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Nero      Some days ago, Hakuno had noticed something... not quite right with her and Nero's territory on the Moon Cell. Some sort of black virus was spreading out from a corner of their territory, eating away at land, buildings, and even digital residents. So as to not incite mass panic, they decided to handle this discreetly at first.

     Evacuations into a safe zone for those close by was the first priority, followed by a quarantine perimeter set up. Once that was done, it was time for the next step. ... Actually heading into the corrupted zone to try and make sense of just what in the world was happening. To this end, the Master stands at the end of the quarantine zone, and next to her was Nero herself, blazing sword stuck into the ground, and her hands resting atop the pommel.

     "Hmph. To think that some foolhardy individual would have the audacity to attempt to take over our territory... Indeed, Praetor, we must show whatever interloper this is thr true meaning of fear."

     Hakuno meanwhile just smiles sheepishly at her Servant, before a serious expression takes its place. "I'm not sure it'll be that easy, Saber. ...I can barely even read this anomaly." She mumbles, raising a hand to call up a holo screen and frowning at the garbled text streaming across it from her previous analysis. "... Hold on a moment. I'm going to call up some backup. ... Just in case."

     Nero frowns, "My Praetor, you do not have need of reinforcements! I am all that is necessary!" She lifts her blade and then points it into the direction of the quarantine zone. "Have faith in me!"

     The brunette sighs. "I do have faith in you. But I'm also going to be careful." And with that, she opens up a comm link by her right ear, a holographic earpiece forming. "... Ahem. Excuse me, um... Saber and I have.... little problem. ... I could explain, but... just look at this."
Seifer Almasy      Ugh. And he was just about to leave.

     The last day or so has had Seifer Almasy in a bit of a crisis, both of personal identity and of memory. The memory part's not surprising - his Guardian Force consumed memories, so it's not surprising there are holes here and there - but the sheer enormity of what Greg had buried had sent him reeling in shock and just a bit of awe. He had *friends*. Not just any friends, but important friends, friends who needed his help.

     So he'd gone home to link up with Tamamo and plan out a course of action, eat, and give himself a bit of time to relax before they set out.

     Seifer's version of relaxing is, largely, killing shit in his daily six-hour workout through the Moon Cell.

     But in the middle of it Nero's request comes up, and Seifer stops. He pulls off his jacket and rubs his face like a cloth, wiping sweat away as he casually carves through one of the programs still surrounding him.

     "Dangit."

     So now here he is, walking up behind Nero and Hakuno, Hyperion slung over his shoulder, coat open, sweating from his six-hour workout (seriously, he spends about half the day *just* killing stuff throughout the Moon Cell), hiding his frustration with a cocksure grin.

     "Hey, ladies. Miss Praetor, Miss Pain-In-The-Butt. Caster's busy packing right now but I guess I've got some time to spare to lend a hand." He jerks a thumb at himself. "You got me now, right? So just point me where I'm goin' an' I'll take care of it for you. No need to slow me down."
Muramasa So this was the Moon Cell. A world inside of la luna. What was that story ... about a rabbit on the moon? It had him in the mood for dango, maybe he'd make some when this was all over.

The redheaded Japanese approaches the small gathering from behind a fair measure of time after their call for assistance went out. His chest was bare, save for a red sleeve and a floral white haori, while his lower body was decorated in something that resembled darkly colored samurai armor. An eastern sword of some kind was held in his left hand. "How're you kids doing? I'm here to help."

Even though he looked no older than eighteen, he seemed to carry himself like a senior citizen.
Solty Revant      Even though she has -still- not been able to arrange any spell school time with Tamamo, Solty is happy to answer when someone from the Moon Cell calls for assistance. The green-haired girl with the unusual pointed furry ears and the just as unusual outfit makes her way to the apointed place quickly. "Hello!" she calls out once she is close enough. "I'm Solty Revant! I'm a friend of Tamamo's! You guys said you wanted help with..."

     Her running slows to a walk and finally a stop as she looks out at the quarantine zone. "...s-something." she finishes nervously. "What is that?!" She really doesn't know much about anything that would make this make sense, but even without an answer she can tell that it is something bad. "Whatever it is, I'll help you stop it if I can!" she declares with a double fist pump.

     Seifer shows up and Solty raises a hand to offer a wave. They don't know each other that well but still. "Hello, Mr. Seifer!" she says, then blinks. "You want to go and handle it alone? But...we don't even know what 'it' is yet."
Ryouma Sakamoto     "Ah, so this is digital space?" asks Ryouma, arriving from somewhere behind Nero, presumably the same place everyone else is arriving from. His revolver and katana, unusually, are already materialized on his hip, rather than left not.

    "It's a sea," Oryou points out, floating behind Ryouma as she always does, looking and speaking flat.

    "Is it? I wouldn't know. I'll take your word for it, Oryou," he says, smiling, before looking at Nero, Hakuno, and then Seifer. "Ah, sorry if I don't have any stakes here, I was just curious about this other world some Servants claim as home. It feels... different, doesn't it?" He hms. "I can barely hear The World here. How unusual." How /quiet/, for a change. He's unsure if that's good or bad.

    "Oryou prefers it that way," she says simply.
    Gaia can die for all she cares, Ryouma is hers.
Staren     Staren is here, armored as usual. He flies from the warpgate on a broom of all things, and lands by the party, nodding to the others although giving Sengo a bit of a wary look. "The Concord helpts its own."

    After a moment or two for people to gather, he starts pulling tiny quadrotors out of his bag and flinging them in the direction of the disturbance. "Then let's find out what it is."
Seifer Almasy      "I'll be fine," Seifer tells Solty, "Besides, Moon Cell's my place, so I should be a responsible landlord an' go take care of it for the tenants."
Touta Konoe      Touta hasn't been back to the Moon Cell in a while cause...Well...He'd rather not say. The opportunity arises to return to the digital land once more upon the request of the second, or perhaps more appropriate to say original Master that dwelled on the Moon Cell, Hakuno. Frankly, he really did care about the people on the Moon Cell, especially the Master and Servants who had been so welcoming to him each time.

     So it was only natural that when he sees the display that Hakuno presented over the comms it's not even a question of whether he should or shouldn't help, it's just how quick can he get there. The answer is apparently quick enough to be quick, but not quick enough to be first apparently!

     "Hakuno, Nero, long time no see!" He runs over seeing that he's definitely one of the later arrivals to this party. The spikey black-haired kid arrives from one of the teleporters. He's got his usual black equipment. His reliable black taichi, his black shorts, red t-shirt, but he's wearing a very nice black jacket with a floral design on it. Juding from the picture, he had a feeling he might need it.

     "Uuugh, that stuff looks worse in person..."
Nova Terra     Nova appears in a wash of blue as she decloaks next to the forming group. It's her first time in the so-called Moon Cell. She's heard of it. But being here now, she's not entirely sure what the big deal is. Still, it's sometimes nice to get out and see the worlds.

    Canister rifle resting over her shoulder, Nova whistles as she looks at the corruption, "Reminds me somewhat of infestation. I'm guessing there's a source. Something that needs taking out in order to halt the progress."

    Nova side glances at the others, "And if sword boy wants to charge in head first, I say let him. Takes some of the pressure off the rest of us." She looks back at the corruption, "And maybe tell us a little about the stuff in the process."
Archer EMIYA Moon Cell. Home. Despite his prolonged absence, it seemed the place was mostly intact. Perhaps when the maid is gone and not cleaning up after everything people decided to actually be responsible for once? Or maybe the other servants summoned by Moon Cell to fulfill a similar purpose are just making sure to keep everything in check. It's probably the latter, given that he is extremely doubtful either Saber or Caster cleaned up their acts, what with Hakuno having next to no backbone to put up with Saber's antics and Seifer just enabling every bad habit of Caster/His Wife. But that's enough reminiscing for now, he came here to fulfill a job.

     Walking up behind both Hakuno and Saber, the large imposing servant almost reaches out to tap the young master's shoulder to get their attention. Almost.

     Tapping the girl's shoulder would be way too direct, so instead Archer just crosses his arms against his chest as he loudly clears his throat to get their attention.

     "Hakuno. SABER."

     He doesn't say anymore than that, but it's probably obvious he's here to help. After all, cleaning up is his /actual/ job.
Nero      Seifer was honestly the last person Hakuno figured would come, given all the things Caster has going on, but... well, she's not going to complain. Nero, however looks like she's very close to doing just that, cheeks ever so slightly puffed up as she stabs Aestus Estus back into the ground and rests her hands atop the pommel in wait.

     "Well, if it is not Caster's bright and shining knight." She looks away. "The fox must not be in that much of a hurry if you have the time to be wandering over this way. She just can't say 'thank you', huh? Well that's okay. Because Hakuno says it. "Hello, Seifer. And thanks for coming. With you here, our power just went up dramatically.

     And then some red haired young man comes wandering in. A sight that the brunette catches in the corner of her eye while Nero is busy huffing about not being able to haul off and be a lone badass like she wanted to originally. Tsk. Nero's Master gives him a polite bow, though she looks a bit confused by his manner of speaking. "Thank you...? Um, I'm Hakuno Kishinami. I hope everything works out." A smile follows that, and she looks to Solty who arrives next.

     "Hmm? Another friend of Caster's?" Hakuno quirks a brow. While Nero makes a silent parroting of Caster's name in sarcastic distaste. She's a good sport. Truly. The more reasonable of the pair look out towards the viral blackness spread across the quarantine zone. "Mmm... I don't know. But that's why we're all here. Something's not right with this, so I want to go in and do a proper analysis. Maybe figure out the root cause."

     Ryouma meanwhile speaks to Nero, who leaves her salty reverie to glance in his direction. "Ah. Indeed, this is what one would call digital space, yes." She lifts her blade and rests it on a shoulder. "It is not much different from the outside, all-told, but I will leave you to see for yourself." Beat. A glance in the direction of their target, ".... Well, perhaps not this time. This is an anomaly after all. Mhmhmhm." She chuckles amusedly despite the unknowns facing them.

     Touta's arrival is met with a glance by both Nero and Hakuno, the latter waves, "Touta! Hello! Thank you for coming!" She sees that jacket he has on, and a hand comes up her her mouth to hide the amused look forming there. He actually wore it! Then the work she put in was worth it. But that aside, she nods at his comment. "... Yeah. But we'll figure something out before long."

     Then Hakuno is tapped on the shoulder and she jumps! "Ack!" Whipping around, what she sees is.... Archer. "Oh. ... Archer. Hi." The brunette greets with lowered eyelids, "... Thanks for scaring me." She smiles. "And also coming." She cranes her head to see Nova Terra and... "I think that's enough people. Let's go then."

     With that, she turns around, walks up to the quarantine gate, and brings up a holo screen to unlock it with a button press. The gate vainishes into a cloud of blue cube particles, leaving the way open, which Nero steps up to lead.

     "Remain behind me, Praetor." She says as a matter of course, before striding onward with blade in hand into the corrupted black and red streets of what used to be a corner of their territory.

     Just stepping onto it invites a CRT static like response into the visions of everyone who makes contact, but otherwise, nothing else seems to happen yet. Hakuno walks behind Nero, hands held up as she scans her surroundings. "... This virus is eating away at all the data here. The files in this location are losing mass and stability steadily... This isn't good. In fact-"

     BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

     An alert. Hakuno swipes her screen to bring forth another and frowns. "A Servant not previously aligned with this territory is tripping the scan. Everyone, look alive!" She says firmly, "It's already... there!" She points upwards towards a street lamp, after referencing her map to reveal... a figure standing atop it high above, with its arms crossed.

     It appears to be wearing a... toga? With gauntlets and greaves the accomp
Nero      It appears to be wearing a... toga? With gauntlets and greaves the accompany that. Its entire form is cloaked in a black mist, with reddened eyes that shine through as it looks down at the group. ".........." Silence is all it offers. Just...what is the game here?
Staren     Staren rolls his eyes at Nova. Even if everyone thinks it, it's rude to say it out loud!

    After his drones show the static effect but nothing else, he proceeds. "You say 'files' are being corrupted... but what files, exactly? If this isn't a simulated world for the purpose of habitation, but a byproduct of another purpose, then what does the Moon Cell actually /do/?"

    And thus, they come to some guy in a toga and armored extremities perched on a lamppost. Staren looks up at them. They do nothing. "...So. You're just gonna stand there while you mess up the Moon Cell, huh? Well, if you're here to make trouble, I guess doing nothing makes it easier on us." Staren pulls the rifle from his back and starts aiming, although with how long he's taking he's clearly trying to provoke a reaction rather than deciding to open fire on the guy immediately.

    "Just hold reeeeal still, guy who's messing up Seifer's house..."
Solty Revant      Lots of people are here to help! That makes Solty smile. It's always nice to see people coming to help each other rather than trying to hurt each other. "Touta!" she exclaims happily when he shows up, and is just about to hug him when...someone just appears out of some shimmering blue! Solty yelps in surprise and jumps back, then blinks a few times before staring a bit at Nova. "Oh..uh...hi." she says, self-conscious rubbing the back of her head after her startled reaction.

     She blinks again at what Nova says, then shakes her head. "No. Even though Mr. Seifer is strong, going alone anywhere that is dangerous is a bad idea." she says before looking over at the mysterious toga-clad figure. "Are you the one messing up this world? Please stop at once! Whatever is wrong, I'm sure we can discuss it like grown-ups!"

     She clenches her fists and frowns a bit. "And if you don't stop...well, you are hurting the nice data people who live here, so we will have no choice but to stop you!"
Seifer Almasy      Seifer holds up a finger over his shoulder. "First off, it's a gunblade."

     He raises another finger. "Second, this is my place. I should be responsible for things when they go wrong. You can mouth off all you want but that's still true."

     "She's busy packing for my trip," Seifer tells Nero, "And we didn't think that this was so important that it needed both of us. After all, I'm more than enough for both of you ladies." He grins, then places a hand over his chest and bows to Hakuno, like a proper knight.

     "It's no problem, Miss Praetor. A little disruption, but not a big deal."

     He gives Archer a Look. He dislikes Archer. A lot.

     He's almost gotten used to the weird CRT Static of moving through districts in the Moon Cell. He's less disoriented than he's been in ages as he lands.

     Once he's got his orientation, he just swaggers forward past everybody. He swaggers a lot. It's kind of his default state. He points up at the guy on the streetlight.

     "You don't look friendly. In fact, you look like kind of a jerk. So let's skip all the talking part and get to the fun stuff. We all know we're here for it."

     Seifer presses his thumb and forefinger together.

     Snap.

     Kaboom!

     The streetlamp explodes in a burst of gunpowder and flame. It may or may not catch the betogaed man in it.

     Patience really isn't Seifer's strong suit.
Ryouma Sakamoto     Alarms ring and a presence draws near. Whether that's the cause of the problem, or another symptom, well...

    "A-Ah, that's a... a Shadow Servant? You have them here, as well? Imprints left upon the world of Servants past, capable of nothing but violence?"

    That's unfortunate, if that's what it is.
    Ryouma would've hoped they were byproducts of the destroyed Grail, not something wide-spread. But it does mean talking might be a pointless endeavor.

    Doubly so when Seifer opens hostilities.

    "So much for the chance to talk," Ryouma sighs.
    "Oryou prefers this that way, too," his companion says.

    He'll still wait to see what happens. He's not a rush-in-headfirst guy, when it comes to combat very specifically. In other ways, he defines the trope.
Archer EMIYA      "Pffft. The thanks is appreciated, but I didn't come for you. Although even if I did, if I admitted it I might hurt Saber's feelings by indirectly implying she's not competent enough to watch after a high schooler."

     Archer brushes off Hakuno's 'thank you' with his trademark wit. It's a lot easier than being truthful that he enjoys being appreciated, and it comes with the added bonus of also being able to take potshots at Nero. It's a win-win no matter how you look at it. Or at least, that's how Archer looks at it.

     As the alarms go off and the dark looming figure approaches, Archer opens his mouth to try and engage whatever the thing is in conversation. He doesn't get very far though as it seems Seifer is more than willing to throw caution to the wind and just throw the first punch. Or explosion, in this case.

     "I know you want to be a hero, Seifer Almasy, but perhaps you should try emulating heroes that aren't complete sociopaths and use your head for five minutes? It might be asking a bit much from a muscle head such as yourself, but still."

     Archer talks some more, but other than that he doesn't lift a finger. If he doesn't have to fight, he won't have to, especially since the plan of sniping the target halfway across the map is current out the window what with it being right in front of them.
Muramasa With a small smile, Muramasa nods. "Well, it's good to meet you, little miss. I'll do my best."

What an interesting group of lively people, he thought. Not even Archer being here hurt his mood. ... Well, at least not by much. Giving Touta a pat on the shoulder and a thumbs up after he arrives, the eastern Saber mulled around calmly until it was time to embark onwards. The feeling that runs through his body once entering this area was familiar to another life, when 'he' had entered a rather dangerous bounded field. It was a sickening feeling.

Reflexively, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Before he could utter platitudes of keeping one's wits about them, their enemy was already showing itself!

"Trace ... on." Muramasa uttered under his breath. The servant was a mysterious swordsman wreathed in oily black mist. The sharply dressed Ryouma mentioned something about Shadow Servants, but Muramasa hadn't heard him, as he gleaned information from their foe's own weapon.

Composition. Structure. History. ---

        *Boom!*

They were already engaging in hostilities. "For once, I have to agree with that guy. ... Well, considering how our last meeting went, maybe I don't have room to criticize you."

Drawing his sword and bolting forwards, the redheaded Saber aimed to enter the shadow's space as he fell, intercepting him with a simple swipe of his curved blade. Because he had analyzed and copied his foe's techniques, he would be able to predict his movements to a degree, something that Muramasa intended to exploit with this highly aggressive maneuver.
Touta Konoe      While it's always a joy to see the locals on the Moon Cell, especially when they are so welcoming, it's nice to arrive to the Moon Cell to see so many familiar faces. Even one's who aren't local to the Moon Cell. Archer's quick to head up to Hakuno and Nero with a smile. Seifer...Briefly gets a wave and a nod? Staren seems to be a bit in the same boat as well. Awkward moments...

     "Oh look it's A- Oh wait...Hey Shimosa! I didn't know you were coming here to. This your first time around?" And the meet-up of the century finally happens, at least for him when he sees Archer there as well. THEY ARE TWINS I KNEW IT. He probably shouldn't say it aloud. That said he's always happy enough to see Archer looking around. As much of a bad reputation as he may have around some people, Touta does consider the guy reliable and he's pretty sure Hakuno thinks the same of him.

     "Hey, long time since I've seen you too, Archer. Keeping out of trouble? Guess not if you're here."

     Then there's a really familiar noise in an unfamiliar setting. The sound of Solty Revenant is definitely a surprise but a welcome one at that. "Solty?! I didn't expect to see ya here! I'm not complaining though. It's always good to have an extra reliable person to help." Then just as she's about to give a hug, she jumps back to see another familiar face in Nova.

     "Ah, you're the one from then...Uh, thanks for before."

     And then there's two people he actually has no idea about, but the black and white duo contrast quite well. As they start walking through the quarantined area it's definitely an unusual sensation to have this much static occurring and that's when they see it.

     Seifer's quick to respond with blowing up the street lamp that the shadowy figure stands upon without even knowing what it is. Well, I guess striking first is always a viable option. But did anyone even know what Servant that was?

     "Shadow Servant?" It appears that the two strangers seem more familiar with the enemy than most would. Though...He swears he's heard that phrase before. Weren't they a thing for the Nerofest? Maybe he's imagining things. Still in times like these he walks up to the contrast couple trying to see if the one in white has a Master's Seal.

     "Hey bro, you seem really knowledgable. Are you guys Master and Servant as well or something?"

     With all those questions, Touta still stays in the backlines just in case something pops up. Cause realistically, something crazy always tries to pop up and surprise them. So, might as well be ready right?
Nova Terra     "Gunblade. Whatever." What a silly weapon. "Hey, I'm all for taking responsibility."

    Nova begins following the others into the new zone, blinking with some surprise as her view is partially obscured by static. She rubs her eyes for a moment to try and clear it. She then reaches up, bringing her visor down over her eyes. Good enough.

    Nova stays in the rear as the group proceeds, though it's not long before her visor highlights a possible target. Picking up on the same source as Hakuno, Nova turns to look at the 'man' on the streetlight. As far as she's concerned, the eery aura surrounding him is enough to put Nova on edge. She quickly moves to take cover behind the corner of a building.

    Peeking out from her cover, Nova watches the others approach the target. Some seem to want to try talking. Others appear smarter and engage first. Nova herself agrees with the latter, beginning to run around the building, letting the others start the fight while she moves to try and find a better position to flank the intruder.
Nero      At this point, Hakuno takes several steps back to avoid getting caught up in combat. That's not her specialty. She's just an open target if she sticks around. Nero stays right where she is, however and stares up at the shadowy figure staring down at them silently. she sees that manner of dress, and frowns. "An identified Servant, you say..." A grins spreads across her face. "And just who might this unidentified Servant be, I wonder?"

     While Nero wonders, Staren takes aim with a rifle and tries to provoke a reaction, but there is none. When Solty tells it to stop hurting the people and the digital environment, it offers no reaction to that either. However, when Seifer just goes ahead and casts an explosive spell on him, he finally does something.

     He vanishes.

     The explosion hits nothing, as in the blink of an eye, the shadowy figure is now standing at street level with the group. And now, it has two short sickle swords drawn. One in each hand. They appear to be of Israeli make. They alight in a burst of mana particles of red and blue. With energy streaming upwards in wispy trails, the figure sways forward... Sengo's strike is met with a clash, and their eyes meet, ...and then it is parried aside as the shadow streaks past him and blinks forward in a whirlwind of mana charged slashes aimed at all in his way as he makes a beeline riiiiiiiight ...for Hakuno.

     Shit. Uh. Okay. This is happening.

     Hakuno, who was busy analyzing this new Servant's data looks up riiiight in time to see it attempting to speed through the ranks to get at her. Her eyes widen and she freezes like a deer in the headlights.

     Not that Nero will allow this to happen. "I think not!" She growls, speeding in from the side as she swings out with a flaming uppercut that makes the shadow servant backflip out of the way to avoid a hit, and also throw it off the path of Hakuno. He lands in a skid backwards, but seems to be intent to trying again... It's safe to say what his target is now.

     "Something is... not right here." The Master states, frowning as she glances at her screen again. "This Servant's class is Assassin. But... all of his parameters are being inflated to A rank or better."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer doesn't do magic. Seifer does ki attacks. That explosion is his explosive soul. Seifer is made of gunpowder spirit.

     It really explains a lot about him.

     "Oh no you don't!" Seifer lunges into the way of the attack for Nero and Hakuno like it's second nature. It cuts through his coat, revealing the bandages underneath. He's been fighting wounded this whole time. He's either a lunatic or a genius.

     Still, the cut's not that deep, and it looks like he either avoided it or parried it. Still, he straightens, swinging his gunblade over his shoulder like a baseball bat. He points his finger at the Assassin like he's pointing at the outfield and calling a home run. "Assassin or whatever, I got a problem with people attacking cute girls. How are you even a hero if all you can do is stab people in the back? Do they just let any old jerk in?"

     Seifer swings the gunblade downwards and starts moving forward. His fingers come up and snap again. Then again. Then again. Then again. He's just peppering the area around Assassin with explosions, frequent, high-speed explosives. "C'mon, pal, I've killed one Servant this month! I'm down to make it two! Let's see what you got in a stand-up fight! 'cause if you're A-Rank..."

     "Then I'm whatever's above that!"

     Seifer doesn't know Grail War stats.
Staren     It... vanished? Staren starts to turn around to check behind him before he realizes it just moved *down*. As the unknown Assassin dashes forward and slashes, Staren twists out of the way, taking a graze to his armor before flying a short hop to one side and firing a burst from the laser rifle, three pinpricks of intense light concentrating enough energy to explode a normal person's skin and flashburn a good chunk of their body. "S. Usually S-rank comes above A. Though sometimes they have A and double-A ranks, maybe up to triple-A... same for S's."

    "Is there any point in talking to you? I could make threats, or offer alternatives, but... not much point if you never answer back. Did you just come here to die today?"
Solty Revant      Solty smiles to Touta after she recovers from being startled by Nova. "Well, Miss Caster and Mr. Seifer are friends of mine, so I try to visit them when I can. But, they are both pretty busy with things most of the-" She stops when that strange man appears on the lamppost and quickly turns to face him. Whether this guy is a real badguy or not is answered for Solty when he slashes his way through their ranks and then heads right for Hakuno, the least combat capable of any of them. She manages to parry his attacks against her against her Resemble skin, sparks being struck like metal hitting metal and a couple of scratches being left behind, and then much like the mysterious servant...she seems to disappear. In an instant she is in front of him after Nero's attack and aiming a double punch of her own.

     Her fists are vibrating so fast that their outlines are blurry and are engulfed in a flowing orangey-yellow. "You're bad!" is all she says before throwing a 1-2-superpowered punch. Each punch is powerful on its own, but that glowing energy is also released on impact, unleashing something akin to an explosion that can disintegrate lesser targets and making each hit much more like a powerful artillery hit than an actual punch.

     Once her attack is done she hops back. "Mr. Seifer is right! You aren't a hero if you attack anyone without at the very least stating why you are doing so and trying to talk it out first!"
Ryouma Sakamoto     "Ah, no, we're--" Ryouma begins answering Touta.
    "Yes," Oryou says. "Oryou's class is Magical Girl." She raises both hands and peace signs at Touta, as if that proved anything.
    Ryouma scratches the back of his neck, embarassed.
    "I guess it's something like that," he laughs.

    When the mysterious Assassin lunges forward, though, that conversation ends abruptly. Oryou gets in front of Ryouma, catching the slash with her forearms. Her uniform is torn and she frowns.

    "Oryou is going to eat him now, Ryouma," she says.
    "Ah, please, don't eat strange things you don't know where they've been, it might be contagious," Ryouma pleads.

    Oryou probably doesn't hear, because she's already surging towards the Assassin with a flaming orange fist.

    "Oryou's love-love fist!"
    She's just making a point. For Touta's benefit.

    The flames around her fist even turn black-blue before it connects! It'll be quite the impact, if the Assassin doesn't mind himself.

    But it does have class advantage, so...
Staren     "I mean... not always?" Staren asides to Solty. "Sometimes the villain's whole deal is /kinda obvious/, and the hero needs to use the element of surprise /before/ giving their speech."
Muramasa Their swords clash and deep red stares into molten gold. Then, like a flying shadow, the Servant departs with a two-toned goodbye. Muramasa responds in kind with a flowing technique with his sword that cuts apart the air, attacking the mana-blades with a vaccum, a slice made of wind. It's not that he was particularly fast for a Servant, in fact, he was closer to the average side of things. But he'd moved in synch with his opponent, deflecting most of the counter-attack as smoothly as he breathed.

Two minor cuts appear on his shoulders, tearing through his Haori.

The Saber of Shimosa pursues his opponent, the blade of his sword beginning to glow a calm and clear blue. Muramasa immediately follows up Seifer's bombastic attack with a paired slash of his sword, alternating his hold to bring the hilt close to his cheek, the inner curve of his weapon perpendicular to the ground before thrusting, a small explosive bolt of moonlight flying from the tip at his foe.
Touta Konoe      As expected of Solty. She really was that kind of person. So he just nods when she gives that remark. It was just fitting for her. As for Oryou and sakamoto's description, there's a lot of skepticism of the Mahou Shoujo class. But there's a smile on Touta's face regardless, these guys seemed nice enough at least. I mean, one of them is giving a double peace sign, how can they NOT be peaceful? But the time for talk seems to be finishing up...

     "Like Hell you are!"

     That's the response he gives to this 'Shadow Servant' after he had vanished and goes beelining for Hakuno. That's his friend right there, and the one thing you want to do is attack his friends. Especially the ones who clearly aren't the front-line fighters.

     Like Seifer he makes it a point to retaliate immediately along with Nero. And just like Seifer when he intercepts his jacket gets torn as well and a bit of red seeps through. But there's a smile on the boy's face. The wound immediately closes up and the jacket...Begins mending itself.

     "Sorry pal, but if you think it's gonna be that easy to get to my friend there then you got another thing coming!" If this Servant wants to attack the Master, it better be ready to fight through the wall of Servants and allies she's got backing her up first! It doesn't matter if this servant's A stats, E stats, or EX stats if you mess with someone Touta cares about it won't be a fun day.

     Touta follows through and swings his blade with Seifer in tandem. When Seifer swings up, he swings down. When he swings down, Touta swings up. He's going to make sure that this Servant realizes how much pressure he's about to be dealing with. Then when Seifer decides to throw in the explosions, Touta's still getting up and personal with Assassin. He's not sure when Seifer learned such a nifty trick, but since Touta can't really do anything to mirror that he'll just keep getting up in this Servant's face as explosions go on around them. After all, he can probably handle it better than this Servant can.
Nova Terra     Nova runs. The sounds of battle breaking out filter through her visor, along with the radio calls. She trusts that the others can survive at least a short amount of time against the so-called shadow servant. And if not, well, that's alright too. She darts into an alley.

    Nova leaps. Planting her foot on one wall, she leaps again towards the other. With but a few more suit-boosted jumps she's on the roof top, at which point she dashes up to the edge and drops down to one knee. Nova raises her rifle and tilts her head to look through the scope. She sweeps it across the newly formed battlefield below. She watches the others menacing the servant with explosions and beams and flaming punches and their own blades. Trying to figure out its deal. The strange aura around it causes a brief flash of memory in Nova. But it's one she can't place.

    Nova shakes her head to clear her thoughts, once more sighting in on the Assassin. Moving her finger to the trigger and pulling it, her rifle barks off a shot. Not a very threatening shot as Nova simply tests the assassin's defenses.
Archer EMIYA      "Trace on."

     Even though he said he wanted to 'cheese' this, Archer had a feeling things weren't going to go his way. As the Assassin class servant rushes towards him and the rest of the group with their blades drawn, the Nameless spirit takes the opportunity to create weapons of his own.

     A pair of sister blades appear in Archer's hand, one white, one black, but they are both currently serving the same purpose. That purpose being to help deflect the blow coming his way. Probably not the best idea given the discrepancy in strength, but he's not exactly known for bright ideas.

     As the mystery Assassin's blades clash, it takes everything he has to simply push his opponent away. Beads of sweat roll down Archer's forehead as he channels every ounce of strength in his arms to push his assailant away. It's fine though, he's not the main target anyway. It's just Hakuno.

     It's just Hakuno.

     God damnit.

     Well, it was in his best interest to end this as quick as possible anyway, and the others are more than enough to protect the dead weight while he sets things up. Then again, that Shimosa Saber being around... No, it's fine.

     Dismissing both his blades, Archer takes a deep breathe as he begins chanting. A familiar chant to some, but probably not to many.

     I am the bone of my sword
     Steel is my body and fire is my blood
     I have created over a thousand blades
     Unknown to death
     Nor known to life
     Have withstood pain to create many weapons
     Yet, those hands will ever hold anything
     So as I pray, UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS.

     Archer opens his eyes as recites the last three words, throwing out his arm dramatically as the surrounding area slowly burns away to reveal swords. Not a couple swords, or a dozen. Swords as far as the eye can see. A world of swords. Accompanying the change is the smell of smog and giant floating gears that seem to always be out of reach no matter what.

     "We're done here."

     Archer's eyes focus on the shadow servant as he simply raises a hand. As if on cue, a large swathe of various swords spawn around the assassin before flying at them like a swarm of missiles.
Nero      "You can't just claim that you're... actually- ... Yes, you probably can." Hakuno sighs and then takes FURTHER steps away from this conflict because this thing clearly seems to want her dead, and the only thing keeping it from doing just that are the people here giving him much to be busy about. Nero frowns and steps in front of Hakuno at this point. "My Praetor, do not step out from in front of me." She states, Aestus Estus raised in a ready stance. "If that fiend dares to come at you again, I will make him regret having the thought!"

     Meanwhile, Assassin has to hope to and fro, as Seifer's NOT-MAGIC-BUT-KI explosions keep him from just dashing in and assassinating the Master of the New Imperial Roman Republic. But Seifer's aiming and sense of spacing in impeccable. An explosion sets off right where the shadow servant lands, impacting his chest and making him skid backwards. Touta's followup slash is met with a bend backwards, which makes it graze past, and then aside, a leap over and out of Touta's immediate range. Just in time for Staren to fire a beam right at him. He leaps aside and avoids it entirely as heat blazes past his back, eyes on the one clad in the forcefield. ".... I have no reason to speak. My mission is clear." He says plainly, voice garbled by several layers of audio disturbance, before Solty comes barreling in with set of punches... but just like before, he tucks backward, making those strikes whiff as he flips away and lands onto his feet, twin blades trailing mana.

     But right at that moment, Oryou's LOVE LOVE FIST hits him straight in the back. He vaults forward with the momentum as a bolt of moonlight comes right for him from Sengo's direction. But he turns in midair, the bolt grazing just past his nose mid-turn... and then shooting past. But before he can make a beeline for Hakuno again, Nova's shot rings out, and strikes his shoulder, stopping him short.

     And that's when he hears those words.

     Unlimited Blade Works

     The surroundings burn away, revealing a desolate ground. Clockwork ticks in the skies above, while swords dot the landscape below... Assassin looks around and narrows his eyes. "...A reality marble." He says quietly in observation. He looks straight at Archer then as he says that this is over.

     Swords rain down from the sky and impact with his position in a storm of steel and sparks, completely obscuring him in the process.

     Once it subsides... Assassin is still there, but now looking much worse for the wear. His toga is torn, his gauntlets and greaves are damaged, and there are slashes and black and red blood leaking from various wounds. One eye is wounded shut now, as he stands himself back up from a kneeling position.

     "I see... so that's how it is. Perhaps this too is a trial that I must face..." He lets go of both of his swords, which clatter to the ground. "... Then let me respond in kind."

     Hands opened, he begins to recite,

     For my sins, death is not enough to make amends
     So I shall walk this earth evermore, waiting for his return
     This is my FALSE GOSPEL - FIELD OF BLOOD

     And then, within the space of Archer's Reality Marble, something starts up from beneath Assassin's feet. A pool of blood forms, and then rapidly blazes across the ground, proceeding to overwrite Unlimited Blade Works with False Gospel - Field of Blood. Where there was once a desolate field of swords with clockwork in the sky, everyone on the ground is now standing ankle deep in a field of pure blood, which bubbles and ripples.

     And then assassin raises his arms, causing countless blood tendrils to rise up from the depths. "...Bear this sin together with me." He says, before lashing his arms out, and making those blood tentacles speed downwards to crush and strike at all present with explosive, corrosive force.
Ryouma Sakamoto     Blood! Blood everywhere!

    Oryou... does not mind this at all. It's basically like laying an ocean of delicious juice before her. Ryouma, on the other hand, immediatly mourns the loss of his pants. His pristine, white pants. They're ruined. Until he uses mana to fix them. Absolutely ruined.

    And so's the rest of his outfit when blood slams into him, past Oryou's guard, and knocks him down into the sea of red liquid.

    If he wasn't a Servant, his clothes would be a total loss, only good for the trash. Thank god for being a magic ghost.

    Ryouma floats out of the blood, gripped by the back of his collar by a strand of Oryou's hair. She looks back at him. "Assassin is making it harder to keep Oryou from eating him," she argues.
    "Oryou please," Ryouma responds.

    In response to UNLIMITED BLOOD TENDRILS, Oryou's hair suddenly expands, shooting towards the Assassin like a mess of cutting, slashing and piercing blades.

    "Ah, please put me back down sometime, Oryou," Ryouma says. Oryou shakes her head. "If Oryou can't eat Assassin, Ryouma can't risk his life."
    Ryouma laughs. "Now that's just harsh. I'm supposed to be the negotiator hero."
Staren     Unlimited Blade Works... happens. Staren's seen this once before. Fighting vampires on one of those grail war Earths, wasn't it? Some mage whose name escapes him.

    It must be a high-level spell people on that world can learn, if Archer knows it too.

    Staren glances around at all the swords... if he were a swordsman himself he might try to take one, but he's not. Instead, he has to take to the sky when blood starts seeping from the ground. As tentacles come out, he puts up his forcefield so as not to get grabbed -- he avoids that fate, but the tentacles stabbing at his field crack and shatter chunks out of it, all the same, flinging Staren up into the air.

    He recovers, then drops the field to point his laser rifle down and fire again (making flashboiling bloodsplosions if he misses). He doesn't need to use the sights to aim, there's a reticle on his HUD for that, so shooting down from the air isn't a problem.

    "This isn't a trial. It just is. If you wanna come out of it alive you better get to surrendering fast!"
Muramasa With his feet firmly on the ground, Muramasa grimaces as his foe deftly avoids damage. Certainly, his skill was impeccable. Those swords of his were rather plain for the most part -- short and with a deep durve in them, almost like shotels. The techniques imbedded within were simple as well. Based on the swordsmanship of the Assassin, his weaponry and attire ...

Muramasa concluded this was likely a heroic spirit from the middle-east.

Trace On.     Unlimited Blade Works

It reasonated deeply within him, as if speaking to his very essence. With a shiver, Muramasa realizes that the surroundings have been altered. Archer had brought his world out into the lunar sea. He could only stare in awe, and had to wonder -- was this what his world looked like, too?

This barren lonely land, overcast with hot smoke and cold iron over a limitless count of weaponry.

No, instinctively he knew that while this place held similarities to what was undoubtably inside him, it was very different as well. Like two sides of different commemorative coins, the similarity was only passing.

With a start, he shudders again as Archer's world is invaded by the enemy's own reality marble. A False Gospel. The lashes and stab of the blood are swatted away by the serene sword he held, still shining brightly. Protecting himself with windblades and well-timed parries, Muramasa aims to close the gap between himself and the source of the blood.

One of the Old Men of the Mountain? Or maybe the Founder of Islam? It was hard to say. Neither of his lives were particularly educated on such matters, and what he gleaned from the sickle-swords wasn't enough to help him discern the True Name of his enemy. But that was alright.

As long as he had this world around him, he had a limitless number of techniques to draw from. "Trace On."

His magic circuits flare visibly as he performs full body reinforcement, attempting to open his opponent's guard by firing a razor wind at him, changing the flow of his slash to turn it into fierce stab.

After performing his attack, Muramasa pulls back, casting his eyes around the bladeworks until one in particular caught his eye, a large axe-sword that couldn't be wielded by humans hands.
Touta Konoe      This Assassin wasn't screwing around. He slips through half of the attacks thrown at him, just how slippery was this guy? To make matters even worse, he's still clearly charging for Hakuno of all people. What did she even do to him?! It's thankful though that there are those that can catch this guy off balance and really send him packing. Especially Archer. He knew that the guy was more reliable than he lets on.

     "Nice job Archer!" Probably been a while since anyone's told him that, huh? Unfortunately the praise is short lived as the Assassin begins his own chant, and in the next moment...Reality changes once more. The field of swords is swapped for a ...Marsh of blood might be the best way to describe it. For a vampire this really should be like a paradise for him....It's not. He's not that kind of vampire.

     He's also not to fond of blood that tries attacking him. There's probably some sort of poetic irony to this, but it's lost on him at this current time. The blood tentacles slam into Touta out of nowhere and send him flying for a moment, and it's definitely not in the cool way that Ryouma and Oryou are doing it where they actually are flying. He's in the air and about to go into a free fall. With that said though...Maybe he can use that to his advantage.

     "Bombs away! 2000 FOLD!"

     From free fall, Touta immediately begins plummetting towards the ground at an incredible speed. Magnifying his weight he intended to increase the rate he was falling so that he could catch Assassin off guard with a powerful slamming strike from above where it'd be more difficult for his blood to get to him.
Solty Revant      Solty lets out a frustrated 'mmph' as somehow her punches don't connect and she is corrected in pretty much everything she said by those around her. This guy is fast! She always thinks she is fast until someone else is actually fast. She is about to go for another attack when...well, lots of spectacular things happen. First, the world burns away into a flatland with swords everywhere. She yelps and ducks as those swords go flying, but luckily none are aimed at her. Then...much worse, it becomes a bloodscape. Solty's eyes widen as that blood flows toward her. "Wh-what is this?!" She leaps upward to avoid it, then actually lets out a small scream when those tendrils reach for her. "Ew no! Don't touch me!" she exclaims as she flies about surrounded by the same yellow-orange glow as her punches were a moment ago.

     Somehow, through panicked dodging and rolling and flailing, she manages to avoid all of thse tendrils. It isn't until she gets a moment to take a breath that she blinks and looks at herself. "...I can fly?" she says quietly, then does a few somersaults and laughs a bit before clenching her fists once more and focusing on the badguy. "Okay..." She flies forward, leaving a trail behind her like a comet.

     Since her big punches didn't work out, she tries something more simple this time. She just flies up to mystery assassin and tries to clothesline kick him as she passes. "It isn't a trial! A trial is something that someone else imposes on you! You started this, so it's an attack on innocent people!" Once again slightly flawwed logic. How can an android be like this?
Nova Terra     Nova frowns as she suddenly finds herself standing upon a crashed cog in the sand. It's not the first time she's encountered this reality warping ability that some servants seem to have. And it's a little annoying to her. It throws off her game just a little.

    A world of blood is hardly an improvement.

    Nova is thankfully spared from standing in blood-not that it'd bother her much-by virtue of her perch. Unfortunately she's not spared attack from the tendrils as her visor highlights the flailing columns of red streaking down towards her. Nova rolls away from the first, before jumping to her feet and starting to run. She darts left and right, trying to avoid the tendrils as they stab down towards her. She reaches for the compartment on her arm, just as one tendril catches her. Nova's shoulder is struck and she is thrown foward by the impact, hitting the roof and bouncing to a stop.

    The plasma grenade Nova had pulled out arcs through the air, landing with a splash near Assassin's feet and sinking down into the blood. A moment later a blast of energy errupts from that point, vaporizing blood and flesh alike as it hopefully catches the servant. Though given the sheer amount of blood on the ground, it barely puts a dent in the volume as more just flows in to replace it once the explosion has faded.
Archer EMIYA      Archer grins as his attack was a success. Sometimes it pays not to beat around the bush. Raising his hand to call forth another volley of swords, Archer pauses as the servant speaks.

"Oh? You decide to speak now? What is this trial you're talking about? And what exactly do you think you're doing anyway? It's ok, I can wait for an answer."

     Archer, like the dumbass he is, lets the servant recite his verses, originally thinking the man might just be talking cryptically. It only dawns on him a moment later that he isn't the only servant with this gimmick, and his stomach sinks as he realizes at this very moment that he made a critical error.

     Whoops.

     Unlimited Blade Works is now replaced with a world of blood, and Archer has to fight tooth and nail to escape the numerous crimson tentacles.

     They tear at his clothes, slam across his skin leaving blistering welts, and overall make the servant's life a living hell, but other than that they're not able to get a good grip on him. Except for one.

     A stray tentacle manages to latch onto one of Archer's wrist, which gets an instant response out of him.

     "Trace..."

     With his one free hand, Archer calls upon a sword. A very familiar, fiery sword. The Sword of the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus. Aestus Estus.

     A copy of the real thing it may be, it cuts through the tendril all the same. With a new weapon now in hand, Archer attempts to approach the Assassin in melee range rather than from afar, grasping the hilt of the blazing sword with both hands as he tries to bring the blade down against the enemy servant's head.
Nero      Blood tendrils slam down into Nero and Hakuno's direction, and Nero is already there, holding the strike back while Hakuno shrinks behind her. She's not 'afraid' that she'll die. Not entirely. She does trust Nero. But... it is scary still. Maybe she should stop coming to these places directly. But she kind of has to. ... Plus she's used to attempts on her life. Sadly.

     "You will... not!" the Roman Emperor lurches forward and knocks the bloody tentacle away, before reassuming a defensive position ahead of her Master.

     Meanwhile, Staren takes to the sky and attempts to shoot down Assassin once again. ...It goes about as well as last time. The slippery Servant drifts out of the line of fire, letting it blaze past him uselessly into the pool of blood in a violent ripple that disperses soon after. And then Sengo is coming after him again. He dodged through that attack.... no, he cut through it. Moving his way through until he was close enough to let loose a wind blade. This time, the speed and ferocity of the technique is too much even for him to avoid, cleaving blood wounds into his chest and toga and causing the Servant to step back with grit teeth.

     Touta and Solty both come bearing down on him from different directions. That clothesline kick is met with another backwards bend that sees the girl's leg sailing just past his face. ... But that gives Touta the opening he needs to slam his sword down upon Assassin's midsection with all of that weight, crushing the shadow down into the pool of blood with a big splash.

     The depths drag him under and away, where he resurfaces just in time for a plasma grenade to explode in his vicinity. An arm is raised as the explosive force impacts with him, and that's enough to a distraction for Archer to come speeding in with...

     Nero is already angry. "THAT IS MY SWORD! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU PEOPLE COPYING MY GLORIOUS WEAPON!?"

     Nevermind her.

     The overhead swing is met with a raised hand and a blood tendril bursting up to meet it. They clash, and in the ensuing break off, the copied sword slices against his shoulder, making him grimace as he retreats a tad.

     "Indeed, this is a trial. ... One given to me by the lord." He states plainly, clenching his fists and raising his arms, but then...

     "That's enough, Assassin. Return." A male voice echoes out through the now blood covered streets of the corrupted district. "......." Assassin stops. ...And then he lets his hold of his Reality Marble weaken. The field of blood sinks back into the ground, as the corrupted black landscape returns. Then, he retakes his twin sickle swords and steps backward. "... It seems that our time together is at an end this day."

     His red gaze turns to Hakuno's direction. "... We will be meeting again very soon." And with that, the shadow servant steps backwards into an alleyway... and vanishes.

     ... ....

     That's it. There's nothing else. A couple stark seconds pass, before Hakuno lets out a biiiiiiiig sigh and sinks down to her knees, "Haaaaah.... it's over." She murmurs, the adrenaline leaving her all at once now.
Nova Terra     Nova slowly picks herself up from where she had fallen. She stretches out the part of her shoulder that had taken the hit... That's going to bruise. Nova walks up to the edge of the roof once more, peering down at the now normal looking world. Relatively speaking.

    Nova jumps from the edge of the roof down to the ground, shifting her rifle over her shoulder as she walks back to join up with the others, "Nice fellow. Has the whole 'disembodied voice' act down pat. I'm guessing he's the source of this corruption." She glances back in the direction of where the Assassin fled, her visor suit's system analysing the area but not finding much, "Seems like tracking him down is going to be a challenge though."

    Nova turns back, raising her visor back up onto the top of her head again. She gives Nero and Hakuno a playful smile, "Let me know if you need help with that."

    Nova starts walking away, soon disappearing. Literally as she cloaks once more.
Staren     The blood goes away, and so does Assassin. Staren lands. "...Hm. So now you have an assassin after you, great." He turns to Nero and slings the rifle across his back again. "So... will the Moon Cell always react this way when he shows up, giving you warning? Or could he bypass it somehow?"
Muramasa After drawing back, he prepared for the next round of attacks. In his mind's eye, of the things he'd pilfered from Archer's reality marble, he picked the one that would be most useful in this situation. Of course, he'd need to modify the technique ... both for his body, and for his weapon. But it was a technique that to begin with, was easier to adapt than most.

However, the battle reaches its conclusion then and there. Sengo frowns as the enemy leaves before any of them can really make an effort to give chase. When all was said and done, and the group begins to unwind just a little bit, he stops to examine his own sword. It had lost much of its luster as the power of moonlight faded and the curse all of his swords stunk with re-appeared. "You probably won't last another battle, huh?"

Sheathing the weapon, he shook his head. That Assassin was a real troublemaker, alright ... and judging by their surroundings, if he and whatever cohorts he might have weren't taken care of, the lunar sea was going to become a very terrible place. And that, was something he couldn't allow.
Touta Konoe      And just as quick as the Assassin appears he vanishes. After receiving a further onslaught a voice calls out into the bloody marsh like reality before them, it's too hard to tell from where though. All they can do is watch as the reality marble fades returning the scenery back to that of the Moon Cell. The Servant gives a final glare towards Hakuno as he warns of his faithful return. From there he vanishes and silence lingers for a moment till Hakuno lets out the biggest sigh he's head in a while as she plops to her knees. He can't really blame her though, more than going at them that Servant had clearly only been after her and a Master vs a Servant is never really a good match up...Unless you're Seifer. But that's like an exception or something.

     "Well, whatever just happened, we know it'll probably be happening again. Hey Hakuno, you okay over there?" With everything resolved for the time being he heads Hakuno's way to offer the Master of the Moon Cell a hand up. "Guess for the time-being you guys should be alright though. if that guy shows up again we've got your back."
Solty Revant      Solty misses again, but at least her attack seemed to pave the way for at least one other. Solty is about to try for another hit when...suddenly it is over? The weird dimension disappears and they are left in the real world. Or...simulated real world. It is still a bit confusing. Solty's ears twitch when that mystery voice echoes through the area, and she tries to pinpoint where it came from. But, with so much echoing it is difficult. She lets out a sigh, then turns to look at Hakuno. Touta beats her to asking if Hakuno is alright, so she adds. "We were worried! Even though Miss Nero seems very capable, that guy was super dangerous!"

     She blinks and looks to Nero after that. "Not to say that you couldn't protect her, it was just very hectic and things happen sometimes!" she says, remembering Nero's reactions earlier. She turns to Touta after that. "Are you alright, Mr. Touta?"