Author Topic: Fate/Refraction  (Read 10195 times)

Tyrnek

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Fate/Refraction
« on: July 03, 2013, 07:18:05 PM »
Hey everyone. Aspiring fanfic writer, etc who cares. Hope you enjoy what I have so far.

I don't own any of these things. /end disclaimer

Chapter List:

Information:
Servant Sheet



Fate/Refraction

Prologue

Life.

It's such a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Full of hope, and love, and longing for things just out of reach.

Full of possibility, and despair, and the realization that what you seek is impossible to obtain.

Full of rules and conditions, of unforeseeable situations, of missteps and regret and that mind weariness which we call experience.

Life.

What is it good for?

What is good for it?

What is the point of something so resilient and so fragile, so unpredictable in its cycles, repeating patterns that are at once incomprehensible and frighteningly mundane?

And what is the best way to cultivate such a self-contradictory thing, the best way to maintain something that always moves towards its own destruction? How do the living maintain themselves when they realize they hate existing, and hate the end of that existence even more?

Life.

To err is to live, and to live is to err. It's a simple reflexive property, one seen countless times.

And out of these errors, human interaction emerges. It accumulates and coalesces into something so horrendously complicated that we come to hate it, trapped as we are by it. We start to strive for that which is out of reach, for something that will never be touched by our callused, broken, bloodied hands.

By itself, this is nothing worthy of note, as everyone faces this to some degree. What is interesting is how one reacts to this. Does one ignore it? Oppose it? Accept it? Something in between?

It is hard to say which way is right. Right and wrong, good and evil: all these are human concepts, invented to try and explain our own existence. And though we try as we might, life always has the upper hand, constantly ridiculing our attempts to comprehend its secrets, berating us for wasting its gift on trying to discover how the gift works.

All anyone can really say is that life goes ever onwards, towards an unknown and unknowable conclusion that some view as our salvation, others as our destruction.

Life.

We can say it is like water, torrential and unfathomable. We can liken it to the earth, nurturing and unstoppably powerful. We can speak of how it is like fire, consuming and hauntingly beautiful. And we can whisper of how it resembles the wind, ethereal and beholden only to itself.

It is all these things, and it is none of them. Cliché, but true nonetheless. Whenever we try to ascribe certain attributes to life, it simultaneously conforms to our expectations and works to undermine this perception. That is its nature, the legacy it has left for humanity. It is at once illuminating and obscuring, informing and deceiving, invigorating and parasitic.

Perhaps the best comparison we can draw with life, then, is something necessary for its continued existence, something that also conceals its dual nature with the shroud of familiarity.

That is to say, the closest thing to life is light.

And the easiest way to disperse that light is through the use of a prism.



But you’re not here for my ramblings, are you?

No, you’re here for a story. A story you’ve heard many times before, and one that you never seem to tire of. You probably know what to expect by now.

Let’s try something a little different, then.

This is the story of a man who had a dream, one of heroes and salvation and justice for all. It was as selfless and hopeful as it was unrealistic.

This is the story of a man who was tested, pitted against those who sought the prize of an impossibility realized. He fought, and fought, and fought, until his body withered away and his dream lay dying in the dust.

This is the story of a man who was broken by his miracle.

=======

>> Sequence: Light

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Saturday, 2/2 – Evening

Shirou

For the second time that night, Shirou wished he had joined the track team instead.

Another transformer exploded above his head, consuming the utility pole in a blast that was partly electrical, mostly magical, and entirely too bright. He saw light, followed by stars as his forehead hit the concrete again. The smell of scorched wood and singed hair filled his nostrils as he forced himself back up to continue running.

Keep running. Don’t stop running. You’re dead if you stop.


He looked for his assailant as he ran down the empty streets. Of course, Shirou wouldn’t benefit much from actually seeing his attacker, but shouldn’t a dead man at least be allowed to see the face of his executioner before the end?

Unfortunately, the only thing he saw was another flash as the transformer box directly in front of him was destroyed. It was followed by more stars.

Get up. Get up, or you won’t ever get up again.

He got up. His body was screaming at his brain to stop, but Shirou’s brain was rather preoccupied with some rather basic things: namely, breathing, moving, and not dying.

Think. He’s not aiming directly at you. For some reason, he’s only been targeting electrical fixtures.

Shirou ran off the sidewalk, which was lined with many electrical fixtures, and out into the middle of the street, which was not. Though his repaired body and adrenaline-fueled mind were racing, some small part of him congratulated himself on that particular insight.

He was rewarded by almost being crushed by a bisected utility pole, which then proceeded to explode.

Dimly, Shirou thought that feeling weightless for several seconds was probably not a good sign as the blast threw him into the air. He took some small comfort in the fact that it was the back of his head that hit the ground this time – his forehead was killing him.

Hah… if only that were the case. I could deal with a murderous forehead.

He tried to move, but his body felt as heavy and unyielding as steel. He tried to think, but realized that it honestly wasn’t worth the effort anymore.

He was exhausted, and just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. Sleep, and dream about a regular day where he didn’t have to worry about getting speared through the heart or exploded off his feet. At least this time, his body had the courtesy to stop feeling pain before his awareness faded.

After all, a man can only die so many times in single night before he starts to develop certain preferences.

=======
 
Friday, 2/1 – Evening
 
Sakura
 
She was beautiful. Tall, strong, and calmly confident, the Servant standing in front of her seemed like everything she was not.
 
“I am Servant Caster. I ask of you: are you my master?”
 
Sakura took a good look at her Servant, as it was likely to be the last chance that she would get. Caster’s waist-length hair was jet black, her eyes a bright blue. She was wearing black clothing, grey gloves, and a cloak that was obviously not made conventionally: white and impossibly smooth, it was divided into sections which allowed the ends to curl up slightly. It was almost as if someone had gotten a particularly large sheet of gloss paper, made several vertical cuts, and wore it – though the difference in quality would be like comparing a picture of a high-end sports car drawn by a toddler with the real thing.
 
Grandfather’s voice cut through the silence. She must have been staring longer than she thought.
 
“Sakura. When you are done eyeing our guest, would you be so kind as to complete the summoning?”
 
Shinji, who was actually eyeing the Servant, snickered under his breath. Sakura flushed and reminded herself why she was here.
 
“Er, um, yes! Yes, I am your Master, and I accept your… erm… servitude?”
 
As soon as those words left her mouth, Sakura realized that she had made a terrible mistake. Shinji, oblivious to her blunder, tried to contain his laughter – and failed. Her blush deepened as Sakura felt a wave of shame and fear wash over her.
 
I wasn’t supposed to accept her as my Servant! Oh crap, what do I do?
 
Caster’s expression went from unamused to openly hostile, and Sakura wished the Servant’s eyes didn’t look so similar to those of another magus she knew. Caster’s disapproval, on top of everything else, was more than she could bear.
 
At least, more than she could bear emotionally.
 
“… alright then, Master. Let’s get out of this depressing place and draw up a plan of attack.”
 
Caster strode out of the circle, grabbed Sakura’s arm, and started pulling her to the stairs. It seemed as if she was in a particular hurry to get out of the basement, and though Sakura couldn’t really blame her, she resisted.
 
No, please, stop! It’s my fault I messed up, but this is making it worse! Please…
 
Caster stopped, confused. “Is there a problem, Master?”
 
It was at this point that Grandfather chose to interject. 
 
“I am afraid that there has been a slight misunderstanding, Servant Caster. You see, the girl there is not your Master.” 
 
Grandfather Zouken was an intimidating man. Sure, he didn’t look particularly intimidating: small, spindly, and sunken, the patriarch of the Matou family appeared to be a wrinkled old man living out the last of his days.
 
Thinking that that was all there was to Matou Zouken, however, would prove to be a fatal mistake.
 
What he lacked in physical stature, he more than made up with sheer presence, a force of will that crushed any notion of disobedience. It wasn’t as if his word was law: laws can be defied, broken, changed. No, when Matou Zouken wished for something to be done, it was done. The concept of rebellion died when Zouken entered the picture.
 
The fact that he was an incredibly powerful magus didn’t help much, either.
 
While she kept her face carefully neutral, Sakura cringed on the inside. Though it was an accident, Sakura knew all too well that any mistake would be seen as disobedience, and thus punished with extreme prejudice. The girl suppressed a shudder as one of Grandfather’s punishers twitched inside her.
 
She felt Caster’s grip waver slightly. Servant or not, Caster should at least understand that a confrontation with Grandfather might not end well for her. Besides, a fight over her was ridiculous – though Caster seemed… nice?… they had only just met. The prudent thing to do would be to let Grandfather do as he pleased. That’s what she would have done.
 
Thus, it came as a bit of a surprise to Sakura when Caster actually tightened her grip.
 
“I don’t understand. This girl summoned me and accepted me as her Servant. Among the three people present in this room, only two are magi, and only she possesses the Command Spells. Logically, she is the only possible candidate.”
 
(In the back, Shinji spluttered. “Wait, you did what?!” Apparently, he had just realized what had happened. He was ignored.)
 
Sakura felt a wave of terror. No, don’t talk back to him! This was the exactly sort of defiance that would land both of them in deeper trouble. Already, she could hear Grandfather’s lecture in her head: A Servant’s actions reflect their Master’s intentions, and it seems as though your intentions were flawed. Allow me to correct them.
 
Grandfather’s expression didn’t change. He glanced at Sakura, and she instinctively recoiled.
 
“Your reasoning is mostly accurate. However, your knowledge of the current situation is... incomplete.” Grandfather looked at Shinji. “Shinji, come forward.”
 
He did, clearly angry and clutching a small book in his hand. It was obvious that he wanted to explode, but even he knew that doing so in front of Grandfather was a bad idea.
 
“As you correctly noticed, the boy has no magic circuits, and would not normally be allowed to enter the Heaven’s Feel. However, the tool he is holding allows even a talentless magus like himself to participate.”
 
The Book of the False Attendant. She would transfer her Command Spells to it and become little more than a human battery, supplying prana to keep Caster in this world while Shinji went out to win the War. Or try to, at least.
 
Grandfather’s tone changed slightly, and Sakura could detect the telltale disappointment that spoke of a long night. “The plan was to have the girl transfer her Command Spells to that book, making the boy your Master. And while events have not proceeded exactly as planned, this little error can be easily rectified.”
 
He rapped his cane once. “Sakura.”
 
With a glare that promised future violence, Shinji opened the book and prepared to receive the Spells. Sakura sighed and resigned herself to her fate, just like she always did.
 
It would have been nice to be Caster’s Master, though.
 
Suddenly, several fully-charged magic circles appeared in mid-air. Before Sakura could cry out, beams of pure prana shot out and perforated the book. Shinji… Shinji yelped, jerking backwards as if he suddenly realized that the thing in his hands was both slimy and on fire.
 
Did… did I do that?
 
As quickly as they appeared, the magic circles vanished. Both Shinji and the burning book were sprawled on the floor, with the flames dancing in Shinji’s eyes. Shock quickly turned to anger as he stood up and rounded on Sakura.
 
“You… you little bitch! She was supposed to be mine, you little slut! Mine!! HOW DARE YOU TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME?!!”
 
He lunged at Sakura, but before she could react Caster was already in between them. The Servant deftly grabbed his wrist, twisted it with a wince-inducing crack, and wrenched the furious boy onto the ground. Tens of magic circles suddenly surrounded Shinji, who shifted from blind fury to cowed whimpering in an impressively short amount of time. Caster’s eyes were shining with rage.
 
“I’ll only tell you this once, boy, so listen very carefully. Try attacking my Master again, and you won’t have enough time to even think about pissing your pants before I vaporize you.” She leaned in. “Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
 
Shinji, sobbing and smelling distinctly of urine, nodded frantically as he nursed his broken wrist. Satisfied with this answer, Caster turned to Grandfather.
 
“Due to an unexpected accident, it appears that the boy is no longer willing or able to become my Master. Unless you intend to transfer the girl’s Spells to yourself, it appears that I am forced to accept the girl as my Master, as unfortunate as it is.”
 
Grandfather cocked his head slightly, amused. “Suppose that I intended to do as you suggested. What would you do?”
 
Caster smiled then, the wolfish grin of a predator. “If that were to happen, then I suppose additional unexpected accidents may occur.”
 
Sakura winced as Grandfather’s laughter filled the room, a sickening, wheezing thing that reverberated through her body. Caster never faltered – indeed, her smile widened a bit, almost in anticipation. Desperately afraid, Sakura prepared to shout at her Servant to run, to escape, to do anything but fight. Even if she was powerful, she had no idea what he was capable of, and Sakura didn’t want to let her find out.
 
Before she was able to work up enough courage, however, something terrible happened. Grandfather… smiled.
 
“Good. Very good. I admit, I had my fears about your capabilities as a Servant, but it seems those have been largely unfounded.” His eyes defocused slightly. “Yes… with this, the Matou family may finally be able to win this War.”
 
He stepped aside to let them pass. Trembling slightly, Sakura could feel his eyes on her the whole way up the stairs.
 
Caster… what have you done?
 
=======
 
>> Rewind Scene
 
Zouken
 
“I am Servant Caster. I ask of you: are you my master?”
 
This wasn’t the Servant he was expecting.
 
He took a closer look. The woman’s cloak was magically made – a Mystic Code, perhaps – but the rest of her clothing looked more suitable for a fighter than a magus. Devoid of any ornamentation, her apparel was designed for practicality without any regards to style, which was unusual for a magus.
 
But more than that, this self-proclaimed Caster seemed to be utterly devoid of prana.
 
He glanced his adoptive daughter. Eyes wide and mouth slightly open, the girl was either awed or surprised by the creature in front of her. Perhaps both.
 
“Sakura. When you are done eyeing our guest, would you be so kind as to complete the summoning?”
 
Some part of him delighted in watching her squirm. The rest of him continued to focus on the Servant before him. So far, he was not impressed.
 
“Er, um, yes! Yes, I am your Master, and I accept your… erm… servitude?”
 
As Shinji laughed, Zouken’s mood darkened even more. Flustered as she was, the girl had made a mistake. Though it was far from serious, he made a mental note to punish her later for not thinking things through. Consistency was key when dealing with children, after all.
 
He noticed the look Caster shot at Shinji. A sense of nobility, eh? Good. Easier to manipulate.
 
“… alright then, Master. Let’s get out of this depressing place and draw up a plan of attack.”
 
He watched as Caster tried to leave with Sakura, only to have the girl pull back. Inside, he smiled slightly. His methods were nothing if not effective.
 
“Is there a problem, Master?”
 
Time to correct the girl’s mistake.
 
“I am afraid that there has been a slight misunderstanding, Servant Caster. You see, the girl there is not your Master.” 
 
He saw Sakura’s eyes darken ever so slightly. Still holding onto hope? Foolish girl, you should know better than that. He made one of his worms wriggle inside her, to let her know precisely what he thought of that.
 
All he could see in Caster’s eyes was defiance.
 
“I don’t understand. This girl summoned me and accepted me as her Servant. Among the three people present in this room, only two are magi, and only she possesses the Command Spells. Logically, she is the only possible candidate.”
 
Analytical. Knew that the girl had the Command Spells without receiving verbal or visual proof. Impressive, considering that she does not seem to have any capacity for magecraft.
 
Were he following the rules, Caster would have a point. Fortunately, he had helped design those rules, meaning that it was his unique privilege to ignore them entirely.
 
“Your reasoning is mostly accurate. However, your knowledge of the current situation is... incomplete. Shinji, come forward.”
 
The boy did so, seething at what was at worst a trivial error.  Zouken didn’t really care what Shinji would do to Sakura later, as long as he didn’t make a scene right now.
 
“As you correctly noticed, the boy has no magic circuits, and would not normally be allowed to enter the Heaven’s Feel. However, the tool he is holding allows even a talentless magus like himself to participate.”
 
Though her composure revealed nothing, Zouken could sense the woman’s discomfort.
 
Maybe you two have something in common, then.
 
He injected a hint of annoyance into his voice. He wasn’t actually angry at Sakura, but it was necessary to start putting the girl back in her place. Consistency, consistency, consistency.
 
“The plan was to have the girl transfer her Command Spells to that book, making the boy your Master. And while events have not proceeded exactly as planned, this little error can be easily rectified.”
 
He brought his cane down, to get the girl’s attention. “Sakura.”
 
As she prepared to transfer the Command Spells, Zouken considered his situation. He was having mixed feelings about this woman. Though her composure was admirable, she was disobedient, and her lack of prana made him question her actual effectiveness as a Caster-type Servant. It was unlikely to be a mishap in the summoning process, as he would have been the first one to detect-
 
Zouken’s flow of thought was interrupted when he felt 7 prana signatures suddenly materialize out of nowhere.
 
What?
 
He watched with fascination as magic circles appeared in the air and incinerated the Book of the False Attendant. The slight discomfort caused by the destruction of the book’s worms didn’t even register to him.
 
Those circles were drawn on some flying surface, no doubt enchanted to be invisible – though that does not explain how I was not able to detect them. Furthermore, the circles themselves did not generate that attack. No, they seemed to be… pathways.
 
“You… you little bitch! She was supposed to be mine, you little slut! Mine!! HOW DARE YOU TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME?!!”
 
Caster handled the boy’s foolish outburst with a combination of martial skill and raw brutality. He approved.
 
Once again, the circles appeared, surrounding the boy. They were unlike any thaumaturgy he had encountered, seemingly cobbled together from a variety of different disciplines. He thought he even saw a rune or two floating around in their shifting forms.
 
“I’ll only tell you this once, boy, so listen very carefully. Try attacking my Master again, and you won’t have enough time to even think about pissing your pants before I vaporize you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
 
The Servant turned to him, expression neutral but eyes aflame. Clearly, first appearances were deceiving with this one.
 
This was the most entertained he had been in a long, long time.
 
“Due to an unexpected accident, it appears that the boy is no longer willing or able to become my Master. Unless you intend to transfer the girl’s Spells to yourself, it appears that I am forced to accept the girl as my Master, as unfortunate as it is.”
 
If Matou Zouken still had a heart, it would have been filled with a tiny amount of twisted, perverse hope. Because he was composed entirely of worms, however, he merely felt excited.
 
Excellent. Cruel, underhanded, and a powerful to boot. Not afraid to punish those clearly beneath her.
 
Let’s push her a bit.
 
“Suppose that I intended to do as you suggested. What would you do?”
 
The creature grinned, one that promised a quick incapacitation followed by a slow, agonizing death. “If that were to happen, then I suppose additional unexpected accidents may occur.”
 
It was a wonderful answer, one that revealed a willingness to do anything, to become anything, to achieve some final end. It didn’t matter to her that she was in an unfamiliar place, staring down a powerful magus in the seat of his power – the woman in front of him would destroy anything that got in her way to get what she wanted. For the first in time in a long time, Zouken felt the faintest stirrings of fear.
 
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. After all these years, he had finally found a kindred spirit.
 
“Good. Very good. I admit, I had my fears about your capabilities as a Servant, but it seems those have been largely unfounded.”
 
So close. Though this war had not started yet, Zouken felt that his goal was so very, very close.
 
“Yes… with this, the Matou family may finally be able to win this War.”
 
As the girl and the woman passed him by, Zouken was lost in thought.
 
There is one small problem. For whatever reason, she has taken the girl into her protection. Chivalry, perhaps? A sense of justice?
 
Smiling as he looked back at this wonderful monster, he decided that it was irrelevant. He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Servant. True, her insubordination and nobility were hindrances, but it was far easier to make small adjustments to an otherwise ideal specimen than to try to create one from scratch.
 
He looked forward to breaking this one.
 
=======
 
>> Rewind Scene
 
Caster
 
Summoning complete. Alaya, but I hope I’m in the right era. Partition check.
 
She split her mind six times, and six voices answered simultaneously.
 
[Subpartition 1A checking in. Mental fragmentation within acceptable ranges.]
 
[Subpartition 1B checking in. Waiting on you.]
 
[Twoa here! Aren’t you guys excited?!]
 
[This is Twob. Ready to kick some ass.]
 
[III A. Dammit, you couldn’t let me rest a little longer?]
 
[… iii b. how much is it going to hurt this time?]
 
Good. Everything was alright with her head. Body check. Spek, how am I doing?
 
A wave of sensation flowed from Caster’s heart to the rest of her body as the integrity scan proceeded. She locked her muscles for this part, otherwise she would be convulsing in a heap on the ground – not the most dignified way to make an entrance.
 
She didn’t hear the answer. Rather, she felt it.
 
>> Looks like you’re alright. A couple parts might need maintenance soon, but nothing requiring immediate replacement. I am, of course, pristine.
 
>> Why do you even have to ask? You should know already. You did share a part of your soul with me, remember?
 
 For the umpteenth time, Caster seriously considered just rewriting Spektrum.
 
>> Meanie! I felt that.
 
Just follow the checklist, please.
 
>> Fine. Let me see… my check is next. Yay!
 
And you’re obviously alright. Check complete. Time elapsed: 0.34 seconds.
 
>> HEY!
 
Ignoring her disgruntled cloak, Caster terminated all her mental partitions except for Partition 1. While she hoped she would be on familiar ground, there was still the possibility that she had arrived for the wrong Heaven’s Feel. If that was the case, she could use all the impartial calculation she could get.
 
Caster turned on her eyes, and saw a girl she hadn’t seen for a long, long time.
 
[1B: I don’t have to cross-check that face to know whose it is. Time period confirmed to be 21st century, Fifth Holy Grail War. We made it.]
 
Local scan. Room confirmed to be the basement of the Matou manor. She expected the three people present, and hated two of them.
 
Shinji and Zouken. I forgot what they looked like, and now I remember why.
 
Sakura… for everyone’s sake, let’s just get this over quickly.
 
“I am Servant Caster. I ask of you: are you my master?”
 
Caster’s announcement was met with a deafening silence. Zouken was leering at her, Sakura was gawking at her, and Shinji was… ogling her.
 
Even though she was a spirit and didn’t have to worry about trivial things like personal hygiene anymore, Caster still felt like she wanted to take a shower.
 
[1A: Current scenario falls within 95% confidence interval boundaries. Is something wrong with the audio feed?]
 
“Sakura. When you are done eyeing our guest, would you be so kind as to complete the summoning?”
 
[1A: … nevermind.]
 
Shinji, who was standing right behind Sakura, started to snicker in a way he thought was unnoticeable. She shot a death glare at him, hoping to shut him up, but he didn’t notice.
 
Spek, deploy some Licht platforms for me, will you?
 
>> Way ahead of you.
 
28 Lichts left Spektrum, shrouded themselves, and took up firing positions around Shinji, waiting for Caster’s command. Even after all these years, the boy was still intolerable.
 
“Er, um, yes! Yes, I am your Master, and I accept your… erm… servitude?”
 
That voice. So frail, uncertain, innocent. It was a memory made manifest, one of a quiet girl who had uncertain hopes for the future, who dreamed of a quiet life with her beloved.
 
She had no idea what was in store for her. Though Caster never really believed in God, she prayed that the girl would never lose sight of that dream.
 
[1A: Contract confirmation falls outside predictions. Priority – Remove Sakura from the situation. With luck, next event on current prediction sequence can be preempted.]
 
“… alright then, Master. Let’s get out of this depressing place and draw up a plan of attack.”
 
She stepped forward and pulled Sakura with more force than one might expect. Caster was aware of the girl’s circumstances, and knew that she would be hesitant to do anything in Zouken’s presence that he did not specifically command her to do.
 
She proved even more stubborn than anticipated.
 
“Is there a problem, Master?”
 
Caster already knew what the problem was, but for appearance’s sake she had to ask.
 
“I am afraid that there has been a slight misunderstanding, Servant Caster. You see, the girl there is not your Master.” 
 
That voice. Long-forgotten memories pushed against her consciousness before she locked them out. She considered it repulsive that such an abomination could manipulate itself to generate something resembling human speech. At least her own body parts were still human.
 
Technically.
 
[1A: Feign ignorance while provoking him. Zouken must not suspect that we know anything, but must feel the need to summon a second Servant.]
 
“I don’t understand. This girl summoned me and accepted me as her Servant. Among the three people present in this room, only two are magi, and only she possesses the Command Spells. Logically, she is the only possible candidate.”
 
At least, she’s the only one with Command Spells on her person. Being the devious old magus that he was, Zouken almost certainly had ways to circumvent that particular problem. That was what she hoped for, actually.
 
“Your reasoning is mostly accurate. However, your knowledge of the current situation is... incomplete.”
 
It’s more complete than you might suspect.
 
“Shinji, come forward.”
 
[1B: Considering that you’re me, you probably know this already, but we can’t allow that Spell transfer.]
 
“As you correctly noticed, the boy has no magic circuits, and would not normally be allowed to enter the Heaven’s Feel. However, the tool he is holding allows even a talentless magus like himself to participate.”
 
Caster picked up on the slight inflection in Zouken’s voice, and noticed Sakura’s terrified reaction. It made her furious.
 
“The plan was to have the girl transfer her Command Spells to that book, making the boy your Master. And while events have not proceeded exactly as planned, this little error can be easily rectified.”
 
The monster tapped his cane.
 
“Sakura.”
 
For once in her life, Caster felt as if she understood Shinji: both of them were extremely – and irrationally – angry. Unlike him, however, her ability to split her mind meant that she could get away with a little bit of righteous anger. He glared murderously at Sakura as he opened the book to begin the transfer.
 
Now.
 
Taking a microsecond to adjust their outputs, Caster activated seven Lichts simultaneously, causing them to revert into their default configurations as portal stabilizers. Beams of pure prana shot out and destroyed the book with a satisfying bwoomph.
 
Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly the sound it made. Onomatopoeia was not her strong suit. Suffice it to say that it was satisfying as hell.
 
“You… you little bitch! She was supposed to be mine, you little slut! Mine!! HOW DARE YOU TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME?!!”
 
That voice. It could be mocking, or callous, or afraid, but whenever it was furious things were always about to get worse.
 
Apparently, Shinji mistook Caster’s independent action for something that Sakura commanded her to do. Zouken obviously wasn’t going to do anything, so it fell to Caster to take corrective action.
 
You had this coming.
 
With a step, twist, and a crack, Shinji was blubbering on the floor, rage replaced with pain and fear. Pathetic as he was, Caster almost pitied him. Of course, when she noticed a pale yellow fluid spreading across the floor and ruining her good shoes, that feeling disappeared at the speed of thought.
 
Seeing Sakura empathize with him didn’t help her mood much, either.
 
“I’ll only tell you this once, boy, so listen very carefully. Try attacking my Master again, and you won’t have enough time to even think about pissing your pants before I vaporize you.”
 
Belatedly, Caster realized that all 28 Licht platforms were active and waiting for her command to turn Shinji into another smear on the floor. She was sorely tempted to just end him right there, but she still needed him for the next part of her plan.
 
 “Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
 
Shinji nodded so violently that Caster thought he would break his own neck. It would certainly save her the trouble.
 
[1B: Can’t turn back now. Appeal to Zouken’s sadistic side. Don’t make him an enemy just yet.]
 
That was just as well. She was feeling particularly vindictive at the moment.
 
“Due to an unexpected accident, it appears that the boy is no longer willing or able to become my Master. Unless you intend to transfer the girl’s Spells to yourself, it appears that I am forced to accept the girl as my Master, as unfortunate as it is.”
 
Zouken smiled, and Caster wished that didn’t go over as well as it had.
 
“Suppose that I intended to do as you suggested. What would you do?”
 
In spite of her anger, or maybe because of it, Caster smiled. Trying to see how I would react? So that’s the game you want to play, huh?
 
She told him the truth. After all, sometimes honesty was the best policy.
 
“If that were to happen, then I suppose additional unexpected accidents may occur.”
 
He laughed. Forget showering – Caster wished she could jump into a vat of ammonia. Or maybe bathe herself in a hydrothermal vent at the bottom of the sea. Either would be preferable.
 
Additionally, Zouken laughing was always a bad thing. It would be inconvenient if things turned violent now: he would be a tough opponent, and she wouldn’t have much room to maneuver given the cramped confines of the basement and Sakura’s presence. Besides, she also needed him to do one more thing for her.
 
Then again, if he wanted a fight, Caster would gladly oblige.
 
“Good. Very good. I admit, I had my fears about your capabilities as a Servant, but it seems those have been largely unfounded.”
 
You have no idea what I’m capable of, old man.
 
“Yes… with this, the Matou family may finally be able to win this War.”
 
He stepped aside, and though she was mostly relieved, Caster still felt slightly disappointed. Still, she moved quickly: she needed to get Sakura out of here, and this was the chance to do just that before anything more dramatic happened.
 
[1A: First step complete.]
 
[1B: And a million more to go.]
 
As she climbed the stairs with Sakura in tow, Caster reviewed her goals for this war. She wasn’t going to let anything, not even herself, get in the way of her wish.
 
Because this wish wasn’t something the Grail could grant. How could it?
 
It had taken it away in the first place.
« Last Edit: August 13, 2013, 05:41:39 PM by Tyrnek »

Tyrnek

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2013, 07:19:10 PM »
Chapter 2: Almost Parallel
 
Friday, 2/1 – Evening
 
Zouken
 
He normally preferred subtler methods, long-term strategies composed of gentle nudging and sharp corrections here and there. Time was the ultimate expression of entropy, after all, and he preferred to savor the process, to wait until the subject was at that critical point where their will was weak enough to be pliable, yet strong enough to believe that the changes made had been of their own volition.
 
Now, though, time was short. His normal methods would be counterproductive for this particular case, so he opted for a more direct approach.
 
A flash of light. Once again, the Servant who appeared was not the one he intended to summon – though it was the one he had intended to summon originally. Curious.
 
“I am the Servant Rider. Which of you is my master?”
 
Hm? Ah, the boy. He was still there, sitting on the ground and clutching his broken wrist. When he felt Zouken’s gaze on him, he faced the old magus briefly before averting his eyes.
 
Zouken read a lot into that glimpse. Fear, hatred, self-doubt, shame, helplessness. But for the briefest of moments, there had been hope.
 
It seemed the boy still wanted to fight.
 
Zouken considered his options. Shinji’s animosity towards Caster might prove to be beneficial, allowing him to earn the trust of both sides by playing them off each other. The effort required to create another Book would be relatively insignificant compared the possible benefit of having two Servants under his control.
 
But then again, Shinji would be Shinji, a spineless coward who was only ever produced results in a situation where victory was already assured. He was rash and unpredictable when driven to anger, which could end very poorly for him. Caster’s beating had made that all too clear.
 
No. The boy was too unreliable, too irrational. This war could end in a victory for Matou, but Shinji was not the one to lead them there.
 
He turned back to the Servant standing before him, savored the hope that was once again creeping into the boy’s eyes, and announced:
 
“I am.”
 
=======
 
Saturday, 2/2 – Midnight
 
BOOM
 
Elsewhere, a certain young magus managed to complete a considerably less successful summoning of her own.
 
=======
 
Sakura
 
Initially, it wasn’t as bad as the other times. The broken wrist certainly slowed him down, though the blows he did connect with were more forceful than they usually were. The rest went as it normally did.
 
Then Grandfather came. Her last conscious thought was that she might not be able to get up on time tomorrow before pain became her world.
 
=======
 
Caster
 
Maybe, if she retreated deep enough into her mind, she would stop feeling so damn guilty.
 
[1A: Adjusting concealment parameters: matching prana emissions with ambient mana levels. Setting baseline mana absorption rates… ]
 
[1B: It had to be done. Given the circumstances, it was a relatively good outcome. At least it isn’t anything she hasn’t been through before.]
 
[Twoa: Come on, cheer up. We’re finally here, and we’ll have the chance to see so many familiar, not-yet-hostile faces again! Rider, for starters.]
 
[Twob: Sucking od from schoolkids? I don’t like this at all. If you’re going to pick a fight, just do it mano a womano and get it over with.]
 
[III A: 1A, we should probably desync the emission level slightly from the environment. It’s supposed to be a lure, remember?]
 
[iii b: after all you’ve done, this is what you hate yourself for? please.]
 
Nope. Didn’t work.
 
“Rider. I’m done here.”
 
These particular concealment/modification circles weren’t her best work, but she had neither the time nor the motivation to make something more elegant. Besides, doing so would be counterproductive.
 
This was a trap, designed to catch a very specific kind of fool: the noble kind.
 
“… impressive. I wasn’t aware that such alterations could be made to Noble Phantasms.”
 
Rider. Under that cold mask were a pair of Mystic Eyes and a staunchly loyal heart, betrayed by a jealous goddess and driven to madness and despair. Though Caster was overjoyed to see her again, Zouken’s actions had made sure that Caster couldn’t consider her any less than an enemy.
 
“Well, it’s still magecraft in the end, which just so happens to be what I’m good at. Besides, in my day I developed a reputation for messing with things that probably should have been left alone, so I’m used to this sort of work.”
 
“… I see.”
 
Rider fell silent again. It would be difficult to gain her confidence, considering how distrustful she was of anyone and anything. And while Caster was sure Rider wouldn’t get along well with Zouken, at the moment she had no real reason to betray him. Caster desperately hoped that she could come up with some way to make her an ally before it was too late.
 
[iii a: i guess you’re the jealous one this time.]
 
As the two astralized and started to return to the manor, Caster reviewed the events prior to this excursion in her head, to find some moral justification for what she had done, however indirectly.
 
 
Finished with her business, she walked towards Sakura’s room. Before she could make it, however, Zouken appeared, followed closely by… Rider?
 
Zouken is with Rider. This was not what was supposed to happen.
 
“Caster, this is Rider. You two will be working together from this point forwards.”
 
Shinji is supposed to be Rider’s Master. Shinji is not here. Zouken is. Therefore, Zouken is Rider’s master?
 
This was not what was supposed to happen.
 
“Do not be impolite, Rider. Say hello.”
 
“… hello.”
 
Caster’s neutral façade slipped for the briefest of moments, and Zouken grinned. He must have thought it was because she was afraid of Rider, of the limitations she represented to Caster’s freedom. In a way, he was right and wrong: she wasn’t scared, but it did narrow her options.
 
Dammit. The old man was supposed to give Rider to Shinji, after which she could dispose of the boy at her leisure, take control of Rider, and –
 
Wait. Shinji is not here. Shinji is not here.
 
She increased her audio sensitivity and heard a bed creaking in a room up ahead. This was not what was supposed to happen.
 
No. No no no no no no no nononononononononononono -
 

 
Because the core partition was in shock and no longer responding, it fell to Spek to process the rest of the conversation.
 
“As a… team-building exercise, you and Rider will lay bait for some of the more quixotic masters at the Fuyuki high school. With your skill at subterfuge and Rider’s unique abilities, it should prove to be quite effective at concentrating these idealists for quick elimination.”
 
Spek felt the core keep repeating the word “no” over and over. Due to the core’s constant thought acceleration, that amounted to a lot of nos.
 
“Do an adequate job, and your Master may even be fit enough to attend school tomorrow.”
 
Spektrum took over Caster’s body processes, astralized herself along with Rider, and hoped that she could forgive herself later.
 
 
As usual, she couldn’t.
 
=======
 
Saturday, 2/2 – Early Morning
 
Shirou
 
SHIIIIROOOOOOUUUUUU! GOOD MOOOOOOORNIIII – eh? Where’s Sakura-chan?”
 
It was a question Shirou had asked himself, but the only person who could answer it was, of course, not present.
 
“I don’t know, Fuji-nee. She didn’t say anything earlier, so maybe something came up?”
 
Unconvinced, Taiga started poking her nose under various pieces of furniture, as if Sakura was playing a particularly elaborate game of hide-and-seek where the other players had no idea that there was a game and they were playing. Finding no trace of her under the dining table or tatami mats, Taiga sighed as she accepted a bowl of rice from Shirou.
 
“Gaaaaaahhhhhh. This just isn’t like her, you know? So sweet and responsible and punctual, she’s the just a teacher’s dream!
 
Taiga paused to take a bite out of breakfast. Well, maybe “bite” was the wrong word. A closer synonym would be “inhale”.
 
“Though you know, Sakura isn’t just a teacher’s dream. There’s a lot of competition for her in the seedy underbelly of the school. Games of intrigue and romance and betrayal!... Not that you would ever be interested in such a thing, Shirou.”
 
There was a savage glint in her eyes. “Nor should you ever be.”
 
Shirou gulped. “O-of course not, Fujimara-sensei.”
 
The moment of danger had passed, and Taiga returned to her normal, bubbly self. “Yep! That’s my Shirou-kun!”
 
She tore back into her breakfast, and Shirou felt that it was finally safe to start eating himself. Thus, Taiga’s next question caught him completely off-balance.
 
“So, are you going to be the man to take her away from all that?”
 
Shirou nearly choked. “Wha – “
 
“Sorry I’m late, senpai!”
 
A familiar voice called out from the doorway.  Though he was trying to remember how to breathe, Shirou noticed that Sakura sounded different today. Strained, almost.
 
“Ah, Sakura-chan! Shirou-kun was just talking about you!”
 
“Huh? H-he was?”
 
She came into the dining room, with a blush on her face. She glanced briefly at him, blushed even deeper, and focused her attention squarely on Taiga.
 
It was, in a word, cute.
 
“W-what did he say?”
 
“You knowwwww. We were just talking about how– “
 
No. He couldn’t let this continue.
 
“How you would be hungry if you missed breakfast today since you weren’t here earlier so I might bring something to you when you had morning practice but now you’re here so eat as much as you want!”
 
Way too close.
 
He glared at Fuji-nee, but she was too busy enjoying her third helping to notice. The Tiger of Fuyuki was a formidable opponent indeed.
 
Sakura was smiling sheepishly at him. “Oh… thanks, but since I woke up late today I already ate a little something at home. I just came over to help with the dishes.”
 
Awkward.
 
Shirou ate the rest of his breakfast, Fuji-nee finished her forth portion, and Sakura ate a little something as well, though Shirou suspected it was more out of politeness than anything. True to her word, Sakura helped clean up as Taiga lounged around a bit, the spitting image of the slightly-irresponsible adult. Afterwards, Shirou escorted Sakura to the front door to see her off as she left for archery practice.
 
The whole time, he tried not think of Taiga’s question.
 
“Senpai… thanks for thinking about me. It… it means a lot to me. Really.”
 
She looked at him, and Shirou felt himself flush in spite of himself. It was useless: Taiga’s question just wouldn’t leave him alone.
 
“You’re welcome. You’re like a part of the family now, after all. Even if it’s a minor thing like that, I’d be willing to help you out. That’s what family does, right?”
 
Sakura smiled at him, but Shirou thought he saw the faintest trace of pain. It must have been his imagination, as her demeanor turned playful soon after.
 
“Be careful. I might just hold you to that.”
 
She put on her shoes and skipped out the front door. Having some confusing feelings to sort through, he started to go back inside when he heard Sakura’s voice again.
 
“Senpai?”
 
“Yeah?”
 
“Um… bring a sweater. It might be cold today.”
 
=======
 
Saturday, 2/2 – Morning
 
Rin
 
As Rin entered the school building, someone sneezed. “Brr. It’s cold in here!”
 
And it was. Winters were usually mild in Fuyuki City, but the school was still heated to ward off the cold. Today, it felt like someone had amped up the air conditioning and dumped a truckload of dry ice into the hallways. It certainly wasn’t this cold on the way to school.
 
She heard Archer’s voice at her side. “Rin. Something  isn’t right.”
 
“You mean besides this unnatural, prickly chill?”
 
She had detected a slightly distorted prana signature when she entered the gate, but it vanished as soon as it appeared. She had dismissed it as a fluke. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
 
“That’s just it. I can feel it too.”
 
… what? Archer was in his spirit form, meaning that mundane things like temperature and the laws of physics shouldn’t affect him in his current state (proper decorum didn’t affect him, either, though that applied regardless of what form he took).
 
If Archer could feel it, then…
 
“… then it’s not a building-wide heater failure, is it?” She was looking forward to grilling Issei about it, too.
 
“Unlikely, considering that they’re going full blast.”
 
Rin checked a thermometer, and saw that while the air temperature was slightly cooler than regulation, it was still too warm for how cold she was feeling. Curiously, no one else bothered to check the instrument. Rin shifted gears mentally as her suspicions increased.
 
As she walked into the hall, someone’s stomach growled rather loudly.
 
“So if it’s not the body that feels cold…”
 
“… then it must be something else. I came to the same conclusion. Well done, Master.”
 
Noting that last jab at her intelligence, Rin frowned and consulted her memory.
 
There are two kinds of prana available for those who have the capacity to use it: mana, which is the ambient prana present in the world at large, and od, which is the prana generated by all animals that allow them to function – in other words, life force. Using mana to power the mysteries of thaumaturgy is standard practice amongst mages, as there is normally so much of it that a single spell usually wouldn’t make much of a dent in local mana levels.
 
Because it takes time and effort to convert mana into a form humans can use, and because people are lazy, most mages resort to using a little bit of their od to get a spell going in the first place, Think of a spell as an internal combustion engine: the spark plug (od) provides the energy to start the combustion (spell), while the gasoline (mana) provides the energy to allow the reaction to continue.
 
Why is this important? If a person (say, an overeager magus – not that she would know anything about that) uses more od than their body can afford to lose, the will suffer some minor health issues, including physical exhaustion, temporary amnesia, slight nausea, and hunger – od is life force after all. If a person loses almost all their od at once or is deprived of it for too long, they will suffer a number of severe problems, including physical incapacitation, permanently altered mental status, and horrendous scarring of the body and mind.
 
However, if a person barely loses more od than their threshold sustenance level – the od level where the body can maintain basic processes – all they feel is a chill.
 
As she entered her classroom, a student yawned, slumped on his desk, and started to snore. Loudly.
 
“Archer. I have reason to believe that someone has placed a very subtle plundering field on the school. You are to sweep the grounds and notify me when you have found the source of the field.”
 
She felt a flash of surprise, followed by intense focus as Archer began his search. At least he could be serious when the situation required it.
 
Souichirou-sensei stepped in to begin homeroom, but he was missing something.
 
“Ah. I appear to have forgotten my briefcase in the men’s washroom. Please excuse me for a moment.”
 
Rin sighed. It was going to be a long day.
 
=======
 
Saturday, 2/2 – Afternoon
 
Shirou
 
Shirou put on his sweater as he entered the archery dojo. Shinji was supposed to be in charge of cleanup today, but since he broke his wrist, Shirou was “volunteered” by Shinji to clean up the range instead. By himself.
 
He didn’t really mind, though. It felt good to be helping a friend in need, and he was glad to have a little time alone. Issei had pestered him all day about fixing the school’s heaters, while Shirou tried to convince him that they weren’t actually broken. Given that the school remained unusually cold, his efforts were largely unsuccessful, and only a timely stomachache saved him from further exasperation. Shirou valued Issei as a friend, but occasionally he could be a little too much.
 
Besides, it gave him time to think about… other things.
 
Pulling a hood over his head to fight off the chill, he knelt down and got to work.
 
=======
 
Saturday, 2/2 – Evening
 
Rin
 
“Here’s one of them. I swear the damn things were toying with me. The signatures kept jumping to the opposite ends of the school before I could get close to one.”
 
A magic circle was on the ground, its erratically shifting form perforated by a number of strange-looking arrows.
 
“I may have… damaged it slightly.”
 
It was… how should she put it? It was haphazard, an amalgamation of different symbols, languages, lines, and curves, with sections of the circle not pierced by arrows shifting at regular intervals. It was messy, a bastardization of a variety of different magical theories, as if someone had copied diagrams ad nauseum and lumped them together in a random fashion. It was needlessly complicated, where intricate workarounds were devised to fill in for much simpler ideas, as if the circle’s creator simply didn’t understand the concept that would allow for greater parsimony in the design.
 
But most amazing thing was this: it worked. Very well, if Archer’s annoyance was any indication.
 
It was, quite simply, the most hideous and most incredible thing Rin had ever seen.
 
“Archer. What do you make of this?”
 
Archer performed the spiritual equivalent of a shrug.
 
“I have no idea. It looks like someone ate a grimoire and regurgitated its contents in a heap on the floor.”
 
Considering how nauseous she was feeling, she really didn’t need that mental image right now.
 
“And yet, this conceptual vomitus was able to elude you for the better part of the day.”
 
Archer bristled. “I still found it, didn’t I?”
 
After you shot it full of arrows. 17, if my count is correct.”
 
“… point.”
 
She knelt down to get a closer look. Some of the components were too damaged to examine, and she didn’t understand the purpose of most of them, but Rin was able to make out a couple things here and there. Specifically, the part that plundered odic energy (which seemed to be able to adjust its intake depending on the od level of the target), a rather ingenious method of detecting background mana levels without using any prana, and a slight error in the prana emission concealer which could only have been intentional, given the odd sophistication of the rest of the circle.
 
But more importantly, she found its power source.
 
Tracing the prana lines back to a specific point, she dug into the ground a bit, felt something smooth, and pulled out…
 
A jewel?
 
Huh?
 
Before her mind could start working again, however, the regular oscillations of the designs started to waver as the circle, deprived of its power source, began to collapse. The spasms grew slower and slower, until they eventually stopped. Shortly afterwards, the circle disappeared entirely.
 
What took its place was another circle of a completely different nature.
 
They were like night and day: while first circle was subtle and enigmatic, this circle was overt and incredibly potent. Painted with something disturbingly like blood, all Rin could feel from this second circle was a corrosive consumption, almost as if she were in something’s stomach. It had only one purpose: to suck dry everything within its boundaries, leaving its victims little more than husks, barely alive and desperately wishing that they weren’t.
 
Master or not, whoever had drawn these circles was very clearly an enemy.
 
“Archer?”
 
“Yes?”
 
“How many of these  circles did you detect?”
 
“Around 4. Maybe more.”
 
Her expression hardened. “Shoot them. All of them.”
 
He smiled.
 
“Master, it would be my genuine pleasure.”
 
=======
 
Caster
 
Well, that was fast.
 
Someone had already dismantled all of the concealment circles, and was most likely attempting to mess with the considerably more sinister ones underneath.
 
Spek. Projection mode. Combat configuration: long-range interdiction.
 
>> 6.4 seconds until ready.
 
Caster fully split her mind again. If it was going to be a fight against other Servants, she would need access to all her thought capacities.
 
[1A: Reviewing known characteristics of possible opponents. Servants: Archer, Archer, Assassin, Berserker, Lancer, Saber. Masters: von Einzbern, Ilyasviel. *skip*. Tohsaka, Rin…]
 
[1B: Fights are always chaotic. It’s entirely possible that you’ll be able to create a situation to undermine Zouken’s control over Sakura.]
 
[Twoa: I want to study the meninges this time! Please?]
 
[Twob: Hell yeah. Let’s do this. Preparing battle patterns. Primary: Long-Range. Secondary: Close-Quarters.]
 
[III A: Here we go… let me know if you need me to start the incantation.]
 
[iii b: body functioning at 83% capacity.]
 
>> Ready. Opening storage dimension now.
 
She grabbed her bow and prepared to kill this wonderful, misguided fool.
 
=======
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shadow
 
It would wait. It had always waited, from the beginning of time.
 
Waited for someone who wished for it.
 
Waited for someone who longed for it.
 
Waited for someone who desired it.
 
The wait would be over soon. Already, someone compatible had been located, their subconscious contacted. A harbinger, to bear all the evils of the world, to end all the suffering and pain, to realize the ultimate wish of humanity.
 
Soon, but not now. It had waited for such a long time.
 
It could wait a little longer.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2013, 01:48:00 AM by Tyrnek »

Cherry Lover

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2013, 09:47:18 PM »
Well, I'm definitely liking this so far. Caster is looking like a very intriguing character, particularly given her apparent willingness to kill off Rin and Shirou, in contrast to her desire to help Sakura. The characterisation mostly seems good, too, although I think you're a bit off with Rider. However, there are a few things I think are a bit wrong with the story at the moment, although I dunno how fixable some of them are given the premise of the story, and none of them are things that would make me not want to read the story.

Firstly, the original intention of Zouken was to have Sakura fight in the war as Rider's master. He never ordered her to hand Rider to Shinji (indeed, when she came to him and said she would do so, she fully expected to be punished for it), doing so was entirely her and Shinji's idea. Shinji put pressure on her to do so because he wanted to be a master, and she agreed because she didn't want to have to fight Shirou, and knew Zouken wouldn't let her avoid doing so. Given the situation here, Sakura would have the same problem with fighting as in canon, which is that she would have to fight Shirou.

Secondly, saying that it would be difficult to convince Rider to betray Zouken seems wrong to me. Rider is definitely a very loyal person, but only to people she feels deserve that loyalty, and she's not someone who is particularly trusting in general. I can't see her trusting Zouken without firm evidence that she should, especially given that he hardly looks trustworthy, doubly so to a person who relies primarily on senses other than sight and has at least some magical ability (she teaches Sakura magic after HF, apparently). And, whilst she doesn't get Sakura's memories here, she would get Zouken's, and she would see what he does to Sakura (he's done it once already), as well as what Shinji does. I can't see her being OK with that, given what happened in her life.

However, I do not think Rider would trust Caster either. Rider finds it very difficult to trust anyone, it even takes her most of HF to trust Shirou to protect Sakura even though he clearly loves and cares for her. So, whilst I doubt she would like or support Zouken (and it's not even clear that Rider has any goal of her own beyond saving Sakura), I don't see her being willing to back Caster without a lot of persuading.

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2013, 02:23:13 AM »
So basically, Rider's stuck with Zouken whether she likes it or not (and she doesn't).

It seems like while she distrusts him, she would actually distrust Caster even more, considering at least Rider knows what kind of evil guy Zouken is, whereas Caster is a complete wild card who doesn't seem to care about collateral.

Cherry Lover

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2013, 02:54:47 AM »
Well, I'm not sure she would distrust Caster more than Zouken. However, Zouken does have power over her, and can kill her if necessary, whereas Caster doesn't. So, she doesn't have much of a choice other than to obey Zouken for the time being, until she can find a way out. It's much like how she acts towards Sakura. She wants to protect Sakura, but yet she still obeys Shinji, even when he comes over to Shirou's house in HF, beats Sakura up and kidnaps her (with Rider's assistance).

Rider in canon wants Sakura to be safe, but she doesn't trust anyone else other than herself to achieve it. Here I would imagine she would see the best way as being to just obey Zouken and win the war, rather than to trust Caster's plans. Assuming that protecting Sakura is even her goal here, which isn't certain.

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2013, 03:01:14 AM »
Good point.

Spoiler for Hiden:
... though now I can imagine one very simple way Zouken can derail the entire thing.

"Rider. Kill Caster."

Aren't Command Spells the best?

Cherry Lover

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2013, 12:59:00 PM »
Spoiler for Hiden:
Well, yes, but that might well not actually work, since Caster might be able to escape or fight-off Rider. And, anyway, he doesn't need to do that. He can kill Sakura with a thought, and doing so would instantly weaken Caster massively (particularly since she lacks independant action), if not kill her outright.

But, as long as Caster seems to be fighting to win the war he has no reason to kill her. Even if she is attached to Sakura, all he has to do is point out that, if she wins the Grail, Sakura can go free. It worked with Kariya, after all....

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2013, 06:21:30 PM »
True, true. It's a little embarrassing that you seem to understand this dynamic better than I do  :-[ (and I appreciate your input).

However, there are a couple of assumptions you have about Caster that aren't quite correct, if only because you have so little info to work with. But you are quite right when you say Sakura's death would hinder her immensely.

Cherry Lover

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2013, 07:16:18 PM »
True, true. It's a little embarrassing that you seem to understand this dynamic better than I do  :-[ (and I appreciate your input).

Well, I have been around the fandom for three years, and I suspect I have probably got the highest combined post count across the two incarnations of BL even now. So, I do tend to pick quite a lot of stuff up.

Quote
However, there are a couple of assumptions you have about Caster that aren't quite correct, if only because you have so little info to work with. But you are quite right when you say Sakura's death would hinder her immensely.

Well, perhaps, but it's not like Zouken knows any better....

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2013, 07:19:57 PM »
That's for sure.
Spoiler for Hiden:
There's going to be a lot of "right conclusion, wrong reasoning" going on.

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #10 on: July 05, 2013, 02:22:39 AM »
Ah, OK.

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #11 on: July 05, 2013, 05:35:29 AM »
Chapter 3: A Slight Deviation

Saturday, 2/2 – Evening
 
Lancer
 
Lancer liked his Master, but sometimes the girl was too serious for her own good.
 
Take, for example, their strategy meeting this afternoon.
 
“You are to conceal yourself and patrol Miyama Town for any signs of enemy magical activity. Pay special attention to the Homurahara Academy, as at least 2 other Masters currently attend that school. I’ll reconnoiter the Shinto area and – are you even listening to me?!”
 
His Master was cute when flustered, but Lancer was having a bad feeling about this.
 
“Hm? Oh, of course I am, lass. I was just waiting for the bit where you to tell me that I could go all out if I actually find someone.”
 
The look he got pretty much confirmed his suspicions.
 
“Absolutely not. If you can prod them into revealing their Noble Phantasms, then by all means do so, but I strictly forbid you from giving yourself away. We need to do this right if we’re going to win, and that involves knowing your enemy before you fight. I’m not going to let you throw your life away for some… stupid notion of honor!”
 
Things only got worse from there, culminating in his Master using a Command Spell that prevented him from fighting at full power unless she could see him.
 
He didn’t know why, but for some reason Lancer thought that that shady priest was somehow behind all of this.
 
He passed the school for the thirtieth time that day. Like the last twenty-nine times, all he could detect was –
 
A very potent bounded field going up around it.
 
Lancer blinked, then smiled. Maybe tonight wasn’t going to be as boring as he first thought.
 
=======
 
Archer
 
As soon as Rin dismantled the last circle, drawn on the side of the west building, Archer felt the boundary field become a lot more noticeable. Those irritating circles apparently prevented the more malicious ones underneath from connecting to each other, presumably to help hide them better. Now that all the stealth circles were gone, the ones underneath were now active and free to plunder to their creator’s content. The only upside to this whole scenario was that the plundering field, for whatever reason, still wasn’t fully charged.
 
“Master, we should come back another time. Any enemy Servants or Masters in the area would have definitely noticed that field going up.”
 
Rin shook her head. “I appreciate your concern, Archer, but I can’t let this slide. Fuyuki is my city, and I won’t allow this good-for-nothing Master to just do as he pleases. This is a school, for God’s sake!”
 
She went back to examining the circle. “You’re right, though. We shouldn’t stay for much longer, but I think I can at least reduce the daily prana intake these circles are getting before we leave. Archer, could you– “
 
Archer’s combat instincts started screaming at him.
 
“Well, well, well. What’s a pretty girl like you doing at this hour? Shouldn’t you be at home studying or something?”
 
The Servant in blue had come out of nowhere. Judging by the evil-looking lance slung casually across his shoulder, Archer guessed that this was Lancer.
 
“Unless, of course, the thing that just went up is related to your studies.”
 
His easy smile and relaxed posture were distinctly at odds with the killing intent he was barely suppressing. Though Rin was obviously surprised and frightened, Archer had to give her credit: she had the presence of mind to start readying some of the jewels in her pocket. They probably wouldn’t help much, but still. It was the thought that counted.
 
“Isn’t that right? Tohsaka… Ren? Len? Ring?”
 
As his Master spluttered a response (“It’s Rin!”), Lancer rushed her, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. Fortunately for her, Archer’s materialization was faster.
 
Trace – ON!
 
CLANG
 
Archer crossed his blades and deflected the thrust downwards, the spear barely missing his thigh. Before he could counterattack, Lancer hopped backwards to create space and assumed a neutral stance, spear leveled at Archer.
 
“Yo! I was wondering when you’d show up!”
 
The knight in blue charged again. The tip of his spear seemed to dance.
 
He has more reach and is faster than me. He’ll feint to create an opening, then poke me full of holes when my guard is in the wrong place.
 
As if on cue, the tip of the spear seemed to freeze in place as Lancer lunged at his face.
 
In that case –
 
Archer felt the spear graze by as he jerked his head at the last moment, feeling slightly smug by the surprised look on Lancer’s face.
 
Wasn’t expecting that, huh?
 
He swung with both swords, boosting the attraction between Kanshou and Byakuya to increase the speed of the swing. Fast as he was, though, Lancer was faster, managing to evade the attack by jumping backwards again.
 
Tch. Almost.
 
“ – the hell? You got a death wish or something?”
 
Actually, yes. In a manner of speaking.
 
Lancer lunged again, though this time his approach was more cautious.
 
Doesn’t want to overcommit again. He’ll come at an oblique angle to try and get in my blind spot.
 
Lancer veered to Archer’s left mid-charge, hoping to flank the knight in red. Faster than the human eye could see, the lance slashed down towards Archer’s neck.
 
Archer ducked, the spear glancing off his shoulder guard, and tensed to swing again. Predictably, Lancer disengaged again.
 
Not this time.
 
Lancer opened his mouth to say something, but the sword thrown at his face forced him to block instead.

CLANG

 
“What kind of Saber throws away his own swor-“
 
While Lancer was momentarily distracted, Archer rushed. Projecting a replacement for the sword he’d just thrown, he was in range before the Servant in blue could react.
 
CLANG
 
Unfortunately, Archer wasn’t fast enough to land his attack before Lancer recovered, guarding against the twin swords with his spear. They were deadlocked, one trying to overpower the other, two supernatural beings locked in the most basic contest of strength there was.
 
Which was just as well.
 
“RIN! GET AWAY FROM HERE! NOW!
 
=======
 
Rin
 
She knew it would be dangerous. Two legends fighting to the death, an epic contest of will as the heroes of lore took to the field in a competition for the ultimate prize.
 
She never thought it would be so beautiful, though.
 
Sparks flew as the Servants clashed, with Archer holding his ground against Lancer’s onslaught. Several times, Rin thought that her Servant was finished, only to have him dodge at the last moment and respond with an attack of his own.
 
She was so entranced that she was actually startled when one of the figures addressed her directly.
 
“RIN! GET AWAY FROM HERE! NOW!
 
Her mind restarted. Archer’s defending you, and he can’t fight effectively if you’re in the way. Move!
 
As she reinforced her legs and sprinted for the gate, her mind continued to work.
 
How did Lancer get here so fast? Was he expecting us? And where is his Master?
 
Realization hit her like a blast of cold water. Lancer had only appeared when the second boundary field was re-established.
 
It was almost as if it were some sort of signal.
 
She turned around and tried to tell Archer that it was a trap. The only thing she saw was a red lance heading straight for her.
 
======= 
 
Lancer
 
He was technically following orders.
 
She said that he could prod them a little. Sticking them with his spear counted as prodding, right?
 
He went for the girl first, vaguely remembering her face from one of his Master’s briefings. Her Servant was still in spirit form, and attacking her would be the quickest way to get him to appear.
 
Lancer was not disappointed. Even though he couldn’t fight at his best, it was still fun.
 
As he dueled the mysterious red knight, who was possibly Saber, Lancer felt his blood start to boil. His opposite was a strange one: though he shouldn’t have stood a chance against Lancer, he was somehow managing to keep up, matching Lancer blow for blow. It was almost as if he knew what Lancer was thinking in advance.
 
Lancer certainly didn’t know what his opponent was thinking when he threw his sword.
 
Whoever he was, at least Lancer knew this much: physically, this knight in red was weaker than him.
 
“RIN! GET AWAY FROM HERE! NOW!
 
A holding action, huh? Lancer could appreciate that. He couldn’t let it succeed, though – the Rin girl had worked a very naughty bit of magecraft on the school, and though his Master would be furious at him for disobeying her orders, he’d make her understand. The enemy was breaking her precious Association’s rules by being so brazen, so he had to kill her to prevent exposure to the world at large.
 
And come on, one Master eliminated. What was there not to like?
 
He pushed, and the red knight jumped back to avoid the slash that never came. Instead of continuing the fight, Lancer disengaged to pursue the girl, who was dashing towards the gate.
 
It’s a shame, really. She’s got a nice pair of legs.
 
========
 
Caster
 
Fuck. It had to be her, didn’t it.
 
Concealed by Spektrum’s active camouflage, Caster watched Archer and Lancer’s fight from the roof of the school. What she was currently concerned about, however, was the pigtailed magus currently gaping at them.
 
Spek. Arrow configuration: Five parts grounding, one leech, one pain-inducing. 30% charge, active on impact. Reverse barb.
 
Rin. A host of complicated and contradictory feelings welled up inside her before she locked them out. Caster would have preferred it if she didn’t have to kill the girl, but the chance to take out two Servants and an enemy Master was a chance to good to pass up.
 
Besides, Zouken was probably spying on her. If she showed any mercy here, he might hurt Sakura again as “punishment”. To Caster, that was unforgivable.
 
Rin started to run. Caster hoped she would draw the other two Servants – Lancer and Archer, according to Partition 1B – away from the school building and give Caster an optimal firing solution. She could fire while the two Servants dueled right below her, but her chances of fighting them off if her first strike didn’t kill them both were slim (less than 1%, or “statistically insignificant”, according to 1A). Why risk it?
 
Lancer peeled off, angling for Rin. Archer threw his sword, which managed to deflect the spear before it could connect. Caster released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
 
… dammit.
 
Archer and Lancer continued their duel. Rin tried to get away, but Lancer managed to keep up as he fought off Archer’s increasingly desperate assault.
 
[1A: Archer disarmed for the 27th time.]
 
[Twob: If you’re going to shoot, now’s the time. They’re clumped up, 76 meters away, and almost to the gate. Can’t really get more ideal than that.]
 
[III A: Now that I see him again, it looks like he’s… projecting. Projecting swords. Is he…?]
 
 No. She couldn’t wait any longer. The time for hesitation had passed a long time ago.
 
[Twoa: Deactivating tapetum lucidum in right eye. Adjusting shape for maximum visual acuity at 76 meters.]
 
[iii b: ow.]
 
Caster felt her right eye throb as it changed configuration. Eyes that weren’t her “natural” eye color always degraded faster, though this particular color usually lasted longer than this. It looked like she would have to replace it soon.
 
Don’t pay it any mind. Focus.
 
Her mind cleared, her body relaxed. Her focus was only on the target.
 
After breaking off again, Archer threw several pairs of his strange black-and-white swords at Lancer, enclosing the blue Servant in a whirlwind of spinning steel. The whole time, the red knight seemed to be chanting something.
 
She took one of the seven barbed arrows Spektrum had made and drew it past her right ear, her composite yumi taut at full draw.
 
The two Servants stopped fighting for a moment. Archer projected more menacing versions of his favorite weapons, while Lancer took a wide stance and started drawing in mana to his cursed spear. Rin was shouting. All of them were standing still.
 
“Listen to me! It’s a tr-“
 
Caster took aim and fired three arrows in quick succession. Her last arrow was for Rin.
 
=======
 
They were staring each other down, both preparing to end the fight in a single, decisive blow.
 
Archer: “Crane Wing –
Lancer: “Gae –
 
They felt it at the same time.
 
Lancer had the benefit of Protection from Arrows, a skill he’d had since birth. He heard the arrow and cancelled his attack to bat it away, blocking the flying swords that came at him next almost as an afterthought.
 
Archer had the benefit of being an archer. He noticed a familiar shape coming towards him, illuminated by the light of the full moon, and dodged out of the way.
 
Rin didn’t have the benefit of anything, and was thus surprised mid-sentence when the arrow took her in the collarbone.
 
“Guh -” was all she could say before the binding spell in the arrow pinned her to the ground.
 
=======
 
Caster
 
She could see how Archer had dodged the arrow – it was his specialty, after all – but she couldn’t figure out how Lancer had seen it coming. Evidently, her knowledge about his capabilities was far from complete.
 
Lancer started dashing towards the building. The same building she was currently standing on.
 
Shit! Did he see me? Spek, change to combat configuration: ambush.
 
>> Ready in 10.
 
She jumped off the rooftop and prepared for the worst.
 
=======
 
Lancer
 
His eyes traced the arrow’s path back to its point of origin, but all Lancer could see was a fence and a slight… distortion.
 
Archer ran to help his fallen Master, but by then Lancer was interested something far more important.
 
There, staring out from a ground floor window, was a hooded boy looking on awe and terror.
 
=======
 
Rin
 
The moon looked red tonight. Crimson, almost. That was probably because of the pain, though.
 
Pain. So much pain. She tried to think of better words to describe it, but the pain was too much, and she stopped trying.
 
Rin! Stay with me! RIN!”
 
Someone was yelling at her. Someone wearing red. He was shaking her.
 
“… stop that. Just wanna… wanna sleep…”
 
“Get a hold of yourself! You can’t let this beat you! You’re a Tohsaka, aren’t you?!“

 
Toh… sa… ka? That’s right… that’s who she was, wasn’t it.
 
“Damn… straight… *cough* D… don’t you… forget it…”
 
She felt something get pressed into her hand. Many somethings. 
 
“Listen. You were struck by an arrow. It looks like it barely missed your subclavian, but you’re still in shock and losing blood. I can remove the arrow, but you’ll have to heal yourself. Do you understand me?”

 
Healing? She didn’t need any healing. All she needed was to go home, have Archer make her a cup of tea, and maybe take a nice long bath –
 
A burst of pain. Someone tugged on the thing that was sticking up into the sky. She vaguely thought that it wasn’t supposed to be there.
 
“Dammit. Looks like it’s stuck to the ground.”

 
It hurt. She didn’t like things that hurt. Where was Archer? He could tell this person to stop hurting her.
 
“S-stop that.”
 
Splurk
 
Rin screamed as Archer pulled her off the arrow. The meter-long shaft was barbed in exactly the wrong direction.
 
She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t feel. All she could picture was a dagger piercing her heart, a shoulder knitting itself back together.
 
“HEILEN!”
 
She shouted a word in a language she didn’t recognize, drew power from the jewels she held in her hand, then passed out of the cold, hard ground.
 
=======
 
Shirou
 
He ran for his life. Tearing through the hallways of the empty school, Shirou regretted that he chose to pass up track for the archery team. At the time, it had seemed more practical, given his desire to become a hero of justice.
 
Now, pursued by a being that was more powerful than he could ever have imagined, he wished that he could just go back in time and beat himself silly.
 
“Tch. You’re a slippery one, I’ll give you that.”
 
The voice was right behind him. Shirou made a hard left and veered into a classroom, slamming the door behind him. When the man in blue kicked it open, Shirou had almost made it to the windows.
 
Almost – there - !
 
A kicked desk caught him squarely in the back and knocked him out of the window with a loud crash. Covered in lacerations and breathing heavily, he rolled over. At least he’d go out facing his death.
 
“Sorry, kid, but the rules say no witnesses. I promise I’ll make it quick.”
 
The man seemed almost regretful, but Shirou could feel him drawing in a massive amount of mana, concentrating it in that blood-red spear of his.
 
“Nothing personal.”
 
As the spear ripped through his heart, Shirou wondered why dying had to hurt so much.
 
=======
 
Archer
 
She got up. Inside, Archer breathed a sigh of relief.
 
“How long was I out?”
 
“Only a couple minutes. I must say, that was an impressive piece of work, Master.”
 
Rin smiled groggily, and tested out her shoulder. She winced once or twice, but for the most part it looked functional.
 
“Of course it was. I am a magus of the Tohsaka family, after all.”
 
“Believe me, I was sorely tempted to tell you that you were an Einzbern. Or maybe a Matou.”
 
She bristled. “Don’t even joke about that sort of – “
 
There was a loud crash as a window broke somewhere. Though she had only just woken up, Rin started sprinting towards the source of the sound.
 
“Where’s Lancer?”
 
“He went into the building you’re running towards. The one we should probably be running away from?”
 
She didn’t listen. Sighing, Archer retraced Kanshou and Byakuya and took off after his headstrong Master.
 
=======
 
Rin
 
Part of her told her that she was making a huge mistake. Part of her told her that what she was doing was probably exactly what Lancer and his unknown friend wanted.
 
She didn’t care, because most of her really wanted to get the bastard who shot her.
 
In a flash, Archer was right beside her. “Master, I really don’t think we should be doing this.”
 
She ignored him. “When Lancer got here, did you feel anyone else come with him?”
 
“No. Why?”
 
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Lancer was just a decoy.
 
“You weren’t supposed to. This was a trap, and we fell for it like a couple of idiots. Whoever set it up was probably trying to take us both out at the same time, but since you managed to avoid it, Lancer retreated to regroup with his partner.”
 
“I see. So why are you following them?”
 
“Because they probably don’t expect us to recover this fast. I certainly didn’t. If we catch up to them now, we might be able to catch them off guard and get in a little sneak attack of our own.”
 
They were close to the source of the sound. Rin checked her pockets to see how many of her saved-up jewels she had left, and found that she only had three left. She must’ve used most of them reconstructing her shoulder.
 
Dammit. Sometimes I’m too good for my own good.
 
Three wasn’t going to be enough. She needed something big. It looks like she was going to have to use it after all.
 
I just hope it’ll be worth it.
 
Pulling out her pendant, she rounded the corner with Archer, and saw…
 
A pool of blood, most of it spilling from a single wound.
 
A body covered in cuts and surrounded by broken glass, with a hole where the heart should be.
 
A face she recognized.
 
“… … … Shirou?”
 
=======
 
Lancer
 
He was back on patrol, only this time he was pissed.
 
Sure, that Saber guy seemed to be confused as to what class he was actually supposed to be, but at least he had the courage to fight head-on. Lancer could respect that.
 
What he couldn’t respect was some conniving snit shooting at him in the dark, interrupting his duel, and distracting him with an innocent bystander to escape without even having the courtesy to show himself.
 
Then again, he didn’t expect much more from an Archer anyways.
 
There. To the right, a familiar distortion moving down a side road. Lancer changed course and started his pursuit.
 
=======
 
Shirou
 
He woke up. That, in and of itself, surprised him.
 
Wasn’t I dead?
 
He looked down at his torso. Though his sweater was shredded and covered in blood, the skin underneath was perfectly smooth. It was almost as if he had never been sliced up by glass and stabbed in the heart at all.
 
Huh.
 
Someone had saved him. Shirou wished he could thank them and tell them they should’ve saved someone else instead. He wouldn’t have minded: it’s the job of a hero to be selfless, after all.
 
The moonlight glinted off of something beside him.
 
A pendant?
 
He picked it up, and heard a rapid series of explosions. Clearly, the night wasn’t over just yet.
 
=======
 
Caster
 
The modified claymores went off. They were extremely effective anti-personnel mines with an effective range of 50 meters, covering a 60-degree arc with 700 steel balls (replaced with charged gems) propelled at a speed of 1,200 meters per second.
 
[1A: Confirmed miss.]
 
Lancer outran them.
 
This is getting ridiculous.
 
The space Lancer just occupied exploded as the gems detonated. It didn’t slow down the blue Servant at all. In fact, he was accelerating.
 
[1A: Contact in 3.2 seconds.]
 
Dammit, Spek! Close-combat! NOW!
 
>> 5.4 seconds! Sorry!
 
Crap, crap, crap.
 
Is long-range interdiction still in your boot memory?
 
>> Yeah, 0.9 seconds.
 
DO IT.
 
He was getting closer, and judging by the murder on his face he wasn’t here to say hello.
 
>> Ready!
 
[1A: 2.2 seconds.]
 
Arrow config: All parts really, really thick! Full charge, detonate on command! NOW!
 
Her camouflage dropped as Spek devoted all its energy to projecting the arrows. It wasn’t really helping anymore.
 
Lancer’s eyes widened in anticipation. “There you are.”
 
He lunged.
 
[1A: 0.7 seconds.]
 
>> Here!
 
Caster grabbed an arrow in each hand. They looked more like meter-long spikes, really.
 
[1A: Contact.]
 
=======
 
Lancer
 
CLANG
 
Not again.
 
The woman had blocked him with a pair of funny-looking arrows that she pulled out of nowhere. Considering the way this night had been shaping up so far, Lancer really shouldn’t have been surprised.
 
“So now you want to fight fair? Better late than never, I guess.”
 
She threw an arrow at him (again with the throwing?) while dashing into the forest behind the school. He dodged it easily, but was a bit surprised when it exploded next to him. He was thrown into the trees lining the road.
 
Damn that sneaky, underhanded…
 
Whoever she was – Archer, he presumed – she was getting on his nerves more and more. While she was fast, he was much faster.
 
But goddamn if she wasn’t slippery.
 
While he could easily dodge all the arrow-spikes that came at him, she seemed to have an endless amount of them, and was throwing them in a fashion that cut off all his approach paths, forcing him to keep his distance.
 
Her erratic movements weren’t helping much, either, as her variable speed and rapid course changes caused him to almost lose her several times. It was infuriating: if he went too fast, he would overshoot when she changed course, and if he went too slowly, she would suddenly get a burst of speed from out of nowhere.
 
He always said that he preferred pursuing troublesome women – after all, the harder the chase, the sweeter the goal. Now, though, he was finding that his enjoyment dwindled the more literal the chase became.
 
The irony was not lost on him.

Dammit. It would be so much simpler if he could just throw Gae Bolg at her, but that option was unavailable at this time, courtesy of his Master. Truthfully, Lancer wasn’t all that surprised: it figured that his cursed luck with the women he liked and the women he wanted dead would only serve to reinforce each other..
 
Ah well. After several frustrating minutes, she seemed to tire slightly, and a hole opened in her wall of explosions. Lancer dashed through, and after a few close calls he was finally in range. No harm in revealing himself to a dead woman, right?
 
“Gae –“
 
Wait. In the distance. Was that…?
 
For the second time that night, Lancer’s fight was interrupted by the sight of a hooded boy running away.
 
“Fuck!”
 
=======
 
Caster
 
Gae – Fuck!”
 
Caster was certain she didn’t hear that correctly.
 
“Excuse me?”
 
Lancer was standing in the middle of the road, eyes focusing on something far away.
 
“What the hell? I was certain that I killed that guy!”
 
Caster followed his gaze, reshaping her eyes again. She could barely make out the form of a boy, wearing a tattered sweater and running for his life.
 
“Dammit. I promised him I’d make it quick, too.”
 
The boy turned a corner and disappeared from view. Exasperated by something, Lancer turned to her.
 
“Listen. I really, really, really don’t like you, but I don’t have the time to deal with you right now. I gave the kid my word that I’d kill him, and I really can’t let him get away. No witnesses and all that.”
 
Huh. A sense of obligation. She could find a use for that.
 
“Tell you what. I’ll let you go tonight, and tomorrow we continue where we left off. Sound good?”
 
Ordinarily, Caster would have agreed just to get him off her tail, but she could feel the telltale signs of a geis in his words. She had bad memories of those, and of Irish things in general.
 
She could refuse, but he might just decide to continue fighting after all. Considering the shape her body was in, that probably wouldn’t end well for her.
 
So, she tried something else: a counter-offer.
 
“While that does sound tempting, are you sure you’ll be able to catch up to the boy before becomes a liability? For all you know, he could be messaging all his friends about the crazy things he saw tonight.”
 
Spek. Close combat and Lichts. In case things don’t pan out.
 
>> Roger.
 
Lancer’s eyes narrowed. “Speed’s not a problem.”
 
“Evidently. Your problem is one of finding him. He’s more than a couple of kilometers away by now, and your chances of catching up to him are pretty low, even with your speed.”
 
“I have tracking runes.”
 
“Because you obviously thought to leave one on a corpse in the off chance that it would miraculously come back to life and run off again. You’re not a Dead Apostle, right?”
 
“… I have good eyes.”
 
“That won’t help much if he’s in a house.”
 
“I’ll search them.”
 
“Sure. Because a man in a blue leotard with an evil-looking spear crashing through a bunch of houses is definitely not going to be witnessed by anyone.”
 
He started to respond, then thought better of it.
 
Got you.
 
Lancer harrumphed instead. “You got a better idea, then?”
 
 “As a matter of fact, I do. Let me go tonight, and I’ll take care of your little problem before it becomes a much bigger one.”
 
Lancer looked like he was in physical pain. He knew he had been outmaneuvered, and tried to come up with some sort of retort.
 
“… looks like I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
 
“Not really, no.”
 
Lancer sighed, defeated. “Fine. Bring him down and you can leave. It’s a deal.”
 
She smiled as she felt the geis bind them both to their word. Specifically, to the words Lancer had just said.
 
Spek, recall the Lichts and go to long-range interdiction.
 
“Watch closely, tights boy. You’re in for a show.”
 
=======
 
Shirou
 
He’d been running for almost four kilometers straight before he had to stop.
 
Panting heavily and leaning on a utility pole, Shirou looked around, and started to relax. He didn’t see his blue-haired killer anywhere, and felt that he was far enough away from the school to start slowing down a bit. His house was right around the corner.
 
Shirou started to chuckle a bit. Not hysterically, mind you, just enough to blow off some steam. He’d just escaped death multiple times today, and the adrenaline from his panicked run was making him giddy.
 
Thus, he felt cheated somewhat when the pole section above him exploded and knocked him face-first into the ground.
 
=======
 
Caster
 
Crouching in his tree, Lancer whistled in spite of himself. “Man, but I’ll be damned if that wasn’t a good shot.”
 
[Twoa: Careful. Right eye’s about to give out, and you’ve only got a few more shots in your right shoulder, to say nothing of your legs. That sprint really did a number on you.]
 
[iii b: right eye at 13%. it hurts a lot. right shoulder, arm at 57%. legs are pretty much gone, at maybe 4% average.]
 
Caster wasn’t surprised. She could reach out pretty far if she had to, but even so, three kilometers was really pushing it, especially since her body was about to fall apart. She had to use all her reinforcement circuits to enhance her right eye and arm to be able to get the range necessary, something that she did only out of necessity.
 
She tried to use her Magic Circuits as little as possible these days.
 
“I don’t get it, though. Why did you hit the part of the pole above him, instead of hitting him directly?
 
“These rules say no witnesses or suspicious evidence, right? It’s going to be hard to explain away a crater in the middle of a sidewalk with no obvious cause. If there’s a reason – say, a blown transformer – people will be more likely to accept it at face value, no matter how far-fetched it is.”
 
She didn’t say that it was also because hitting a sprinting human, in profile, at 3 kilometers, was not possible for her. Hell, it probably wasn’t possible for anyone, living or dead. Hitting stationary power fixtures was a lot more reasonable.
 
Spek. Boost the charge a little. The concussive effects aren’t good enough.
 
>> Sure thing.
 
The hooded form got up again and kept running. Caster sighted in on the next valid target – another pole-mounted transformer – and fired. The figure was knocked down again, but he still got up.
 
Tch. He’s a persistent one.
 
She hit a ground-based transformer on her next shot, and for a moment she thought he was down. But no, he still managed to pull himself up. He seemed to catch on to what she was doing, because he ran out into the middle of the street.
 
Perfect. Spek, give me a woodcutter.
 
She fired two arrows. The first arrow sliced through a utility pole, causing it to fall right in front of the boy. The next one caused the now-grounded transformer to detonate.
 
He didn’t get up this time.
 
She faced Lancer. “I’ve held up my end of the bargain.”
 
Lancer scowled. “So you have. Where are you going now?”
 
Caster beamed at him. “How cute. It seems I charmed him with my feminine wiles.”
 
Lancer snorted. “As if. I wouldn’t touch you with a seven-meter sarissa. Just thought I’d see if I could figure out where I could find you later. You know, so I can finish you off.”
 
“Well, I’m off to ‘confirm’ the kill and clean up a bit, if you know what I mean.”
 
He did, if that grimace was any indication.
 
Spek. Explosive propulsion time. Shaped prana bursts for stealth. I really don’t feel like running anymore.
 
“Hey Archer. You saw me duel that Saber who didn’t know how to fight properly, right? As much as I dislike you, at least you know what you’re supposed to be doing, even if you are underhanded about it. ”
 
Caster paused for a second, then smiled a wicked smile.
 
On second thought, high-explosive for extreme visibility. Give me some shiny magical leg protection too, while you’re at it.
 
She blasted herself into the air, laughing as she went. The look on Lancer’s face was priceless.
 
=======
 
Lancer
 
Lancer rubbed his head, disentangled himself from the bushes he’d fallen into, and screamed:
 
“AM I THE ONLY ONE IN THIS FUCKING WAR WHO DOES WHAT THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO?!”
« Last Edit: July 23, 2013, 01:56:32 AM by Tyrnek »

Tyrnek

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2013, 02:56:23 AM »
Chapter 3 updated in full.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2013, 02:59:51 AM by Tyrnek »

Cherry Lover

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2013, 04:11:02 PM »
Hmm, very interesting. Caster is an intriguing character. She does seem very Rin-like in her methods, but at the same time there is a lot different about her. Her protectiveness of Sakura seems to go beyond "this is my master", certainly, although it's clear from before that she does know Sakura. Her actions towards Shirou are also rather interesting. I'm assuming she deliberately worked things out such that she could get Lancer off Shirou's back without actually killing him, although we'll have to wait for the next chapter to be sure.

As for the content itself, I think it is mostly fine. Everything that happened here seems reasonable. I did find one error, though, where you say "He’ll come at an oblique to try and get in my blind spot". I assume it should be an oblique angle....

Tyrnek

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Re: Fate/Refraction
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2013, 06:21:15 PM »
Spoiler for Hiden:
Actually, she has no idea that she's shooting at Shirou, or that he was even present at the school (he was inside the building she was on top of). She tricked Lancer mainly to avoid getting impaled, since she didn't expect him to survive the claymores. At the moment, she actually does believe that she killed "that boy", and is mainly going in for clean up/squicky reasons.
Spoiler for Hiden:
She's... not completely right in the head.

Oops. Fixing now.