Fate/Over Soul - PC Team vs. GM Team War

[Wade Garrett]

A bony hand was immediately placed upon his shoulder, firm grip keeping the man in place. Koschei gave a scowl to the Italian.

"While I'm sure this is not pleasant for him, Daniel and I went to a great amount of trouble to make sure he and his friends did not kill an innocent woman. It would be a terrible waste to throw away our only lead. Assuming he is truly innocent, of course. It would not be the first time someone used this sort of ruse in my presence..." Caster decided to leave out that he was the one who claimed to be a harmless old man being manipulated. "We will be taking him with us and questioning him. It'd be worth ruining his evening if there's a chance of learning something else."

Click to shrink...

"Ah. One of the sacrificers, not the sacrifice..."

Erina's brow furrowed as she adjusted to the new information. It certainly explained why he'd been locked in the trunk, she'd assumed it was because the foul mouthed American had the same regard for innocent bystanders as every Clock Tower Magus she'd ever had dealings with (and she'd fully intended to have words with him about that) but if Caster was telling the truth...

@Wade Garrett @Insufficient Dakka @BlackHadou

"He WHAT?"

Taiga tumbled out of the back of Dan's car in a table of too big jeans and flannel. She'd rolled the cuffs on the pants up, along with the sleeves and her short hair practically bristled with anger.

"Of all the...Why here? Why did all you crazy people have to pick here for your stupid, reckless, inconsiderate magic war!?"

She stomped up to Caster and poked him very hard in the chest. "I am sorry Assassin killed you, but if this guy was trying to sacrifice people you're not going to 'question him' later."

The teacher glared at the Italian and opened her mouth, then remembered he was Italian and snapped it shut in to a stormy frown.

"Okay, you are going to do that because I don't understand a word he says, but that's priority number one! None of your mage hijinks, no soda, no nothing! Do I make myself clear?"

Click to shrink...

And then the vampire decided to interject its opinions into the discussion.

"Miss Fujimara. Ladies do not have conversations by bawling at one another like cattle drovers. Get ahold of yourself."

Yes, she'd raised her voice when her erstwhile colleague's true nature had been revealed, but her momentary lapse aside, there were STANDARDS of proper behavior to be upheld.

"To answer your rather impolitely phrased inquiry, neither I, your American 'acquaintance'," she put an emphasis on the word, a subtle intonation with a certain meaning that said acquaintance would have needed paragraphs of scatological invective to get across, "nor this Guinevere Minnett chose to hold the ritual here. I will be happy to provide further details, should you request them in a civilized manner, but at the moment..."

@The Out Of World
Erina turned back towards the addled Italian, drawing herself up with the full force of centuries of aristocratic ancestors and decades of molding impressionable young minds supporting her.

"You, young man, have a great deal of explaining to do." she told him in his native tongue. "Now, what's all this about human sacrifice, then?"

 

[LupineVolt]

@Wade Garrett

Rider stepped beside her Master, flanking the older woman with her arms crossed. A lot had happened the past few minutes, which was the definition of a dramatic understatement if she'd ever heard one. For her part, she'd moved to keep her Master safe, even as the revelations about the vampire and the Caster and everything else came into light. But she had kept herself from speaking, mostly out of sheer force of will. As much as she wanted to kick up a fuss, for now these were their allies and she would need to exercise some restraint.

For now.

@Mina @Insufficient Dakka @BlackHadou

The Vietnamese woman turned away from the trunk of the car, arms crossed, surveying the others. The vampire, the knight, the freak of nature, the American...she tried to make it as clear as she could from her posture that anyone who attempted to interfere without Erina's express permission would be dealing with her.

<Lemme know if you need someone to lay some pressure on him. I believe the term they use now is "Good cop, Bad cop"?> She whispered through her mental connection, the corner of her mouth twitching. Not at the prospect of violence, no. But at the thought of trying something new and exciting. Even with all the insanity surrounding them, this world was full of new things to experience, and she'd take every advantage she could of that.

 

[Wade Garrett]

<Lemme know if you need someone to lay some pressure on him. I believe the term they use now is "Good cop, Bad cop"?> She whispered through her mental connection, the corner of her mouth twitching. Not at the prospect of violence, no. But at the thought of trying something new and exciting. Even with all the insanity surrounding them, this world was full of new things to experience, and she'd take every advantage she could of that.

Click to shrink...

<Let me, Rider. 'Let me know'. Two words, not one. And that arrangement suits me perfectly, I'll offer him a scone and some tea, then you take his scone away and slam his hand in a desk drawer.

Unless of course he has a very convincing explanation for all of this.>

 

[LupineVolt]

<Let me, Rider. 'Let me know'. Two words, not one. And that arrangement suits me perfectly, I'll offer him a scone and some tea, then you take his scone away and slam his hand in a desk drawer.

Unless of course he has a very convincing explanation for all of this.>

Click to shrink...

<All means the same thing in the end. Who cares how yah say it if everyone understands what you mean?> Rider turned and looked down at the man in the trunk. She slowly began to work her knuckles, joints cracking one after another.

@The Out Of World
"Believe my Master asked you a question." She leaned down and grabbed the man's shoulder with one hand, her grip a vice. "My Master's a busy woman. I don't wanna see her waste her time talking to some freak." Her thumb slowly made little circles on his collarbone. "That'd be awfully boring wouldn't it? I hate boring things." She smiled, showing her pearly white teeth.

 

[Wade Garrett]

<All means the same thing in the end. Who cares how yah say it if everyone understands what you mean?> Rider turned and looked down at the man in the trunk. She slowly began to work her knuckles, joints cracking one after another.

Click to shrink...

<Pronunciation is important, Rider. A single misplaced syllable can completely alter the meaning of a remark. Consider the difference between looking at someone sternLY..and looking at their stern.>

@The Out Of World
"Believe my Master asked you a question." She leaned down and grabbed the man's shoulder with one hand, her grip a vice. "My Master's a busy woman. I don't wanna see her waste her time talking to some freak." Her thumb slowly made little circles on his collarbone. "That'd be awfully boring wouldn't it? I hate boring things." She smiled, showing her pearly white teeth.

Click to shrink...

"Oh dear." Erina said out loud in Italian. "Now you've made her upset. I should warn you, I really cannot control her when she gets like this. Rider, please, I'm sure this young man was only am accessory to whatever ritual Caster was talking about...."

@Mina
@BlackHadou
@Insufficient Dakka
"Rider is just establishing a rapport with this gentleman, I am certain we will have answers shortly...perhaps one of you could be so good as to keep a lookout for the local constables? They usually take a rather dim view of this sort of thing." She said in English, for the benefit of the vampire.

 

[The Out Of World]

Erina turned back towards the addled Italian, drawing herself up with the full force of centuries of aristocratic ancestors and decades of molding impressionable young minds supporting her.

"You, young man, have a great deal of explaining to do." she told him in his native tongue. "Now, what's all this about human sacrifice, then?"

Click to shrink...

The Italian's face scrunched up in a deep, weary frown."My friends and I, Virone and Rosella...we were-"

"Believe my Master asked you a question." She leaned down and grabbed the man's shoulder with one hand, her grip a vice. "My Master's a busy woman. I don't wanna see her waste her time talking to some freak." Her thumb slowly made little circles on his collarbone. "That'd be awfully boring wouldn't it? I hate boring things." She smiled, showing her pearly white teeth.

Click to shrink...

He could only respond to the spirit's attention with a fearful whimper, eyes shrinking into pinpricks like a man caught in the jaws of a lion.

"Oh dear." Erina said out loud in Italian. "Now you've made her upset. I should warn you, I really cannot control her when she gets like this. Rider, please, I'm sure this young man was only am accessory to whatever ritual Caster was talking about...."

Click to shrink...

And like that, what little composure he had managed to regain since his insensate convulsions was lost once more. Moisture began to well up in the corners of his eyes and his voice broke out into the first of pitiful choked sobs.

 

[Azecreth]

With Archer escorting them at whichever position he desired, all that remained was for Rin to get them underway back to whatever hotel Stefan was staying at. After opening the garage she pulled out, movement halting at first before she got her wits and her nerve back about her. Driving was not the easiest thing, even for a magus. It was a pity that her Servant didn't have Riding. Well, she'd manage.

Pulling out of the garage, she turned off the driveway and headed onto the main road, quickly accelerating and following the directions that Stefan gave which would take her to his hotel. She did her best, and really at that point al she could do was hope that a cop didn't pull her over. She could probably get out of it, since money was useful like that, but it was a hassle that they didn't need.

For now she did her best driving, and if Stefan had a problem with it, he had better keep it to himself.

 

[Wade Garrett]

And like that, what little composure he had managed to regain since his insensate convulsions was lost once more. Moisture began to well up in the corners of his eyes and his voice broke out into the first of pitiful choked sobs.

Click to shrink...

@LupineVolt
Rider, that's probably enough softening up for the moment, now I'll be the sympathetic one.

"All right, deep breaths, deep breaths, take your hands off him, Rider, can't you see he's had some sort of horribly traumatic experience? Oh dear. Now, what were you saying about your friends?"

@Mina
Assassin watched the interrogation-in-progress, a frown working its way onto his features.

Teacher...Caster said this man is bad, but he smells...he smells scared and confused and Rider's being mean to him and I don't...is it...okay, if he's one of the bad people?

 

[NSMS]

With Archer escorting them at whichever position he desired, all that remained was for Rin to get them underway back to whatever hotel Stefan was staying at. After opening the garage she pulled out, movement halting at first before she got her wits and her nerve back about her. Driving was not the easiest thing, even for a magus. It was a pity that her Servant didn't have Riding. Well, she'd manage.

Pulling out of the garage, she turned off the driveway and headed onto the main road, quickly accelerating and following the directions that Stefan gave which would take her to his hotel. She did her best, and really at that point al she could do was hope that a cop didn't pull her over. She could probably get out of it, since money was useful like that, but it was a hassle that they didn't need.

For now she did her best driving, and if Stefan had a problem with it, he had better keep it to himself.

Click to shrink...

Archer had remained silent for a significant amount of time, simply mulling over the information he and Rin had learnt. That a Master might have ulterior motives in this war was far from surprising, and similarly he found no shock in learning that one of the other families with Grail access would be attempting to leverage that to their advantage. After all, had he not advised Rin that it may well be in their own best interests to do the same?

Still, despite that he still found it troubling. This family had most likely been setting up their efforts far in advance, meaning that preventing them from carrying out their plan would require significant effort. And if Stefan was correct in his speculations...

Archer frowned. If he was correct, then there was a possibility that killing an enemy Servant might not remove their power from the battlefield- and worse, that every time a member of the White Faction fell their enemies would become more powerful for it. True, it was unlikely, for who but a Servant would be able to draw out the crystallised power of their legends? But as he knew all too well, unlikely and impossible were not the same thing; his own existence and that of his fellow Servants was proof enough of that.

Unfortunately, for now there was no way to prove it one way or another; he would simply have to keep his guard up around enemy masters in a way a Servant normally wouldn't, and make certain that Rin was aware of the possibility before their next engagement.

But that was for the future- for the moment, he settled into the back seat of Rin's car, banished his armour, and spent the journey alternating between watching their surroundings and studiously avoiding wincing at Rin's driving. Truthfully, he would have preferred to keep watch from outside the car- for more than one reason- but he would not leave Rin with her back defenseless and within arm's reach of their guest. Despite the geas he still didn't trust the man, and should it become necessary he should still be able to react quickly enough to any exterior threat from where he was.

 

[LupineVolt]

@LupineVolt
Rider, that's probably enough softening up for the moment, now I'll be the sympathetic one.

"All right, deep breaths, deep breaths, take your hands off him, Rider, can't you see he's had some sort of horribly traumatic experience? Oh dear. Now, what were you saying about your friends?"

Click to shrink...

Rider let go of the man's shoulder, and stepped back. She gave him one final stern look before turning away. She cringed internally.

<Sorry Master. I may have been a bit too Gung ho there.>

She would let Erina work. Only step in if needed. For now, she took another look at the assembled black faction. She gave Assassin a wink. He seemed...well, incredibly odd. Hopefully her master wouldn't have to kill his master. Or her master wouldn't send him to kill her Master and she'd have to kill him.

Fun thoughts.

 

[Mina]

"Rider is just establishing a rapport with this gentleman, I am certain we will have answers shortly...perhaps one of you could be so good as to keep a lookout for the local constables? They usually take a rather dim view of this sort of thing."

Click to shrink...

Taiga grumped, but shrugged at leapt up, clambering to the top of a lamp post with monkey-like agility and perching herself in the shadows atop it. "Policemen, not constables, dumb, mean English..." Her annoyed mumbles trailed off as snow began collecting on top of the little red haired gargoyle.

Teacher...Caster said this man is bad, but he smells...he smells scared and confused and Rider's being mean to him and I don't...is it...okay, if he's one of the bad people?

Click to shrink...

Oh gosh, this was getting in to the heavy parts of heroing.

Well, as long as you don't really mean it, it's not okay okay, but it's...necessary. Maybe a little scare, some bared fangs, but unless you're totally sure, absolutely one-hundred percent that they're really bad, no. We've gotta be better than they are, even if it is hard sometimes and you just want to rip, and tear, taste their lifeblood running down your throat and...uh....yeah. Those aren't good feelings. Gotta keep them under control, okay?

 

[Wade Garrett]

Well, as long as you don't really mean it, it's not okay okay, but it's...necessary. Maybe a little scare, some bared fangs, but unless you're totally sure, absolutely one-hundred percent that they're really bad, no. We've gotta be better than they are, even if it is hard sometimes and you just want to rip, and tear, taste their lifeblood running down your throat and...uh....yeah. Those aren't good feelings. Gotta keep them under control, okay?

Click to shrink...

I understand, Teacher. I will. So...I shouldn't...Rider and Erina aren't being....bad like Erina was when she wanted to...hurt you. It's just...pretend? So it's not wrong.

She would let Erina work. Only step in if needed. For now, she took another look at the assembled black faction. She gave Assassin a wink. He seemed...well, incredibly odd. Hopefully her master wouldn't have to kill his master. Or her master wouldn't send him to kill her Master and she'd have to kill him.

Fun thoughts.

Click to shrink...

Assassin looked back at Rider in bewilderment.

"Is something in your eye? I could help you get it out!" he said brightly. "Or..if you fade, that should make it go away. That would work."

 

[The Out Of World]

With Archer escorting them at whichever position he desired, all that remained was for Rin to get them underway back to whatever hotel Stefan was staying at. After opening the garage she pulled out, movement halting at first before she got her wits and her nerve back about her. Driving was not the easiest thing, even for a magus. It was a pity that her Servant didn't have Riding. Well, she'd manage.

Pulling out of the garage, she turned off the driveway and headed onto the main road, quickly accelerating and following the directions that Stefan gave which would take her to his hotel. She did her best, and really at that point al she could do was hope that a cop didn't pull her over. She could probably get out of it, since money was useful like that, but it was a hassle that they didn't need.

For now she did her best driving, and if Stefan had a problem with it, he had better keep it to himself.

Click to shrink...

It took some time, but the intrepid trio eventually arrived at the Hyatt Hotel with nary a complication. No enemy Servants had intercepted them on the way and the Tohsaka girl didn't even break any major traffic laws on the way. All in all, things were looking up. Once the vehicle had parked in the hotel lot (though Rin could use a bit more practice in that department), Stefan briskly stepped into the lobby and up and elevator with a burst of nervous energy. He fished a not inconsiderable sum of money from his wallet and tipped the receptionist while making a suggestion along the lines of 'you saw nothing.' The ex-Master had to work in a tight timeframe to avoid letting the White Faction and their hunting dog catch up on their trail, so spending the time and prana to hypnotize anyone along the way would prove inefficient in this circumstance.

Stefan descended from another elevator a brief seven minutes later, towing a pair of carry-on bags behind him and cradling a cell phone next to his ear with shoulder while carrying a hushed conversation with whoever was on the other side. He had thankfully replaced the shredded green suit for a plain white dress shirt and black slacks and seemed to have washed off most of the bloody mess in short order. The man drew close to the car's trunk and set his carry-ons aside for a moment to close his phone and slip it in his shirt pocket.

"Things have changed, and in a bad way." He hurriedly informed Rin. "Pop the trunk and I'll explain on the way."

 

[God and the Snake]

Lancer gazed upon the contents, pondering their credibility. He wouldn't fault the enemy for taking advantage of them; it was only common sense in war. Lancer would've done the same. On the other hand, such actions didn't illustrate trustworthiness.

He passed the letter to Nagao. "Your thoughts?"

Click to shrink...

"I think that these assholes owe me a new car," Shingen groused, eyeing the melted interior of his vehicle from the far side of the road. After a moment, the officer sighed. "It's probably a trap... but a trap can also be an opportunity, depending on how its sprung."

He began stretching, limbering up. "But we'll need more manpower if we want to exploit: As tough as you and Archer are, I'd prefer to go in their with a Saber as well, at the least."

"We should continue with our hunt, then inform any allies we might find about this."

 

[Azecreth]

It took some time, but the intrepid trio eventually arrived at the Hyatt Hotel with nary a complication. No enemy Servants had intercepted them on the way and the Tohsaka girl didn't even break any major traffic laws on the way. All in all, things were looking up. Once the vehicle had parked in the hotel lot (though Rin could use a bit more practice in that department), Stefan briskly stepped into the lobby and up and elevator with a burst of nervous energy. He fished a not inconsiderable sum of money from his wallet and tipped the receptionist while making a suggestion along the lines of 'you saw nothing.' The ex-Master had to work in a tight timeframe to avoid letting the White Faction and their hunting dog catch up on their trail, so spending the time and prana to hypnotize anyone along the way would prove inefficient in this circumstance.

Stefan descended from another elevator a brief seven minutes later, towing a pair of carry-on bags behind him and cradling a cell phone next to his ear with shoulder while carrying a hushed conversation with whoever was on the other side. He had thankfully replaced the shredded green suit for a plain white dress shirt and black slacks and seemed to have washed off most of the bloody mess in short order. The man drew close to the car's trunk and set his carry-ons aside for a moment to close his phone and slip it in his shirt pocket.

"Things have changed, and in a bad way." He hurriedly informed Rin. "Pop the trunk and I'll explain on the way."

Click to shrink...

Rin would admit, simply to herself, that she needed to work on her driving. It was a good thing that Nagao wasn't here to hold her to count, but then again if Nagao was here then he would have been the one driving, and they wouldn't have been having this problem in the first place. As it stood she kept from violating major traffic violations, and managed to avoid getting pulled over for the illegal things that she did. Both Stefan and Archer didn't say anything about it too, so she considered it a win.

As it stood, she was glad that they had not been intercepted as they arrived at the hotel. A fight while she had been on the road was the last thing Rin wanted, if only because driving under fire would have been that much more of a hassle. But they made it safely, and she did her best parking job on the lot before allowing Stefan to go off and collect his stuff.

While waiting, Rin exited the car to stand by the drivers side door, watching the hotel and surveying their surroundings at the same time. Needless to say, she had a lot to think about at the moment. "Once we're done here we need to track down the rest of our team," she said to Archer as she voiced her thoughts. "Judging from what Stefan told us, it seems likely that the Einzbern Master engineered the current Grail War, and his interference may be the reason why the Ruler class Servant wasn't summoned. If so, I doubt he will have left the Greater Grail unguarded, beyond the defenses that normally exist there."

She would wait for his response to that, even as she waited for Stefan to return. At the very least her search area was lessened, but she was going to need some Familiars to properly do everything. And that meant getting to work fairly rapidly. Well, that was alright. She could do it.

At Stefan's return, she looked the hurried man over in his changed state. Yet at his direction she moved quickly enough, popping the trunk and allowing him to store his goods inside before slipping back into the car, ready to drive them wherever Stefan directed her. It seemed there would not be a dull moment in this Grail War.

@NSMS

 

[The Out Of World]

Rin would admit, simply to herself, that she needed to work on her driving. It was a good thing that Nagao wasn't here to hold her to count, but then again if Nagao was here then he would have been the one driving, and they wouldn't have been having this problem in the first place. As it stood she kept from violating major traffic violations, and managed to avoid getting pulled over for the illegal things that she did. Both Stefan and Archer didn't say anything about it too, so she considered it a win.

As it stood, she was glad that they had not been intercepted as they arrived at the hotel. A fight while she had been on the road was the last thing Rin wanted, if only because driving under fire would have been that much more of a hassle. But they made it safely, and she did her best parking job on the lot before allowing Stefan to go off and collect his stuff.

While waiting, Rin exited the car to stand by the drivers side door, watching the hotel and surveying their surroundings at the same time. Needless to say, she had a lot to think about at the moment. "Once we're done here we need to track down the rest of our team," she said to Archer as she voiced her thoughts. "Judging from what Stefan told us, it seems likely that the Einzbern Master engineered the current Grail War, and his interference may be the reason why the Ruler class Servant wasn't summoned. If so, I doubt he will have left the Greater Grail unguarded, beyond the defenses that normally exist there."

She would wait for his response to that, even as she waited for Stefan to return. At the very least her search area was lessened, but she was going to need some Familiars to properly do everything. And that meant getting to work fairly rapidly. Well, that was alright. She could do it.

At Stefan's return, she looked the hurried man over in his changed state. Yet at his direction she moved quickly enough, popping the trunk and allowing him to store his goods inside before slipping back into the car, ready to drive them wherever Stefan directed her. It seemed there would not be a dull moment in this Grail War.

@NSMS

Click to shrink...

"To make a long story short," Stefan grumbled as he massaged his temples with his hand, "Things just got political. I'll have to delay my flight plans and play detective for a while, so I need to book a hotel for the night and continue laying low from the Whites. There's one not too far from here, over on Third Street. On the upside, Einzbern's Phantasm-harvesting plan is starting to make some sense. His family is being indirectly backed by an outside party in this Grail War, and those backers may be responsible for the other Founding Family - the Matou - getting wiped out the last time around. The Phantasms are payment for services rendered by mopping up the most serious competition."

 

[The Out Of World]

"All right, deep breaths, deep breaths, take your hands off him, Rider, can't you see he's had some sort of horribly traumatic experience? Oh dear. Now, what were you saying about your friends?"

Click to shrink...

Rider let go of the man's shoulder, and stepped back. She gave him one final stern look before turning away. She cringed internally.

<Sorry Master. I may have been a bit too Gung ho there.>

She would let Erina work. Only step in if needed. For now, she took another look at the assembled black faction. She gave Assassin a wink. He seemed...well, incredibly odd. Hopefully her master wouldn't have to kill his master. Or her master wouldn't send him to kill her Master and she'd have to kill him.

Fun thoughts.

Click to shrink...

The man spent a few more minutes crying before he eventually gathered his nerves again and blew his nose furiously into the sleeve of his black robe. "W-we were just a bunch of little punks living out in Naples, Virone, Rosella and I. She was working as a waitress, saving up money to move to Rome and get a degree at one of the universities. Virone was an odd one, but he was a happy kid and he always kept our little group together. I was...I was a bouncer for a nightclub. Scared any troublemakers half to death back in the old days, heh. Just look at me now, crying like a newborn baby."

He began to tear up a little more, then blew his nose again and dabbed away the moisture with his clothes. "She just sort of found us one day, God knows how. Woman named Vittoria, said we all had some kind of gift. She said we had magic in us. Back then I didn't believe a word of it; I thought she was some out-of-towner trying to scam poor Virone out of his cash with some silly fairy tales. But then she showed us things - strength that was impossible, potions and things like out of some old wives' tales about witches. There were others, too. They moved all over the country like some kind of circus, finding people who had the magic in them and showed them how to use it if they joined up. One thing led to another and we gave them consideration. Next I knew, everything just kind of blurred together. It's like one of those things when you forget who you are and wonder off somewhere to live a new life, only you wake up one day and suddenly remember everything. A fugue.

Virone and Rosella were...God in Heaven, they were killed. Eaten inside out by damned demons. Those traveling witches, they were cultists. Devil-summoners. They fed us a fucking witch potion that made us forget ourselves and serve Vittoria like zombies. We've been kidnapping people in the middle of the night and dragging them back to that Asian shrine up on the mountain so she can sacrifice them to Satan."

The Italian man shivered fearfully for a moment. "I saw him the fucking flesh. The Devil himself, living in that shrine and talking to Vittoria. He's all dressed-up in blue and white stars like that wizard from the Disney movies and has pet snakes made of eyeballs because he's blind. They wanted to take the Holy Grail - the Cup of Christ, God help us all. We were dragging some poor woman to sacrifice her to Satan and eat her from inside out with one of those damn squid-demons, then all these people broke in and started carving their way through everyone like vengeful angels. There was smoke and lighting and bats and everything went dark and I woke up inside the trunk.

That's when I could feel the witch potion fading away. I went too long without drinking one and then I finally remembered. I remembered all those horrible, evil things I did to those innocent people. I...I..."

He clutched his head in his hands and doubled over, weeping louder than ever before. "I killed so many people! I killed them and gave them to the Devil! I don't fucking deserve to be alive! My friends are dead and I didn't do anything to save them! I don't deserve to be alive! I should be burning in Hell!"

 

[LupineVolt]

@Wade Garrett

<...I don't think we gonna need bad cop anymore, Master.> Rider carefully stepped back a little, close enough to strike if needed but giving the woman and the former bouncer a bit more breathing room. Erina had proven herself more than capable of handling herself. But still. Caution.

"Is something in your eye? I could help you get it out!" he said brightly. "Or..if you fade, that should make it go away. That would work."

Click to shrink...

"Th-thats fine! I'm good. Just...uh, someone will explain winking to you later. Probably." Right, well, that was an entire other kettle of fish. Compared to the entire fishing village's worth in the trunk behind her. She cast an eye over to the American's Servants who had brought this poor man here.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

"I think that these assholes owe me a new car," Shingen groused, eyeing the melted interior of his vehicle from the far side of the road. After a moment, the officer sighed. "It's probably a trap... but a trap can also be an opportunity, depending on how its sprung."

Click to shrink...

"I came to a similar conclusion," Lancer said with a hint of approval.

Lancer had never shied away from battle, but he wasn't a fool either. Might alone could only get you so far; winning a war also required a keen mind. If their foes sought to ambush them, Lancer would take advantage of their trap and turn the tables.

He began stretching, limbering up. "But we'll need more manpower if we want to exploit: As tough as you and Archer are, I'd prefer to go in their with a Saber as well, at the least."

"We should continue with our hunt, then inform any allies we might find about this."

Click to shrink...

"Did your police scanner or familiars have any hints as to where we might continue our search?"

Before they had been so rudely interrupted by the enemy Archer, Lancer and Nagao had been chasing down a motorcycle thief.

 

[Azecreth]

"To make a long story short," Stefan grumbled as he massaged his temples with his hand, "Things just got political. I'll have to delay my flight plans and play detective for a while, so I need to book a hotel for the night and continue laying low from the Whites. There's one not too far from here, over on Third Street. On the upside, Einzbern's Phantasm-harvesting plan is starting to make some sense. His family is being indirectly backed by an outside party in this Grail War, and those backers may be responsible for the other Founding Family - the Matou - getting wiped out the last time around. The Phantasms are payment for services rendered by mopping up the most serious competition."

Click to shrink...

Rin frowned as Stefan explained what he had learned, the girl wondering just where he was getting this information from in the first place. She was confident in her geis to keep him from deceiving her, but who knew if that source was reliable? She would set her own allies and resources in the Clock Tower to work in investigation, but with the war in full swing was that a wise idea? Any opposed to her would already be alert for such actions. Maybe it was a better idea to not risk it.

Well, she would have time to decide later. For now, she had this to focus on as she prepared to get them under way again. "A Family influential enough to have something the Einzberns need, and potentially the ones responsible for eliminating the Matous? There aren't a lot of people with that kind of resources and influence," she noted aloud at the same time. Add to that the payment being in Noble Phantasms, and the kind of individuals who could command that sort of price was even shorter.

Still, she had to admit that things were making more sense now, and increasing the urgency of the task of finding the rest of her Team, so they could coordinate their actions and plot a concerted offensive against White Faction before it was too late. So she worked on that as she moved them along, still playing the part of the chauffeur.

 

[Takoe]

The man spent a few more minutes crying before he eventually gathered his nerves again and blew his nose furiously into the sleeve of his black robe. "W-we were just a bunch of little punks living out in Naples, Virone, Rosella and I. She was working as a waitress, saving up money to move to Rome and get a degree at one of the universities. Virone was an odd one, but he was a happy kid and he always kept our little group together. I was...I was a bouncer for a nightclub. Scared any troublemakers half to death back in the old days, heh. Just look at me now, crying like a newborn baby."

He began to tear up a little more, then blew his nose again and dabbed away the moisture with his clothes. "She just sort of found us one day, God knows how. Woman named Vittoria, said we all had some kind of gift. She said we had magic in us. Back then I didn't believe a word of it; I thought she was some out-of-towner trying to scam poor Virone out of his cash with some silly fairy tales. But then she showed us things - strength that was impossible, potions and things like out of some old wives' tales about witches. There were others, too. They moved all over the country like some kind of circus, finding people who had the magic in them and showed them how to use it if they joined up. One thing led to another and we gave them consideration. Next I knew, everything just kind of blurred together. It's like one of those things when you forget who you are and wonder off somewhere to live a new life, only you wake up one day and suddenly remember everything. A fugue.

Virone and Rosella were...God in Heaven, they were killed. Eaten inside out by damned demons. Those traveling witches, they were cultists. Devil-summoners. They fed us a fucking witch potion that made us forget ourselves and serve Vittoria like zombies. We've been kidnapping people in the middle of the night and dragging them back to that Asian shrine up on the mountain so she can sacrifice them to Satan."

The Italian man shivered fearfully for a moment. "I saw him the fucking flesh. The Devil himself, living in that shrine and talking to Vittoria. He's all dressed-up in blue and white stars like that wizard from the Disney movies and has pet snakes made of eyeballs because he's blind. They wanted to take the Holy Grail - the Cup of Christ, God help us all. We were dragging some poor woman to sacrifice her to Satan and eat her from inside out with one of those damn squid-demons, then all these people broke in and started carving their way through everyone like vengeful angels. There was smoke and lighting and bats and everything went dark and I woke up inside the trunk.

That's when I could feel the witch potion fading away. I went too long without drinking one and then I finally remembered. I remembered all those horrible, evil things I did to those innocent people. I...I..."

He clutched his head in his hands and doubled over, weeping louder than ever before. "I killed so many people! I killed them and gave them to the Devil! I don't fucking deserve to be alive! My friends are dead and I didn't do anything to save them! I don't deserve to be alive! I should be burning in Hell!"

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@Wade Garrett

<...I don't think we gonna need bad cop anymore, Master.> Rider carefully stepped back a little, close enough to strike if needed but giving the woman and the former bouncer a bit more breathing room. Erina had proven herself more than capable of handling herself. But still. Caution.


"Th-thats fine! I'm good. Just...uh, someone will explain winking to you later. Probably." Right, well, that was an entire other kettle of fish. Compared to the entire fishing village's worth in the trunk behind her. She cast an eye over to the American's Servants who had brought this poor man here.

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"No we won't..." Erina sent back to her Servant, the pity apparent in her mental voice. She moved next to the man and warmly clasped his hand in an attempt to comfort him and calm him down a bit. She let him weep a little longer to let him get the sorrow and regrets out of his system before speaking to him again in the stern motherly voice that she had used so often to order her grandson not to make another gigantic mistake.
"That's really awful. All of it, both what you caused and what was done to you. But you are not beyond redemption. Not yet.

"We here" she gestured to the rather colourful band of characters strewn around the parking lot "are here to prevent the demon summoner and his allies from claiming the Grail. The wizard you saw hails from the past or from legend. How that can be is not important right now, but what is, is his identity. If we know who he is, then we can better prepare for our inevitable battle against the fiend. So I want you, I need you, to recall and tell us everything you can remember about him, his demons and methode of magecraft. Down to the smallest detail. Then your deeds will benefit good in the end and you will already have taken your first step to redemption."