WAR FOR THE GRAIL - Part 1: World Of Origin

[Doogie12]

C, for personal reasons. Rider's invited to help, but Blossom should probably not watch. Don't forget that there's mechs we can take to try to assist Assassin with. Let's end this project once and for all.

That involves also slaughtering innocents.


If we have to do something like it, do D.

If by "innocents" you mean "armed soldiers with every intent to kill you who also knowingly work for men who perform experiments on little girls" then yes, you're right.

C works, but I think D could be the most beneficial to us. Besides, who knows what cool things we could learn or get from the results of their experimentation? After all, things like Blossom might not be the only things they were developing.

[-Desert-]

D is very interesting but the most risky one. Although it would be cool, I doubt Rider would help us for some reason.

[Lukasmah]

C, for personal reasons. Rider's invited to help, but Blossom should probably not watch. Don't forget that there's mechs we can take to try to assist Assassin with. Let's end this project once and for all.

That involves also slaughtering innocents.


If we have to do something like it, do D.

If by "innocents" you mean "armed soldiers with every intent to kill you who also knowingly work for men who perform experiments on little girls" then yes, you're right.

C works, but I think D could be the most beneficial to us. Besides, who knows what cool things we could learn or get from the results of their experimentation? After all, things like Blossom might not be the only things they were developing.

Wait, there are only "armed soldiers with every intent to kill you who also knowingly work for men who perform experiments on little girls"? Oh, so I guess all the helpless children that are experimented on frequently resulting in their deaths or suffering either disappeared or count as armed soldiers or evil scientists. Cool.

[Anna]

Wait, there are only "armed soldiers with every intent to kill you who also knowingly work for men who perform experiments on little girls"? Oh, so I guess all the helpless children that are experimented on frequently resulting in their deaths or suffering either disappeared or count as armed soldiers or evil scientists. Cool.

Chill, Lukasmah.

For the record, for those who missed it or misinterpreted it, a vote for C is a vote for destroying the facility. It would thus kill everyone inside of said facility, including the scientists and the children who are test subjects.

[Lukasmah]

Wait, there are only "armed soldiers with every intent to kill you who also knowingly work for men who perform experiments on little girls"? Oh, so I guess all the helpless children that are experimented on frequently resulting in their deaths or suffering either disappeared or count as armed soldiers or evil scientists. Cool.

Chill, Lukasmah.

Nah, my body temperature is fine. Lowering it would probably not be a good idea. Besides, I'm not sure I can. Therefore, I can't chill. Sorry. :/

Yeah, okay, I'll chill.

[-Desert-]

Nah, my body temperature is fine. Lowering it would probably not be a good idea. Besides, I'm not sure I can. Therefore, I can't chill. Sorry. :/

Oh god why.

[Lizzie]

I vote for B.

[Lukasmah]

Nah, my body temperature is fine. Lowering it would probably not be a good idea. Besides, I'm not sure I can. Therefore, I can't chill. Sorry. :/

Oh god why.

I'm flattered, but... I'm not God. No, you aren't anywhere near that.


Anyway, I'm changing my vote to D. It may not be that risky.

[Aralonia]

Let's send a message. I vote C.

Also, by your definition, Lukasmah, chill out

[Siber]

D. Contain, clear, question. Don't kill the scientists if you can avoid it, for now. Get Blossom to help! It'll be good bonding.

[Darkone]

D.

I think Assassin can take 'em. If Rider wants to help, that's good, though she's pretty badly damaged still, I think?

[-Desert-]

Assassin versus stupid humans in mechs? They have no chance, Assassin is way smarter. The other stuff is mainly normal human guards, so my vote is now D.

Also, Lukashmah:

FFS stop taking everything LITERALLY. Really. It's not funny at all right now. You're trying to be funny with every single reply to whatever people say to you.

Thank you.

[Anna]

I hold up a hand, "No, we're not running. We're taking this base for ourselves."

Assassin's eyes narrowed, "Mistress, that is a foolish risk. Other Masters could know the location of this base. We would need to spend time and resources dealing with the guards inside, and deciding what to do with the scientists and..."

"I don't care. These people are monsters. I'm not going to sit here and let them have their way. I'm saving those children, I'm dealing with those responsible, and I'm taking this base for us." I tell her firmly.

Assassin sighs, shaking her head slightly. Rider turns her gaze to Blossom, her cockpit opening up once again, "I'll deal with the mechs they're sending out. They won't expect me to attack them, so it should catch them off guard. You should deal with the forces inside the base, Master of Assassin."

I nod my head, "Come on, Assassin, let's go. There are plenty of soldiers and automated bots in there. We need to get rid of them."

I can hear her groan, shaking her head, "This is stupid. I just want it on the record, Master, that you're making a stupid decision. But if you're going to go through with this, then go ahead into the facility and start dealing with the guards. I won't leave Rider to fight without my help. I'm detecting some seriously heavy-duty firepower coming up."

"Alright, I'll trust you. Blossom, you'll be safe soon." I tell the young girl, gently squeezing her hand before nudging her towards Rider's cockpit.

She offers me a hesitant smile before turning to climb into the cockpit, and I enter the elevator, getting ready to once again descend into the facility. They're on alert now, and they're going to be ready for me, meaning this will be interesting. Once Assassin's able to join me, things should go much easier. Still, that's no reason to slack off. I mentally recreate the map that Assassin had shown me, remembering where the security checkpoints and command centers are. They're what I need to deal with first. After that, everything else should be easier.

I can faintly hear the sounds of battle starting above-ground, but soon it fades as the lift takes me deeper into the earth. The doors open and weapons fire starts immediately. Of course they were waiting for me this time. I expected as much. My out-thrust hand renders their lasers and plasma weapons useless, photons and accelerated particle beams failing to pierce through the barrier I can project with my Originator Circuits. The armor around my left arm cracks and starts to shatter apart, revealing my bare arm beneath, bright purple light pulsing through circuits that glow bright beneath my skin.

"Shit! Bring out the anti-ps-" One of the guards starts to yell out, but I silence him with a shot from my pistol.

An idea springs to mind and I focus on projecting that barrier forward, using it as an offensive weapon instead of a shield. The lights in the room flicker, and then the remaining soldiers are thrown backwards, plating on the walls being torn off as a wave of force washes out in front of me. A spark bursts from my arm, and I swear, staggering from the elevator and looking at the wreckage I'd caused. Most of the guards are dead, some from the impact of hitting the wall behind them with such force, others impaled by shredded chunks of metal or torn apart by the chaos.

WARNING: PRIMARY ORIGINATOR CIRCUITS OVERLOADING. SECONDARY CIRCUITS COMING ONLINE TO COMPENSATE. LIMITERS ACTIVATING. PRIMARY CIRCUITS ARE AT 92% DEVELOPMENT. SECONDARY CIRCUITS ARE AT 34% DEVELOPMENT. TERTIARY CIRCUITS ARE AT 5.7% DEVELOPMENT. REFRAIN FROM OVERUSE OF CIRCUITS UNTIL DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION IS COMPLETE.

That voice in my head warns me, telling me not to overuse my circuits, that they're still developing. Growing, I can only assume. The glow in my left arm fades, and I'm left without armor there thanks to my recklessness causing such damage. Using my pistol, I put down the few soldiers who had survived the blast I unleashed, activating my armor's stealth field as I leave the lobby. I snatch up one of the plasma carbines that a soldier had dropped, checking its energy levels and holstering my pistol. In such close quarters, this was a much more efficient weapon.

From that point on, it was almost depressingly simple to clear out the rest of the base, rigging up traps for passing guards, slipping into secure areas unseen and dealing with the soldiers within, and taking out the secured communications systems.

When Assassin finally joins in, it becomes a rout, and soon enough the base is completely empty of enemy soldiers. We don't let any surrender, though some try. I can't afford to deal with them attempting to escape later. Once that's done, it's a simple matter of rounding up the scientists and finding out who is in charge.

I'm introduced to a woman named Winters, a surprisingly fit woman in her sixties with a serious, stern expression and stark white hair tied back in a ponytail. She stares at me with cold, calculating eyes, crossing her arms, "So you're claiming this base for yourself, are you?"

"I am." I tell her, "I don't care who you were working for or why. From now on, the only job you have is keeping those children safe and alive. You don't run experiments on them, you don't dissect them, you don't test them. You take care of them. If you have a problem with that, tell me now."

She raises a brow, "Oh? So you didn't kill Blossom, then?"

"No. We're working together."

"Interesting." Winters says, taking off her glasses and using part of her lab coat to clean the frames, looking down at the floor, "Well, what do we do with the Alpha-stage test subjects?"

I look to Assassin, who just shrugs, and then return my gaze to Dr. Winters, "What are the Alpha-stage projects?"

She rolls her eyes, waving for me to follow her. She leads me down a hall, through some doors and into a large, circular room filled with translucent tubes, with children growing inside them, metal and wiring being surgically grafted to them as they grow. I raise a hand to my mouth, holding back bile.

"They're still growing, you see? There are sixty in this batch." Winters tells me, "They're our most unique subjects yet. We based their Originator Circuits around what we've been able to analyze of the Servant Rider. If we've done our work properly, their Originator Circuits will be capable of producing effects similar to Rider's Noble Phantasm."

She sounds so proud of herself, smugly admiring her creations, young children, growing in those tubes. Their eyes are shut, the young children looking so peaceful as strange and alien circuitry it embedded into their bodies, fuse into their nervous systems, and their organs are surgically replaced with synthetic substitutes.

I grit my teeth, hands balling into fists. I hear Assassin make a disgusted noise beside me. Making up my mind, I...

A) Let them keep growing until they're at the stage they can join the other children.
B) Kill them now, before they're 'born'.
C) Let Winters decide what to do with them.
D) Let Blossom decide what to do.
E) Other.

[Anna]

Also, Lukashmah:

FFS stop taking everything LITERALLY. Really. It's not funny at all right now. You're trying to be funny with every single reply to whatever people say to you.

Thank you.

As much as I agree with this, please, Desert, can you also chill out? There's no need for that. If Lukasmah wants to make himself look like an idiot, ultimately that's his business.

[Aralonia]

There's no time for A. Send a motherfucking message. My choice is B.