Leyshift Chamber, Aaliyah.

Aaliyah pinched the bridge of her nose. How was it possible she summoned a Servant worse than Jakuta? How was that even a thing? "Your narcissism surpasses that of a god. Did you know that? Fine, forget it, just don't get in my way while I'm working."

edited 11th Feb '16 6:54:43 AM by Azure

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Leyshift Chamber - Thahab

"Well if you don't need to eat, and I don't need to eat, then what do we do? I thought eating was all normal people did in the morning..." Thahab mused, putting his hands on his hips and striking a little 'thinking-pose', as it were. He stayed like this for a few moments, with a face scrunched up in thought. Finally, he had an idea:

"Maybe we should go talk to Teacher? He could give us advice or something else that's helpfu-"

Thahab was interrupted by somebody opening the door to the Leyshifting Chamber

---

Jabir threw open the doors in front of him with a single wave of his hand. In his hand was a single extended magazine for Rick's gun, but his other hand seemed to be making beckoning motions.

Behind him, Jabir brought a wholesome, if traditional, breakfast for his charge. On a fancy looking plate he brought slices of flatbread, on a floating platter he had an assortment of jams, butter, and a few cheeses, and in a bowl he brought a thick soup.

"Thahab! I've brought you breakfast! Rick! We need to talk!"

First, Jabir waved at his homunculus. Then, he motioned towards Rick with a commanding gesture with the hand that held the magazine.

---

The plates hovered over to Thahab and hovered in an easily reachable area. A simple wooden chair materialized itself out of thin air and knocked Thahab into it.

The homunculus looked surprised, but Jeanne would be aware that this wasn't something uncommon.

G was here - 2/9/24

Cadmus

Cadmus's eyes shot towards Günther. "You don't say... do you...." she said, pausing for a few moments as she thought.

Her lips curled into a grin and she snapped her fingers, uttering something under her breathe about palettes as she lifted up her staff and gave it a twirl. In an instant she shoved the butt of her staff into Gunther's chest, magically burning away all his clothes and instantly replacing it with new fabric that her spell weaved. She pulled back the staff, and nodded approvingly. Consisting mainly of leather sandals, a white chiton, and a regal purple himation, she thought it was a significant improvement. Especially considering the fact that unlike his old clothes, they didn't have words written in large print on the front.

"I think you do well in purple, though you could likely also wear blue," she said.

Rick

"Oh hey guy," Rick said, shooting Jabir a pair of finger guns with thumbs-ups. "What's happening?" he asked. "You know, I was meaning to talk to you, see if you could set Cassius up with his own rifle. He was curious about modern weapons the other day, and you never know when something like that might come in handy. Maybe we'll be in Egypt and pulling a Colt on King Tut is all that separates us from life and death."

Jeanne

Jeanne let out a short giggle at Thahab's situation. "Your Teacher cares for you very much." she said giving him a small head rub. "You had better go ahead and eat before he gets mad."

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Hallways - Gabby

Gabby shrugged at Thomas.

"I had this teacher once, who, uhhh... She was basically addicted to coffee, and it kinda–... It made her be a total psycho, or at least it seemed to help her be one... Wasn't a bad teacher, though, didn't take crap from anybody, and that's good..."

Yawning yet again, she rubbed her eyes and walked into the cafeteria, intently smelling and judging the various food odors. After a few brief moments of contemplation, she went ahead and helped herself to both some phở and a small mug of coffee, at least 50% of it a slurry of cream, milk, and... hot chocolate packets. Hm.

Carefully carrying her tray loaded with only piping hot liquids, she found an empty table and sleepily slumped into a seat. Nghhhhh...

---

Günther - Pod Room

Günther gave a lazy, half-hearted little wave back to Thahab, as if to say "Yes, yes, hello to you too, fellow highly-disposible inhuman construct".

He then peered down quizzically at the staff poke, only to notice his new, incredibly Hellenistic wardrobe. The suddenness of the whole thing tickled him immensely, and he had a good little chuckle over it.

"Ahahahaha! Oh my God, wow, you're really going above and beyond the call of duty. Heh, perhaps I could pass for a Dionysus cosplayer or something."

He smiled fondly and ran a hand over his himation.

"...Seriously, thank you. I had some concerns about how my previous outfit would hold up to the coming heat of Egypt, but this ought to serve quite well."

make it through this year if it kills you yet | 2001-2019

The past — Gnarly in a workshop

Agricola sighed. "What next? A Germanic barbarian for a commander?" he asked. "Is there anybody here with the discipline of a Legionary, or are all of the Servants just mercenaries with nary a day of training to their names?"

The present — Gnarly in the Leyshifting Chamber

Agricola materialised by Cadmus' side, watching the proceedings impassively. The whole business seemed rather arcane to him, but he figured that he should leave that to the Masters and magi and concentrate on what he did best; that is, fighting.
The Servant glanced at Gunther with a frown. "Comparing oneself to the gods is too prideful by far," he said. "Besides of which, you do not seem wild enough, and you lack the entourage."

edited 12th Feb '16 1:04:01 PM by desdendelle

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

Cadmus

"He's quite right, though I believe that's cause for celebration," Cadmus said, nodding at Agricola's words solemnly for a moment before grinning. "You could never pass yourself off as my imbecile grandson - your face lacks his trademark idiocy and inebriation. Though..." she mused, "your appetite for food lines up with his definition of fun...."

She grabbed her chin for a second as she thought about something, before shaking her head. "In any case, we have two hours to prepare until we leave for our destination."

Günther

"Hey, if it's any comfort," Günther replied, smirking wryly at Cadmus' remark, "cosplayers are about as far from venerable as one could possibly get."

He then nodded to Cadmus, lazily running a hand through his bangs as he pondered this over.

"...That is right. We probably ought go ahead and get some breakfast. Heh, this is as ample an excuse as any to force kasha and filmjölk on you people."

make it through this year if it kills you yet | 2001-2019

Thahab

Thahab nodded somewhat fearfully, but seemed to enjoy the meal once he started eating it.

The meal seemed to be large enough to fill several people, but he seemed to be tearing through it easily enough (even though he had said he didn't need to eat).

Jabir

"Giving a Lancer a ranged weapon? My dear man, you must be joking." the Mage scoffed, physically waving the question away with a hand. "Anyway, These bullets are loaded with the Shamir curse I showed you before, but in exchange I ask of you something.."

Jabir grabbed Rick's shoulder roughly and pressed the magazine firmly into his chest. Even though Jabir was a Caster class servant, his physical strength was leagues higher than Rick's own. The ranger would be able to feel it in his bones.

"You are going to protect my child."

His grip grew slightly tighter.

"Are we understood?"

G was here - 2/9/24

Rick

"Easy there, J-man, you're holding on a little... tight," Rick said. "I'll keep an eye on him, alright?"

Cadmus

"Onwards, then, and to our breakfast," Cadmus said to Günther. She grabbed the homunculus's shoulder and cast a Spatial Transportation on them, moving them into the cafeteria.

She then promptly let go of him, and floated over towards the trays and plates, where she had a set hover towards her so she could start making her way through the buffet. Her first destination was the European section of the cafeteria, the floating tray getting loaded up with sensible portion sizes at an equally sensible speed. "No time to waste, after all, at any minute we can be called to the past."

Longinus, Flashback

"They might not be soldiers, but they know combat and war all the same." Longinus shrugged. "A barbarian's cunning is nothing to ignore or take lightly."

"But yes, it appears that few soldiers of our understanding reached Servanthood. Jeanne might be one, though she carries herself in a different manner than a trained man would."

---

Longinus, Now

Lancer regarded Jabir's action with a frown. This better not happen again: an ally or not, he will not have him treat his Master like that the second time. Even if the cause was great - to protect Thahab - some boundaries had to remain uncrossed.

"I am eager to learn any weapon should there be a need for that." He merely replied once Caster let Rick go. "It cannot be much more difficult than swinging a spear."

grah

Jeanne

Jeanne stopped herself from chuckling. It was kind of obvious to her that Thahab actually was hungry, "Don't need to eat, huh?" she said while watching him tear through the food.

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I would have made this sooner, but it would seem I am blind because I missed my partner's post as Sally like an idiot.

Sally's room

Ching nodded to her Master, pushing herself from the wall she had been leaning on. She opened up the door and motioned for her Master to go through.

"Onward, we shall."

Jabir

Jabir resumed smiling in his paternal way again, then clapped Rick on the back. "Well that's good to hear! Anyway, I also took the liberty of making you a little something extra."

With a small flourish of his hand, he manifested a bandoleer of some rather antique looking grenades. Specifically, a model 24 Stielhandgranate. These he wasn't generating on the spot, but was apparently transporting instantaneously from his workshop. The grenades seemed to be covered in a faintly glowing geometric pattern◊.

"I took the liberty of doing some more research, and apparently these are commonly used in war. They've been imbued with another curse, this one being Gomeh Tistator, or a curse of structural weakening. That means that if anything survives the initial explosion, the ground will cave away beneath their feet and if they have a ceiling above them it will fall upon them as well."

He pressed these to Rick's chest with the hand that was formerly holding onto the ranger's shoulder.

Thahab

"I don't!" Thahab yelled out indignantly, while shoving another spoonful into his face. "You believe me, right?"

Now he was pouting, and about 80% through his meal.

G was here - 2/9/24

Rick

"Going the full Rambo here, huh?" Rick said to Jabir, accepting the bandoleer with a grin and securing it over his torso. "You keep on managing to amaze me, Jabir."

He cleared his throat. "You know, if you get bored while we're gone and you have some time to kill on the Internet... try looking into something called a bazooka."

Gnarly past — Agricola in a workshop

Agricola sighed. "This is going to be a long campaign, is it not?" he asked Longinus. "Very well. I will do what my duty to the Empire obliges me. I assume the pirate queen is motivated by... monetary gain? What of the other Servants?" He stroked his chin. "If they are not disciplined, it is imperative that we make them so. Discipline and courage win battles."

The present — Gnarly in the Leyshift Room

Agricola faded away to spirit form and followed his Master to the cafeteria. He looked around, frowned, and went to look for any sort of familiar food, keeping one eye on his Master and her Master.

edited 15th Feb '16 6:09:23 AM by desdendelle

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

Past Longinus

"There is nothing to gain for her or us." Lancer shook his head. "Even if she wanted to claim any riches from our last expedition, it would be impossible due to how this leyshifting is carried out."

"She seems to understand how the situation looks, as do other Servants. For all it is worth, we fight for the contemporary man's future."

---

Present Sally

And to the cafeteria they went.

"Got anything you wanna try, Ching?" She asked her Servant as they browsed the selection available.

grah

Jeanne

Jeanne could only give Thahab a smile. "I believe you, but you do still have flesh and blood. This is probably good for you anyway."

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Leyshift Chamber, Berserker

"You flatter me," Berserker flashed a smile. "Oh, I'll respect that if you don't get in my way. Now shall we return to the past and save this sorry, sorry world?"

Cafeteria

"I have no real preference, so I'll let you decide for me." She said with a shrug. "In the mean time, I will find us a seat."

She turn from her Master and made her ways over to the tables, sitting down on the nearest available seat. From her new seat she looked around, scanning the cafeteria for any of her fellow Servants and/or their Masters. She eventually spotted Cadmus who was using her magecraft to make trays float and put food on them, near by was her Master. She could not see Cadmus' Servant, a fellow Rider as she recalled, but she could feel the presence of another Servant so she guessed he might be here in spirit form.

Ching waved her hand at Cadmus, trying to let the Heroic Spirit of Magic know she was here, hoping that she may join her. Ching felt that of all the Servants summoned, Cadmus was the one she got along with the most.

Aaliyah.

Aaliyah just kind of gave Carmilla a bored look. "Now you're just saying things without thinking. We still have sometime left so go occupy yourself while I get ready." she turned and left the chamber after that.

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Cafeteria

Cadmus casually waved back slightly at Ching, and moved in order to sit down at the empty spot next to her. "I see you also could not resist this place and its... unparalleled... cuisine," she said with a laugh as her tray landed on the table. "Not that we have much else to entertain ourselves with as we wait, and this does seem the be the most popular location here that I've seen."

She glanced down at her tray, then at the empty spot at the table. "Well this simply cannot be, I insist you help yourself to what you desire from my plate," she added, sliding her cafeteria tray halfway between the other servant and her own section of the table. It was mainly your typical Mediterranean fare - a plate with a few small gyros of various meats and falafel, some strips of pita, two small cups of hummus and tzatziki, and a tall bowl of yogurt with several types of berries mixed into it. "For me to indulge in my meal while you gaze on would surely be quite an embarrassing scene."

Cafeteria

Günther took up his food-laden tray and followed Cadmus to Ching's table, plopping himself down across from the two Servants and giving a semi-polite little nod and smirk. Not really having that much to add conversation-wise and more than content to observe, he promptly dug into his assortment of Slavic and Scandinavian breakfast foods, devouring them quickly and taking generous swigs of coffee to wash them down. God knows he would need all the energy he could get for the mission ahead.

make it through this year if it kills you yet | 2001-2019

January 27, 2015 AD; Leyshifting Chamber; 7:30 AM

Director Animusphere stood in the center, facing the pitiful amount of seated Leyshifters in her care. At her sides were the temporary chief engineer and Jabir ibn Hayyan. She grimaced slightly. It had really come to this. So few Masters, so few Servants, resorting to exploiting the system and homunculi to swell the ranks. The Director shook her head, but nevertheless cleared her throat and began to speak:

"This is the Second Grand Order. Our Target Location, as you were debriefed two hours ago, is Northwestern Egypt, in the year 48 B.C. Unlike last time, we have prepared basic mystic codes for you all to use for healing, since you obviously cannot be trusted to be capable yourselves."

She nodded to Jabir, who spawned in front of each Chaldean a small container that basically resembled a first aid kit in nearly every way. The only difference was that there was a clear sign of refined prana coming out of it. Opening it up would reveal the standard bandages and gauzes, but also a small glass phial of a very deep red substance. This was clearly some kind of catch-all alchemical treatment for injuries. In addition to the glass vial was a small rubber stamp-like device inscribed with a spiral of arabic text.

"Within you will find bandages and other necessities, along with an alchemical salve that speeds up natural recovery and an Amplifier-type Mystic Code that automates the magical circuit requirement for a basic healing spell."

The boxes floated down into their laps carefully.

"Now, let me give some last minute reminders. As soon as you arrive, find the anomaly as quickly as possible. Once you eliminate it, that timeline will be erased and history will retroactively return to what it is supposed to be. Lastly, keep constant contact with HQ. Do not act on your own. This time, we will try our best to keep contact channels as open as possible through whatever magical backroads are deemed necessary."

The Director now nodded to the temporary chief engineer. With a quick tap on a tablet computer, he opened up the recently repaired leyshifting pods.

"Godspeed, and Goodluck."

January 27, 2015 AD; Leyshifting Chamber; 7:45 AM

The Masters were secured tightly within their Leyshifting pods. Their Servants were in spiritual form. Their mystic codes and other belongings were properly attuned to their spiritual signature. All systems were nominal.

Beginning Spirit Dive. Please wait for five seconds to establish connection.

5

4

3

2

The number "One" was barely heard as the minds of the Chaldeans drifted off from the edges of consciousness and material existence and into the winding pathways of Akasha. This darkness was not cold or piercing. It was all consuming in its sheer neutrality.

Senses were cut off one by one. And then there was nothing.

Second Order: Total War in the House of Knowledge

Location: Unknown, Presumably Somewhere in Egypt || Time: October 14th B.C. 48 / 10:23 a.m.

Blinding light surrounded by darkness. This was the first thing that assaulted their senses. Below them was an arcane circle, massive and inscribed in mercurial silver that shone with resplendent rose-tinted hues. In the air geometric inscriptions hovered parallel to the ground, glowing in myriad colors as they spun and ground to a halt.

The second thing was the cold. Dead cold. The kind found only underground in tombs long-untouched by the sun.

And the third was a sound:

"Well this is unexpected." came a feminine voice from somewhere directly in front of the Chaldeans.

As the light died down, the torches that illuminated the darkness now became the dominant source of light once again. Around them were stacks of books, tomes scattered across the ground, torn scrolls hanging haphazardly from shelves. A stone library, or perhaps some crypt.

"I can clearly see you aren't in fact the angelic allies I was supposed to be summoning. May I ask, perchance, what are you supposed to be?"

The speaker was now actually visible in the flickering torchlight. A noblewoman, dressed in fine raiment and adorned with jewels.◊ Behind her, a five-pointed pink blossom floated around and hovered near her immediate position. It seemed to pulsate with a heartbeat of its own, or perhaps in tune with some currently inaudible music.

Of course, in a twist of fate, the Masters had now apparently been summoned by this woman by accident.

G was here - 2/9/24

Aaliyah, Egypt

She took a moment to make sure her body was working, clenching her hands and wiggling her toes occasionally. Then she noticed the summoning circle under them, and the woman in front of them. It almost made her chuckle. "Sorry, we're not angels. But we are here to help."

Jeanne

Well this was strange. Being summoned by another person besides her Master. She wasn't exactly sure how much she liked it. Jeanne had to stop and make sure her connection was still to Thahab, better safe than sorry. Apparently the woman had been trying to summon angels and got Jeanne instead, she felt a little flattered for moment, but checking on Thahab came first. Thahab, are you okay? she said over her mental connection

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