Not-yet-summer resort: V
If there was one thing that someone could say about Boudica, it was that it was painfully obvious she was a mother.
And with that unsurprising fact about her, something that anyone who had known her for more than five minutes could attest to, there came with it the same manner of intimidation only a mother could have, which was why Ritsuka found himself folding almost immediately the second she dragged him to the side in the wake of Ash's meltdown.
"It's a complicated issue." He started with and all that earned him was a blank stare and some folded arms. A faint grimace crossed his face the longer he stared into the piercing eyes of the Rider, bringing his hand up and rubbing the side of his head. "It's…look, it's not really my place to tell it either. It's Ash's life and I only found out about it after the fact but…well, you can more or less see the results of it-"
"You weren't surprised by the fact he had divinity in the least, high divinity at that." Boudica simply commented, ending his own point with a wince. Her arms still folded and stood in such a way that it was as though she towered over him, the actual height between the two of them be damned. "And you showed much greater concern with the fact he was calling himself Gawyn than you showed with the kidnapped Servants."
A pause, the Rider jerked her head back towards the place they had just left. "It was barely even a point in there. Sure enough, you were indeed troubled by the Servants who had been stolen away but once you found out where they were and what happened, you were just upset that it happened without you being told first. An understandable concern, I do not begrudge you for that." her assurance was coupled with a wave of the hand and a faint smile, though it quickly vanished when she resumed speaking. "But in comparison to how you felt towards Gawyn?"
He knew how it must have looked, even when he looked back on it now he could tell that he hadn't been making a good show of keeping his real feelings contained all that well. He doubted any of them had, with how uncomfortable they all were around Gawyn and especially now that he had all but burst into tears at the thought of not being able to do his duty.
"...I don't like it because I know Ash is going to hate it." He remarked quietly, turning his eyes back towards the Rider. "I'm not going to go into details because if he wants to talk with you about it, that's his business and please don't ask me bec-"
"I wouldn't." Boudica answered quickly, a look in her eyes which made it perfectly obvious to him that she meant what she said. It was relaxing but only in the sense that he knew she was eventually going to ask Ash about it and he would doubtlessly tell her, or she would ask Gawyn and he would tell her…and that would definitely lead to a confrontation with him about Gwynevere.
It was almost foreboding how he could see these dominoes lining up already.
"Right, well…Ash's childhood was…" He paused for a moment, then brought his hand up to rub his brows while his other hand rested on his hip. "It places a really strong focus on being dutiful, as I think everyone knows, to the extent that he doesn't know what he's supposed to do if he's not working towards a goal…" he lowered his hand from his head, shooting a small look towards the Saber as they were rooting through their box for something.
All while Gareth stood nearby, an odd look on her face that looked almost petrified, for lack of a better word.
His eyes brought themselves back to Boudica. "Ash is trying to change now but his kid self was, by his own words, really fixated on that and he doesn't like it. So him being pulled back to this younger version is…"
A slow nod of the head from the Rider, her hands falling upon her own hips. "I see. Though if he is trying to change, for what reason would he be turned into a child?" Ritsuka paused and raised a brow, prompting Boudica to continue onwards. "The Goddess in there said it was all to make him relax and have fun in a theme park, but if his child self is going to be more focused than current Ash, why would she turn him into a kid?"
His face flattened as he gestured to the tower. "I'd say it was weird, but you heard her other reason as well, didn't you? Though maybe she's just trying to get him to go through his childhood again and this time get to act like a kid?" it was a shot in the dark but it was what he could imagine, that and it could be easier…maybe. "I don't know, either way it's something that bothered me but…"
Boudica made a curious face. "But?"
"...Is she right?" He pondered aloud, glancing away. "I don't like she did it without Ash's consent but when she talks about what she wants for him, to basically get the chance to actually be a kid for the first time in his life, to run around, play games, eat ice-cream and go on roller coasters, I have to wonder…" he turned his eyes upwards to the tower, frowning to himself. "...Am I just making too big a deal out of this? It just…Ash wants to change and he's been trying to do different things lately and I…"
An exhale from the Rider. "I'm not certain there is a right or a wrong answer, the point could be made for both." a nod of the head to Ash. "Turning him into a pre-teen without his consent, to a point in his life he doesn't like, is definitely wrong but…you are right, if he didn't get to enjoy his childhood the first time around, doing something that really can be said to be free…" she waved her hand towards the Saber. "He says that he doesn't like his past self because they were too focused on duty, right?"
It was a simplification, a gross one at that, but she was correct.
If she knew the whole story, she would realise that Ash didn't just 'not like' Gawyn. He absolutely despised him and what he represented.
"...Something like that, yeah?"
"It…a chance to have a do over doesn't happen often, does it?" She ventured with a strained tone of voice, a pause and she shook her head. "Saying it now might sound odd but why not give him the chance to take advantage of this? So that when he changes back he has some memories that he can actually look upon with some fondness. You don't need to approve of what the Goddess has done, but you can't say it was done maliciously…or it doesn't appear that way at the moment."
He could see that much at least, despite what else she was oddly fixated on trying to do what she thought was good for Ash and whatever else, they could both agree on the fact that his childhood wasn't great. So perhaps it was some meagre improvement that he seemed to have a family member who was trying to look out for him, he wasn't sure if Faraam counted or not.
A pause, Boudica slowly brought her head down and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. A brief glance towards him and her lip curled, he paused at her reaction, it looked as though she wanted to say something for a couple of seconds and he was worried that she might have done, then her eyes closed and her shoulders relaxed. "So, what are we going to do next, Master? We could rush back up and get the Grail from her and end this Singularity?"
He didn't even consider that yet, too focused on trying to come to terms with everything that had been going on. Even then, there was something else that took precedence over all of that. Bringing his wrist up, he glanced at the communicator the second the screen flashed to life. Not even a need to call upon it, both Romani and Da Vinci appearing in front of him.
"What did we find out from that?"
"The longer it went on, the more detail we got." Romani was the first to begin, waving a hand. "She's definitely a Divine Spirit and I'd believe she is actually a Goddess, as for the Berserker you encountered on your way up there…" the man paused, then glanced towards the direction of Da Vinci for a half second, clearly passing the conversation onto her.
She took that as her cue to step forwards. "That is a bit less conclusive. The Berserker Servant was, for lack of a better word, a complete mess inside and out. From the looks of things, they seemed to be a single entity but then when we tried to run scans for them, it was instead diverting us towards the entire fortress you were standing inside, including all the golems as well."
He frowned, that didn't sound right, unless the entire castle was somehow him? "A Noble Phantasm?"
"Most likely." A nod of the head, she leaned back and placed a hand on her hip. "It would explain why no one had seen him. Or Solaire at least, if Berserker is related to this entire building and all the guards then it would make sense they would devote most of their time towards that."
"Probably also explain why the castle exists in the first place." He turned around, looking around for a couple of moments and then pausing as he glanced at something not too far from them, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. A tower, not as tall as the one they had come from but still fairly large. An appearance similar to that of a lighthouse, especially with the bright orange light burning in the centre of it, a braiser or something along those lines. It looked like a landmark to him, nodding his head in that direction. "You mean something like that could sort it out?"
He could tell they saw, judging by the hum of Da Vinci. "You'd think so, but quite a few famous cities had big towers in it and I doubt that is the tower of Babylon, though…really, it could refer to any number of cities and that's excluding the idea of it being a Servant from the other world as well."
Ah, right.
"We can probably set that aside for the moment, right? Berserker didn't seem all that hostile…just a bit weird."
"A Berserker being weird, who would have guessed?" A mutter from Romani, accompanied by a wry smile from the doctor as he folded his arms over his chest. Then he paused as he doubtless realised he spoke aloud, wincing and then glancing to the side. "Bad time, yeah. Still, a lot of Berserkers we've met seem to be crazy in completely different ways than you would have expected, right? Whatever happened to Berserkers being like Lancelot?"
Ritsuka felt his brows pinch together. "Are you…trying to say you like it when they can't speak anything comprehensive?"
"H-huh? No! No! Just that it's easier to figure out how crazy they are!"
A slow blink.
The doctor sighed and slumped.
Da Vinci chuckled and leaned forwards. "Seeing as how Romani is pursuing his career as a grave digger with himself as the first customer, I'll take over." bringing up a single finger, she continued onwards. "Madness enhancement, from what we understand, is the cost of trading sanity for physical power. Effectively like shifting your points from brain to brawn, normally something applied to Servants who aren't great at physical combat. Now, the benefit of traditional Berserkers is that they fall into that category where they are hard to control…but you can understand why that is."
Ritsuka remained silent, digesting her words.
"With Berserkers who can speak, that means one of two things." She brought up a second finger. "They are either the sort who have really low madness enhancement because they don't need it that much or aren't famous for going on that big of a frenzy in their legend…or they are insane when compared to humans. Their mind, from the point of view of a human, is so utterly separated from common sense that they are nothing but mad."
That seemed a little more complicated to him, the latter rather than the former. "This seems like a long conversation…" he mumbled to himself, rubbing the back of his head while frowning.
"It really is and probably isn't all that relevant right now." Da Vinci admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, seemingly dropping it. "Besides, the Berserker isn't really all that special if that is the case…well…All Servants are special but they aren't the priority here at the moment, are they?"
She had a look on her face that all but screamed she knew what he really wanted to ask.
"...Did you get anything on Chris?"
Da Vinci kept silent for a moment, then she traded a single glance with Romani, nothing that boded well for him with how hesitant the two of them were being. Eventually, the doctor exhaled and leaned forwards, speaking up.
"...A lot and a little." His tone was strained. "What we managed to get from the Servant was that she is indeed a Saber but her Saint Graph is...well, it's really odd. To say nothing of her Spirit Origin itself which was definitely nothing that we were used to." leaning back into his chair, the doctor scratched at his cheek. "Basically, it looked as though they were…you know that Nero uses her Imperial Privilege skill to become a Saber? It's like that."
He doubted this conversation was leading towards the revelation that 'Chris' was an Emperor.
"Though I don't think that the Saber you encountered has that skill, instead some sort of highly complicated self-modification which let her change into something best suited for a Saber. As for her Spirit Origin itself…well, that's a bit less clear."
He saw Boudica shift ever so slightly, her eyes moved away from the communicator and to something over his shoulder, similarly both Romani and Da Vinci reacted instantly, turning their focus away from him and to the presence he now felt behind him. He didn't need to look to guess who it was, unsurprised that the conversation had attracted Medusa to it.
"What do you mean?" Unabated by the appearance of the Rider, he continued on.
Da Vinci brought up a finger, tapping away on her chin. "How best to put this…she's a natural clone…No, a counterfeit, I would say."
Ritsuka blinked. "There's a difference?"
An exhale from the genius. "Marginal, but you're something of an amateur when it comes to this…now a copy is more or less that. You've effectively copied something entirely - right down to the last detail - and put it down somewhere else. A counterfeit is something that is crafted in the exact shape…but you can never make something that matches the original completely."
"...Natural counterfeit?"
"See, with a counterfeit you can always see the differences if you look close enough." The Caster leaned onto the desk with one arm, the other going to her hip. "With art, for example, there can be a slight difference in the brush strokes, the spreading of the paint and the weight behind the brush itself. All of these set aside the counterfeit from the original and a genius can spot them pretty quickly. Hence why special effort is taken, but with the case of this 'Chris'?"
She shook her head from side to side. "She's close to the original in every way that counts but the parts that are different are almost painfully so, or rather they were made in such a way that the person wasn't even trying to change them…or rather they weren't aware of how to change them, like it was beyond their control…"
She paused for a moment, tapping her chin twice and humming.
"Like…one painting being done in oil while the other was done in acrylic. Otherwise a perfect rendition with every other detail matching perfectly, except the type of paint that was used."
Even if she used that example, he was still fairly sure that he wasn't understanding something in her explanation. Or if he was, then he wasn't quite getting around to comprehending the full details of it. "So…does this mean that someone tried to clone Medusa-"
"No."
A sharp answer from behind him with an intensity that had him freeze for a single moment, he wasn't the only one caught off guard if the fumbling of Romani in front of him was any indication. He slowly turned his head to stare at Medusa, her lips slightly parted before they clamped shut once again.
Nothing in her posture even hinted at what she was feeling, but her swift denial from mere seconds ago was proof enough that there was something there.
"Our resident Rider would know better than us and she is right." Da Vinci brought the flow of the conversation back to her, though her eyes seemed to linger on the Rider for a few seconds longer than necessary before they moved to him.
"You're aware of doppelgangers, right? Or the condition in which you look very similar to a complete stranger with no genetic relation to you, right? Think of it like that. You can only do so much with the tools at hand so sooner or later, you're going to get someone who is very close to you in terms of both appearance and genetics. Either as an ancestor or a descendant…Though we can probably rule out the latter for Medusa."
He paused, then raised a brow. "How come?"
"Well, Medusa did have two children but…let's just say that if you were standing before either of them, you'd know about it very quickly." A beat, then she continued on. "And I do mean very quickly. They were both recorded to be the sons of Poseidon so naturally the divinity emanating from them would be incredibly high, especially because it would have come from before…well, the Gorgon came into existence."
He spared a glance to Medusa, she was still silent through the discussion beyond her initial interruption, though a faint noise reached his ears, his eyes roamed down towards her hands and noticed that they were clenched into fists. Soon bringing his eyes back up and then towards the Caster once again. "So…someone who looks like Medusa, is closely related to Medusa, but isn't Medusa?"
"Not just closely related, the two might as well be the same person for the similarities. Close to ninety-five percent identical, but it's that five percent that's so radically different that sets it apart."
Well, that definitely sounded like something, so they were related to Medusa but the chances were that they weren't Medusa, or at least Da Vinci seemed rather convinced of that and he was inclined to agree with her. She normally understood this better than him, even still…there was something about the way Chris had acted which was peculiar, her focus upon Medusa alone was different.
Not that he could really put his finger on how different, just that it was. She didn't seem to care one iota for him.
A thought occurred to him. "Hang on, if Hanleth is a Goddess from the other world, then maybe this is that world's equivalent of Medusa as well?" he suggested, bringing up a finger. "It would make sense with how close those two seemed, right? They acted as though they were friends and with how marginally different the other world is-"
"Most likely."
Medusa once again interrupted him, though in a reversal it was to agree with him. His explanation ended there, he spared a glance to Medusa and then nodded his head once before bringing it back to Da Vinci. "It makes sense, right?"
"A convenient explanation, to be sure." The agreement of the Caster sounded as though there was more she wanted to say, but she held back on it. "For now though, we should consider what else we know about this Servant. Given that they are certainly going to oppose us if we try and take the Grail on our own."
That seemed like a good point.
He turned, seeking out the resident Lancer. "Gareth? What do you have to say about 'Chris'?"
The Lancer turned towards him and blinked, dragging with her the attention of Ash at the same time, the front of his visor flipped up in a similar way to Gareth's own with his face revealed. Sure enough, the similarities between the two blondes was eerie enough, nevermind they had similar green eyes.
"The Servant who looked like Rider?" She paused for a moment, then frowned and brought her free hand up to tap the underside of her lip. "I…They felt as though they should have been an Assassin rather than a Saber, but it was fairly obvious to me that she was definitely seconds away from killing you."
She revealed it so casually that he almost missed it.
"...Huh?"
"Yeah." The nod was akin to a hammer driving the point in further. "No question about it. She was definitely going to kill you first if it came down to it. I guess it was…" they paused, then teetered their head from side to side. "...She was a bit like Agravain? Yeah, that was it. When he was going to…do something unpleasant, he would have this look on his face of just not going to do anything? No…that isn't right…"
Support came from an unlikely source as she started to falter.
"An erasure of one's intentions." Ash sniffled, rubbing his hand under his nose and wiping away the last of his snot. Though his eyes were puffy red from where he had obviously been crying. "Gotthard told me about the best killers being those who don't give anything away…it was really different from when Sir Llew fought. You just blink and suddenly they're about to cut your throat without warning."
"That's it!" Snapping her fingers, Gareth pointed to the Saber with a grin. "You just give nothing away as though you're completely ordinary, but for a Servant that's just super weird because…well…you're a Servant." she nodded her head up and down once again, folding her arms and then pulling a stern face. "Yep. A Saber who should be an Assassin. That's definitely what they are."
A similar case to Kojiro but in reverse?
Well, they did say that it looked as though Chris had been forced into the class through their own efforts.
"Wait, but that means that-" Mash moved forwards, raising a hand and then pausing, turning a worried look onto him. "If Senpai had moved any closer then she would have…"
His own frown deepened considerably at the silence to her unasked question.
"Well, that's just common sense for a Servant in most cases when the allegiance of a Master has yet to be identified." Da Vinci remarked rather suddenly. "It should be of note that she left it at unspoken warnings rather than immediately going for it…but that's beside the point. There seems to be an even bigger concern right now, one that is possible to be a threat to both Chaldea and Hanleth."
There was?
His confusion must have shown because Da Vinci raised her brows at him, then sighed. "The troublemakers, Protagonista…The Chaos Demons?"
Oh, right.
His confusion remained, however. "Wait…how do we know they're so bad in the first place? She just said that they were being something of a nuisance because they weren't joining in her resort but that doesn't strike me as being very evil." a glance to the others, though mostly between Mash and Gareth, given that they would have memories. "Like Quelaag, she was a Chaos Demon, wasn't she? I thought she was rather pleasant beyond the…"
A shudder at the faint memory of the spider body once again, even picturing her brought him out in shivers.
"That's right!" Mash saw where he was going at least. "Quelaag-san helped us out in the second Singularity! We don't know why they might be opposing this park in the first place."
True enough on that part, though she had been rather provocative towards Verndari, she was still a rather valued member of their team during that Singularity and her contributions were well acknowledged. So the idea that she or others like her would be causing trouble for no good reason was a little difficult for him to accept, he figured there had to be more going on here than just that.
That being said, his experience with Chaos Demons was limited.
Exceedingly so.
He'd met two of them and only really conversed with one properly, the other had just been around to the point where he thought Ash would have known them better. Though he couldn't rely on the expertise of someone who currently didn't have his memories, so he'd need to find someone else who knew about Chaos Demons.
"...Do you suppose that she invited others from around the Throne?" He posed the question, glancing around and being met with expressions of surprise that soon gave way to contemplation. "Because if there are a couple around we can ask about Chaos Demons, that would be a start…I don't think we'll find Quelaag here though…"
"We don't need specifics." He turned to Boudica, she stepped towards him while resting a hand on her hip. "Not from the past, what we'd need to find are Servants who have been here during the attacks. The Goddess implied they were somewhat frequent and that damage on the walls as we came up looked recent. In fact, you could put in a call for the Director, couldn't you? She was supposed to be finding Servants in the first place, right?"
That was…actually a really good idea that he hadn't considered.
His hand moved to his communicator, flicking through it before selecting a different channel and waiting as he made the call.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
He was still waiting.
"...I'm starting to get a little-"
"Hello? I think this is-ah-ha! I knew it was still the glowing button." Ritsuka blinked twice as he found himself staring not at the face of the Director, but instead at the somewhat bewildered face of Berserker, their mismatched eyes widened as a smile came onto their face, a clearly pleased expression which soon faded and was replaced by puzzlement. "Ah, yes…I'm not sure what is going on around here. I'm a little confused."
"Me too…" He gave a slow answer, leaning his head back and raising a brow. "Where is the Director?"
"She was…near me a moment ago but then she got to speaking with sisters Marie and Nero and has since wandered away from me and I…Yes, I believe I might have lost her." Spoken with all the concern of a parent who hadn't realised their kid had walked away from them in a supermarket, coupled with the added bonus of the Servants head swinging around as they glanced across whatever location they were looking over. "So…I am extremely sorry about that. Terribly so…"
"Well, it's a little disappointing but if she's with Nero and Marie then at least she's got some support?" He raised a brow, but kept the frown on his face as he considered the implications. "What were you even doing? The Director said she was looking for her contracted Servants?"
"Torin, Brynhildr and Chulainn, yes." Berserker confirmed with a nod. "She ventured to this…She called it a 'water park' but I am unsure of how it could be called a park. My knowledge of such things is limited but there is a lack of grass to fit the description…we had trouble finding them and I thought that Olga would have gotten more disappointed but it was odd."
Odd?
Ritsuka narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean 'odd'?"
"It was as though she was losing interest, on our third failure to find them…" Berserker's eyes turned downcast and to the side, almost as though he was ashamed to even utter the next sentence. "She just sighed and complained about the effort that was going into this, not wanting to use her command seals to summon them because it would be a 'waste' according to her in case she needed them later…then she pondered what the fuss was about before we encountered sisters Nero and Marie."
This was starting to sound peculiar to him, more so than he would have expected. Berserker was right that the Director should have been feeling disappointed so to hear that she was just getting tired from all of it was a little strange. "How did she end up getting lost though?"
"...I was briefly distracted by an odd smell." The Servant confessed awkwardly, bringing their hand up and rubbing the back of their head. "I turned my head and saw a…it was Sister Artoria enjoying what she called a hot dog so we got to talking about them and why humans ate dog meat, I said it doesn't taste as good as cow meat but she said it was just what they were called and that they were actually pork in the first place…I got confused."
He traded glances with the others, seeing their own exasperated expressions at the explanation. Nonemoreso than Boudica, the redhead with her hands placed over her face and sighing into them, dragging them down and revealing a barely amused expression mixed.
"By the time I turned back around, all three of them were gone…Even Stahl was left behind as well." Proving his point, Berserker lowered the angle of the camera and held it to the side, revealing the fact that Stahl was indeed standing stock still near the edge of a series of stalls and just patiently awaiting orders with little else. The image lingered for a moment, then Berserker brought the screen back to face him. "It could not have been for more than a minute that I was speaking."
"Right, keep looking for the Director just in case." He waved a hand ever so slightly to reassure the Servant. "If it's Nero and Marie then it's a good chance that they ambushed her and dragged her off or something like that. Though I'm not going to write off anything yet…" a low mutter, it sounded off but he couldn't be sure.
Maybe the Director really was just loosening up?
Something smacked against his face, his vision turned black and a surprised gasp pulled itself free of his throat. He stumbled backwards in shock, swiping a hand up and grasping hold of something which crinkled in his grasp, ripping it away and restoring his sight. The faces of everyone were fixed on looking between him and what had smacked him in the face.
He glanced down and then frowned, the concern left him as quickly as it had arrived. "Did I really just get hit in the face by a stray burger wrapper or som-"
His sentence was cut short.
The frown vanished, replaced by parted lips of confusion as he noticed something. Though it was a thin piece of paper that would have been wrapped around a burger, it had no trace of ever being used for its intended purpose. Instead, he saw indentations on it as though something had been pressed against it.
Flipping it around, his brows rose up.
"Okay…that's weird."
"Senpai?" Mash's call was answered silently, he brought the wrapper up and flipped it around for her to see. She leaned forwards and then squinted at it, soon tilting her head and leaning back. "This is…I'm not sure I understand, Senpai."
"Me neither." He remarked, then lowered the paper back down. "But I get the feeling that there is someone else on this little island that is suspicious, or they want us to be suspicious at any rate…"
Another glance to the paper and the message scribbled upon it in rather surprisingly neat handwriting.
Trust nothing.
H.F.
"Rather ominous." Boudica commented as she leaned over his shoulder and pointed at the message, he was rather inclined to agree with her. "And somewhat paranoid as well, especially given that they scribbled it on a piece of paper and then threw it out into the wind…so they're probably someone with some skill, given that it smacked you right in the face when it did."
Yeah, it seemed rather cliche to him that he was thinking about how suspicious this place was and then mere seconds later he is smacked in the face by a note which supported his beliefs wholeheartedly. Either way, it was something to keep track of if nothing else.
Folding the paper over, he stuffed it into his pocket and then faced the others. "I'll keep hold of that to see if we run into another of the Casters…I'd summon them but the Director was right that it would seem a waste to use a command seal now when we might end up needing them later." a shrug of the shoulders, though he was aware they didn't have very many Casters around in the first place, there might have been more he could enlist the aid of, maybe.
"What should I do?"
His attention was brought back to Berserker. "For the time being, keep looking for the Director and let me know if something ends up happening either way…Ah, before you go." he interrupted again when it looked like they were getting ready to hang up. "How much do you know about Chaos Demons?"
A blink.
"Oh, those things. Not a lot. They didn't spend a lot of time coming up to the surface and the few who did…well, I didn't speak with them and they didn't speak with me." Soon shrugging his shoulders, Berserker continued on with a mild frown. "I sometimes saw them in the company of lightkin but they seemed to attack everything that wasn't one of their own kind. Then again, everything else seemed to attack them too…"
Cupping their chin, Berserker visibly pondered it for a moment, then grunted. "I don't know. I never met or spoke with one before. Why do you ask?"
"Something to do with this Singularity, apparently they're involved and I'm trying to get some opinions on them before I sign off on anything."
"Okay…I'm not sure how many would know about them? I just know that at one point Anor Londo used to have more knights and then they all went off somewhere with fewer coming back…then that's when sometimes a burnt knight would appear."
Burnt knight, huh?
That sounded…
The Noble Phantasm of Arkon.
"You've been a big help, Berserker. Thanks."
The Servant blinked, then sent him a wide and earnest smile. "You're welcome, Ritsuka!"
His screen shut off, leaving just Da Vinci's behind, the woman raising a lone brow towards him with clear intrigue. "Sounds as though you've just realised something."
"Arkon's Noble Phantasm, it sounds like he's encountered them in the past and we know for a fact that Quelaag knew of the Silver Knights, something about an attack on her home? I can't remember all that well but everyone calls Izalith the home of the Demons so someone who knew of them would probably have more to say. At any rate, asking around is something I'm going to do, try and get a motive out of why they would be attacking."
A raised brow. "Are you suggesting it's more complicated?"
"Quelaag never struck me as being absurdly violent, maybe others are but I'd like to get some idea first…" A beat, then he glanced in the direction of Ash, catching the eyes of the Saber and turning to him. "What do you know, Gawyn?"
A moment of silence, the face of the boy strained for a moment, then they exhaled. "I don't know a lot. I just know that Demons are strong and dangerous. Sorry…"
"It's fine."
He now knew where he had to look.
He was sure it would be fine.
"There is no more repulsive a race than the Chaos Demons."
And right off the bat, things were off to a fairly low start.
He leaned back at the venom in the words of Arkon, having found the Silver Knight near one of the little quieter areas. In actuality, it was a small artificial beach with more than a few guests sunbathing on it.
A beach in the middle of the ocean.
It got weirder by the second.
"That's a bit-"
"I am being generous." Arkon cut him off before he could get out the rest of his sentence, somehow sensing what he was going to say. Though he couldn't see the face of the knight, he was certain they were scowling deeply. He could have sworn - if only for a moment - that there were crimson red dots glowing through the slit of his helm. "If there is even the slightest hint of infestation, even only a rumour, then this entire place must be torn up from its foundations to root out the vermin."
"...Vermin?"
"They are parasites, chaotic parasites at that." The knight continued unabated. "Even those who somehow found themselves tamed into the service of the Gods were little more than rabid beasts aimed in the right direction, that was their only value for such a savage race."
"Why do you say that?" They were starting to sound like Verndari now.
A sigh from the knight. "It would take too long to explain. Merely trust my advice in that any Demon you spot that is born of Chaos must be cut down before it can cause the damage of its namesake." with a shake of the head, Arkon stepped away from the tree he had been leaning on. "Understand this, my Lord. Chaos Demons are as dangerous as they are savage, a display of intelligence they might show - an inkling of wit - is nothing more than parroting the movements of their betters."
It was disturbing how easy they were writing all of this off.
Alright then…perhaps another?
Arkon turned, looking past his shoulder, a low grunt of disapproval. "You share a resemblance with the Saber. If you are a relative of her, then I would suggest you remind her that continued insults against me will eventually earn retaliation."
Ritsuka slowly blinked.
Medusa answered. "Bring your problems to them. Leave me out of it."
A click of the tongue. "You sound just like her…"
"What have they said?"
Arkon scoffed loudly, turning sideways. "Aside from insulting my knighthood and calling me a killer in a fancy dress?"
Well.
That was imaginative.
"Are there Chaos Demons here?" Verndari sounded startled by the question, looking around before their hands tightened into fists. "How can-"
"H-hypothetical!" He hastily brought up before the knight went into full panic mode. "We're just looking around."
A beat, Verndari relaxed. "I-I see…you had me worried for a moment, my liege. But Chaos Demons…" their voice shifted into one of disgust. "Troublesome beasts they are, as their name suggests they are all without basic intellect…or if they have such wit, they have long since discarded morals. Being without shame or mercy and are deserving of none. That creature you met in Rome was nothing more than a lingering remnant of what they might have once been and nothing more."
Even though he knew the answer was coming, he was still surprised to hear them say that so candidly. Especially after all the help that Quelaag had provided.
"But…Quelaag-san helped us-"
Verndari exhaled, shaking their head from side to side. "Your naivete shows, Mash. That thing aided us out of self-preservation. A natural feeling for all creatures that live, from the highest to the lowest…whatever else, we were merely the best chance it had for survival." their arms folded over their chest. "Make no mistake. She helped herself and merely used us for that sake. Why else do you suppose she has not yet answered a summons?"
Mash frowned but said nothing, Verndari capitalised on it.
"You have a kind heart but when shown to such things…they will take advantage of your kindness and twist your mind." Bringing their hand up, they tapped against the side of their helm. "In every single instance we have encountered one of their ilk, in every single legend and fable that centres around them, they have always been brutal, savage beasts. They cannot be reasoned with…and must be dealt with as monsters demand. Swiftly and with steel."
"Destructive. Vermin."
Those were the only two words that the dark haired woman uttered before she fell silent, he didn't even know who she was in the first place but he'd been directed to her by Romani who said that she might have something to offer them.
His eyes drifted from her to her companion, seated at the table with his arms folded over his chest. He barely recognised the man from somewhere but couldn't quite place where that had been.
A tall broad shouldered man, bare chested and with baggy ginger hair, twin horns jutting from either side of his head. They spared a glance towards the woman - a Caster, he had been told - and then turned back to him before offering a single shrug of the shoulders and an unintelligible garble of the mouth.
Ritsuka opened his mouth to respond, then paused as he watched what appeared to be a looming cloud of dark red fog form over the shoulders of the man, he frowned and leaned back as twin glowing orbs formed within the deep shroud and gave him a look that pierced his very soul, or so it felt at least.
The ghostly whisper of a woman's voice came next.
"I will speak for my dear husband, else those vixens at your side try anything." His brows shot up at the rather offensive comment but they continued on before he could react. "She is in mourning, her soulmate was so cruelly taken from her…such beasts that savage true love are deserving of nothing but a swift end, wherever they might be found."
His eyes lingered on the fog, and then onto the man.
They offered a noncommittal shrug of the shoulders with their eyes speaking of the same story. 'It is what it is.' That is what those orbs said to him.
"I'm under the impression that people really don't like Chaos Demons."
"Given that everyone you asked about them seemed to insult them in one form or another, I would say that it's a fair bet that they've done something…" Romani replied slowly, the man scratching the side of his head as he did so. Then shrugging. "Maybe they have a point? From what we know, Quelaag is different from the other Chaos Demons in that she came from before the whole fire thing…"
Fire thing.
He raised a brow at the man for the rather clumsy explanation but kept silent as they continued onwards.
"Yeah, I know. Not the best way of phrasing it but the point remains…maybe they really were just summoned here by accident to cause trouble?" A beat, then the man grimaced. "If they are anything like the Demons you get in our history, then there is reason enough to be concerned about them…they weren't exactly famous for being reasonable."
That sounded like a thin reason for him, even if loads of people said it as well.
"There is some truth in his statement, Master." A surprising interruption from Medusa once again, he glanced towards her as her lips pulled down into a faint frown. "In my own personal experience, even if a Demon were to have intellect, they would face persecution for their nature…Though the inclination for harm is something that I cannot comment upon."
Slowly, he shook his head from side to side. "I'm not about to write off an entire race as bloodthirsty monsters because of the actions of a few, especially because I don't know what instigated the conflict in the first place. All I know is that the Silver Knights marched into Izalith and then fought the Demons, that doesn't paint the forces of Gwyn in a good light but…well…I can't deny that they might also be the aggressors in other situations either."
It was difficult to get across. "Look, we have Asterios, Quelaag and Quelan. They've all been reasonable people and they were all Demons." a beat, then he carried on. "Alright, Asterios is a different type of Demon but I like to think we call catch my meaning."
Nods all around.
"So I'm withholding judgement." He explained further. "Will I deny that the Demons have been attacking? No. The evidence is pretty strong that they have been, but I'd like to get to the bottom of why. Because Demons going out of their way to attack a hotel resort seems weird to me…like, that just seems like a big waste of time. Why go through a whole summoning just for that?"
Mash raised her hand. "What if they are aiming for the Grail?"
He paused. "That…actually makes much more sense, yeah." she smiled, looking rather proud of her answer. "It's probably the only thing worth getting around here anyway, aside from enjoying the resorts but…hmmm." his hands fell to his hips, a thoughtful frown upon his lips.
"If I might make a suggestion." Boudica moved forwards. "I'd say that, for the time being, we should try and defend this place from potential attacks while we continue to look further. Honestly, we'd rather get the Grail out of here as soon as possible, but it makes more sense for us to fight one enemy rather than two."
She…wasn't wrong on that account.
"Yeah…" A slow reply left him, nodding his head up and down. "Defending the resort seems like the smarter call to make at the moment, at least until we get to the bottom of everything…but Hanleth has to know we're eventually going to make a move to retrieve the Grail, right?"
"Well, if all she's doing is something like this," The Rider cast a hand about them, a touch of a smile on her lips. "then I would say that leaving the Grail in her possession for the time being is probably one of the smarter choices to make. At least we know she's not doing anything malicious at the moment. The motives of the Demons on the other hand are…less clear."
He slowly nodded his head, then paused as shuffling caught the corner of his eye, turning his focus onto Ash. "Something the matter?"
The Saber paused at being called out, abruptly straightening and shaking their head.
He didn't believe that for a moment.
"Gawyn…"
The blonde pulled their lips tight, a grimace soon formed, then their exhaled and slumped their shoulders. "Sorry, Master Ritsuka…just being in this place for a long time worries me. Lady Hanleth has already said she does not approve of me so I am…concerned she might try to act further and reduce my usefulness to you, if we remain longer…"
He didn't see what much else she could do.
That being said.
"I'm not going to let her do anything to you if I can help it." He declared, folding his arms and giving a stern look in the direction of the tower. "I've made my stance clear enough on that in the first place. Besides…"
He pauses, he meets the green eyes of the Saber and finds he can't hold them for long, quickly turning away and closing his own.
Because he found himself thinking deeply on the words of both Boudica and Hanleth, the former he was more inclined to listen to than the latter. At least Boudica had actually been a mother and knew what she was talking about, even if he didn't think it was alright there was something to be said for making the most of a bad situation and who could tell how long it would be until they got the Grail back.
It…wasn't like there was any rush, right?
There was a big park for them to explore in the meantime, he was sure that it wouldn't hurt to give it a look around.
Yeah, couldn't hurt.
So really, there wasn't much harm.
Mash would probably want to see one as well and it had been a long while since he last went to a park and he'd spied some of those resorts on his walk. Going through all of this to just get rid of it so quickly was rather sad.
A pity, actually.
"...Besides, we'll probably be around here for a while." He finishes, opening his eyes and giving a cool smile to the Saber. "With the Director presumably taken away on a big adventure by Marie and Nero, it'll probably be a while before we're in a position to actually do anything in the first place. Everything we do is mostly going to be of our own choice so…" a shrug, he glanced at the others. "We might as well have a look, right?"
"Nice sentiment, little ant."
The casual voice.
He whirled around and snapped his head upwards, narrowing his eyes quickly.
The tattooed man from earlier, casually perched atop a power line - or what looked like a power line - with his legs dangling down. A faint but sharp smile on his lips as the golden pupils of his red eyes zoned in on him. "Makes sense when you enter a new territory, you need to sniff everything out and make sure there's nothing else lurking around, right?"
He composed himself, but sent a brief glance to the others.
"It's Lancer, right?"
"That is my Class, yes." A nod of the head from the Servant, they tilted it next and hummed. "Your numbers are looking a little on the thin side, still haven't found your missing packmate? Seems a little risky to walk around in unknown territory…"
Their words hung in the air, almost as though it was building up to something.
"Then again, even predator and prey can rest at a water hole."
Just as quickly as that, the tension faded with the casual finish of the sentence.
"A little spot where they can have their little rest before they march right back off to doing…well…whatever it was they were doing before they ended up here, right?" A raised brow, then they continued on without waiting for an answer. "Though not every predator comes here for a drink, do they. You've been asking around about something rather special, haven't you?"
"...How long have you been following us?"
"If I said I just arrived, does it really change anything?" Lancer queried, looking all too amused. "What if I said I never left, would you believe me then? The point is that I know you've been asking for opinions on Chaos Demons."
A quiet hum from his side, Boudica stepped forwards. "And if you're here now, then I suppose you've come to offer us something? Or did you arrive to make some comments and then leave?"
"Heh." A grunt of amusement, the Lancer turned his eyes onto the Rider. "Even supposing I did know anything, which I really don't beyond the basics, does it actually matter what they want in the first place? At the end of the day, you're all still going to fight and someone is going to end up killed…" a roll of the eyes, they leaned back and drew their right knee close to their chest, hugging it tight. "Why bother trying to remember all the little motives? Doesn't that seem pretty pointless?"
Ritsuka folded his arms. "Maybe. But I'd still rather know why they're here."
A sigh.
"If you can't understand something as simple as that, then I'm a little disappointed in you…but maybe it's because you've become used to complicating matters?" A frown came upon the Lancer, their head tilted to the side. "You should really stop thinking so much about what others do and why, it's really not worth it at the end of the day…"
He kept himself silent, focusing on staring at the Servant for what felt like years between the two of them.
"Alright, fine." Blowing out air, they leaned forwards and pointed towards him. "They want exactly what every living thing wants. That's all there is to them…in that regard, I really love the Chaos Demons, you know? They're very honest with themselves and what it is they want to do." a wide grin came upon their face, the Lancer pushed themselves up until they stood slightly hunched.
"It's good to be honest about all that, it's something that Saber appreciates as well…" A pause, their eyes drifted towards who Ritsuka could only assume was Medusa. "By the way, how did the meeting go on your end? Ah, wait, don't tell me…Chris will get rather mad if I tried to pry anything from you before she got the chance. Still…I'll leave you to it then."
They turned, then paused for a moment to raise a single finger. "And don't disappoint me, little ant." their finger swung down and pointed at him. "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here rather than taking action myself…" it then moved up, settling on someone behind him.
He turned around and saw it was pointed right towards Ash.
"I want to see some life in his eyes when we next meet."
Ritsuka turned back, hoping to ask what he meant, only to find himself staring at empty space. A frown soon came upon his lips as he brought his hand up to nurse his brows. "This is getting weirder all the time…"
If anyone had anything else to say, it was lost with the sudden noise drowning out the world around them. His head snapped up and he glanced around, from speakers dotted at random intervals, the repeating alarm which sounded eerily similar to a tornado warning was the herald of an announcement.
"Hey, everyone…" The lethargic voice of Hanleth soon droned through the speakers. "So…we're just gonna have a little scuffle by the main gate again, security is gonna handle is…also if the recent visitors wanted to lend a hand, that would be cool tool…you don't have to…it's a lot of work…but I'd be happy if you did…announcement over. Have fun guys."
It abruptly ended there and then.
Ritsuka blinked twice, then a third time.
"I'm…going to assume that's nothing good?"
"You'd assume right." Romani's voice came over the communicator a second later. "From the looks of these readings, there's a rather powerful Saint Graph headed towards the front of the castle. Something rather powerful with a…that's weird, it keeps fluctuating but-nevermind. Point is, it's similar in design to Quelaags from Rome but much stronger."
"That will be the resident Chaos Demon then." Ritsuka muttered to himself, cupping his chin and then giving a single nod of the head. "All right. Let's go and have a look. See if you can get a hold of the Director and let her know what's going on, we'll head over to the main gate and see what we can do over there as well."
A survey of his forces.
All standing ready and able, his eyes lingered on Ash for a moment as he watched them draw forth a rather plain looking sword, at least compared with every other weapon he had seen them wielding. In effect, it looked rather like the basic weapon expected of a knight to wield and for his current size, it was just about right for him.
Though compared to the expression Ash was giving, it was like he himself was surprised at it.
"Something wrong?"
"No, Master Ritsuka, I just…" They trailed off, then shook their head from side to side and levelled him with a stern gaze, their grip tightening around the sword with a faint blue hint to its body. "It is nothing."
"If you say so." He left it at that, then turned to the others and brought his hand up. "Let's get going then."
Hanleth, Goddess of Bliss
Servant: Caster
Size: 164cm
Strength: E
Endurance: D
Agility: D+++
Mana: A
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm: C+++
Blissful Wonder - Can't we all just take five?: C+++ (Anti-Army) Max Target: 500, Max Range: 0-50
The Authority of the Bliss Goddess is reduced to a Noble Phantasm, but it remains rather potent. Hers is the power to charm the mind, but unlike that of her mother Gwynevere, it is much less obvious. Instead, it appeals to the nature of the Servant directly, finding items that they become more willing to focus on. Retention of their priorities becomes a little difficult, they become more concerned with fulfilling their own little desires.
In effect, this Noble Phantasm encourages them to avoid conflict and instead do whatever they personally feel like doing.
Class Skills:
Territory Creation: A
Item Construction: C
Provided she actually retains enough motivation for it, she can construct some decent enough mystic codes. But the times where this actually happens are quite uncommon.
Divine Core of the Blissful Goddess: EX
Personal Skills:
Appeal of Wonderful Bliss: B
Those who fall within the domain of her territory will have their interests revealed to her. This way, she can better target their desires correctly and work around them.
Reflexes of a layabout: D+++
Rather surprisingly, she can have good reflexes when it really matters. Hand eye coordination is second to none, picking out details swiftly. Though she does not get motivated often, when information becomes important to her, she retains and notes it incredibly quickly.
Blessing of the Blissful Goddess: A
If she truly feels motivated enough, she can bestow power onto an individual. The power of the blessing rises with the mood of the Servant. For instance, a Servant who enjoys battle would benefit from a far greater blessing than one who did not.
Summoning
"Hey…Servant…Caster….I'm Hanleth…Nice to meet you…I'm going for a nap."
Dialogue 1
"Hey, what do you guys do for fun around here? Because I guarantee it isn't enough."
Dialogue 2
"Master? Servant? Meh, don't worry about all that. I'm just here to make sure you get relaxed…speaking of which, I'm going for a nap…wanna come with?"
Dialogue 3 (If you have Caffrey)
"Geugh. Caffrey…oi, aren't you supposed to be respectful towards your big sister or something? Hey, quit bugging me, I am doing my job."
Dialogue 4 (If you have Nahr Alma)
"No matter how many times you say it, killing isn't relaxing. You're just crazy. I'm not helping you with that stuff. Go away."
Dialogue 5 (If you have Flann)
"Oh. Great. Dad is here…why did you have to summon him? He's never going to let either of us have a single second for ourselves now, you know that right? It's just going to be work, work, work."
Dialogue 6 (If you have Osakabehime)
"Eh? Finally, someone who understands the value of relaxation. Good work, tiny mortal-eh? What's with the bats? Isn't that a little too creepy? Are you saying you like living in caves or something?"
Dialogue 7 (If you have Ganesha)
"...Oi. What is this? Don't humans call this Plagiarism? Hey, get out of here. I'm the one with the actual authority over relaxation, you're just being lazy. Huh? No, I'm a professional slob, you just do this as a hobby."
Dialogue 8 (If you have Elizabeth Bathory)
"Hey…Master…I think I made a mistake. I told someone to do something relaxing, now she's singing songs at me. It's scary, I think she's actually trying to kill me with her music."
Dialogue 9 (If you have Nudd-Nuada)
"Eh? That old grandpa dude? Yeah, he's alright. He sometimes just hangs out with me, says relaxing is also important so that's all good…Why do I call him a grandpa? Because he has old man vibes."
Dialogue 10 (If you have Gwynevere)
"...Mother…seriously, her? Well…I guess it could be worse. Eh? Hate her? No, but it's just that she always does what she wants and doesn't really need me to do anything for her…or is it like the opposite? I don't know, but it never feels like she does anything…Or maybe she can't relax? I don't know. It just makes me feel weird."
Dialogue 11 (If you have Leonidas.)
"Absolutely not. No way. Never. Get out of my room. I'm not going to the training field. Hey. Hey, Master. Help. Help. Help. Help! HELP!"
Dialogue 12 (If you have Kiara)
"...What the heck is this?"
Dialogue 13 (If you have Oscar)
"Hey…there's something about you that I really can't stand. Huh? No, I just needed to say that. I don't know what it is but your face just pisses me off for some reason. I don't usually get like this…hey, do you know anyone who believes in putting up loads of work to get rewards?"
Dialogue 14 (If you have Vritra)
"I sense something…a presence I haven't felt since…Kremmel! I knew you would be-eh? Oi, who are you? Nevermind that, why do you feel like Kremmel!? You're definitely a dragon and-Vritra? Hey…something about you pisses me off for some reason. Eh? You feel the same way…At least we have an understanding."
Likes
"Relaxation, that's what I like. Whether I'm doing it or someone else, it's better to be blissful than stressed, isn't it?"
Hates
"People who work too hard don't agree with me. Also fighting, isn't that a bit too stressful? Why can't you just avoid that stuff?"
Wish for the Holy Grail
"A big resort, I'd make a big resort and invite everyone down and-eh? Hey, why are you looking at me like that-ah…right…my bad."
Bond Level 1
"...Oi. Why are you taking me along with you into battles? Am I a meat shield or something? Isn't that being too disrespectful?"
Bond Level 2
"I think that we should take some time off from working. How does the rest of your life sound?"
Bond Level 3
"Why are we still coming out here, don't you realise how terrible I am at fighting? Is this bullying? It is, isn't it?"
Bond Level 4
"You were put up to this, weren't you? Or is this me having to earn my keep or something…uuuuuughhh. Fine. I can put in a little more effort, alright? But I want some major rewards for doing all this. First thing is first is that you need to take a two hour break after the next fight."
Bond Level 5
"...Hey? Thanks for…uhh…nevermind…I mean thanks for not forcing me and all that. Relaxation comes naturally and all…I guess you need to put in some work before you get relaxed, right?"
Birthday
"Birthday…wait, your birthday? How come I'm just figuring this out now? Shouldn't you have told me weeks in advance? What the heck?!"
During an Event
"...Too loud…ugh…"
1st Ascension
"...Oi, why are you putting this work in for me? Doesn't that seem weird? Stop."
2nd Ascension
"Stooooop. You're supposed to be relaxing, don't put effort into making me stronger, it's not going to do anything."
3rd Ascension
"Seriously, stop. If my family finds out about this, they're gonna be demanding I put in loads of effort."
4th Ascension
"...Why? Now Caffrey is going to be harassing me to put in loads of work and Alma is going to be demanding I kill things…"