pullmeoutalive | Fate/Echo's Call

Fate/Echo's Call

[ She hadn't wanted this. She had disagreed with her father's plan, to participate in the Holy Grail war at all, but perhaps it hadn't been loud enough.

(Perhaps, Haru thinks, tiredly now, as though she didn't know that it had been nowhere near loud.)

But with mages hearing the stirrings of a powerful man ready to put Tokyo beneath his heel, she ought to have expected this. Instead, she had come home and found her father, face-down on the ivory shag carpet, body having long since grown cold. But the armor. The armor was still where he had hidden it, five sets of hidden drawers locked with a seal only a member of the Okumura family could undo.

She hadn't wanted this. But things couldn't stay as they were, and only a few days after his funeral, Haru had finished preparations. The circle, etched carefully and painstakingly on the floor with care given to each individual symbol. The armor, placed in the center.

... She can't shake the feeling that she is still her father's subservient puppet, but as she finishes chanting--

The room explodes in light and her hand burns as the lines of three Command Seals engrave themselves onto her skin.

Much to her embarrassment, she's tipped over backwards from the shock. ]

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[ It's not long before they put their plan into action-- Sugimura's nose probably hasn't even had proper time to heal, but that's perfectly fine with Haru. She'd researched as much as she could, but the time for action was now, and she'd made sure Arenvald was just as prepared before she'd led the way to the Sugimura household in silence.

She stops just at the gate, frowning pensively. ]

... There's a Bounded Field here. Once I break it, he'll know we're here.

[ There had been some thoughts about pretending they’d come to apologize, but being welcomed inside Sugimura and Caster’s (probably mostly Caster’s) defenses did not render those defenses inert. Better that they disable them, making their intent clear, and going from there.

For now, Arenvald is invisible, though Caster very likely knows he’s here already. ]

Go on. I’ll watch your back.

All right.

[ It doesn't take much effort or fanfare; Haru lifts a hand, pressing her palm against what looks to be thin air, and murmurs something under her breath. There's a very small sound, like someone dropping glass shards on concrete, and she lifts her chin and pushes the gate open. ]

Can you sense another Servant, Arenvald?

[ Arenvald has his senses wide open, casting around for Caster’s approach. They are at a slight disadvantage with this being the other Servant’s home turf. Even though the bounded field is gone, he’d bet his sword arm that there are other tricks lying in wait. ]

I know he’s here, but I can’t figure out where exactly. I will stay as close to you as I can, alright?

Please, don't worry about me. We just need to locate Caster as soon as possible.

[ Odd, though. She hasn't been able to pinpoint the Servant's location either, but the further they progress, the more the air starts to smell... oddly sweet. ]

[ Haru isn't the only one to notice the change in the air. He's pretty certain this isn't a natural smell, it's nothing like flowers or fruit, and just as he's about to turn and ask Haru what she thinks it is, he gets the sudden sensation of something trying to coil its way around his mind. The sensation is brief, instantly beaten back by the Mothercrystal's blessing, but that means... ]

Haru?

[ Haru, as a magus, possesses decent enough magic resistance. But when it comes to dealing with a Servant who specializes in a certain type of magecraft...

It's her only credit that she can resist that beguiling hold on her thoughts long enough to stagger to a halt, holding out one hand in warning as the other sinks into her hair to try and anchor herself against it. ]

You should... get away from me. [ And she says it unsteadily, the words already emerging slurred through a thickened tongue. Why does she feel so dizzy? ]

[ It's just as he feared. This isn't like a Primal's attack, something he can get in front of and protect people from. This is a magic that's permeated the very air itself, and Arenvald can only watch as it wraps itself around Haru. They discussed this, and he has a job to do even if his every instinct is screaming at him to go to her.

He grits his teeth, taking a step back from his Master, and then another as he casts around wildly for any sign of Caster. ]

Your tricks aren't going to work on me! Get out here and face me properly!

[ There's a voice in the air now, along with that sickly sweet aroma.

"And why would I do that? Your sweet little Master is all I need to defeat you."

Not that Haru looks capable of anything right now, falling unsteadily down onto one knee. ]

[ He wishes he could figure out where it's coming from, but it seems as omnipresent as this gods-damned smell. ]

Tch. I should have figured you for a coward, just like your Master.

[ Whether Caster takes that bait doesn't matter, if he can hit Sugimura in the pride as surely as he struck him in the nose, then he's likely to order his servant to do something brash. ]

[ "Master's skills happen to lie in observation and direction. I see nothing cowardly in a king behaving as such."

A pause, before the voice chuckles.

"More importantly, don't you have other problems to concern yourself with?"

Haru's gotten over there remarkably fast, apparently, since Arenvald will feel a pair of arms snaking around his waist. Restraint, maybe? Or-- ]

Are you leaving me...?

[ Muttered under his breath, ]

Yeah, king of the arseholes.

[ Okay, goading won't work, but for the moment he has another problem to deal with. Namely, Haru, having closed the distance between them rather quickly and flinging her arms around his waist. ]

Haru... why would you even think that?

B-because I scared you earlier... and now you're gonna go off 'cause I wasn't a good girl-- [ Her grip tightens, even though she's pretty much largely talking into his armored back and now huffing. ]

But your bare chest was just so niiiiiice...

[ Caster clears his throat, now sounding a little bit... flummoxed.

"I... interesting. Bringing her under the thrall of wine was supposed to have her attack you."

Oops. ]

[ This sure escalated quickly, and Arenvald is just as blindsided as Caster apparently is -- only he's embarrassed as hell about it. ]

Haru!

[ Don't talk about his bare chest in the middle of enemy territory!! If he's lucky, Rhalgr's comet will find its way across time and space to obliterate him right on the spot. ]

Y-you didn't scare me off, but can we talk about this later?

[ The enemy should be jealous that they don't get to see his bare chest!! Let them seethe with envy!!

Which is to say Haru is making soft, whiny incoherent noises now but also not letting go, which may have to be the best that Arenvald can hope for.

But if Arenvald manages to pay close enough attention, the air will ripple just off to the side, and a Servant with an impressive beard appears, murmuring thoughtfully to himself about "thought he said her Magic Resistance wouldn't handle it well". ]

[ Whether she fights him or not, she may well be his undoing with the way she refuses to let go. He's half a second from prying her off when he notices the distortion in the air out of his periphery. Shield at the ready, he turns to face the Servant that appears. ]

Obviously whatever you were hoping to do won't work, so just undo it.

[ Caster scoffs, derisive.

"She's still deterring you, is she not? Besides, wouldn't you agree that a needy woman is so much better than a commanding one?"

He shrugs, waving a hand at the both of them.

"Or I suppose you could knock her unconscious first."

There are vines now, though, slithering up from the ground to try and wrap around his legs. ]

[ In response, Arenvald glares. ]

Some of the strongest, most admirable people I know are women, and that includes Haru.

[ Lyse, Alisaie, Minfilia, Aulie, the list goes on and on. None of them would ever bow to a man, least of all pigs like Caster and his Master.

Arenvald grits his teeth, glancing down at his own Master, still clinging to him. The vines snake around his ankles, slowly crawling up his greaves, and it's only a matter of time before he's incapacitated completely. ]

Haru, listen to me. You remember why we're here, right? I broke your so-called fiance's nose, because I just couldn't stand to hear him say those awful things about you. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever known, and I don't ever want to leave you, but right now, you have to let me fight.

[ For a few seconds, Haru doesn't say anything. Nor does she move, as her dazed mind tries to make sense of what he's saying. He broke... right, he broke Sugimura's nose. He'd been angry...

And right now, she's... stopping him. Is she afraid? He'd said he didn't want to leave. But-- ]

You'll... come back?

I promise I’ll come back.

[ It’s as sincere as he can make it, and coming from Arenvald, that is very sincere indeed. He sure hopes this works, though, because much longer and these vines will be a real problem. ]

…

Have a safe trip.

[ It's a monumental effort of will t hat finally gets Haru to loosen her arms and release him-- and also the last act of consciousness, as she immediately topples over, but that's probably for the best right now.

Especially because Caster now looks incredibly unnerved. ]

[ Haru drops onto the grass, either exhausted from fighting the influence over her mind or a victim of it. Now free to move, Arenvald bends to scoop her up... and then he's gone, rocketing from his place with speed only a Servant can possess, ripping free of the vines grasping at his ankles.

Haru gets deposited elsewhere on the grounds, at the base of a tree, and then Arenvald is right there again, re-materializing in the same space as Caster, sword drawn ]

Lycurgus, is it? I hope you can fight as well as you hide.

[ He can't, and he knows it, which is why he's already shrinking back and clutching at his staff.

"Listen, Saber... must you result to violence? As you can see, your Master is unharmed, and I'm sure there's something we can do to make it worth your while, I could present to you the heads of anyone you desired, I who have driven out the gods themselves--!" ]

[ "Must you resort to violence?" What cowardly words from a cowardly man. If Arenvald were a different sort of Heroic Spirit, perhaps he'd be swayed by such promises, but he has ever been fiercely loyal and kindhearted in a way that most might consider a weakness.

There is only one way this confrontation could end.

Arenvald, silent in the face of those pleas, shifts his blade to a two-handed grip and lunges with all his speed at the Servant before him. ]

[ Caster seems to realize that this is it, ready to flee-- but in the end, Arenvald is too fast and the blade tears right through him, emerging bloody on the other side.

It's a choked, offended noise that burbles out of him, but then the Servants simply... falls, fading away into nothingness. So too does the aroma in the air dissipate. ]

time for a beatdown

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