Fate/phantasmagoria

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---

DAY 0, 11:45 AM

Redrock City Church

The overseer sat back in their seat. Tonight was the night, the start of the Holy Grail War. The vicious free-for-all battle for the omnipotent wish-granting device. And they would be the one overseeing it, in a position that had first appeared in the Third Grail War of Fuyuki City. In their opinion, they were perfectly suited to such a task, ensuring such a violent and furious battle did not go over its boundaries. They must, without a doubt, fulfill this task without fail.

---

A Dark Back Alley, Redrock City Residential District

Perhaps Charlotte was not perfectly versed in many spells. But as far as she understood, she needed only to recite this incantation properly, with the correct ingredients... The book, held open in her hands, would guide her through the incantation. The blood(some small part of her regretted stealing those chickens, but she had to use some way to enter the Grail War and that was far more important than a few of some farmer's chickens), and now... the summoning. The incantation was confusing, to say the least, and part of Charlotte hated this. She hated the association, and this made her feel like one of their magi. Reciting this incantation, preforming a summoning for a war that magi had organized... on the other hand... This was the Holy Grail War. A battle for an omnipotent wish-granting device.

With her wish, the Association would lose all knowledge of her existence. She could stop running. For the first time in years, she would be free of those damned magi and their damned sealing designation.

She'd done some research, as much as she had hated it. And she had settled on the class she felt would be ideal for her purposes. Charlotte was going to summon Saber.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.

Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

――――I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword.

In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――!"

---

Satin Mansion, Redrock City

Coney had chosen Caster. It was a very deliberate act on her part, to select such a Servant. She didn't want the direct combat of the Knight Classes, or the reliance on Noble Phantasms of Rider. Nor did she desire for the complete subterfuge of Assassin. No, Coney wanted Caster. Caster would be an intelligent combatant, she assumed. While there was potential for combat with spells, depending on the Caster's abilities, the appeal of Caster to Coney was their ability to set traps using their magecraft. Not just traps, but any number of various planned strategies, destructive spells that could be set up... While Caster would surely perish if forced into melee range, Coney was sure she could win with those ideas in mind.

Completing the incantation, Coney awaited the materialization of her Servant. In the lavish entry hall of her mansion.

Slightly odd place to do a summoning.

[Roxas]

Fairweather Mansion's Garden

In the midst of an incantation, Petunia Fairweather was concentrated fully upon the summoning ritual. One hand gripped the umbrella that was propped open on one shoulder, the other was slightly raised before her. Protected from the sun, the magus' incantation reached its end.
In the large garden, where a myriad of flowers bloomed all around, a Servant would be summoned to her side. Which Servant? Well... Petunia wasn't interested in raw fighting power. she wasn't interested in schemers... she simply wanted a Servant who honestly dedicate themselves fully as her Servant, her aid. Would be nice of they were honest and friendly, too, but she could settle for just loyalty.

The summoning finished, Petunia smiled to whomever she had claimed. "Welcome. May I know your name and class, please?"

------------------------------------------

Satin Mansion

Newly summoned into the world, a woman of generous endowment and possessing the ears and tail of something decidedly not human, Caster had arrived. Knowledge of her duty as a Servant had passed her mind and laid to rest as common knowledge.
With a sweet smile towards the person that had summoned her, Tamamo raised an arm to her chest and bowed her head, tail swishing as she spoke.

"Thou who hast summoned me, my Master. My allegiance, I doth pledge in thy name. Speak thou commands, and this Servant shall fulfil thou's wishes."

Straightening her body, Tamamo's smile became a large, bright grin. "...So how did I sound? Convincing enough? Should I use an ancient language instead?"

[Rain]

A Dark Back Alley, Redrock City Residential District

"Are you my Master?" the materialised Saber asked, standing proudly before the biker girl. Clad in heavy armour and with purple hair that matched his cape, he was every part the noble knight aside from two things. One was the lack of a sword. The other was that you could not, in fact, see any detail in his features and he seemed to be a living, misted distortion in the world. Even his voice was distorted and booming mysteriously.

---

High-Class Hotel Room, Redrock City

Now that the pair of them had finished eating breakfast, Rachel was preparing to go out. The other Servants were being summoned today, so the war had officially started--only Rachel's use of so much blood, stockpiled over a few weeks, had really enabled her to summon a Servant early without detailed knowledge of how the grail worked. She still had some of that around, kept chilled in case she needed it, and it'd be good for a little longer, so...

"Helen, are you ready to go out?"

---

Abandoned Warehouse, Redrock City

Having summoned her Servant in the early hours of the morning and attained them food, Avaya was still adjusting to the drain a Servant presented on her Magic Circuits. It hurt... why couldn't they just drain from her original circuits, why did Lancer have to take from those converted from her nerves? It hurt... it hurt and she hated it. But...

"Lancer, do you believe that you would fight better with many obstacles or few?"

"It doesn't matter, remember? We're Servants, unless the obstacles are entire buildings it's irrelevant," the suit-clad Servant said, sex inscrutable as they reclined, "Just pick the place that's most likely to get me a fight, since you won't let me go drinking."

"Fine... tonight, we go to the park..."

[Psyga315]

Steve, An Apartment in the Redrock City Residential District

"Alright, let's see if I got the basics..." Steve said as he stood outside of his apartment in the back. He looked around to see if anyone is seeing the strange cult-like circle of blood he had arranged. Steve was reading from his ex-wife's book, which was instructing him step-by-step of the ritual. "Blood?" Steve asked. Looking at the circle, then at his own arm, which is heavily bandaged. "Check. Alright, what else? Okay, catalyst, though that's optional... Alright, let's do this." Steve said. He already made his decision of what class to summon the servant under in: Rider. For some reason, that sounded more cooler than the other names in the book. Besides, he wasn't thinking too much about what class to consider. He then began his chant while holding his book. The blood circle began to glow...

[Mahou Moerin]

High-Class Hotel Room, Redrock City

"Helen" nodded in confirmation, and gently took hold of Rachel's hand. She was a little afraid of going out in the sun, but as long as she was with mother everything would be okay. Mother would take care of her.

"Y-yes, mother... We... We are ready. L-let's g-go..."

---

Weishaupt Estate, Redrock City

The circle glowed as Galahad placed the catalyst in the center. After days of painstaking research, he had picked out something that he knew would mean instant success in the war, a catalyst linked to a famous demon summoner. He'd initially thought of summoning one of the knight classes, but no, no-one would expect him to summon a Caster, let alone a Caster whose abilities could theoretically bypass the innate magic resistance of the knight classes. Surprise was a powerful weapon, after all, one that had brought down mighty empires and supposedly unkillable heroes in the past, and one that would enable him to claim the Grail just like his namesake.

"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."

The circle pulsed with power as he chanted, illuminating the empty storeroom in neon red. Soon, very soon... He could feel it already. He had drawn the trump card in this war. He had already won.

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"

And with a bright, blinding flash, his Servant was summoned. But his enemies weren't the only ones who'd be surprised...

[Krautman]

Rider, Redrock Apartment

It was time. Horst Bernard had been summoned. Now, to let his summoner know what's what...

----

The air went cold as a figure slowly appeared in the circle, slumped over something. There was a flash as it snapped upward, holding a pumpkin that had burst into flames under its left arm. The figure turned to face Steve and drew his sword. His summoner would definitely notice the lack of a head on his servant. The voice seemed... off, almost as if it wasn't originating from his servant's body.

"I AM THE RIDER! FIVE HUNDRED HEADS HAVE I CLAIMED, AND NOW I ASK YOU... ARE YOU MY MASTER?!"

[Deleted]

Fairweather Mansion's Garden, Redrock City

The green particles gathered, assembling to create a construct body. It was a container for the heroic spirit who had been summoned, the female warrior of Japanese legend. Soon enough, the body of Tomoe Gozen had fully formed. She stood, arms folded, and regarding her summoner with the utmost seriousness. Her master was female, and she was taller than Tomoe herself. Swiftly, she bowed extremely low. She would show the person she could only assume to be her Master nothing but respect, as long as they appeared to be worthy of it.

"I am the onna bugeisha Tomoe Gozen, summoned under the class of Archer," she began, remaining in her low bow, "If you are my Master, I pledge to serve you with loyalty, respect, and honor."

---

Satin Mansion, Redrock City

Coney... honestly hadn't expected such a Servant. The ears and tail were something of a total surprise to her, and her Servant appeared to be clad in an adapted kimono. If Coney had to guess, the Servant she had summoned was some form of onmyōji as her Servant. One of those Japanese practioners of occultism... But that would not explain the ears or the tail. Well, she would, ideally, find out just who her Servant was in a few moments. After all, she seemed to be taking things seriously...

And then, in a moment, the animal-eared Servant completely shot down her previous seriousness. Coney sighed. Hopefully that wasn't indicative of her usual attitude.

"I am your Master," Coney began, "Now, tell me, what is your name and what is your most powerful magic?"

---

A Dark Back Alley, Redrock City

Charlotte couldn't help but stare. From what she could tell, she had summoned someone who would be ideal as a Saber-class Servant, a knight of respectable bearing and quite literally clad in shining armor. Only... something was off. She couldn't... truly perceive him. His hair was purple, that much he could recognize, but beyond that he was impossible to truly identify. That.. would be an advantage against the enemy in this Holy Grail War. However, as a Master, Charlotte had to know who her Servant was in order to use his abilities to the fullest. It was... intimidating, looking at this strange distorted man standing over her. Even without the distortions... Charlotte knew this man was some hero from history. Before her stood a figure of legend, someone who had marked history with their deeds. But that was of no matter, it was time to get straight to business.

"Yes, I am your Master," she began, "And if we are to win this Holy Grail War, there are some things I must know. What is your name? I can't exactly tell just by looking at you."

---

Weishaupt Estate, Redrock City

There was only a small amount of grey-blue particles that gathered to form the body of this Servant. For she was small, still a child. It didn't take long for the entirety of her body to finish forming entirely.

Faust blinked. Her first action was to quickly cast her gaze around her surroundings, before even speaking to the person she presumed was her summoner. She clutched Gretchen to her chest. Gretchen was curious about her surroundings, too... finally, Faust decided to speak.

"Servant Caster, summoned successfully into your Mansion! It's all big, and spacious, and nice, and stuff!" she cheerfully began, with a wide smile, "If you have a mansion you must be a very rich person, isn't that right? Since mansions are all big and expensive and that means you need to have a lot of money to have one. Butterflies don't have mansions, because they don't have a lot of money. Unless... they have hidden butterfly mansions... Wait, this is your mansion, right? You didn't break in to summon me, right? Gretchen says that would be bad, and she's right, because that would mean you were bad and I don't think I want to be a Servant for a bad Master... you... you didn't shrink down really tiny and steal a butterfly's mansion, did you?"

Faust's eyes were wide at this though. That would be terrible!

"That would be even meaner! Since don't know if they really have mansions and that would mean that... Oh, Gretchen says they probably don't. But... we can't be sure! But you don't seem so bad so maybe this is your mansion, and... Oh, um... I was supposed to be asking you something... oh, right, Gretchen says I'm supposed to ask if you're my Master! Are you?"

[Roxas]

Fairweather Mansion's Garden

"I see." Petunia replied. Closing her umbrella, she stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, bowing her head as she did.

"I am your Master, Petunia Fairweather," she introduced herself. "I will take the role of your master during this war. May we both protect and help one another in its duration, and emerge triumphant in our struggle."

And with that, Petunia rose to her feet once more, smiling brightly as she opened her umbrella and rested it upon her shoulder. "Well then, Tomoe, are you hungry at all? Would you like something to eat or drink? Maybe take a tour of my wonderful garden? A tour of the house?"

It seemed all previous formality was gone, and Petunia had immediately moved onto 'cheery best friend'.

-----------------------------

Satin Mansion

"I go by the name of Tamamo-no-Mae," The fox-eared Caster informed with a smile. "As for my strongest magic... hm... do you have any men around? Can't show you without them around~!"

It would seem that Coney had managed to summon herself a rather playful Servant with no sense of seriousness. That was bound to go down well.

"But I can always tell you my second best!" Tamamo giggled, clapping her hands together excitedly. It's a little trick I learned a while ago! See my hands?"
Tamamo held both hands in front of her, clearly showing there was nothing there.

"Okay, now, watch this..."
Tamamo moved both hands behind her head, smirking mischievously. After a moment, she raised her hands over her head and declared, "They are now one!"

Indeed, Tamamo had wrapped looped her fingers around the digits of the opposite hand, and was now treating this like the Ultimate Secret Magic. The fox-like Caster waved her joined hands around the air, making an 'oooooooh~' sound as she did. Eventually, she stopped and asked, without a hint of sarcasm, "Impressed, master~?"

[Rain]

A Dark Alley, Redrock City

Not wishing to lie to his Master, as much as he would rather have kept his identity a secret and refrained from telling her, Lancelot dropped For Someone's Glory for long enough that she could get a look at him, and then answered, "I am Lancelot du Lac, foremost of the Knights of the Round Table and the greatest warrior of my age, summoned in this war as a Saber-class Servant."

---

High-Class Hotel Room, Archwood City

"Stay close, Helen," Rachel said, leaving the room and shutting the door. Not that it would hold a Servant but she hoped that a locked room would be an indication that she wasn't in, so maybe the more violent ones would just leave, "Do you have a means of identifying Servants other than engaging them in combat?"

[Psyga315]

Steve Wallace, Redrock Apartment
"Erm... Yeah. I guess you can call me that. I'm the guy that summoned you here and..." Steve then noticed the lack of the Rider's head. "Erm... What's with the Headless Horseman geddup? Was it some sort of Halloween party that happened wherever you came from? Wait..." Steve then read up on the book, in which it would mention that the Servants summoned were heroic spirits from long ago, folk tales and urban legends made manifest. This caused Steve to realize that Rider was legit.

"... I take back every mean thing I ever said about my wife... Had I knew my wife had a book on this kind of stuff, I would have tried to get her to stay and-" Then Steve realized something... Had his wife stayed, she would have taken the book and did the summoning herself. He would be stuck with his day-to-day job, while she's out... what was it again? Fighting mages and their manifested legends? Yeah. There was no way in hell he would ever miss out on something this entertaining. He then cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Yes, Rider. I am your master. And we're going to have a lot of fun with this war." Steve said.

[Krautman]

The Rider sheathed his sword and looked Steve over. THIS scrawny little jerk had summoned him? For Christ's sake, he had pierced ears! He would have gotten curbstomped back in Stuttgart. Still, had to listen to the guy if he wanted a wish.

"VERY WELL THEN! I AM THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN, SCOURGE OF SLEEPY HOLLOW AND HOLDER OF A PUMPKIN BLAZING WITH THE FIRES OF HELL ITSELF! FROM THE BACK OF MY STEED BRIMSTONE, I HAVE CLAIMED 500 HEADS! SO LONG AS MY PUMPKIN REMAINS INTACT, NO FORCE IN THIS WORLD MAY SLAY ME! SADLY, HOWEVER, THIS DOES NOT EXTEND TO INCAPACITATION. YEAH, I CAN STILL GET INCAPACITATED, BUT I'LL BE BACK ON MY FEET IN MINUTES."

[Psyga315]

"Crap, I should be writing this down somewhere..." Steve said as he tried to see if his cut wrist still bled. No such luck. "I think I can remember something as simple as 'if the head's gone, he's toast'." Steve said. He then stared.

"So... Now what?" Steve said as he looked into his book to see if it would give him any guidance.

[Krautman]

Horst resisted the urge to smack the forehead of the pumpkin in imitation of a facepalm and instead placed it on his shoulders.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW, YOU'RE THE MASTER. NOW, I ASK OF YOU, FOR THIS IS VITAL FOR MY CONTINUED EXISTENCE... DID YOU PACK SOME EXTRA BLOOD? BECAUSE I'D RATHER NOT DO THE ALTERNATIVE FOR MANA RECOVERY."

[Deleted]

Fairweather Mansion's Garden, Redrock City

"I do not require food," replied Tomoe, straightening up from her bow. She felt a moment of utter confusion, her Master had switched from formal tones to... familiar ones, so quickly. "And... only if you believe such a tour would be necessary, Fairweather-dono."

Tomoe was really rather confused by this. Shouldn't her Master had remained formal and calm about this whole situation? She was pledged to follow the orders of her lord regardless, and her Master hardly seemed to be a bad person, it was simply somewhat odd given the nature of her role.

---

Satin Mansion, Redrock City

Coney stared. For a moment, she was unable to form any words to respond to what she had seen take place before her. Her Servant, when asked to explain her most powerful magic... had done that. Just interlacing her fingers. And making 'oooh' sounds. What... what was this? She didn't even recognize who her Servant was after being told her name(though at least that could be rectified by some research). On second though... 'Tamamo-no-Mae' sounded vaguely familiar... though not enough to actually be helpful unless she did some research.

"That... you..." Coney was still speechless for a few more moments, until she managed to finally articulate a response. "What was that? That... that wasn't anything. It was just... why would you need men for your most powerful abilities? I... just... what?!"

---

A Dark Back Alley, Redrock City

"... Lancelot?"

The famous Knight of the Round Table. Foremost of the Arthur's knights. The most skilled, the most powerful of them... And she had summoned him as the class with the best stats, one of the knight classes. Charlotte couldn't restrain a grin. This... was perfect. This was exactly what she needed to win the grail, such a powerful Servant with the ability to hide his identity. There was no doubt in her mind, she would win the omnipotent wish-granting device with this Servant.

"Saber, we are going to win the Holy Grail," she started confidently, folding her arms, "The enemy Servants? The Masters? They won't know what hit them, with us working together."

[Roxas]

Fairweather Mansion's Garden

"Well, I'll show you my garden, okay? If you feel bored, please tell me!" Petunia suggested cheerfully, and immediately began leading her new Servant around the perimeter of the garden, listing off the plants she had, as well as various pieces of trivia, such as herbal use, scent, alternate colours and meaning of their names. It was obvious from the way Petunia simply didn't shut up that she was quite... passionate about this subject.

-----------------------------------------

Satin Mansion

"You don't look too amused, master." Tamamo chuckled. "I apologise, I should have suspected such low-brow humour was far below your tastes."

With a quick bow of apology, Tamamo folded her arms and answered more seriously, "I specialise in curses, mostly. I also have knowledge of the modern thaumaturgy!" The fox-eared Caster winked playfully. "Though my charms might just be superior after all~!"

It seemed Tamamo had a little difficulty with not injecting small jokes into conversation, even if her Master was likely to not be amused. Oh well!

[Psyga315]

"... Crap, extra blood... Let me see if my wrist is still bleeding." Steve said as he unwrapped his bandage. His wounds were already clotted, and he lost a lot of blood to make that circle.

"Crapperoni. Say, I guess that can be our first thing together, trying to find some blood. I'd offer you some of mine, but I don't wanna pass out from the blood loss." Steve said.

[Deleted]

Fairweather Mansion's Garden, Redrock City

Tomoe followed her Master with a somewhat confused expression on her face. It wasn't that she disliked the garden, or any such thing. She just had no idea why her Master was focusing on this when there was a Grail War afoot. It was quite honestly baffling to the Archer-class Servant.

"Ah... your garden is lovely, Fairweather-dono, but..." began Tomoe, "This is a Grail War, I do not believe showing me around in your garden is an entirely safe course of action."

---

Satin Mansion, Redrock City

Great. Her Servant was incapable of taking anything seriously. Wasn't that just wonderful? Well, at least she knew about her Servant's abilities now. Curses, interesting... and a knowledge of modern thaumaturgy? A Servant's knowledge would undoubtably be superior to that of a magus', and it was likely that this knowledge would assist her in defending against the other Masters of this Grail War.

"I don't know about your charms, Caster," Coney said with a wave of her hand, " But your abilities certainly seem useful."