I would like to request your advice, community. Of those of you who deal with... admittedly strange people on a regular basis, what is the strangest thing they've ever done that you have had to help with, even though you disapproved of it? What did you do in that situation?

...furthermore, does this situation you were in compare in any way, by level of strangeness or otherwise, to a certain somebody holding public auditions in a talent show format in order to search for additions to her harem?

[When Bazett appears on the video, she is pale and seems to be biting back the desire to shake, cry, or do both at the same time. Her suit is noticeably torn and in spots, covered with blood. One of her hands clutches a card. She stares into the screen for a long time before speaking.]

L-Lancer. I am...sorry.

[She knows that the Lancer card that she had beaten back into its card form is not, in fact, the same Lancer as the one over the community. That had been corrupted thing with no mind to call its own. But it had the same face and the same voice. It was still some form of Lancer.]

[And she had killed him. For the sake of her mission, she killed a copy of her hero.]

Please forgive me.

[She bows her head. She knows that this apology will probably mean nothing to Lancer. Nevertheless, she still feels compelled to apologize.]

[As she reaches to shut the feed off, having finished with her apology, she notices that she in fact has the wrong privacy settings on the video. What little color remains in her face quickly drains out at this.]

...As for the rest of you, forgive me for making you listen to this.

[She quickly turns the feed off.]



[ooc: Bazett will answer with texts in response to any questions.]

Whoa, I missed my birthday.  Wonder how the hell I did that.  Oh, well, don't matter.

COME TELL ME HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY

[ what the video opens up to is a weird group. alviss is standing there and staring down a blonde kid and a metal ball with a face and a moustache. in the background is a weird bird in a cage and a very angry fairy. you're allowed to be confused, but they appear to be in the middle of a very serious argument, and the blonde kid looks kind of roughed up. ]

That's enough. I have an idea of your strength. [ alviss turns dead serious suddenly. he holds out his hand expectantly. ] Now, hand over Babbo.

[ the blonde kid is not happy. ] Don't give me that crap! Why do I have to give you Babbo?!

Because it must be destroyed.

(  alviss promptly beats the hell out of a young boy; cut for length  )

[ the boy collapses face-down on the ground, unconscious. alviss stares at him in silence, and he jerks in shock when babbo speaks up next - ]

A great moon... A night like this would be a fine night to die. [ babbo turns to alviss. ] I won't resist, so just destroy me! But if you lay another finger on Ginta, I'll haunt you! ... He's not my friend. He's my escort. And I don't desire to live over my escort's dead body. I'm a gentleman, after all.

[ you don't get to see alviss' reaction, or what he chooses to do with babbo. you get nothing. the video cuts out there. ]

[ bet you thought you wouldn't be seeing this particular account name again.

oh, ye of little faith.

her surroundings may be different, from what little can be made out of them over her shoulders; they look suspiciously like a normal teenager's bedroom, in fact. maybe one that some of you recognise. Saber herself is dressed much more casually than she has ever been before; no armour, no dress, no suit, just a white t-shirt paired with a brown cardi. very average-looking. but otherwise, she looks much the same as she ever has. ]

Hello, community. I apologise for not letting you know of my whereabouts earlier, but the past few days have been more hectic than I would have expected. But please rest assured, I am completely fine, in no small part thanks to the efforts of others.

[ it's not a complete lie. she's physically fine, at least. ]

I need not say, I hope, that the Fourth Holy Grail War has ended. [ her expression tightens for a second, there, with worry and something like frustration. something smaller behind that like regret. ] I realise some of you may have questions about what has transpired in the past week, and I will do my best to answer them if I can.

[ she knows some of the events were broadcast. the events, and part of the aftermath, apparently; she made sure to go through the community and get up to speed. which is partly what leads to her next question: ]

Relatedly, would I be able to trouble anyone with a request for a world-hop? There are... a few things that I would like to check up on, if I may. Thank you for indulging me.

[Bazett is dressed as usual as she appears on the feed. But, instead of her usual neutral expression, she has a peaceful smile.]

I-I just wanted to say...

[She hesitates for a moment, blushing.]

I am really glad I encountered this network and met all of you! Especially Lancer.

[Another pause.]

...And that is because...I really...really...

...Like Lancer.

So this is what the kids are all using these days, hm?  It's no wonder everyone around here has been so preoccupied with their little gadgets. Too preoccupied to chat with their own mother.

[She sighs dramatically before shrugging, obviously she doesn't actually care.]

Before I get ahead of myself, I'm Kyrie Ushiromiya, Battler and Ange's mother.  Now I am going to need to hear every story you may have about either of them here - you know, to get caught up on all I've missed.

[It's Orlando's journal, all right, but things are looking different today. For one, there's the young man lying on the sand, with a black cloak draped over him, in front of palm trees and other vegetation which suggest a tropical beach. He looks to be in his late teens, or perhaps very early twenties. His long black hair is tied loosely into a ponytail, his skin is well-tanned, and what is visible of his body seems toned enough for him to be a professional athlete, or an actor from an action flick. In fact, the general look of him says "B fantasy movie character." Anyone who has seen footage of Orlando playing the Middle Country might think that this looks like a younger version of his "Thargor" character.

But there's something off about the young man. For all that he appears to be in the prime of health, he doesn't move like it. The way his chest rises and falls suggests someone seriously ill, for whom breathing is a battle.

That's not the only thing that's off, though. There's something bigger. All of this- the sand, the palm trees, the hairs that aren't contained by the man's ponytail- they all lack that little lag in movement, that little sense of the lines and shadows being wrong. Everything looks completely real.

But it can't be, can it?

The man opens his eyes, and turns his head towards the camera. He appears confused for a few moments, frowning vaguely.]

The community? [And that is definitely Orlando's voice, though weak and strained. A small smile forms on his face, before he pulls his head to his chest to cough. It's a violent sound. But when he rests his head, he returns to facing the community, and speaks again.]

I wish Fredericks could see this. [A pause. And something behind his eyes is ignited.] Fredericks. [With what is apparently great effort, he turns, and lifts himself shakily on one elbow.] Someone has to tell his parents- both our parents, that we're...that we're here.

[He starts to cough again, and the video ends.]

( reach out to the truth of my life )

[Another view of this limousine...]

['Welcome to the Velvet Room', the man sitting across from the video's perspective says. He seems a little suspicious, but his voice and demeanor aren't hostile in the least.]

With your new bond, you have awoken to the Star Arcana. [The woman--Margaret--speaks, and as she does a glowing card floats down and disappears into the book on her lap.]

Now then, your story is drawing towards its climax. [Igor spoke again, hardly moving as he did.] As such, I imagine several surprises are lying in wait for you.

Your fate is at a crossroads. [Margaret continued, pensive and quiet.] If you fail to solve the mystery, your future may close before you. [She turned enough to look towards the camera--towards Narukami, in reality. Her tone grew faintly ominous, taking on a sense of warning.] No matter how thick the fog may appear, there is but one truth...Defeat is not the only thing that can bring your story to an end. You would do best to remember that.

[With those words of warning, the video faded to black.]

[Those of you who have spoken to Kirei in person before may have noted that he sounds very flat and monotone.

Well.

He doesn't now.]

If a superior made a mistake, would it be your duty to correct them? Or would you let them flounder in their own errors? I suppose it would depend on how severe the error is, if nothing else. Some mistakes are just small missteps in judgment, after all. It's almost impossible to know everything all at once.

But there are some mistakes that can only be made once. Ones so large that they can't be taken back. You become stuck upon a path, winding outward from the consequences of your actions. Inevitably, those consequences must come back to us.

If the person above you made a mistake of that magnitude...

Well.

Would you be one of those consequences?

[Casually, in the background:]

It appears that Kotomine Kirei is rather long-winded, today.


(OOC: gold = gilgamesh. Also, people trying to worldhop into fate/zero verse will now find it worldlocked! nobody's coming in or out. We runnin' this!)

[ should you choose to play this video, you will find that it is nigh-impossible to see anything through a combination of static, darkness, and fog. eerily glowing fog. fog shouldn't be glowing a sickly shade of purple, right?

you can hear the sound of water sloshing against something. something very large. something-- oh dear god in heaven WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT.

whatever it is and however many nightmares it will soon be giving you, if you look past the writhing tentacles, you will see Saber in her full armour, somehow defying physics by standing on the water of the river itself to face the thing. compared to the grotesque mass in front of her, she is tiny. but the sword in her right hand glows with an impossibly brilliant light, gold and warm and seeming to carry every hope you have ever even half dreamed of becoming reality.

she raises the sword above her head with both hands and closes her eyes, concentrating. you may wish for some appropriate background music.

somehow, impossibly, the light from her sword gets brighter and brighter, gold motes rising like dust from the river, the grass, everywhere in the surrounding landscape to join the light from her sword until it is too blinding to look at. ]

[ and softly, whether though some will of the community or some other magic, the voice of a young woman can be heard. ]

"It shines. That sword is the dream all warriors, past, present, and future, hold as their deaths approach. A sad, exalted dream. She carries their will as her pride, bidding them to remain steadfast in their loyalty. Now, the undefeated King sings aloud the name of the miracle she holds in her hand."

[ as if on cue, Saber's eyes open, and she stares resolutely at the monster in front of her. the golden light - energy - flares around her, making waves in the river. she takes one, two steps forward, and-- ]

EXCALIBUR!

[ she brings the sword down, and the beam of light comes with it, displacing the water and the fog around it in a chaotic spray as it rushes towards its target, blinding--

the light flares, and the feed ends.

what the hell was she doing using that particular sword. ]