sweethymns | ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon ii

[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)

That's no surprise...

[She glances down and then back up again.]

You could call me Mara.

[A name that meant bitterness.]

You won't need it much longer though.

[The other girl's voice is low and cold as she continues, one hand reaching up to slowly take off her jacket.]

Did any of us truly know each other? Was there any point? We couldn't focus one another after all. Everyone was separated. Everyone was trapped. No hope, no dreams, no way out... But you two...

[Mara's teeth is gritted expressing an anger that contrasted with her frail appearance. Her jacket is almost off, and underneath she wears a dress with no sleeves and dark marks all over her body. Lien's eyes widen and she gasps.

All over Mara's body are unmistakably Command Spells, but darkened like the shadows around them. This is Very Bad and Mara doesn't seem to plan on holding back.]

You don't remember me. You don't even remember what we were all in that room for! There's no need for you to go any further if you understand nothing!

[And she sure as hell isn't going to explain herself. Before Lien can react, Mara bends down on one knee, touching the surface she's been standing on.]

Berserker. [A Command Seal disappears from her hand.]

EAT.

[And out of the muddy ocean, a roar echoes and vibrates throughout the area, as a dark beast, a dragon, to be exact, emerges to the surface glaring down with red and maddened eyes at its prey. The ship is helplessly bobbing up and down on the waves created by the dragon. Before Lien and much less any of the familiars on board can process what they're faced with, its massive jaws open wide and drops down on the Master and Lancer, taking part of the ship with it.]

[With a third of the ship gone, the vessel starts to tip downwards. Ai, whose Mystic Eyes are activated loses her balance and finds herself falling and sliding backwards until she sits a wall. But she doesn't cry and even when she hears the roar of Berserker, she only grimaces and shuts her eyes as she stands up shakily.]

Lancer!

[A few of Caster's familiars have fallen and then disappear into nothingness after laying for a few lifeless seconds on the floor. A few are alive and kicking, rushing to the ruined part of the ship to quickly repair it. One stays behind so that Caster may speak through it.]

"We've not much time! Take down that Master and any Servants she may have before the shadows overtake the ship!"

Edited 2016-04-05 04:31 (UTC)

[ He doesn't spare his surprise or his concern for the other Master-Servant duo, fully aware that they've been prepared for something of this magnitude since day one. No, he won't do them the disservice of faltering when there's a common enemy in front of them, and despite the aching pain in his chest and the searing headache he feels swelling from just beneath his skull, Lancer kicks forward and supports Ai for the second it takes for him to get by her side.

Weapons drawn, he makes sure that his Master is in a secure portion of the ship before he deigns to pull forward with his aggression braced in his shoulders. ]

Stay strong, Master. Have faith in me.

[ Because that's what'll keep him going. Her strength, her will. He's always excelled when he had something worth fighting for— if she can believe him that he'll get all of them out of this situation in one piece, he'll have all the conviction he needs to make that true. ]

[Ai holds onto Lancer and thanks to Caster's work, the ship begins to stabilize, if shakily so. She gives a nod to Diarmuid, her hand gripping his arm, for a short second. It's a brief affirmation of their roles, but also of the deep trust Ai has put into him. They can't linger now, not when time was crucial.]

I will.

[She has to.

There's another roar. The Berserker sea dragon is drawing near, but the waters have calmed around them as if it was gearing up for the next big attack. A quick glance and to Ai's frustration, Mara, the newly introduced Master is nowhere to be found. She must have escaped or hidden after having her beast devour the other duo.

Her arms wrap around herself, hands gripping her shoulders tightly, to calm herself down, to try and think clearly and not let her emotions...]

... If I have to, I'll eradicate that Master.

[Ai doesn't want to think about what's happened to Lien, she also has to extend her faith and hope to her twin. The younger doesn't feel like the elder is dead, not yet anyways. The enemy Master had done swift work to bring them to a disadvantage by taking care of her and Cu Chulainn first.]

Lancer, while we have time, see what you can make of Berserker. Caster should be able to take care of her vessel and our surroundings.

[ 'Eradicate'. A word that sits heavily on his kind Master's lips, uncharacteristically forceful but not entirely unwarranted. There are two opposing emotions that Diarmuid has about the grimness of that notion: one, that her conviction is admirable, and two, that he would rather her not have to make that call.

It's his duty, then, to lighten the load on those thin shoulders. If he can destroy the dragon first, if he can rescue the others, then Ai would be safe.

(Protect your liege, protect your Master, fight and die for her honor, uphold your valor—

—have you no shame—

—I will never forgive you.)

Almost imperceptibly, Diarmuid wavers on his feet. Of course, it could just be a residual rocking from the waves, but...

...there's almost something desperate in those clear, gold eyes as Ai's Servant turns to her. ]

For you, anything.

[ And with that brief promise, he kicks off, spears drawn and ready to cleave at the dragon's neck. ]

[ Meanwhile, in the belly of the beast: ]

Did this bastard just eat us?!

[ Cu Chulainn is still Cu Chulainn. ]

[Lien was in a daze and it takes her a minute or two to gather her bearings. What just happened?? It felt like time had slowed down and then sped up all at once, slamming them in the face. Her glasses hang off the bridge of her nose and her ear and as she squints she realizes her vision is fine, but the lenses had cracked.

Great. That was what, the third pair?? Lien pats the surface beneath them. Fleshy. Gross. She looks over and around; there were parts of the "wall" that couldn't be anything else, but a skeletal structure and if anyone wanted to know what Mad Enhancement looked like on the inside, the dark magic spread across Berserker's insides like a blood and black sickness.

She holds up her index finger. Calmly.]

Give me a sec.

...

...

...

Now, I could have SWORN I saw this in a movie.

[And Lien is still Lien.]

Okay, no more of that. It swallowed us, but we haven't dissolved into digestible goo yet. We can get out.

Not 'movies' again. The one with Bruce McClane? 'Die Fast'?

[ Listen, he made An Effort. Some of the pop culture things he's learned has stuck, albeit... dubiously.

He wrinkles his nose at the muddy aura surrounding them, as if he's standing in close quarters with someone suffering from a nasty virus. The diagnosis isn't exactly unfitting.

Rudely, he taps at a fleshy wall with his spear. ]

Maybe we can just burst through. [ GROSS THO ]

[She gets on her feet, albeit unsteadily. Needless to say, it's extremely unsettling for her to be in such fleshy and quite frankly, slimy surroundings.]

Yeah, try that first. I'm betting you're gonna have to through a ton of layers of muscle, fat, and whatever the hell this thing's made of.

[Lien takes a deep breath and stumbles because the body lurches. Berserker keeps swimming back and forth, probably struggling with the remaining Servants.]

Only other plan I can think of is that I look for a weak spot and you hit that.

[ This sort of situation isn't novel or alarming to Cu Chulainn anymore, admittedly— he's been through enough that being swallowed by a monster just feels like another tally mark in a long list of 'things that I've had to endure in my weird life'.

So, even while Lien frowns, the Servant cocks his head and curls his lips up. Unapologetic, unyielding. Always enjoying himself. ]

Either way, I'm gonna make a mess. [ He laughs, for her trouble. ] Good thing we're surrounded by water, huh? You'll be able to wash it right off.

[Cu, please... Still, if he wasn't being calm in a situation like this then there's no way Lien would be collected all by herself, at least that's how she feels.

She takes a deep breath and she kneels to the ground and digs her fingers into the flesh they're standing on. Her eyes glow and she lets out a breath as if she's straining herself. This is the longest she's been without her gloves, but she needs to bear with it.]

... Weird. The interior of the body is like one long pathway with some platforms...

Body... Body, no. More like a shell.

[She mutters mostly to herself, but she's letting Cu in on what she's seeing too. And what she sees is...]

... Berserker's actually... Inside??

[Lien snaps back to reality and looks up at Cu determinedly.]

The real Servant's somewhere in the center. Let's move!

[ It's always a little fascinating, watching Lien at work, and he doesn't do Lien the disservice of stopping her even when he can tell that she's straining. Instead, he listens (attentive, playful features rendered half-serious), and breathes a bark of a laugh at the conclusion his Master draws. ]

Into the belly of the beast, as they say.

[ Reaching out, he takes Lien's soiled hand and kneels in front of her, like a soldier to his liege. With her bloodstained fingers, he draws a rune against his cheek, and then moves to mirror it on the sleeve of her shirt. ]

Let's go, 'Master'. By your blessing, I'll have this Servant's head.

[ A cheeky wink, and he straightens back up. ]

[As she starts off in the direction where the Servant's supposed to be, she pauses and blinks when Lancer applies the rune on his cheek with her finger and her sleeve. She looks at it curiously and then up at him.]

Is that a protection of some sort?

[The body around them rumbles, so Lien quickly gets back on her feet, with a swift, but careful pace.]

Hm? Yeah, I guess you could say that.

[ He's unnecessarily vague about it for a few moments, walking briskly down the strange inner workings of this body. It's a straight path down into the center, so they don't have to be too afraid of getting lost; the visibility is poor, but that doesn't bother him, either.

After a semi-long stretch of silence, he offers an explanation. ]

It's for 'safe returns'. Put one half of the rune on your doorstep, the other somewhere on your body.

I don't usually use this one, but you're gonna have to suffer through being my 'home' for tonight.

... T-That's embarrassing!!

[Is what Lien says, her face turning red at his explanation. But as they rush through the bodily hallways, the young magus mutters:]

But... But if that means you'll return to me safely, then you better follow through. Or else!

ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon ii

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SHIA SURPRISE PT. 2

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DONE

8')

CRAWLS TOWARDS

i'm laughing that this post was at 666 until this tag, also 1/2

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