towerofanimus | I Don't Think That's How...

Entry tags:

I Don't Think That's How...

Characters: Zero Lancer and whoever would like to join!
Setting: Starting in room 4-16, then heading to the cafeteria, and from there floor six.
Format: Whatever you would like!
Summary: Zero Lancer wakes up in a strange place and tries to figure out what's going on.
Warnings: Spoilers for Lancer's end in the series.

Room 4-16

[The moment he is able to move from the strange paralysis that has gripped him upon waking, Lancer's hand sweeps out to grab one of the two letters his eyes spot on the table near his bed. While the time he's been unable to move has been brief, for a trained warrior in a unfamiliar place, that time has still seemed like an eternity.

An eternity trapped in mystery. An eternity not knowing if his master...]

Right, my master...

[The word drips with an anger unusual to him as his empty hand rises to rest over his heart--over the place where there should have been a gaping hole from the spear he had been forced to drive through his own chest.

The wound is no longer there.]

What is going on? How can this be?

[Lancer's eyes focus back on the letter in his hand and he quickly opens it. After only a few moments, the letter floats onto his bed. Dropped in surprise? Shock? He's not really sure what to call the feeling that tears through his heart. Shock he had felt when he had been betrayed by the master he'd given everything to. Surprise he had felt when he realized, in those final moments, how angry it had made him.

The emotion he feels now that he has been told that his world is dead and he is still alive instead of it being the other way around is something he can't put a name to. And while he doesn't know what to call that emotion, he does know he can't just keep sitting on the bed in this strange place wondering what's going on.

Lancer quickly rises to his feet and summons his armor and spear to his side. The summoning is as natural to him as breathing and he never once doubts that they will come when called. He does, however, notice that while the white outfit had woke up in is now gone, the collar is still there. It's an annoyance, but something he can deal with later once he's gotten some answers.

He's about to leave his room when the trunk at the end of his bed catches his eye. He's not quite sure why, but he gets the feeling he should really look into it before leaving. If the letters had held information, then why not the trunk as well?

Anyone who happens by 4-16 and looks or stops in may find him still kneeling in front of the now opened trunk. Asking about what looks to be the tears in the corners of his eyes may or may not be a good idea.]

The Cafeteria

[While servants technically don't have to eat, since Lancer has no idea how things work in this strange place, he is currently eating a bowl of very tasteless oatmeal. Not that it really bothers him considering some of the things he had eaten while in the Fianna and on the run from Fionn. Tasteless actually is an improvement from what some of those things had tasted like.

To be honest, he's not here for the food anyway. Since the cafeteria was mentioned in the letter, it only stands to reason that a good number of people would be there--new and old alike. And that does seem to be the case, so the servant in green sits at one of the cafeteria tables slowly making his way through his own bowl, his head bowed over it almost as if he's shy. While he's not really shy, he is somewhat worried about his curse and how it will affect the people here. So far, though, no one seems to be having troubles with it leading him to hope that it's not active. Those who take the time to look into his eyes will find that, far from looking shy, they are observing the room and its occupants with an intensity that only those who have fought many many a battle can achieve.]

Floor Six

[After learning all he can in the cafeteria, Lancer decides to slowly start making his way back up the tower so that he can find out what secrets each floor holds. Already he's heard tell that many of the floors are dangerous and even deadly to those who make a misstep on them, but this floor seems far too peaceful for that. He takes a few steps away from the stairway, but doesn't go too far, keeping in mind the things he had overheard from others. How some floors look completely safe, only to become deathtraps in the blink of an eye.

Movement to his left draws Lancer's attention, but he smiles when he notices it's just a deer. A...mutated deer, but a deer just the same. In all honesty, it's not the strangest thing he's seen. He grew up in a world of oddities after all.

The deer watches him for a few moments longer before disappearing back into the forest. As it disappears, Lancer closes his eyes and draws in a deep breath. Maybe it is just because of what he found in his trunk, but this forest with all its oddities makes him feel strangely at home.

Unconsciously, his hand raises to touch the torc that sits tightly around his neck slightly above the collar. He could have worn it lower as he had when it had first been given to him, but no. Lancer can't stand the idea of the gift Oscar had spent so much time finding for him being hidden by that thing...that annoyance he still hasn't found a way to be rid of.

And so he stands there, lost in thought. Thoughts of the old days, of his old friends, things supposedly on a world that might or might not have been destroyed. He still isn't sure what he believes. He just knows that at least here he has these small things, these memories.

He didn't have any of that in the war...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He didn't deserve that.

[He has never heard of the names before, but now, he'll be on the lookout for any Kayneth. If only to rough him up a bit.]

No, you didn't deserve that. Your Grail War seems like shit.

[Lancer had been lucky, getting a Master that he actually liked. Now he feels more guilt than he ever had, knowing he squandered that chance.]

At least it might be better here for you.

No...the Grail War was nothing as I expected it would be. The only shining point was having the chance to meet someone as noble and honorable as the King of Knights. I just wish we had been able to complete our duel.

Well, if nothing else, I am alive here for good or ill.

[He motions back to the trunk at his feet.]

And it has given back to me some very precious items--links to my first life. That is more than I ever had in the war.

The King of Knights, huh?

[Lancer personally thought the man was an overly formal prick, but he won the heart of a girl like Ayaka. And he truly was skilled with his sword.]

Must have been fun to fight him. Maybe he'll get over here too someday.

[Lancer looks at his roommate, confused for a moment, and then he laughs lightly.]

Second magic, is it? Yes, it was a honor to fight her. I take it the King of Knights from your world is more like the legends say and actually male instead of a woman who was forced to play the role her whole life.

[He has to take a second to absorb that.]

Wait, so you're from one of those universes with that female Saber? She's uh...already here.

[He and Ayaka seemed to be the only ones who could recall the male King of Knights. It still seemed a little odd to think of the two Sabers as different versions of the same being. However, a version of himself had come and gone, so he should probably try getting used to the thought of having two copies of the same hero in one Tower.]

Yes. I--

[Lancer stops suddenly as what the other man said hits him. She's here? Saber is here? For a moment, all he can think of is how wonderful it will be to see her again--to a have the chance to finish what they had started in the war.

Then he remembers the war...remembers why they weren't able to finish their duel. For all he knows, she will want to have nothing to do with a knight as dishonorable as he. What right does he have to force his presence on her no matter how much he might want to?]

It's good she's here. The people of the tower are lucky to have such an honorable and noble light fighting for them.

She's a good person. A little strict, but a good person, really.

[Not even knowing she has Angra Mainyu changes that. She was, for all her corruption, a noble knight at the core. Nobler than Lancer himself on some points.]

I think I'm lucky to know a person like her, at least.

You are.

[Lancer quirks an eyebrow at the other man and then smirks.]

And it's good you realize that or else I would have to knock some sense into your head.

She's much better than my version of Saber.

[At least, his version of Saber had never comforted him as he cried.]

Man was a prick.

[Lancer nods.]

It seems sometimes the smallest of things can completely chance how a person's personality forms. Many might call the Saber I knew strict and unfeeling, but she would never willing hurt another. Perhaps it is merely because of the role she had to play in life. She could never truly be herself. That might have made her less of a 'prick' than yours was.

He wasn't just that. He was arrogant too. And polite even as he said the worst shit.

[Like asking oh-so-politely that Lancer feed his pride to Misaya's dog familiars.]

Let me just say this--I liked Archer better than him.

If your Archer was anything like mine, that is quite the feat indeed.

[A look of disgust crosses Lancer's face.]

A golden king who thought far too highly of himself? Sound familiar?

Oh yeah. Guess we know the same Archer, at least.

[He did recall Saber saying something about Archer being summoned in the Fourth War.]

In that case, you have my greatest sympathies if he is indeed easier to deal with than your Saber was. It's difficult for me to imagine someone worse than he. I think I was lucky that he deemed me so far below him that I wasn't worth talking to.

[Lancer pauses for a moment as a grin crosses his face.]

I do wonder if it upset him that this mongrel was the one who ultimately unseated Berserker from his mount when all of his fancy attempts had so thoroughly failed.

[He looks toward the other Lancer, suddenly interested.]

What's this about Berserker?

[The Berserker he knew was a huge black giant, first summoned by a proper Master who appeared young, and then a pawn of the War's Administrator.]

I can't say that I know much about him other than what I learned watching him fight. He was a dark knight and it seemed that whatever he laid his hands on became a weapon as strong as a Noble Phantasm. I saw him use a great many things including a telephone pole and a fighter jet.

He used the jet the night we were fighting Caster and his monster. I have no idea where he got it, but he was using it in ways a plane shouldn't be able to survive being used. Archer fought him for the longest time on a golden aircraft of his own before somehow being dismounted and sent into the river below.

Saber, Rider and I were focused on stopping Caster from hurting anymore innocents than he already had, so we were happy to let Archer play with him, but once Berserker was no longer distracted by Archer he turned on Saber and began to attack her.

[Lancer summons his spear and holds it out, non-threateningly, toward his roommate for a moment.]

When unsealed this spear can disrupt magical abilities and projections. It proved highly effective against his mount when I ran it through. It's just a shame that my aim was slightly off and I didn't take out the gun as well, but making it so he wasn't airborne any longer was a start.

[Lancer dismisses his weapon again and then shrugs.]

He ended up falling into the river at some point and I didn't see him again after that.

[He snickers a bit at the mention of Archer falling into the river.]

Sounds like a fun battle. Too bad I couldn't be there.

[But he frowns when he hears the other Lancer describing his Noble Phantasm's abilities.]

Are you sure you want me to know about that? About what your Noble Phantasm does? I or any other Servant could use it against you if the time comes.

[Lancer shrugs and a smirk slides across his face.]

I care little for secrecy. Besides, it's not like I told you exactly how it works. If that little bit of information changes the course of a fight against me, then my skills have slipped far more than they should. I would deserve to be defeated. My noble phantasm's ability is not something I depend on to win me a battle. It is my skill that does that. The ability only hastens the fight should it need to be hastened.

Skills are good, but in a place like this? Always have a trump card.

[He almost can't believe the words coming out of his own mouth. He's never been the overly cautious type.]

Like if I know that spear counters magic? I'd be careful not to use anything magical against it and try to hit you physically. Wouldn't take too much work for another Servant to try the same strategy. And then again, if they know your name and your geas--you have geasa, don't you?--they could use that against you and take you down without even fighting.

Didn't we all have them? Fortunately for me, I don't know how easy it would be for another tower resident to use them against me. Is there even any proof that a geis is still active on a person in servant form? Especially one that has already been triggered?

[He narrows his eyes a little at the other Lancer, but his smirk is still in place.]

Besides, do you truly think me so poor of a fighter that I wouldn't plan a way to deal with someone who knew of my spear's special abilities and how to counter them? Come now...

Ah, I've never tried that out.

[And as a man who had originally been defeated by exploiting his geasa, he has no desire to try.]

Nah, if your stories are true, you aren't too bad when it comes to a fight.

[If what he felt could be called concern, then Lancer was worried for the other Servant. This man seemed genuinely nice and honest, but there were people in the Tower who could exploit that.]

But if you're gonna be that honest, you'll make the rest of us look bad. So, I guess I'll tell you something about my weapon. Once it sets out to take a heart, nothing can stop it.

[Lancer pauses a few moments before replying. He knows well the legend of a certain demonic spear that has just that ability. But...

He gives the man standing in front of him a hard look for a moment and then laughs to himself.

There is no way this...boy is the great Cu Chulainn.

So, it's a boast then. And why not? His roommate is at the very least familiar with Irish legend and Cu Chulainn is the greatest of all the legends of his homeland. The other Lancer has also shown proper respect for the danger of a geis in a time when they are no longer very common. That means he is either well studied--something Lancer doubts considering his attitude so far--or perhaps is from a time and place where they were still common.

Lancer is suddenly very curious about the identity of his roommate, but his pushes that curiosity aside. The man has already told him more than he should especially since it seems like he has something he wants to protect.]

I thank you, but that was unnecessary. Please don't put yourself at any risk because of me. I suspect in this place it is probably not the best idea to be as honest and open as I am, but I really can't be anything else and considering the dangers, I don't expect if of others.

...You're too nice for your own good, you know that?

[But he has to appreciate how this other Lancer can hold on to his ideals even if his Master had exploited those ideals and then betrayed him.]

Ah well. Do what you gotta do, I guess.

[Lancer lightly flushes in embarrassment and turns away slightly with a laugh.]

I've been told that many time and while I don't know how much I agree with it, I can only hope that whatever trouble my niceness gets me into, my skill with a spear can get me out of.

So, is there anything else you would like to warn me about or shall I head off to the cafeteria and see what kind of trouble comes my way?

Let's see...there's this redhead guy, Uryuu Ryuunosuke, who used to be Master of a Caster. Not really a guy you need to look out for, but he's an asshole who murders kids, so I'm looking to kill him. There's also this guy with long white hair. A decent fighter, I guess. Ruthless too, even to harmless drones. And then there's this blonde guy who fights pretty good.

[He's not naming any names for the last two, since he never thought to ask any. Nobody else makes it quite to warning category.]

Also, ask for a blonde girl with sharp ears if you need information on the Tower. She got a lot of notes compiled about the history and how everything works.

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16

Re: 4-16