Kaleidoscopic Spiral - The Beginning

[RandomlyAwesome]

Albert "Icarus" Smith
Time/Place: One Week Later/Fuyuki City

It's been a week since that little tea party we had and I would say that we have pretty much settled into routine.
Well...maybe not..but I'm now pretty sure that the house wont explode.(Though with Ashur and his family property you never know what could happen.)
But all and all the week has been pretty uneventful considering the rowdy start we got.

Oh!I also collapsed the city's power grid for a day and a half...
Apparently turning virtual data into matter takes more power than the powerlines can produce...Would have been nice if someone told me that before I started the process..but ı digress

I currently have one of the golden guard,4 flies and a few of the smaller claws active and following me while the rest of the ones ı pulled out(Individually this time so as to not have a repeat of the accident) standing by inactive,whether hiding in my jacket or at random places inside the house.

The rest of my time was spent just making friends with our allies and trying to get used to the city.
*Gurgle*
Speaking of that I should probably find someplace to eat...

\\Hey,lets go that mapou tofu place again! I really liked that stuff.

Also note to self:Ask Ashur whether whatever magic he used to get us all here can give me some kind of magic virus....which sounds like a girl for some reason I can't comprehend...

Spoiler:

Current Drone Status:
1 Golden Guard - Active
100 Flies - 4 Active the rest on standby(4 more on body(The rest are stored in the house))
100 Claws - 10 Active The rest on standby(10 more on body)

[YeOfLittleFaith]

Asyl deVerum
Church on the Hill

Ezra seems to consider his answer to my words and my query for a moment before answering.

“…To be honest, in terms of power, I believe I could kill a Servant. Not in speed, or strength, but in terms of power and energy I could probably destroy one outright. The problem is the physical aspect, of course."

That is quite the boast he makes, but his tone does not sound to me like the tone of an arrogant or conceited magus the likes of which I'm used to. And at the same time, he wouldn't make that claim if he couldn't back it up.

I believe him. Being a Sorceror of the First is not just for show, after all, and what I know of it tells me that his claim most likely checks out. Besides, I saw him trying to make a jet with a nuclear bomb, and produce tendrils with enough focused heat to vaporize through most they touch. I don't have much to doubt of him, in that respect.

"And no,"

He continues as he shows me the back of his hands, clear of any of the characteristics of a Master.

"I don’t bear Command Seals.”

I nod in confirmation.

"Well, that works out nicely."

“We’re getting reagents, then?”

I smirk mostly to myself as I begin to climb the hill up to the Church and he follows me. I begin to explain.

"Yes. Soil and gravestone composite mostly, maybe ashes, but also spiritual energy residues. Anything this graveyard has to offer will be useful for the ritual."

He must be wondering exactly what I'm talking about by now. While running circles around him would be amusing, I'll save it for another time and be frank.

"I intend to summon an altered Ghost Liner to serve as our first line of defense against the Servants. That is to say, I'll summon a wraith, enhance it to its maximum combat potential, and make it a familiar. And for a ceremony like that, the properly aligned reagents are necessary to obtain the most optimal results possible."

Now much closer to the church, almost right in front of its doors, I quietly cut to the right in the direction of the simple, open graveyard, Ezra following me.

"Sure, Ashur probably has a storehouse full of high-end reagents, which I will take full advantage of, but the most important thing is to use materials with an affinity for the kind of spirit I'll be summoning, and those are almost always better fresh. It would even be better if there was a grave here permeated with grudges or resentment. Vengeful spirits remain in the world fueled by that passion, and are usually stronger and better defined than others attached to wishful thinking or simple regrets."

Usually, not always. But then again, vengeful spirits are easier to completely control due to their single-mindedness, and easier to incite to violence and deal it by nature.

Me and Ezra wander into the graveyard. Somewhat barren and not extremely rich reagent-wise, but it will do. Verifying there is no one around, I wander to the middle of the gravestones and pull out a knife from my jacket as I begin to collect various samples of soil from and around the gravestones I detect to have more residual spiritual presence. The soil itself may not be that special for my purposes, but just the fact that this place is a nexus of power already grants it exceptional quality.

I shoot Ezra a look telling him to stand on his guard for anyone while I go about my business, and continue expanding on my explanation to him.

"For the Ghost Liner to be at least on the level of Servants as far as base power goes, maintaining it as a familiar will be costly. If I had concrete information on how the Servant system works, I think I'd be able to do something like fooling the Grail into thinking of it as a Servant to handle the majority of the mana cost, by tweaking the summoning ritual. Or change it to take advantage of the system, but... likely only the three families know it well enough for that."

I move onto the actual gravestones, chipping and storing bits of them.

"I'd have no problem sustaining it by myself with my amount of power but my maximum output, so to speak, would decrease while doing so. I would be hard for me to remain at full strength."

I leave unsaid the fact that in order to keep my full power at leisure, I'd simply need to consume a few extra souls. Buuut that might course of action might not sit right with him.

"You, on the other hand, would have no such problem, if I'm not mistaken. So I thought, since we're cooperating, it would make more sense to have you act as its master. Even more so given you're confident on your firepower to take down a Servant."

As I say that, I stuff the samples I've collected into my jacket's pockets and take out a metal pendant shaped like a magic circle, and begin collecting spiritual energy.

"Well?" I ask.

[Emiya Kurou]

Ashur Kurogami Soren
Family Restauraunt - Shinto

My palm connects with my forehead.

Two ex-soldiers, and apparently neither of them knows what a combat role is, I am seriously beginning to doubt their credentials.

"That is not what I meant."

They are SO lucky I know them in the future.

My exasperation aside.

"Never mind, I think I already have a general idea of your capabilities."

I clear my throat and continue.

"The overall objective may change as the mission goes on; However the time frame will be a five week period beginning from today."

"Your first objective is simply to keep me alive while I try to negotiate with The Magus Killer."

[Ivan The Mouse]

Neo/Rattus/Yukina
Family Restauraunt - Shinto

"'The Magus Killer'?" Neo said while chewing. He the gulps down his food before saying "Ha ha, oh wow!"

"What's so humorous about that, Neo?" Rattus asked before he eats the last of his sauerkraut and takes the dining knife with his free hand.

"Man, ya' don't understand." He answered back after taking a swig of beer. "If some random motherfucker gets a moniker like that, it's goddamn obvious that he not to be fucked with. And that's why I'm interested with this guy, seems like a bad motherfucker."

"But Neo-san, he is The Magus Killer. Why are you interested in him?" Yukina asked curiously, then wipes her lips with a tissue.

"Because see, I've got a shit-load of kills under mah belt. If he's really The Magus fucking Killer, it's either he's going to be another line in mah tally or me to him." Neo then burps loudly and then adds, "I ain't no fucking magus. I'm an alchemist, that's my job here. Magi are a buncha faggots anyway. And I've fought wars like World War 1 and 2, then 'Nam before it went shitty because Nixon made it to be shitty. That ain't all of it. I could lose to him, but I have no fucking excuse because I've been walking my ass across 'Merica while he still wasn't born yet."

"But Soren-san said he'll negotiate with him." the Japanese woman remarked.

"Yukina is right about her recall." Rattus agreed. "You don't have to worry about facing him. Mister Soren said that he is a methodical man, so perhaps he wouldn't just attack us without any reason or casus belli. If anything, there's a bigger chance that it would be Mister Soren who would cause a misunderstanding between the two parties. Otherwise, we don't really see ourselves being the aggressor if ever the negotiation goes bad." He then slices a part of his steak and chews on it.

[Emiya Kurou]

Ashur Kurogami Soren
Family Restaurant - Shinto

"We will be meeting him tomorrow evening, as foolish as that may seem, in the development district near the docks."

"He will almost definitely have someone hidden nearby ready to shoot me where I stand, so I want one of you to find and subdue them without being discovered."

"I need another of you hidden and ready to shoot him if things go badly."

"And of course I will need one of you with me, Aikawa-san preferably."

"I will leave the finer details up to you, here is a card for expenses and a key to the vault, the third level serves as a bunker fully equipped for long term use, it should serve as an adequate safehouse until I can prepare something better."

Having said my piece and given them what they need I stand up, and prepare to leave.

"If you will excuse me, I have a pressing matter that needs attending to; I will meet you at the vault tomorrow afternoon."

"The meal is already paid for by the way, so have as much as you want."

With that I make my way out.

[Ivan The Mouse]

Neo/Rattus/Yukina
Family Restaurant - Shinto

"Ya' paid fo' all of this? Goddamn, you ain't much of an asshole than I thought! Thanks a lot, mofo!" Neo said while chowing down the last of his Peking duck. As Ashur leaves, he then turns toward his comrades and said, "Okay, let's get this shit started. What's the plan now, Ratt?"

"Neo, since we are dealing with the Magus Killer, who ever he is or what ever his abilities are, I suggest that you find that find these gunmen instead."

"Motherfucker, I'm an alchemist!" Neo emphasized with a slight rise on his voice.

"But you are also trained and raised to be a magus, isn't that right?" Rattus asked him.

"Yes. A shitty one."

"Then it's a better reason why you shouldn't directly confront the Magus Killer." The bespectacled man replied while slicing his steak. "We should always remember that our immortality does not mean we are invulnerable to everything. It just means that we don't die and doesn't mean that we don't get hurt. If so, then you should take care of the gunmen instead because we don't know what this man can do to you."

"Um...Should I then carry my swords, Rattus-san?" Yukina then asked.

Rattus then chews his steak piece and gulps it down, before he said, "Your personal dagger will suffice, Yukina. We can't have him knowing that we are prepared for whatever he does and carrying your swords will give them the message that we are ready to deal with him. I plan to get him close to us in less that 21 feet in distance so that if he pulls out a gun, we can quickly close that distance before he is fully capable of fully firing his weapon and then strike him. For this purpose, I will also carry my combat knife." He then sips on his red wine before going back to his steak.

At the same time, Yukina drank her green tea while she was listening. After Rattus was done, she asked again. "But Soren-san said that someone needs to be unseen and be able to shoot the Magus Killer if things go bad. And you said that you will also carry your combat knife so you can quickly stab him if things go wrong. Does that mean you will join him too?"

"Yes." Rattus was about to eat his steak piece on his fork before he decided to explain before he eats it. "We have no capable marksmen or snipers in our group, Yukina. This is the only way we could deal with him if he ever does something aggressive." He then eats his slice on the fork.

"But Ratt, you look like a motherfucking bodyguard." Neo commented immediately, then burps again loudly.

Rattus ingested his steak. "No, Neo. This is a business attire. No one would expect me to fight in this, do they? Besides, if this is a deal, it has a higher chance of it having a transaction or exchange. If I carry Mister Soren's goods or money, the suspicion would be less. And I do change my clothes if a direct fight is to be expected, to remind you of that."

"Then get rid of the fucking necktie, man." Neo said.

"I will be wearing a clip-on tie instead on the deal. I know that they might grab it on to their advantage on a hand-to-hand combat, so let's give them an unexpected surprise instead." Rattus responded. "And since you are assigned to take out the gunmen, what are your plans for that?"

"Common fucking sense." Neo began to explain. "You know, begin on the higher floors and rooftops then look for these pussy-ass faggots who they call snipers. I'm pretty fucking sure they're snipers, man. And if I catch one of them, I'mma make him talk where his other friends at, before I kick his ass and leave him taking a bath on his own blood, piss and shit. Then same old shit on the others, cut their throats out and move on to the next assnugget who plans shoot our damn client. How's that sound, huh?"

"Well, that's what I expect you to do." Rattus then finishes the last of his meal.

"Fuck yeah, you should. I ain't just a goddamn run-on-the-mill killa on the street, I'm a thinkin' run-on-the-mill killa on the street, yo'." Neo boasted. "So, we done now?"

"I think that's it for us." Rattus declared. "We should now go to the vault and rest."

"No, Ratt. I want that damn credit card." Neo said.

"For what would you use it for?" Rattus questioned.

"I'mma go out and buy me some cigs and a six-pack. I want some of them Jap chips too and see if they're fucking good."

"Alright." Rattus sighs, then hands out the credit card to Neo. "Be sure to return it and not lose it."

"Do I look like a fucking moron like Yukina to you?" Neo asked with some slight annoyance.

Rattus then went silent for a while then said, "Perhaps you are."

"Fuck you." The blonde then stood up from his seat and walked away to buy his vices and chips.

As Neo disappears from the view of the two remaining Order members, Yukina the puts her hands together by the palms, as if praying like a Christian, and said "Thank you for the meal, it was a feast." In contrast to Neo's plate which had duck bones on it, her platter was clean and her tea was all consumed. She then asked Rattus, "Onii-chan, shall we then go to the vault? I want to sleep now."

Rattus then hands out the vault key to Yukina and affirmed. "Yes, Schwesterchen, let us take a rest. I entrust you the key to the vault. Please take care of it."

"Yes." Yukina nods at him.

They then leave the family restaurant and go to the vault to take a rest. Meanwhile, Neo arrives much later at the vault and was almost locked out if the Japanese woman wasn't brushing her teeth. And so, while the two rested, Neo watched a movie while chowing down on chips, drinking beer and smoking, before finally cleaning himself and taking a rest too.

[Emiya Kurou]

Ashur Kurogami Soren
Ryuudou Temple
One Hour Later

It took me nearly an hour of frantic searching as the signal I had picked up on flitted from place to place around the city.

At one point I ran right past the church and I could have sworn I saw one of the others but I was too distracted to tell.

I've been too distracted by this persistent pulse of energy to even bother checking for pursuers, not that it matters significantly at the moment.

I finally arrive at the place where the familiar feeling of power was emanating from.

Makes sense, with the wind at this altitude.

I am now standing in the exact center of the temple grounds, the exact point where the wind is strongest.

"I know you're there, you might as well not even bother trying to sneak up on me."

I point at a nearby bush.

"You're right there, I can see you moving!"

[Emiya Kurou]

Ashur Kurogami Soren
Ryuudou Temple

After a few moments a small figure floated out of the bushes.




"Master?"

"Sylph!"

"I Found You!"

The enourmous grin I had on my face dropped only slightly as I remember the last hour.

"Yes Sylph, you found me, all by yourself."

Her cheeks puff out a little as she notices my tone.

"Then why does it not sound like it?"

I give a slight chuckle.

"You're imagining things."

I feel a bit of pride at her noticing that, she would not have a year ago. But that is less important than the matter at hand.

"Would you mind coming back? You know I'm not complete without you."

She smiled brightly at that.

"Okay!"

She flew close and touched my face with one hand, and with a flash of light, she was gone. With that done I turned my thoughts inward.

So, how's it look in there?

Bad, like that time I broke your mask and tried to fix it with tape.

I knew it was you! Whatever, at least that solved the problem of all the butlers turning into vampires. Though I still have nightmares about what it did to that last guy.

CIRCUITS #39 AND #44 RECONNECTED. 47% COMPACITY RESTORED. EXPANSION MODULE FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

And that answers my next question.

Allright let's go home.

HOME BASE
SIX HOURS LATER

I got everyone together after dinner, it was time.

"Before we discuss the grail war I want a progress report, I don't need the intimate details of your lives, but I do want a general idea of what you've accomplished in the past week. Also, if you have any new questions or complaints, now's the time to air them."