last_free_city | Opening Log

A few days have passed since the Qin army marched on Midgard's walls. The warriors already there don't know how much longer the front gate can last. The Qin forces are slowly picking off the wall's defenders, whittling down their numbers.

A metallic dragon twists and writhes in the sky, raining destruction from above. Sanzuwu streak back and forth across the sky, strafing and intercepting any aerial units. Shishi slam into the gates repeatedly, while terracotta soldiers make use of siege engines to break down the gate.

And finally, the inevitable occurs; the gate crashes open. Qin soldiers start flooding in.

But at that very moment...the Bifrost activates.

The first wave has come.

[[OoC: Welcome to the game! You'll be starting off fending off a Qin invasion. You are free to godmode enemies within reason, though the mods may occasionally take over from time to time. Defeat enough enemies, and a boss may appear...

Enemy types can be found with descriptions in the cut below.

Dragons - Strange, otherworldly energy beings that serve the Qin. They are given physical, robotic bodies in the form of classic Chinese dragons so that they can interact with physical world. Enormously powerful. Ascend to their home plane if their bodies are destroyed. There are only nine Dragons at any one time, but if ever one is defeated, its body can be rebuilt.

Fenghuang - Flying Qin battleships. Huge. Phoenix themed decoration. Lots of heavy weapons.

Sanzuwu - Qin fightercraft. Fast, lightly armed. Three distinctive landing gear that look like bird legs.

Yaoguai - Soldiers subject to modification experiments that didn't work properly. The Yaoguai are capable in combat, but their upgrades have left them mentally unstable and very violent.

Shishi - Robot lion statues. Powerful frontline warriors.

Terracotta Soldiers - Clay statues of soldiers that have been animated. The rank and file.

And finally, Thor has something to say to you.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Suddenly, multiple bursts of flame emerge from a point in the middle of the enemy troops, taking out a huge radius of them. In the center stands a lone knight, with not so much as a scratch on him.

"If this is all you can muster, then you have no hope of defeating me!"

Lancer can only stare at the man he thinks is Saber in mute jealousy. He could have had much better effects if his Gae Bolg was unlocked. Ayaka had unsealed his Noble Phantasm, but the seal had gone back into full effect now that he was here.

"I think they never stood a chance in the first place, Saber."

"Saber." That made Gawain stop. The terracotta soldiers seized the opening and attacked, but their attacks were as harmless to Gawain as ever. He turned to face the spear-wielder.

"Another Servant? And a Lancer-class, from the looks of it..."

"Got that right."

Lancer's defensive capabilities are slightly less than Gawain's, but he seems to subscribe to the idea that offense makes for the best defense.

"What? Don't remember me?"

"Remember you? I think I would have remembered a Lancer-class Servant who carries a wooden spear!" Gawain was getting annoyed with the soldiers, so he spun around and unleashed a burst of flame that wiped them out.

"...You think you can at least have the decency to remember the guy who save that little lady while you were bwahahaha-ing it up with that pervert priest?"

If he wasn't occupied at this moment, Lancer would definitely have tried to punch Saber's smug face.

"Father Kotomine? I cannot imagine a more unpleasant man!"

Shame Cu Chulainn's older self wasn't here to hear that. Down goes another row of soldiers.

"Cocoa Puff who? I'm talking about the creepy priest sent to watch over the Heaven's Feel. You know, Sancraid Phahn, Berserker's Master? Turns out he's even grosser than I thought. Stole Berserker's seal off some kid, then stuffed her so he could continue 'playing' with her. It's a damn good thing I was there or the same thing could've happened to the little lady."

"You must have me confused for someone else. No such thing happened in the Holy Grail War I know!"

"You're Saber, aren't you? High and mighty King of Knights, Holy Sword wielder, Servant of that Ayaka lass. Any of that ring a bell?"

Something was very, very wrong here.

"...Did you say King of Knights?"

But that made no sense. Though all of Britain had believed Arthur Pendragon to be a man, Gawain, as a relative and highly-trusted retainer of the king, knew the truth of his king's sex. Moreover, the only similarity they showed was their hair color.

"I was a knight of the Round Table. Never a king."

Lancer gives him an incredulous look.

"Did the rapid switches between Masters cook your brain or something?"

"If anyone here is delusional, it is the man standing before me. I assure you, I am as sane as I have ever been."

"Tch, I bet I'm saner than you. I ain't the one who had grail mud poured into my head."

"Grail mud? What are you on about now?"

"Grail mud. As in the black stuff that leaks out of the Holy Grail when it's summoned. Sancraid got his hands on it and used it to corrupt you."

"No such thing ever happened to me. Only the victor can even so much as see the Holy Grail, and that was not my Master."

"Huh? You mean that little lady didn't win? Man, you're a shitty Servant."

"That was not my Master! The Servant you met was not me! We come from two different Holy Grail Wars! Why do you fail to understand this?!"

Someone is quite frustrated by this point.

And somehow, that finally allows Lancer's mind to click into place.

"Two different..."

It seems that some sort of time travel is involved with this. Lancer's face darkens as he remembers the other Grail War where Saber was summoned.

"Does that mean...you're from the Fourth War?"

He glares angrily at Saber.

"You didn't save her. With your fancy-schmancy sheath, you could have done something, but you didn't. Why...didn't you save both of them?"

"Fourth? Who has been keeping -- oh. I see now."

Something clicked in Gawain's head, too.

"You were from one of the wars before the world lost its way."

"What do you mean by that?"

He wonders why Saber is speaking as if Lancer is from the past.

"In the past, all the prana of the world vanished. The culture of magic moved to a digital medium, including the Holy Grail War."

It was a horrendously oversimplified explanation, but they had already wasted enough time.

"Someone was stupid enough to turn the Holy Grail into a video game?"

Indeed, for now a Shishi was charging at them.

"How many times does the world need to be nearly destroyed before they realize that it's fucking bad idea?"

"It is far more complex than that, but we seem to have a challenger." Gawain walks toward the Shishi. "It will have to wait."

The sword is ready to be swung.

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puppy_lancer - 2012-05-27 03:58 (UTC) - Expand