Day 1: Candidate Selection

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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.

Despite the tense atmosphere between the living catastrophe that contested the heavens themselves and the mother of liberation, Wukong could still crack a snarky grin that revealed his simian canines. Suddenly, the earth beneath him warped with a sudden ‘bang’, rubble flying in all directions as he seemed to vanish entirely. The Buddha was prepared for his sudden acceleration, but not confidently enough to land her fatal strike. So, to deter the great sage a little while longer, the Buddha thrust her palm before The Monkey king could reach her. The servants nearby would then witness a mindblowing spectacle...as a phantasmal palm about half the size of the mountains suddenly manifested and swept a massive portion of the already destroyed forest with it as well as Beserker...leaving a wide trail of dirt in its wake. The palm that collided into the side of the mountain range, the ground trembling momentarily as a cloud of debris cast itself over the site of impact. Again, the Buddha sent another tempest like palm blast of pressurized air and mana towards the same site. BOOM...another massive tremor shook the earth as the dust and floating rubble grew larger...but something was wrong.

A look of surprise and fear suddenly struck the buddha as...from the obscurity of the destruction...a single warrior walked out brandishing a bowstaff. Hoping to force him back into the mountain, and then find a moment of vulnerability to strike with her noble phantasm, Tara Bosatsu sent palm blast after palm blast at the monkey king...sweeping more and more dirt from the already bare lane of destruction she had made...but not once did she manage to take the great king off of his feet. Every time the semi-transparent colossal palm passed through him, he would slide back a few meters...but then keep trudging forward. Maybe...just maybe...if she put a bit more mana behind her blast...she could take Wukong off balance long enough for her to close the distance herself and…

The squelching sound of flesh being torn brought the fight to and end...and before the Buddha knew it she had been impaled through the heart by the obedient golden staff. Not only that, but her corrupted arm had been seized by the monkey king...who had squeezed it hard enough for the radial bone and the ulna to break in the middle...leaving half of her forearm dangling unnaturally where the Sage equalling heaven had gripped her. Massive quantities of blood began to surface from the wound, and even more spilled from her lips as she gazed deep into the golden eyes that held so much hatred for her.

“You were no match, seeing as you have been pulled from your natural affinity and…’ the Monkey King looked at her dark arm with disgust...the flesh slightly warped and a bit of bone splintering through the fabric of her skin, “forced into madness.” the Monkey king himself looked slightly injured, his armor tarnished a bit, some pieces fractured off in the first assault. Aside from that, a small blood trail from the top of his scalp and his mouth were the only other signs of evidence that he had been injured. “Though you must understand that your fate would have been the same even iff enlightenment was yours...after all...you are not a buddha of war...and seeing as I am destined to be known as the Great Fighting Buddha,” he scoffed...hating the fact that he had eventually left his anger aside in life, “you would never stand a chance.”

Yet as the Buddha crept closer to death though, a bit of her natural spirit surfaced...and she smiled...happy that the curse of madness was finally loosening its hold on her. “Young King, It is good to know that your legend indeed ends with your enlightenment. But even as you are now, I can see that you are destined for greatness and…” It didn’t matter if the prophecy she alluded to was true or not, only that she had angered the great Monkey King with her talk of his fall to divinity. That being said, he cut her off by expanding the width of his staff while it was still pierced through her. The result...was the buddha’s body being torn to bloody pieces to the sound of squelching flesh being pulled apart. The massive pools of blood that splattered on the ground, the peripheral sounds of bones splintering...eventually ended though...and like all servants she would eventually dissolve into a dazzling golden mist. Shame...she deserved that unsavory death.

“Greek gods...i sense your presence while the battles continue,” Wukong annoyance was clear as he stabbed his staff into the ground after it returned to its normal size. The blood that coated it once had now cleared. “Choosing to be spectators while a war continues on your grounds...how pitiful...how cowardly...but then again the gods of greece were infamous for the pitiful behavior. You all thought you had ascended over humanity because of power...yet you allow the corruptions of humanity turn you into disgusting tyrants…” his battle had not ended with Buddha...and it would not end until every sign of divine presence would either leave...or be eviscerated. “So i challenge you all...to rid the word of your revolting existence! Every last one of you will taste my staff as i split yours skulls...or...perhaps you are all really cowards! Afraid that the luxurious you had where you could mistreat those who blindly worship you will end. HA! Pitiful! If that is the case then you are no gods!” The great sage spat on the ground, spat on the great land of Olympus. He would have his way...and if not he would make sure that the gods were beneath him in other ways.

As strike after strike broke the surrounding mountains the protective barrier that Leo had begun moments before withheld the shaking of the earth as palm thrust after palm thrust slammed Berserker into the mountainside. The spell didn't require movement from Ruler's body, so she stood and watched and prayed. Ruler gazed over the battle watching as berserkers raged against one another, Buddha could not have been a better contest for The Lord Wukong, his anti-divinity based Noble Phantasm would help in every fight, but even more so the monkey king would be best suited for fighting his most hated rival, but playtime was over, time to pull his reins. Telepathically she pressed the monkey king's mind with words, Her telepathic thoughts became softer as she added, Ruler felt having him think of the women in the group may slightly not quell his rage but subvert it for one of his many vices, she would not be unwilling to utilize it.

Of course, she had called him back at precisely the wrong moment for the instant they, Ruler and Leo, finished sending him a telepathic message did two women appear.  One wielding a massive shield the other a scythe, both adorned in Greco-roman attire, contemporary for the era, likely servants from this era. They arrived on the wind as if the had blown into place from one breeze to the next and they stood near the edge of the rebuilt plateau that was still held safe by a barrier of the making of Leo, barely. The two women that appeared did so inside the bounded field and stood with a kind attitude, only servants could pass through a barrier like this, considering it was made by a mere human. It wasn't worth Ruler's effort to look surprised, so she didn't as she knew exactly who these women were. "Athena of Athens, and Demeter, Goddess of the Seasons. Be you friend or foe, and speak quickly! Our Berserker has a fond hate of the divine, so speak before he arrives.  He likely smelt your divinity on the wind." Ruler commanded calmly, they hadn't arrived in a fashion that would be common for an attacking force. However, they also hadn't merely walked up. Athena spoke as she turned to face Ruler. "We are not your enemy, Jeanne d'Arc, we are here to provide you with our king's warmest welcomes, and humbly do what he in all his vanity can not." They both dropped to one knee and bowed, Athena towards Ruler and Demeter towards the rest still standing on the plateau. Then spoke in perfectly rehearsed unison, "We request aid from the slayers of Berserker, on behalf of the Greek pantheon, The Olympian Gods. We in our darkest hour have fouled our timeline and have need of you and your strength." They remained on their knees as Demeter spoke on her own, "One of our own has made contact with a young man, but likely lacks the reason to grant him any wisdom. Our Caster is a truly unreliable man." The two remained bowed in a humble invite, necks exposed at the back, as if ready to be beheaded if it was deemed worthy. Ruler turned to the Masters and servants as if to look for a consensus on whether or not to help them.

With the long distance power of the archer putting pressure on HIS allies, the Khan of Khans had only one course of action in mind. Though he and his master had originally intended to challenge whatever servant was nearest them, it seemed he would have to change his tactics on the fly, a trivial matter all things considered. Lifting his master by the sheath of the massive sword strapped to her back he began to run forward towards the mountain that hosted the gunner.


With hearty and triumphant laughter, Temujin threw himself and his master into the air, a galloping white horse materializing on the ground, ready to catch them, already in motion. He took up the reins  and patted the horse's neck as Lily came to land infront of him, secure on the steed.


"It is good to see you again young one, today you play host to us both, forgive me the trouble my trusty steed! Now we go, to a battle fit for the Khan!"

*****

These first few moments had been a blur of motion and activity and the Rider had already taken it upon himself to thrust them into action before Lily had had a moment to gather herself together. Before she even could speak a word about it she found herself on horseback with the Khan at her back, taking them at breakneck pace towards a seaside mountain in the distance.

"Rider! Is this really tae best plan? Rushing tae enemy head on like this? Tae've got tae high ground and range, we're stuck in bad!"

"HAHAHA!!! You worry too much little master! Come, let me show you what made Temujin so feared in his day! I am Genghis Khan! The Khan of Khans! I fear no enemy! We will run them through before this day is done!"


He drew his sword and thrust it into the air, perfectly balanced atop his horse despite the intensity of their ride. As the sun glinted off of the blade, another shot range through the air int the blade, bouncing off of it and knocking the sword from the mongol's hand.

"HAHA! They've noticed us finally!"

"What now Rider!?"

"Now we fight!"


Down one sword but not anywhere even close to started, the mongol ruler drew his other blade and spun it, steering his horse around gunfire as it came their way, never once faltering or losing speed.

"I call upon you as the Khan of Khans, Ruler of the Mongol Tribes and Chosen Under the Eternal Blue Sky! I summon you now, Archers of the Mongol Empire, your Khan calls you to serve once more!"

He thrust his sword forward as if commanding an army to move forward to punctuate his summons, touching on his noble phantasm so soon. He was a Khan, there was no need to be subtle on the battlefield, he would crush his foe and he best knew how to do it. One does not conquer the known world without a head for tactical warfare.

Her first combat encounter not endearing herself to her comrades in any way by freezing up and being almost completely unable to function was not how she had planned to integrate into their party. Planning was everything to someone in her profession and with her particular skill set, it made a necessary evil into something of an art form, which turned out to not be the best fit for this set of circumstances, much to her chagrin. Her servant appeared to have no such problem, as he sprang into action it seemed almost before the earth exploded beneath them; and appeared casually able to handle the falling debris despite the look of distaste she could see from her vantage point cradled beneath his chin. Next time he performed such a rescue, she would need to establish the proper boundaries and encourage Assassin not to engage in such things as princess carries, but what was done was done for now.

Why did they have to engage in such distasteful displays? Yes violence was often necessary, but the displays of temper resulting in tantrums, and the rudeness of some of the others somewhat boggled the mind. Just calm down and settle things in some other way that doesn't involve this ridiculous excess. Assassins gorgeous bronzed face was set in a vague sort of distasteful frown as he leaped from rock to rock then back to the newly reformed ground produced by the wonderfully talented, and apparently fairly polite Caster. He chose to follow the bulk of the group where Ruler chose to have them go, since it seemed a good idea to stick with those who were better inclined to combat than himself or his Master, and rolled his eyes both externally and internally at the instruction to 'take out' the target that best suited each of them. As though he would be acting as some common assassin and engaging in filthy combat. No thank you.

Prodding her servant with an elbow produced no immediate results, and Nadia was prepared to launch into him with blistering invectives before he looked down at her, displeased grimace morphing into pleased smile at her apparent awareness of the situation. When she demanded he put her down as the ground was once again stable, he merely shook his head and indicated with an upward flick of his nose the titanic monkey; a general shrug of his shoulders indicating the concussive sounds of sonic booms and mountain ranges cascading to the ground, as well as the sun apparently fleeing across the sky as though alive. Alright then, she would remain in his arms and merely plan for now, her talents were irrelevant, and his own would be better served with her than with a knife on the battleground apparently.

Some time later, titanic combat coming to a close beyond the walls of some kind of protective barrier enclosing their little group of outlaws, two women dressed in draperies recognized by both Master and Servant immediately appeared out of the wind, kneeling before the Ruler who had brought the rest of them here. They were promptly identified, and returned the favor in a very noncombative mein, attempting to either appear harmless or at the least disarmed in favor of entreaty. Rulers turn to ask for the opinions of the others on the plateau prompted Nadia to shake her head no, and speak in a clear, well vocalized monotone "Never agree to anything without knowing everything you can about it," gesturing at the two kneeling figures while she still reclined in Assassin's arms. She felt the squeeze of approval from her glorified armchair before he as well spoke with a smile, meaning no true offense but having clear opinions nonetheless. "Not to side with the large simian out of any sense of teamwork or obligation, but the old gods are dead for a reason." His Master frowned up at him for that remark, an outright refusal was not what she had had in mind at all.

After hearing the women speak and the generally negative feedback from the group, Ruler looked at the two Goddesses kneeling before the ragtag troupe; the Berserker landed with a thud, and a nearly physical sigh was made but considered the tense moment it was a mental action only. “They simply appeared and prostrated themselves before us begging for aid.” Gregory piped up inside her mind and information was made available, so she chose to speak again without much chance to respond, ”Master says we are likely in the famous Titan War, the gods won this war in history. However, it seems they are destined to die after the battle. It seems they are even aware of these facts despite everything; they fought for humanity knowing we as a species were about to abandon them.”

Athena and Demeter seem very much unphased as they remain in a nearly frozen position seemingly scared for their lives in the area of helplessness. As they slowly raised back to standing, they said, ”The Titans have called into history and pulled Heroes from all eras to fight us for our position in history. Tricked by a Mage claiming we could return to the former glory we used magic to revert us to the forms we had as we ruled, but now we find out from the Fates that should we die now we will have our history erased. And the record of our beings would be removed from time itself. Our rule may not have been the fairest or just. But we still lived, as such, we humble ourselves and beg you travelers who have defeated their crazed saint. We beg of you.”

Ruler stared not at the goddess but instead at Wukong, the Monkey King, knowing he likely was assuming the worst she spoke up. “Berserker, we are here to fix humanity’s history. It is our duty as the dead to protect the living. Our personal lives are over we should at least hear out a potential enemy if they aren’t striking us. It seems this is a war between the gods. We may be forced to choose a side regardless in the end.” A suspect Assassin, a raging Berserker, a warrior Rider, this was beginning to become a mess a plan was needed. As they figured out said plan the hostility of a new servant appeared as did a second both placed on a distant mountain range, it seemed the enemies surrounded them once more. Thoughts crossed her mind, so too did a shot ring out, and in the blink of an eye Athena and Demeter were not acting in the fashion they had been until now as a violent pair of strikes ricocheted off of Athena's shield. The third shot from a completely different direction deflected off the broad side of the scythe carried by Demeter. They stood around Ruler and Assassin, Athena protected Ruler, and Demeter protected Assassin’s Master. Seemingly the shots were aimed at each. The bullets had pierced the barrier spell with ease similar to a hot knife through butter. In the night the tips of three mountain temporarily glowed with a flash of light. With a flash of lightning, the night sky began to cloud, and Athena sighed. Knowing this to be her fathers Noble Phantasm.

"Lancer comes," Demeter said mater of factly, as she and Athena looked up. Athena stepped away from Ruler, and Demeter stepped away from and the two of them walked back to the spot they had been standing before and the two goddesses looked at the group. "Choose to help us, or not. But if we can't be allies, I still wouldn't let him hurt you. This war isn't yours."


Knowing that it wasn't likely to be enough to satisfy the more cautious of the individuals here, Athena quickly spoke up and said something a bit out of character. "Though you mortals should not be allowed, if we are to be allies, I'll use my divine right to grant you entry to Mount Olympus. The Stronghold of the gods of Greece. Don't look at me like that Demeter," Demeter had turned to look at the back of Athena's head. The look on her face was as if the goddess had lost her reason and sanity about the prospect of allowing anyone to enter the Gods Domain. "father will have to accept them as equals and explain our position better if he expects anyone to trust him."

It was a strange stand-off, one that seemed to last an eternity to one like Mason as his Servant faced off against the sloppy looking Divine Servant before them. While Lancer stood, spear as crimson as a late sunset held within both hands, blade posted forwards and angled low in a confident and prepared stance. 

While Dionysus remained a sloven barely standing poor excuse of a living being. 

Mason's heart seemed to skip multiple beats as he waited for the first move to be made. He had ordered Lancer not to kill the God, as he was sure his theory on heir placement in history was correct. Mention of the Titans, Servants being used, the Gods fighting in the flesh......He had practically no doubt that the time they had been sent into the was Titan War of ancient Greece. But the problem was pretty easy to determine.

The Holy Grail.....someone had introduced it to one of the sides. It had not originally been a part of or had anything to do with this event. But with it in place.......things were of course far off course from the legitimate timepiece.

A bead of sweat ran down Mason's temple as he anticipated the coming battle.....hoping once calmed down they could get some, if any, info out of the God of Wine and Desires.

And then the battle began.

The movement was like a gunshot, the sound barrier breaking as Caster's body suddenly propelled backwards into the air at incredible speed despite his clearly inebriated state, what would appear to be vines growing around his arms, wrapping up around his shoulders before spreading back out from his shoulder blades into a pair of wings, the sent of grapes stronger as they appeared and granted the God flight, obviously simply a medium for whatever magic was allowing him to actually fly. As he ascended once more his body became bordered by wine gourds, four this time who aimed their wide mouths upon Lancer as he flew back.

As if signaled by the belch that erupted from the God's gut the gourds opened fire, no longer a seemingly endless stream of wine but of rapid fire coalesced balls of it, a series of four gattling gun style weapons derived of a sweet intoxicating beverage that impeded upon the Queen of Shadows!

"Lancer!" Mason called out while clenching his fist and jumping back to give himself safe purchase from the attack while they fought. "Take him down!"

With the attack on its way and permission granted of her Master, the Guardian of Dun Scaith couldn't help but smile underneath her band. "Then observe a warrior's dance!" She spoke with more emotion than usual as she began to spark her desire for a challenge in fighting a purely magic based foe. Taking a lower stance the lovely woman propelled herself forwards, another sound reminiscent of a gunshot ringing in Mason's ears as she practically glided across the earth, towards the incoming balls of wine and leaving a small crater where she once stood, a streak of spread earth trailing behind her. 


Her movements remained sharp, clean, almost as if choreographed previously. As the still firing assault of berry and grape smelling liquids rushed towards her she began to swerve, taking a sharp turn which she followed by moving in a crescent pattern, the wine projectiles splattering into the earth behind her in a wet trail as dust and booze scattered across the air.


As the deity above her began to continue to evade the pursuer, vineyard wings flapping and a series of gassy releases seeming to determine the speed and consistency of the shots being fired, Lancer began to take sharp sudden evasions as the orbs closed in on her. While she was certainly faster, the drunken slob seemed to be a savant while inebriated when it came to a fight.


Soon she wasn't moving in a single line but bounding, craters appearing along the ground and more booming shots roaming in the air as she evaded the projectiles in acrobatic leaps and sidesteps. Not one drop of wine was to stain her, knowing that anything from a caster was more than it seemed.


It was upon careful inspection of his burps and passing pf flatulence that Lancer was able to make a plan of attack. In between one of his assaults, though only but for a moment, Her arm struck forward during one of her bounds, a second spear appearing in her off-hand. Spinning on her toes in another evading motion she allowed her momentum to drop into her forward foot, drawing the force built in from the motion into a forward push which she followed through as if it were a single motion.


The power was delivered into a powerful throw one might see usually saved for a javelin, her entire body following through to put her entire weight into the throw.


The red spear soared through the air like a missile, a trail of crimson left behind as it aimed for its target. Dionysus quickly seemed to plummet from the sky, as if he had fallen unconscious and in doing so had managed to dodge the strike, coming into a low sweep of the ground floor, berries and grapes falling upon the ground as he seemed to spin awkwardly above the floor. 


Following with the momentum of the throw as well as the pause in fire from the gourds, Lancer burst forward, spear point low and prepared to strike true.


And yet more danger lurked.


The berries and grapes which landed had already begun to take root, a sudden growth of massive vines erupting from the earth that began to twist and twirls through the air and along the ground as if they were a series of living organisms intent on ensaring her.


Taken by surprise, Lancer quickly sidestepped to dodge one of the tendrils, the thorns latching onto her band and tearing it from her face to reveal the beautiful maiden's petaled lips and appearance in its entirety. A stern yet stone like expression beleaguered her features as the very ground underneath her gave way, leaving her atop a single large stone platform which the vines hurled upwards and sent flying through the air, yet she seemed to latch onto it as if she was hooked upon it on the balls of her feet, body low against it and an arm braced upon the surface.


Standing atop the platform almost as if completely balanced upon it, as if she had an internal gyroscopic balance, she watched as the vines hurled themselves upwards as if to engulf her.


Spinning the crimson spear in her hands she leaped down without fear to meet them, unabashed by the intensity of their pursuit or danger they possessed.


As she fell her form was engulfed in the green vines....only for them to be torn asunder in a blazing whirlwind of crimson as her spear tore them apart, utilizing the debris from the torn earth to bound and maneuver herself in midair, not to mention the vines themselves.


Upon landing on the floor the vines began to emerge once more, only for Lancer's spear to mow them like weeds as she made her way towards the crashed form of Caster, who seemed to be struggling to get up, seeming to forget he could remove the wings he had grown on his back.


"Lancer, thats enough!" Mason called out as she prepared to strike again, forcing her to a halt and giving him a disapproving look. "We aren't trying to kill him," he replied to that look before approaching Dionysus, stopping before the drunken slob. "We aren't enemies.......not to the Gods in this situation."

The inebriated deity's eyes slowly rose and found Mason, narrowing as if investigating him. "......you smol bo...........not a Titan.....you looked big from alllll the way over thar *Belch*"

Mason ignored the fact that they weren't that far apart and just shook his head. "No, I'm just a human.....look, we came to see what wrong. You are fighting the Titans, right?"

With a sloven nod the drunken slob lay upon his back, a bed of vines raising him up. "Yuh....dum tutuns........we'spused to rulllllllll but dem.......fooks........." he rolled along the vines, still bare and giving the two of them an unnecesarry show. "Hey...........boy......" His voice sounded a bit more stable as he regarded Mason. "Cun ask a favor?"


Mason nodded. "yeah, what is it?"

"The tutns.......took helllos." Dionysus slowly sat himself up before looking lazily at Mason. "Soomed..........Made em a rider.....can yu save um?"

Mason looked confused a moment. "Helllos.....?" His eyes narrowed before he put two and two together. "Helios....?"

"Tutuns......slaved him." The god fell back as if about to pass out. "Seem Nuce.......wanna party.....? Needs......Heeeelllllos." A loud snore came from the deity, leaving Mason with a frustrated expression.

"Well," Lancer said with her eyes closed. "That wasn't near as fun or insightful as I hoped."

"It was enough," mason said turning away and heading towards the decapitated forest. "Come on," He stated. "We have a job to do?"

"Your going to save this Helios?" She asked as she followed.

"Yeah.....and we need answers." 

"So are we heading back to the rest?"

"No,"Mason shook his head. "We just fought a God.......whatever faction is alongside the titans and maybe the titans themselves may come talk to us in hopes we join them.....we can get answers there.....and I promised I'd save Helios."

"Why do you care for keeping that favor so?"

"I refuse to look away at the crime of slavery." Mason said fiercely. "We're on our own right now, with an objective. We can leave the rest to the others."

Intellectually understanding their plight with the combination of Ruler's reminder and the two kneeling goddesses explanations was not the same as empathizing, or even the same as agreeing with the idea. Yet, Nadia was here to put on the appearance of cooperation at the very least, and while none of the servants save Ruler seemed at all interested in the plight of their visitors, Ruler did have a point, and more to the fact, Nadia was in command of her servant, not the other way arou- 


Another attack, this one of missiles fired straight through the barriers brought up to protect his fragile mistress from the might of the simian king. His agility should have been enough to protect her, but the intervention of the two Pagan gods was a message of the seriousness of their plight, that they would protect a priestess of the one who would usurp them in their future should they survive the titans. 

Blinking in shock at the sudden motion around her, Nadia's eyes barely tracking the sudden motion of her own seat and the two servants spinning in place into defensive posture, weapons readily available, she was not quite sure what to say, and so struggled for a neutral, safe response. "I yield the decision to you, Ruler, and your control over our Berserker whose opinions are loud and pointed."

The future should remain the future. That was, after all, God's plan. To alter that future was to profane his word. Not having an understanding of Ruler and his Mistresses quest in the first place had proved a stumbling block that neither had immediately moved to correct, which was their failing and to be forgiven. This situation could not be, under any circumstances, accepted. "The pagan gods did die out, but they did not die in a war against the older gods; they died to the true God." Directing his next words more to the Monkey King than to the others, but still speaking in such a way that it could be heard by whoever pleased to, "This is a perversion of the true order of the universe. They die in their proper time, and so do we. Threats of otherwise are pointless here."

Still floating idly above both his current company as well as both the representatives of the Greek pantheon, Wukong grumbled. Did this frail mortal decide to speak telepathically?! Seriously, with every moment he was in the company of Leos he found himself getting the worse impressions. And, to make matters worse, Ruler then spoke in his place. The gal of this human seemed to have no bounds. The Sage equaling Heaven  would reject this instance..whether it was the pretentious nature of a man who stands above heroes of history summoned merely as expendable pawns...or the cowardice of one unable to respectfully acknowledge a hero...no...a KING...


”Master says-”


“This boy doesn’t need you to be his voice, Maiden of devout faith! He will address me with respect in regards to his choice!” barked the Monkey King before she could finish explaining the case of the two kneeling deities before them. The bestial god slayer snarled, exposing one of his simian canines as his golden irises bored deep into his Master. Was this to be his Master? A tangible mist of warm angry breath danced from between his clenched teeth, climbing the air before dissipating in the wind. It was then that Demeter chimed in, and thus received the cruel attention of the airborne Berserker. “Quit begging...it’s unsightly,” murmured the great destroyer of the Jade Palace, ”be grateful that your fate rests on my master’s decision, and not my own.”


All the while, Jeanne de Arc had yet to remove her gaze from the ape who crossed his arms in disappointment as he stood on the wind above them. ”Berserker, we are here to fix humanity’s history. It is our duty as the dead to protect the living. Our personal lives are over we should at least hear out a potential enemy if they aren’t striking us. It seems this is a war between the gods. We may be forced to choose a side regardless in the end.” Sluggishly, his eyes were drawn over to Ruler, hearing out her case this time without interrupting. He was just about to cut through her argument with a rebuttal of his own, but he was cut off by an attack that didn’t offer the luxury of continuing their debate in that moment. Luckily, the attacks were intercepted by the two pagan goddesses. Wukong saw it coming, otherwise he would have done it himself. Still, the gesture of protection did earn them a bit of recognition. But, at the same time, these divine beings should have no problem with mere servants...thus he scoffed and slowly began his descent to the ground, beginning to brandish the infinitely destructive Ryu Jingu Bang over his shoulder casually. During all of this, he was able to hear out the second master’s statement-who viewed him as the thing he hated most about this entire situation- and Assassin...who had a point when he elaborated on the futility of his threats in the grand scheme of things...still, he would not stand for insolence.


”If I am not mistaken, our job here is simply to remove the grail that does not belong to this era. It doesn’t matter who dies in the process, but only that we retrieve it….So Demeter-the only kind hearted goddess of your order...and Athena-the petty icon of wisdom who accused a woman to be at fault for her rape as well as the one who took away a girl’s humanity when she bested you in weaving...turning her into an arachnid. If my master deems your lives worthy than I will fight these simpletons off while you escort them all to your domain...and Master,” He didn’t even look at the young man as he walked ahead of Athena and Demeter, expecting further assaults from their enemy...but equally ready to block them with the swift swing of his staff, ”careful who you ally yourself with, as it reflects on your character...and depending on your choices...I may recognize someone else as a more appropriate leader to save humanity..and thus you would be obsolete...take that how you will…”

After that, he spoke to Ruler telepathically, which Leos could hear...but clearly he wasn’t even bothering speaking to the human or even acknowledging him at that moment, ”Make sure the boy uses a command seal to summon me if the Greek Pantheon reveals their true nature. Otherwise, make sure he doesn’t. I wish not to interrupt in your diplomacy in the presence of these monsters...because i know i will not be able to calm myself in their presence until they lay dead at my feet… for now I am more useful here on the battlefield” It was odd really..for this mental note was spoken solemnly...unusual.

Leo was troubled by the strangely distant attitude of Wukong, but Ruler seemed her normal, albeit stern, optimistic self. With the 'deferred' response she acted swiftly without the need for negotiation. "Do you Athena represent your faction in this agreement?" A solid nod. "Then by my rite as Ruler, and by my command spell, I at this moment order the servants of the Olympus Faction to behave in accordance with this allegiance."

Spoiler:

After speaking, the symbol of her command spells appeared glowing like four wings grew behind Ruler, in the night sky it's glow was enough to light the small plateau. As it reached full size one of the little red patches in the center vanishes and the sky glows red for a moment, and the two women in front of the group began to shine as the spell was cast. Those interacting with servants of the Olympian faction would see the servants glow similarly and seconds later it was done. The gods and goddesses of the Olympic pantheon had been re-contracted temporarily to Ruler. She looked to them after it had finished and the red symbol of her power had vanished completely.

Athena and Demeter slowly dimmed as the spell bound them by their honor, "We shall obey your will and reason. In exchange for protection when needed." Turning to Demeter she nodded and the goddess still looked like Athena was crazy, but she tapped the ground with her scythe. The point of contact with her staff the earth erupted into a tiny patch of flowers and wheat stalks, but the tap lasted only a second, and the result was a shift of location for the people present. As instead of standing on the top of a mountain they now stood atop a cloud before a set of gates that slowly creaked open. As they did so the place beyond them cleared of clouds and came into view. The clouds were dark, and thunder rumbled through them as patches of sudden light preceded the rumbles.

"Welcome to Mount Olympus, here live the gods of the ancient world. We can discuss our stratagem here. Or cover any information you request of us. We will be safe here for the time being. Even our enemies have yet to breach the gates as of yet." Ruler reached out to Berserker, knowing he would not necessarily want to enter into a heaven without smashing it to bits. She didn't speak instead their master's message was what spoke out into his head, -We didn't bring our entire troupe here Berserker, I don't want a situation where we have all our eggs in one basket. In the case of betrayal, I'd like you to return to the surface below and keep an eye on the others. More so I'd want to keep you separate from the gods, so they think our side is under-composed to see how they behave when they have a distinct advantage over us. I can only trust this task to you since we can summon you back to our side with a command spell.- He made sure to say it so only Ruler and Berserker could hear it. Then turning up her hand as if to speak into the back of it the masters heard the magical voice that came from their command spells. "We have agreed to align ourselves with the Greek gods of old. The gods are fighting the Titans. We don't yet know how the holy grail ended up in this era, nor how the Titans learned to summon servants in an era before holy grail wars. If you defeat a servant of the Titans try and figure out how they summoned that servant. Remember you can communicate with the other masters via your command spells." Ruler's voice rang out a few times in Mt. Olympus and to each of the masters below the clouds.

Turning back, toward the golden gates of Mt. Olympus, she looked at Berserker. A moment of concerned glance was all he got, then she said, "Happy hunting, Wukong." Quiet was her voice, but it was just loud enough he could hear her. Walking back over to Athena, a few more gods had collected to the group of Argo Masters and Servants, they introduced themselves as they had arrived one at a time, but as the master-servant pair returned to the group, they need not say their name for Ruler, so she didn't wait for them to speak. "Heracles, Poisedon, Hades, and Zeus." The four people who had collected and had already chosen to divulge only their classes to the masters and servants present. Heracles had called himself Archer, Poisedon was Rider, Hades the Assassin, and Zeus was the only one that both named himself by title and class, as the Lancer.

"How can we help the gods? There must be very little you need us to help with, but something has gone wrong." Ruler cut straight to the chase unwilling to allow the moment of safety to go to waste. "Who taught you how to cloak yourselves in your past? Who was it that called the grail to this era, and why? Those are the questions I have, does anyone else have questions for the gods?" She asked her troupe of Masters and Servants, and the gathered gods.

Those who were utilizing the Mage skill to observe the power of servants could see the distinct difference between the servants of Argo, and the Divine Spirits of the Olympic Gods. They were most definitely Godly beings, yet they seemed paralyzed with fear of the corruption of history. As they turned to look at one another as a mere and meager human dare speak to them with such haste and force, it was obvious they had never met such a forceful mortal. Zeus finally answered the demands, "We were tricked into this form by a mortal who claimed to be a prophet, he demonstrated the ability to do so by summoning forth a female from a distant land which he called "Caster" only now we know he had summoned forth a servant, to use as an example for his demonstration. He neglected to inform us of the price he would not be paying should she die, however as Pseudo-Servants of ourselves, granted information from the holy grail, we learned, only after having fused with our formal selves, that our deaths would effectively rid us from history. Our soothsayers have predicted that if we perish now, catastrophe will result for all of humanity. Which was why as we learned of your arrival I sent my wisest daughter to bring you to our aid." Zeus spoke honestly and earnestly as he led the mortals and their servants into the common grounds of Mt. Olympus, here many of the non-combat ready gods and goddesses stared in a mix of fear and gratitude that resulted in an eerie aura of discontent. "As for how you can help us, we need for you to remove the holy grail from this era, slay the servants, once natural order is restored, we will happily lay our lives on the line in order to maintain history and let the new era build as a new god will take his birth." He said plainly, and the clouds grew quiet and white, puffy and pleasant around the location which could be called a 'heaven.'

.  .  .

Meanwhile back in the valley of the combat of the titanic Berserkers, Rider and Lancer were giving chase to enemies. As Rider and his army of Archers approached the location indicated by Ruler he noticed the servant present was singular, and at this rang,e he could tell he was most likely facing an Archer of his own with which his soldier could contest. Lancer and her Master headed in a similar direction but a mite slower, when compared with the fastest class Rider, chasing the enemy Rider that had left the sky in darkness. The enemy Rider, now known to him as the Titan Helios turned god, forced traitor to his fellow gods by the will of the grail. Helios had left the sky in the direction of his ally leading both Lancer and Rider towards Archer. As both approached the location, Archer had left the mountaintop and was traveling down the far side of the mountain into the cove below the far side. Abandoning the high ground is an incredibly bold move for an Archer, unless, of course, he was fleeing for his life.