Scene #5897: Fate:Paradox - Opening Preperation

Owner	Pose
Eryl Fairfax	A sharp, acrid stink always permeates the air around the Russfield Chemical Plant. As producers of all manner of industrial chemicals, proper ventilation is needed, which means the semi-toxic stink of the raw and complete products is constantly being pumped out. Needless to say, this has driven down property values, and most of the land around it is empty. But now, the place is a hub of activity. The sirens of emergency vehicles peal through the air, mixing with klaxons coming from the factory itself. Paramedics tend to the plant's security staff, each one displaying injuries consistent with extreme bludgeoning and crushing force. Broken limbs, deep bruising, and concussions. The walk to the factory's entrance is littered with their weapons, each one crushed to uselessness. Police have the entrance surrounded, and the sounds of gunshots can be heard from within. But suddenly, they are cut off by a ferocious roar, followed by an explosion. Things are going bad in there, and local law enforcement put out a call for Elite assistance for fear of losing more men. Analysis of the building interior would reveal two figures moving about within, hanging around the end of the convener belts that deliver filled containers of chemicals. One of them is loading up several bags with these substances. The second, much larger figure is the one doing the heavy lifting. Witnesses report that the latter much resembles the giant that appeared on the bridge when the Multiverse Grail Way first kicked off. The other is reported to be a young man, not even out of high school. He apparently wears an eyepatch, and was calling the shots. Has the first unknown Master made their appearance?
Ryu	Ryu followed the sound of an emergency. He didn't get in the middle of the emergency responders, because they were better off without some unlicensed Elite popping in and muddying up their attempts at triage. Instead, the dragon flew overhead, to the center of the chaos. Once he spotted an opening, a convenient window he could dive through, he began his descent. He misjudged the window. It was still closed. Damn those window washers! A crystalline noise rings out as a spray of glass rains through the room in a huge blast, shards and chips landing on the chemical plant's concrete flooring in a hazardous shower. The dragon flits his faerie-like wings and moves quickly -- it is what he specializes in. Rather than attacking, though, he asks something of them, as he lands on a bit of machinery nearby in a crouch. "Why do you need all of this junk?" he wonders, as his flesh visibly regenerates, bits of bloody glass falling from his scales now and then to clink against the metal beneath him. It's not very gruesome, but it might be distracting from his attempt to be civil in the middle of an intense situation.
Mitsu Mirage	Cops. Not a thing Mitsu likes to see honestly, mostly because she's a thief. She's left Assasm's tribe temporarily to take care of something she heard upon the radios, that call for Elite assistance about something something in a chemical plant and Mitsu.... happens to choose the worst possible way to hide herself: A runoff ditch. The smell is atrocious and mutterings of needing a shower are whispered. "Lancer." she whispers out, hoping her Servant can hear her. "Let's be careful now. No one knows I have you as a servant." a pause, "Kratzenfaust, Wild Striker, set up." <Understood. Wild Striker, setting up.> (One Magical Girl Henshin Later) "With that taken care of, I need you to find a secondary way into the plant. I'm going to go through this, should allow me to get into the meat of the plant." there's a brief look towards Lancer, "I mean, unless you can stay hidden while following me..." With that out of the way, she takes a covered breath, trying to filter out as much of that stench as possible... before running into the runoff ditch and into the pipes... god she's gonna need a shower after this. The echo of glass shattering catches her ears and she frowns, someone beat her to the punch. Welp...
Nova Terra	The call for elite assistance was sent out and heard. What can also soon be heard is the muffled roar of thrusters from the air above the factory, though there is no noticeable craft seen that could be making the sound. It doesn't last long though, as soon enough the roar fades off into the distance. Upon the roof of the chemical plant, some light dust kicks up as something lands atop it. A vague shimmer in the air can be seen moving quickly across the roof, heading for the exit. Suddenly a window on the exterior shatters, glass shattering from the outside in. A soft thud as Nova lands on the floor. She glances around through optics of her visor to check for hostiles, before quietly reporting, "Ingress into Russfield Chemical Plant complete." She reaches out with her mind for a moment, sensing the other minds in the area... The emergency services outside, more elites responding like her and... The ones most likely responsible, "No civilians present. Targets located. Investigating." Rising up, Nova darts through the facility, cloaked and barely visible as she makes her way towards where the checmicals are being loaded. Upon catching sight of the targets in question, she slows to a halt, pressing herself up against some industrial equipment as she focuses her sight on the two. She also notices Ryu nearby, apparently addressing them. For the moment though, Nova simply observes without making her presence known.
Note	After recovering from her own tussles and troubles back home, Note's gone sightseeing with renewed curiosity - perhaps in an attempt to get her mind off some bad things that happened.... And though she isn't FULLY recovered from the ordeal - still a bit sore and not topped off with energy - she's in range when the call for help goes out on broad channels! Which means that, in no time at all, a red-and-yellow-clad Saiyan-blooded girl swoops out of the skies wreathed in white flaring Ki... like some sort of living rocket. She happens to spot Ryu plunging INTO THE FACILITY and so... tails him! Swooping right in after him after the debris's settled. As soon as she's IN the building the bursting aura disperses, leaving her just... floating a few feet over the walkway, curiously tailing Ryu. She really wants to see what the fuss is about and get a good look at these criminals before she DOES anything!
Ice King	Who's about to get in range of a giant monster? Not Ice King! He's safely planted with his butt on top of one of the smoke stacks, a pair of opera glasses in hand that he's using to observe the situation. This might not be very safe, but hey, all that poison gas the factory is producing is warming his buns. "Huh." the wizard lets out as he looks upon all the injured, the scrapped guns, and the Elites that now charge in like action heroes. "Normally in cops and robbers, the robber has to run away from the cops, not the reverse." He props his hands on hips and says, "I guess it's true what they say! Grail Wars really are about breaking all the rules!" As he sees a window break when Ryu Batmans his way inside, he spots his opening to get a better look. "Wuh-oh. Looks like they're about to kick things up a notch. Hup!" He flaps his beard and takes off into the air, making his way to the smashed window to hover outside of it. His opera glasses are brought back up again as he cranes his head to try to get a better look inside.
Xiaomu	Some days you just can't get away from paperwork, and today is one of those days ... for Reiji Arisu. But the ongoing Grail War out here in Russfield is of grave concern to them both, so Xiaomu has left her partner to battle the demons of bureaucracy alone and headed out at speed to investigate what's going on and what manner of support she might need to provide. At the very least, she'd like to make sure Archer's still active. The sage fox brakes her lightcycle to a halt briefly as she gets into view of the chemical plant, and takes a moment to don a simple filter mask - not a proper chemical mask, just one of those simple face-masks that people with colds or allergies (or trying to avoid same) wear, or that certain female delinquents might use to cover their features. Not that Xiaomu's a delinquent (... usually ...) but sometimes even she doesn't want to breathe whatever's in the air. It won't do much about the smell but she'll feel a little better for having a little protection. Then she heads the rest of the way in, de-rezzing her cycle as she enters the plant grounds, and making her way in on foot - plus a generous amount of jumping. She'd just as soon avoid the front door for now, and takes a quick look around for alternative entrances before bolting for the loading docks to try entering that way. She's keeping her monk's staff close to hand, not wanting to draw any of her firearms until she knows the lay of the land better. Bullets - even ice bullets - could do Really Bad Things inside a place like this ... Maybe it's a good thing Reiji isn't here.
Eryl Fairfax	The crash of smashing glass and the impact of Ryu on the factory floor, followed by the curious Note, certainly grabs attention. The hulking monster known as Assassin doesn't react, but the figure with him does. He startles and turns, his single eye taking in his opponent. "Oh, you were at the bridge," he says in a pubescent voice, that kind that always seems on the verge of screaming an expletive at their parents. "It's not junk!" he snaps, sneering lightly. "Just because you don't see the potential... you look like one of those ridiculous fantasy-land people, so I'll use your words. I need it for 'alchemy.' Does that make sense?" He pats the loaded bags and adds, "I think I got all I need. Are you going to be smart enough to let us walk out, or do I have to sic Assassin on you?" The hulking brute squares up, taking up its rocket launcher. Lancer is not liking the run-off ditch. Her own nose wrinkles, and she too mutters about how many runs through the laundry their clothes will need. As Mitsu bids her to make a separate entrance, she inclines her head and says Yes Master. Please take care. Would you like me to engage them immediately, or wait for you to strike first?" Regardless of the answer given, she soon leaps from the ditch and rushes off. Nova takes up her position behind the industrial machines and observes the discussion between Ryu and the Master. As she is further back in the room, by the conveyer belts that would deliver loaded boxes to the trucks, she might get a whiff of something though the flaps. The smell of the floor, dank with chemical stink. Should it be this strong?... As the Ice King descends, Caster floats alongside him, also looking down. "Master..." he says in a tone of voice that implies he would rather be saying literally anything else. "Are you merely here to watch, or shall we take action? If we were to leap in and assist now, we would have many allies against one of our enemies in this War. We would be one step closer if we bested them here." As he talks, the Ice King might catch a glimpse of a woman leaping over the police barricade and dashing into the facility
Ryu	Ryu watches with the sort of neutral stare of someone that is definitely being talked down to by a teenaged child. "I know the averages of chemical plant workers coming off the job needing their blood pumped because they got filled with something that will give them horrible cancer," he tells the kid, his voice calm, because he knows more about this place than his appearance would suggest. His posture crouches, and his eyes flick to the brute. He looks at the brute for several seconds, and breathes a sigh through his nose. "I hate shitty kids like you." His legs uncoil so hard it leaves a dent in the tank he was standing on. He launches down, and lands in a heavy slide, claws digging into the floor with a shower of sparks as he goes. Then he whips around with his tail in a feint to make them think he was aiming for Assassin or his Master, and turns, unloading a lungful of bright, viciously dangerous white fire onto the loaded bags of chemicals, heedless of how likely they are to explode. Or, perhaps, exactly BECAUSE they are likely to explode from the intense heat.
Mitsu Mirage	"Engage the Servant. I'll find the Master and engage him or her." Mitsu replies to Lancer. "And of course, I'll take care, you as well." Mitsu gives a nod as she leaps from the ditch and runs off... while she moves to find a grate or something to peek her head into. "Okay, Mitsu, you're not going to win any stealth contests here with how bad you smell." she soon, just pops up out of the grate... and into the factory proper. "Well, no signs of broken glass here so... I might not be in the right area." <Mitsu. Are you really taking it careful?> "Of course I am, no one knows I have her or these..." as Mitsu taps the shoulder with her command seals, hidden behind her barrier jacket. "I'd ask you to have faith in me, but part of me doesn't have faith in myself. Anyways, Lancer's going to directly engage the Servant... I'll find the Master and kill him. Or severely maim him. Or something. He'll regret being a Master, y'know." <Understood. I echo Lancer when I say 'take care' .> Kratzenfaust bings a bit, <Signatures located. Your fox friend, Xiaomu, is nearby. Go ... that way.> as Kratzenfaust shoots a beam of light towards the door to the Delivery Area... Mitsu sighs and moves to walk over and carefully open the door to peek at everything inside... no need to make your presence /just yet.../.
Ice King	"Huh?" Ice King replies absent-mindedly. "Get involved? But won't they know we're ice wizards then?" He turns to look at Caster, opera glases still up, causing his view to be a bit 'zoomed in'. Both Ice King and Caster don't exactly scream 'fire wizard' with their attire or general appearances. "...Oh, well. It's not like all those guys are involved in the war, so I guess they wouldn't team up against us." Ice King gestures with his glasses like a magic wand, trailing ice sparkles. "And besides, what are the chances that there's ANOTHER pair present!" He drops the glasses and floats back. "Yeah, sure, let's ice 'em up." He holds his fingers up, wiggles them, and says, "Buhhhhh... ICE!" Ice flies from his finger tips, trying to freeze the wall of the factory to its lowest point, and then and then try to shatter it to nothing. "You can go first! I'll back you up!"
Nova Terra	Nova watches the conversation play out between Ryu and the thieves. It soon becomes clear that one of the thieves is still fairly young. And probably the Master. To think someone so young has been placed in control of the power of a Servant. That's always going to lead to bad situations. Meanwhile, Nova does recognise the hulking monster from the bridge. Which is a problem. Fighting it was hard enough last time. Now they're in a factory likely filled with things that can explode rather spectacularly. Speaking of things that might explode, Nova winces a little at the smell wafting in through the flaps of the conveyer. She figures a chemical factory would certainly have a chemical smell to it... But she's mildly concerned at the strength of it. Even as things start to get heated, literally, Nova decides to ignore the rising battle for the moment. Nova turns, quietly stalking away from the fight, even as a wall seems to freeze over. She moves to find her way into the next room, following the path of the conveyers in hopes of find their source, and the source of the smell.
Note	All the machinery isn't that unfamiliar to Note! There's oil field s south of her home. Big storage tanks and some pumps! So she knows what kind of place she's in and what sort of GOOP they might be working with. TOUCH NOTHING, breathe nothing! ... But that's about all she knows. STill... "Letting him out of here sounds like a great idea to me!" She spouts out, arms still folded, and still hovering over. "At least away from all this nasty goo and machine stuff!" Perhaps surprisingly, she DOESN'T immediately move to join the brawl! Instead she hovers at a distance, beginning a circular path that will get her a GOOD view of this... "... Assassin?" Odd word to describe this beast! Note wants to learn more! Her tail starts twitching excitedly as she circles, but with RYU breathing FIRE at the chemicals, she's KEEPING A DISTANCE until she sees just what it DOES!
Xiaomu	Nothing of particular interest in the loading dock. That's kind of a relief in some ways. In others ... not so much. But she keeps her ears perked as she picks her way through the factory, staff held ready like she expects to whack somebody over the head with it before she has time to lift or aim the swing. She's hoping not to actually need to swing that abruptly - she'd like to check her target first - but this place has her extremely ill at ease ... It shouldn't take her long to reach the front area where all the action is.
Eryl Fairfax	"And I hate meddling adults like you, so I guess we're eve-" the Master begins, before Ryu explodes into his sweeping slide. The child is immediately swept by the tail, but Assassin tanks it by bracing the other leg. His hand, in a single motion, takes off the bags and swings them at the Master, dumping them into his arms and launching him back. As such, Assassin takes the gout of white flame full on, disappearing in the conflagration. Mitsu pops out on the factory floor, finding the place covered in spilled chemicals. It seems that vats and containers got damaged in the initial shootout with police. Nothing is on fire as of yet, but that could quickly and easily change... as she presses herself against the door, she hearts footsteps from the catwalks above. Lancer is dashing across, going through the door on the second story to pre-empt Mitsu into the delivery area. Everyone in there would find themselves greeted by a woman in a black pants suit under a white coat as she leaps from the stairs to confront the burning Assassin. "The wisest thing you have ever said..." Caster murmurs as he descends towards the frozen wall. With a snap of his fingers, he shatters it to create an aperture, and brings a blizzard blowing. The temperature within the delivery area immediately drops 5 degrees as he shouts. "Attention! If you are not Assassin or their Master, I mean no harm! Just lay down your weapons and give me room, I shall defeat the-". At that moment, she sees the upright column of white fire and blinks. "Oh." Nova slips away from the gradually increasing chaos orbiting Assassin, and heads for the door. As she gets closer, she may realize it's ajar... and it wasn't when she first arrived. Someone is on the other side. At the same time, Mitsu would hear someone getting closer to her position... Xiaomu finally reaches the action, and sees Assassin in a column of flame within a freezing room. Has the problem been dealt with? No. The burning figure is moving. "Caster..." they snarl, a hand suddenly lunging to grab Ryu by the tail. Should it succeed, he immediately begins slamming the dragon against the ground again and again, before launching him at Caster. In the same motion, he takes up the rocket launcher and points it at the new arrival. "Lancer..." it growls, before firing a shot at the woman in the pants suit, forcing her to leap away as it explodes. Assassin roars its challenge at everyone surrounding it, shaking the foundations of the room!
Ryu	Ryu had expected that outcome when he went charging in to ruin the Master's attempts at getting his way. He had not expected the Assassin-class Servant to tank his dragonfire. He is suitably perplexed by the burning silhouette, eyes wide, ears perking, and then the hand is moving and he is too shocked to react fast enough. The smoldering hand wraps around his tail, and his surprisingly lightweight form is brought up in the air, and slammed violently into the floor several times as he tenses and tries to flail to grab things...! And then gets thrown through the air, cartwheeling violently until he slams up against a fairly off-the-mark wall with a meaty THUMP. This is because he had enough of his wits to fan out his wings to redirect his trajectory... but not enough to stop his velocity. An actual dragon-shaped bloody smear is left when he's finished colliding with the wall. He slowly pushes himself up to a stand, making a wheezing, whimpering noise. "Not my best day," he comments, "In for a zenny..." He lifts a bloody, slowly regenerating, clearly broken arm as it pops back into working order, and points with a blood-caked claw toward Nemesis. He makes a few symbols, and coughs up some arcane words, the classics of spellcasting in many worlds, and utters the word "Simoon." A light of green and red blasts from a circle in front of his hand, and whatever it hits will get hit by a fairly large explosion, whether it's Nemesis or otherwise.
Mitsu Mirage	Mitsu blinks, smirking some as she watches her Lancer pre-empt her movement into the room, that's fine, she'll stay right here... for now. "Wild Shooter, set up." she comments, <Wild Shooter, Config Adjust.> the blades on the gauntlets retract and reposition, becoming small cannons upon her wrists. "Alright, here we go. Full power!" it doesn't take Mitsu long to just /kick/ the door open... even if it might mean beaning Nova in the face with it! "If you don't wanna get shot, get down!" she loudly proclaims, eyes quickly scanning the room... who's closest to Assassin? She doesn't care. "Lightning Grenado Breaker!" She aims for Assassin, claps her hands together and, with a heavy dose of kickback, a large sphere of lightning arcs up and crashes down to near where Assassin is standing, exploding into a huge ball of lightning and shrapnel from the floor. "Kratzenfaust, look for magic energy bursts... you know the type I'm talking about if you can shoulder it." <Understood. Looking for specified magical signatures during combat.> "Let's do that again! LIghtning Grenado Breaker!" and with another heavy dose of kickback, enough to send the rabbit into the wall, another large sphere of lightning crashes down and explodes!
Xiaomu	Fire in a chemical plant is bad. Xiaomu is no expert on modern human industry, but even she knows that fire + random chemicals = lots of bad potential things, many of them explosive, all of them terrifyingly hazardous if you're too close. "Inside the factory" is definitely way too close. But here she is anyway. And he's wielding a rocket launcher? She's not sure whether to be glad Reiji isn't here, or to wish he was here and she wasn't. She compounds her questionable life choices by charging, drawing Suiren from the staff which doubles as its sheath; the room is already mercifully chill, and yet that chill deepens about her as water and ice magic radiate from the sword in her hand, the staff's rings dangling from the hilt. Mitsu's DYNAMIC ENTRY makes the sage fox go flat, sliding briefly before she rolls back to her feet and resumes movement - And then she leaps, trying to stab Assassin right in the rocket launcher, with a wave of magic intended to freeze the entire weapon into an unusuable block. "Take a lick of that, hot-head!" she calls out as she bolts clear - Although maybe not quite fast enough to avoid collateral damage for which she'll berate Mitsu later. Lightning is not a precision attack.
Note	As usual, Note has little idea what's going on in here! She does sharply observe the white flames and their effect on Assassin. She's most definitely listening to the exchange of far-from-pleasantries between Ryu and Assassin's Master. But she doesn't think to interfere just yet. Not until Ryu's FLUNG at a newcomer... and the area has cooled significantly. The girl spares a glance for Caster, tail twitching with even more excitement! And then it happens. Assassin decides to bellow out that roar... and Note answers! By clenching her fists at her side as she floats there, and focusing her energy, beginning a mighty kiai - "Huuuuuuuuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooah!" Within a few moments of the climbing battle roar, her energy SURGES. Golden Ki swirls like a flame around her feet... and rushes upwards to envelop her in a bonfire of wild energies. Her ponytail lifts to almost horizontal and spreads out into an impossibly spiky arrangement behind her head, with the tightly bound hair on her head attempting to do the same... and with a THUNDEROUS CRACK-BOOM all of it shifts to that same golden-blonde... while everything around Note becomes a bad place to be. Ferocious winds kick outwards in every direction and the raw power causes the floor beneath her to CRACK AND CRATER, kicking up dust. With fiercely narrowed emerald eyes Note regards Assassin... shooting a smile that's perhaps just a HINT sadistic at him! "Let's DO this then!" And just like that, she's GONE - Nope. She's in front of Assassin, delivering a speedy little barrage of chops and kicks that ends with a spinning kick aimed to send him crashing into - or maybe through - the loading truck's engine block!
Nova Terra	Nova inspects the door, noticing it partly open. Maybe her memories playing tricks on her, which it often does, but she doesn't remember the door being open like that. But Nova quickly goes still as she senses someone coming up on her. She watches the rabbit girl pass by, no doubt heading towards the fight Nova can hear behind her. Interesting choice in clothing. Who, or what, was she talking to? Letting Mitsu pass by without interuption, Nova continues her own investigation. Content to leave the others to fling around their fire, ice and lightning. She proceeds to stalk through the partially open door, rifle reading but not yet raised. She expects most of the elites to be moving towards the battle, if they aren't there already. So whoever is in this room is likely someone else and thus someone of interest. Because what type of person would be crazy enough to walk into a chemical factory on fire with a battle going on inside it?
Ice King	Ice King sees the situation as he peeks around the corner and lets out a, "Uh-oh." With so many people attacking at once and very few actually coordinating, it's looking increasingly dangerous to stay here. Especially since some people are unleashing heavy firepower in a place full of toxic and volatile chemicals. The Wizard pops out fully and thrusts his palms forward as he yells, "Yaaaah!" A stream of ice blasts from his hand, hitting the ground. Since the enemy Servant missed Caster with its hyper-specific 'thrown dragon' weapon skill, Ice King is going for the disable, and tries to freeze over the floor. He's trying to render the ground beneath the flameing zombie-looking not-zombie iced over, to try to cause the enemy to slip and fall. "Hey, buddy, let's see if he likes being Frozen On Ice! Can you put him in an ice block or something?"
Eryl Fairfax	Assassin began his slow walk towards the crumpled Ryu, intent on finishing him off. However, the dragon rises and issues a blast of explosive force. This actually makes Assassin stagger back a half-step, a low growl building in his throat. His hand raises, and a tentacle lashes out to slash at Ryu, specifically aiming to jar that broken arm. But then Mitsu breeches, firing off a massive electrical burst that catches Assassin sleeping. He staggers, sinking to a knee but quickly rises and turns. The rocket launcher comes up, and he manages to loose one at Mitsu when she arcs a second blast at him. He tanks the hit, purely to try and get one on Mitsu. However, at that moment, Lancer issues a blast of lightning from her staff to catch the rocket, making it explode pre-emptively. Unfortunately, that seems to be the last shot that he'll be making. Xiaomu's staff instantly covers the tube in frost, locking the firing mechanism and rendering it useless. But now she's in range of his massive hand, which he uses to try and grab her by the throat and spike her into the ground, followed by swinging the frozen weapon like a club down at her. And then, finally, Note makes her move. Nemesis is not fast enough to deflect the flurry of blows, but he is tough enough to not lose his footing. He does not fly back, but skids back a little, stopping just short of the truck. He then grabs the vehicle and hoists it, trailer and all. The end smashes through the roof, starting to bring the building down as the massive improvised weapon comes crashing down on Note. It is at that moment that Nova slips into the factory. The floor is soaked in all manner of chemicals... and the side entrance is open, the silhouette of the Master standing in it. He smirks lightly. "Oh wow, someone smart enough to see through me. Not bad. As a reward, I'll let you go before Assassin lures everyone in here and I bring the place down." He stands aside, and gestures at the door. "Or you can try shooting me. It won't end well for you though." Back in the loading dock, Assassin abruptly breaks into a sprint. Caster says, "A simple task," before gesturing. Assassin begins to freeze over, but not before leaping and using his sheer bulk to crash through the rear wall to slide into the factory.
Xiaomu	When Assassin was on fire like that, Xiaomu didn't get an especially good look at him. And with getting zotted by a passing bolt of lightning, she didn't really get much of a moment to try and see more clearly. But when she gets grabbed by the throat and slammed down on the ground? She can see the hulking monster just fine thank you and really wishes she couldn't. And that's about all she gets to see, or think, before a frozen rocket launcher smashes her in the face. She's not getting up from that in a hurry ... if at all ... at least not without help. Fast. Note distracting Assassin might help ensure Xiaomu's continued survival, though.
Nova Terra	The blue light of Nova's cloaking field sweeps across her as she makes herself visible. No point in keeping up stealth if she's been discovered. Through her visor she eyes the man, his warning about Assassin making her briefly confused. Could this person actually be the Master, rather than the boy she had early assumed? Nova raises her canister rifle towards the unknown Master, but doesn't fire. Instead she slowly starts to step forward, cautiously closing the distance as she says, "Impressive. Going unnoticed by all these elites up until now. You're clearly no ordinary person. So who are you, to be able to control the Assassin?" Nova tries to play to the man's ego in the hope he'll reveal something about his identity. The light beaming through the open door is making it hard for Nova to get a good look at the man's details, but if she can get closer...
Mitsu Mirage	Mitsu grumbles a bit, hearing that the Master isn't anywhere near here. But with her Lancer here, she gives a brief nod towards her. "End this things life." she mutters to no one in particular, though Lancer would probably understand the inflection, it wasn't a /command/, though. She mutters something and looks around. Everyone here seems to be against this Assassin, but ... where did that one person she almost ran into go? She taps her foot in thought, grumbling some. ..."Wait a minute..." she mutters, watching this hulking monstrosity just break off and move into a sprint towards the factory... breaking that wall, she ducks to avoid the splinters of debris... "Hey, a thing after my own heart." she laughs, moving to follow. "Wild Striker setup!" <Wild Striker, Config Adjust> the blades come back from their cannon mode and she bounces from her location back into her former hiding spot. And what a sight to see. The Assassin in there... and Nova aiming a rifle towards another person... wait, how... when did they get there? Mitsu pauses in thought, if this is the Master... then all she has to do is kill him, right? She bites her lip, Eryl's falsehoods might turn true today, but... if she doesn't want to get killed, well.. <Heart rate is spiking. Mitsu?> "..." <Mitsu...?> "...! I'm not going to die today!" Mitsu kicks off the ground and shoulder rams Nova Terra in an attempt to dislodge that rifle, only to grab at it, "Better you than me." she doesn't take a second thought before leveling it and pulling the trigger, firing the rifle off towards the guy by the door! <Mitsu?!> she keeps the rifle leveled after the shot, panting hard, a spiked heart rate and widened eyes.
Note	"Uwah---!!" Note knows STRENGTH when she sees it. Feeling her knife-hands and best kicks strike what feels like IRONFLESH is more EXHILARATING than disheartening. There's a CHALLENGE here and she can wail on this guy with everything her new-found power can muster! So she grins with a bit of delight when Assassin not only DOESN'T go flying... but hoists the ENTIRE DARNED TRUCK that's next to them! Of course, she's a bit amazed at it too, but! The martial artist just BRACES herself as she figures out the monster's intentions, raising her arms and spacing her legs. DOWN comes the tanker...!! CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH! The noise is more than just that. Steel bending out of shape and snapping, heavy-duty machinery rocking HEAVILY from way too much forces it was never meant to absorb... There's also, well... the FLOOR GIVING WAY in a horrible fashion, cratering deeply with chunks of reinforced concrete and dust and dirt going EVERYWHERE! But the horrible METALLIC CACAPHONY repeats as the downed, distorted, twisted tanker-trailer RISES AGAIN, if only about five feet.. as Note clambers her way up out of the crater she was forced into. Dusty, dirty, and with some rips in her clothing... but still aglow with golden power! "Heeeeheeee! Alright. You're SOMETHING!" But she finds... Assassin is no longer holding up the tanker. She follows his energy off to the side, seeing him getting stuck in an icy prison... and just GROWLS in sheer frustration! In a bit of a show of temper, she SHRUGS the tanker off to the side. It CRASHES back down behind her with another thunderous KABOOM and slides a good ten feet further! Which leaves her free to look around... and see a downed woman in a wacky outfit! So Note just LEAPS over to Xiaomu and tries to help her to her feet. "Hey... are you alright...?!"
Eryl Fairfax	Lancer takes a long, anxious look at the downed Xiaomu, and starts towards her to help before she sees Note leap in. Relieved, she leaps through the hole after the Assassin, only to catch the tail end of what transpired. "If you wanted information, I would appreciate you being upfront," the boy says to Nova. "My name's Hikari Toromaru. I control it because it's my Servant. You're new to Grail Wars, aren't you?" He smirks again and shrugs. "You can get those details from anyone. As for you though... I'll be winning this war and getting my wish. It will put me in a position to become very powerful. If you like, I could hire you if you wa-" And then Mitsu arrives, shouts something that only makes sense to her, and tackles Nova to grab her gun and fire. "Wha-" he begins, the barrel pointing at his chest... only for Lancer to tackle Mitsu also, causing the shot to go wide. "NO!" she shouts, grabbing Mitsu by the shoulders and staring hard at her. "Don't do that! I won't allow it! You..." Her words stall, and Hikari laughs, raising his hand, poised to snap his fingers. "Well, I might not get Caster, but a Lancer is fine too." He snaps, and the floor erupts into noxious flames. The whole place begins to go up, with makeshift plastic explosive taking out the support columns. Poisonous smoke fills the air as the roof begins to collapse. Assassin lays there in an ice block, unmoving as Hikari ducks out of the building, closing the door behind him
Xiaomu	Xiaomu's eyes are pretty thoroughly glazed over, but she somehow manages to look at Note. Sort of. And very cross-eyed. "Mruh. Ow. No. Let's go." Her nose twitches, and some clarity returns to her face with a grimace. "Let's go now. Out fast, don't make any sparks that'd make things burn faster." She fumbles a bit, one hand holding her sword, the other hand holding the rest of her staff. "... can you carry me? Saiyan, right?"
Nova Terra	Good. This man appears happy to provide his identity. Nova is continuing to slowly approach Hikari, weapon aimed but showing no signs of firing... That is until she suddenly turns her head at the last moment, eyes a little wide in surprise as Mitsu comes barreling at her. Nova is shoved to the side hard, losing the grip on her weapon as Mitsu snatches it from her hands. Nova crashes into the wall, briefly jarring her as the situation quickly devolves around her. Shaking her head to clear it, she briefly glances at Mitsu, "What the hell was that for!?" But then she notices Hikari quickly making an escape, fire and fumes beginning to fill the room as the building starts to collapse, "Shit!" Nova covers her mouth with one arm as she starts to run towards the door Hikari just left through. Thankfully she still has her visor on, allowing her to keep her sight reasonably well in the quickly building poisonous smoke. Nova darts to the side one and then twice as debris falls toward her, psionic energy gathering around her as she runs. Just before reaching the doors she unleashes the energy as a blast towards them, ripping them from their hinges and sending them flying in order to create an escape route. Nova busts out of the building, moving away into cleaner air to take a few breaths. She then whips her head around, looking for signs of Hikari or where he might have gone.
Note	BOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The explosions going off EVERYWHERE take Note by surprise! She looks left and right in near PANIC, and wastes almost NO time scooping up Xiaomu like she weighs absolutely NOTHING and just ROCKETING OUT the building throught he nearest exit. Which happens to be the punctured roof. UP and OUT and then swiftly UPWIND and away from any nasty gunk in the air! ... as much ascan be managed, anyways! "Geeze, every time I head out to help something stupid happens out of nowhere! Like this! ... yeah, everyone keeps using that word... whatever!"
Mitsu Mirage	Mitsu fires, not before Lancer tackles her to make that shot go wide. She snaps out of her berserker rage... looking up towards Rinith... "E...eh?" Oh great, she missed... he's still alive... and "I'll explain later!" she yells back, coughing some at the smoke that starts filling the room. "Nnngh, damnit, my chance was lost." she shudders and frowns, picking up Lancer in her arms and following behind Nova Terra. "Damnit, this didn't go as I planned!" she shouts out. She covers her mouth with one hand, "Hang on, girl, I'm getting you out of here." bunny hopping past rubble and ducking past debris falling down and flames. She's trying not to breathe any of this stuff in, but her current state has her panting hard. <Toxicicty levels rising. Recommend everyone escape.> shouts the device on Mitsu's arm, one could almost /feel/ it frowning at Mitsu, <Mitsu. That was stupid.> "Nnngh, not you too." Mitsu barrels off towards the new opening by Nova... and as soon as she's through that opening, she continues running /away/ from the scene, she's not going to be getting Hikari any time soon... and she doesn't want to meet up with everyone else. Her mind is racing, "Not as planned..." she mutters, "At least no Concord was here to see us." she mutters towards Lancer. "Why did you stop me? We could have been out one less troublesome thing. If you're gonna stop me from ending a Master's reign while you end a Servant's... we really need to think on who's ground is better."
Eryl Fairfax	The Ruddfield Chemical Plant had to shut down for a while after today. In spite of Hikari's best efforts, none of his targets died that day. Everyone escaped, but most likely had to seek medical attention due to fumes they inhaled. The offender got away, bearing a couple of backpacks of industrial chemicals. Given that they were able to ignite a whole building with a finger snap and preparation, lord only knows what they could do with it. However, Assassin remained frozen even when the roof came down. There was no sign of him getting up and escaping the rubble, even hours later. Surely that must be the end...