WAR FOR THE GRAIL - Part 1: World Of Origin

[Latooni]

F). Ask about the project she was in, who was running it, etc.

[Doogie12]

F) What Latooni said. The more we know the better. Besides, having a friend like Rider could come in handy in less-stealthy circumstances, if we can get them to befriend us. Besides, let the little girl actually get a chance to live. Compassion isn't a bad thing, we just need to combine it with enough logic to not get us killed. Especially if we can use it to come out more powerful than before.

Talk to them. And then see if we can get them to start trust us, work towards a common goal, etc.

[Lizzie]

F). Ask about the project she was in, who was running it, etc.

I vote this with a combination of D. We're not really without empathy here and she doesn't seem like she has any particular desires at the moment so she won't gut us for practical convenience... yet.

[Necrontyr1998]

I also agree with above votes. But also add B and E, we can't just go demanding things from 11 year-olds.

[-Desert-]

Mainly E and somewhat D, like Siber. It's fair to tell her what's going on so she knows they should be killing each other.

[Droid]

F), driven by a bit of D)

[Lukasmah]

F), driven by a bit of D)

You should probably state what you want to do with F.

[Doogie12]

^Probably in hand with what me and Latooni said.

[Droid]

Yeah, that.

[Anna]

(Votes were kind of tied across several actions, so I'm combining them in a way that makes sense.)

I sigh softly and shake my head, holding my hands up in a non-threatening manner as I approach her, so as not to worry Rider.

"No, Blossom, I don't want to hurt you." I say, "This is a War, and we've both summoned Servants. Technically, that makes us enemies that have to fight each other, but I don't want to hurt you. Honestly? I want to protect you."

She seems surprised by that, hesitating, "Why?"

"Because I was like you, once. I grew up in a lab, experimented on, not given a real name, tested and prodded and cut up." She winces at that, and I nod, "I've been there too. So I understand what you've gone through, Blossom, and I'm going to protect you. Come with Assassin and I. We'll go somewhere safe together."

I look up to Rider, and so does Blossom. I'm close to the young girl now, and gently rest a hand on her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. Her skin is cold and clammy, and she's shaking violently. Rider sighs softly, her holographic human representation appearing in front of me, turning her blindfolded attention directly upon me.

"If you betray her trust, I will spend what remains of my life destroying you, Master of Assassin." She says, "I will use every weapon at my disposal, every last ounce of my energy, to lay waste to you. Do you understand?"

"I do." I reply.

Assassin's gynoid body steps up beside me, looking at Rider, "Master, if you want to do this, I doubt there's little I can do to dissuade you, but still... be careful. Rider and I will need to sort things out eventually..."

"Indeed we will." Rider says, "But for now, it appears our Masters wish to work together."

I gently draw Blossom into my arms. She's so light and frail that it feels like I might break her if I hold her too tightly. Gently, I place a hand on her head, stroking my fingers through her soft, snowy-white hair, "Blossom, what's going on in that facility down there? Who runs it?"

Blossom looks up at me, taking a deep, shaking breath before she answers, "I... I don't know, really... th-the lead scientist is a woman called Winters, but I don't know if she's working for someone else or not."

"And they experiment on you?"

"They did... before I summoned Rider. Me and all the others."

I frown, "How many of you are there?"

Blossom bites her lower lip, her brow creasing with thought for a moment as she looks down at her feet, before she raises her head, "365. There were more of us, but 1, 3, 8, 9, 15, 19, 20, 43, 65, 73, 98, 106... I... a lot of us have... died."

I gently squeeze her in my arms, "Because of their experiments?"

"S-sometimes... sometimes because they didn't... grow properly. The scientists aren't just trying to make people with Originator Circuits. They're trying to make specialized Circuits for enhanced varieties of Originator Psionics. A-and... it's a bit more complicated, apparently. Sometimes they... overload." She whispers, "I saw 142... my twin sister... her... her whole body tore itself apart, in the middle of a routine test..."

The way she describes it sounds even worse than what happened with my arm. And for that to happen to a poor girl's whole body... I cringe at the thought, holding Blossom close to me and stroking her hair soothingly, "It's going to be okay now."

Assassin lifts her head, "I hate to interrupt, Master, but the soldiers in the base are mobilizing. It seems there was a secondary hangar that they built themselves and wasn't in the old map schematics I accessed. That's almost clever. Anyway, I'm detecting more than a dozen mechs starting up and preparing to launch to intercept. We should get out of here."

I look from young Blossom, her purple eyes glistening with unshed tears, to Assassin, who stands ready to help me quickly escape. I...

A) Get into Rider's cockpit with Blossom, so Assassin doesn't have to go slow in order to help me escape.
B) Escape with Assassin, get her to lead us to another potential base.
C) Kill the soldiers and the mechs they send after us, destroy this base and move on.
D) Why run at all? This base is perfect. We'll eliminate the mechs and then Assassin and I can kill all the guards in the main complex. We'll deal with the scientists after that, keep some for questioning, and take care of all the children that have been being experimented on.

[Lukasmah]

D is nice but really risky. A requires a bit too much trust.

I'll go with B.

[-Desert-]

Very hard one. For Blossom it might not be nice if we destroy the base with all the other children. I'm just figuring that those evil scientists could turn them onto us. In the end I'll have to vote C. If we have to run, let's make sure nothing can come after us instantly. We might want to ask Blossom though.

[Latooni]

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.

[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.

[Latooni]

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.

You do what you have to do. We really can't afford to take care of them, and in fact, would probably end up putting them in greater danger. Doing it quickly and efficiently and ending their suffering is probably best here, in my opinion. If it's the slaughter that bothers you, I'm sure we could just compromise the ventilation system and pipe carbon monoxide through the facility.