3371/Baron of Blood

Baron of Blood
Date of Scene:	12 November 2015
Location:	Dun Realtai
Synopsis:	Lezard Valeth tracks Shirou Emiya to Dun Realtai. Sir Gawain moves to protect him, but Lezard has something else up his sleeve...
Cast of Characters:	Sir Gawain, 560, Lezard Valeth, 687, 821, 908, 911

---

Sir Gawain has posed:
In the plains of Dun Realtai, the afternoon is beginning to get close to evening, but the sun is still up high. Today, a young man takes his eccentric and excitable companion on a walk through the plains, as his companion jumps up and down and searches after every interesting thing. Additionally, Sir Gawain has brought his dog, Florence, the bull-mastiff trailing alongside him obediently. Obviously, nothing strange will happen today! Right? Right?

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    With all of the crazy things happening in the Multiverse, Shirou can't help but feel a little bit bad about relaxing. He could be out there patrolling Paragon City, or hunting for his home... but no, he's taking just a little bit of time to rest and relax. Dressed in local clothes that don't stand out much, he's unusual only by his obvious asian features compared to the locals...

    "No matter how crazy things are elsewhere, I'm glad this home isn't being dragged into the trouble. How've you been holding up?" The young man asks his Servant, whom he hardly treats like a Servant at all. "Your Grail War's over... and Lordran's out of a lot of trouble."

Lezard Valeth has posed:
"I knew I would find you here eventually. This is like a home away from home, is it not?"

There is a pause, and a circle of light draws itself on the ground nearby, dark figures appearing within as an equally dark, amused tone speaks, his voice crawling like spiders down the back.

"It is always best to entertain guests at home."

The forms fade into view, revealing Lezard Valeth and several other qho are equally important but will introduce themselves in their own special way. With a motion of purple flame, Lezard calls up the Manus Catalyst, pointing it towards Gawain and Shirou. "Come quietly and I might be convinced to be merciful and spend the time to move your soul to a homunculus while I study you, Magus Shirou. Your Servant will be nothing but an inconvenience."

Archer (821) has posed:
     "You're putting off speaking with him."

    The observation was unwanted - it would be even on the best of days - but Archer's comment was not denied by his Master, watching as Rin's brow's furrowed once as she glanced annoyedly at the Red Knight. Much like another Master & Servant pair, they had been, for lack of a better term, meandering through the streets of the village and, somewhere along the line, Rin had opted to visit the plains for some more 'open fresh air.'

     ... though Archer was hardly surprised to find that it was likely just an excuse to keep an eye on Emiya Shirou. She practically treated him like a little sibling would by their elder.

     Then again, it wasn't like his Master wasn't an overbearing enough woman for the job... even though that wasn't the thing holding her back.

    "It's not like I'm doing it on purpose, you know." Rin shot back her defense, crossing her arms. "Things have been... hectic to say the least. And after Woodvale, the Shivan War and Lordan, I wanted him to have some breathing room. Maybe even some time to rest and recover."

    Archer in turn gave something of a bemused smirk, looking at her out of the corner of one eye. "Oh? Well, he seems fine. Perhaps now we can return home?"

    Rin cast him a half-annoyed, half-curious glance. "What, you have something better to do?"

     "Don't you?" Archer quipped back, his Master stumbling over her response at this point before he went on. "If you're concerned about his mental status - which is undeniably warped and naive enough to give anyone concern - then be forward with him."

    Rin winced this time, though she didn't fight back at the comment. Instead... she seemed a bit downcast. "Easy for you to say."

     /That/ had been the true reason for most of her awkwardness in trying to speak with the boy outside missions. Namely the fact that what she had promised to speak with him about was something she was concerned about his reaction to... considering it involved a potential future of his. Or at least a possible setting.

    And, even though she'd waited for the end of the more pressing affairs he was involved in... it seemed that seeing him in high spirits made her reluctant to potentially shatter that moment of happiness he'd claimed for all his efforts.

     ...

    A redundant gesture, given what Archer felt he knew of the boy and how his 'dream' would turn out... but not quite an unsympathetic one.

    However, before the matter could be debated further... they both felt it.

     A magic that carried the chilled, cold twinge of death about it. Similar to Matou Zouken... yet arguably a league, if not more, above him.

     "Archer...!"

    She hardly needed to give an order, the Bowman already moving to a spot where the two could observe the situation... and see just what these 'visitors' wanted.

    Though once Archer saw who was leading them... he had a rather strong suspicion of where this was going to go.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    There is a magus with Lezard.

    Please do not pay attention to the fact she kind of looks like a female Shirou, which is probably creepy. One might suspect Lezard of playing with homunculi again but this is pure coincidence. Perhaps the major difference between Shirou and Gudako is that she has slightly longer her and deader eyes, but that'd be overlooking the wide constant grin on her face. Also the costume. Mostly the costume.

    There is a slightly taller figure with her, a pink-haired fox-eared Caster in blue and black robes, with a mirror that orbits her idly, a large, almost three feet tall and wide mirror framed in blue and gold metal.

    But unlike Lezard, the magus does not threaten, instead she just continues smiling. And then snatches Caster's Noble Phantasm out of the air, and uses it like a common hand mirror. A very large one, but still.

    "Huuuuh. I don't look that dorky do I."
    Lower mirror, look at Shirou.
    Raise mirror, look at self.
    "Haha, weeeeird. Caster I'm keeping this."
    "M-- Master, I need that to fight!"
    "We're not fighting, duh."

    She pulls her cellphone out with her other hand.
    "I have to spend my AP, so, just stand still."

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Manifesting by way of dark teleportation is a new one for Ark, and a slightly less new one for his own Servant, but there they are: two of the other figures in Lezard's circle, obstensibly here for the same reason he is.

Ark is dressed in his usual steel grey uniform, camouflage meant for a world much less desolate than this one. His cap is off, and his mess of bright purple hair stands out in stark contrast to the monochrome nature of the rest of what he's wearing. He's got a gun, but it doesn't look like anything special. There's something /off/ about him to magical senses, though, like he's jam-packed with mana that isn't quite right for where he's standing.

"Woah. This place is -- wow!" Totally ruining the bad guy aesthetic, Ark turns in a circle with his hands spread, a boyish grin on his face as he looks every which way around the plains. "We need to come here more often. Look at all this /stuff/!" He gestures with both hands at... grass.

The man with him is tall and thin, around six feet with short, curly black hair that's greying at the temple. He's got striking features: a sharp nose, prominent ears, and blue eyes like shards of ice. He's wearing a well-made suit jacket and trousers in dark grey, a collared white shirt, a pale blue tie and a well-worn stetson with a less-rigid brim. He looks decidedly put-upon by Ark's behavior.

"It's grass, Ark," Caster of Steel says with clear exasperation. "It's on almost any other world we could go to, and we wouldn't need to be inside spitting distance of potential and realized enemies for you to prance around in it."

Ark looks back at him. "I don't 'prance,'" he says defensively. "I scout."

Caster of Steel sighs, turns to Shirou and Gawain, and tips his hat politely. He clasps his hands behind his back and just sort of waits and ignores Ark's occasional glares.

Sir Gawain has posed:
As soon as Lezard appears, Gawain stops on his tracks, as Florence begins snarling, moving forward to get at him. The Knight glares at the sorceror, before his eyes train from one Caster to another, recognizing that there's multiple Servants. This is an ambush. Sir Gawain hands the leash to Shirou, as he steps in front of him, speaking firm. "Shirou, get Florence and stay back!" In a flash, his casual clothes are replaced with his floral armor, and Excalibur Galatine appears in his hand, the holy sword being lifted up to a defensive position.

"Identify yourselves immediately, and stay back. I am Sir Gawain, Knight of Dun Realtai, and I will not let harm befall my Master. This is the only warning you will get! If you attempt to continue, I will stab you until you cannot continue further!" Sir Gawain focuses primarily on Lezard. He seems to be the instigator here, and therefore the largest threat. This is a large group, however, and he's not sure if he can hold them all off.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Ohhhhhh boy. Things go to hell in a handbasket with a hurry. He FEELS it. He FEELS the teleportation, the arrival of a multitude of extremely powerful beings. Shirou's magic senses are crap. he KNOWS they are crap.

    So when *he* feels something... it's got to be bad.

    The amber-eyed young man turns to look....

    Yup, it's bad. "Wh-wh... what in the... Lezard?!" And to think he'd mostly been ignoring him the other day.

    Signs of panic are clear on Shirou's face as those eyes sweep across the other figures. Two Servants, both unknown... one carrying a very strange mirror. Eight protrusions... "The Eight Hand Mirror?!" The boy mumbles.

    And Lezard's demands are as unreasonable as always. Shirou clenches his teeth, sweat starting to show. Even with Gawain here, fighting THREE Servant-level beings, one unknown magus, and... THAT WEIRD GUY is... not happening. It's not happening even if he uses his Reality Marble. And nobody's going to be able to arrive to help if he uses that. It's off the table even if he could invoke it and maintain it against Lezard's power - unlikely.

    What can he do? Could anyone arrive to help in time if he signaled? If he's captured, Gawain's a goner.

    Maybe... he can try reasoning. Maybe.

    All these calculations are made in a matter of seconds.

    "Don't be ridiculous. Necromancer, I'm not your guinea pig. I have a Servant to provide for... a dream to fulfill... that won't happen in your plan! Be more reasonable!" Although terrified, he's not going to back down here.

    He does grab Florence's leash and backpedal a few steps, heart still racing.

    "Trace... on." Although his chant is quiet, there's no mistaking those words just by lip reading from afar. Or the surge of magic - however tiny - that follows. A white short sword materializes in his hand, worth far more than the trivial prana invested to create it.

    "You can't beat all of them together, Sir Gawain...!" He asides to his Servant, very worried.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "A-Ah... master, he recognized my mirror!" Caster complains.
    "Hey, prepare a blessing talisman," Gudako deflects.
    Caster reaches into her sleeve, pulling a slip of paper out with the Japanese symbols for luck and properity on it, grinning. "Already ahead of you, master~. Who shall I support?"
    Gudako snatches the talisman and slaps it on the back of her cellphone.
    She starts humming.
    "Gacha~ gacha~ spin the gacha~..."

Archer (821) has posed:
    Seeing the necromancer, Archer narrows his eyes as he remembers this particular individual.

     Someone who had been chasing Shirou for his own ends, offering him what could hardly be anything else but a Devil's deal.

    However, the sight of the multiple Servants and their respective Masters, Archer goes tense - as does Rin, a sharp, hissing intake of breath audible as her eyes widen in shock and concern.

    A shock that only increases when she /recognizes/ one of the Masters, realizing that the girl looks rather like a junior mage from her own world. "W... what is-? Is that...? No, she's back home. She doesn't even have a Servant - I'd have been told if she did. She can't be the one from my world."

     "Are you going to hold back, then?" Archer comments dryly, masking his concern that she may not go all out.

    Thankfully though, while she does hesitate for a long moment, Rin closes her eyes and takes a long breath before a more determined look crosses her face. "No. If they're after Emiya-Kun - in flagrant violation of Dun Realtai's neutrality and non-conflict pacts, no less - then I don't intend to let them have their way."

    And when the boy summons forth a weapon... it becomes all too obvious that conflict is unavoidable.

    As a result... there's no reason to delay. And in Archer's case, no reason to wait for a withdraw that Lezard Valeth will likely not issue unless forced.

     "Trace; On"

    Prana surges through his hands as his western-style black bow materializes in one hand and in the other, the spiral-sword of the Ulster cycle forms. Granted, he cannot charge it at full strength... but it will be enough to at least keep their enemies off-balance or push them back, as he knocks the weapon back on the bowstrings while it's edge warps and twists from a sword into an arrow.

    "I am the bone of my sword."

    And as Archer begins charging a shot to fire the moment anything starts a fight... Rin, in the mean time, closes her eyes, the image of a blade plunging through her heart dominating her mind's eye-

     "Es ist gro�... Es ist klein... Vox got Es Atlas!"

    - and she kicks off across the field to try and get to the battlefield through Reinforced speed, pulling free two of her gems.

Granted, she wasn't expecting combat - she's not fully stocked, only having four on her person at the moment - but it could at least serve as the distraction for Shirou, Gawain and Archer if pressed into combat. As she approaches, she hears Shirou's worried proclamation and reinforcing it with an answer - "Maybe not alone!" - as in a few moments, Rin will be astride Shirou to serve as a visual deterrent to any attempts to abduct him, gems palmed in one hand, ready for the worst.

    Between Rin moving aside Shirou - which is likely going to draw questions from him on /why/ Rin was out here in the first place - and Archer charging an arrow with the intent to fire if someone makes the wrong move, the Magus is hoping that the display will be enough to discourage Lezard's plan... though Archer on the other hand knows all too well this is likely not going to be the case.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Weapons start to come out. Caster of Steel sighs and adjusts his tie. He very deliberately avoids going near his pockets, where he might have any number of things stored. Then again, who knows what he's actually capable of? Maybe he fights unarmed.

Ark doesn't go for his gun. The moment magic starts getting slung around, he reaches behind him, drawing a short object like a squared, blunted knife out of concealment. It's uniformly bone white, and people familiar with such things would easily pick it out as actual human bone, but marked with all manner of miniscule markings and emblems. He holds it firmly in one hand at his side.

Caster speaks before Ark gets a chance to: "I am Caster, of the Steel Faction, from the like-named Land of Steel. This is my master, Ark Line." Ark is staring at Shirou and Gawain, waiting for one of them to start something. He's like a snake, ready to strike. "I have no quarrel with you and your people, good sir knight, and I would like to offer to take your hound away from the field of battle so you do not worry as to its safety."

Ark double-takes at Caster. "Are you serious? You could wipe this whole place off the map in less time that it would take the rest of us to take out these clowns." He glances at Shirou, adding in an aside, "Nothing personal." It's hard to tell if he's overestimating his ability, or...

Caster shrugs. "We have duties away from this place. Maybe the wrong fight will teach you some humility. Besides, it would be a tragedy if something so innocent were collateral damage." He sounds sincere.

Ark looks like he's trying to decide whether he should take drastic measures or let it go. Caster has already stepped away from the midst of the group to distance himself from the inevitable fight.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard laughs. "I don't even require their help to defeat you. They are accompanying me because they wishes to visit the area. Magus Gudako would benefit from seeing a place with so many Servants, and Magus Ark, well. He enjoys seeing new things, can you not tell? Such a thing broadens the mind."

The Necromancer steps forward, squinting at Sir Gawain as he interposes. "You know who I am, Sir Gawain. And if you do not, it shall be engraved upon thy very soul, LEZARD VALETH!" There is a flourish of his cape as he introduces himself properly, and he spreads his arms. "Your dreams are empty and fragile, Magus Shirou. You lack the power to make those dreams real. Perhaps in one time you could have worked with me, gained that power, but your foolish ideals have destroyed that. Now, I will simply demonstrate the truth of the Multiverse: Those with the power can take what they wish, your ideals be damned."

He pauses, turning his gaze back to Gawain. "... But your Servant complicates matters, does it not. You fool, you would stand against my sorcery, on behalf of this worthless fool? Very well. I will demonstrate what happens when a true magus exercises the right of the Master!"

There is another flare of light, and a stone slab manifests of black granite, etched deeply with a magic circle, the lines filled with a powdery crimson substance. With another flourish, Lezard holds forth... An ancient brick, stained red with the powder of aged, crumbled mortar still clinging to it. "I WILL SUMMON UP A BARON OF BLOOD, AN IRON-FISTED TYRANT WHO STRUCK FEAR INTO THEIR PEOPLE AND CREATED A LEGEND THAT HAS ENDURED THROUGHOUT THE AGES!" He declares, stepping forward and placing the brick in the center of the circle. With a sudden explosion of light and power, a forceful wave pushes back, interposing between them as Lezard holds his hand out over the circle, his voice intoning with deep resonance. As he speaks, the circle begins to shine, absorbing the power Lezard is feeding into it.

Arise! Arise! Arise!
By the Runes which control time and space, let my Will be heard!
Let blood and fire be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation!
Across the Four Worlds, close the Cardinal Gates and arise!
I will declare here that your body shall serve under me.
My Fate shall fight alongside your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.
If you will submit to this will and this reason, then answer!

As he cries out, a vial of crimson fluid is produced, and poured upon the burning circle of energy, soaking into the lines and the stone.

Upon my Will I swear this oath!
I shall become all that is holy, and all that is vile shall be my slave!
Beyond life, beyond death, by these oaths and bindings...
Come forth and arise!

Lezard's laugh rings out as the incantation completes, and something answers...

Elizabeth Bathory (911) has posed:
    As the ritual reaches its climax, and Lezard calls out for a Blood-Soaked Legend... the catalyst begins to glow. And then it begins to bleed, loudly dripping to the ground. Each droplet is rythmic, and echoes around, louder than any drop of blood has right to be. The magic swells, and the very earth begins to reshape around it. Two grand columns rise up, created by magic alone, and an upswing of marble paves out around it. Like an ampitheatre, the 'stage' of magic takes shape and reality behind and about Lezard, as he works his magic. Godrays from the sunny sky pierce through a thick roil of dark clouds, the perfect forboding atmosphere as the stage dances with refracted sunbeams and picturesque lighting, as a keening call echoes out over the too-loud dripping of blood.

    Thunder rumbles like drumwork through the clouds, and the wind howls through.

    The sounds, in specific, are haunting, captivating, and if one did not know better, would simply called 'produced' - as if some force were controlling them for the optimal introduction, the run-up for a grand concert of doomed arcanery and... Is that a voice? Music?

    The blood like a beat, the thunder like a drumline, the wind like a backup singer, and on the stage of marble and columns, even a... Wait what.

    A microphone stand, jammed into the marble like a spike, bearing a microphone that didn't exist a moment before.

    And finally... Finally, there is... j-idol. Lilting words without meaning, speaking of love, of desire, of... wait, does the chorus go 'Killing~* Killing~*'? It does, but even then, it's damnably catchy. An earworm of a song to be sure! This is a blood soaked baron? THIS IS THE LEGENDARY...

    Magical pyrotechnics go off, unleashing a hail of glitter, confetti, and what smells like literal dragonfire as the song goes into full swing, and over-long, red finger-like claws grasp the mic stand. A ruffled dress, and two horns, long legs in white leggings with a red spike on them, and a long tail that ends in a fin-tip.

    And she's singing that tune, which goes on to talk about worship and love and how great things are, like all good Generic J-Pop.

    And then the song ends, and Lezard's flow is utterly broken, even as three command seals etch themselves upon his arm. "Hellloooo!" The horned girl perkily calls, waving with her extremly oddly-fingered hands in the classic thumb-index-pinky idol salute next to the eye. It's terribly at odds the situation.

     "... Didn't you like my performance? Ahh, it's so good to be alive again! ... ... This isn't a dusty tower. How wonderful! An encore, anyone?"

Lezard Valeth has posed:
There is a pregnant pause as Lezard's triumphant grin actually cracks and falters, revealing an expression of confusion and shock.

".... What?"

Another pause. "..... /What/?"

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Caster is just as dumbstruck as Lezard is, stopped in mid-stride away from the... whatever that was. He doesn't have any words.

Ark applauds, partially because he's not once heard J-Pop before, and partially because it looks like the singer is capable of removing his internal organs with her bare hands.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Ah? Was that Lezard's whole plan?
    Gudako takes her eyes off her cellphone, and she and Caster observe as a Servant not only answers the call but gives a jpop show. With magic. Oh, that is a thing alright. The dead lifeless eyes of the magus liven up for the performance with sparkles and a positive glow. Her Caster, on the other hand, just seems somewhat jealous at losing her master's attention again.

    When the performance is over, she claps, having actually put her cellphone away. "Oh! Oh! An encore, yes!" Then a sideglance to Lezard. "What's wrong? If you don't want her I'll take her, she looks like a four star." She can tell because she plays idol games, of course. She can identify idol levels.

    Delivered with enthusiasm, with the usual 8D.

    Caster emits some sort of groan. Like an angry cat pouting and preparing to hiss, but resigning itself to just mrrrrrring instead.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Things just keep getting more and more ridiculous. First, Tohsaka barges onto the scene. "What? T-T... Tohsaka! Where did you, -- ... no, why are you coming out?! These guys are beyond dangerous!" But his spirit redoubles. If she's in danger he'll have to try and protect her too after all!

    But he's still holding the dog's leash... awkward.

    Had Lezard given him a chance to speak he might've had some profound things to say.

    But something MORE profound happens instead.

    Enter The Blood Countess.

    Shirou, still holding the dog's leash... takes a few more steps back.

    The grand ritual brings forth a Servant popstar. Singing and dancing.

    All of Shirou's terror vanishes for a moment. Instead...

    Instead he's just left dumbstruck, staring. His lips part, mouth gaping a moment as if he wants to say something... but his face just freezes in this gobsmacked look.

    He's seen a few slightly unusual Servants, but this one takes the cake.

Sir Gawain has posed:
"He is not worthless! He is an exceptional young man and a hero! No matter your capabilities, I will not allow you to harm him!" Sir Gawain takes another step forward, sword at the ready. It would seem that the fox Caster is Japanese, and likely royal. Sir Gawain has no idea who she is, though; he's not Japanese. Meanwhile, Caster of Steel's offer gets no response, but a glance towards Shirou. It roughly says 'I don't trust them with my dog!'

And then, Lezard summons a Servant. This is bad, but it's far too late once he realizes what is going on. All he can do is brace for impact, and get ready for a fight. Or, that's what he was thinking, when suddenly, IDOL SINGER. Sir Gawain watches her, listens to her singing, and realizes something incredibly important.

"Woah! You're incredible! Are you a celebrity?!" Yes, Sir Gawain is awestruck at the generic J-Pop, and resolves to himself to see if the Servant has records when they're done. "Encore! Encore!" Yet, despite that, his guard doesn't actually loosen. He is still entirely prepared for combat, even if his reactions are genuine.

Archer (821) has posed:
    As soon as he saw the circle - heard the words - the Servant of the Bow felt his blood run cold.

    A summoning. That insane fool was attempting a summoning right before a battle.

    He was either stupid, crazy, or simply too arrogant to believe it could backfire... or was very confident in the power of whatever he was summoning.

     And so, Archer mutters a curse to himself as the Summoning reaches it's conclusion...

     ...

     And much like his Master Rin, Archer's expression falters from concern to...

     ... dumbstruck shock and confusion.

    Rin, in the midst of priming her hand back to throw her gems at the summoning circle to try and break it before it could complete, is distracted by what sounds like pop music before half-gaping at the servant that appeared. "W... what the hell?" ... as the seconds tick by though, she shakes her head as a more important question filters through her brain - right before it melts down and the magus begins all but barking at everyone else on the radios in what seems to be an anxiety and shock-induced fit.

    After she finishes her tangent though, she sighs and refocuses on the new Servant, eyes narrowed in concern - trying to ignore the awkwardness of the Servant's appearance and demeanor. "No, really the more important question is /who/ this is. Who exactly is this - she looks like a hybrid between a dragon and a human. I don't know of any historical figure with those traits."

    Rin speaks this question aloud. She doesn't actually expect an answer though - especially not from Lezard or the Servant. No Servant would willingly volunteer that information.

    Archer in the meantime lets out an amazed sigh, having felt that the Multiverse had shown him the limits of what insanity could be displayed... but it seemed that even his own timelines - for that or one similar to it were the only ones he knew of that the summoning ritual for the Grail Wars worked on - had a few more in store.

     ...

    Not that he was going to let them get further then this, though, proceeding to start charging the arrow further then before to handle the new Servant...

     ... though that may take a while more then he'd expected, and if worse comes to worse he may have to launch the shot early.

    He just hoped that, if the fight started now, Rin could hold out until then.

Elizabeth Bathory (911) has posed:
    With her introduction being a song about... Well, if you think about it hard enough and not on how GREAT the production values were or how damnably earwormy the tune was, it was about...

    Oppression? Pigs? ... Killing people that disagree with you? It's like the bad gangster rap of J-Pop - if you start really thinking about the lyrics it's kind of horrifying but if you turn your brain off it's like delicious ear candy.

    The draconic-traited J-Idol bows, grinning broadly (and a little toothily), swishing her tail back and forth and doing a quirkily endearing (if you were into that kinda thing) dance. She is impeccable in every way as an Idol --

    Gudako called her 'Four Star'.

    Elizabeth tromps off her stage, to the click-click of her red heels with dangerous points, down off the marble staage, mic-stand in hand. "Four star? I'm five star! No - /Infinite/ star! I am EX, for Exemplary! Exciting! Ex... mazing! I am EX-" she continues, before people call for an encore. "Ah! Yes, the adoration of my fans!" She blushes, placing those odd fingers over her heart with a flutter of her eyes, before hurrying back to the stage. "O-kay~*! I call this one... Oh! I know, let's do 'Carnival of Carnage!' Is that OK, master?" She asks, to Lezard, leaning over to him.

    "Are you well? Not hurt? I'll nurse you back to health! Erm..."

    She reaches behind the stage, pulling out a cartoonishly happy first aid kit, and starts removing extremely archaic and decidedly not-helpful devices (due to their nature as things such as thumbscrews, pliers, pokers for getting red-hot, etcetera), before emptying it out on the stage, crouching down to start poking through her supplies. "Uhm... I will make sure to give you all the care and attention you should get, and all you need is me, mm-hmm! None of the pigs will bother us!"

    She says all of this out loud, in an adorable if quirky (and crazy) voice, with that same property of 'if you don't pay attention it's sweet and innocent' effect.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Okay, so the Big Villain Groove has been super busted. Lezard blinks, confused, but he glances at the Command Seals on his hand, looking them over. He hums for a moment, and then looks back to the new Servant as she begins dumping out /torture implements/ from her medical kit.

He blinks, and a contemplative smile begins forming on his face. "No... I think I will be fine. Just fine, my dear." He says, and then gestures, "How do you feel about killing one of those two?" Lezard gestures at Gawain and Shirou. "Fear not, I will make sure to keep the other from interfering..." He pauses, and then turns suddenly.

His gaze locks on Archer and Rin. "Be careful." He warns the incoming Master. "You will find that you are biting off more than you can chew."

He then fires back to Gudako, "First impressions are a little unusual, are they not? Yet, I think I will be sticking with my choice. Thank you for your offer, of course." There is only a /slight/ edge to that. He /does/ know what it takes to transfer Command Seals, after all.

He looks back to Shirou and Gawain. "So, which one do you think you would prefer?" He asks the idol.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "Ah?" Gudako eyes Elizabeth as she delivers her rebutal, taking the counterarguments in. She taps her chin, wondering. "You do look like a limited-time event sort. Aaah! That's it! The rarity, it's off the scale, of course!" She looks towards Lezard, still grinning. That's going to get old pointing out one day, she's ALWAYS grinning.

    "You struck gold! Of course a Servant's power when female is directly proportional to how lovable they are, that's just good marketing! Ah, when they're male, it's how pretty they are." She glances towards Gawain. Well, he IS a dreamy knight archetype, certainly a thing most women would fall for. A Saber, no doubt. (Nevermind the sword and/or armor being a more obvious and ready hint.)

    Caster huffs. "Have I not been nothing but adorable so far, master?"
    Gudako ponders. "Caster! Give me your tail."
    The foxy woman complies, her big poofy tail bumping into the magus, who proceeds to hug it. "Aaah, it's so fluffy~. Sure, you win this one," the master finally agrees.

    Really, she's not here to interfere, Lezard has this.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Rin proceeds to level a glare at the Dark Mage, though she gives back a confident-looking smirk to try and play up having an advantage she really doesn't know if she can enforce. "You're one to talk, pal. Picking a fight in neutral lands like Dun Realtai? You have any clue how many people are going to either come down on you or avoid you like the plague for a reckless move like that?"

    However... that was when the more comical reactions of the Servant occupied their attention.

    At this point, Archer wasn't sure if he was supposed to find this scene awkward, comedic or disturbing... though she didn't seem at all focused on a fight. That gave them an advantage.

     Rin on the other hand once again shifted to a more dumbstruck expression watching the new Servant chastise one of her allies and all but swoons like a teen-idol at the complements she gets from Gawain and one of the other enemies.

    It was like some horrifically bad comedy in her eyes - King Arthur could be hopping around with an aide trailing behind her banging two coconuts together, be told the King was riding a horse, and Rin would have an easier time believing /that/ then she did the sight before her.

     ...

    Although... that gave her an idea. This Servant seemed pretty darned arrogant... and not unlike a kid idol craving attention. If that was the case...

     "Um..." - she really, /really/ can't believe she's trying to make small talk here. The situations she ends up in... "Forgive me, but I'm not exactly familiar with all the world's legends... and, as I've learned, a lot of them tend to be misrepresentative at times. You're a famous figure from history, correct?"

    From a distance, Archer can't help but smile a bit as, reading Rin's lips from a distance with Reinforced vision, he sees she is trying to get the Servant to reveal her identity, which would be an immense help in figuring out how to combat her. The boy seemed to have an idea of who the fox-spirit was - and in truth, Archer agreed as he knew of only one person in history with those Japanese features who owned that particular mirror... though it didn't seem like the female and the fox-spirit were going to be much of an issue so much as an irritant sitting on the side that could distract one with the ridiculousness of their exchanges.

     Still, every Servant they even had a clue to the identity of would help in the long run, especially since he didn't recognize those two as being Union-affiliated.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Caster of Steel is not even man-pretty. By Gudako's reckoning, he's practically worthless. Maybe that's why he's trying to stay out of the way.

Ark seems pretty pleased with the performance. He still hasn't released the bone weapon, but it looks like this is Lezard's show. His eyes trail back to Shirou, apparently missing the nature of the things being dumped on the stage. He goes from there to Rin, who is not familiar to him. "Did you bring your girlfriend to this fight?" Ark asks Shirou. He addresses Rin directly, examining her for weapons and coming away with nothing. "What do you do?"

Off to the side, Caster folds his arms in front of him, taking stock of the draconic Servant who just appeared. He doesn't know what to make of her, but he does know he has /opinions/. "I'm sure it was a lovely performance, but I think it isn't my type of music. Ella Fitzgerald, now there's a woman with a /voice/." He smiles to himself.

Ark is too busy wondering who is going to make the first move to make a smartass remark.

Elizabeth Bathory (911) has posed:
    There's a moment, a flicker, and a tightness of her claws around her mic stand as Elizabeth is spoken about, as if she was... a mistake? No, that couldn't be. Her career was just starting! 'Getting a new servant' was...

    She knew that she could kill a normal, human Magus in the time it took them to order herself to commit suicide, thanks to her innate skills, and a decidedly wicked aura descended over her shoulders like a cloak. Her eyes focus on Lezard and...

    Oh, Master-sama likes her!

    All is better, the dark aura leaving just as quickly as it came on. "That's right. I am gold! Rarity off the scale, the most exquisite! Blood of dragons, of the House of Hapsburg! None can question /my/ pedigree. If would have to rate it, it would be A Plus Plus Plus, so far beyond mortal, boorish serfdom that the squandering masses are. So! You want me to kill one?"

    Her expression changes not a wink. "But neither are girls, so it'd be a little boring, I guess." She notes with cavalier whim. "Either one? Oooh, one of them is a /knight/? The other one... A commoner? Well, it's the duty of the nobility to put the serfs in their place. I'm sure you understand, Sir Knight!" She salutes Gawain, with her idol W-salute winkyeye star~~* pose.

    She draws her micstand up, the item reconfiguring into a spear, as she steps off the stage with grace. Rin asks who she is.

    "Me? I'm offended! You don't know just by looking at me? What do they teach children in school these days. Fire your tutor! And listen to this, instead!" She announces, before... Throwing some CD's at Rin. They are more 'lightly tossed' than 'ballistic AOL Install Disk Shuriken attack'.

    They're... Idol CDs. With music. And on the cover, in Japanese, is 'Elizabetto Bathorii', and something something sold a kajillion copies, something something her mixtape is fire.

    Twirling her two-pronged and vicious looking spear, she gives a big, empty-eyed grin. "I'll have to show off to master, so scream real loud for me, will you?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    This is perhaps the strangest thing Shirou's been witness to since Unification. That's saying something. It goes unsaid, obviously, just how much his opinion of the situation matches a certainb owman's in many ways.

    One part of him is very clearly... 'Okay, that's enough of this. Can we go home now?'

    On the other hand... that's a really good idea. How to take advantage of this ridiculous situation and put Lezard socially in a confounded situation with his new Servant.

    He has some ideas... "I hope you're serious about that offer!" He offers the leash over to the male, undecorated Caster. "It's the only hope this dog has at the moment." Faced with Elizabeth Bathory...

    "Miss Lancer, are you really risking everything against a Servant who's not even from your War? Also, I'm training to be a knight!" If that means anything to her, anyways.

    This is it, it seems. But he still faces her with bravery.

    Against a Servant, one-on-one, he'll only have a chance to get a single blow in. One. After that, it's all defense, leading to an unavoidable death.

    So he'd better make that one blow count.

    His other hand now free... Shirou prepares. "/my body is made of swords./"

    Power flows from his fingertips. His absolute best trick is his only hope at driving off this Servant if she goes on the offensive.

    And it's one that nobody's seen before.

    A handle of stone forms, power flowing out to fill an invisible mold of a great... 'sword?' of stone that's nearly as long as Shirou. Much thicker than any sword should have any right to be, and almost more like a club than any kind of blade. No magic comes from it at all, and it doesn't look at all look like something a hero would wield. Yet, putting power into his arm, Shirou hoists the oversized weapon with some effort.

    What the hell is that weapon? It's not a Noble Phantasm. It's not even magical in the slightest. IT IS ROCK. Just rock.

    The sheer absurdity of it might be enough to put anyone who knows Shirou's usual tactics at considerable unease. Or maybe not. He's known to be a bit weird sometimes.

Sir Gawain has posed:
House of Habsburg. That's Austrian. Furthermore, Archer identifies the Servant as Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. This puts Sir Gawain slightly on edge, as she's a pretty bad person! Despite that, they've decided to escape, and now it's time to enact their diversions. And, as always, Sir Gawain has great ideas. But first, he responds to Elizabeth. "I do not! I myself am of noble blood, yet I would never degrade another being! Nor would my king! You are wrong!"

And then, it's time! Shirou summons his rock...sword...thing, and Sir Gawain points his blade at Elizabeth as if he was about to attack. But then, he turns towards Shirou, and waves it around. "It's a rock! RUN!" He dashes over to pick up Florence, and then runs in the direction of the village as fast as his Servant legs will take him, not looking back once. Hopefully, it works!

Archer (821) has posed:
    And as combat starts to become an inevitability again - bolstered by the girl dumping out torture instruments - Archer knows he really can't afford to let them get the first strike in.

    Rin is... more distracted by the commentary by one of the enemies, pausing with an expression that can only be described as 'utterly stupefied.'

    Archer in turn is left suppressing a smirk at the reaction -as well as the subsequent response as, from there, Rin turns beat-red, her ears and cheeks flushing the same color as her favored scarlet coat - "G-g-g-g-girlfriend?! Like hell I am! What do you think I'd ever see in this dolt that I'd be his girlfriend for?! I-I'm just doing this for the sake of some other people I know who care about him for some reason! That's my /only/ reason for being here!"

     Were the situation different, Archer might have let himself chuckle at the sight However, she does take note of her gambit getting a big payoff when she sees the name - and it makes the Magus go wide-eyed with what looks like disbelief. "Elizabeth Bathory..."

    Archer in turn, through Reinforced vision, clicks his tongue in concern as he sees the name on those disks with Reinforced vision, knowing the legend the same as Rin.

     The legend of a woman regarded as an absolute monster among Hungarian legends - a serial killer who tormented people for fun and bathed in bathtubs filled with their blood. A woman who's family was supposed to have draconic ties - ties that were obviously represented in her Servant form. Had she been like that in life as well?

     ... whatever the reason, Master and Servant somehow felt that underestimating an opponent, no matter how hard it was to take them seriously, would be a bad move here, especially since there were four Servants.

    This, in turn, is why Archer decides he can afford to wait no longer, his arrow already charged to a very high rate.

    Now, as the female brandishes her weapon - which would seem to identify her as a Lancer-Class Servant - Archer sees the chance to attack before they can begin a proper assault, aiming at the mage who had summoned her-

     "Caladbolg!"

     -and letting the spiral sword fly, the weapon becoming a bullet of light as it shoots for Lezard, Arc and Caster of Steel - though it's primary target is the dark mage.

    Who knows - maybe Gawain's seeming moment of /stupidity/ will distract them further.

     Rin in turn is... caught off guard by Gawain's choice, bulking at his decision before angrily screaming after him - "Some knight you are!! You're supposed to /hit/ them with your sword, not wave it around like a magic wand!!"

    That's the straw that breaks the camel's back - Tohsaka Rin has had /enough/ insanity for one day! As Archer launches his arrow, Rin throws the two gems in her hands at the mages, the small, glinting objects exploding like hand-grenades as soon as they complete their arc.

    Maybe they can use this as the chance to flee - insane or not, four Servants wasn't a fight she was willing to enter unprepared. If they could just get back to the city itself, they ought to be fine - if Lezard was willing to invade the village itself for Shirou, he'd have done so by now.

    They just had to /get there/ first.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard made his bed, he's going to sleep in it. Even if it means he's going to have J-Pop playing in his Tower at all hours.

It's okay. All of Lordran will suff- I mean, be an audience with him.

"It won't be a problem. We can find something more suitable for your position and preferences later." Lezard replies. "Sadly, the duty of the nobility is often burdensome, is it not?" He says with an ominou tone, adjusting his glasses.

He folds his arms, nodding as he sees the lance form and Elizabeth take the field against Shirou. He flexes a hand, looking curiously at it as if an unusual sensation is playing upon him... He looks up at Gawain, expecting him to get involved...

And the Knight flees. Lezard blinks at that. Why is he fleeing-

The sudden increase in power nearby causes him to glance to one side, eyes narrowed. "YOU DARE!" He screams, thrusting the Manus Catalyst forward. Walls of petrified bone erupt, sealed over with the fingernails of dead men who died in ignominy as wall after wall arises to meet Caladbolg.

And they immediately begin to shatter as the Noble Phantasm punches through them, vaporizing them with overwhelming power...

But each one slows the assauly down fractionally, until the assault blasts through the final barrier, slamming into a brilliant barrier, the seething sttrike sending waves of energy out as Lezard guards the entire group from the deadly strike...

And there is a dull thump as the area around them vanishes in light

The smoke clears, a small crater revealed with Lezard, Ark Line, Caster of Steel, Gudako, and her fluffy tail standing on a small pillar of unharmed land.

"Abruptly, there is a spray of blood from a gash across Lezard's body, causing him to shrink back for a moment. "... Impressive. I may have to actually take you seriously." He grates.

Elizabeth Bathory (911) has posed:
    "Well, wars are a strange thing!" Elizabeth comments, holding her long lance at her side. "But, you're a master, right? If you pointed at someone and told your servant to kill them, wouldn't they dutifully obey? I mean, I don't /really/ care - unlike the knight, your pedigree is utterly beneath mine. Would you like a CD, little pig-boy, before I send you off to Hell?"

    There's a wicked smile, before Elizabeth underhands the selfsame CD at Shirou - aimed to donk him in the face - that she tossed at Rin and Archer. Then, of course, Shirou summons Nine Lives, saying silly things like 'my body is made of swords', and tilting her head curiously. "Swords? You look like you're made of blood and bone, you know. Well, if /you're/ made of Swords, then /I'm/ made of magic and nobility! And, since I'm made of nobility, all of the swords bow to their lords, like good little soldiers should. It's natural! But... You're not bowing, swine."

    Even though she's short and spunky rather than tall and imposing, the air about her is of one looking down her nose at a speck of dust. "You know, it's a /really/ funny thing, but I think that weapon is fitting! So fitting, for you, to have a weapon of stone. Like a barbarian! Bar bar bar, heeheehee!"

    Archer and Rin engage Lezard before seeming to flee, and Gawain had NOBLY SCOOPED THE DOG and had bailed, leaving Shirou and Nine Lives before her. "Not going to run? I do like it when they run. Oh well! Here I come!" She announces in a sing-song way, before setting her spear 'down' in the air, and sitting sidesaddle on it, like a witch on a broom - the point aimed directly at Shirou. And then, like a lightningbolt, the spear flies off, seemingly of its own volition, to seek Shirou's chest, blood, etc etc. It's no Gae Bolg, though, merely aimed and 'fired'. Wheeeeee!

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Caster of Steel stays out of the line of fire. He is trying his best not to succumb to the intelligence black hole that is the knight and his dog. Shirou and whatever it is he has conjured gets his attention. "Ark..."

Ark waves his free hand dismissively at Caster, and gives Rin a quizzical look when she starts getting flustered. It turns into a smile, and then a full-fledged grin in short order. He spreads his arms, shrugging. "Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it. You're kind of cute when you get all bothered like that, though!" This is not helping things.

Then, Archer fires. Ark lifts the sculpted bone -- but Lezard has it handled. He shields his eyes from potential debris, the layers of necromantic barrier ripping apart before his eyes as whatever it is that just got shot at them is eventually stopped... at the expense of the land around them.

Caster stumbles a step back, closer to the center of the pillar of earth. Ark starts to address him and Lezard, but sees something glinting in the air. The way she threw them is telling. He points the bone weapon at the gemstones that sail towards them, invoking its name and power:

    "Correct Future!"

There is a flash of odd light. An amber haze springs into sight, a narrow field of magically-charged particulate. The stones pass into it and through it, and when they come out the other side, they seem... diminished, somehow. Ark squints in the face of the explosions, but they're dim and weak, a light concussive force and shadowy flash that's a pale imitation of what Rin /meant/ to do with them.

The particulate falls to the ground, spreading out in a gentle wave. It settles on the grass on the far edge of the crater, gathering like dewdrops -- and then it kills it, a grey stain spreading like blood on cloth as the life is simply sucked out of the greenery. It decomposes quickly, breaking down into something like dust or sand, all of it a uniform steel grey.

Like the clothes Ark is wearing, actually.

The next thing anyone knows, the Ether Liner has drawn his gun. It's a compact pistol, but it's sleek and futuristic, so size doesn't mean much. He points it at Rin. The thing in his hand, the weapon he calls Correct Future, burns with the same light as the haze. He changes the composition of the rounds inside it, amplifying penetration power with barely a thought. Without pause, he drops his aim from Rin's head and pulls the trigger, firing the handheld railgun twice: once at each leg.

He fully expects her Servant to try and take that hit. That's why the slugs are enhanced to penetrate tanks.

"Should've gone with the knight," Ark says, idly.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou balks a bit as Gawain goes running off with the dog. It's ridiculous. Maybe even enough that another Servant will lose the spirit to fight today.

    Orrr.... maybe not. All the hairs on Shirou's neck stand up straight as Elizabeth Bathory flings a CD at him. Still carrying Kanshou in his other hand, he parries it with a swing. The CD meets meteoric iron... and yet, the fake iron cracks and shatters alongside its opponent. It's little assurance to Shirou though.

    He'll die. He'll die for certain. The boy's heartbeats throb in his mind, driving him to act faster than thought.

    It's all down to the wire. As a mere mortal, Shirou cannot possibly hope to stand up to a Servant in a fair fight.

    So.

    He doesn't do so.

    "I'll pass. Tohsaka, GO!"

    He barks commandingly, whilst bringing forth all the focus and power he has to Reinforce his arm. Enough power flows through the limb and his upper body that his Magic Circuits glow through the skin. The same circuit-pattern spreads through the 'rock-sword.' But still... it's a single weapon. A big, ungainly weapon. It's not magical, and in the hands of a mere human... what threat could it be?

    As Elizabeth goes on the move, Shirou's consciousness freezes.

    "Pardon me for the lapse in manners." Shirou answers daringly, cold, mocking sarcasm bleeding through his tone. "Here I come, Blood Countess. Don't underestimate us 'commoners'!"

    Nine revolver hammers cock back in sequence, locking into place. Nine trajectories form in his mind's eye. All his Magic Circuits flare at once, pumping every bit of energy he can spare into the weapon, his arm, and... his body. A pure act born of desperation...

    "Trigger; off."

    The desperate desire to protect Tohsaka and keep this mad woman away from her!

    "Set... Nine Lives Blade Works."

    It's not shouted. It's not screamed. The grim announcement doesn't need any such loud, glorious proclomations.

    The attack itself is NOISY ENOUGH.

    Shirou's muscles bulge and flex weirdly, struggling to reproduce an feat of strength that belongs to the ranks of divinity. And while it may not reach quite that... prodigious power near that of a Servant flows in his limb for this one moment.

    That moment, the instants between seconds, when Elizabeth is nearly upon Shirou, everything's torn up. To everyone watching, it's like seeing a man's arm become a living tornado. Shirou's arm and weapon move with godspeed, clashing against Lancer's weapon with thunderous force. The resulting shockwave is enough to crater the ground, kick up a ferocious wind, and unleash an ear-splitting sonic boom. Sparks fly as 'sword' meets lance. Lancer's 'thrust' is turned aside, the point slashing into the side of Shirou's leg and drawing no small amount of blood and no doubt delivering injury that should leave him toppling to the ground, unable to walk.

    Despite this, the assault doesn't stop. Before gravity can remember it should be pulling Shirou down...

    Upper arm, collarbone, windpipe, temple, diaphragm, rib, groin, and the legs. A living storm of rock encircles Lancer within a single heartbeat. The strength and skill of Heracles, however watered down, is something no commoner should hope to ever wield.

    The attack doesn't simply strike with prodigious force. The cratered ground and shockwaves kick up an ungodly amount of dust, dirt, and debris - a heatless explosion of pure kinetic force.

    And somewhere in the middle of that, there's THEN the sound of a rocket engine igniting?!

    For Emiya Shirou abandons his weapon after the last strike, letting the strength fling the rock weapon at Elizabeth and hopefully keep her busy with that.

    His own escape is through the air, holding desperately onto what looks like a spear, but... but...

    ... It's a rocket spear.

    BANG. ZOOOM. TO THE MOON.

    ... or at least over top of Dun Realtai? Hopefully.

Elizabeth Bathory (911) has posed:
    To say that the meeting of force to force is a smart is... A total lie. Lancer - Elizabeth Bathory - has her spear-charge met by Heracles' Nine Lives axe, and even at a lower power, is a monumentally dumb idea. However, it's at least internally consistent.

    This is because there is not a single fiber of belief within the mad Countess-idol that Emiya Shirou can hurt her. As before, she thinks of him as the tiniest speck of dust or invisible insect, and one does not flinch when walking and trodding on the earth or tiniest of bugs.

    It is when they clash, and Shirou becomes a whirlwind of swords and smashing attacks to so many areas of her that she is forced to acknowledge one thing.

    If Emiya Shirou is a pig, he is certainly of the class of 'Wild Boar'. A pig nevertheless, but swine with tusks - and that made the hunt all that much sweeter.

    She's cracked into again and again, and even as red blood spills down her body from the multiple attacks and her spear is knocked aside, away from a mortal wound into MERELY a horrible, serrated twin-point attack into precious leg muscle. It's a good thing he's got Reinforcement, and a Rocket Spear!

    Elizabeth falls, after the last attack, and the tempest of STONESWORD ceases, gasping out in pain and... defeat? "You... got me...?" she croaks before catching herself, her wounds shining with the light of overabundant Mana as they begin to restore themselves. "Just kidding! Battle Continuation is the skill of La-... Where are you going?!" She shouts, as Shirou rockets off. He even broke her CD!

    A rage builds up in the small female servant, as her spear is stuck in her leg. "Wild Boar, hmm? That makes you more exciting and succulent... But I won't let you get away without meeting the cry of my 'hunting dogs'..."

    As Shirou rockets away, Lezard and Ark Line (& Caster!) handling the other Master-Servant pair and leaving Elizabeth to her own devices, Liz opens her arms wide, as her open-backed outfit explodes in power as two grand draconic wings burst forth, and she rises up into the air, drawing in a massive vortex of air. "Here, you denied my music! Let me give you my magnum opus! I call it 'Sarkany Ersebet'!" She calls out, her voice rolling like bad weather weaponized. And then she sings out, a single note becoming a sonic attack 'chasing' Shirou to attack his fleeing and tortured body and ears, even his essence, with the power of a Hungarian Dragon's Breath.

    Also, the weather gets really garbage. Thunderstormy, to be precise!

Archer (821) has posed:
    If possible, Rin actually turns more red - though it's partly from indignant anger instead of embarrassment this time - at Ark's words, mixing with what looks like disgust when he makes a what she assumes is a pass at her. "Why you-! If I ever get my hands you I swear I'll do more then just wipe that smug look off your face - if you even /have/ a face by the time I'm done with you!! You hear me you jerk?!"

    She's actually so angry that she can't properly formulate a response beyond pure threats.

    When Caladbolg goes off, Rin shields her eyes pays attention to the mage and his Servant - and lets out a startled breath as she her gems are weakened and dissipate... and that magic of his - the effect it had on living things.

    She has a bad feeling now. This guy was tough.

    Then he draws his weapon... and the Servant acts in a way that Ark probably was't expecting.

    Archer sees the shots coming - sees them aimed for his Master - and he curses. She's not going to be able to block that - and she needs that time to counterattack.

     "I am the bone of my sword."

    However... Rin trusts her Servant - knows his plan through their link - and she actually manages to smile back at Ark somewhat confidently. "No... you should have gone after /mine/." Prana flooding his limbs, Archer bounds forward on Reinforced limbs to stand between shot and mage - then raises his hand as the image of the seven-layered shield forms in his mind's eye-

     "RHO AIUS!"

    -and blossoms to life in front of Rin, the strength of seven reinforced fortress-walls forming in front of her to block the attack - the first of the layers is shattered and the second cracked by the attacks... and In turn, the particulate they release decays the second layer into breaking away and are now eroding the third.

     But its enough to form a literal wall between those mages and Rin, and hopefully keep any attacks from them at bay for now - though Archer knows they will probably break through the barriers. Even if single assaults were manageable, not even Rho Aius could likely withstand an assault from so many at once if both Master and Servant began hammering at it.

    He'd bought them a minute at best in other words... and Archer was going to take his own share of damage for every layer of the Aius destroyed, already feeling his muscles strain and bones creak from two of the Aius' layers being destroyed and the third buckling.

    But that was the job of a Servant - to be the shield and sword of his Master - and so Archer maintained the projection, hoping it would be enough.

Archer (821) has posed:
    When Shirou orders her to run, Rin all but glares in defiance at him - even now, no matter what universe it was, Emiya Shirou seemed to feel the need to place priority on others over himself.

     ...

     But that was what Saber had told him about. Why she'd said it was important for him to learn about the values of a knight - namely that he'd have to learn to have people at his side to rely on. And even though she felt she herself could be unreliable at times, Rin wasn't going to abandon him anymore then she would her world's Shirou.

     ...

     And then... she sees the rock-sword, a memory from the past coming to mind and stunning her.

    She knows that weapon. She's seen that weapon - in her Grail War.

    It shouldn't be possible. Emiya Shirou should not be capable of holding that weapon - of lifting it, let alone using it.

    Archer takes notice of the weapon, seeing that the boy has modified it further - lightened it's mass and altered it's shape to make it easier to lift and swing without sacrificing it's merits. A more subtle job then he'd expected from the boy, and it actually surprised Archer to see.

     ... even he couldn't deny the fact that Emiya Shirou was definitely making his own strides... though whether they would bring him in a better direction, the Servant of the Bow didn't know. Or perhaps... he could not tell because he couldn't believe any other outcome would be possible yet.

     Rin in turn is... for lack of a better word... utterly awestruck.

    She had seen Archer use an attack like this... but not Shirou. And yet... it was different - the weapon was formed with a different philosophy and underlaying principle in mind, that much she could tell.

    Like his blade works, the boy was coming to approach the make of his weapons differently then the Counter-Guardian whom he shared a mutual distain for.

    As she watches the boy she always considered a second-rate magus match blades with a Servant... and overtake her in the amount of attacks he can deliver... the only thing Tohsaka Rin can mutter is a stunned, bewildered and utterly amazed "Emiya-kun...."

     ...

     .... then her thoughts turn to horror and concern as she sees the wound that was left in his leg, half in the process of reaching for him when he suddenly discards his axe-sword, seems to make a break for it and-

     ...

     And then she's flying.

     ".... E-eh?"

    Literally, Tohsaka Rin is /flying/, having tried to grab Shirou's shoulder thinking that she was going to help him escape with his injured leg... only for Shirou to summon a /rocket-powered spear/ of all things and take to the skies with Rin finding herself dragged skyward, only having a moment to numbly process her situation before the wires connect-

     "E-eeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh?!!?"

    -and she in turn wraps her arms around Shirou's chest, pressed into his back in absolute /terror/ at finding herself airborne by artificial means, all but shrieking as they fly back towards Dun Realtai.

    And all the while, Rin spends every second alternating between cursing artificial implements, cursing Shirou for 'dragging her along on a death-trap' and cursing life itself for cursing her with getting stuck in increasingly insane situations.

    ...

    Archer just /stares/ at what Emiya Shirou considers an 'escape plan', before soon gritting his teeth as he inwardly curses the boy out with every insult he knows for such a suicidal idea of 'escape.'

    He'd have no issue if the boy's /stupidity/ was contained to himself, but with Rin clinging onto him it was another story. Granted, she was out of harm's way now, but that hardly made a difference now did it? Not with that dragon readying her attack.

    Whatever she threw at them... he'd have to hope he could blunt it enough for their escape.

Lezard Valeth has posed:
Lezard Valeth, Sorceror of Midgard, is experiencing a lot of unusual sensations today as Elizabeth decides to draw upon his considerable magical power in order to fuel her Noble Phantasm... And even more for her restoration from that interesting display of brutal blade work from Shirou.

This is the main reason why Ark's bullets weren't joined by a magical barrage. He has to be conservative until he has properly determined how the mana drain will alter his battle tactics.

Ugh, thinking about someone /else/. This is weird.

Nevertheless, the deployment of the Noble Phantasm /does/ cause him to chuckle. "Fascinating." He states, turning to see them get blasted.

He sighs to himself, not bothering to retort to Archer, and shrugs as he looks to the others. "I think we've had enough fun for today. Let us withdraw and consider our further options. Elizabeth, come. Let me show you your new abode. Additionally, I will have to give you a communications crystal to speak with your new..."

He pauses, and then shrugs. "Fan club, I suppose? I am sure they will adore you."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    AWAGH?! Shirou finds that he's not ascending at the right angle... or at the right speed. Also his waist extra heavy. Something's weird. "What's so heavy...?"

    He HAS practiced witht his thing. He knows how it SHOULD be performing. Then he looks at what's clinging to him.

    The look in his eyes. Oh that. That explains the noises. "... WHAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!" This. This is not good. His heartbeat was already going a mile a minute. Now TOHSAKA IS CLINGING TO HIM. This is completely unacceptable for very, very different reasons.

    But he's not as helpless as he might've been at one time. Always thinking of his next move. Ten moves ahead, even. Shirou adapts quickly even as his face flushes and hormones start screaming inappropriately.

    Down there, the Blood Countess' bellow-lungs unleash something profound. A shockwave, a vortex of whipping air that reaches them in no time!

    Shirou's caught right in the middle of it.

    That's probably preferable to being on the EXACT EDGE of a vortex though. Things get bumpy, hostile prana invading his circuits and horrible noises throwing his hearing all out of whack. And with the inner ear all off... there goes his sense of balance.

    Which was already precarious.

    For a good ten seconds the pair go spiraling wildly. Teeth grit though, Shirou adjusts just enough to maintain VAGUELY stable flight. As his hands start to slip he sends prana through his hands. He will NOT. LET. Tohsaka die.

    Even though he has to crudely fuse his flesh, bones, and muscle around the spear and force his confused mind to function just well enough.

    Swooping and swerving in a haphazard fashion, the two make a descent towards Dun Realtai in what doesn't look like a safe descent at all. But Shirou's going to be taking the brunt of that landing.

    And if Archer or anyone else can spare a glance, they ARE headed straight for the animal pens. Shirou's aiming to land in the biggest soft thing possible and that's going to be either a tree or a big pile of hay. ANYTHING will do.

    Suffice it to say though, the landing is horrible. And it leaves him knocked out, with grossly warped flesh on the palms of his hands once the spear vanishes.

    A bale of hay may also need to be extinguished, because the impact leaves him unconscious.

    He could only stand up to the effects of that Noble Phantasm for so long.

Archer (821) has posed:
     At this point, Rin is arguably in far worse shape then Shirou may be mentally. She could handle flying through the air if she was being carried by a Servant - at least then she would trust that she would land safely. If it was Archer or Saber or /any Servant/, she would be fine.

    Clinging on to what seems to be a haphazardly-steered /rocket/ does not fit her definition of a safe flight in any way whatsoever, her mind so deeply entrenched in fighting off the idea that she may die a very painful death-by-crash-landing that she's not even able to recognize the awkwardness of the situation caused by her clutching on to Shirou so tightly.

    The maelstrom unleashed by the contrite mass-murderer does nothing to ease her panic as Rin's sense of hearing screams at the horrid torment it is undergoing from the sonic effects of the attack - and as they start spinning out of control, she finds herself letting out a reflexive scream as they seem to be on the verge of crashing.

     ...

    No. No - she doesn't intend for it to end like this. No way in hell is this going to be where she would let it end - not for /either/ of them!

     Finally turning the rush of adrenaline coursing through her body to something useful, Rin tries desperately to steady her breaths - the first thing she does is Reinforce her own body as far as it can go, figuring Shirou has already done the same - or she hopes he has. Though she worries about how on earth he is managing to steer this diabolical /tool of satan himself/ in this vortex.

    At last, she manages to squint her eyes open, daring to try and reach into her pocket to fish out her last two gems - though the only way she can do this without risking being torn away by the turbulence is to wrap own legs around Shirou's, her mind focused more on surviving then on modesty.

    That doesn't quite stop her from venting the rest of her panic the only way can at the moment - screaming out when she sees what Shirou is guiding them towards, half-reinforcing and half-chastising; "K-kyyyyyaaaaaaa! E-Emiya!!! Don't you dare miss! I swear to God - if you miss that hay bale, I'll /kill/ you!! Do you hear me-gyhahhaaaa!"

    As they make their final descent for what barely constitutes a crash-landing so much as an outright crash, Rin concentrates as best she can, reinforcement extending to her vision - her depth perception, acuity, focus - and working to steady her hand-eye coordination - and at the moment she sees the opportunity present itself, she burns through her final two jewels as she throws them, the mystic codes retooled in a desperate gamble to try and limit the damage.

    The result is that the two gems detonate, yet not in an explosion as it lacks heat or energy - more like an immense burst of wind. An air-bubble meant to slow their descent enough to make the landing /survivable/.

     ... but ultimately, it's through both these things that either one makes it out alive, the hay-bales serving as the final cushion against a landing that, even reinforced, would have been hard to take... though they still end up flying through the bail fast enough to ignite part of it - or perhaps that's more the fault of the rocket-spear - and tumble a fair distance across the ground. Rin herself, even with her Reinforcement, feels scrapes form across her body beneath her clothes from the impact, rolling a fair distance - but she doesn't let go of Shirou, willing to use her own body to blunt as much of the impact force as his does as.

     It's only after they stop rolling that Rin, haggard, wheezing and covered in dirt and hay - but very much alive and possibly in shock that she's actually survived that aerial nightmare - finally allows herself to let go of Shirou.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Option three: he deploys a Noble Phantasm Ark did not expect him to have, and interposes himself between the magus and the Liner, protecting all of them.

"Huh," Ark exhales. Correct Future burns with Grain. The hyper-concentrated mana of a dead world fills his body. He bends his knees --

The grey-clad young man launches himself into the air. His gun fires, another three shots in rapid succession hammering the shield. He comes down on the far side of the divide and jumps again, leaving ashen bootprints in the live grass that glow with amber embers of some sort of mana. Three more shots report, this time from above, coming down at an angle against the shield-wall Noble Phantasm to challenge its strength. The shells penetrate defenses with amazing power, but in terms of actual injury, they don't do more than punch clean through something. Strange.

Whatever he's using, it's like a Noble Phantasm of his own. He isn't a Servant, and it isn't different enough that it could be something totally unknown from the depths of the Multiverse. In truth, Correct Future is something greater than that, and Ark's innate skill with it makes him more dangerous than many Servants with more limited weapons of their own.

Unfortunately for Ark, and fortunately for Archer, he's forced to play conservatively. Lezard is indisposed by way of discovering new limits, his own Caster is staying out of the fray, and everyone else is otherwise engaged. He's limited himself to enhancing a single aspect of his weapon, not wanting to overspend his limited, if substantial, reserves.

Ark lands. He slides through the grass, ending up alongside Archer and his shield. He swings his weapon around, past the Servant --

-- and sees Rin take off, apparently not quite of her own volition.

There's a half-second where Ark considers taking another shot. Instead, he lowers his gun, twirling Correct Future in his other hand and leaving a dim, short-lived trail of amber in the air behind it. He sighs, turning to Archer.

"You wanna keep going," he asks, "or are you gonna go make sure the girl doesn't break her neck on the way down?"

Lezard Valeth has posed:
By this point, Lezard has already created a teleport circle for himself and the others to bail out. He'll leave it open for Ark, but at this point the Necromancer is already probably sipping tea while getting to know his new psychotically perky Servant.

Elizabeth Bathory (911) has posed:
    Lezard Valeth, among other things, is learning the particular 'varietals of the vein' and their various properties as skin-care tools. Over tea! It's very civilized.

Archer (821) has posed:
    There is little that has made Archer flinch in battle. From facing down opponents far stronger then him to even his own death at the hands of the Shadow in the Grail War.

    The sight of Rin vanishing in a crash-landing into Dun Realtai was one of those moments, as the Servant is too busy holding back attacks from the mage's weapon, his calm demeanor slipping a bit as he /feels/ her distress upon their crash-landing. "Rin!"

     ...

     She was alive. He knew that much - he would have felt their bond disappear if she'd died.

     ... that didn't mean she was alright though.

    Cursing the foolhardiness of both the boy and his own Master, Archer glances back at his adversaries - layer after layer of the Aius is being battered. Thankfully, one of the shield's abilities is to 'protect from all angles', so the barrier's effectiveness isn't increased or decreased by shifting angles - the effect of a shot from above is the same as if it were from the front... though that hardly makes a difference as each shot hits with the force of a Noble Phantasm, the third and fourth petals breaking and the fifth beginning to splinter, small rips in his sleeve and skin forming on the Bowman's outstretched arm as the damage inflicted on the shield was reflected onto him.

    If nothing else, it seemed the mage didn't expect a bowman to carry a shield at all, so that meant he didn't know the full range of Archer's abilities yet.

    Though by the time the mage gets close enough so that he could side-step Archer.... the battle is done, their target soon back inside the safety of Dun Realtai. No longer is there any need to continue this battle, and the enemy seems to realize that, too.

     ...

     "Trace; On. Roll Out."

     That doesn't mean he can't be cautious and make sure they're too preoccupied to follow if they try - and the two-dozen or so blades that form around the Servant of the Bow as the remaining three layers of the Aius evaporate ought to discourage any possible attack, as with a single motion of his hand-

     "At least let me leave you a parting gift."

     -the weapons fly for the mage and company while he kicks back to begin his own retreat to Dun Realtai. Though with that weapon of his, Ark would likely be able to shoot many of them down, and the Servants could handle what he doesn't - the blades are, after all, just a parting distraction for Archer to flee.

     ... and as he does, he casts a glance back at the form of Lezard as the dark mage creates his teleport circle, feeling a familiar, embittered concern well up in him as he feels that, once again, even the greatest of peaceful assurances are never enough to stop /every/ person.

    If Lezard was brazen enough to come this far onto Dun Realtai's territories... how long would it be before he actually started attacking the village itself?

    Once again, Archer clenches his teeth as he makes his way to the village proper, feeling he had indeed been correct in his conversation with Saber.

    There really was no such thing as a true 'land of peace.' Not so long as humans existed to hate and pursue each-other. And soon enough, if nothing was done about Lezard Valeth... these people were going to be shown that again.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Within Dun Realtai's animal pen, surrounded by displaced hay... a red form slowly shifts, both the limbs on her left side twisted badly but not outright broken or dislocated, bruised down to her bones from the impact force even after everything they both did to blunt it with angry welts forming across most of her body.

     ... but... she's alive. They both are. That in and of itself is an incredible thing.

    Pushing herself up on a shaky arm to look at the red-haired boy groggily, Tohsaka Rin looks through her one open eye over his body, barely retaining enough awareness to check him for fatal injuries through her bleary vision.

     ... and upon seeing his hands, she sees the secret behind how he managed to keep control of the rocket spear revealed by the vastly image of the flesh of his palms having even warped and seared down to the bone.

    She gasps - she couldn't keep from doing so even if she tried, the shock splashing over her enough to revitalize some of her senses.

    Enough to feel sorrow for his wounding himself for her sake... mixing with amazement at how he managed to handle himself even under all that strain.

     And above all that... awe in how his haphazard, clumsy attempts always seemed to /work/ where most magi would have collapsed from the strains. No matter what injuries his mind or body took... his spirit simply refused to give in.

    A strength that radiated in all forms he took... no matter what viewpoints they adopted through their lives.

     ...

     ".... dummy."

     The word is half-whispered, spoken through shuddering breath that sounded almost like a choked sob as she gives a bitter... yet somehow-admiring smile, as she can't help but place a hand against the cheek of the boy who, while not from her own universe, she's come to consider like family.

     "Even now... nothing's changed. I still can't keep up with you, can I?"

    There's an admission there that might only be understood between Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin... but as one is unconscious and the other feeling the same creeping up on her, the magus is unable to keep from having this one sentimental moment take place, born of the efforts of a boy would wished to be a hero.

     And so she's still smiling even as she feels her awareness finally drifts away, the price of her adrenaline rush, the injuries and the prana-consumption of a full-power, full-body Reinforcement against such a severe impact finally exacting their toll.

     ...

     ...

     It takes a minute for him to move through the town... but by the time Archer gets ther, Rin has already succumbed to exhaustion from the harrowing crash, having passed out beside Shirou instead of doing the intelligent thing and look for assistance.

     How very sentimental. A side effect of having gained a makeshift family back home.

    Shaking his head and sighing, Archer resolves to move up to his Master and contemplated picking her up - while she would be angry at him for not taking the boy, Archer felt that Emiya Shirou's rather spectacular crash ought to draw enough attention that someone, such as Gawain, would be by shortly to attend to him. And it wasn't like the boy would die anyway with Avalon preserving him.

    ... yet he knew Rin would likely throw a fit for Archer doing so... and on a more logical note, he no longer trusted incursion not to take place un Dun Realtai, so he would be remiss to abandon the host of Avalon to an attack by Lezard, who would take the corpse back with him.

    So in the interests of making his immediate future a bit more tolerable and guarding the King's scabbard, the Servant of the Bow decides, against his better judgement, to stand guard until someone ensures his Master and the Boy are taken away to recover, never letting his Master out of sight even once.

    After all.. what kind of Servant would he be if he did?