1st Code [Action] [Warning for Fate/Extra spoilers in comments!]

[doesnotgetit]

[Action - 505 Ricardo Street]

[Hakuno practically jumps out of bed when the alarms blare out across town. Alarm floods her first... but then, confusion. It seemed like just a second ago that, with adrenaline still pumping through her after the final battle, she had reached out, fingertips an inch away from the the Moon Cell...

... And then she woke up here. But... where was here? Was this some other construction by the Moon Cell?

Only one way to find out! She slid out of bed, exiting the room and looking around. Is this... someone else's house?]

Hello? Is anybody here?

[Action - Outside]

[Some time later, Hakuno is dressed and outside, looking up at the midnight sky, inky-black and dotted with stars.]

Huh... I almost forgot what this looked like... [Her voice doesn't sound wistful or contemplative of anything like that... she's simply stating a fact. She was so used to the strange digital sky surrounding the school, or the harsh artificial sun of the various levels of the arena. But this... this was different.] ... Considering everything, though, I guess that doesn't really mean much.

Comments

action;

[doesnotgetit]

Right... here, the house is the one right over there.

[She hasn't really done any wandering, so 505 Ricardo is only a few buildings away. She leads!

And is mostly oblivious to any non-practical thoughts cuddling with Rin might bring. It probably would be nice, though, as long as Rin isn't on maximum tsun the whole time...]

action;

[gandere]

Great, let's go.

[ There's no hesitation in the girl bolting towards the house. Maybe she should exercise a bit more caution, but if she did just arrive, what was the most damage she could do? Pull Rin's hair? ]

Hey, you said you beat me right? Does that mean you're a magus? No, you said 'we'. So that means you must have been a Master? 'We' meaning your Servant and yourself, right?

action; it's certainly the most coherent one i've ever written... which isn't actually saying much

[stages]

[The diminutive emperor's face trembled, expression unable to keep up with the rapidly-swirling emotional vortex that they were meant to reflect. She could have handled this, after all; if Hakuno had responded as Saber had expected, she would have simply offered the girl a crushing hug, content - no... ecstatic, not content - simply that, in some sense, she still lived.

But she hadn't. She hadn't been confused; not really. She'd known, from a glance, who she was.

She remembered. She remembered, even though the Moon Cell should have purged every last remnant of her consciousness; even though the only Hakuno that should exist anymore oughtn't know a thing about the Grail War.

There was only one possibility, then, impossible though it might actually be: this was not a Kishinami Hakuno; this was the Kishinami Hakuno. Not the template, the original... but hers. Her foolish, thick-headed, beloved Master.

Saber was - had always been - prideful, boastful, prone to bluster... but, when it came to her emotions, she was starkly honest. When she was happy, there was no hope of keeping a smile off her face; when someone aroused her ire, the merest mention of them would likely provoke a venomous rant, deserved or otherwise.

And, when she was relieved? Really, truly, cathartically relieved?

Well, she wasn't too proud to cry, when the situation warranted it... and, this one? Certainly did.

Saber dashed forward, throwing her arms around Hakuno, as if trying to keep her from slipping away again.]

Idiot! Buffoon! [saber that is not a very nice greeting]

That you would allow me to believe it was truly the end... do not expect my forgiveness to come easily!

[There was no anger in her words, not really; they were born of panic, and nothing more. As she spoke, the first of many hot tears spilled out, soaking into shirt her "daughter" was wearing.

Hope you didn't want to go anywhere for a while, Hakuno. She isn't letting you out of her grasp for a bit, much less her sight.]

action;

[doesnotgetit]

[The hug takes her by surprise for only a second before she wraps Saber in one equally as tight. She tries to laugh at the scolding - like with Rin, she's just so used to that attitude that it doesn't really bother her - but considering the tears quickly forming in her eyes, it comes out as more of a choked sob.]

I'm sorry... I didn't want to leave. [Leave you. Leave Rani. As accepting as she was about her imminent death, it was still terrifying knowing that she was going to be completely erased, and she did have her regrets.] But I had to do it...

action;

[doesnotgetit]

That's right. [Hakuno was used to going to the other girl for help, so having it be the other way around was... strange, to say the least.] Saber and I... [Her smile fades a little, both at the memory of her Servant and the memory of their fight.] We had no choice. I couldn't just back out of the fight...

[doesnotgetit]

Yeah, pretty much. [She laughs a little.] Told you it was weird.

[doesnotgetit]

Looking around. [She says that as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.] I suddenly woke up here, so I'm trying to get my bearings.

[answerer_sword]

So you are another one of the new arrivals.

[It is strange how in the course of the skipped three days, some people had become drones and other had newly arrived. What is stranger is that none of the remaining sentient residents know what happened in those three days.]

How much do you already know about this town?

[doesnotgetit]

Yeah, I think I've heard everything... [Thank you, Rin and Saber.]</small. We're stuck in this town modeled after 1950's America, we're forced to live in families with other people stuck here, the people running the place are pretty messed up, weird things happen on a monthly basis... that's the important stuff, right?

action; itt: kevin babbles forever about internal conflicts :||||

[stages]

[She knew that; really, she did. If Hakuno hadn't done what she'd done... if she hadn't sacrificed herself to break that meaningless cycle...

Well, she wouldn't have been herself; she wouldn't have been the girl that Saber fell in love with. And, really, it went without saying that the tiny emperor wouldn't legitimately berate her for staying true to her beliefs...

It was just...

...

She'd been prepared. Content, maybe? It had seemed a fitting, beautiful end; shielding her Master from the Moon Cell's purge, to give her as much time to leave her mark on the world as possible. They'd been doing something good, something righteous; it wasn't a death to be complained about.

But, then? It wasn't the end. Her contentment had been shattered, and the fear - the fear that had always been there, but... pushed aside, in favour of more immediate concerns - had been allowed to run its course.

She should be happy - she is happy - and yet... the only thing she can feel at the moment is that pent-up fear.

You aren't leaving her again, Hakuno. She's already lost you once, and she'll cleave the heavens before she lets it happen again.]

Fool... I know that...

Your nobility will [...awkward pause; wow she definitely almost said "be the death of you" WHOOPS] ...never cease to make trouble for the both of us.

action; babble to me forever bb, I'll just sit here and feel inadequate

[doesnotgetit]

[This time she does manage to laugh, as weak as it sounds. A small part of her wonders just what might be wrong with her, to have missed Saber's scolding and Rin's verbal abuse. But it's part of what made Rin and Saber... well. Rin and Saber. It's a reminder that they're really here with her, and she's with them. They're alive, so maybe everything will be okay now.]

Trouble just seems to find me, no matter where I go. [She smiles fondly.] I'm glad you're still here to watch my back.

[answerer_sword]

Yes, that is the basics of this town. I am glad that you have heard it already.

[It saves her the effort of explaining.]

I belive we are currently in one of the town's monthly "events." Be careful.

[doesnotgetit]

Is there normally some sort of warning when strange things start happening? Like... that alarm from earlier? Or does it just start all at once?

[answerer_sword]

Normally, these events happen without any warning. If there is one, then it is probably meant to distract from the town's true agenda.

[Like the broadcast in December.]

outside

[godlyreigns]

[GREETINGS. THERE IS A SERVANT.

Walking down the street. With books and a bag of food, looks like it.]

Forgot what, if you do not mind me asking?

outside

[doesnotgetit]

[But she looks so normal! Compared to all the other crazy Servants Hakuno has run into, at least.]

The sky. [man, that makes her sound sorta strange, doesn't it...] It just looked a little different in the place I was before waking up from, that's all.

[doesnotgetit]

Okay... I'll be sure to keep an eye out for anything strange, then. [Which... isn't saying much, considering how new she is, but it's a good idea to stay alert now.] Thank you for the warning, miss... ah...

[answerer_sword]

Bazett Fraga McRemitz.

What about you?

[doesnotgetit]

Hakuno. Hakuno Kishinami. It's nice to meet you, Bazett.

[sara_mudou]

Don't worry. It's not that weird. A lot of people here are from strange places. [An encouraging smile!]

[answerer_sword]

It is nice to meet you too, Kishinami.

I would suggest that you find some strong allies. It is always useful to have someone watching your back during the chaos that Mayfield inflicts upon us.

[doesnotgetit]

[For someone who just emerged victor in a hundred-plus person battle, you'd think she'd be at least a little opposed to alliances. But Hakuno knows she's not good at doing things on her own - she has Saber and Rin(?), but more couldn't hurt.]

I have a few people I trust here already. Is there anyone I should keep an eye out for, good or bad?

[answerer_sword]

Yes, there are. The authorities of the town, as well as a seemingly drone family called the Smiths, are to be avoided at all costs. Their "daughter" Lucy is especially dangerous, seeing how she is rumored to be a being named Zemekis that actually controls the entire town. Though most of the town's sentient residents are at worst neutral, there are a few who are outright evil. One is called Gilles de Rais, or, as he is commonly known, Caster. In life, he was an insane child murderer and magus. Here, he is a summoned spirit that has retained, at least, his physical combat abilities. Another is called Amaimon. He is a demon. While I do not believe him to be as actively malicious as Caster, he still cares nothing for human lives. A third being is a magus named Black Mage. Like De Rais, he is a child murderer, but I know for certain he has his powers here.

[She avoids giving details on the Holy Grail War when mentioning Caster. After all, it is highly unlikely that a normal looking girl would know of the War.]

I am not sure what you mean by "good" people, but I do know I have a few allies that I would prefer you and your allies not to harm. One of them is a girl named Rin Tohsaka. I think she is in your age group, so you will probably encounter her in your school. Another is a boy named Alessandro. Again, he will probably be attending school alongside you. There are also three men named Firo Prochainezo, Lancer, and Tony Stark. Whether or not you associate with them otherwise does not matter to me.

[doesnotgetit]

[Whoa whoa wait. She manages to take all this information in, but there's definitely something that sticks out there.]

... There's a Caster here too? [So much for that thinking, Bazett!] How many Servants are here? There's Saber, Rin's Lancer, and this Caster...

[She sounds uneasy as she speaks. Could the Grail War really not be over...?]

[answerer_sword]

You know of the Grail Wars? Were you a participant?

[She notices the girl sounds uneasy.]

Right now, there is a mutual ceasefire agreement between most of the Masters and Servants. Many of them have even allied together to achieve the goal of escaping this town. It would be good if you could also hold to that.