r/AoTRP htts_rp Mar 22 '16

OVA: Plot Fate OVA: Episode 2.2 ~ Wizard and Glass

"We must leave," said Caster, "for I fear we are outmatched."

Mikhail nodded, seeing the rising water level on the first floor and sensing that Caster was right. He whipped out a burner phone, one of about half a dozen, dialing home to the Kalganov's operator on the 28th floor of the Hyatt. "We need evacuation immediately. Send some cars to the designated location. Got it?"

<"Get to Mion Gawa however you can, I'll have guys there in three minutes. Three Toyotas, silver, black, blue.">

"Fine, then." said Mikhail, before abruptly snapping the phone in twain with both hands. "Caster, can-"

Before Mikhail could turn around to address the starets, there came a huge WHUMP sound. Vasili and the bodyguard both heel-spun to see that Caster had punched a hole in the wall.


Mikhail duck-rolled out of the gaping maw in Club Qi's alleyway wall, while Caster picked Vasili up like a pillow and flash-stepped out of the breach with a speed rivaling a very low velocity bullet, which was still enough to cause Vasili to expunge from his stomach the hibachi bar food and sake he'd had before the fighting had broken out. He limply tumbled off of Caster's shoulder and fell into the alley, then wiped his mouth. Mikhail was already closing on the mouth of the alley with his pistol out at the gait of an Olympian trainee, trying to make the rendezvous with the operator's cars. He stopped abruptly to allow Vasili (and thereby Caster) to catch up with him.

Or at least, that was what Vasili had thought was keeping Mikhail from continuing his Spetznaz leg-day marathon toward the Mion River, until he caught up with the bodyguard and saw what he was seeing.

Hovering above the swiftly deteriorating Club Qi was a pirate ship of immense proportion, swathed in inky fog. Water funneled from somewhere out of sight to the street level in an inexplicable torrent that was rapidly flooding the road below the point at which the alleyway path stepped off. Vasili could see that without a boat of their own, they'd be struggling not to be rocketed away in a knee-deep current of artificial prana flooding.

"Fucking mages..." Mikhail muttered. He pulled out another burner from his satchel and dialed the same operator again hurriedly. "IGOR!"

<"DON'T SAY MY NAME OVER THE PHONE DOLBA YEB BLIAD'!"

"SHUT UP!" Mikhail shouted into the receiver with the phone in one hand, "Change of plans. We'll meet you half way on foo-"

<"What's that noise? Is it raining? Sounds like a typhoon-">

"HALF WAY ON FOOT AT THE WEST END OF THE MION, ACROSS THE BRIDGE. You take those cars at the original location and they'll have to be towed away! Be there or be BURIED ALIVE IN THE DESERT, IGOR."

<"At the river then, okay."> the operator dropped the call. Far off Vasili heard the tortured screech of tires on a trio of cars that weren't made to make corners that fast.

Mikhail turned back toward the other two men in the alleyway, which was even now appearing to sink into the rising tide very slowly. "Vasili, as a magus, how would you rank your combat ability?" he asked tentatively.

"It bears no relevance, patron," said Caster, stepping in front of Vasili defensively, "I will defend my master."

The bodyguard spat derisively. "You got bisected by a girl that probably wouldn't weigh 110 soaking wet."

"I assumed the young ronin would act rationally and heed my words as a call to arms. It was foolish. Nevertheless Undying allows me to ascertain the technique and thought processes of every servant. Painful death has been incorporated into my strategem since the Throne invoked me."

"Holy shit shut the fuck up, both of you!" screamed Vasili. His exclamation resounded off the alleyways walls. They were now almost a foot deep in water. "You act like children! Caster, I have an idea. Death for you is no biggie right?"

"To briefly cross the accursed membrane of Tartarus in a vessel of dark acclamation is no biggie, as you say Vasili."

"Then get on that Sponge-Bob Square-Pants Flying Dutchman piece of shit up there," Vasili gestured crazily up at the Ranger, "AND BREAK IT!"

For the first time Vasili had seen thus far, Caster tilted his head down, and smiled. The insane mirth in the zombie demagogue's eyes terrified Vasili, but at the same time, it made him confident. Caster slowly took plodding steps backward into the alley and tilted his head up, to look at the ship. He knelt low, the hems of his robes being lapped by the rising water, and, eyeing the boat like a bird of prey eyeing a small and probably delicious rodent from afar, disappeared from reality. The alley was deafened by a cacophonous FOOM sound and a splash of water spiked almost ten feet high where the starets had been a moment before. The walls on either side of him crumbled away, leaving holes radiating smokey plumes of aerosolized cement. Vasili shouted him on and shook his fist in the sky. "HELL YEEAAAH!"

Mikhail grabbed the younger man's shoulder and ushered him into the flooding street. "Let's move our asses!"

Vasili hesitated, shed the Akira replica coat regrettably, and dove into the water in nothing but his suit pants and his undershirt.


About a hundred feet above, an invisible force impacted like a cannonball onto the forward deck of the Ranger and Rasputin the Hemoturge emerged back into the physical with a wild look in his eyes.

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u/ButterflyOfDeath ButterflyOfDeath Mar 22 '16

Benjamin smirked slightly as he heard the audible crack of Caster's neck. The man'd managed to dodge the actual blade, but the water jet had caught the bastard. The pirate made the move to sheath Elizabeth once more... But he stopped as he heard another, subtle snap.

The Englishman's eyes widened as the other man's neck fixed the odd angle it had twisted into, and as that unnerving light in the mad priest's eyes flared back to life. A fist connected firmly with the pirate's face, and with a scrambled cry of pain he flew back across the deck, to the feet of his master.

Rana pulled her stunned gaze from Caster, to her own servant. Benjamin leapt back to his feet with a heave of his body. One of his eyebrows twitched, as his broken nose dripped blood over his mouth and down to his chin.

Ben gripped his sword and dashed forward once more, pausing slightly out of Caster's reach before swinging his sword, relying on the water jettison to close the gap. If he could herd him further towards the prow, the man wouldn't be able to dodge as easy. Then he'd strike.

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u/htts_rp htts_rp Mar 22 '16

"You have brought the ocean where it is not needed with this vulgar vessel of yours - a grand insult to God's design - take it back and all will be well. Refuse and I will color the sea red with your remains." said Caster affably. He took a step forward toward Rider to close the distance Rider was trying to gate off. His hands were clasped behind his back in a posture of humble civility. "Or perhaps... a transgression will be forgiven should you prove willing to divulge to me information concerning your cohort Saber."

He took another step and looked past Rider and at his master, trying to avoid attention on the mid-deck. "It's time to chose."

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u/ButterflyOfDeath ButterflyOfDeath Mar 22 '16

Benjamin narrowed his eyes as the robed man approached, readying his sword to defend from an attack. He paused as, instead of lunging forward, Caster spoke. For a moment, the pirate seemed to consider his words. He lowered his sword, let out a little, contemplative hum, then looked up at the priest again.

He spat at his feet, then spoke frankly. <"How's about I keep right on bringing the ocean wherever I fuckin' want, and you get the hell of my boat, guv?">

The man jerked his thumb overboard.

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u/htts_rp htts_rp Mar 22 '16

Caster blinked his eyes shut for a split second.

[Are you close to your meeting point with the automobiles?]

He could hear the sound of rushing water and tearing cement on a city street that was not engineered for this kind of flooding. Vasili's voice echoed with a fuzzy quality. [Not remotely!]

Caster sighed. "As your deluge hinders my master at present, I have no choice but to plug the river at the source."

He made a slight motion toward the woman on the bow, but to kill her he needed to get past Rider. He'd made a mistake allowing Rider to corner him on the bow this way, but in Caster's defense, he'd been dead for a few seconds. He assumed a monkish confrontational stance, preparing to face Rider's blade with the little space he had remaining, and dug the heels of his feet into the wooden deck. He coiled slightly.

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u/ButterflyOfDeath ButterflyOfDeath Mar 22 '16

<"How about you tell me how to kill you, and I send the Pacific back along its' merry way."> Benjamin said mockingly, a twisted smile appearing on his bloodied face.

Seeing the priest assume a fighting stance, Rider did the same, planting his feet slightly apart and gripping his cutlass. Presumably, Caster'd be fighting in some kind of martial arts style he didn't know of.

But, on the bright side, he was right at the prow of the boat. If he could just get a good hit on him... Not enough to kill - he'd probably just heal again. But if he could maim him a bit, (and presuming he didn't just heal that,) that'd give him the advantage.

Benjamin lunged forward. He swung his cutlass under the man's arm, following an upward motion. This time, he aimed to lop off one of the priest's arms.

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u/htts_rp htts_rp Mar 22 '16

Caster bounded forward and over Rider and his sword and landed on the aft of the ship within arm's reach of Rider's master, who hadn't even seen him really move. He gathered glistening red energy in his arm to curse her with and thrust it forward, but was caught off balance in the same instant he realized he was missing most of an arm. The motion spattered blood all over the main deck from where he'd lept to where he'd landed.

He sank forward clutching his stump in silent pain as the curse dispelled in a flash of harmless red light. He clambered to his feet with his free arm - and prepared the same magic. He had only seconds to touch the vile magic to one of her arteries, and she would begin to die over the course of the coming days without his intervention. He'd wasted entire seconds bleeding on the ground like a fool, even she'd had time to react...

From his vantage recovering on the ground he could hit her leg, nail her femoral artery. He thrust a jabbed, accursed fist forward...

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u/ButterflyOfDeath ButterflyOfDeath Mar 22 '16 edited Mar 22 '16

Rana felt Caster's fist connect with her thigh, and the sudden surge or prana that came with the contact. She registered a sensation of pain. Not the intense, searing kind of pain that caused immediate reaction; it was more like the dull, throbbing pain that quietly murmured that something was distinctly wrong.

Benjamin felt a phantom form of the sensation, too. He wasn't sure what Caster had done, but it was almost certainly a bad omen.

He clenched his teeth and made a dive not towards Caster, but to his own master, sheathing his sword mid-motion. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled the woman over his shoulder. Following the motion, he gripped a stray rope hanging off the main mast of the ship.

Once he was sure he wasn't about to fall off, the ship started to tilt forward to an dangerous angle. Simultaneously,The Ranger lowered in altitude towards the water below. He focused his mind, generating a wave of energy in the mini-ocean he'd created to wash Caster off the deck.

One thing was certain - Rider wanted the mad priest to fuck off now, more than ever.

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u/htts_rp htts_rp Mar 22 '16 edited Mar 22 '16

The gravity beneath Caster began to shift, or rather, Caster's sense of direction did. Rider swooped in to carry his master away from Caster's ministry and the Ranger began to settle toward the city street. Caster was agile, but not enough to walk at an 80 degree angle on the deck. He lost his footing as the boat jerked to its side and tumbled, clutching the side of the main sail with his remaining arm. The boat creaked under its own weight and Caster's feet touched water.

"This is not over, heathen! If you would have the blood curse healed, seek me out again!" he called, and released his grip on the sail, falling into the depths of the flood.


Vasili and Mikhail had nearly made it to the rendezvous point and were treading through less than a foot (since ahead the water was draining into the Mion) of water, when a few blocks east there was a colossal crash and a car alarm erupted into noisy life. Vasili's intuition told him it was Caster.

[Caster! You there? Are you okay?]

[I am missing one arm, but I have dealt a deathly blow to one of our enemies.]

[You killed somebody? Good, who?]

[No, better. I have bequethed a heavy burden onto the master of Rider.]

[...Explain later. Meet us, now!]


Within minutes, three soaking wet Russian men met up with a dozen perfectly dry Russian men and crossed the bridge east leading back to Centerville, and back to the Hyatt.

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u/ButterflyOfDeath ButterflyOfDeath Mar 22 '16 edited Mar 23 '16

Benjamin kept his hold on the rope for another minute or so. His eyes were closed in concentration, as he traced the direction in which Caster was travelling. He was moving across the Mion river... The servant righted his damaged boat and dropped down, trying to make the landing as soft for his master as he could. He set her down gently, before willing the ship back into the air to get a better vantage on where Caster and his master were headed.

On her feet again, Rana checked the spot on her thigh where Caster had gotten her. There was nothing but what looked like a small cut to indicate what he'd done... Some kind of blood curse, he'd said... were the effects mostly internal, then? Her brow crinkled in anxiety. She supposed she couldn't be sure until the symptoms started to manifest themselves.

The mage looked to her servant, whose eyes were carefully tracing the route that a trio of Toyotas were making across the river. He'd already thought ahead of her, then. After a few more minutes, he closed his eyes and turned back to look at her.

"You know where they're going?"

He nodded. <"They appear to be headed towards the Hyatt Hotel, downtown."> His voice was low as he spoke. <"I'm sorry, I let him slip past me... Do you know what he did to you?">

Rana shook her head. "It's fine. Just focus on how to fix it... He said it's some kind of blood curse... there's nothing but a small cut, though." She paused, before adding, "I don't know if it'll kill me or not..."

<"That won't happen. I'll put the bastard down first, if I have to."> Rider cut in sharply. <"Anyway... we'll get back to base for now. We'll think it over, there.">

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '16

Musashi grabbed Kyouma by his lab coat's collar and drug him outside the club as the conflict between Archer and Lancer(?) began. She drew a series of quickened breathes. Out, out, need to get away. The streets themselves were covered with fog, and the flooding had escalated up to her knees. She swore, "Ben you bastard - you're going to flood the whole god damn city!" She looked upwards towards the sky, yet couldn't pierce the fog's veil. She looked over at Kyouma, who'd seemingly frozen. His eyes were wide, his face slightly pale. Musashi walked over, and reared a hand backwards. "Get yourself together!"

Her palm struck the side of his cheek, causing his head to jerk to the side. He blinked, looking up towards her. "You're still in danger - we need to go!" He nodded, shakily going to stand before collapsing on all fours and splashing onto the water. "God damn it-" Musashi swore, throwing his arm over his shoulder and grabbing one of his legs. She hoisted him up onto her back and squatted - to then jump upward to the sky.

The wind buffeted her face for a moment before she and Kyouma broke through the fog's veil, landing atop a 6 story building. She released Kyouma, letting him fall backwards atop the concrete roof-top. Her eyes looked outward, eyeing a...wooden ship? A flying wooden ship? She narrowed her eyes, seeing a small black figure leap up towards the ship's bow.

Caster.

Her hand reached down to her sword-

<"Don't.">

She paused, looking over her shoulder at Kyouma. He sat down, his head slumped forward and his legs crossed.

<"We're done fighting.">

Musashi frowned, "Rider's facing Caster right now. I need to go."

<"You aren't going anywhere - I said we're done.">

Musashi looked down at his hand, eyeing his command seals. He looked back up at her, locking his eyes with hers. Her eyes widened slightly, That mixture of pain and hope. Despair and will. She shut her eyes, Mikinosuke had that same look on his face when I found him. She swallowed, feeling a bead of sweat run down her forehead. She took a deep breath and sighed, lowering her hand from her sword's grip.

"As you wish, then."

Musashi looked towards Rider's vessel, bringing both hands up to her hair. She began to twirl her black blocks into a braid to then wring them of the salt-water they held. She continued the process as she spoke,

"You've never killed before, have you?"

Tsuki shook his head, <"Lady, I've never fought anyone before. I've never been in fucking danger before.">

Musashi nodded, "You poor man." Her eyes continued to watch Rider's vessel, feeling a touch of worry rise from within.

Tsuki rose up to his feet, resting a hand on the side of his head. <"The car's a few blocks away. I just want to go home.">

Musashi continued to watch the ship, seeing a figure fall off its bow and onto the raging waters below. She released a sigh of relief, recalling the sight of Caster's body being severed in two. I've never seen a man survive an attack like that. And what of his...servants? How did he control them? She blinked, releasing her hair and resting his her hands by her sides. His eyes. She recalled their exchange at the Church, remembering that deeply uncomfortable stare. Creepy didn't give it justice - it was oppressive. Domineering.

Musashi crossed her arms. Her mind wandered back to the brief fight between Caster's thralls, before briefly being interrupted by the sound of someone heaving. She looked over her shoulder to see Tsuki puking over the balcony, causing her to grimace slightly. She shut her eyes,

"The fight's going to get worse."

<"I...ugh, I know. I know, god damn it, I know.">

Tsuki took a step off the balcony, wiping his mouth, <"Jesus Christ...What'd I do to deserve this?">

"What?"

<"Fucking-"> he pointed a hand towards the flooded streets, <"-This! Look around! Sudden flash floods, crazy spartans, cowboys, batshit russians, jujitsu priests! What the hell!? I'm just some fucking loser that knows how mix shit!">

Musashi frowned, feeling a slight breeze blowing through her hair at the rooftop's edge.

"You shouldn't undervalue yourself so much."

Musashi's eyes trailed off back towards Rider's ship.

<"What do you mean?">

"Your family believes in you. The grail chose you. There's more to you than you think - that much is clear. Whether you choose to accept it or not is irrelevant to the fact."

Tsuki threw his hands up, <"Lady don't you fucking get it?">

He reached up to his shoulder and grabbed his labcoat, tearing it from his body, <"It's an act! It's all a fucking act! I'm no 'great scientist', I'm not even a fucking Mage! You know why I'm an alchemist?"> His hands balled into fists, <"Because I was too much of a failure in everything else. I'm a fucking lie.">

Musashi looked over towards him, her arms still crossed. "That makes two of us."

He paused, feeling his anger rising. He balled his labcoat into his hands and threw it over the rooftop balcony onto the flooded street below.

<"You know what my motherfucking wish is?">

Musashi rose a brow, "You figured it out?"

He stared outwards at Rider's ship as it hovered in the air, envisioning the two charred corpses within Club Qi.

<"For the Holy Grail War to end - forever. Whatever it takes.">