*/*/*
"Morning Master." Lancer gently woke the sad caterpillar that was Hakuno.
"I wonder who won…" Hakuno's eyes were flat. "Rin or Rani…" She still couldn't bring herself to hope for one over the other, the guilt a heavy stone in her gut, her body curling in and around the wight reflexively.
Lancer looked her over and moved to gently tuck her sheets in a bit. "Maybe we can stay here for the morning and check in the afternoon? Give you a moment to… process".
Hakuno appreciated his concern. A moment, an hour or two to get her thoughts straight, to put Alice's death into the corner of her mind where she'd been keeping all the others. "Thank you, Lancer. I-"
.
Ã̸̡̗̥̝̹͚̝̤̬̪͎͉̘̗̾ͅḶ̶̛̖̉͒̉͑̀̈́̈́̅̇̐͛͘͠͠S̷̛̛͚̙̔͂̒͑͂̾̿͂͆̌̄7̵̨̢̹̟̥͉̘̺̟̦͉̎̀͆̇̐̆̽4̴̫̰̗͎̘̰͈͑̈́͌̄̊̚͠ẙ̸̛̦͈̎͝5̶̧̞̥̺̟̫̻̝͕͑͠q̴̭̻̮̰̳̳̯̅̂̋̀́̔̄̈͆̕͝ḥ̷̜̣̥̂̈́̕3̵̯̤̮͔͉͕̜̮̒͐̊̀̐̀̅̏̈̂̕l̶̢̛̞͚̥̱̦̫̮̥͓͉͙̀̏̋̄͜ͅk̶͍͎͗̈́̐́͌̓̎̍̓̚̚͠͝m̴̝̺̍͊̉͆͆̍̄͗̿͋́͘͝͝e̷̟̍͛͋́̍̂r̷̭̥̝͈̆̓̐ő̸̧̠̼̰̻͈̰͙̼̩͖͑̚ĭ̶̧̝̻̺̎̇̃̃͛̈́̂͋̒̇̚ͅq̶̧͇͔̟̘̹͐̽̈́̈͊͐̒̈́͝4̶̢̪̻̥͚̭͕̪̯̪̎́̉̐̏̊̈̈́͗̔̿͗͝5̷̘͖̼̈̽͐̒̄̄͂̌̍̏͌͘9̵͍̹̒̒̈́q̸̧̛̪͖̝̟̻͔̫̜̲̲̀̀͆́̈̌͊̒́͝3̵̜͊4̴̡̱͎̯͇͎̪̉̀̓̿̾̽̈̑̚͝5̶̣̞̟̙̫̞̱̌̈͂̏̑̕͝͝W̴̢̛̺̯̻̻̲̯̟̑̏̔͛̊͊́̌͆̕͘͝Ţ̷̱̥͎̜̖̪̩̤̺̘̰̥͊͜Ṙ̵͇͖̼̮̘̻̯̦̣̯̯͚̫̹͌̚͜G̸̤͚̺̻̲͈̯̼̟̼̱̞͖͚̤͑̓̍̈̑̋Š̴͔͔̦̥̐̉̓̔̔̈́̐̂͘Ȩ̴̧͚͕̘̘̪̺̟̥͔̦̜̾͐̀̎̂͜͜%̷͙͚̥̠͚̯͍̪̍͛̔ͅ#̸͓̹̗̜̉̀̿̎̽͘͠q̵̨̳̹̝̬͔͉̿́͗̕ͅ3̷̼͓̰̠̻̊̈̈́̓͜͠4̷̛̼̱͚̥̥̠͗͛͊͂̄̈̂̊̓̚̕͠j̸̣̠̰͎̪͎̳͒̆̑̀̈́͜5̵̧̢̯̺͙̫̹͖̠̱̟̲͍͌̉̏̉ͅq̸̡̗̩͚͇̘̘̲͖̯̼̬̈́̿͌̂̔̅͝3̷̡̗͈̰̲̖͚̞̟̗͑͛̇̈́͒̿̃͠͠ͅ$̴̛̳̠̣̮̣͆͛̐͗̓̅͐Q̸̜̞͉̅̇̈́́̆̍̃̅͠#̵̥̬̜̩̦̟̂̃͋̋͑͂a̴̗͖̘̣͈̘̅̓̉͒̐̓͌̌͑̃͘͘͜e̴̞̖̹̪͕̣͉̩̣̮̔̇́́̎̐́̑̀̽̃͒͝͝r̶̟͇̝͓̣͈̐̂̋̂̀̚̕͜T̶̢̼̼͙͓̝̩̥͔̳͈͙̳̺̓̈̋̇̃̍͋̚͠͝W̷͆̾͑͒̀̄͐̋͑̍͜#̵̢̛͕̱̰̱̟̳̞̌̉͘E̷̡̦̥͒͌̈̈͑̈́̚R̵̗̱̦͗̆F̸̡̡͉̳̰̯̗͉̑͊̔͜Ş̷̧̳͔̯͖͙͉̘̤̠̀̐̽̀E̷͇͉̮̝͙̖̬̟̽̚R̵͕̥̼̮̹̦̬̩͊̊̉͆̍̚͜͜ͅH̴̨̧͎̱̤̐͂̀̅̀̽ͅE̷̢̘̎͗̄̆̑^̶̣̲̮̲̟̱̰̩̮̫̠̥̫͓̀̋͑̆̈́͐̓̐͊͐͛͌̎̐͘Ư̷̛̰̯̺̭̓̾̈͊̏̌͒̿̾̕̕ͅỲ̵̩͕̳̫̞̞͍͉͓̙̺̦̖̂́̏̈́̇͝͝ͅͅ#̸̡͇̍̀͗̎̒͌͑͒̈̏̋̚5̵͇͚̫̤̖̜̖̖͈̖͊̇̌̀̿̆͘q̷̧̖̟̳͈̔̈́̃͠#̶̟̈́͂̍͊̅̃͂̽͌̌̂̂͝%̸̨̺͖̣͈͎̠̼̘̉͐̈́̽̉͊̊͛́̌̉̈́̀Q̶̧̻̻̜̗͕̮̮̣̤͖͙͗̎̓̈̈̅̾͌̉͘͠͠T̵̡͎̘̙̹̰̰̖̤͎͌̎̍̑̈́̈́̚A̶̺̤̞͔͖̭̿̓̋̒̆̊̊̾́̈̆̕̚E̷̪̘̰͍̯̦̽̐͊̃́̂̊́T̵̗̀̏̏̃̇̑̚͝q̴̨̡̹̺͖̠̠̼͚̘̟͓͍͆͂͑̊̌̓͋͛͒̆4̴̧̰̹̖̒̋̒̏̇̉̇͋̂̆͘͘̚͘5̶̝͙͎̮̈̊̉̓̑͌͂͑̾̊̀̕q̸̡̡̪̼̳̟͖̈̇3̸̛̛̪̭͖̏̆̈̍̏̓̈̚͘i̸̛͉̤̫̯̔̎͛̏̇̈̆͛̕͘͜ķ̷̧̙̥͍̬̯͍̖̼͔̲̘̦̋̇̔̉͑̽͂͋̽̀̕n̷͍̤͍̖͚̯̱͚̒̂̓̊͗̌͗̋̾̍̕͝ ̸̢̡̧̣͙̲̦̱̤̊̏̈́̕ͅ#̸̢̗̜̤͇͚̥̪̝͙̑̑͒$̵̢͎̳̤̲̦̃̄͑͌̅͐͛̑̎̕͝͠ͅD̸̡̨̨͔͚̼̦̹̙̹̰̜̽͒̓̃͜͝F̶̣̹̣͗̓̋̈̆̈̅͛͠Ġ̶̰͖̹̱̇̀͊ͅË̴̹͍̲́͑̿̂̾̆̆̔̓̅͝Ţ̵̛͕͈̯̘͉̥͕̪͎̏͑̃̃͂̎̆̈́͘͝ͅ4̸̡̠̖͎̰̫̦͓̠̖͉͚̩̻͉̀̀͐̈́t̶̜̺̏͑͂̉̔͆̈́́W̷̡̡̤̘̲̪̯̻̖̻̪͒̽ͅŖ̷̫͔͕̯̪̖̯̱͕͂̎̌̀͌͑́̀̎̏̾e̶͈̙̙͈̲̺̠͔͂̒̓̽̈́̈́́̐̎̆̕̕͜͝͠f̴̨̣̪͖̠̜͔͇̘̫͚͕͔͙͐̃͛̒̈́̕$̵͇͈̙̥̱͎͍̾̑̓̇̆̆̚͜ṱ̷̡̩̹̏ḣ̵̛̜̠̩̲̌̈́̐͗̄̃̓̍͋̔͠Ţ̷̣͖̘̩̺͕̭͔̃͛̈́͜͠#̷̡̨̡̳̦̫͖̹̱̜̩̞̎͊́͂̏͋́̓̓͠͠$̴̻̯̋̈́̀͒̈́͌̿̽͝͠͝Ţ̶̡̡͚͔̮̩͙͚̬̼͔̹͝͝Y̷̢̛̥͍̲͎͍̪̙̊̓̒͊͆̓̐S̵̩͉͔̰̠̫͎̺̮̱̻̅̆͗͗ͅf̶̡͔̣̝̯̪̮͎͕̝̯̩͚̿̀͐̈4̶̼͙̟̼̈͊̓̐͐̌̔̓̌̃̌̊̊̆͝3̷̧͚̳̹̱̗̦̦̖̲̮̞͑̿͐̂̇̾̃̔̈̃̇̇̀̈͑$̸̧̞̜͚̹̪͖̯̞̲̲̩̱͕͂̉̒͊̈́̃͂̃͌̍̽̌͜Y̶̧̖̦̰̗̹̺̩̹̋̓̐͋̾̓͜R̶̨̛̫̖̯͍̭̖̲̹̼̄̑̓͊̍̎̄̌̐̇̕̚̚ͅD̴͎͕̥̥̣̆̔͐̇͌̋͆̿̎͐͘͝F̶̨̼͎̟͚̤̬̩̰́̄̌̔̏̇̄̏́͘͜G̶̙̼͍̪̋͌̊́͛̍͛͂͝$̴͕̼̰̰̬̿̄̉̆̑̍͒̕͜͠T̸̥̫͎͚̭̖̹͉̬̳͇̼̫̬̀̌̎͒̀́̌͌́̄̈́̅͒͘%̷̨̛̛̯͐̾̃͌̋̾̏̏͋̃̿̎̾ḩ̴̢̃̈́̊̃̄̂ṭ̷͚̬̰̳̋͘f̵͙̰̽͊̈̈́̀́͗͑̉́̀͝͝H̴̡͈͎̥͙̫̹̑̌́̓͂D̷̺̹́͊͗̋͌̈́͐͆͂̀̚͘Ḙ̷̢̜̎̋̌̀̅̚ͅŔ̶̥̣̣̖̆͂́̆̿̈́̀́͛̈́̍̚͠T̷̡̥̜͖͕̥̼̦̜̗͇̣̎̚͜Ë̵̟́̈́̅̓̀%̶̢̛̪̭̜͔̫͕̬̬̳̠̀̈́̔͆͊̿͋̿̊̈́͆̿̕͠^̵̢̟̖̞͉̰̱̼̭͉̣͈̻̮̌̎̄͜ě̶̙͚̰̲̅̂͛̌̂̂͒̔̽̈́̚͜͝ŗ̴̢͙͔̮̠̹̫̭̅̅̇g̵̫̘̰͖̣͎̱̣͓̼̊̂̌͑̒̓̀͑͂̀̊̀ḋ̸̫̉̑̔̿̃̔́̂̏͘͝r̷̡͙̻̦͚̥̞̘͕̺͍̼̞̒̎̿ͅt̸̳̖͇̎̈́̏͒͑́̍͑̅̔̎Ë̶̡̮͙̣͖͕̤͚̺͉̯̠̙̼́ͅŢ̸͎̦͈̞̥̫͔̓̏͊͐͂Ẽ̷̡͉̲̟̥̮̽R̷̠͉̯̥̯̪͍̰̘͑g̶̘̮͓͔̳̥̙̞͍͎̓̚͝d̵̢͍̩̎͑͌ȑ̷̢̢̥̖͓͕̰̻̘̜͎͖̱̙̻̋̈̉̔́̈̀͝e̷̜̹͐̒̎͑̅̅͘͠t̴̛̹̹̺̙̠̫̺̎̂́̀̿̅̚͝͝3̷̙̥̈́̅̒̂͗̂̀̑̚4̷̡̛̭͙͚̖̤͎͙͖̻̮͌͗̔̂̓̓́͑̈́̉͝T̷̢̢͖̪̮͎̻̤̰͆͛̅͗̾̒̀͛́̔͗͜͝͝ͅÈ̴̖͉̄͆͑͗R̶̟͇̖̫̘̱̣̱͇̫̼̺̹̔̓̊̇̒̏̇̑T̸͍͉̬̮̅e̴͚̮͉̓̂̋̀̚͠t̷̨̧̡̘̥̼̼̹̥͎̝̣̝̋̌͘E̵̢̡̖̰̳̩̤̺͔̗͒̽͒̿́͒F̸̤̗͙̩̳͓͖̱̙̗͒́̆̽̍̓͠ͅĔ̸̤̐̽͐͘r̶̢̘̼͕̲̬̟̰̳͈̯͈̬͍̗͗͐̀͋̈̋̄̎̔̐́̂̉͠͝t̷̨̛̛̙͕̖͔̪͚͉̙͍͑͛̏̊͊Ë̷̡̡̛̺̪̩̳̱̤̞̻̼̗́̑̐̓̍͂̿͊̀͜$̴͚͚̖̔̍Ț̸̬̖͚̠̮͔̋̊ȩ̸̩̗͖̤̖̣̙̺͙̹̻͖̓ͅy̵̩͖̠͉̥̠͊̏Ḝ̷̧͇̦̣͕͓̆͊̀̀͌̍͊̈ẗ̷̢͎͉͈͙̮̤̗͍̖̰͎̩͚̤̓̓̓́̀͛̋̎̊́̉̕͘W̸͕̺̭̰̘͉̔̐̀̐̄̂̉̀͂̊̕T̷̨̜̗̦͖͔̣̬̟̮͘3̸̛̼̲͍̱͚̯͉̹̻͎̘͔̎̏̓̀͑̐̈́4̵̗͕̰̘̹̥͈̞̥͎̎̉̅̐̓̋͜t̵̨̡̡̧̡̨͉͕͈̣̙̪͕̹̉͒̓̿͂̈́͘͝ͅe̸̛̺̞̽̊͛͒́͑́̽r̵͔͈̳͓̩̪͍̫̺̳͕̱̬͝g̸̡̜͔̝̠̳͍̗̓̎́́̂̔͗̓͝ț̴̛̿͋̇͆͛̅͊̈́͌̎̅̈́͊̚H̶̡̟͙͔͙͈͑̍͂
.
The error code screeched in Hakuno's mind. "Ngh!" she could only cover her ears helpless against its sudden onslaught. To her surprise, Lancer was also on the ground. The stubborn man's hearing was far more sensitive than hers. Yet despite the pain he must be in, her Servant half walked half crawled over to her to scoop Hakuno under him in a defensive position. Just as suddenly as the onslaught started it ended.
"Dia ár sábháil!" Lancer snarled at the ceiling. "What was that?!"
"We need to see if anyone else noticed that" Hakuno was quickly scrambling to free herself from Lancer's guard and get dressed.
"How could they not?" he grudgingly released her, side-eyeing Hakuno with a slight frown. He'd try to have her process later then. When the computer god wasn't screaming in their minds. To both of their surprise, the hallway had the usual activity. No one else seemed to have noticed or been affected as the two had been. In fact, a crowd was headed to the first floor. That's just freaky. Hakuno cautiously followed the traffic. The remaining Masters were all gathering around a small podium. After a few minutes Kotomine took the stage.
"This is an official announcement from the system. We have had had an unprecedented… incident occur. A tie occurred in one of the previous matches." Hakuno hissed softly at the electricity these words caused. Her first and even second Command Seals burned on her hand. This was wrong. Something that was NOT supposed to have happened. Not noticing, Kotomine continued, "One of your fights will be host to three Masters instead of the usual two. Complaints will not be accepted. Dismissed."
Hakuno looked over the faces of those gathered, and her stomach plummeted at the lack of familiar faces. What happened to Rin and Rani then? She feared the worst. If one of them had survived, then they'd be in their private rooms or maybe the Nurse office. She had no idea where either of their rooms were, and even if she did, Hakuno wouldn't have been able to do more than knock. Hoping against hope, Hakuno made her way into Sakura's domain. There, she found two beds occupied. Both Rin and Rani were there and alive. Hakuno sighed in relief before going over to check on them both. Both were out cold and did not stir.
Their Command Seals are grey. Their Servants are gone. Lancer's words brought her gaze to the now useless Seals marking the other girls' hands.
The rule is if the Servant dies, so does the Master. Hakuno's anxiety spiked Are they on a timer do you think?
I think the two Servants must have killed each other at the same time. Perhaps because the almighty computer couldn't say who had won, it just tossed the Masters out of the Coliseum, ignoring its own rules in the process. But they can't continue to fight. And I suspect that if they touch the Grail the Moon Cell will be forced to acknowledge them and will then delete them to erase this 'mercy' they got on accident.
Then… they are stuck here in limbo. Because the only way out was victory. Or death.
Yes. As if realizing Hakuno and Lancer were lurking there, both Rin and Rani stirred.
"What… What happened?" Rin sat up groggy.
"I… am confused" Rani echoed the sentiment. Neither seemed surprised to see the other.
"We… you're supposed to be my opponent but…" Rin winced.
"There appears to be a lapse in my memory. A paradox I cannot explain." Rani seemed to recover quicker. "I both have and have not failed my professor."
"Hakuno you idiot. You saved me. But… you didn't?" Rin shook her head. "It's all really fuzzy. Hurts to think about."
Hakuno found herself going still. They noticed the code!
Not entirely, but it seems they were affected by the error. Or were the source of it? What will you do Master?
I could try to tell them about all this too? Hakuno nodded resolved and began to speak. At the end of her story, both of the other Masters in the room just gave her matching looks.
"That's nonsense" claimed Rin.
Rani's answer was an even simpler "Impossible." Apparently neither would be believing the Moon Cell capable of glitching out just yet.
"Besides, no human could comprehend a glitch of that magnitude and live" Rin added.
"Maybe try to think of why this situation feels so wrong? I'll come by the visit some more" Hakuno was determined, filing away Rin's words for later. More people that noticed what was happening meant that there were more heads trying to solve this mysterious problem. The other two watched her go without stopping her.
Well, that didn't go very well.
Not as easy to convince as you were certainly.
What can I say? You were convincing, and I'm a sucker for a pretty face.
Lancer! Her Servant only cackled at her.
Come on lass. We should check the board. After that, you're going to take a break lass, even if it's only for an hour. He finally finished laughing and Hakuno felt him nudge her up the stairs. Her eyes dimmed, but Lancer had a point. The Moon Cell waited on no one. Not even those trying their best not to think about little ghosts.
*/*/*
I really hate my Luck.
It really is rank E isn't Master?
Hakuno's name was there on the board of course. Right next to two others. Master – Monji Gatou. Master – Lil' Ronnie. Battlefield – Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea. Whhhyyyy meeee? Hakuno's misery over her current situation was cut off sharply by the sense of a hostile stare behind her. Hakuno's head turned slowly to see a female figure in a clown mask. The unknown other's stare was sickening, like that of a rabid animal.
"Yeah… I like you… Super-duper…" there was a broken almost sing-song quality to the stranger's voice.
"So, you are the opponents to this humble servant of god." The deep masculine voice seemed made of steel, a harsh contrast to the clown's. The speaker was a tall man, scarred skin standing out due to being shirtless under his open orange jacket. His gaze assessed his two opponents before declaring "Pilgrims both of you. I am not a pilgrim. I am Monji Gatou and I am a warrior of my god, the highest calling in this fleeting world."
"Lil' Ronnie thinks you both look tasty" the clown passed her own verdict before walking off, swaying like a cobra. Gatou, disappointed that half his audience had deserted him walked away soon afterwards.
I'm beginning to think the Moon Cell gives you these kinds of opponents on purpose Master. Lancer could watch Hakuno's face as the thoughts raced. She was not the most expressive of people, but he'd been learning to read her regardless. And what he saw… wasn't good. The cocktail of emotions in her expression looked toxic. And then her expression went back into the same dead expression that had had the red spitfire girl think Hakuno was an NPC on that first meeting. This would not do. But there was little Lancer could do to change that in the middle of the hallway. Perhaps we should take a moment before going to the Arena? The reminder of the break he wanted her to take was gentle.
Hakuno considered a moment before nodding. I think you're right. Good. That meant that he could snap her out of this before it set in too deep.
*/*/*
"You know lass, I need to tell you something." Lancer eyed his grieving Master now that they were back in the safety and solitude of 2-B. Hakuno looked up with her eyes looking particularly lifeless. Softhearted. Probably imagining that there was blood on her hands. Not to mention those two psychos that would be their opponents and the red clad girl's verdict on Hakuno's humanity. "I… might not have told you the truth before. To be honest, it's a lie I even tell myself really."
"A lie you tell yourself?" Hakuno didn't seem angry with him, more confused. Confusion was better than letting her wallow in guilt at least. That's it lass, focus on him, and let the turmoiled thoughts settle where they could be managed.
"That I didn't have a wish. That all I wanted was to keep fighting strong people" Lancer gave a sigh. "That's not true. Not really." His eyes met hers. Saw the confusion and interest only growing. Good. "The truth is my wish is to say my goodbyes. There's… a number of people from my life that died. Some because of me. I never had the chance to say that I was sorry, or even a proper farewell. And so that's what I want to ask the Grail for. To have that chance."
"Lancer…"
"Come on lass, you really don't have any guesses on my name by now? I'll give you one clear yes or no as a treat." Lancer gave a grin, all too eager to put the too raw emotions back in a corner. Hakuno seemed to have come back to herself at least due to this moment of vulnerability at least.
"Well, you're a massive flirt. Does that make you Diarmuid?"
"Ack! Lass why?! … though I might have deserved that… Solid NO by the way. Ugh." Lancer gave a shudder, pleased at seeing his lady Master huff in amusement. "Just for that, I'm going to subject you to the worst pickup lines I can until you beg me to stop!"
"Nooo! Anything but that!" Hakuno was well and truly distracted from her grief. Mission accomplished. Though Lancer still amused himself by firing off the cheesiest pick-up lines he could think of until Hakuno pelted him with pillows.
Once the two were sufficiently distracted with a pillow war, Hakuno's terminal lit up silently. BOND LEVEL 2 ACHIEVED. And just like before, the notification dismissed itself as the terminal went dark.
*/*/*
Lancer gave a long sigh as they entered the Arena. "Our opponents are here as well, Master". All that effort to lift Hakuno's mood looked like it was going to be wasted. His gaze went over to her to assess her reaction as he continued. "We don't know much about either."
"We should be cautious" the resolve to continue echoed in Hakuno's words. Lancer perked up then chuckled slightly. He should know not to underestimate his lady Master like those fools do. They carefully worked their way into this new Arena. While the level of the programs had increased, so far there seemed nothing special about it, an improvement so far as the duo were concerned. They worked deeper into the Arena when Lancer held out his hand, and Hakuno instantly stopped. They're near. Both of them.
Hakuno nodded once in understanding as they quietly went forwards.
"Oh my goddess! Do not disgrace yourself with these peasants!"
"Oh my wife! How shall I serve the heart of this man that insults you!"
"... Roni isn't hungry for old man…"
This nonsensical bickering is what Lancer and Hakuno were spying on. Two enemy Masters and two enemy Servants. At least it doesn't look like they'll be teaming up against us, Hakuno watched as the other two pairs continued… whatever this was.
A free for all then. Didn't think we'd have to get through one of those. Lancer's grip shifted on the red spear. But for now, they went unnoticed as the nonsensical display continued.
… we should probably observe them? Hakuno couldn't make heads or tails of Gatou's religious ramblings. His Servant hadn't said a word, only making snarling sounds hunched over and wicked claws on display. Roni made more sense linguistically, but Hakuno was trying very hard not to think too deeply about the clown masked figure's talk of eating her opponent. Her Servant was a wild haired man in black armor. Unlike Gatou's Servant, the man was a talker, calling Roni his wife and seeming to be just as zealous as Gatou.
Even just watching them is giving me a headache. Despite his complaints, Lancer's eyes remained focused on the opponents. Based on the fact that all the female Servant has done is snarl, my bet is she's a Berserker.
It is possible that she's just a particularly feral Servant of another Class, but I think you're right Hakuno nodded. The other Servant is making threatening gestures as he talks with a spear. Another Lancer, then.
Hmph. Don't think that just because we share a class that I'll go easy on him. You hear the way he's talking? He wants to serve people to his Master. Plate optional from the sound of it.
He could be a Berserker capable of speech… something about that felt wrong. Hakuno felt in her gut that she was correct with naming this Servant a second Lancer. Her own Lancer didn't scold her for the questioning caution though. They'd made it this far through working together after all. Though their opponents' distractions with each other finally ended, the four taking notice of Hakuno and Lancer at last.
Ronnie let out a giggle that made the hair on Hakuno's neck stand on end. "Whatcha' doin' here?"
"Little lamb has strayed far from the path of battle" Gatou meanwhile only surveyed them all, snarling female Servant by his side.
"By God's grace, it's a miracle! What fate! What a test!" The male Servant seemed ecstatic "When I devoted my love to a woman, she betrayed me on our very first night together!"
"That's rough buddy" Lancer muttered, though didn't look sympathetic.
"Yup! You spilled all her red RED blood because you were too excited!" the clown Master nodded along, ignoring Lancer's commentary.
"Yeah, was waiting for the 'but' in that scene" Lancer kept himself between them and Hakuno.
"And when I devoted myself to religion, I was rewarded with decapitation!"
"Yep! You tried really hard and the nobles sliced you into bits!"
"And now that I am an innocent monster, love has returned to me in the form of my tragically empty Master who eats only what she loves! My spear rises in joy at meeting you!"
"Phrasing" Lancer commented, continuing to be ignored by the monologuing.
Gatou meanwhile seemed perturbed by the Clown and her Servant "Divine one! Show us your light that shines on three thousand worlds!" Despite the aggressive words of the Master, the female Servant stayed in place, still snarling. "Something the matter my goddess?" More silence. "Ah, you've consecrated this place as a training ground! Then I shall walk whatever path of torment you so desire!"
Master, your Charisma EX has people telling us stuff again.
I don't do it on purpose!
"You all have my permission to leave this holy site!" Gatou continued.
"Shall I make them all into a feast for you, my love?!" The male Servant grinned wildly.
The female Master declined "Lil' Ronnie isn't hungry".
"Then you all shall go and be thankful for my love's mercy!"
I mean I'm grateful that they're spilling all their secrets with us just standing there, but seriously. Your Charisma is scary. Lancer looked over his shoulder at her, and at Hakuno's motion, they swiftly retreated. Once far enough away and sure they were not followed, he spoke aloud "Innocent Monster is a Skill usually possessed by Servants that had their memories twisted in some way. Though its effect is different varying on the Servant, it's usually not overly powerful." He noted her gaze was off into the void of the Arena.
"At least there's that" Hakuno sighed. This was just relentless. Killing Alice, now facing two Masters and their Servants at once, and Rin's implication that Hakuno was somehow not human? Hakuno felt immensely human in her desire for a moment to breathe. The Moon Cell was not designed for such mercies though. She startled slightly as Lancer's hand ruffled her hair.
"We'll get through it together, lass." It was Lancer's turn to be surprised as Hakuno briefly leaned against his side, taking a breath of comfort from his warmth before straightening and nodding in that stubborn way of hers.
"There's plenty of Arena they're not in. Let's get what training we can in for today."
Lancer's answering grin was wide "Thought you'd never ask, Master".