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[They'd found King Arthur. Lancer Class. It had just happened on one of their patrols - from the rooftops, they could see most of the city. They'd been joking and laughing, just like they had yesterday.
But then they'd seen Lancer. More accurately, Mordred had seen Lancer, and Diana has spent the past forty-five minutes chasing after her, trying to keep her from killing herself. Diana had wondered, in those first few moments, why Lancer was even walking around openly.
Then she'd realized. It was King Arthur. What did they have to fear, even from Saber? Diana had barely any time to focus on their duel, though - Lancer's Master was also there. Diana was a skilled Magus, but she wasn't one built for combat. She was a healer. At best, she could do illusions to keep herself alive, nothing with the possibility of actually defeating an opponent. So she was running away from a man who could shoot curses from his cane like a machine gun.
She could hear Mordred swearing as the duel went on, Lancer quiet in response. Mordred's screaming indicated it probably wasn't going well.]
Saber, wait! [Diana called out, but there was a building between her and her Servant, and when she tried to round it, the enemy Master was hot on her tail.
And when she finally caught sight of them, they were going far too fast for her to even keep track of. Neither of them were especially agile servants, relatively speaking, but this wasn't simply a battle in the Holy Grail War. They'd recognized each other instantly. What they were 'supposed' to be didn't matter anymore. This was a duel with nothing but hatred driving it. At least in Mordred's case.
She couldn't give the blow-by-blow even if she wanted to. It was like watching a hurricane hit another, large hurricane. The cobbled street had its stones dragged up by the hundreds.
And then she'd felt that telltale burst of magic. Could feel it in her bones. Mordred's sword was glowing, that much she could see. Was she really going to -]
Saber! We're in the middle of the street! [Mercifully, it was late at night, they were in a near-abandoned part of the city - but near-abandoned wasn't actually abandoned.
At least Lancer seemed aware of that. Instead of activating their noble phantasm in response, they'd surged forward, piercing Mordred's shoulder deep with their spear. The two of them were near face-to-face now, even if they both had their helmets on. She could only imagine what kind of looks they were giving each other.
Mordred's sword was still glowing, even with that massive wound.
And then there were arrows - not quite arrows. More arrow-like bits of magic, curving as they went. Archer - Tristan? Was that the ally King Arthur had? - had targeted Mordred as well, apparently trying to kill her before she could activate her Noble Phantasm. Diana wasn't quite sure how that went, considering that Master from before chose this chance to hit her upside the head with his cane. She could hear the arrows hitting something though.
The Master pinned Diana to the floor, cane pressed tight to her throat, so tight she could barely breathe.
And then a jaguar pounced and tackled him off of her. She could hear the Master swearing, a quick curse knocking the cat off of him. It was those familiars from before - just higher grade, in bigger numbers.
When she looked this time, Mordred looked near-dead.
And when Diana tried to stand, she realized that her leg was broken.
And Archer was lining up another volley. She could hear the - strum? - of his bow.
Her command spells flashed without her even thinking about it.]
Saber! Get us out of here!
[And Mordred, for all her injuries, gritting her teeth and looking at Diana with blood in her eyes, had immediately turned her back on her father, unimpaling herself, sword fading back into its usual form, and seized Diana by the collar, dragging them out of there. Distantly, Diana could hear the roars of the jaguars, panthers, and whatever else, Archer's bow strings. Those big cats were barely a threat to a Servant, but they'd at least covered their escape.
And Mordred, still holding her by the collar, is bloodied. She'd taken hits during her duel with her father, she'd been hit by Archer. Her armor has chunks of it missing, torn out by her father's spear. Her right arm, where her shoulder had been pierced, seems to be staying on more by force of will than any act of physics.]
'Out of here,' apparently means 'somewhere dark.' At some point, they'd entered the Underground, the subway system. They're literally hiding in the dark, but at least those cats, minor threats as they are, will keep Lancer and Archer off of them. There had been dozens of them pouring in as they'd fled.]
I think - I think we're clear of them, Saber - Saber, are you alright? [Diana coughs, reaching up to massage her throat. Her leg is killing her, but that's hardly anything compared to what had happened to Mordred.]
Se, set me down, I'll try to help you with my magic -
But then they'd seen Lancer. More accurately, Mordred had seen Lancer, and Diana has spent the past forty-five minutes chasing after her, trying to keep her from killing herself. Diana had wondered, in those first few moments, why Lancer was even walking around openly.
Then she'd realized. It was King Arthur. What did they have to fear, even from Saber? Diana had barely any time to focus on their duel, though - Lancer's Master was also there. Diana was a skilled Magus, but she wasn't one built for combat. She was a healer. At best, she could do illusions to keep herself alive, nothing with the possibility of actually defeating an opponent. So she was running away from a man who could shoot curses from his cane like a machine gun.
She could hear Mordred swearing as the duel went on, Lancer quiet in response. Mordred's screaming indicated it probably wasn't going well.]
Saber, wait! [Diana called out, but there was a building between her and her Servant, and when she tried to round it, the enemy Master was hot on her tail.
And when she finally caught sight of them, they were going far too fast for her to even keep track of. Neither of them were especially agile servants, relatively speaking, but this wasn't simply a battle in the Holy Grail War. They'd recognized each other instantly. What they were 'supposed' to be didn't matter anymore. This was a duel with nothing but hatred driving it. At least in Mordred's case.
She couldn't give the blow-by-blow even if she wanted to. It was like watching a hurricane hit another, large hurricane. The cobbled street had its stones dragged up by the hundreds.
And then she'd felt that telltale burst of magic. Could feel it in her bones. Mordred's sword was glowing, that much she could see. Was she really going to -]
Saber! We're in the middle of the street! [Mercifully, it was late at night, they were in a near-abandoned part of the city - but near-abandoned wasn't actually abandoned.
At least Lancer seemed aware of that. Instead of activating their noble phantasm in response, they'd surged forward, piercing Mordred's shoulder deep with their spear. The two of them were near face-to-face now, even if they both had their helmets on. She could only imagine what kind of looks they were giving each other.
Mordred's sword was still glowing, even with that massive wound.
And then there were arrows - not quite arrows. More arrow-like bits of magic, curving as they went. Archer - Tristan? Was that the ally King Arthur had? - had targeted Mordred as well, apparently trying to kill her before she could activate her Noble Phantasm. Diana wasn't quite sure how that went, considering that Master from before chose this chance to hit her upside the head with his cane. She could hear the arrows hitting something though.
The Master pinned Diana to the floor, cane pressed tight to her throat, so tight she could barely breathe.
And then a jaguar pounced and tackled him off of her. She could hear the Master swearing, a quick curse knocking the cat off of him. It was those familiars from before - just higher grade, in bigger numbers.
When she looked this time, Mordred looked near-dead.
And when Diana tried to stand, she realized that her leg was broken.
And Archer was lining up another volley. She could hear the - strum? - of his bow.
Her command spells flashed without her even thinking about it.]
Saber! Get us out of here!
[And Mordred, for all her injuries, gritting her teeth and looking at Diana with blood in her eyes, had immediately turned her back on her father, unimpaling herself, sword fading back into its usual form, and seized Diana by the collar, dragging them out of there. Distantly, Diana could hear the roars of the jaguars, panthers, and whatever else, Archer's bow strings. Those big cats were barely a threat to a Servant, but they'd at least covered their escape.
And Mordred, still holding her by the collar, is bloodied. She'd taken hits during her duel with her father, she'd been hit by Archer. Her armor has chunks of it missing, torn out by her father's spear. Her right arm, where her shoulder had been pierced, seems to be staying on more by force of will than any act of physics.]
'Out of here,' apparently means 'somewhere dark.' At some point, they'd entered the Underground, the subway system. They're literally hiding in the dark, but at least those cats, minor threats as they are, will keep Lancer and Archer off of them. There had been dozens of them pouring in as they'd fled.]
I think - I think we're clear of them, Saber - Saber, are you alright? [Diana coughs, reaching up to massage her throat. Her leg is killing her, but that's hardly anything compared to what had happened to Mordred.]
Se, set me down, I'll try to help you with my magic -
