars. This shouldn't be related to that; so then what is it?
"No, neither of you are in trouble," Archer says, causing you and Kirika both to sigh in relief. "I'm sorry if the way I said that came across like you were in trouble. Actually…" Archer reaches into his pocket for his phone, and sets it down on the kitchen table in front of you and Kirika. You're confused, and Kirika looks confused as well, until Archer explains. "Your mom left a message on my phone for the two of you, before I sent her off to her parents'," Archer says. "I just wanted to make sure you both got to hear it.
Archer pokes at his phone, and it springs to life as he pulls up his answering machine.
"Hey there, you two." Mom's voice is shaky, and it sounds like she either was crying, or is about to cry. "I know I said goodbye to both of you last night, but I wanted to say it again before… Anything happened. You girls… Kirika, I've known you for your entire life. I've loved you from the moment I knew you were coming, and I will never, ever, stop loving you. You are my precious little Halloween pumpkin, and there is nothing in this world that will take that away from me.
"Homura… I know I've known you for a lot less than I've known Kirika, but I just want you to know that doesn't change how I feel about you. You are still my daughter, and I still love you. You and Kirika are both number one in my heart, and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to be a mother to you. I just hope you've felt the same way. I know I can't ever replace your real mother, but I hope that you've still loved me, because in the time that I've known you, I've never not loved you.
"Archer… Please, take care of our girls for me. You've always been so good about keeping them safe when they get into trouble, so please, make sure they stay safe, even when I'm not around. I love you, Archer, and I love how great you've been as a father to our girls. Please, keep them safe for me, one more time. I love you. I love all three of you. I can't wait to see you all again soon."
That's where the message ends, with mom's voice cracking almost to the point of despair. It sends a chill down your spine, to have heard in her voice just how heartbroken your mother was at the thought of letting the three of you go off to die. That's where Archer leaves his phone. "We're going to get through this," he says to you and Kirika. "I promise."
Kirika is the first to break, throwing herself at Archer and wrapping her arms around him as tears stream down her face. "I don't wanna die!" she cries out. "I just want all this to be over so we can go see mom and not have to worry about any of this!"
"I know, pumpkin," Archer says, trying his best to smile for her as he wraps his own arms around her. "I want all this to be over so we can see your mom again, too."
You stare at Archer's phone, still laying there on the table. You swallow the lump in your throat, as you do everything in your power to hold back your own tears. You finally have a family again; something you've been lacking in so long it hurts to think of how long you were forced to go without. You will not let any harm come to your family if you can help it.
You take a few moments to breathe in deep, collecting yourself for the battle you know is coming, sooner than you'd like to accept. With Kirika still wrapped up in his embrace, Archer manages to spare a hand with which to reach over, pulling you in just the same. "You don't need to keep it in if you don't want to," Archer says. "There's no shame in what you're feeling right now."
You don't cry. You aren't crying. You need to be strong, to keep a strong mind for the battle that's coming. You need to keep up a strong face for Archer, for your sister, and for your friends, teammates, and allies, all of whom are counting on you to get them through today safely.
Those aren't tears you feel wetting your cheeks.
You aren't crying.
The roar of the earth shaking is what ultimately tears you away from your father and sister. Your entire building shakes; the table clatters, the cupboard doors are thrown open and their contents tossed unceremoniously onto the floor, and the three of you find yourselves falling to the ground in a heap. "What was that?" you shout, springing into action. "Was that an earthquake?"
"Akemi-san!" That's Oriko-! The calling of your name precedes the sound of Oriko's footsteps as she races into the kitchen. Her eyes lock onto the three of you, and she blurts out "I've just gotten word from Lancer that something has breached the Bounded Field she established around Sidonia's workshop!"
Then that wasn't an earthquake-! Were those the explosives we found around Sidonia's base?
"Where is she?" you bark, "Does Lancer have eyes on Sidonia?"
"No, I already confirmed it with her."
As if to add insult to injury, in that moment you hear the sound of your phone buzzing, and feel of it vibrating in the pocket of your pyjama bottom. As if enough weren't already happening without this interruption- Your hand doesn't hesitate to reach for it. What if it's mom, calling to say that she arrived safely and she wants to wish us all good luck? Unfortunately for you, it's anything of the sort. It isn't your mother calling to say that she's arrived safely.
It's video feed from your familiars, showing a massed army of familiars approaching both the Saints' warehouse base and Tomoe-san's building. In addition, you can see on a third feed the gigantic cloud of dust and smoke billowing over the church that sits above Sidonia's workshop and Walpurgisnacht's Grief Seed. You don't see any rends in the earth, no craters or tell-tale signs of massive damage to the landscape that would have come from explosives of the magnitude Sidonia employs; is it because they were so far underground, or because their purpose was for something other than deterring all of you from making camp there? Before you have time to come to your senses, to make a plan or to direct anyone to action, your mental space is intruded into by the voices of Tomoe-san and Kazumi.
"Akemi-san-! Sidonia's leading an army to attack my building! Saber, Rider, and Caster are doing what they can to hold them off, but we-!"
"Hey, Akemi-! Sidonia's got us completely surrounded. At least, I think it's her. Pink hair, green eyes, dresses in all black, does that sound-?"
Sidonia is in two places at once? But that's impossible, she- You turn your head to Archer, and the realisation dawns on you. "Sidonia is using puppets that look like her to command her forces. We have no idea which one is the real her, or even where she really is at the moment. She could be-"
"Hey Akemi, bad news!" Coming on hot on Oriko's heels is Tohsaka-san. She's got a look of wild mania in her eyes, and her entire body is coiled as if she's ready to spring into action; into battle. "I just felt something breach the Bounded Field I set up around this place-" Another explosion rocks your building. But this time, it's closer, and you can smell smoke pouring in. "We're too late; she's here."
[ ] Wat do?
Thursday, 1 November, 2012
Major objectives:
Defeat Sidonia von Borchk
Survive
- Location
- Around here
All right, moment of truth. As it was in the Walpurgisnacht fight last time, each update in this fight is going to represent one "turn" of battle, so for whatever the vote is make sure to take economy of action into account when commanding all our units. However, unlike last time, we're already being thrust into a battle we didn't anticipate. We're separated, and Sidonia is hitting us from several directions all at once. Our building, Tomoe-san's building, the Saints' base, and the location of Walpurgisnacht's Grief Seed are all targets, and now we have to figure out how to manage all of our assets while working within the constraints of a disjointed battlefield. We've got one turn to batten down the hatches before Sidonia arrives, or we can take that, make a break for it, and try to support one of our other groups of allies instead. Your choice.
I really hope this is engaging for you who remain.
I really hope this is engaging for you who remain.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan: Get Right Into It
-[X] Tell Kazumi to load Mirai and Ramesses on the barque and try to glass the workshop; do everything they can to help her get away. Hopefully Ramesses' lasers should be enough to deal with any aerial familiars.
-[X] Try and locate the Sidonia puppet nearby and throw a caladbolg at her right out of the gate before she gets here. Regardless of if it works or not, run towards Mami and company.
If it weren't urgent, I'd have Archer try and snipe the true Sidonia from this distance, since I'm pretty sure he can do it, but we probably don't have the time for him to stand still and focus for 7 seconds. Not sure if this is viable given the changes to combat, but it's really the best I've got, and I'm still warming up so I'm not at full votemaking power yet.
-[X] Tell Kazumi to load Mirai and Ramesses on the barque and try to glass the workshop; do everything they can to help her get away. Hopefully Ramesses' lasers should be enough to deal with any aerial familiars.
-[X] Try and locate the Sidonia puppet nearby and throw a caladbolg at her right out of the gate before she gets here. Regardless of if it works or not, run towards Mami and company.
If it weren't urgent, I'd have Archer try and snipe the true Sidonia from this distance, since I'm pretty sure he can do it, but we probably don't have the time for him to stand still and focus for 7 seconds. Not sure if this is viable given the changes to combat, but it's really the best I've got, and I'm still warming up so I'm not at full votemaking power yet.
- Location
- Around here
Not a problem. But once you've warmed up all the way, there are a few additional pieces I'd like to ask you about.
Rin, Sakura, and Illya- It looks like your plan has us booking it to the high ground rather than shoring up our defences, so are we going to have them staying here, or are they coming with us?
Mami and co.-
The Saints- I know Kazumi and Kanna are givens, since they're acting as Mirai's power source right now, but are we leaving the rest of them there while Mirai and Ramesses take care of the workshop, or are we expecting for them to get in as well?
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I figure they can probably come. Rin's said to be Olympic-grade when she uses reinforcement and she's had years to practice, Sakura can probably just outright fly at this rate, and Illya has Berserker.
If they can, they probably should. It's a lot safer in the barque, and that small army can probably be taken care of later. If it can outrun Hrunting, it can probably outrun Sidonia's puppet.
- Location
- Around here
"Up in the sky! Look! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's BEST GIRL!"
I'm sorry. I had to. I just had to.
- Location
- Around here
Damnit, why didn't I see it before! It was right there in front of me the entire time!
I didn't have to make the canon pairing Shirou/Rin, with Sakura left alone and jealous on the side! I could have gone Shirou/Sakura, and then Rin/Saber! Damnit! It would have worked out so much better!
I didn't have to make the canon pairing Shirou/Rin, with Sakura left alone and jealous on the side! I could have gone Shirou/Sakura, and then Rin/Saber! Damnit! It would have worked out so much better!
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's actually a really good idea, but then it would beg the question on why we couldn't bring Saber over, and then we'd have to wonder why Sidonia could endure Excalibur if it annihilated Walpurgisnacht last time.
- Location
- Around here
The only submission I can give is, maybe she wouldn't have wanted to make things awkward by intruding into the life of another Shirou and his family. Or maybe she'd prefer being in London in this alternate take on things, since she's interested in learning more about what her kingdom and her people are up to in the modern day. Maybe she made a run for some political office and just couldn't afford to leave. maybe Rin didn't want to risk Sidonia killing her; she didn't bring Archer with her (though that's obviously to avoid narrative confusion) so maybe it would have been the same for Seibah?
- Pronouns
- Mr
You know you're in for some shit when a game has "Survive" as an Objective.
[X] Plan: Get Right Into It
Now you got me wondering what a Sakura/Saber pairing would look like.
- Location
- Around here
Heavy BDSM if we're taking Dark Sakura/Seibah Alter, am unsure about regular Sakura/Seibah.
Day 30 Chapter 2
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan: Get Right Into It
The roar of the earth shaking is what ultimately tears you away from your father and sister. Your entire building shakes; the table clatters, the cupboard doors are thrown open and their contents tossed unceremoniously onto the floor, and the three of you find yourselves falling to the ground in a heap. "What was that?" you shout, springing into action. "Was that an earthquake?"
Then that wasn't an earthquake-! Were those the explosives we found around Sidonia's base?
"Where is she?" you bark, "Does Lancer have eyes on Sidonia?"
"No, I already confirmed it with her."
As if to add insult to injury, in that moment you hear the sound of your phone buzzing, and the feel of it vibrating in the pocket of your pyjama bottom, is what ultimately tears you away from your father and sister. Your hand doesn't hesitate to reach for it. What if it's mom, calling to say that she arrived safely and she wants to wish us all good luck? Unfortunately for you, it's anything of the sort. It isn't your mother calling to say that she's arrived safely.
It's video feed from your familiars, showing a massed army of familiars approaching both the Saints' warehouse base and Tomoe-san's building. In addition, you can see on a third feed the gigantic cloud of smoke billowing over the church that sits above Sidonia's workshop and Walpurgisnacht's Grief Seed. You don't see any rends in the earth, no craters or tell-tale signs of massive damage to the landscape that would have come from explosives of the magnitude Sidonia employs; is it because they were so far underground, or because their purpose was for something other than deterring all of you from making camp there? Before you have time to come to your senses, to make a plan or to direct anyone to action, your mental space is intruded into by the voices of Tomoe-san and Kazumi.
"Akemi-san-! Sidonia's leading an army to attack my building! Saber, Rider, and Caster are doing what they can to hold them off, but-!"
"Hey, Akemi-! Sidonia's got us completely surrounded. At least, I think it's her. Pink hair, green eyes, dresses in all black, does that ring-?"
Sidonia is in two places at once? But that's impossible, she- You turn your head to Archer, and the realisation dawns on you. "Sidonia is using puppets that look like her to command her forces. We have no idea which one is the real her, or even where she really is at the moment. She could be-"
"Hey Akemi, bad news!" Coming on hot on Oriko's heels is Tohsaka-san. She's got a look of wild mania in her eyes, and her entire body is coiled as if she's ready to spring into action; into battle. "I just felt something breach the Bounded Field I set up around this place-" Another explosion rocks your building. But this time, it's closer, and you can smell smoke pouring in. "We're too late; she's here."
"How far out is the Bounded Field you set up?" Archer barks. "I need to know how much time we've got before Sidonia arrives!"
Another explosion rocks you; this time, it's closer. "Just around the nearest couple of blocks," Tohsaka-san replies. "We've got maybe a minute, two if we're lucky and breaking through them costs Sidonia enough time. But we should get ready to fight while we still can." Tohsaka-san turns to Oriko and Kirika, and barks at them "You two-! Have your servants front and center and prepare to intercept whatever the hell Sidonia throws at us! Akemi, if you're not going to have Archer deploy his Noble Phantasm right off the bat, get him the hell out of here and taking up a sniping position!"
Oriko and Kirika are both frozen, and they look to you to either confirm or refute Tohsaka-san's orders. You need time, time that you don't have. Do you stay here and fight, when you're completely unprepared for an engagement inside your own home that will likely destroy it, or do you take whatever chance you still have and head to safer and more advantageous terrain in order to get a better view of the battle?
If you have everyone abandon the building, then you're all but handing Twardowski's Mirror back to Sidonia.
If you stay here, the ensuing battle could very well destroy your home.
"We're moving out!"
Tohsaka-san looks at you as if you're crazy- "Are you crazy, Akemi?" she barks. "If we leave now, we're as good as-"
"I know!" It's all you can say to counter what you know Tohsaka-san was about to say. But you keep going. "We're not prepared to fight a lengthy battle in here, and Tomoe-san needs help breaking the siege Sidonia's forces have put her under. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best we can do right now." Before Tohsaka-san has a chance to counter you, you continue, saying "Have Matou Sakura grab Twardowski's Mirror, and take it with her if she can. If not…" If not, you don't want to think about what Matou Sakura has told you coming to pass.
You look to Oriko and Kirika, and tell them "Have Lancer go ahead of us. We'll need her to beat Sigurd, so we can't afford to have her sitting around here and potentially dying. Kirika, have Berserker hold the line until we're able to get away."
Oriko nods her head, while Kirika gives you a mock salute, saying "Got it, sis."
"Archer, you make a break for it with Lancer," you say. "Get into position and see if you can identify where the puppet that's controlling the force attacking us. Hit it with whatever you've got the time and the opportunity to. Maybe that'll stop her in her tracks and make her reconsider picking our house to attack."
Archer can't hold back his smirk, and he nods his head in Oriko's direction, beckoning for her to get Lancer ready for the breakout. "I've been wanting to hit that little bitch for a long time," he says. "If I can ID her, all I need is seven seconds. Can you buy me that time?"
Another explosion, even closer now than the last. "We'll do what we can," you say. You gesture to Oriko and Kirika, and the three of you share knowing nods of your heads, before you move on to Tomoe-san. "Tell Matou Sakura and Aunt Illya that it's time to move out."
"What about the others?" Kirika asks. "Like Tomoe and them, or the Saints?"
You're getting to them. You just need another few seconds. Another explosion; this one feels like it's almost right on top of your head. You just need another few seconds that you don't have right now. "We get ourselves to safety first," you say to Kirika. "Tomoe-san, we're on our way. Just hold out until we're able to break free and get to safety."
Getting to safety, however, will very much include having to break free from the host of familiars that now have the next several blocks surrounded. Also surrounding you, you see rivers of smoke making their way towards the morning sky. Another explosion goes off, somewhere to your southwest, and another river of smoke reaches skyward, joining with the others as they form a cloud of grey overcast. "On second thought, getting out of here might be a bit more coplicated…"
"Do you require some assistance, Akemi-san? I am regrettably not in a position to provide any, but…"
"It's fine. We'll figure something out." By "Figure something out" you of course mean, "Kazumi, tell Wakaba Mirai to load up Ramesses' flying boat, and glass Sidonia's workshop. If we're lucky, we can punch through whatever the heck is going on down there, and maybe that'll give us the firepower we need to reinforce Tomoe-san."
"Got it."
"Going up?" you hear Archer ask, moments before he grabs you and Kirika, one under each arm, and bounds his way up the side of your building. "Lancer! Grab your master and let's get out of here!" Archer calls out, making haste as he bounds over the rooftops of buildings heading in an easterly direction.
Without saying a word, lancer appears at Oriko's side. Accompanied by a surprised "O~oh!" from Oriko, Lancer scoops her master up and carries her under her left arm, while she readies her massive spear in her right. "Careful, Lancer, be sure not to drop me," Oriko says, knowing full well that her servant would never do such a thing.
A terse "Of course, master," is all the response Oriko gets, before Lancer turns her head towards Archer and asks him "What of the others?"
Lancer's question is answered for her, as a massive grey shape shoots up the side of the building and joins you. Accompanying it is a bestial, inhuman scream of pure fury, as well as the debris from several adjacent buildings and from the street which were thrown up during the massive shape's ascent. Riding on each shoulder of the massive grey shape, you see Aunt Illya and Matou Sakura; and shortly behind them, you see a red blur, as Tohsaka-san vaults herself up the sides of several buildings to join you on the rooftop, as though she were a videogame character of some kind performing a wall jump.
Down below, as Archer bounds across rooftops with you and Kirika in tow, you can see Berserker and Medusa terrorising the host of smaller familiars; the wolves, mainly, but also some of the vampires that aren't yet targeting you, thankfully. All that changes, however, when something in the air spots you. "Up we go!" you hear Archer shout, as he tosses you and Kirika as though you were objects and he a juggler, and you hear a familiar cry of "Rho Aias!" as a scream followed by a bolt of crimson slams into Archer's shield.
"Hit it, sis!" Kirika calls out.
You're only airborne for a few moments at best, but that's enough. You bring up your bow, and blast the familiar as it swoops in with a volley of ice arrows, freezing it solid. You call out to Kirika, "Now!" and she responds in kind, flinging her claws towards the frozen familiar and tearing it into pieces. The two of you land on the rooftop, though Kirika lands with far more grace and flair than you could ever manage, and the two of you take up positions, back-to-back, as you survey the incoming aerial familiars.
"Allow us," Aunt Illya says, as she and Matou Sakura step down from the towering grey giant's shoulders. She runs her fingers through her hair, and sets loose her own familiars. Beside her, Matou Sakura flicks her fingers, and at each of their tips a pale blue-white sphere forms, solidifying and becoming icicles.
"Go!" Aunt Illya cries out, as her bird familiars dive towards their aerial counterparts. The flying vampire familiars unleash their sonic screams, but Aunt Illya's birds turn their wire-frame bodies inside-out, missing the lasers completely and letting them be deflected as Matou Sakura slings bolts of mana from her fingertips like a living machine gun. The vampire familiars try to dodge, but Aunt Illya's familiars are faster, and as soon as they have the vampires in range, they change shape into swords and skewer them through at instant speed.
Something tells you that she was going easy on you when you and she "fought" earlier in the day.
But that isn't all. The surface-to-air bombardment being laid out by Aunt Illya and Matou Sakura is joined by Oriko, as she sends a swarm of drones to back them up, and by Tohsaka-san who, in similar fashion to her sister, unleashes bullets of mana from her fingertips. Tohsaka-san also tosses the occasional gemstone into the aerial hordes, taking aim at that and causing it to burst in a shower of glitter, to a variety of magical effects which all sufficiently tear up whatever unfortunate familiars happen to be caught in the blast radius.
"Archer, now!" you call out. With your allies buying him the time he needs, you give Archer his orders. "Find a good sniping spot and see if you can land a hit on Sidonia!" Wherever she is. Assuming it's even the real Sidonia that's commanding this force.
And assuming his attack can actually kill her.
You're making a lot of assumption about whatever can go right with this plan, but right now you don't really have the time to second-guess yourself. Archer nods his head, giving you a silent confirmation of your orders before dashing off. Archer moves with a speed you've seldom seen him use before, as he leaps from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally letting loose a blast of some volatile projectile weapon or another as one of Sidonia's airborne familiars tries to intercept him. Archer cuts them down with ease, and continues on-
Your chest tightens, and your hand instinctively clutches at your chest. It's not a heart attack, so what is it-? "Shit…" Beside you, you hear Kirika's voice; she's in pain, and you see her clutching her chest as well. Oriko isn't fairing much better, but she's at least still on her feet, though you can see written on her face that it's with great difficulty.
"Ah!" Aunt Illya cries out as she sees the condition you and Kirika are in. "What's wrong?"
Your eyes quickly scan the city skyline for the source of the burning pain in your chest, but under the dark cloud of smoke that has settled over the next couple of blocks, it's hard to pick out one specific black shape among many. Fortunately- "There!" You don't have to. You see Tohsaka-san, pointing towards the shapes of several massive Nachtkrapp. "It's those stupid birds!" she calls out to Aunt Illya. "They've got some freaky properties that make them super-deadly to Akemi and her friends!"
"Got it."
Aunt Illya snaps her fingers, and the massive grey giant springs into action. The mighty Heracles tears a chunk from the edge of the roof, and hurls it at the Nachtkrapp. They dodge, handily, but you can see from the movement of Aunt Illya's fingers that doesn't matter. Heracles springs into action again, this time literally, catching one and dragging it down onto the roof where he-
You can't call it a beatdown. That would imply that he left something behind in the wake of his fists. He does not. Neither does Aunt Illya. She moves her fingers like the conductor of an orchestra, and her own birds dive and spear into the Nachtkrapp with prejudice so extreme that calling it "extreme prejudice" does her familiars no favours. You see something, some deep-seated malice flash over Aunt Illya's eyes, before it passes and she turns to you, extending a hand to you and Kirika. "Don't worry," she says. "I won't let those things hurt you."
She was absolutely holding back on you when you fought earlier in the day.
Kirika slips out from behind a barrier thrown up by Oriko, slashing out with her claws as another vampire gets too close. A cry of "Akemi-san! Tohsaka-san!" from Oriko grabs your attention, and she directs you towards the incoming cloud of black. That's no cloud… Quickly, you raise up your bow, and loose several arrows of ice. Tohsaka-san flicks her wrist in the direction of the swarm, sending her gemstones flying in tandem right alongside your arrows. Both meet their target in unison; your arrows explode in a brilliant blossom of blue-white, while Tohsaka-san's gemstones burst in glittering reds, tearing the swarm to pieces and causing the remainder to scramble, taking paths left and right of where you are.
Two explosions cause the building you're standing on to rock; one off in the distance, to your east; the other much closer, to the south, but only just barely. You can't see much from this distance, so it's up to Archer to relay the news to you. "Target eliminated," he says. "It doesn't look like her forces are dispersing any, but thankfully Rider and Berserker are doing what they can to keep them from entering the building."
That's good to hear. You look towards Matou Sakura; she's currently blasting at airborne familiars alongside her sister and your aunt. You don't see on her any way she could be carrying Twardowski's Mirror. "Let's hope they're able to hold off the rest of Sidonia's forces. I don't want to think about what could happen if one of her smarter familiars were able to get in and get their hand son that book."
You crane your head towards the sky, scanning for more incoming aerial familiars. Instead, what you see is the mighty flying battleship of Ramesses II, bombarding the workshop of Sidonia with its solar laser beams. Each beam kicks up a massive explosion as it makes contact with the church and the ground around it, and if they're big enough to cause the earth to shake where you re, you can't imagine how bad it must be for the environment at ground zero.
As if it could be worse than what Sidonia is doing.
[ ] Wat do?
The roar of the earth shaking is what ultimately tears you away from your father and sister. Your entire building shakes; the table clatters, the cupboard doors are thrown open and their contents tossed unceremoniously onto the floor, and the three of you find yourselves falling to the ground in a heap. "What was that?" you shout, springing into action. "Was that an earthquake?"
Then that wasn't an earthquake-! Were those the explosives we found around Sidonia's base?
"Where is she?" you bark, "Does Lancer have eyes on Sidonia?"
"No, I already confirmed it with her."
As if to add insult to injury, in that moment you hear the sound of your phone buzzing, and the feel of it vibrating in the pocket of your pyjama bottom, is what ultimately tears you away from your father and sister. Your hand doesn't hesitate to reach for it. What if it's mom, calling to say that she arrived safely and she wants to wish us all good luck? Unfortunately for you, it's anything of the sort. It isn't your mother calling to say that she's arrived safely.
It's video feed from your familiars, showing a massed army of familiars approaching both the Saints' warehouse base and Tomoe-san's building. In addition, you can see on a third feed the gigantic cloud of smoke billowing over the church that sits above Sidonia's workshop and Walpurgisnacht's Grief Seed. You don't see any rends in the earth, no craters or tell-tale signs of massive damage to the landscape that would have come from explosives of the magnitude Sidonia employs; is it because they were so far underground, or because their purpose was for something other than deterring all of you from making camp there? Before you have time to come to your senses, to make a plan or to direct anyone to action, your mental space is intruded into by the voices of Tomoe-san and Kazumi.
"Akemi-san-! Sidonia's leading an army to attack my building! Saber, Rider, and Caster are doing what they can to hold them off, but-!"
"Hey, Akemi-! Sidonia's got us completely surrounded. At least, I think it's her. Pink hair, green eyes, dresses in all black, does that ring-?"
Sidonia is in two places at once? But that's impossible, she- You turn your head to Archer, and the realisation dawns on you. "Sidonia is using puppets that look like her to command her forces. We have no idea which one is the real her, or even where she really is at the moment. She could be-"
"Hey Akemi, bad news!" Coming on hot on Oriko's heels is Tohsaka-san. She's got a look of wild mania in her eyes, and her entire body is coiled as if she's ready to spring into action; into battle. "I just felt something breach the Bounded Field I set up around this place-" Another explosion rocks your building. But this time, it's closer, and you can smell smoke pouring in. "We're too late; she's here."
"How far out is the Bounded Field you set up?" Archer barks. "I need to know how much time we've got before Sidonia arrives!"
Another explosion rocks you; this time, it's closer. "Just around the nearest couple of blocks," Tohsaka-san replies. "We've got maybe a minute, two if we're lucky and breaking through them costs Sidonia enough time. But we should get ready to fight while we still can." Tohsaka-san turns to Oriko and Kirika, and barks at them "You two-! Have your servants front and center and prepare to intercept whatever the hell Sidonia throws at us! Akemi, if you're not going to have Archer deploy his Noble Phantasm right off the bat, get him the hell out of here and taking up a sniping position!"
Oriko and Kirika are both frozen, and they look to you to either confirm or refute Tohsaka-san's orders. You need time, time that you don't have. Do you stay here and fight, when you're completely unprepared for an engagement inside your own home that will likely destroy it, or do you take whatever chance you still have and head to safer and more advantageous terrain in order to get a better view of the battle?
If you have everyone abandon the building, then you're all but handing Twardowski's Mirror back to Sidonia.
If you stay here, the ensuing battle could very well destroy your home.
"We're moving out!"
Tohsaka-san looks at you as if you're crazy- "Are you crazy, Akemi?" she barks. "If we leave now, we're as good as-"
"I know!" It's all you can say to counter what you know Tohsaka-san was about to say. But you keep going. "We're not prepared to fight a lengthy battle in here, and Tomoe-san needs help breaking the siege Sidonia's forces have put her under. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best we can do right now." Before Tohsaka-san has a chance to counter you, you continue, saying "Have Matou Sakura grab Twardowski's Mirror, and take it with her if she can. If not…" If not, you don't want to think about what Matou Sakura has told you coming to pass.
You look to Oriko and Kirika, and tell them "Have Lancer go ahead of us. We'll need her to beat Sigurd, so we can't afford to have her sitting around here and potentially dying. Kirika, have Berserker hold the line until we're able to get away."
Oriko nods her head, while Kirika gives you a mock salute, saying "Got it, sis."
"Archer, you make a break for it with Lancer," you say. "Get into position and see if you can identify where the puppet that's controlling the force attacking us. Hit it with whatever you've got the time and the opportunity to. Maybe that'll stop her in her tracks and make her reconsider picking our house to attack."
Archer can't hold back his smirk, and he nods his head in Oriko's direction, beckoning for her to get Lancer ready for the breakout. "I've been wanting to hit that little bitch for a long time," he says. "If I can ID her, all I need is seven seconds. Can you buy me that time?"
Another explosion, even closer now than the last. "We'll do what we can," you say. You gesture to Oriko and Kirika, and the three of you share knowing nods of your heads, before you move on to Tomoe-san. "Tell Matou Sakura and Aunt Illya that it's time to move out."
"What about the others?" Kirika asks. "Like Tomoe and them, or the Saints?"
You're getting to them. You just need another few seconds. Another explosion; this one feels like it's almost right on top of your head. You just need another few seconds that you don't have right now. "We get ourselves to safety first," you say to Kirika. "Tomoe-san, we're on our way. Just hold out until we're able to break free and get to safety."
Getting to safety, however, will very much include having to break free from the host of familiars that now have the next several blocks surrounded. Also surrounding you, you see rivers of smoke making their way towards the morning sky. Another explosion goes off, somewhere to your southwest, and another river of smoke reaches skyward, joining with the others as they form a cloud of grey overcast. "On second thought, getting out of here might be a bit more coplicated…"
"Do you require some assistance, Akemi-san? I am regrettably not in a position to provide any, but…"
"It's fine. We'll figure something out." By "Figure something out" you of course mean, "Kazumi, tell Wakaba Mirai to load up Ramesses' flying boat, and glass Sidonia's workshop. If we're lucky, we can punch through whatever the heck is going on down there, and maybe that'll give us the firepower we need to reinforce Tomoe-san."
"Got it."
"Going up?" you hear Archer ask, moments before he grabs you and Kirika, one under each arm, and bounds his way up the side of your building. "Lancer! Grab your master and let's get out of here!" Archer calls out, making haste as he bounds over the rooftops of buildings heading in an easterly direction.
Without saying a word, lancer appears at Oriko's side. Accompanied by a surprised "O~oh!" from Oriko, Lancer scoops her master up and carries her under her left arm, while she readies her massive spear in her right. "Careful, Lancer, be sure not to drop me," Oriko says, knowing full well that her servant would never do such a thing.
A terse "Of course, master," is all the response Oriko gets, before Lancer turns her head towards Archer and asks him "What of the others?"
Lancer's question is answered for her, as a massive grey shape shoots up the side of the building and joins you. Accompanying it is a bestial, inhuman scream of pure fury, as well as the debris from several adjacent buildings and from the street which were thrown up during the massive shape's ascent. Riding on each shoulder of the massive grey shape, you see Aunt Illya and Matou Sakura; and shortly behind them, you see a red blur, as Tohsaka-san vaults herself up the sides of several buildings to join you on the rooftop, as though she were a videogame character of some kind performing a wall jump.
Down below, as Archer bounds across rooftops with you and Kirika in tow, you can see Berserker and Medusa terrorising the host of smaller familiars; the wolves, mainly, but also some of the vampires that aren't yet targeting you, thankfully. All that changes, however, when something in the air spots you. "Up we go!" you hear Archer shout, as he tosses you and Kirika as though you were objects and he a juggler, and you hear a familiar cry of "Rho Aias!" as a scream followed by a bolt of crimson slams into Archer's shield.
"Hit it, sis!" Kirika calls out.
You're only airborne for a few moments at best, but that's enough. You bring up your bow, and blast the familiar as it swoops in with a volley of ice arrows, freezing it solid. You call out to Kirika, "Now!" and she responds in kind, flinging her claws towards the frozen familiar and tearing it into pieces. The two of you land on the rooftop, though Kirika lands with far more grace and flair than you could ever manage, and the two of you take up positions, back-to-back, as you survey the incoming aerial familiars.
"Allow us," Aunt Illya says, as she and Matou Sakura step down from the towering grey giant's shoulders. She runs her fingers through her hair, and sets loose her own familiars. Beside her, Matou Sakura flicks her fingers, and at each of their tips a pale blue-white sphere forms, solidifying and becoming icicles.
"Go!" Aunt Illya cries out, as her bird familiars dive towards their aerial counterparts. The flying vampire familiars unleash their sonic screams, but Aunt Illya's birds turn their wire-frame bodies inside-out, missing the lasers completely and letting them be deflected as Matou Sakura slings bolts of mana from her fingertips like a living machine gun. The vampire familiars try to dodge, but Aunt Illya's familiars are faster, and as soon as they have the vampires in range, they change shape into swords and skewer them through at instant speed.
Something tells you that she was going easy on you when you and she "fought" earlier in the day.
But that isn't all. The surface-to-air bombardment being laid out by Aunt Illya and Matou Sakura is joined by Oriko, as she sends a swarm of drones to back them up, and by Tohsaka-san who, in similar fashion to her sister, unleashes bullets of mana from her fingertips. Tohsaka-san also tosses the occasional gemstone into the aerial hordes, taking aim at that and causing it to burst in a shower of glitter, to a variety of magical effects which all sufficiently tear up whatever unfortunate familiars happen to be caught in the blast radius.
"Archer, now!" you call out. With your allies buying him the time he needs, you give Archer his orders. "Find a good sniping spot and see if you can land a hit on Sidonia!" Wherever she is. Assuming it's even the real Sidonia that's commanding this force.
And assuming his attack can actually kill her.
You're making a lot of assumption about whatever can go right with this plan, but right now you don't really have the time to second-guess yourself. Archer nods his head, giving you a silent confirmation of your orders before dashing off. Archer moves with a speed you've seldom seen him use before, as he leaps from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally letting loose a blast of some volatile projectile weapon or another as one of Sidonia's airborne familiars tries to intercept him. Archer cuts them down with ease, and continues on-
Your chest tightens, and your hand instinctively clutches at your chest. It's not a heart attack, so what is it-? "Shit…" Beside you, you hear Kirika's voice; she's in pain, and you see her clutching her chest as well. Oriko isn't fairing much better, but she's at least still on her feet, though you can see written on her face that it's with great difficulty.
"Ah!" Aunt Illya cries out as she sees the condition you and Kirika are in. "What's wrong?"
Your eyes quickly scan the city skyline for the source of the burning pain in your chest, but under the dark cloud of smoke that has settled over the next couple of blocks, it's hard to pick out one specific black shape among many. Fortunately- "There!" You don't have to. You see Tohsaka-san, pointing towards the shapes of several massive Nachtkrapp. "It's those stupid birds!" she calls out to Aunt Illya. "They've got some freaky properties that make them super-deadly to Akemi and her friends!"
"Got it."
Aunt Illya snaps her fingers, and the massive grey giant springs into action. The mighty Heracles tears a chunk from the edge of the roof, and hurls it at the Nachtkrapp. They dodge, handily, but you can see from the movement of Aunt Illya's fingers that doesn't matter. Heracles springs into action again, this time literally, catching one and dragging it down onto the roof where he-
You can't call it a beatdown. That would imply that he left something behind in the wake of his fists. He does not. Neither does Aunt Illya. She moves her fingers like the conductor of an orchestra, and her own birds dive and spear into the Nachtkrapp with prejudice so extreme that calling it "extreme prejudice" does her familiars no favours. You see something, some deep-seated malice flash over Aunt Illya's eyes, before it passes and she turns to you, extending a hand to you and Kirika. "Don't worry," she says. "I won't let those things hurt you."
She was absolutely holding back on you when you fought earlier in the day.
Kirika slips out from behind a barrier thrown up by Oriko, slashing out with her claws as another vampire gets too close. A cry of "Akemi-san! Tohsaka-san!" from Oriko grabs your attention, and she directs you towards the incoming cloud of black. That's no cloud… Quickly, you raise up your bow, and loose several arrows of ice. Tohsaka-san flicks her wrist in the direction of the swarm, sending her gemstones flying in tandem right alongside your arrows. Both meet their target in unison; your arrows explode in a brilliant blossom of blue-white, while Tohsaka-san's gemstones burst in glittering reds, tearing the swarm to pieces and causing the remainder to scramble, taking paths left and right of where you are.
Two explosions cause the building you're standing on to rock; one off in the distance, to your east; the other much closer, to the south, but only just barely. You can't see much from this distance, so it's up to Archer to relay the news to you. "Target eliminated," he says. "It doesn't look like her forces are dispersing any, but thankfully Rider and Berserker are doing what they can to keep them from entering the building."
That's good to hear. You look towards Matou Sakura; she's currently blasting at airborne familiars alongside her sister and your aunt. You don't see on her any way she could be carrying Twardowski's Mirror. "Let's hope they're able to hold off the rest of Sidonia's forces. I don't want to think about what could happen if one of her smarter familiars were able to get in and get their hand son that book."
You crane your head towards the sky, scanning for more incoming aerial familiars. Instead, what you see is the mighty flying battleship of Ramesses II, bombarding the workshop of Sidonia with its solar laser beams. Each beam kicks up a massive explosion as it makes contact with the church and the ground around it, and if they're big enough to cause the earth to shake where you re, you can't imagine how bad it must be for the environment at ground zero.
As if it could be worse than what Sidonia is doing.
[ ] Wat do?
- Location
- Around here
I realise this is a fairly long one, and I apologise for that, because this should have been pretty short in comparison. I guess my time compression is a bit off compared to the last time we've had to fight like this. Hopefully I managed to tackle what was asked of me. We're moving out towards Mami's place, and we've got Ramesses blasting Sidonia's workshop from above. Archer's managed to blast Sidonia, Berserker and Medusa are holding the line and keeping Sidonia's forces from breaking in, and hopefully I've shown off enough of why you don't fuck with Fuyuki mages.
I know I left this at kind of a boring place to leave off, but do remember that there's still several other battles going on at the same time. We shouldn't be stingy with how we move our forces. Heck, I wouldn't even mind if we wanted to include votes for how to move Mami's team or Kazumi's team as well, or even devote an update or two solely towards moving their forces, since whatever their two teams are up to is just as important as what Homura's team is up to.
I know I left this at kind of a boring place to leave off, but do remember that there's still several other battles going on at the same time. We shouldn't be stingy with how we move our forces. Heck, I wouldn't even mind if we wanted to include votes for how to move Mami's team or Kazumi's team as well, or even devote an update or two solely towards moving their forces, since whatever their two teams are up to is just as important as what Homura's team is up to.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan: Get The Damn Book And Go
-[X] Homura:
--[X] Have Sakura tell you where she left Twardowski's Mirror and have Kirika do everything she can to get it and come back to you with it.
--[X] If your team begins to get too overwhelmed, give the go-ahead for Archer to use a Noble Phantasm to eliminate the bulk of the group going after you.
--[X] Send all familiars you have control over to the teams they are closest to for support.
-[X] Mami:
--[X] Tell her that you're on your way. If need be, they can afford to be free with their mana; give the go-ahead on using expensive Noble Phantasms or maneuvers if necessary, such as Rider's chariot or a fully-powered Moralltach, since you will be available to recharge them soon.
-[X] Kazumi:
--[X] If she thinks she can manage it, try to converge your collective groups into the industrial district.
-[X] Caren:
--[X] Have her and Assassin move out towards the Tomoe residence.
There are way too many actors, I have no map or anything of the sorts to help me figure out who's where, and my poor memory's acting up when I try to remember the course of events. Nevertheless, I'm trying; I am now going to use my own 'figuring things out system' for this. Counter to that though, the combat writing's gotten a lot better; I suppose a mobile battle with multiple factors lends itself better to writing battles than a skirmish with limited factors.
I've also come to the funny conclusion that Homura is playing a game of Brutal Legend.
Mami, Kyouko, Hitomi, & relevant servants - Tomoe residence
Homura, Kirika, Oriko, Rin, Illya, & relevant servants - Between Akemi Residence and Tomoe Residence - probably around 'route to school' on the map
Saints (minus Mirai & Kazumi) & relevant servants - Industrial Building, or thereabouts
Mirai, Kazumi, Hijiri, & relevant servants - Sidonia's workshop (unsure of general location)
Recent changes: Akemi Residence group moving to Tomoe Residence, aerial familiars taken out (for now)
-[X] Homura:
--[X] Have Sakura tell you where she left Twardowski's Mirror and have Kirika do everything she can to get it and come back to you with it.
--[X] If your team begins to get too overwhelmed, give the go-ahead for Archer to use a Noble Phantasm to eliminate the bulk of the group going after you.
--[X] Send all familiars you have control over to the teams they are closest to for support.
-[X] Mami:
--[X] Tell her that you're on your way. If need be, they can afford to be free with their mana; give the go-ahead on using expensive Noble Phantasms or maneuvers if necessary, such as Rider's chariot or a fully-powered Moralltach, since you will be available to recharge them soon.
-[X] Kazumi:
--[X] If she thinks she can manage it, try to converge your collective groups into the industrial district.
-[X] Caren:
--[X] Have her and Assassin move out towards the Tomoe residence.
There are way too many actors, I have no map or anything of the sorts to help me figure out who's where, and my poor memory's acting up when I try to remember the course of events. Nevertheless, I'm trying; I am now going to use my own 'figuring things out system' for this. Counter to that though, the combat writing's gotten a lot better; I suppose a mobile battle with multiple factors lends itself better to writing battles than a skirmish with limited factors.
I've also come to the funny conclusion that Homura is playing a game of Brutal Legend.
Mami, Kyouko, Hitomi, & relevant servants - Tomoe residence
Homura, Kirika, Oriko, Rin, Illya, & relevant servants - Between Akemi Residence and Tomoe Residence - probably around 'route to school' on the map
Saints (minus Mirai & Kazumi) & relevant servants - Industrial Building, or thereabouts
Mirai, Kazumi, Hijiri, & relevant servants - Sidonia's workshop (unsure of general location)
Recent changes: Akemi Residence group moving to Tomoe Residence, aerial familiars taken out (for now)
Last edited:
- Location
- Around here
I'm working on a map of my own right now, but if you need a more detailed breakdown of things, allow me to:
- Homura residence: Homura, Archer, Oriko, Lancer, Kirika, Berserker, Rin, Sakura, Medusa, Illya, Heracles
-- Homura, Oriko, Lancer Kirika, Rin, Sakura, Illya, Heracles are moving east towards Mami residence
-- Archer moving into better sniping position
-- Berserker and Medusa staying behind to guard Homura residence + Twardowski's mirror
- Mami residence: Mami, Caster, Kyouko, Rider, Hitomi, Saber
-- All are under siege and cannot move
- Saints base: All Saints (minus Kazumi and Mirai), all Saints servants (minus Ramesses)
- Sidonia workshop: Kazumi, Mirai, Hijiri Kanna, Ramesses (all in Ramesses' solar barque)
- The school: Caren, Assassin (have yet to be moved to more advantageous position, presumed awaiting orders)
- Homura residence: Homura, Archer, Oriko, Lancer, Kirika, Berserker, Rin, Sakura, Medusa, Illya, Heracles
-- Homura, Oriko, Lancer Kirika, Rin, Sakura, Illya, Heracles are moving east towards Mami residence
-- Archer moving into better sniping position
-- Berserker and Medusa staying behind to guard Homura residence + Twardowski's mirror
- Mami residence: Mami, Caster, Kyouko, Rider, Hitomi, Saber
-- All are under siege and cannot move
- Saints base: All Saints (minus Kazumi and Mirai), all Saints servants (minus Ramesses)
- Sidonia workshop: Kazumi, Mirai, Hijiri Kanna, Ramesses (all in Ramesses' solar barque)
- The school: Caren, Assassin (have yet to be moved to more advantageous position, presumed awaiting orders)
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh shit, I forgot about them. Given the location of the school, I've added a line that calls them to move towards the Tomoe residence.
- Location
- Around here
Also to that, sorry for not making everyone's positions clearer. You're right, there are a lot of moving parts, and writing this much isn't exactly a "snap my fingers and out comes an update" so I wasn't thinking about how hard it would be to juggle so many other actors without good visual indications of where everyone is in a given round of combat.
I might start including maps with updates, if I can manage the extra time and energy to throw them together. But they'll probably be cramped, since the map we have is small in terms of pixel size, and there's a lot of moving parts with several characters who have overlapping image colours. Kirika and Kazumi, for example. There's not enough room on the map to write everyone's names out, so on the map I'm currently working on, they're both being represented by a black dot. That's fine when they're in different theaters, but if they're ever in the same zone it'll be difficult to make them stand out from one another.
- Location
- Around here
Hey, @PlaguePaladin, do you think you could clear something up for me?
The Saints' warehouse is already in the industrial district, so they're covered, but aside from them, what is this accomplishing? By that I mean, if we're direction both our group as well as Caren and Assassin towards Mami's building, and then there's Kazumi, Mirai, Kanna, and Ramesses bombarding Sidonia's workshop, how is this even going to be possible? And if it is, what would this accomplish?