sweethymns | ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon ii

[Dark waves lap up against the sides of Caster's ship. In the distance, there are several dimly lit boats, carrying the remaining passengers from the party to transport them back to Fuyuki's harbor. Caster's ship remains lit and there are various familiars who walk around the ship with handheld lanterns and a silence falls over the area.

There's only one person who's making any noise and it's the humming of, "Fly Me to the Moon," by Ai Thao, who's leaning on a railing with one arm and cupping her cheek with her opposite hand. Her expression is nothing less than pure and glowing happiness. She's changed back into her casual clothes and the ocean breeze passes through her hair as she continues to hum.

Lien comes up behind her, also changed back, adjusting her glasses and yawning as she joins her twin.]

"Ah, well back to the War grind then. Then again some kind of...

That sure is some smile you've got there."

Ehehe! [Even under Lien's scrutiny, Ai simply stands up straight to pat her pink cheeks, the smile never disappearing from her face.]

I don't think I can stop even if I wanted! I mean a lot just happened and...

[Lien holds up her hand, shaking her head.]

"I won't ask. I'm being nice just this one time to you and... Well, you know who."

[Lien glances around to see where the Servants are while Ai just runs through her hands through her hair dreamily.

It's been a wonderful night so far.]

[ He-who-must-not-be-named is stationed a few feet away, along with Cufford the Big Blue Dog. They both have their professionalism at stake— namely, centuries of knowing when to be themselves and when to be warriors— so their respective demeanors remain relatively neutral, if slightly heartened by the good turn the night took.

(If anything, Diarmuid might be sparkling a bit more than usual, and Cu might be noticing that with no little degree of wry amusement; kids, kids.)

There's no time to be complacent, of course. There's a swirl of negative energy that's curled under the main foundations of Fuyuki City, almost as if it's heard Caster and the duo's discussion. Retaliation will come, and it's coming quickly— but for the moment, Diarmuid catches Lien's eye.

And smiles, inquisitively— a silent 'did you need anything?'

Careful not to blind yourself on the light he radiates. ]

[Ai was so purely in love... Lien isn't one to talk, but it was almost too much. Still, it was endearing and when she catches Diarmuid's glance, she rolls her eyes and turns away. She doesn't have any objections after all (although really, tone it down Pretty Boy!)

The ship is beginning to take course, farther out into the ocean where the large distortion rip is located. Lien yawns, covering her mouth before remarking sleepily:]

Haaaa. I have a feeling this is going to be tougher than when we faced Rider.

[ In sharp contrast to Lien's casual statement, Diarmuid's expression steadily falls, to the point where the smile from before is completely replaced by something that looks more like... alarm? Caution? Like biting on tin foil; a sharp pain that starts from the back and slowly seeps its way to the forefront of one's consciousness.

Cu seems to notice the change before Diarmuid himself becomes conscious of it, and he pulls himself off the railing where he'd been reclining to look warily back and forth between the rift and his fellow Servant. ]

I don't have an objection to that, but something seems different, this time around.

[ He points to Lancer Green's general direction with Gae Bolg, taps his Noble Phantasm against his shoulder once, twice. ]

Something stinks.

[Cu's remark towards Diarmuid snaps Ai out of her reverie and she worriedly looks over at her Servant and before she knows it, there's a steadily increasing sense of dread in her heart. (It seems to intensify as they approach the rift).

It's one of Caster's familiar, holding a lantern in its hands that walks up to Diarmuid first, peering at him with its dark eyes and tilting its head slightly.]

"... Have you forgotten something as well?"

[Caster's voice speaks through the familiar, cautiously yet sharply.]

[ The closer they get to the rift, the more acute his discomfort becomes: like nausea, a pain that slowly creeps into his chest, his heart.

When he's spoken to, he shakes his head. ]

If I have, it would be impossible for me to be aware of it.

[ Because he's forgotten, of course. He can't be expected to recall something he doesn't remember, or be conscious of it; but it's looking likely, if the presence just beyond the rift is any indication.

He can sense someone there, and it feels like an extension of himself. ]

[Ai remembers with some guilt about the fact that she had never addressed the contents of her nightmare, the ones that went beyond Diarmuid's past life. She had been so wrapped up in every other matter that had occurred afterwards and her own happiness that it seemed irrelevant, but now...

She walks over to Diarmuid, her hands over her heart, tense, but still worried for him.]

Is the rift affecting you somehow...?

[Because if that's the case, her connection with him is also making her feel uneasy.]

[The familiar closes its eyes and then opens them again to allow Caster to speak.]

"We are dealing with a corrupt Grail after all. These effects should not come as a surprise. Even I, with all the prana I have gathered will find it a struggle to maintain our position as we approach the presence of this Grail's filth."

[Then it points at Ai who blinks in confusion.]

"... Be careful not to forget either. Or else you will fail at a crucial moment."

[And with that cryptic comment, the familiar walks off. Leaving the Master and Servant pairs to their own devices before they arrive at the rift location in a few minutes.]

[ That's... cryptic, and Diarmuid only furrows his brows in mild confusion before he turns his attention back towards the swirling mass that they're heading towards. Serious-minded as he is, he can't ignore the fact that whatever they may be up against may have something to do with him personally. That would mean that it's something he should fight and he should fight alone, to uphold some sense of responsibility for the matter.

He's sure that that opinion won't go over well, but he articulates it anyway. ]

...If what we're up against is a personal issue of mine, I request that everyone else stand down while I take care of it.

[ Bold words from a Servant, he knows— but that's the point of it all, isn't it? Glory for the Master, won by the Servant. ]

[Lien crosses her arms and sighs.]

That's on your Master and not on us in this case. But I think we'll have plenty thrown at us from this rift so we'll be plenty distracted from any other issues.

[She throws her glance towards the huge distortion in the sky which they're approaching towards rapidly.]

... Wow, it's. Really huge up close.

[... TURNING AWAY AS IF SHE'S GOING TO WALK TO THE OTHER SIDE...]

[... Ai's grabbing her sister's shoulder and pulling her back though, good job.]

Edited (fugging grammar!!) 2016-01-16 07:27 (UTC)

[ LIEN... sometimes Cu wonders about you...

Walking right up next to Lien and putting his hand on Lien's opposite shoulder! Look at this teamwork with Ai, truly he knows the meaning of cooperation. ]

Hey, hey, hey. We do our part, they do theirs. You can't seriously be worried that we'd lose, right?

It's not about losing just...

[She stares up at the rift with distant eyes.]

Like, I'm getting that sensation of creeping stress, kind of like when we have to do final exams and all I want to do is just eat and sleep and forget about everything--...

... If she's joking around at such an important time like this, it means she's stressing out...

She's babbling, yeah.

[ He stops and looks like he's thinking about this, his lance tapping a gentle rhythm against his clavicle.

But then, of course, as fearlessly as ever— Cu only laughs. ]

Should I find another way to shut that mouth of hers, then? I can think of one or two. What do you think, as my Master's sister?

[Lien sputters and looks away again while Ai looks determinedly up at Cu.]

Not in front of me!!!

[Whoa, the ship is unsteady for a second as they enter the uncharted waters.]

[ Diarmuid opens his mouth to say something about Cu possibly choosing a better time and place, but the boat rocks and it slides onto a patch of black water, inky and oily, like slime, like some sort of tarnish, like—

(—"curse you, curse you, shameless, I won't forgive you, I won't forgive any of you—")

—tar, and Diarmuid flinches, grips the fabric of his suit over his chest. ]

—Focus, all of you!

[ That comes out unnecessarily harsh, uncharacteristically urgent. Strangled, even: he's surprised by it, himself. ]

[Before Ai can turn to Diarmuid, something or rather, someone else catches her attention in the distance as they go through the black water.]

There's... There's someone there!

[It doesn't seem to be a Servant; it's a young woman, sitting atop a solid black mass of stone. She wears a faded pale pink dress, covered by an army green jacket. What's most eerie, however is the black fabric blindfold around her eyes. Ai stares at her and then back to Diarmuid.]

I'm ready...

[Lien furrows her brows and nods at everyone else, indicating her readiness too.]

[ Breathe, is what he tells himself, amidst the stabbing pressure in his heart and the tightening of his throat. Breathe. Don't disgrace your Master by folding.

His chin tips upwards, posture straightening with the motion. The enemy Master seems to be around the same age as theirs, but there's an inscrutability about her, punctuated by how her eyes are obscured.

Something tells him that they won't be walking out of this fight completely unscathed. ]

...With your word, I'll go fight.

[ Even if that Master isn't the source of his unease. He knows she isn't, and Cu gives his fellow Servant a careful once-over, an experienced expression that says 'don't be too stupid'. ]

[It's Lien who motions Cu to follow her as she makes her away across the boat and away from Diarmuid and Ai. She wants to face what she can only presume is another Master.

The blindfolded woman angles her head and then turns when the ship approaches and stops in the middle of the murky ocean. She seems unaffected by the darkness around them, or rather if she was she wasn't showing any visible signs. Standing up, she faces Cu and Lien, emotionless and passionless in her motions as if moving was simply a bother to begin with, pale blonde hair flying around due to the breeze.

Lien's brows furrow at her; of all times why was that feeling of sickening familiarity coming back now?

That dark room, she isn't the only child, there were many others, many she never saw again, she hears her sister crying, but she's lead away, there were many others, they had stopped crying, some couldn't cry anymore because they weredeadďåɱñțȟ£ɱåȽȽț¤ȟ£ȽȽďåɱñțȟ£ɱåȽȽț¤ȟ£ȽȽďåɱñțȟ£ɱåȽȽț¤ȟ£ȽȽďåɱñțȟ£ɱåȽȽț¤ȟ£ȽȽďåɱñțȟ£ɱåȽȽț¤ȟ£ȽȽ•?( ďåɱñțȟ£ɱåȽȽț¤ȟ£ȽȽ •._.·°¯))؟••?((¯°·._.• ȑ¤√קñβקΨå;ññקΨȑȋ;ğȽƒķ§åjď •._.·°¯))؟••?((¯°·._.• ȑ¤√קñβקΨå;ññקΨȑȋ;ğȽƒķ§åjď •._.·°¯))؟•

Not all of them died though.

Lien grips the railing, her lips thin with distress.]

... I know her.

[ There's something malicious in the air— Cu can smell it, the undeniable scent of something amiss. A sixth sense that he's grown accustomed to through ages of fighting.

It's compounded upon by the unrest that twists in Lien's gut, a twinge of her nausea and discomfort that he feels through their shared connection. It doesn't cause him to break composure, but his expression darkens at its seams.

He almost bares teeth— not quite. ]

Someone you wanted to forget about?

[ That might be saying a bit too much, but if the answer is yes, he's going to both chide Lien— focus on the here and now, focus on me— and try to work around this. ]

No... She's...

[She's like me. The girl came from the same darkness, the same pit of misery that plagued the twins; there had been a flash, a glimpse of a memory of other children whose eyes were wither blinded, damaged, or gouged out. Most were just dead. While years have passed, those images did not disappear.

Lien remembers this girl because of the blindfold and most of all her pale colored hair, that looked like a wisp in the wind.]

[Despite her blindfold, the girl stands up her head lifted up towards the ship. There's only silence for another agonizing moment before she simply speaks up.]

So it's about time now.

[She breathes deeply as if in preparation for the inevitable battle and she brushes her hair behind her ear.]

It took you a while didn't it, Lien Kha? This world is so fragile... If you hadn't bothered to come out here, I would have broken it myself already.

[ Cu knows a thing or two about people coming from your past to haunt you— or rather, people you reunite with under unfortunate circumstances that you can't back down from.

It's an odd parallel, maybe. But it isn't, once he thinks about it: of course his Master would face these sorts of trials, and of course he'd be the Servant to see it through.

A low whistle under his breath, and he taps Lien on the head lightly with his knuckles, once, twice. ]

Well, she's a downer. Good thing she wasn't at the party.

[Lien stiffens and stares down at the girl, lips tightened before she replies back, stoically. Her body language is signalling to Lancer to watch her and be on his guard.]

... Sorry. I don't remember your name.

[She bows her head slightly, truly apologetic.]

But you grew up too, huh?

[On the other side of the ship, Ai and Diarmuid may begin to notice how the shadows around them are increasing and how their energy levels are almost sinking. Caster's familiars around them are trying to maintain a barrier, but a few of them are on their knees, their visage flickering as if their mana is being drained.]

Edited 2016-04-05 02:57 (UTC)

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