Day 1: Candidate Selection

Day 1: First Singularity: Argonaut Institute

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A podium with “Gregory Leos, Director of Argonaut” on a plaque stood before a large number of Master candidates the group had been hand-picked carefully by Leo himself. Although his name being Gregory Leos people tended to call him Greg or Leo he didn’t mind either but next to him stood a woman in a black tuxedo shirt and tie. She was radiant even in a simple suit, styled after a story of a servant in the recent grail wars of Fuyuki city.

Even with her hair braided she looked brilliantly awash in heavenly light. He shook his head he was about to greet the new candidates to the program.
Walking up on the stage she followed him and stood behind his right side, actually it was precisely half a pace behind him half a pace to the right. He knew it was her way of keeping him safe, but it couldn’t hurt her to step a few more paces away either. He was lucky her vessel heard his call. He knew that he wouldn’t betray her trust, but he also sighed and appreciated the attention.

'Master was nervous again, he never liked it when I hover near him but letting strangers this close was dangerous especially when Master was the key to the ARGOS system. No wait that wasn’t right it was Altered Reality Global... something system. So calling it the Argos system meant referring to the word system twice. Ugh, why did modern mages have to name things so foolishly? Oh! Altered Reality Global Operation System, which was powered by the Naught. That’s right. The Naught' she thought to herself.

Taking a step toward the window and away from her master she peered down into the core of Mount Olympus which was hollowed out for the ARGOS, and it’s connection to the Naught. The near infinite mana producing generator that supplied the entire complex with energy. Usually this technology would run on something called electricity, but instead, the mana generator powered everything from the lights to the command seals on Master's hand. Taking the sort back she looked at him and also sighed, what a naive Master she had found.

As she stepped away a swell of guilt washed over Gregory as he felt as if he had wished her away despite his earlier begrudge of her placement Leo realized he missed the moment she went further away. He turned to the crowd, which had been smaller then he expected but all the same, composed himself and clearing his airways with a half cough he began.

“Gathered Mages, we are herein called to serve the greatest good even in our quest for the root we must preserve life for the future, you all have been gathered her to take part in serving this noble task. The preservation of humanity's future, a few short years ago the Chaldea Mages discovered many singularities that plague our past, with the ability to travel through time with their systems they began to correct singularity after singularity, but it was not enough.” He paused for dramatic effect, “We will have your first servants summoned here in this room, on the ground around you is the seals of summoning, with these magic runes you will summon forth your own servants." Gregory gestured to the floor nearby, and some homunculi helped the master candidates get sorted out to each of the summoning areas assigned to them. A screen came down to cover the windows and text appeared in mid-air. Though the written word was in a non-Greek language, it is the magical language that is understandable by all members of magical society a written language that translates for you as you observe it. The inscription is the verbal requirements to summon a servant.

Elements of silver and iron;
Foundation of stone and the Archduke of pacts;
A wall for descending wind;
Close the gates on the four sides;
Come forth from the thrones;
And follow the forked road leading to the kingdom;
Behold! My will creates your body;
And your sword; my destiny;
If you heed the Grail's call...
and obey my will and reason.
Then answer me.
I hereby swear!
That I shall be all the good in the world!
And that I shall defeat all evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven, clad in the great words of power.
Spring forth now Guardian of the Scales!

"The ritual is here summon when ready," Leo turns to the woman behind him, "Ruler, will you oversee the summoning to confirm validity?" She stepped forward and changed her clothing in a quick, brilliant light display that was momentary and instantaneous. She stood and held her banner aloft, and it glowed while she stood in observation.

Nervousness, worry, determination and excitement filled Mason's thoughts the previous night. His oceanic blue eyes stared upon the podium where the leader of the institution, Gregory Leos, stood in observance of each of those who had been recruited by the Argonaut Organization. Accompanying the director was of course the radiant blond woman beside him, dressed in a fine black suit and her hair done up into a bun in order to give her a proper authoratic look, yet despite this the beauty and genuine good nature of the girl shone like a beacon in the dark, within her features, those sky blue eyes and her kind welcoming smile.

Mason's thoughts returned towards the decision his master had made for him, the offer rather, of being sent as in her stead as her apprentice. It was of course a show of how much faith she held in Mason as a mage, to risk the reputation of the famed freelancer, Alicia Nightmoon. But the only reason Mason had made the decision to join wasn't due to his mentor's faith in him. It was for the safety and well being of his sister.

Cass......


His thoughts veered to his sister, whom currently resided in the medical ward of the institution, being looked and checked over and cared for as per the agreement. Mason of course was sharing a room with her, her condition believed to heal quickly if allowed contact with a trusted and loved face.

The only problem was really their names. Mason, having cast aside his family name had adopted his mentor's. However, his sister refused to do so, still wishing her family's name to go on despite the horrors wrought by them. She still had pride in the Triseptis line even after everything she had endured. And she even wished Mason to keep the name.....but he couldn't. Not after what his sister had endured and what he had witnessed and learned.

To him, the Triseptis line needed to be forgone and forgotten.....for good.

As the Director of the project began to speak, Mason's eyes looked up upon the young man. He was surprised that such a young mage was the one in charge, then again the mages here weren't all far in their years either. It almost appeared as if his mentor would of been the oldest had she accepted the position.

Looking towards the floor, the runes set apart from one another to allow a comfortable space for the summoning. Homunculi quickly aided the participants into position at one of the circles, prepped and ready for the ritual to be performed. 

Mason took a deep breath and looked upon the runes before him, recalling what his mentor had told him about the summoning of a servant. To think he would be thought capable of doing so, a ritual taking such focus and power....

He closed his eyes as he pondered this......to summon a Heroic Spirit......would he be able to......?

....I can.......Cass.....I can do this....!


He opened his eyes, the blazing determination within them matched by the curve of a smile on his lips. He held out his arm and focused his mind, preparing to perform the ritual.

For the world.....the world his sister lived in.....he would fight as its protector.

"Elements of silver and iron;
Foundation of stone and the Archduke of pacts;
A wall for descending wind;
Close the gates on the four sides;"

As he began the chant it was as if his vision had become tunneled, focused completely on the runic summoning circle before him. It was as if all light in the room had been sucked from his vision, spare that which emanated from the circle itself as it arced with electric sparks from the ritual.

"Come forth from the thrones;
And follow the forked road leading to the kingdom;
Behold! My will creates your body;
And your sword; my destiny;
If you heed the Grail's call...
and obey my will and reason.
Then answer me."

The effort of the summoning was felt for sure of from the young man, sweat already beginning to form on his face as he poured everything into his efforts, the same as everything he performed. His eyes completely focused upon the circle as if attempting to visualize the servant he was contacting. The force from the amount of mana being placed upon it causing his hair and clothing to sway, alongside his fellow Master's own rituals.

"I hereby swear!
That I shall be all the good in the world!
And that I shall defeat all evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven, clad in the great words of power.
Spring forth now,"

Across the top of his hand sparked a bright red light, the stigmata of a Master traced upon it.

"Guardian of the Scales!"

The massive cloud of smoke from the many rituals being performed permeated the entire room, along with an astonishing shockwave from the arrival of the servants, though Mason's fell specifically to his own, protecting his eyes with a raised arm upon finishing the incantation.

Recovering his breath from the effort of the summoning, Mason lowered his arm slowly as the silhouette came into view within the circle, standing within the center.

The first thing he noticed were the eyes, bold and red with a gaze that seemed to cover you as if appraising you and your worth. The second was the hair, long dark purple hair flowing down as low as her waist, swaying from the shockwaves that had just passed through. Her face was mostly covered by a black veil that covered up to her eyes. Her body seemed to be covered in a skin tight bodysuit that reached all the way to her toes and fingertips. Above the bodysuit were a few other articles. Her shoulders bore two small curved metal pauldrons. Wrapped around her body, tight against the suit seemed to be a piece of thin fabric held together by metal clasps, giving her appearance a slightly more visual of being a higher class. Along her waist the fabric that wrapped around her flared back slightly in a light flowing cloth.


"I came from the Land of Shadow." Her voice was stern yet somehow a tender softness came from it. If Ruler could be associated to radiance, this woman was that of a beautiful dancing shadow, a darkness enticing yet mysterious and welcoming. "My name is Scathach, Lancer Class Servant." She continued her red eyes meeting the deep blue of Mason's. "I guess I should call you, Master?"

Mason's right arm lowered, though as he did he caught notice of the sigil upon his hand, the stigmata of a Master, command seals. His fingers slowly closed into a fist as the reality of everything began to set in. He had succeeded, summoned a servant and sanctified his bond with them via his command seals.

Once more his lips curled into a grin and his eyes met with his Servants, the azure blue in start contrast to her bold red. ""My name is Mason Nightmoon." he introduced himself, clenching his fist tight as the fire within his eyes burned brightly at the future before him, his keen mind and heart excited at this new road he had been set upon. "It is an Honor to be your Master, Lancer Scathach."

The eyebrows of the servant gave an almost invisible raise as their gaze crossed, noticing the flicker of flame within the boy. An ember, nothing more.....yet despite being just an ember burning furiously with no sign of detriment or going out.


"My spear is at your command, my Young ember of a Master."

Mason blinked once at that a bit confused. Ember of a master? No it didn't matter what she called him. His grin widened as the two newly bonded Master and Servant took in the other through their eyes.

Normally, selecting an outfit was a matter of course and not something to become absorbed in, no matter the import of the upcoming event. For most of her social outings, one of several sets of identical work clothes were the proper choice, the only differentiation between them their state of cleanliness. In this case though, a statement should be made. Her first major appearance before a large gathering of other mages, perhaps ever, should be something of a special occasion. Thus, a black, smartly fitted blazer, black long sleeved shirt in the fashion of private academies the world over, a black skirt that reached the tops of her short black socks over sensible black flat shoes, and a tie in the rusty red color of recently spilled blood her only non black item of clothing. Even the rims of her spectacles absorbed light in their blackness. 

In the crowd of other prospective summoners later on, her long fingered surgeons hands flexed over and over, careful attention to posture and proper behavior leaving them lax rather than clenched in tension as the moment neared. Her particular place in the formation took some walking to reach, given its placement far across the room from where she'd chosen to stand to listen to the blonde speaker, but that only gave an opportunity to breathe, to center herself as she had been trained in far more stressful situations than this one, stiffen her spine, and take her place.

The chant itself was simple enough to give voice to, her vocal chords capable of much more strenuous things than this, having been strengthened by screaming. The thoughts and power behind the chant were significantly more difficult to grapple with, and best left for another time. Concentration was one of the key components here, and so she did, her green eyes gazing somewhere into the middle distance. 

Elements of silver and iron;
Foundation of stone and the Archduke of pacts;
A wall for descending wind;
Close the gates on the four sides;
Come forth from the thrones;
And follow the forked road leading to the kingdom;
Behold! My will creates your body;
And your sword; my destiny;
If you heed the Grail's call...
and obey my will and reason.
Then answer me.
I hereby swear!
That I shall be all the good in the world!
And that I shall defeat all evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven, clad in the great words of power.
Spring forth now Guardian of the Scales!

Stress buildup from the summoning ritual was outwardly visible in the tightening of her lips and the far less visible sweat beneath her clothing, the tenseness of her arms and fingers; tendons standing out in her neck. Unforgivable lapses in composure to be corrected at a later date. The strength of her diction and rigidness of posture led to something that at first appeared to be an anticlimax and hint of failure, the latter of which would prompt a severe reappraisal of her choices and effort up to this point. Before more than a hint of that thought could wisp its way through her brain, the tendrils of smoke that had thus far gone unnoticed coalesced into a much larger misty bubble that instantly reassured as well as worried her. When it burst outward, tendrils almost seeking at something rather than just dissipating, the figure revealed within was an immense relief just in that it was something, rather than nothing. She had succeeded.

Greetings you pretty little Jew. How lovely to meet you. Shall we go on to great things, little Master? The girl was not small, the diminutive just seemed appropriate somehow. The glower visible in her expression despite how dead her eyes otherwise seemed made everything just a little better; made the day just that slightest bit brighter.

She didn't quite know how to take that. As a greeting, it left a lot to be desired; but as it was a greeting at all, she decided to take what she could get; their relationship would crystallize with time, no need to force the issue. Master or Mistress will do.

Gregory Leos. He knew his name would impact history, but this was going to be far more literal now that his organization was taking off. The people her summoning servants before him as they did Ruler’s ability “Gods resolution” a class ability universally limited to rulers began to count up the number of servants summoned under her banner. She stood tall and held out that banner for all new servants to see it even seemed to bluster slightly in the winds of summoning spells. The mages present were very skilled and some might even thing such a simple incantation a shouldn’t be able to summon a servant to them but in fact it was the same summoning rituals used for the the holy grail wars of the past. In those pointless battles they would fight for a wish granting device. The magical cup of god, the Holy Grail. Those weren’t gone either in regions to the east they still had these barbaric contests of magecraft.

In fact they had spread in influence lately all over the world with fake grails forming anytime some Master got the balls to try and summon one up, but they had become mocking copies. Anything of sufficient magical renown had started to manifest powers like that of a grail. In the institutes case they had used Leos’ magic to rebuild the Argonaut, Jason’s ship. The problem was his magic was no where near as strong as a caster servant so his ability to create it was very limited even with an unlimited mana supply from the Naught Imaginary Element Reactor. Sometimes called the Nier or the Naut for short, this was the device used to power everything from lights to the Rayshift pods. The pods were made in a way that allowed servants to follow their masters into the past or future without needing to be in a pod themselves this provided servants much more freedom within the compound, there was one exception, Ruler. Her and her master had to share a double pod. It had each of them back to back confined in the space to allow them to make the fusion to Demi-Servant status upon arrival in the past or future. Which this was the next task placed before these Master candidates- actually that was the next task for these Masters and Servants.

Leo stepped up the to speaking area again as the summoning completed and he said loud enough for the back to hear, “Now we will proceed into the rayshift chambers, Masters, you may bring your servants with you but it isn’t mandatory. We will be connecting to the first leyline tonight and transporting to our first singularity today. The homunculus will guide you and your servants to the pods. The pods regulate your biofunctions and magic levels. Whenever we arrive you will be granted three command spells just like the ones on your hands. Those spells will match mine rather then your normal stigmata, this is because they represent the mana provided to you by the institute those three plus a small bundle of mana will all that can be transferred so use noble phantasms sparingly. Excessive use will cause your past self to destabilize with the rayshift and an emergency return function may occur, same goes for Master death. If you lose your servant you can resummon them here when you return. The stigma on your hand will confirm the same servant returns to you from the throne of heroes. But be warned you may need to reforge lost experiences as the throne of heroes can’t provide flawless servants with our summoning method currently.” His personal plan was to change that if he could.

Setting down her banner as the summons finished Ruler wandered over to Berserker as he stood near. “Berserker ready for action, it should be fun? Our first real fight, and we still don’t even know where we are going.” Her eyes were practically glittering at the Great Sage of the east. She stared at him with an eagerness for attention that was pure and innocent. “I can’t wait to see you in battle. I’ll do my best to provide support for you.” Leo had trained with Ruler far more then with Berserker due to the amount of time they had been summoned, Berserker had been a recent addition to his roster while Ruler had been with him since the formation of the institute. Even now she seemed ready to launch into the unknown to battle the strong and hold her banner high with courage befitting the Holy Maiden of France that she was, turning to stand next to the great Monkey King with a bit of a twirl he banner swirling behind her she looked at the servants picking out a few she thought would work well with them. She knew their names and the name of their noble phantasm but that was a secret she wouldn’t spill easily.

"Now see here Berserker." She said as her chest puffed up a bit, "My kindness does have limits, I will accept you don't like the gods of your time, but I am neither God, not Gods, I'm a fellow servant and not going to roll over when you are dismissive of me because of my faith in a higher power. I want to get to know you, but it's tough when you are a stubborn boar."  She stood there confidently staring at him. Her obvious upset as being viewed down upon just because he felt himself better than her.  She wasn't backing down she had some spine to her, she wasn't going to let herself be disrespected in this fashion. "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness." She stood before him waiting for an apologize she didn't expect to get. Even if he did apologize chances are he wouldn't mean it. She just looked at him and held her banner a little more firmly then she had during the summoning ritual.

Leos noticed the little spat his servants were having when a young woman approached him, as she got closer she spoke to him, and his eyes lit up. "Sis. Well pretty easy when you've grown into a mature woman, last time I saw you, you were just a short kid. I'm very proud you managed to summon a servant, this is Archer, right? It's a pleasure Archer. You can call me Leos or Berserker's or Ruler's Master. Nova, we are about to Rayshift for the first time. The place we are going is ancient Greece. Please make your way to your pod." He pointed at a Homunculus who was waiting to lead her to a pod, he turned and shouted, "Ruler! It's time!" He headed over to the double pod and waited for Ruler to arrive. For the others which were already in their coffins the start-up system for the Rayshift had already begun and while we would all arrive in the same moment some were already experiencing the trip through time.

Visual effect of the rayshift from minds perspective.:

The summoning rituals seemed to all end simultaneously, almost in complete sync with one another. Mason's eyes fell upon those who had summoned forth their Heroic Spirits, wondering if he could possibly recognize who they may be in any way. His sister and Teacher had both made sure he was well versed in history and mythology, that being at times the origins of modern magecraft.

So he surveyed the servants that had been summoned by each Master with a smile, testing his own knowledge. 

"Observing our allies, are we?" Scathach asked as she stepped besides Mason, the young man seemingly non-plussed at the mere centimeters of the lovely woman before him.

"I wanted to see if I could determine any of their identities if at all possible." He answered simply.  His gaze fell upon the red haired man in tow to a young raven haired girl who was approaching the Director of the facility. The Servant was quite handsome and armored in plate, leather, cloth and chain-mail, a knight by mere glance if he had to guess immediately.

With that his gaze fell upon the two servants surrounding the Director, the still radiant and proper Ruler had been joined by a well built sternly muscled man, dressed in Chinese armor one might declare in the period of the warring 3 kingdoms. Fiery blonde-red hair that encroached along his face and flew back wild along with the small nose gave him a bit of a monkey look......then again he did have a tail as well.

Turning his head away from them he fell upon the next Servant and Master, he found himself staring at a young man dressed in cloth and leather, long raven colored hair descending down the back of his neck.

...........Damn it, I got no idea who any of them are.


Scathach had been following her Master's gaze, taking in her own opinion and look of the Servants before her. The two beside the Director of this facility of course were impressive, especially the one in the Chinese armor. While it was clear that one was a Ruler, every servant being made known of this fact through the Grail upon summoning, the Berserker beside him was something of a sheer monster. Where the potential within Mason was capable of being manifested into something grand, the Berserker's potential had been fanned to near perfection. Her Wisdom of Dun Scaith gave her a fogged over look of their capabilities.....and that one was capable of feats that could sunder the world.


The Archer besides the girl approaching the Director however was similar, talent and potential honed and trained. 


The Assassin however.......she couldn't understand the flame within him. The shadows cast by it twisted in a way. Perhaps that was simply what it meant to stare at one who's potential developed into the route of assassination, the combat of cowardice.


"Alright, Scathach," Mason spoke up with a smile towards his Servant, turning and looking towards the pods Leos had directed them towards. "It looks like we are getting started pretty quickly. Rayshifting......" Despite his nervousness it was clear he was quite excited for what he was about to undergo. 


A Homunculus stood at the pod, ready to assist the Master he was assigned with the safe assimilation into the pod. Mason, who had never seen a Homunculus smiled and greeted the being in front of him, as well as thanking them and claiming he was in her care while he was placed into the pod, properly set up by the Homunculus so their Rayshifting would be done safely. 


Mason looked up through the pod at Scathach, who's ruby red eyes met his as she looked upon her Master.


"I'll see you on the other side," He said smiling brightly. "Hope you can join me soon."


"I'll follow shortly, Master." She confirmed with a nod of her head. "Should this go wrong, I shall ensure the Homunculus is properly punished.


"N-No there is no need for that...." Mason chuckled. 


At a final check from the Homunculus Mason lay himself back and relaxed as best he could as they prepared for the rayshift.


Closing his eyes, Mason was met with total darkness as he awaited for a strange sensation, though now sure exactly what that would be.


And then there was pure silence, which became eerily uncomfortable when paired with the darkness. He then was surrounded by bright stars, glimmering in the vast emptiness of space, flying past him as he seemed to be soaring through the dark void littered with stars. Suddenly the space before him seems to contort and zoom, the center of it pitch black to a degree it was even absorbing the light around it.


And suddenly he was engulfed in the black void once more, only to suddenly feel solid ground beneath his feet, though his body felt weak and vision so blurry he felt blind. 


Whether he had successfully rayshifted or not.....he didn't know.

Before The handsome monkey king could forge his path alongside the homunculus escort, Jeanne d'Arc surprised him by putting her foot down to stand up against the rather generous-yet critical-words of the great warlord. First of all, it was baffling enough that a mere mortal would ever find the gall to call him a boar. A BOAR!? he would not be compared to anything of the likes of Zhu Bajie! Although he had not quite met him in this chronological form, he was very well aware of the fate he would endure...and at this point...to be compared to a swine was a insult! but...he would forgive her...merely because she knew who he was, and still decided to brandish her courage...Still, she had to be taught a lesson.

"Oh canonized saint of the Hundred Year War, Your kindness is your weakness," he confirmed in a hushed tone, "You were captured and crucified as a heretic after a pitiful skirmish at Compiègne because you allowed France to negotiate a truce...because you allowed your enemies to live instead of stamping them out before they could execute you in the name of their...and your god. if I were you..."[size] The monkey king paused and leaned in close, "I would have slain every last one of them for their impudence and the stain they left on society and the accusations they claimed against me...because you are a noble and proud servant...but one who died in a pitiful and undeserving fashion."[/size]


The monkey king then straightened himself and brushed past her, "Your loyalty to your faith despite that infuriates me, and the way you died makes me pity you..." After that, he left her be. eventually making it to the pod to get transferred to the echo of Greece

Metsu would hold out his hand as he took a deep long breath, he wasn't sure how ready he was for this as he looked around, watching as all the summons went on. 'Damn, I barely payed attention and memorized the words poorly, this is a shitty first impression.' He thought to himself as he looked around. He looked like he stood out from most of the candidates, and to him, Leo honestly looked like a tool. But when it came down to it, the illuminati had assigned him to assist in their cause, so he did as they asked. 

Pulling out a cigarette and lighting it slowly, he didn't care much for rules... or he was just trying to make a scene. 'Damn, my eye is hurting again... I need to use one of my parent's enchantments later to avoid losing my eyesight again...' Taking a deep breath he then raised his hand up, "Fuck it! Let's get this over with!" 

Elements of silver and iron;
Foundation of stone and the Archduke of pacts;
A wall for descending wind;
Close the gates on the four sides;
Come forth from the thrones;
And follow the forked road leading to the kingdom;
Behold! My will creates your body;
And your sword; my destiny;
If you heed the Grail's call...
and obey my will and reason.
Then answer me.
I hereby swear!
That I shall be all the good in the world!
And that I shall defeat all evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven, clad in the great words of power.
Spring forth now Guardian of the Scales!

His confidence built up, his mind was cleared as he let out a wide smirk. In this moment he was only thinking of setting things right, putting up a good example for his dead sister... he just happened to be terrible at it. At first there was just silence... nothing had happened as he let out a loud, "The fuck!? Maybe I said it wrong!" Shortly after that a bright light had appeared before him. A feminine silhouette was displayed before him, her appearance of wearing a white and blue sailor suit, A black eye patch over her right eye. Her hair was of a beautiful blue as she stepped out in elegance. He was successful.


Looking at him for the first time, appereances can tell a lot about one. Noticing a blind eye, scars on his face, the dark clothing she could tell he was a trouble maker, but regardless she seemed to like that about him. Kneeling in front of him on one knee she bowed slightly, a crescent moon bow on her head. "Greetings master, I am Saber class.. The one eyed dragon, Masamune Date! But you however may call me, the greatest Daimyo of all of japan... No! The World!"




"Yea... not gonna happen..." He said to her in a rather non-caring way. "Come one Master, that is just mean!" She said in quick response to what he said. She was obviously acting childish.


'I kinda wish I could get a do-over on this one... but she will do for now I guess.' He said in his mind looking at all the others. He had a slight blush on h is face though, he found her behavior rather... cute.

Rather than looking around at the other Servants being summoned, or the Masters capable of accomplishing such a feat, Nadia focused on the Servant in front of her, evaluating first his appearance and then turning inward to consider the implications of the Servant she'd achieved this partnership with. Knowing their companions would be completely useless if she didn't have a firm grasp on their own capabilities first; the knowledge of the others would come later. Her inspection and introspection would be delayed for now, however, as the procedure to 'Rayshift' them was apparently to begin soon. Nodding to her Servant, Nadia turned away to approach what was to be her own pod for the procedure, still without saying a word, but stiffly and formally nodded to any Master whose gaze would catch hers on her way to the pod.

Uninterested in the science-magic of the pods and 'Rayshifting' and far, far more interested in the other Servants, Assassin casually ditched his ever so formal Jewish princess and went straight for the meat of the matter, the knightly woman with the banner and the man with a tail who were having such a scintillating and loud conversation, even as the less than relevant Master who'd been overseeing the lovely get-together thus far began to walk away. "Helllloooo my lovely young companions~ No need for discord this early, surely?" He'd oooozed himself to a standing stop slightly off to the side yet between the two, head on a swivel, a polite smile showing no teeth gracing his lips; hands spread harmlessly, with no visible weaponry.

Leos slid into his pod and as he did Ruler appeared behind him in the second half of their unique pod, this left her conversation abruptly cut off but they could continue it in the past. Leos' eyes closed and the spacial rift shifted his body into the past. His eyes opened, as they did his mind and Ruler's became one once more.



Looking at their hand the two within the body saw the command spells and the other masters around them on this idyllic plateau overlooking the valley. They couldn't be sure, but it looked like they had moves to the other side of the valley which meant, looking across the valley was Mount Olympus, it was much higher now and even seemed to extend into the heavens. It was quite likely that it still functioned as the Greek Paradise for the Gods. At least for now. As they stood blinking in the ancient era, the two minds both became acutely aware of the presence of servants in the area but not their location. "Everyone, please prepare for a confrontation, we don't know where the enemy is, but it seems we might be surrounded in some form." The enemy presence was everywhere around, but not on the same level it felt like maybe higher locations, but they were on a mountain top. Looking up the sun was in the sky where one servant seemed to be, and if there was another, they must have been hiding in the sunlight the rest seemed to be below on either side. Were they already fighting?

A woman dressed in blue appeared before the group her hair was a light brown and her three whitetails stuck out behind her, the kimono she wore was drastically out of place. "Miko~ Look people from another era. Oh? Master, should I attack these people? No? But aren't they our enemies? They are? Okay but- Hai!~ Right away master! Goodbye, people." And as suddenly as she had appeared she vanished leaving them more confused than before. Then a large rumble took the mountain as a tall lady strode over the crest of the plateau. She was radiating divine energy, but seemingly unable to regulate it at all. Masters observing her would receive very little information, she was a berserker, but one particular "The Monkey" might have recognized her.

Before having the last word with Ruler, Wukong was intercepted by the man clad in unimpressive armor and repulsive charm. He gave the man a simian snarl, yet he slowed to a halt to give this mortal the great privilege that was his acknowledgement. That he quickly regretted. ”Young?” the Great Sage repeated skeptical, almost as if he was confirming if he heard it correctly. His aureate gaze grew hostile, and his posture became threatening enough that others might be concerned if he was going to brawl with Assassin right then and there...but he didn’t. Instead he brushed past him too, knocking into his shoulder intending to bump him clear out of the way. ”Insult me again, and I will have your head,” he hissed and continued to follow the homunculi. Seriously...So far this place was a cesspool for insolence.


Trudging over to the pod with an air of raw vanity mixed in with boiling rage, the Handsome Monkey would eventually reach his destination and literally hop into the pod. He just wanted to get this done with, save the world, and then do something better with his fucking life. Nestling himself into his chamber, he tried to settle down enough to feel relaxed for this Rayshift bullshit...which actually...was pretty cool. He was capable of outrageous arcane feats...but he had never thought time could be defied. Even though he came into this world very well familiar with how it worked, he still didn’t quite believe the time defying implications it had...yet...here they were...back in Greece. It took a moment to acclimate himself to this new existence, rubbing his cloud boots into the ground to feel the natural traction so that he could believe himself that this was reality. The next moment, however, was spent swiftly picking the Jingu bang-the size of a toothpick-from his mouth so he could mentally command it to return to its normal length and slammed one end into the plateau hard enough to break through the solid surface. Leos was right, several servant signatures had surrounded their position...but one...one stood out more than the others.


The familiar divine presence was closer than expected, appearing right before them. The Great Sage Equalling Heaven grew rigid with shock. Every muscle in his body froze in disbelief as his last experience echoed within the confines of his mind. Each of his halcyon hairs stood up on end as she spoke with her master from a distance. Then, without saying a ward, Wukong removed his staff vanished...but not in time to catch his target in a mortal side swipe of his staff with enough strength to create a short lived yet powerful tempest of wind that not only roared over the tremor, but also shook the plateau after his strike. He didn’t care though. His blood boiled and his body was primed with inhuman wrath. Deep heavy primal breaths heaved through his chest, and his warm breath took the shape of a ominous mist that leaked between his simian fangs.

[size=15]”Coward,” he hissed, ”COWARD! FACE ME YOU COWARD! At that point he had passed the threshold of complete madness. Both his strength and his speed would spike, exceeding that of a servant with an EX in either physical component. Thus, when he leapt from their plateau...he nearly took the whole tableland with him. While he had completely obliterated the edge he was one, the rest of the party would notice the inevitability of the highlands collapse. Cracks like jagged veins would begin separating the ground beneath their feet as the surface shook...meanwhile..an even larger quake would further everyone’s instability. ”WRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Wǒ fāshì wǒ huì bǎ nǐ suǒ dàibiǎo de yīqiè dōu hé tiāntáng yīqǐ chāi diào!” the rampage continued...and if any of them decided to dare and look over the edge...they would find a massive chasm where the monkey king hand slammed his staff. A vast curtain of debris made of the splintered wilderness and loose earth clouded a massive portion of it...but they would still be able to hear the King’s madness. It did not occur to him that he had endangered everyone else...it didn’t even matter. He was hunting his prey...and no matter how futile the hunt really was...he would not cease.

Adjusting to the reality he had been placed in Mason soon found himself overlooking a large valley from atop a plateau where his fellow Masters stood. Even those that he hadn't seen Rayshifted yet had appeared, apparently the technology having them all arrive at the same spot in time. 

It made sense, the Rayshifting was bringing them to an exact point in time, so it made sense there would be no lag from which the others arrived.

As he stood overlooking the lovely valley, the wind blowing through his hair and whistling across his ears, his eyes taking in the green pastures and twisting trails below, he found himself detecting an abundance of other signals coursing through him, as if his magic circuits were recieving pings from various directions.

Were they....in the middle of a Holy Grail War in this time period? And was Scathach really not here yet? The only Servant he could really detect was Ruler, who had somehow become one with Leos......just what type of magic was this place undergoing besides Rayshifting? 

The idea of what just might be possible through these people brought a jolt of excitement through the young mage, unable to keep himself from smiling brightly. To think that he was a part of such a group and had access to such amazing technology and magecraft all because his Teacher had entrusted him to them.

But his attention and excitement were suddenly shattered with the appearance of a servant before them. A woman with a mischievous glimmer in her eye in a blue culture-breaking kimono was grinning at them, seemingly speaking to herself while three tails swayed behind her.

His eyes focused on her and his ears honed in on her words, finding something slightly troubling.

Did she just remark on how they were from another era....?

And was she speaking to a Master? She had used that word......

As his eyes narrowed and mind began to spin what sense he could one more this concentration was shattered, along with the ground he stood upon. His eyes snapped back to reality as his balance was starting to give, along with the earth under his feet. 

What the hell!?


The sound of crumbling rubble, angry Chinese being spouted, and the earth quaking underneath the group, Mason found himself struggling to keep his balance as the piece of rubble beneath his feet gave way, slowly but dangerously dipping forward and starting to make Mason slide down.

Servants are capable of things like this?!


Despite the shock and danger of the situation Mason's heartbeat was racing and his lips had curled into a grin, his expression one of nervousness and excitement. Even with potential death before him this new experience.....was thrilling to him, much like his experiences traveling with his Teacher during his studies.

As he began to slide down the earth, leaning back so he could keep friction and the flats of his feet against the earth, He did his best to try and time himself. 

No way he was going to just let himself fall and die, even if his servant wasn't there.

His jacket and shoes grinded against the crumbling earth, arms pressed back against it and hands as well, his gloves and sleeves protecting him from the tearing of his flesh, he timed himself carefully as he began to reach the peak of 90°. 

Now or never!


Compressing himself like a spring he propelled himself off the falling rubble, inhaling deeply as he flew from the air towards another piece of falling rubble, though he would mostly likely slide off it. 

Bracing himself for the worst Mason suddenly felt a tug on his mental state, as if somebody had just touched his mind.

With a large grin Mason inhaled deeply and let loose a powerful cry towards the one he knew would hear him. 

"LANCER!"

Ricocheting from falling rock to rock in a blur untraceable to the human eye, the falling rubble she sprang from collapsing into even smaller fragments from the force, the Queen of the Land of Shadows appeared underneath her mast in mid air, catching hold of him in a bridal carry which held his head closer to her neck. "You certainly waited long enough, Master." She exclaimed as she continued bounding from falling boulder and earth mounds, quickly flying through the air before ending their descent upon a grassy knoll separated from the others and far from the danger of the collapsing plateau. 


"Though you were smiling so I figured you had a plan." Scathach answered, though she hadn't yet set Mason onto the ground, having his head quite close to her bosom and legs risen so he was practically folded in half in a protective carry.


"I sorta did, though it wasn't a great plan so I decided to play it safe." Mason answered with a bright toothy grin. "Thanks for the save Lancer. You can set me down now."

"As you wish," She said nodding, though she more or less let go of Mason instead of putting him down, causing him to fall onto the ground as she turned and faced towards the direction of where combat seemed closest, though her gaze turned towards the once lovely plateau. "And here I was expecting more of a Berserker who could hold a conversation, a shame one with such power is nothing more than a foolish brute. A Berserker indeed, there is little to learn from him.....but pay close attention Master as this display is a perfect example of what arrogance power can influence in those who seek it."


Mason stood up as his servant spoke, following her gaze towards the crumbling plateau. To think servants were so powerful.....though he supposed it had to do with the fact that servant was a Berserker. "So the phrase 'Power Corrupts' is a hard truth then, huh?" He asked standing beside her. "I guess I can see why...I don't know what made him so pissed off but he didn't care if he hurt anyone to go after....whoever he saw." he chuckled and still found himself grinning. "Thanks for the tip.....I guess getting stronger in itself if a curse...."

"Apologies," Scathach looked towards Mason. "I wasn't meaning to sound as a tutor."


"There's no problem, I appreciate the advice." Mason said grinning up at her. "You'd know more than me after all on the matter." His expression then turned to a more serious one, along with his tone of voice. "But right now I think there is a problem." he raised a hand and rubbed his chin. "That servant that appeared before Berserker tore through the land....she called us people from another Era despite just getting a glimpse of us. I mean our clothing sure is strange but that shouldn't of given it away so easily...."

He crossed his arms as his Servant looked to him with her ruby eyes. "And she was speaking to her Master about it....going off what she said the Master wasn't phased by her saying we are from another era and although called us enemies refused to have her intercept us....but nobody should be aware or so unphased by time travelers......nobody would expect Time to be able to be bypassed so easily not to mention notice so easily as if expecting it to be a possibility."

"You expect whatever might be causing this singularity is aware of us?" 


"I don't quite know....but I'm not putting that thought out of mind until I'm positive its untrue. Hell, maybe the Grail is just more powerful than I previously expected." He said placing his left hand around his right wrist and holding it out, though still pointing towards the ground, a smirk on his face. "But right now we should focus on regrouping with the others. There are a lot of Servants around so I'll be relying on you there, Lancer. I'll do my best to keep any Masters or summoned beasts off your back." 

"You seem quite confident you can deal with such problems." Scathach said as she stepped forward. "Foolish pride will get you nowhere, then again pride is necessary for growth. So if you seriously wish to hold fast, do so only whats in your power."


"No problem, you just take care of any Servants in the way. Think you can do that, Queen of the Land of Shadows?"

"It seems I have quite a smart mouthed Master." She exclaimed as a spear, crimson as drawn blood, formed within her hands, brandishing it expertly and facing towards the danger filled fields. "Hold your tongue if you choose to doubt me."


"Not in the slightest." Mason said as he set up his Shard of Ancile, the multi-warded shield invisible as it protected him. "Lets go!"

Calmly following the prompts of the homunculi assisting with the Rayshift procedure, Nadia found herself ensconced in a little metallic coffin before her mind filled with stars rushing past at speeds that made her dizzy to try to focus on, so instead she began to recite mantras in her head, keeping herself both calm and centered until the sensation of dizziness faded and her clouded vision cleared to reveal an idyllic valley that ended in a very tall mountain. The air was crisp and clean, as it still was in some places in rural Russia or the North American continent in their time. There was no hint of smog,  or artificial lighting anywhere either in direct view or reflecting off of the few clouds in the clear sky. Noting the presence of the others around her, as well as, belatedly, the presences that Ruler had alluded to almost immediately, Nadia tensed but otherwise made no action, as anything she could do against a servant would result in her quick and probably very painful death.

The appearance of the giant woman prompted even more stiffening of muscles, but she barely had time for more than that before an enormous roar exploded from somewhere nearby, almost but not quite resembling understandable words, and she was snatched from her standing position into the arms of Assassin, as the ground dropped out from beneath her, almost as if it had exploded from some massive blow. Her mind struggled to catch up to what had just happened, the massive power level shown something that a regular mage could hardly imagine, let alone process.


Aww. The angry one didn't like being called young. He'd have to apolo- they were in a meadow next to a very very tall mountain, surrounded by presences he'd not already sensed in the summoning chamber. His previous thought to apologize to Berserker had to be tabled for the moment as he headed for his fragile little jewish princess, who would shortly be in great danger, he was sure. Being proven right immediately, as the awesome, awesome power of the Berserker became evident, as one strike of his staff to the earth caused it to crumble away from beneath all of them, shockwaves causing secondary destruction as most of the weak little mortals began to fall, all or most of the other servants already in motion when he himself began to move. Noted, the large and frighteningly powerful one with the fragile ego was Chinese. His princess stiff and unyielding despite the princess carry he had her cradled in, Assassin settled for keeping them upright and un-crushed by falling rocks as she clearly struggled to process all that was happening.

Shortly after summoning Date, Metsu pulled out his phone and then took a deep breath. He had to contact the order and update them on his status before they wired him funds for his missions... He was gonna open a karaoke bar for this place with it though. His blind eye closed quickly before opening it quickly, a lot of strain going through it, 'Eye of Providence' He said in his mind. Through the eye he could see through his enchantments on his phone so he could communicate with the order in private. Noticing a text he opened it and read it. The message was from an Illuminati Inquisitor. 'Young Illuminate, we are adding a secondary mission to your current objective. Along with helping this order, through time we must figure out how much this Leo knows about our organization. Failure is not an option Illuminate. Along with opening this message we have wired over 20,000,000 in currency to your account. This will last your entire mission so use the funds wisely. May the eye of Providence watch over us." 
'Use these funds wisely... My ass! I am gonna buy so much hookers and blow!' Metsu said in his mind, 'May the eye of fucking providence watch over us all you old bastard!'

Closing his phone he noticed Date looking right at him, a look of excitement on her face, "Oh my greatness! Is that a cell phone! I have always wanted to see one up close! Let me hold it, pleeeeeease!" 


Just as she asked the floor underneath them collapsed, Metsu falling to an impending doom. Date focused, now acting seriously her gauntlets disappeared as armored boots appeared on her feet. "Speed boost!" She said as she was standing on a falling chunk of concrete. Getting in a start off stance she boosted herself off of the concrete chunk, bouncing from piece to piece. Jumping straight at Metsu she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a cradle of how a prince would hold a princess, Metsu in her arms she looked down at him. His face, full of shock, cute.... Why was she feeling this attraction to him? As they fell it seemed like the world stood still until a piece of concrete smacked Date in the back, forcing her to let go of Metsu. 


As Metsu fell to the nearby ground he rolled down a nearby hill, landing next to Mason and Lancer. Looking up he could see a shadow... and white and blue stripped Panties as Date landed on his face, sitting on him as if she landed on a soft pillow.

"Jeez master, your face is soft!~" She said teasingly, "You should buy me dinner first big guy~" Placing a hand on her chest she looked triumphant, her master safe... 'for the most part' and best of all she looked cool at least, "You can start praising me now!~" She said cheerfully before feeling herself being pushed off him.


Metsu pushing her off of him he looked at her with anger in his face and a bloody nose, "like hell I will! You could have killed me!"


"But you aren't dead so mission accomplished! Now let me look at your phone pleeeeeeeeease!"

"Nooooooooo!!!!!!!" Metsu said as they started to argue over the whole situation.

Layla
"Fufufu~, it's my time to shine!"

---

Layla shouts "Caster!", raising her voice over the sound of crushing earth and crackling air. An instant reaction, as was to be expected of a woman who has lived her life for combat. When she came to a stop in the air amidst the arms of her Servant ("Heav~y!"), she took her time to assess the situation.

There were threats on all sides. Berserker was running wild without regards for his Master, and they had no idea of the capabilities of their enemies. Had they not the assistance of legendary heroes, Layla probably would have called it a loss here and went home. But, with them here...

"���� ���~☆!"
It was Circe's voice, carving the sound of unfamiliar characters next to Layla's ears in clear, song-like tones. Hers was the language of Gods; It echoed clearly throughout the crumbling mountainside, as the world itself was ordered and restructured by the foundations of High Thaumaturgy.

It was extraordinary to behold- especially so for a Magus of the modern era, where High Thaumaturgy was so rarely used. The German girl could feel the thrum of atmospheric mana being drawn in around them, rotating and twisting like the building of a great windstorm. The coursing air seemed to pass through Caster's hawk-like wings first, before travelling downwards so that it could caress and reshape the broken earth. Before anyone knew it, the ground below was as if nothing had happened.

She perceived this as it took place, in a little less than a second flat. One Count, she thinks to herself incredulously. This small girl had preformed a complex ritual that would have taken upwards of a minute for a skilled magus, in the time it took for you to say "Hello!" to your morning maid.

The Magi of the Age of Gods were ridiculous. These are the words that are crossing her mind, as Caster begins to lower her to the now fully repaired ground. Here, amidst the allies who had smartly gotten out of the way when the ground shattered (and out of reach of the angry monkey)- the girls begin to speak.

"You can all-" Circe begins, and is promptly cut off by a steady "Well now that that's settled, we need to move. Now."
Before Circe could start objecting to Layla's interruption, she continues, gazing out over the valley. "We are clearly in enemy controlled territory, or perhaps in the middle of a battlefield. If we don't find a place to clear our heads, I think we might end up with a problem on our hands." She nods at their companion, who was currently going all kinds of Ape.

"What do you people think?" She asks, in a tone that seemed to imply she wasn't incredibly interested in their response. Somewhere in the back of her head, she was thinking filthy half rates while this question hung in the air.

Ruler was launched into the air by Berserkers attack like the rest but, due to the situation with her and her master she only looked for an opportunity to help others, Masters who may not have servants fast or reliable enough to catch them. It seemed they were okay. At least on that front. She thought to him after the range of voice had drifted into the field of telepathy, Ruler turned to the others nearby and agreed with Caster and her Masters' assessment. "I sense at least four servants nearby, and all from the same faction, we just met their Berserker, is a genuinely horrifying possibility, Tara Bosatsu, the famed Female Buddha. It's no wonder that our Berserker launched himself into battle the way he did, their two histories are intertwined like the page of a book, where she was once the god who punished him for his misgivings he will one day be punished by her ancestor." The sapphire blue eyes of Ruler stared into the distance a moment before suggesting a direction for our movement, being surrounded by enemies became very hard to ignore, the woman from earlier had known about time travel which had been strange enough, perhaps she assumed we were servants, apparently she was from a different time zone also.

"Everyone lets escape the area." Pulling out their banner Ruler waved it so everyone could see where she stood and led them away together away from the servants around them. The Fox maiden had been their caster, Tamamo-no-Mae, a staple in many wars which ruler had been a part of in her life. When the plateau was remade by Circe, our caster, Ruler herded everyone down the mountain on the side away from the valley. The servants she was aware of were predominantly on the valley side with only one servant barring the way on the outside. Some of this hillside had roads to get back and forth from a town just beyond the next ridge, people had lined up stones on the beach, and two fishing boats were out in the harbor.



In this direction, there was only one person with servant status, and they were on the far mountain ridge it would be hard for them to sneak up on their location from there, the worst situation would be if they were an Archer or Rider, but they could cross that bridge when they came to it. The beach wasn't very far away, and the group would have an easier time focusing on the single servant rather than the group of three- no the group of five, where did the other two come from? The second the thought came across her mind she heard the sound of something that only Leos' recognized, gunfire, why was there gunfire in the past? The moments passed, and one of the ledges above the group began to give a second volley of fire, and the other side of the escape was collapsing blocking off their route entirely leaving them trapped with the group of, what seemed to be three servants again. Where did the other two go? Now was not the time to start trying to figure it out instead Ruler simply said "It looks like we are being forced to fight here. Berserker can contest with their Berserker; we need to focus on the other two servants here, Caster and Rider. Rider is hiding in the sun, so I can't get a clear image of who it is. Probably has some kind of flying mount. Caster has retreated into the valley. With berserker down there fighting it's likely they want to support their Berserker with magic. Assassin perhaps we could make use of your ability. The woman's name is Tamamo-no-Mae. Their berserker is called, Tara Bosatsu, She is the female Buddha. Everyone else lets split up to make it, so we aren't such an easy target. Take on the targets you think are the best matches for you. Leos and I will start by casting a protective barrier in the place we find that is the most securable."

Her calm under stress was needed in high tension areas it helped Greg keep calm too. She knew exactly the words were necessary to remain calm herself and that calm translated nicely into well-organized leadership. If they split up, they could all hunt for a future home base together safely and securely. Each group finding their challenges as well, no doubt but at least the gun wielder couldn't snipe them one by one. Their telepathy was used once more to signal Berserker. Luckily each master from Argonaut could utilize their command spells in this function. The same message was being relayed verbally to each of the Masters from their command spells as she sent it.

The summoning ritual and subsequent Rayshift had been a bit of a blur to the young woman, a wholly new experience, as her family were predominantly warriors and enchanters, summoning was not a skill in her wheel house typically. Lily of Clan McCloud had come to Argonaut to represent her family in this great undertaking and as further preparation for her eventual rise as the head of the clan. The ritual in question had put her face to face with a warrior, standing standing nearly two and a half heads taller than she, rough skin that had been shaped by the wind, and armor from the far east. He'd introduced himself as The Grand Rider, though what that meant beyond being simply a Rider Servant she didn't know. What she did know was the many names he'd proudly listed off to her, the one that stood out most, Genghis Khan.

They had very little time to get to know one another however before the first rayshift was set to begin, so they'd have to learn on the road so to speak. The clean crisp air, the wide open grassy hills, the blue sky and puffy clouds, it remind her of the highlands back home, though a little less wet. When angry chinese ranting filled the air, along with the ground under her feet, she knew it was time for action. With a short sprint and a leap, punctuated by a fierce yell, Lily attempted to leap into the first stone, but never made it to her target.

*****

"HAHAHAHA!!! I'm impressed little Master! I see that blade of yours isn't just for show, if you were so ready to leap into both death and glory!" A slightly dazed and nauseous Lily dangled in Tamujin's hold, carrying her under arm for the purpose of getting down to the ground. He made no show of stone leaping or acrobatics, letting himself drop straight and true with his master in tow. A boulder coming his way does see his strength on display however and is crushed in a powerful downward punch to continue their descent.


The trip is short and the cratering of the ground rather small. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, the Khan of Khans released his master setting her down on her feet with a hand on her shoulder until the blood rushing in her ears stopped.


"Remind me... Not to do that again." Once the world stops spinning Lily rests her hands on her hips and looks over her right shoulder to make sure that Earthshaker is still strapped to her back in its sheath. "Aye, now that our monkey bampot's gone and run off to play with his stick, where's the rest of them?"

*****


After regrouping with the others and paying... partial attention to Ruler's spiel about the local servants they were going to deal with Lily chimed in simply with. "Aye wouldn't worry 'bout it lass, we're as good as safe wit' us 'round."


Splitting up was splitting up and with the directive to 'take on their best matches' both Lily and the Khan had the same idea. Find the nearest servant and show 'em how the scottish-mongol alliance brawls.

Once reaching the basin of the viridescent mountain range, the Great King that tore the heavens from their celestial plateau heaved heavy breaths of ire. The way he leaned slightly forward with his torso rising and falling with each cycle of breathing gave him a rather primal posture that exhibited nothing but bloodlust. That was to be expected though. The Buddha was a divine figure that evoked a consuming myriad of violently charged emotions within Wukong ever since he had been unrightfully punished for five centuries. It did not matter which reincarnation they were, only that they were born of the same corrupted divinity that gave life to his unfathomable wrath. ”Tara Bosatsu, mother of liberation!” his roar disturbing a collection of birds from the trees of the expansive woods, ”Show yourself!”. He knew it was her, the symbol of how hard work leads to success….but was that really true. He had proved himself worthy to be a god...to be MORE than a god. He was stronger than all of them after all….yet despite all the hard work he had invested himself in to go from a simple simian king to one comparable to the glory of heaven...he was not rewarded...and instead was continuously insulted. He was no stableman...he was no gardener...he was a warrior...and she would know this soon.


With supreme dexterity and finesse, wukong flipped his compliant staff around his body fast enough to challenge even the most mastered eyes before blending it into a heavy horizontal swing. During that swing his staff would extend across the entire expanse, the end crashing into the far mountain range as the sweep cut down the entire forest as he continued...but it wasn’t the entire forest actually. About half way, he met heavy resistance, stopping his attack dead in its tracks. Wukong’s eyes shot wide open with surprise, his golden irises seeking out the source...and then...there she was. The buddha was maybe a mile into the forest, having caught the rightward swing with her left hand that crossed her breasts. Even at such lengths, he could tell that it was no easy task for her...still...no one had ever accomplished that feat due to the sheer weight of the rod.


Baring his simian fangs, a ominous mist passing through his clenched jaw, The Handsome Monkey King took a step back...releasing his hold on his weapon and gave a single mental command. Expand... Suddenly the staff would exponentially grow in width, not only breaking her hold, but also filling a huge portion of the canyon floor while at the same time creating complete destruction. The weight and size created a growing crater as his weapon grew in size, but that was temporarily shrouded by the storm of loose debris that severed as a dense curtain that hid the result of the destruction.


Suddenly, just over the blanket of dust, Wukong appeared out of thin air...looking down at the attack that would have laid waste to the jade army for sure. Stretching his right arm out and opening his palm, his compliant staff suddenly shrunk and shot back to his beckoning hand in a flurry of swift spins. Once it met its master, the staff was still once more...for now. Despite the impressive attack...Wukong knew it was far from over. He snarled as his golden eyes softed through the settling curtain of dort of forest splinters...until there was a disturbance. Erupting from the mist of loose gravel came the Buddha, closing the distance rather quickly to engage in airborn hand to hand combat. That, however, was a tactic that she would find little reward in.


”Zuìhòu” he parried her palm strikes and kicks with his staff while performing deft acrobatics to strike at her as well. With each interception form either one of them, cracks of shattered wind howled through the center of the current geography, unnatural tremors shaking the terrain as they bout of strength continued. It wouldn’t last long though, Wukong thought. He was built to annihilate gods! All it would take was one opening and he would tear Tara into pieces...Ah...there it was! Their movements were incredibly difficult to follow, even for servants...but Wukong was trained...and when the opening came, he would lengthen his staff just enough to confuse the depth of combat that had been taking place thus far to displace her a little and then...execute her…[/size]


What he didn’t notice, however, was that she had been waiting for a moment like this. As the staff lengthed, eager to decapitate her in a swift swing, tara would quickly thrust her right palm forward. It wasn’t an act of defense...but rather an attack that would stop Wukong’s attempts in his tracks. What happened next happened rather quickly...there was a flash of divine energy and a concussive boom...and shortly after a explosion on the opposite side of the mountain range that had its entire structure crashing down.


Decreasing the pace of combat to absorb the new situation, the Buddha landed and waited for the Monkey king to emerge from the rubble. At the same time, she was already prepping her right arm for another thru-.


An upward vertical strike parted the collapsing destruction-presumably the King’s extended staff...not only flinging a great deal of large rubble her way, but also slicing her right arm clear off her torso. Tara grunted as the impact also lifted her from the ground, creating a vulnerable unbalance that wukong would use to appear right in front of her and deliver a swift rotating kick right in the chest cavity to send her flying. His armor had been tarnished a little, and a small stain of blood trailed down one nostril as well as his mouth. ”BITCH! YOU DARE TOUCH ME WITH THOSE CORRUPTED HANDS! I WILL KILL YOU!” At this point he had completely been consumed by his first active ability, turning him into a behemoth of physical prowess as well as a weapon against anything divine….but not only that...his staff was also glowing with a brilliant gold color. He was going to end this...but the Buddha thought something very similar.

After collecting herself, one arm short...a black aura began to dance wildly around her left hand. The malicious energy mysterious...but more lethal than anyone could anticipate.

If there was anything Mason wasn't expecting in the turmoil that was surrounding him, given the war and literal mountain leveling carnage being caused by the two Berserkers, it was for one of the Masters from earlier to fall right beside him and end up with a face full of a girl's ass point blank to the face as she followed suit. It actually caused Mason to blink an try to recollect what he was seeing as the bubbly woman's headpiece caught his attention. The Golden Crescent of the Masamune clan.....? And the armor covering the woman's legs was black and gold as well....but there wasn't any history of a woman samurai from that clan.....

Wait, could it be that....?


"Is something bothering you, Master?" Lancer's voice telepathically rang through his head, causing him to snap to attention. She had been regarding the two with a mild look of amusement and was finding the argument between Master and Servant quite unnecessary but fun to observe. It seemed that the Servant so far was the one currently holding a leash on the young man considered her Master. A simple look and her Wisdom of Dun Scaith allowed her to see the Saber Class Servant was strong and skilled despite her behavior.


"No, just think I have an Idea on who she may be. But that is enough for now. We have-" He was cut off by Ruler's sudden interruption within his head. This brought his attention to the once crumbled plateau as it reformed at Circe's magic. Servants were capable of extreme feats of power, Berserker had already started proving that. Yet it continued to amaze him that they were capable of such things......if a Servant was given free reign without a Master necessary to bring them and maintain them they would have no problem taking the world on by its lonesome....It was simultaneously frightening as well as fascinating to him.

"Alright," Mason said turning towards Metsu and giving him a smile. "lets get going before we get lost in the action."

It didn't take long for them all to regroup on the overlook of the beach, Mason giving another quick once over of the Servants and Masters present. It seemed they had at least all arrived safely....despite Berserker's outburst upon arrival.

And then the sound of gunfire filled the air, immediately pulling Mason's attention from his allies to the direction of it. Damn, he couldn't see anyone......but the fact that gunfire was present.......his theories were beginning to solidify....the look of surprise on Ruler's face cinched that there shouldn't be any gunfire in this time period as well which meant one of two things or potentially both.

1. A Servant present, most likely an Archer Class, had access to firearms or a Noble Phantasm allowing access to them.

2. If his theory that there were others from another era here besides them, following that Fox girl's words, they could of brought firearms in order to properly defend themselves.

Either way, it meant some serious trouble.

Upon Ruler's instructions Mason actually grinned widely as the names of two enemy Servants were delivered. So that fox girl was a Caster indeed, and those ears and tail.......she most likely was a Kitsune given her name, a daughter of Amaterasu or descendant of sorts, linked to Inari herself as well.

The name was familiar, given his teacher was quite adamant about teaching him many myths, as was his sister, but spreading it all so much made it difficult to completely ingrain them into his head. Still, even if he din't quite recall her entirely, that face and look i her eye........she didn't seem like she was a bad person.......in fact it almost reminded him a bit like his sister before he was cast away.

Still, his smile was because he had an idea of what needed to be done, what could possibly help his team and potentially discover what is currently going on at the moment.

"Ruler has given us free reign to engage the enemy," Lancer looked towards Mason with a small pleased smile, the chance to fight freely a relieving feeling. "I suggest we-" Before she finished speaking Mason sudden began to bolt into the direction of the Valley where the Berserkers were currently in a mad clash of titans. "Master!"

While little effort was required to catch up to him she still gave a frustrated expression at this sudden burs towards arguably the most dangerous spot on the battlefield without any insight or saying if he had a plan. "Do you intend to rush to your death?" She did admire bravery and courage, but loathed stupidity in those who thought they were either of the two.

"Not at all!" Mason shouted, still sprinting towards the mayhem ahead of him at the valley, his grin wide and eyes focused on the goal ahead. "Sorry, got ahead of myself but we are heading after that Caster!" He explained on the way. "I have a good idea she might be able to give us some info,"

"What makes you think she will talk? Do you intend to extract what you desire through torture?" Lancer asked, entering Spirit Form. "Caster will most likely refuse to talk without putting up a fight."

"I'm hoping that she will if we try diplomacy. If not, even at her level I'm confident you can beat her should it come to that." Mason said. "My theory is that they are from an era like ours if not the same....and she was conversing with her Master so they must be nearby. If I can manage to get a conversation going......."

"You are far too naive, Master. But fine, I will allow it. Should hostility be shown however I will not restrain myself from engaging the Caster." She answered as Mason neared the forest, spotting a figure running from it as the entire bastion of trees was chopped cleanly in half by the massive pillar wielded by Berserker. Though the minute she spotted him she reappeared before Mason, quickly halting him in his tracks. "Master! Do not get closer!" She warned brandishing her spear across his body defensively as the figure who escaped the forest made his way to them, quite messily and poorly might she add. There was no doubting it, that person was a Servant, her Wisdom of Dun Scaith told her this. But it also warned her of more. "That man......is a Divine Spirit......A deity manifested as a Servant."


Mason stopped and looked passed Lancer as the man stumbled his way towards them in a frantic and messy hurry, leaning and relying heavily upon a staff he carried. Upon the Divine Spirit getting closer Mason was able to make him out more clearly. He was a young man, well built in muscle and quite handsome, short dark auburn hair atop his head. However, he was also stark naked, nothing covering his body at all and his face flushed red and eyes seemingly looking past anything as if attempting to identify just where they were and what was happening......in fact he looked as if he was drunk.

And that is when the scent hit Mason's nose, sweet and bitter scents of wine swathing through his nostrils, causing him to raise a hand and cover his mouth and nose. Was he so drunk that his breath was carrying this far away?

He then noticed the staff being carried by the apparent nudist, the tip of the thick stick topped by a pine cone, giving the staff a quite penile shape. And...this was supposed to be a Servant? And a God at that? he wasn't surprised a God could manifest as a Servant given Scathach was technically that, though at the same time she wasn't. But a naked God with a staff, drunk and with a pine cone on his......wait......they were still in Greece....

"Is it.....Dionysus.....?"

The name actually seemed to bring some coherency to the figure before them, his eyes looking at the young man and stacked woman before him. "ayyyheyyyyyy -Belch- whussuah doooon nut nekid and comffffff.......... -hic-!" leaning heavily on the staff he carried, the handsome Servant continued to belch and groan as he slurred his words. "Leeeeeeesssssst getchya comfffyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy -BEEEEEELCH-! Dem Tutuns.......got some suxy servunts......." Nearly falling over as he tried to step forward after expelling yet another burst from his gut, wine gourds suddenly materialized behind him as if following his momentum downwards, the openings of the gourds pointed towards Lancer, suddenly blasting forth three streams of pure ruby red liquid at them smelling of berries and grapes.


"Master!" Lancer swept her spear across her body in a wide arc while simultaneously grabbing Mason by his Jacket, dodging the blasts of wine, 7 spears similar to the one she wielded manifesting and blasting towards the Divine Spirit before them, three arced to crash through the gourds blasting the wine and the other aimed at he who had summoned them.


While the gourds were smashed to pieces, materializing as the spears struck through them, The Caster moved in a quite messily and struggling manner, as if trying to pull himself up on his staff, his movements visibly a struggle yet each one had him dodge the spears as they neared their target. 


Dropping Mason on the floor, Lancer spun her spear before her. "Please make some distance. This man cannot easily be read even by me...You are in danger here and I don't need you hindering me in this fight."


".....Lancer, don't fight to kill!" mason called as he got up and stepped back, dusting his Jacket off. Tutuns? And why did he speak as if he were a Master instead of a Servant? This was......again his theories were becoming a slightly more solid. If he meant the Titans, his drunken slur changing it to Tutuns.........Then the time period......and the fact that Servants were here and even mentioned..... 

"I have a feeling, despite everything, he isn't an enemy.....though its just a guess....."


"......again you are too Naive. If I see no other option I will end this drunken fool's life, Master. But I will do what I can until you are more certain or help arrives. For now, get to safety. i can't fight and protect you at the same time."


"....Fine.......i'll make sure nobody intervenes on opposing sides!" he said pushing aside his wounded pride and stepping back, beginning to head towards the safer part of the Valley. "I can protect myself.......you just focus on him...."