[x] Laying mines (jewels) on likely approaches.
Slow enemy advance by any means necessary.
[x] Laying mines (jewels) on likely approaches.
Slow enemy advance by any means necessary.
The real menace to the formation is underneath, and no one can spare the time to watch for it.Before them, the ground ruptured, hundreds of spiders emerging from the earth below. Those that had tried to flee were ignored, with the arachnids flinging themselves upon the runic boundary and burning to a crisp.
The more solid the ground, the harder it is to tear the fort from its' roots. If Rin's involvement provides the group more time to throw around their tools of destruction, that's a worthwhile impact already.And then he had no time to think, as the world shook once more, and the redoubt tilted.
“What…?” Robert asked, startled.
And then it tilted even more, and his face grew pale. “Oh no…”
He knew what it had to be. Somehow or other, the spiders must have managed to get underneath their bastion, while still sending enough aboveground that the Stone Cutters had no reason to suspect anything had changed.
[X] Altering the ground to be more solid
That said, there is a bigger problem incoming.
Stone Cutters simply don't have enough firepower to finish this fight. And there are two boss units in the field.“We’re out of explosive potions!” Fred called down from above. “Matou, we need more mines below!”
Shinji reached into his pouch to withdraw more of his earth elemental ofuda, only to find it nearly empty.
‘Oh hell…’
Let's hope that Rin is better with explosions than with people.
Choice 128: [X] Altering the ground to be more solid
Reasoning that bigger spiders tended to be ambush predators who emerged from underground to ensnare prey, Tohsaka figured that her best course of action would be to reinforce the ground around and under the fort, so that spiders would have a more difficult time emerging from below.
Choice 129: What's her approach to this?
[ ] Reinforcement - just make it harder (lower time/prana cost, ground can still be burrowed through, just with difficulty)
[ ] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe)
[ ] Embed a number of gems in the floor as the anchor for a spell that constantly repairs/reinforces areas organisms are attempting to tunnel into
[ ] (write-in)
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
Changed My vote
Last edited by skulkidcachi90; October 15th, 2019 at 07:42 PM.
[X] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe)
[x]Embed a number of gems in the floor as the anchor for a spell that constantly repairs/reinforces areas organisms are attempting to tunnel into
[ ] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe)
[X] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe)
A job not worth doing if you don't do it well.
[x] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe)
I want the maximum quality for this fort, yet I'm just not feeling the last option. It goes into the area of overkill, all in all. What would we need it for, stop Aragog from burrowing? That doesn't seem like the style of the big ones.
Let's save those gems for pretty explosions.
[x] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe).
Choice 129: [x] Alteration - make it STONE (higher prana/time cost, ground cannot be burrowed through in scenario timeframe)
Chapter 11. Fight or Flight
‘Matou…is…a monster…’
So were the thoughts passing through the mind of Tohsaka Rin as she ran, the slap-slap-slap of her feet hitting the pavement seeming loud as thunder in her current environs. She was tired, no, exhausted, her legs feeling like jelly and her breathing ragged from running for what seemed like hours at her maximum possible speed under reinforcement, but as much as she wanted to stop, she couldn’t.
If she did, they would be upon her in moments, their claws rending the thin layers of fabric that served as what little protection she had against the bitter chill, with their flames pouring through the gap and no doubt roasting her to charcoal.
She’d learned as much from the one time she had dared to slow down, to indulge the aching of her body, as those things had closed the distance and attacked, with their shrill, mocking cries of REE REE REE still echoing in her ears.
They’d done their best to turn her into a human torch, with the girl having to rip away her skirt before the fire had spread to the rest of her clothing, tossing it behind her in a vain attempt to distract them, but they’d just evaded before swooping at her again, forcing her to leap out of the way of another fiery blast.
‘Why…why is Matou doing this to me?!’
With speed lent by desperation, she’d managed to open the distance between her and the winged abominations that Matou had created with a mere wave of his hand, before telling her to run, his golden eyes glinting with a cold malice as he’d observed her plight, her desperate attempts to keep ahead of the claws, the wings, the flames.
He’d come to her room after a long day, his voice like honey and his gaze filled with an intensity that made her blush as he invited her to join him for a bit of nighttime exercise. She’d accepted of course, her mind going wild as she imagined what she thought he’d meant – that this time, he was going to make her a woman, away from the prying eyes of…of that maid, that soon enough, the aches and pains of a day of training would be washed away by unimaginable pleasure.
The fact that he’d blindfolded her and whispered sensually in her ear that he hoped she liked the surprise he had in store, as he took her by the hand and led them outside, only made her wonder what would transpire next.
Except that what had come next once they’d reached their destination and the blindfold was ripped from her as roughly as she imagined Matou might rip apart her clothes out of desire for her body, had been the very stuff of nightmares, with her shy gaze falling on the snarling visage of what she thought Matou Shinji must have looked like to his enemies: a monster of scales and veins of fire, regarding her with utter contempt, as if she was a stain to be wiped away, with a swarm of beasts of scales and fangs flanking him.
“Run,” he’d told her, and run she had, with Matou’s beasts burst into motion, seemingly intent on her destruction, even as Matou had laughed and laughed and laughed.
He was gone now, hours gone, she thought, but the things he’d created remained, continuing to pursue her. She’d tried blowing them out of the air with gandr, but the beasts – the dragons – had simply avoided her clumsy blasts, without even losing much ground. And try as though she might, she couldn’t get away, couldn’t escape the threat they posed.
Oh, in the beginning, she’d burst into sprints to try and pull away from them, but sprints by their very nature weren’t sustainable, and as she inevitably slowed down in the wake of those exertions, the winged, scaled monstrosities would close the distance, until her situation was worse than before she’d begun to sprint in the first place.
That had been…she didn’t know how long it had been, only that she’d been running for her life ever since, eking every bit of speed she could out of her body in a desperate attempt to keep from being turned to cinders. Which was considerable, given that Reinforcement allowed her to run faster – and longer – than any normal human, but it hadn’t mattered, as her pursuers hadn’t been human to begin with, but things Matou had created solely to torment her.
REE REE REE
Shrill, inhuman cries chased after her, forcing her onward through her exhaustion, through the pain of a body being pressed up against its limits, while her circuits burned beneath her skin as she kept on reinforcing her bones and muscles. Prana she had plenty of – more than most magi alive, what with the massive capacity she’d been born with – but even if her magical energy had been limitless, her body’s ability to make use of it, much less her mind’s ability to withstand the pain of doing so, were not.
Eventually, she would falter.
Eventually, she would fall.
Eventually, she wou—
Whump.
‘Huh…what…’
Why…why was she on the ground, laying on her side, not moving at all as the hated cries of her pursuers came closer, closer, ever closer? Why…why wouldn’t her body—
And then they were on her, as white-hot agony washed over her, consuming her…
…until, mercifully, the darkness finally took her.
While Tohsaka was fleeing from what she considered beasts from hell, the being that called itself Matou Shinji was dealing with its own struggles, as he was fighting desperately against a trio of goblins, with Jack, his assigned partner, nowhere in sight.
When Tomas had first assigned him to spar with member of the Liberation Forces and other individuals of interest, Matou Shinji hadn’t thought much of it. After all, with his experiences on the Isle of Thule, where he’d fought monstrosities and remnants of the Age of Gods, facing mere goblins should be child’s play, especially if they were only using wands (which, as he knew, they had only recently learned to use).
Even if he limited himself to using his wand-staff, ofuda, and Tohsaka’s mechanical owl, purposefully refraining from tapping into the power of his draconic aspect, he hadn’t thought he’d have any trouble, so long as the numbers weren’t absurdly skewed against him.
One on one, two on one, even five on one, he didn’t think would be much trouble, for there was a difference between quality and quantity – and even if the goblins had been trained by a prodigy like Tomas, how long could they have had to internalize what witchcraft was capable of?
Yet, despite his raw power and the edge that ofuda gave him, as well as the benefit of having battlefield surveillance from the mechanical owl Tohsaka wasn't currently using, he found that most of the fights were...quite difficult, especially since the duels weren’t happening on some field of honor or arena, but in an urban environment, where there were environmental hazards to consider and plenty of opportunities for ambushes.
This was particularly the case in a modern city like (Muggle) London, where one had to worry about underground gas lines, possibly drawing the attention of law enforcement, or of course, annoying the magi who called London home, though even in a place like Hogsmeade or Magical London, there were dangers to consider, especially if one couldn’t – due to ability or practicalities – burn down everything in one’s path.
‘Traditionally, practitioners of witchcraft fight duels in open spaces, with members of a group splitting up to face an opponent each. They don’t really have a sense for how to work together in proper squads very well.’
This was true of many practitioners, though not of elite formations such as the Reclaimer Mercenary Company, and notably, not of the goblins of the Albion Liberation Forces, as the ones he fought against had been trained as soldiers long before they were spellcasters, and so didn’t make the same mistakes as those who had been spellcasters before soldiers.
Certainly, they made mistakes, but they were mistakes Matou Shinji didn’t know to expect from experience, which meant he had trouble taking advantage of them. And then, too, he made his own share of mistakes because of his experience, as there had been a time or two that he’d forgotten that the fact that a foe was holding a wand now didn't mean they wouldn't switch to something else if it was more advantageous.
A knife, for example. Or an ax.
More than once he'd yielded – or been forced to yield – after one of his opponents taken advantage of his surprise to press their attacks, shifting the battle from a magical one to one of muscle and might – and given that he was limited to his human form, that wasn't a battle he could necessarily win, given he wasn't nearly as adept in melee as he was at range.
If he'd been wearing the armor the Americans had given him, things would be different, but he'd loaned that to Tohsaka. Likewise, if he’d trained under Rachelle Sondrol for the previous year, the boy imagined that he would have much less trouble dealing with an opponent in a melee, that perhaps he’d be good enough to quickly dispatch an enemy to avoid them tying him down for the rest of a squad to focus fire upon him, which had happened far too many times for his liking before he’d learned to avoid those sorts of confrontations.
He’d very quickly learned that the value of the owl lay not in its offensive capability, but in its reconnaissance abilities, as knowing where an enemy – or group of enemies – was, meant that he could choose how and when to engage.
Not that such intelligence was infallible, as his foes learned to adapt, moving under cover, deploying decoys, sending an individual off as a distraction or using other such tactics to make his reconnaissance data less reliable.
…Shinji could only assume that all of this was according to Lockhart’s grand design, since he supposed that Ministry forces might use broom-riders to scout the approaches to Hogsmeade, and so the goblins needed to learn how to deal with situations where enemies had air superiority, even said enemies did not make attack runs from the air.
‘I suppose if one isn’t used to integrating aerial capabilities into one’s armed forces, it would be easy to dismiss broomriders and other such things as just another type of attacker to deal with, as opposed to an element whose presence or absence can alter the entire flow of a battle, or turn victory into defeat.’
Knowledge, after all, was power, if it was judiciously applied – something any Ravenclaw knew well.
Aside from the matters of strategic importance, however, Shinji was quickly finding that even on a one-to-one basis, some of his opponents had been absolutely deadly, like the one goblin who had swatted him aside when they’d clashed.
Barely a moment after the duel had begun, the goblin, who had been wearing some sort of bulky-looking green and purple armor, had blasted him off his feet with shockwaves from an explosive bolt of power that had detonated mere centimeters from him. He’d been dazed for a moment – and only a moment – but that had been all the time his foe had needed to close the distance and knock him out.
When revived some moments later, Shinji had been in utter shock at how the goblin had managed to do that – with his incredulity growing as he discovered that the explosive bolts were only one of the features of the goblin’s powered armor. Armor that was apparently equipped with some kind of flight wing that gave its owner the ability to fight in the sky, could use the gemino spell to conjure up a never-ending supply of throwing knives (so long as it had prana), featured strength and speed augmentation, on top of being able to resist or deflect many single actions spells and a prana suppression field which shredded the shields of nearby enemies.
…oh, and it could apparently fire blasts of elemental energy on the scale of high-level magecraft.
It was like someone had found a way to take Jewelcraft and integrate it into a highly sophisticated weapon system platform that turned its wearer into a veritable juggernaut that even many magi would be envious of.
‘Who the fuck is this guy?!’ he’d wondered, only to calm down somewhat when he was informed by one of the other goblins that this was the Green Goblin, revered as the current Artificer.
Looking upon his victorious foe, he was tempted – sorely tempted – to shift into his draconic form and see how a being of flesh and metal fared against even a fraction of his true strength, to test if the artificer’s work could endure the glory of dragonfire. He could feel his eyes growing sharper, his teeth more jagged, the fire welling up inside his nerves and veins just waiting to be called.
He even took a step forward, before he reminded himself that this was supposed to be training, not a battle to the death, and the artificer, too, had been holding back (or at least not fighting to kill), so it wasn’t as if the goblin had defeated him in the fullness of his strength.
That battle would come eventually, and when it did…he would be ready.
It wasn't as if he didn't already know there were people far greater than he – it was just that he never expected a goblin to be one of them. For a mere thing of dirt to create something which could overcome one who held the soul of an ancient wyrm…it was nearly unthinkable, and yet, he supposed the children of the stone were not altogether unworthy.
So they proved over and over again, though Matou Shinji managed to hold his own in most other fights, proving that his fearsome reputation wasn’t entirely undeserved.
‘Even with that, I’m probably not going to win this fight.’
After all, in this current five on two, the five included the Artificer, Emilia – whose power and flexibility made her a nightmare to face on the field, and three dangerous looking goblins, all of which were skilled at wand and blade, while the two were Shinji and…a nondescript man in a hooded robe, almost like the one the Stone Cutters had been gifted long ago.
The man, who’d called himself "Jack" (noting that his last name wasn't really of import) and who, by his accent, seemed like an American, hadn’t seemed particularly worried, something which had only made Shinji worry, as he hadn't seen the other man around before – and he wasn’t at all sure the man knew what he was getting into.
'Maybe he just doesn't know how bad the situation is. Emilia is bad enough on her own, but combined with the Artificer? There's...there's no way I can win this, not as a human. Not with some random Stone Cutter impersonator as my partner.'
"You seem concerned, Nines," the man had noted, his tone relaxed and casual, as if the upcoming match was of little concern. "Is something the matter?"
"Is something the..." Shinji had echoed, his voice incredulous, before he caught himself. "Are you aware of how dangerous they are? Our opponents?" he asked, trying a different tack.
"Oh, that?" the other had responded. "Certainly, though they don't get any less dangerous if I fret, so I don't."
"Are all of you Americans so...self-assured?" the boy had wondered, remembering that Elesa had been one to shrug off danger as well. "Or just those of you who go abroad?"
"Just those of us who know the difference between a life and death battle, or a relatively friendly spar," the man had replied. "Which I'm not sure our opponents do. They have power and no small amount of talent, but they're green."
"Which means..."
"That for all the bravery and cunning they may possess, they don't have the benefit of experience," Jack had replied easily. "They're still new at this, and they won't know what to expect from us."
"And you do?" Shinji had asked, raising an eyebrow. "You...you don't look a day over...30?"
The man had only chuckled.
"You should see my boss," was all he’d said in reply. Before he could say anything else though, a bell rung, indicating that it would soon be time to begin. "Since I'm only a visitor, and you're an officer, I'll defer to you. Only polite, after all."
“…I guess,” Shinji had answered, reluctantly accepting command of what he imagined was going to be an utter disaster. “What can do you do anyway?”
Sadly, unlike Elesa, who had used ridiculous implements such as an Astra, or other such things, the man he was partnered with favored apparently mundane daggers as his primary weapons, which, given that their enemies were Emilia, the Artificer, and three goblins, was rather disheartening, as he didn’t see any way for a dagger user to beat them.
Still, it wasn’t as if Jack was an Agent of the US Government who had access to all sorts of items and unnatural abilities, much less one of the Chosen, who could stand against even echoes of the First Age, so the boy tried to moderate his expectations of what the man would be capable of.
‘I mean, I can’t be too disappointed if – no, when, I lose – since I have no reason to expect victory here.’ Though was that really how he should feel? Should he not try to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Or…
“How are you so calm?” he’d managed to ask, just before things began. “Even in the face of what might be defeat?”
“Remember, this isn’t a life or death situation,” Jack had replied. “The stakes are low. It isn’t as if we’re facing the Filth, you know.”
“That’s tr—wait, what?” Shinji had questioned, as his mind caught up to his mouth. “Did you just say the Filth? How…?”
“I’ll tell you if we lose,” the American had answered almost flippantly.
“You know, most people say ‘if we win,’ or ‘when we win,’” the boy had pointed out, feeling slightly irritated at how Jack wasn’t taking this seriously at all.
“Well, I’m not most people, now am I?” Jack had questioned, raising an eyebrow. “That said, any orders, commander?”
Shinji’s mouth had opened, then closed, then opened, then closed again.
“…just do what you want,” the boy had said with resignation.
Jack, surprisingly, had saluted at that.
“Will do, Commander.”
…which brought Matou Shinji back to the current situation, with Jack having vanished, while he was desperately trying to evade three heavily armed goblins who were rapidly closing in on his position. If he had fusion, or was tapping into his draconic powers, he wouldn’t be worried, but with merely human limits – something he hadn’t had to worry about in a while – he might very well lose.
‘Even on a one on one fight, that’s possible, much less for a one on three.’
Still, he had ofuda, so perhaps that would be enough. Or so he hoped as he left a number of disillusioned paper talismans behind him as he moved, willing them to spread out across his surroundings. Would they be enough, he wondered?
‘Well, I suppose we’ll have to see.’
He could see through the eyes of the owl that the first of the goblins was about to enter the area where he was, so he braced himself, and even as a jet of azure light left the tip of the creature’s wand, Matou Shinji had already disappeared, flowing behind the enemy and blasting the goblin in the back with a Confringo, before vanishing again as a second goblin arrived onto the scene, wielding a wicked-looking ax in one hand and a wand in the other.
“Kai!” the boy shouted as he reappeared on a roof, directing a swarm of invisible ofuda at the interloper. The goblin’s head snapped up towards the sound of the cry, but before he could fully track where it had come from, the talismans struck, detonating with a roar like a mountain had collapsed, disabling the second of his foes.
At the sound of footsteps, the boy whirled about, his wand extending into a staff just in time to block a blade that would have otherwise cut into him – though he was unable to kill the momentum of his attacker, and so was flung off a roof.
In mid-air, as he was plummeting to his doom, he flowed to one of the few ofuda he had left, out of sight, even as he commanded the mechanical owl to come in for an attack run, sending razor sharp feather darts at the last of the goblins.
It turned instinctively to deal with the attack, and in that moment, Shinji vanished, and reappeared behind the goblin, with his staff growing to full extension with explosive speed, knocking the goblin – who had been caught in mid-swing at the swooping owl – off of the roof, with gravity doing what raw skill could not.
Panting, Shinji looked around, anxious to see if his short confrontation had drawn any attention, only to find that everything was silent, utterly so.
With a chime, the simulation dissolved around him, with the boy rather surprised to see a number of figures about, with the Artificer scowling – and for once, bereft of his armor. Indeed, the Green Goblin was bent over the suit, which had fallen to the ground in some strange position.
And of Emilia, there was nothing to be seen.
‘No. Wait…’
There was something on the ground near the armor, looking rather annoyed – something…
‘…the tanuki’s true form?’
Shinji blinked.
‘What the hell?’
Had Jack somehow…?
“Ah, I see you were successful in taking out your share of our enemies,” the man noted from where he was seated against a wall, with a small cloud of sweet-smelling smoke wafting from the cigar in his hand. “Congratulations.”
“You…how?”
“Well, I merely took on two, you took on three, which was the greater challenge, was it not?”
Shinji scowled.
“…you took out the Artificer and reverted Emilia to her base form somehow,” the boy said slowly. “How the hell did you…?”
“Experience,” was the man’s laconic reply. “Power alone only takes you so far without knowing how to apply it. You would do well to remember this.”
“…I will.” Shinji took a deep breath. “I don’t suppose—”
“I used my knives, and a small bit of magic. That was all,” the man pre-empted.
“…just who are you, exactly?”
“Just an old dog who has been around his fair share of battlefields,” came the enigmatic response. “And who knows that it isn’t the tool one is using that matters most, but the skill with which one wields it.”
“I see.”
In the wake of that spar/battle/what have you, the two hours were finally up, and Matou Shinji headed over to the locker room to get cleaned up after the long series of fights he’d had. Combat was difficult, tiring – sweaty – work, and he wanted to be sure that he didn’t smell when he went to go check on Tohsaka.
It was a good thing, perhaps, that he hadn’t worn anything too special for the spars – just a set of robes like any other that he didn’t feel bad about peeling off and stepping out of, letting them fall to the floor as he padded over to one of the showers and turned on the water, an explosive sigh of pleasure escaping his lips as the jets of almost scalding hot water struck his skin.
The warmth of the water helped him to relax, soothing his aches away, while the white noise of the shower formed a barrier of sound that isolated him from the outside world, letting him finally feel at ease – and giving him the space he needed to contemplate the past two hours.
‘…that was harder than I thought it would be,’ he reflected. Between how well-trained the goblins had been by the standards of British practitioners, how little his experience on the Isle and fighting various beasts had prepared him for this, and the utter surprise that he had experienced at the end, with the American, Jack, somehow defeating the opposing team’s heavy hitters without anyone being the wiser, the boy had begun to realize just how little he knew about the art of war. ‘I’ve been lucky, in my own way, as I’ve been able to rely on fusion for most of my encounters with dangerous opponents.’
Fusion, superior equipment, or in the case of the Ministry, the power of an elder Wyrm.
Without those things…
‘…I have a lot to learn.’
Indeed, there was a vast gulf of experience that separated him from someone like Tomas, or…from Jack, he supposed, to say nothing of Lockhart. And if he didn’t do his best to bridge that gulf how he would…
‘Then I’ll die, especially if I am ever caught without an advantage in power.’
Matou Shinji had found himself in such a situation on the Isle of Thule, when he had come face to face with an avatar of an Outer God, and so had perished, though to his credit, he had managed to take down his foe in the process. As the entity that bore his name and memories, that was a hell of a legacy to live up to.
No, not merely to live up to, to surpass.
‘But how…how will I…?’
The boy paused, interrupted from his reverie by the feeling of delicate hands brushing the skin of his back. He turned to look behind him to see…
“…Emilia?” he asked uncertainly. “What are you…?”
“I thought you could use some help washing up,” the tanuki responded distantly. She had managed to recover her usual guise, with the curves and grooves of her rather spectacular body on full display, something that made the boy swallow, as he hadn’t realized quite how attractive she was before. “Seemed like you had a lot on your mind,” she continued, as her fingers traced small circles on the small of his back, making him moan with pleasure. “Enough so that you forgot to bring in any soap,” she added saucily, the corners of her lips tugging upwards ever so briefly.
“Ah well…” It was true that he hadn’t brought any such to the headquarters building, but then, he supposed he hadn’t really been thinking about what he’d need for after the sparring. ‘…there’s a lot of things I haven’t been thinking about.’ “I did forget…didn’t I?” he mused, averting his gaze from her shapely form. “Foolish of me.”
“It happens to the best of us,” Emilia responded, her fingers brushing up and down his spine. “I would be happy to share if you so desire, Commander,” the tanuki continued. “That is…I’ll wash your back if you wash mine.”
The boy swallowed.
“…please,” he allowed, his voice hoarse. “I’d…thank you.”
“Of course,” the tanuki noted, as she squeezed something onto her hands and began soaping up his back, working up a thick lather. “Monsters like us have to take care of each other after all.”
“’Monsters like us’?” he repeated.
“You don’t have to hide it – I’m quite aware of your nature,” Emilia responded. “You’re not the same as you were when we fought months ago. I’ve read the reports, but those aren’t quite accurate, are they?”
“…I suppose not,” he conceded slowly, closing his eyes. “This isn’t just about washing my back, is it?” he asked.
“Of course, it isn’t,” Emilia murmured. “I wanted us to be able to chat privately, and this is one of the few places that Miss Suoirtsulli’s familiars don’t monitor.”
“And I suppose I can’t exactly run away, can I, with you between me and the door,” the boy noted with a sigh.
“There is that,” the tanuki admitted.
“Right. What did you want to talk about, then?” he asked, trying to ignore just how good her fingers felt against his skin, as they massaged away knots of tension he hadn’t even really been aware of.
“About humans and others that have only one shape,” came the reply. “In some ways, they’re frail beings, with so many limits that monsters like you and I lack. And yet, some of them find ways to work around such limits, becoming far more of a danger than otherwise expected.”
“Like Jack?”
“Ugh…that is the example of the hour,” Emilia agreed. “What with him beating both the artificer and myself.”
“How did he do that anyway?” Shinji inquired, turning to face the woman, then away as he realized just how close she was.
“A knife and a bit of power,” came the response. “His blade sank right into the armor and discharged something which overloaded the suppression field on it. Imagine my shock when I was forced back into my base form, with the Green Goblin’s armor crashing to the ground near me, unable to move.” He felt, more than saw, her shake her head. “One knife was all he needed.”
“A knife? How did it…” the boy trailed off. “How did it just sink into that armor? It wasn’t—”
“—enchanted? No. I could see that much.”
“Then—”
“It was extraordinarily sharp,” the tanuki responded. “Sharper than anything I’ve ever seen, though it was ruined the moment it cut into the armor.” There was a pause. “It would have been ruined the moment it cut into anything, really, even if it can cut into just about anything.”
“How…why…he used that kind of weapon in something that wasn’t a life or death battle?” Shinji questioned, his voice rising sharply.
“Only a copy of the original, but yes,” Emilia answered. “The American is a dangerous man, and one I can’t quite read properly.”
“You mean…”
“I can’t quite transform into him, much as I would not be able to transform into a fusion user’s fused state,” came the answer. “I can get close, but close doesn’t count for much.”
“Huh.”
“On the subject of limits though, you should be careful with Tohsaka,” the tanuki warned, even as her hands strayed from his back to his arms and shoulders.
“Tohsaka?”
“She is, after all, only human,” Emilia noted. “And if you push her too hard, too fast, she’ll break.”
“Break?” Shinji echoed. “I was just having her run for a couple of hours, while the sparring was going on. That shouldn’t have been too bad. I mean – I wasn’t breathing hard by the end of this, was I? Mere running shouldn't tire anyone out.”
"Well, for monsters like us, that's true," Emilia noted. "But Tohsaka isn’t like us. And unlike someone like Jack, she doesn’t have the experience and training needed to overcome her human weaknesses.” She paused. “Which was why she collapsed during her training, with your drakes setting her alight.”
“Wait, what?!” Shinji whirled about, his eyes wide. “What do you mean, she collapsed?”
“She stopped running. Not because she chose to, but because she couldn’t run anymore, and your drakes, following your instructions, set her on fire.”
“Oh…oh god…is she…?”
“Mostly unharmed, thanks to Miss Suoirtsulli,” the tanuki responded. “She had minor burns, which we are treating her for, though what she will probably mind more is the loss of her hair.”
“Ah…” Shinji grunted, feeling like he’d made a terrible mistake. “I see.” He supposed that perhaps demanding that she continue to run for two hours, without slowing down, without pause, might have been unreasonable, given that she merely flesh and blood. He’d thought that he was letting her off with a slap on the wrist, given how she’d embarrassed him, but…it seemed he had miscalculated.
"It happens with beings like us. We forget that humans have their own foibles and weaknesses, when we live among them," Emilia noted, shaking her head, not unkindly. "As much as we blend in, as much as people don't notice how different we are, we should remember that we are not the same as them. What we can do, they often cannot. Yet their limits have a way of lending them focus, helping them redefine themselves in ways we - or simply I - cannot."
"Getting philosophical on me, Emilia?"
"It has been known to happen every now and again," the tanuki replied. "Especially around others who can understand me."
"You think I can?"
"Can't you? You're as human as I am - which is to say, not at all."
Shinji sighed.
"...I wish I would argue with that. But I can't. I'd just be lying to myself."
"And we all know you have never been one for that, hm?"
"...are you implying something?"
"Not at all, Commander," the tanuki stated. "On the subject of Miss Tohsaka, however, how do you intend to deal with her?"
“…I suppose I should apologize. I did, after all, forget her merely human limits,” the boy noted, shaking his head. “You’ll tell me the way to the infirmary, I trust?”
“Certainly, after we finish up here,” the tanuki answered, turning around. “On that note, now that I’ve washed your back, it’s your turn to wash mine,” she noted, flashing the boy a saucy little smile. “Don’t be shy now.”
After the shower, Matou Shinji found himself wandering towards the infirmary of the Albion government headquarters, as he was somewhat worried about Tohsaka. Only when he got there, he found that he wasn’t alone, as a painfully familiar red-haired woman stood by the sleeping girl’s bedside, looking down at her sedated form as one might look down at an insect.
"Master," Shinji greeted quietly, as he stepped up beside Aozaki Touko, the master puppeteer who had taught him so much. "What brings you here?"
"Wondering what trouble my wayward apprentice had gotten herself into,” the magus drawled.
“And before that?” the boy questioned. “I wouldn’t think you’d just happen to be around Magical London.”
"Business,” the puppeteer replied curtly. “The First Citizen of Albion was apparently impressed by the defenses of your manor and asked me to do what I could to enhance the security of his headquarters. Apparently, he wishes to ensure that London does not fall a second time.”
“Ah.”
“After that, I will be heading to your manor, given that some others may be staying here for a prolonged while. Though your new physiology already makes that necessary."
Shinji winced.
"..I see," were the words that escaped his mouth, as opposed to what he might have wanted to say to his ever cryptic former mentor. "How are you doing now that Tomas is..."
"Now that my former assistant is seeking his own fortune?" the magus inquired.
"Well, yes..."
"Busier," was the puppeteer's succinct response. "Though I hear the same applies to you." She looked him up and down, as if sizing him up, something that made the boy feel slightly uncomfortable. "Defeating an army singlehandedly. Becoming a squad commander. Oh, and meeting Death face to face." She chuckled throatily. "Matou. Even if magi usually describe what they do as walking as death, few take it so...literally."
"There...actually wasn't much walking involved," the boy quibbled, if only because he figured that there was no harm in poking at that little detail. "From either of us, actually."
"Indeed. I read the report," the puppeteer noted grimly. "Funny. You don't seem to be any more of a monster than I am." She lapsed into silence for a long moment as she looked down at the hairless girl laying in the bed before her. "So. Tohsaka. Have you taken her yet?"
"Taken...?"
Touko raised an eyebrow.
"Slept with. Shagged. Fucked. Engaged in car--"
"N-no. That - none of that happened! Or will happen."
The magus harrumphed.
"How disappointing," she said with a slight smirk. "For her, that is. She seemed so eager to join you, firm in the belief that you would accept her into your bed and by your side, only to discover that life is often not what we wish it is. Tell me...how is my wayward apprentice doing under your...care?"
Shinji sighed when he heard the question. He didn’t want to lie to his former Master, and yet…
“As well as you would expect,” he replied diplomatically.
“Which is to say not doing well at all?” the magus pointed out caustically.
“Well…let’s just say that I’m working on fixing her bad habits,” the boy said after some moments.
"I see," Touko noted, somehow seeming like she'd expected such an answer. "So she remains as much of a disappointment as ever. I had hoped that her taking initiative for something for once meant she had changed in some way. I suppose I expected too much. A zero remains a zero, however much it is multiplied by."
Shinji winced.
"Don't you think that's a bit harsh, Master?" he questioned, finding himself frowning at the puppeteer's harsh words.
"No, I don't," was the response, with the magus shaking her head. "Given your background, I can see why you would wish to salvage what you can from her, but there are times when someone useless is best put aside. You have heard of the sunk cost fallacy?"
"...I have."
"I spent half a year training her, and in that time she learned less than you did in a single summer," the puppeteer noted simply. "A spoiled girl who had everything handed to her in life, from her position as heiress and the lands that come with it, to her Crest, to an inheritance that allows her to thoughtlessly destroy a fortune in gems every time she fights – someone like that is simply not capable of becoming a good magus." She paused. "At least, that is what my experience tells me. What do you say, Matou?"
“I…” the boy sighed again. “It’s true that Tohsaka is narrow-minded, given her upbringing. That she needs to expand her views and horizons. That as she is now, she will not make a good magus. But people can change,” he pointed out. “They can redefine who they are, given enough effort. That’s why she is in my squad, so that she can be exposed to new ideas, forced to realize how little she knows.”
“To what end?”
“To give her the tools she needs to choose her own path,” Shinji replied. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to choose mine, so I think she at least deserves a chance to choose hers, whether she chooses to follow in her father’s footsteps as a magus, or as something else.”
“Hmph. You are kinder than I expected, Matou,” the puppeteer noted, almost reproachfully. “Kinder than I would be, certainly.” There was a moment’s hesitation from Aozaki Touko’s part, something Shinji picked up on and was about to question when she spoke again. “I will be town for business for a few days, and at the end of the week, I intend to have dinner with a few...associates," the puppeteer noted. “Business, again, but it may prove interesting for you to attend, if you so desire.”
“Ah, thank you, Master!”
Aozaki Touko glanced down at the hairless form of Tohsaka, laying on the bed before her.
“I suppose if you desire, you can bring Tohsaka along, though it is likely to be a formal affair.”
“…may I ask who these associates are you’ll be dining with?”
“You may ask.”
“…but you won’t answer.”
“I can tell you that Miss Kyrielight will be there. Aside from that, it is not my place to say.”
“…I’d better not bring Tohsaka then,” he said, glancing down at Rin. “The last thing I need is for her to cause me – or herself – any more trouble.”
“And here I thought you liked trouble, Matou.”
“I don’t go looking for it, if that’s what you mean.”
Aozaki Touko raised a slender red eyebrow.
“Often.”
The eyebrow was raised yet higher.
“…I don’t go looking for it all the time?”
“It seems you can be accurate if you try,” the puppeteer noted, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a cigarette. “Speaking of trouble, do you still want the armor you requested cut into…the form you desired on the isle? It’s not too late for me to give you those experimental mystic eyes instead.”
Shinji snorted, despite himself.
“Master, please, don’t joke about this.”
“Who’s joking?”
Choice 130: Well, you heard Touko. What do you want to do with that armor you ordered? (Current configuration: Crotchless bodystocking)
[ ] Keep the design the way it is
[ ] Make a change[ ] Make it a Zentai suit[ ] Actually, I want to get those Gandr shooting eyes instead...
[ ] Maybe a nice coat?
[ ] (write-in)
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
[x] Make a change
>>>>>>>[x] Make it a Zentai suit
Might as well go for the full body suit.
Last edited by Daiki; October 28th, 2019 at 04:02 PM.
[x] Make a change
>>>>>>>[x] Make it a Zentai suit
[x] Make a change
>>>>>>>[x] Make it a Zentai suit
Fine if we have to make a change. Hopefully zentai suit would feel a little less stupid.
[x]Make a change
[x]Make it a Zentai suit
Choice 130: [x] Make a change
>>>>>>>[x] Make it a Zentai suit
Choice 131: There is a rumble from above - the signal indicating that the battle was joined. Tohsaka of course, stayed below, continuing to reinforce the ground and turn it into stone, as she felt that if she was going to do a job, it should be done well. That was part of her pride as a magus, after all, to see that things were done properly, instead of being some self-assured monster that used high-handed means to impose their will on others, with all sorts of unintended effects because they didn't take the trouble to understand the hearts and limits of others, only toying with them.
Monsters...she was surrounded by them. The First Citizen's Secretary (who was probably some relation of the Edelfelt), Fujou Kohaku, the Goblins - all of these were inhuman monsters. Even Matou, who she'd once trusted with her life, was a monster - one crueler and more malicious than the others put together, who toyed with the hearts of maidens and enjoyed tormenting others by punishing them for things like defending themselves, or trying to express their concerns.
And all for what? His self-image? Did he have no loyalty to people who had been loyal to him through thick and thin? No care for someone who had come to another country to be with him, who had endured so much because of him? No delicacy towards a maiden who had given him her heart?
Before she knew it though, she had finished, with the foundations of the tower all turned to stone - something that had taken a considerable amount of her reserves to pull off.
What's the next step?
[ ] Take a moment to rest from her exertions
[ ] Reach out into the environment and see if there's prana she can draw into herself
[ ] Examine how things are going through the eyes of the owl, which had been acting autonomously
[ ] Head up to join the others - she can see things through her own eyes
[ ] (write-in)
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
[X] Examine how things are going through the eyes of the owl, which had been acting autonomously
People are fighting for their lives Rin so first option is right out. 2nd option maybe. But really it is a question of the how to observe the battle so that she can help out. I think aerial view might be better so she is ready when she get to the surface.
[X] Examine how things are going through the eyes of the owl, which had been acting autonomously
[x]Examine how things are going through the eyes of the owl, which had been acting autonomously
Choice 131: [x]Examine how things are going through the eyes of the owl, which had been acting autonomously
Choice 132: The scene from above is a thing out of nightmares, with dozens - no - hundreds of dog and horse sized spiders boiling out of the ground and trying to scale the walls of the redoubt. The air is filled with screams of pain, with the smell of singed hair and seared flesh mingled with freshly spilled ichor, as spikes of earth rise from the ground to impale spiders and Lovegood (who now is displaying the ears and tail of a fox - is she a youkai?!) controls pale orbs of fire which descend again and again, consuming the flesh of whatever they touched.
On the ground, a spirit laughs, ichor dripping from the two blades it held in its hands as it killed and killed and killed, always being just a bit more brutal, more savage, than necessary, aiming to inflict the most possible suffering, eliciting the most fear before a spider dies. It cripples, wounds, savages foes, but draws out their deaths with a cruelty one would expect of a yurei or onryou.
And on the battlements of the redoubt, the other Stone Cutters are casting furiously, with waves of ofuda surging forth from Matou to rip holes in the formation of the oncoming swarm, even as the others use spell-beams of some sort, which pick off individual spiders, but...despite all of that, the spiders are gaining ground, crawling over the corpses of their brethren in an attempt to reach their enemies, and responding to the fire from above with needles of hair as long as her arm.
Lovegood blocked these, of course, using one of her orbs like a shield, and the redheads somehow managed to block, as one of them was casting a barrier, yet the older one was not quite fast enough, his shield not quite big enough, and took a needle to the knee. Thankfully, the robes they were wearing seemed to keep it from penetrating, but still, the man flinched, nearly stumbling off the battlements as he lost his footing. Thankfully, Matou was there to help, but that meant he was distracted from his task of wide-area suppression, with the spiders taking advantage of this to draw closer, closer, ever closer, the circle of death around the redoubt growing ever smalller.
What is Rin's plan of action, once she gets topside?
[ ] Fight from the battlements, using her gems to tear open holes in their formation
[ ] Fight using her mystic code - perhaps enhanced Gandr spells will help
[ ] Go down to the ground, where she can use her martial arts
[ ] Go down to the ground and try to use earth spells to supplement the spikes
[ ] Use the owl as recon and relay info to the other defenders, trusting them to handle themselves
[ ] (write-in)
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
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