Solenoid Flux
An Evangelion / Fate Zero Crossover
Snippet #6: Casses Circumdant I / Opening Salvo
08:59 PM
Despite the collapse of the Japanese asset bubble, it wasn't a matter of debate that Shinto had grown wealthier and more heavily urbanized over the past decade. The recession, however, had not left the ward entirely untouched; and the south-western bloc of the business district - a ten minutes' walk from the Grand Hyatt - was now a no-man's land of derelict office buildings and public infrastructure that had fallen out of maintenance. With the police advising a soft curfew in response to the recent serial killings, the originally sparse pedestrian traffic in the area had fallen to a nil.
Approaching the center of an empty street, Kariya winced as the worms relayed a response from an insect familiar he'd sent out earlier.
"It looks our friend from the hotel is getting ready to unleash whatever it is he has planned for tonight," he said. "We should probably get started as well."
Berserker manifested beside him, very obviously attempting to conceal a grimace as he clutched at the crimson stain on the side of his uniform shirt. Kariya bit his lower lip. In an ideal world, the sort of pain that was his nightly companion would afflict only the deserving - but reality was far from kindly, and until the War came to its close, it would be Kariya's lot to serve as an author of suffering. He dared only to hope what he was putting Berserker through would amount to some good in the end.
"Are you sure you're alright with the plan?" he asked. "If not, we can just turn in for the night."
"I'm fine. Really," replied the Servant in a strained voice, turning toward him. "Let's just do this."
From the pocket of his jacket, Kariya removed and unsheathed a combat knife with an oddly designed hilt.
"I'm sorry about this," he said.
Gripping the blade with both hands, he drove it into Berserker's gut.
09:13 PM
Atop the superstructure of the Fuyuki Bridge, Waver Velvet abruptly ceased in his whining, turning his head toward the Grand Hyatt in stark shock. Rider, who wasn't quite so attuned to the energies of magecraft, noticed something as well - a sharp incline in the concentration of atmospheric mana.
"Th- this bounded field ..." said Waver, eyes widening. "H- he's ... he's actually developed a working implementation ..."
It had been the subject of a treatise only recently delivered by Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi - that, utilizing the spread of a leyline network, a standard bounded field could be imposed with a nontraditional orientation that he termed the Casses Circumdant, propagating the influence of the controlling magus over much larger region. The conceptual groundwork that the paper established was indisputably solid, but logistical difficulties and the nearly inhuman focus required to regulate the construct placed its realization and use well within what the Clock Tower regarded to be the realm of the theoretical - something that may have been achievable in the Age of Divinities, but no longer.
This "purely theoretical" existence was now in the process of unfolding itself before Waver Velvet's senses - blooming like a nightmarish flower of death.
Rider set his bottle of wine on the surface of the bridge frame and snapped his fingers besides Waver's ear, jolting Waver to attention.
"The Persians have a saying, boy," he said to the frightened magus. "'If you can think of nothing but defeat before you even draw your blade, the war has already been lost.'"
"D- Didn't the Persians lose to you?"
"Bah! Don't stress the details!" said the large man, chuckling heartily before turning businesslike. "Going by your reaction, though, I'm supposing that whatever sorcery that was just now isn't good news for us. Is there anything I should know about the situation?"
Waver forced himself to take a deep breath and slowly exhale before speaking.
"Did the Grail provide you with any background on radio broadcasts?" he asked. "Like what our television receives?"
"Somewhat," said Rider. "It's quite the marvel, I think. Would've made field command far simpler if we had it in my day."
"I'm oversimplifying," said Waver, "but the leylines in this city are being used to broadcast and receive signals. Within a certain distance of any line, the spellcaster can sense things, and use the broadcast to manipulate all of his familiars as if they were part of his body."
"Can't you do the same? With those pigeons of yours, I mean."
"That's nowhere near the same scale. Anyone can handle one or two familiars without a problem, but once the numbers get beyond ten or twenty, it starts to put a real a strain on the mind. It's like having that many more arms and hands and being forced to control every finger at the same time. The spellcaster that we're dealing with can do it perfectly - probably without too much effort."
"And about how many familiars are we talking about, here?"
Waver worriedly glanced in the direction of Shinto.
"S- Several hundred, at least," he replied, "If we were in range of a leyline right now, the spellcaster could have them swarm us like insects at will. There's no way we can defeat an enemy like this ..."
Rider's face took a stern cast at his words, and Waver was afraid that he might have accidentally caused offense. He was surprised when the large man suddenly cracked a toothy smile and flicked him in the forehead.
"What was that for!" shouted Waver, clutching the reddening spot above his brow.
"Insects indeed!" exclaimed Rider, bellowing with laughter as he stood to his full height. "If a mere thousand insects could bring us low, I would be unworthy of my title as the King of Conquerors! You, my boy, are overconcerned for all of the wrong reasons!"
"Wr- wrong reasons? Our enemy is Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi! He's the sort of genius that only turns up once a century!"
"And I'm the sort of genius that only turns up once every half a millennium," said Rider. "That makes me at least fives times the man he is." He lifted Waver to his feet by the back of his sweater. "I'm telling you, the familiars are nothing to worry about. Tactically, the advantage this sorcery gains him is a means of potentially tracking our current position - and if you think about that for half a moment, you'll realize that it doesn't matter a whole lot unless he can locate the home of our host. Even then, what's the worst he can do? Send his Servant at us?"
"If you're so confident that we can defeat him, shouldn't we go and eliminate him right now? The fact that he can have all of this intelligence on us probably makes him the most dangerous Master ..."
Rider made a scoffing noise.
"Unless it's Caster we're talking about," he said, drawing his sword, "it isn't inherently meaningful for me to directly combat some insecure two-bit magus who hides behind hundreds of familiars. No - we'll just ignore him until he starts to make a nuisance of himself."
"What?"
Rider swung his blade, cutting a glowing arch in the air - which exploded with energy. Divine bulls charged through the gap, drawing forth the Wheel of Heavenly Might - Rider's chariot, the Gordius Wheel.
"I've found us a front-row seat to what might just be the first true engagement of this War," said Rider with a wide grin. "Are you coming?"
09:18 PM
By force of suggestion, they had hastily obtained a fully furnished short-term apartment as a safehouse, and concealed the entire building in less obtrusive defenses than the 'fortress' Kayneth had devised for the hotel. It didn't have quite the trappings of luxury as their former lodgings, but better that they were inconvenienced than killed by compromised security.
Alone in her new living room, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri leaned back into the soft cushions of the couch, holding her right arm above her. The crimson Command Seals that now adorned the back of her hand were beautiful to her eyes - but not so satisfying as she had imagined.
"Why don't you understand?" she asked of the air.
For all of her blue-blooded lineage and highborn bearing, Sola-Ui was a magus of middling talent and little true interest in furthering herself. Complicated family politics had landed her as a pawn in a power play against her father soon after birth, and she'd spent her childhood being harshly ingrained with the skills of a potential heir to the family Crest - aware that she was a mere tool to the ambitions of her paternal uncle. Perhaps as a result of her upbringing, in the years following her uncle's untimely death and her brother's succession as the heir official, she'd offered no real resistance to her father's plans for a political marriage to the House El-Melloi.
Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi was an arrogant man-child who, by virtue of inborn talent and luck, had grown to adulthood without knowing a single shred of humility. To Sola-Ui, he was miraculous existence, on par with a virgin mother pure of Original Sin - and often, she thought that his personality would've been much improved if his all-too-doting mother had only beaten him as a boy. Still, Kayneth Archibald was not atypical of the men she'd known in her life, and at her father's urgings, she'd resigned herself to become his bride.
Then came the War of the Holy Grail, and the summoning of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne as the Servant of the Lance.
Diarmuid was chivalrous and polite and kindly - and every bit the gentleman that Kayneth Archibald merely claimed to be. He was the only male who'd ever treated Sola-Ui as her own person, rather than as a tool or just another pretty face. He respected her. He actually respected her.
For the first time, Sola-Ui came to know conviction: She knew the function of a tool intimately, and it was unbearable - unacceptable - that a good man like Diarmuid would be consigned to the fate of servitude that she had suffered. That his Master was her fiance was doubly offensive; a soulless meritocrat like Kayneth Archibald would never know Diarmuid's true worth.
Sola-Ui had resolved that she would find a way to save him.
Today, by the actions of Assassin, she had obtained a means to act upon her sole conviction. As if responding to the voice of her heart, the Grail had blessed her with the right to Diarmuid's service. Her first act as Master had been to threaten Kayneth Archibald with the expenditure of a Command Seal - making clear that she would order Diarmuid to end his life if didn't surrender all claim to the Grail to her.
Then, everything had gone wrong. Exactly opposite of what she'd imagined, Diarmuid had not been happy at all that she'd ended his servitude and humiliation. He'd instead berated her for acting honorlessly, and gave the ultimatum that he would only accept her as a Master if she swore to act as Kayneth Archibald's proxy. If he discovered that she had gone back upon her word, he would see her parted with her arm.
"What did that scumbag ever do to deserve your loyalty, Diarmuid?" asked Sola-Ui.
Picking up a pillow from the couch, she held it against her breasts, hugging it tightly.
"Why can't you see that I'm doing this because I love you?"
09:11 PM
In body, Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi faced the evening breeze on the rooftop helipad of the Grand Hyatt. His consciousness, however, was not entirely present. By artifice and sheer skill, he had momentarily become at one with the metropolis - spreading himself to the expanse of the countryside to derive sensory feedback from the leylines. In his present state, even the Presence Concealment of an astralized Assassin would not permit from escape from his clairvoyance.
The Casses Circumdant was not a feat of control that could be attempted without thaumaturgical talent at least equivalent to Kayneth's own - and certainly not without soundness of mind and body. Tonight, however, the throbbing pain in his bandaged right hand and the rage that utterly filled his being provided no inhibition to the effect of the spell. Rather, they honed his responses, giving him a single-minded focus.
Setting the seven-hundred odd wraiths that he'd bound to his command to automatic defense against entities of irregular odic pressure, he'd directed all of his remaining faculties to the identification of the Masters and Servants - extending his senses well beyond the range of his familiar control. Even if it killed him to do so, Kayneth would locate the Master of Assassin and make him pay for the insult that had been dealt.
Of the five other Masters and Servants:
Already, Kayneth had confirmed the Master of Berserker - a wretched, deformed scion of the House Machir, fittingly loitering about the city's slums with his Servant. It was pitiful that one of the Twelve Houses of Judea could fall so low.
At the Tohsaka Estate, Archer was demanifest, and his Master was nowhere within Kayneth's field of detection. Kayneth hadn't been able to closely observe the attack upon the manse the night previous, but as Tohsaka Tokiomi was presumably absorbed in tracking the perpetrator, it was a matter that could be dealt with later.
The Einzbern Master at the seaside was a woman, somehow capable of supplying energy to her Servant - Saber - while suppressing the telltale odic leakage that marked her as a participant of the War. Kayneth would attribute such a feat to talent, but it was wasted; the woman too closely accompanied her Servant, and seemed to have no sense of subterfuge.
Caster was a mutated creature with fish-like eyes, currently traveling along the sewer system with his Master - a plain young man who lacked the presence of a Magus. Not much of a threat, Kayneth judged.
The Master of Rider was none other than Waver Velvet, participating in the War on the merit of a stolen catalyst. It incensed Kayneth that the lowborn brat would dare show his face, but punishment could wait; the boy hadn't the talent to properly reign in Rider, and that neutered him as an immediate threat.
The Master of Assassin was easy enough to find, surprisingly - and auspiciously unaccompanied by his Servant.
Of the Servant in question, however ...
Kayneth presumed initially that he was mistaken, but fine-tuning his senses and performing a second pass, he realized that it hadn't been his imagination. Assassin was not one servant. Assassin was eighty extremely weak energy signatures, demanifested across the city.
'The Hundred-Faced Hassan,' he thought to himself. And each iteration was potentially as strong as the one that he and Lancer had fought. It confirmed within his mind that Assassin was the greatest threat of this War. But why had such a being been summoned to the service of an agent of the Vatican?
No matter, he thought. The enemy had sullied the sanctity of the war, and dealt unforgivable insult. The motives involved mattered little, and punishment was the only possible reply.
Contracting the majority of his consciousness to his flesh, he continued, "The target is a young priest, presently at a chapel to the west of the Miyama Shopping District. Assassin is not presently at his side. You know what to do."
"By your command, Master," said Lancer, astralizing from where he'd knelt.
Kayneth permitted himself a brief reprieve from his exertions upon Lancer's departure, but it was no sooner than he relaxed that he was suddenly aware of a Master's presence at the door of the stairwell. A deliberately slow clap met his ears as he turned.
"A most brilliant performance, Lord El-Melloi," said his visitor - an Asian man wearing a fine Italian suit. "Nothing less than what I expected of a first-rate magus."
He'd avoided detection, Kayneth realized, by temporarily deactivating all of his prana circuits; even now, the man's odic circulation was in the process of gradually recovering.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi, I presume?" he asked. "Rather presumptive of you to approach me without your Servant. For your sake, I do hope that you haven't the intention to battle."
At Kayneth's mental order, the wraiths that guarded the rooftop gained visibility - manifesting by the dozens until they encircled the building entirely. Tohsaka Tokiomi responded with no fright or panic. Instead, he calmly raised his arms, assuming a stance that Kayneth vaguely recognized as belonging to a Chinese martial art.
"I have no need to bother Archer with trivial errands that I myself can resolve," said Tohsaka, smiling pleasantly. "I'm here to bid you welcome to the Orient, Lord El-Melloi. I hope that you'll enjoy the remainder of your stay with us."
Omake #1: Fujimura Dojo, Issue 1
ISKANDER-SENSEI and WAVER appear, standing in the training hall of a familiar dojo. ISKANDER-SENSEI is wearing an extra-large kendo hakama and holding across his shoulder a shinai, proportioned to his body. WAVER, standing beside him, is dressed in a short-sleeved white gym shirt, a pair of bloomers, and long knee-socks. On the front of his shirt is a name sticker with "Weibaa~" written in large, sloppy hiragana.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Welcome to yet another issue of Fujimura Dojo!
I, Iskander-Sensei, shall be your substitute
trainer on this fine day! Standing beside me
is my cutest disciple and assistant, Waver-
chan!
WAVER glances down at his attire, and his face reddens in anger and embarassment.
WAVER:
W- w- what's the meaning of this, Rider! Why
am I wearing bloomers! Weren't we just on
top of that bridge!
ISKANDER-SENSEI laughs heartily, slapping WAVER heavily on the back.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Your attire is nothing to be ashamed of,
Waver-chan! It is the traditional battle garb
that the Orientals assign to those of your
role and station! And to answer your question,
you're here because you Bad Ended!
WAVER:
M- my role and station?
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
I believe that the scholars and gentlemen of
this nation describe those with your
characteristics as 'tsundere loli magi.'
There was some talk before the beginning of
the Grail War that your lines should be voiced
over by Kugimiya Rie.
WAVER:
Baka Baka Baka! Stop talking all this
nonsense, Rider! There must be an explanation
for this! Are we inside a Reality Marble or
something? And what do you mean Bad Ended?
ISKANDER-SENSEI shoots WAVER an awkward grin.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
That would be my fault, Waver-chan. When I
swung my sword earlier, you were accidentally
knocked off the bridge!
WAVER:
I ... I'm dead? You killed me!
WAVER collapses to his knees, and tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
But don't worry! This tutorial is intended to
explain to you exactly what you did wrong! If
you try harder, next time, you'll perform
better! Once we're through, just open your
most recent save and reload!
WAVER glares at ISKANDER-SENSEI, who has broken into chuckles.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
In any case, it's time for mail call!
A HAND reaches up from below the CAMERA, holding an envelope, which ISKANDER-SENSEI takes with a nod. Tearing it open, he removes the letter within.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Let's see now ... this letter is from Aida
Kensuke-kun of Tokyo-3. His question is, "How
does Archer have so many goddamned Noble
Phantasms! I just can't defeat him, and I'm
already Level 52!"
WAVER:
Wait, Archer? Didn't he only use that one
crappy Noble Phantasm against the maid?
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Kensuke-kun's farther along than you in the
plot, Waver-chan. You need to work harder! But
to answer the question, most of these Are-Pee-
Gees that children play on the television
these days are actually fairly accurate
representations of how heroes were in the Age
of Divinities.
WAVER stands up, looking at ISKANDER-SENSEI with a confused expression.
WAVER:
RPGs are clearly over-the-top fiction. How are
they fairly accurate?
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Good question, disciple! In Are-Pee-Gees,
heroes barge their way into every house they
run across, scouring high and low for the
treasures that home-owners' have occulted away
in obscure corners! What they find, they take,
and the peoples of the nation receive their
actions in good humor in order to support
their campaign against the enemies! Such is
the royal path of heroism!
WAVER:
Wait, I don't think that's-
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Archer's primary Noble Phantasm is something
called a Hero's Inventory! In Are-Pee-Gees,
heroes have extra-dimensional holding areas of
immense space, which they use to store all
manner of legendary Noble Phantasms that they
obtain!
WAVER:
Are you saying that game mechanics are real?
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
Indeed! And those who would honorlessly take
advantage of the flaws of Are-Pee-Gee
realities exist in the real world as well! I
hear that there's a scoundrel by the name of
EMIYA, who exploits something called an 'Item
Replication Bug' to created unlimited Noble
Phantasms!
WAVER:
... Is this EMIYA a S- Servant in this War?
ISKANDER-SENSEI smiles knowiningly and wags his finger at WAVER.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
That would be telling, wouldn't it? You'll
have to find out on your own merit, Waver-
chan! Now, as to how Kensuke-kun can defeat
Archer - if you go and grind near the Fuyuki
Grand Hyatt, there's a small chance that you
might randomly encounter a type of monster
known as a Metal Slime! Try defeating it,
because it will drop massive amounts of
Experience Points! Do it enough, and soon
you'll be strong enough to defeat even
Archer's Heroic Inventory!
WAVER:
Metal Slime? Are you talking about the Volumen
Hydragyrum? That's a Mystic Code! How does it
drop Experience Points!
Folding the letter and handing it back to the HAND that reaches in from offscreen, ISKANDER-SENSEI ignores WAVER and turns to look directly into the CAMERA.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
In any case, friends and comrades - that's
all for today's issue! If Fate allows it, stay
tuned for the next issue of ...
ISKANDER-SENSEI flexes his muscles heroically.
ISKANDER-SENSEI:
... Fujimura Dojo!
The CURTAINS draw.
WAVER:
Baka baka! Stop ignoring my questions, Rider!
FEMALE (V.O.):
This issue of Fujimura Dojo was brought to you
by Square-Enix of Japan. The World is Square.
End Snippet.
Draft: Jan 31st 2012