themainframe | Week 1, Day 1 | dimidium facti qui coepit habet

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Week 1, Day 1 | dimidium facti qui coepit habet

CITIZENS!!

[Good morning, ~~Vietnam~~ Terminal Tokyo! There's a midget shouting on the D-Terminal.]

First, to whomever is responsible for rescuing this humble Emperor from oblivion, you have my thanks; ready though I was to give my life, I can hardly complain about a pardon. Your service will be rewarded!

Ah, but... [The tiniest hint of hesitation enters her voice; she's not sure she wants to ask the next bit, but... really has to. Positive thoughts, Saber!] ...there was another, whose processes were running in the same application, who was in the very same danger as I. Could it be that she was also saved? [...] Or, if not, perhaps it is not yet too late...

Don't worry, Saber! [The second voice comes from off-camera, perhaps near Saber's feet...] If you're a Chosen Child, then she probably is, too! You keep talking about how special she is...

[Well, that perks her right up! Have some enthusiastic nodding; how could she have been so foolish?]

Indeed, it is as you say, Salamon! Magnificent though I might be, no-one in their right mind could pass over Hakuno; she is a treasure without equal! She must also have been 'Chosen'...

[...and then her face contorts into a peeved sort of frown; something else has just occurred to her.]

...however... age notwithstanding, she is no 'child'. And neither am I! There may be many women of thirty that would take such a label as a compliment, but my looks, my accomplishments, all have been refined by maturation!

Maybe it's because you're the right height for a child? Or even smaller...

S... Salamon-!

[Aww naw... that did it. Her D-Terminal forgotten, Saber kneels down, until her face is inches from that of the precious little puppy that's serving as the peanut gallery. For a long moment, she looks about ready to roar in the little guy's face; obviously, his offense was greater than the average onlooker could know. Maybe he was about to die? That would be awfully cold, though, even for her...

...but, after what seemed like ages, she finally relented, as she turned away, and puffed up her cheeks in a childish show of annoyance. Well, at least it's not murderous rage anymore?]

...t-topics such as my height are forbidden, understand?! [...] And so is making that face, when I am trying to reprimand you; no-one is heartless enough to remain angry before it...

[There's a little hint of a blush on her face, as she storms off... leaving her D-Terminal in the grass, near Salamon.]

But, Saber... this is my normal face....

[And, as obediently as one might expect from a creature that appeared canine, the already-beleaguered partner of the overbearing little person that's been assaulting your airwaves picks up the abandoned device in his mouth, and trots off after his partner, bumping the off button in the process.]

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Oh?

A fan, perhaps! Styling herself after me... how impudent! I approve!

Of course, now that we have met, I assume you would not mistake us again? Imitation may be flattery, but complete mimicry is shameful, for a Servant.

[man, now you're just seeming familiar in general]

Right. I'll...try to be more careful?

[She nods.]

See that you do.

[And almost ends it right there... but, well, he knows Hakuno. Maybe he's worth knowing?]

By what name are you called, boy?

[so she looks like saber and sounds like rider.]

[the hell.]

Waver. My name's Waver Velvet.

Waver. [She nods, not bothering to remember his last name.]

And you are a friend of Hakuno?

I...yes? We've spoken a few times.

Good. Treat her well, and you shall have my friendship, as well.

Treat her poorly, and I will tear you limb from limb.

[...aaaand she ends that statement with a super-cute smile. Teehee~!]

...Uh.

[WHY MEEEEEEEEEE.]

O-okay.

[Saber nods resolutely, clearly satisfied with how this conversation turned out.]

I'm glad that we understand each other, my friend.

[SOB-]

[actually wait he's recalling something; Waver was pretty sure he'd counted on Servants not showing up here.]

Sorry if this is prying, but what's the last thing you did before you got here?

[It's a minute before she answers; honestly, it was prying. It'd been horrifying enough the first time, and, even if love had compelled her to sacrifice herself... jesus, it wasn't something she wanted to think about.

But... even if she'd just been menacing him, Waver was Hakuno's friend, which meant he could be trusted (to a point). Alright, then.]

I died.

[Short, and to the point... and, yet, even as brief as it was, she couldn't help but wince.]

Is there a reason why you ask?

I-I just...

[He hadn't been expecting that; it was one thing if she'd been in the middle of a war or something. But defeated Servants returned to the Throne, lost all memory of the war they participated in--if that was true (and Waver didn't exactly take her for the lying type) then this Saber shouldn't have remembered Hakuno at all. Did the rules work differently for them?]

[And if they didn't, then-...]

[Waver quickly shook his head, stopping that train of thought before it left the station.]

I'm sorry. I'm just trying to figure out- [He fidgeted as he spoke, genuinely apologetic that he'd stumbled headlong into that kind of subject.] -I didn't expect any Servants to be able to turn up here, on top of all the other impossible things going on.

[Well, now she just looks confused.]

Why ever not?

This, like the Moon Cell, is a digital landscape, yes? A Servant appearing here would only require our processes to be transferred.

Far stranger are the non-mage humans that awaken here, don't you think? Transferring one's soul into a digital landscape is one thing... but, being forced into one?

Well, that's...kind of the whole problem, on both counts. Servants and Masters aren't digital where I come from, and from what I've heard the war I was in is nothing like yours.

And ever putting aside the question of how and why yours is so different, I can't really even begin to guess how people like me with flesh and blood bodies ended up here.

[...wha...

If Waver was involved in the Grail War, but it took place in the real world, then... that means...]

You are... from the past! [So are you, jackass.] Before the cataclysm, I mean, when genuine magic still filled the world.

The Third War, was it? [...looks him over, particularly noting his choice in attire.] ...no, perhaps the Second...

Fourth. I was in the Fourth, but...what do you know about this whole 'cataclysm' thing?

[Her gaze hardens; somehow, Saber's starting to feel like she's being played with, and she does NOT like it.]

Waver Velvet, you are either a liar or a fool. There have been only three Holy Grail Wars in the "real world", and there will be no more!

[Maybe he just counted wrong... he does seem like kind of a wiener, after all.]

As for your question... little. I do not concern myself with most mage affairs; leave that foolishness to the Casters of the world. [Literally too cool for school.] I simply know that "something" happened in the 1970s, something that drained the magic from the world. Afterwards, even simple spells were impossible... much less grand sorcery like the Holy Grail War.

If you want more granular information, ask Tousaka. Perhaps, by that time, she will be done playing the fool. [Boy, she sure is looking childishly pissy there!]

....What?

[Waver's confusion certainly seemed genuine, if nothing else.]

In the seventies, that's not possible--wait, no. I think I understand what's going on here. [He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to put his thoughts in order.]

Have you ever heard of Second Magic?

.......does it, perhaps, come after the First Magic?

[TOO. COOL. FOR. SCHOOL.

But no lbr she forgot half of the Servant classes when Hakuno asked, why would she remember this, if she ever learned it? THIS SHIT IS BELOW HER!!]

...Yes.

[for god's sake waver humor her.]

It's the one that covers parallel worlds and travel between them. For example, there could be any number of worlds that have a Holy Grail War in one form or another--some of them could be digital like yours and others could go on in the real world like mine. I guess you could think of this whole place as Second Magic in action.

What I'm getting to is that there was no cataclysm in the 1970's where I'm from--the Fourth War took place in late 1999.

[Oh good at least it was short

she was worried he was gonna go into full-on nerd mode and lecture for an hour

she would have literally told him tl;dr

but no this is understandable, in the broad sense. she can work with this.]

....hmph.

That explanation is a bit convenient for my tastes [a real-world deus ex machina, which.... she hates with a fiery passion.], but... I suppose cannot disprove it.

[Well, actually, for all she knows, some basic magical research might disprove it, but she can't be assed to do it!]

Very well; I revise my previous assessment: you might not be a liar or a fool.

[...might still be one of them, though. Or possibly both. But you might not! So, hey, that's something.]

Edited (w h o o p s) 2013-06-29 13:09 (UTC)

[blame zelretch]

[god knows we all do]

I'm not lying and I'm not stupid, alright? I know what I'm talking about.

Edited (SHIT NOW I'M DOING IT) 2013-06-29 13:11 (UTC)

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Week 1, Day 1 | dimidium facti qui coepit habet

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