bakerstreet | so, i ask of thee, are you my master?

so, i ask of thee, are you my master?

The HOLY GRAIL WAR Meme

Seven Masters, magi of the present day. Seven Servants, heroes of days past.One Holy Grail, granting whomever claims it a wish. Only one team of Master and Servant may claim it.
Who will it be?
For those unfamiliar with Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero, you can find a better explanation of the Holy Grail War here. (Note: The Holy Grail War in Fate/EXTRA functions in a dramatically different way, and one not followed for purposes of this meme.)

Instructions
1. Comment with your character. In the subject line, put that character's name, canon, and which role (Master, Servant, or either) you would like them to fulfill. Though not mandatory, it would be preferred that you give a brief summary of your character as they will (most likely) be AU'd into the setting. (NOTE: If your character can fill the role of Servant, I suggest you state which class(es) -- Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, or Berserker -- they fall into.)
2. Reply to others' comments. Pick your character's role (and the other character's if they list "Either" as their preference), then use the RNG to pick a scenario that fits the two characters' roles.
3. Enjoy! Though there might be triggers, depending on how the prompts are interpreted.

TWO MASTERS

1. Battle. Who says that Servants get to have all the fun? After all, most Masters try to kill each other, too. Whatever the circumstances, the two of you are locked in a fight. Neither of you are willing to use your Command Spells just yet, so no Servants here. Just two magi duking it out.

2. Alliance. There's a bigger threat out there. Either one Servant is exceptionally powerful, or the situation has changed and the participants need to take action aginst it. One way or another, you're teamed up with one of your rivals for the Holy Grail. How long will this last before you try to stab each other in the back? Or, will something more develop?

3. Protection. Uh-oh! One of you has lost your Servant! Unfortunately, there's no way you'd get to the church safely on your own, so the other one will help you get there! Or maybe you don't trust the priest presiding over the Holy Grail War and are giving shelter to them yourself? Given their track record, no one would blame you.

4. Death. One or both of you lay dying. It might have been by the other's hand, or by someone else's entirely. How will you spend your last moments in the presence of one of your rivals?

5. You, Too? Surprise! You may have been friends before, but you've just discovered that you're both Masters! How will you handle this revelation?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

MASTER AND SERVANT

1. Are You My Master? The summoning is complete. Whether intentional or not, catalyst or not, a magus has summoned a Servant. What kind of meeting was it? Was everything totally under control, or did a hitch occur? Or maybe it happened in the middle of a life-or-death situation!

2. Identity. Either the Servant has flat out told the Master their identity, or they unleashed their Noble Phantasm. Either way, the cat is out of the bag. How will the Master react, now that they know their Servant's name and legend? Will anything change between the two?

3. Battle Aftermath. A battle has just ended. Who participated? Are either of you hurt? Did the Master have to use a Command Spell? Any number of things could have happened here.

4. Discord. Uh-oh. It looks like the Master and the Servant don't get along. Here come the arguments! Don't do something stupid, like waste a Command Spell over a triviality...

5. Love. And then, there's the opposite. Sometimes Masters and Servants fall in love with each other. How will this affect things?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

TWO SERVANTS

1. Battle. This is what usually happens when two Servants meet -- they duke it out. This probably says enough as it is.

2. Alliance. There's a bigger threat out there. Either one Servant is exceptionally powerful, or the situation has changed and the participants need to take action aginst it. One way or another, you're teamed up with one of your rivals for the Holy Grail. How long will this last before you try to stab each other in the back? Or, will something more develop?

3. The Grail Dialogues. Maybe you're not interested in fighting just yet. Maybe you just want to sit down and talk with the other Servant. Find out what they want, what makes them tick. Get some wine while you're at it -- nothing like good wine to go with good talk!

4. Death. One or both of you lay dying...again. It might have been by the other's hand, or by someone else's entirely. How will you spend your last moments in this War in the presence of one of your rivals?

5. Identity. Congratulations, you've just learned each other's identities! Will this change the situation, or will you press onward?

6. Wild Card. Roll again, pick one of the previous options, or make one up!

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[At that noise, Rider perks immediately. His ears strain, searching, searching, searching. It's like being in a forest again, sound coming everywhere and no where. Where he could track an animal if he needed to, now it's limited. Moving off of Saber's shoulder carries too much risk.

So Rider waits for the noise again. It comes, but with more voices. Louder voices. But as horrifying as the wailing is, it gives him a sense of where it's coming from.]

Ultimately we need to head northwest. It looks like the curved path leads that way, but I can't be certain unless we go down it. How does your luck stat feel about taking the chance?

[Saber nods and does not answer, at least not with words, the way her body accelerates after he issued his challenge on her luck speaks without need of confirmation. They are not gambling their lives, but the lives of those kidnapped children. She races through the labyrinth, at the direction that he has pointed.

She stops only because there is no path ahead anymore, nothing except for an empty space and beyond it, a platform.]

Where are we?

[As Saber accelerates - and really, that's the only word for it - Rider gives up on trying to figure out if he's north or west or whatever direction they're heading in. The speed makes is simply impossible.

But as they slow,as they hit empty space, Rider's senses come back. His answer, however, is not one he's happy to give.]

Cursory guess? I'm going to go with the center.

The center…

[For the first time in a while, she looks around and focuses on the labyrinth. From the poor illuminated scenario –as if the darkness is absorbing the moonlight- she can see fourteen different paths that lead to this destination.

Her eyes narrow and she spots something on the ground, no it seems it is sinking in the floor.]

Rider. [She utters and points ahead.] There is something over there.

[Concealed by the darkness, the fourteen children are slipping into the labyrinth floor. All of them unconscious, but still alive and breathing.]

Clever.

[The word is uttered as Rider scans the fourteen paths. Clever to split the kids up and have them all find their own way here. More clever still to make it so painfully easy to find them. But that simplicity is going to be a problem of it's own, and one that Rider knows is about to come home to roost. There's a snarl behind them both, most decidedly not human.]

Bull-headed creature behind us, I'm going to guess.

This is—

[There is something wrong about this which stays in her head while she rushes toward the children. Something that is different from what they should have expected.

She hears the snarl and glances over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the Minotaur towering them. Her Instinct is overloaded when the monster lunges at them. She cannot dodge the upcoming hit, because it might strike Rider if she does. She grits her teeth and blocks the fists with her invisible blade.]

Rider! Whatever you do, do not touch the ground!

[She warns as she endures the assault, pushing back the monster slightly with the aid of her prana burst.]

The legend is wrong! It is the labyrinth and not this beast!

[What has unsettled of the sight of the youths behind them. They are being swallowed by the floor, thus the children are sacrificed to the labyrinth, not to the bull-headed beast. The dizzying feeling she has felt, the lull of a strong, old magic that make people to stay. Perhaps the order of events was wrong, perhaps the Minotaur was brought to guard this maze, instead of being his prison. But why?]

[In an instant, Rider's axe is in his hands, and he holds it just above Saber's head. There's no way he can use it right now, not without throwing off Saber's balance and threatening to topple them both, but having it in hand is a comfort.]

Well that's all well and good but what do you want me to grab onto!?

[A practical question. Rider is no spiders that can scale the walls, and if the labyrinth is the beast they are fighting, then to give it another power source is poor choice indeed.]

I need ground to stand on to summon my mount!

[They are on a very difficult spot, she grits her teeth and pushes the Minotaur the best she can but she has no freedom of movement. She cannot do anything but to use her prana-induced strength to block his vicious assault and to slowly drive him to a wall.]

Try to jump and land on my shoulders as I move. [A beat. A daring idea just appears in her mind.] Or land on him. [He is a monstrous and divine beast, Rider is... a Rider. What if he tames him as a steed?]

...I see. I have an idea. Unless you have a Magic Resistance of A and higher, do not touch the ground as it is now.

[If she feels the lull slightly but it is cancelled by her high resistance, she cannot tell what could happen to others.

There is a way to avoid this, if she is given time and permitted to use her Invisible Air on the ground, perhaps Rider will be safe.]

[Rider knows his magic resistance is pitiful, so he says nothing to that effect. Instead, he looks from Saber to the Minotaur, and a flash of an idea crosses across his mind.]

Right. I'm going for the bull-man then, and hoping that this'll work. Once I'm on him, can you go for his knees? If we can get him to the ground I can do what I need to.

[There's no desire on Rider's end to further vocalize his idea. As long as the Minotaur doesn't know to expect it, Rider can leap from Saber's shoulders to the Minotaur's, using the Minotaur's horns as a handhold. An easy way to scramble up the thing's backside, and maneuver him towards Saber's blade.]

[Huh? She lifts her eyebrow but does not question him. She assents while she deflects the Minotaur's savage blows.

However, she has not forgotten the sacrifices that slowly sink into the ground while they are occupied by this creature.]

Whatever you do, do it quickly!

[She tenses and waits for him to perform his plan. She has an idea in mind of what he is plotting, so she gives him an opening by charging against the creature, anticipating his attack.]

[Without a further word, Rider waits for the Minotaur to return to being dangerously close inside of Saber's guard. Once he is certain that his idea will work, he reaches forward with hi free hand, and grips the nearest horn for dear life.

The bellow that comes from the creature is loud, but what happens next is an advantage Rider didn't foresee. It rears, panicked, and the force of the reaction removes Rider from Saber's shoulders all too swiftly.]

Perfect.

[Rider smiles when he says it, pleased and all too excited for what he must do next. The Minotaur knows that Rider's on his back now, and begins to thrash about, hoping to buck him off. A rodeo would be a poor venue for such an attempt to bullride, thanks to the flailing human arms that reach backwards, trying to pick Rider off.

The one hand Rider has on the horn remains put though, and he tugs on it hard so that the creature haphazardly begins to stagger towards Saber, distracted and in a blind panic.]

Quick enough!?>

[Saber waits until Rider has jumped to move away from the Minotaur's range to dodge his blow. She's a hair away from being hit when she deflects with the help of Invisible Air prana ejection. She watches the beast recoil under Rider’s control, like an untamed bull pointlessly fighting to throw off its tamer.

All she has to do now is wait until he has all under control and watch for the opening he creates for her with the monster stumbling at her direction. She does not waste time to answer. In that instant, she crouches down and moves speedily, performing a clean slash directed at the Minotaur's knees. The cornered monster howls in pain, flailing blindly as he falls. He does not crumble. The ground seems to wholly suck him— blood and skin and bone. He tries to grab at the man at his back or the girl who has severed his legs in his violent trashing.

She falls back to a prudent distance and shouts.]

Jump!

[He is agile enough to land on her shoulders, she thinks. This labyrinth is hungry for blood, anyone will do, even its own guardian.]

[Taking back it's guardian? Is that what the Cedar Forest did to Humbaba?

The thoughts flash through Rider's mind as he springs off of the Minotaur's back, trying desperately to avoid following the creature down into the ground. But as he does so, the opportunity to summon his Noble Phantasm finally presents itself.

With a keen smile, Rider slashes his axe downward, so that the head of it digs into the ground. The rest of the summons is, admittedly, a bit ridiculous, but that has seemed the name of the Grail War game from the start. Rider's bright voice rings out proudly as he says:]

Let us exchange one great bull for another, and in doing so see the creature that might topple this entire city if another held it's nose rope! I made the first incision into the earth to pave the way for the great beast, the Bull of Heaven, the harbinger of my own death: Gugalanna!

[From that axe, a greater fissure in the earth opens, shaking the foundations of the labyrinth - although it does not crumble. From the heavens above, not visible to those within the maze itself, a great brown dust cloud begins to form. Storm clouds gather within, and thunder echos from within. Great horns of lapis lazuli come next, gleaming in the moonlight, and then, finally the ceiling of the labryinth breaks open and Rider is scooped up onto his mount.

He sits perched atop the bull's head, between it's horns, holding it's nose rope tightly. To Saber, he offers a self assured grin.]

Let us move quickly before the labyrinth decides to devour this bull as well!

[After noticing Rider has other plans, Saber turns to where the children are, racing toward their direction to free them. It proves harder than it seems. Saber crouches on the nearest girl and grasps her by the shoulder. She tries to pull but the labyrinth grip is strong to fight hers. If she keeps trying, she could accidentally break a bone or remove a limb of the child's body, it is too risky. Her teeth grit while she catches a glimpse of the creature Rider has summoned and how the earth shattered, easing her task to retrieve the children.

Of course! She should have shattered the ground. She picks up the girl she has trying to free and two other that are close by. Her hands are full and there are eleven to go.]

My apologies, this will not be a chivalrous rescue.

[She mutters under her breath before she lifts the girl up.]

Rider! We must do this quickly; I will throw them at you. Do not let them fall.

[They will break their necks if they fall, with the strength she’ll employ in hurling them.]

Got it!

[Rider is not happy with the idea of letting go of the Bull of Heaven's nose rope, not even for a moment. But there's no choice, he needs both hands and he needs the damn bull to stay still. He murmurs something to the beast, something that makes it give out an ugly snort. The ground reverberates at the noise, rumbling and threatening to split the earth open.]

And on your count, please!

[She does not know what he said to the beast, but the way the earth shatters make her worry. If it opens more, the children could fall of a newly open chasm. Her count? Does he mean... She wastes no time with one and two. They do not have time to spare.]

Three!

[She shouts, hurling the same girl at his direction with accuracy. She has to calculate the speed and strength she has to employ to make it the least dangerous for the girl. She waits until he secures her to do the same with the next one.]

The second girl, Rider!

[Rider catches her, swift and certain, but the question becomes for him how to make sure that everyone will remain safe when they begin to move. He places the first girl beside him on the left, the bull perfectly still for the time being. Gods willing, they'll be sitting upright in a few minutes.]

Ready! Does it look like they're starting to come around?

[The first step is freeing the children from the ravenous labyrinth, they will later think what to do to keep them from slipping and falling from the bull.]

I do not know. Perhaps they will after this place is destroyed.

[She tosses him the second girl as they speak and readies the third one. She will leave their recovery on hands of the Church Overseers.]

It is not good for us for them to awake now.

[She reminds him. This era humans are not used to see strangely dressed people and a giant bull. They could panic.]

[The second girl goes onto his left, and Rider is quite ready for the third. There's an absolute absurdity in all of this, throwing children while talking about how to escape a carnivorous bunch of walls.]

Well then you're coming out with me to make sure no one falls off!

[It's a change in plans, but not a huge one. The labyrinth can be destroyed from the outside, and Saber has her own riding skill. If she keeps a single hand on Rider, the two ranks should be able to ensure that she stays on as well.]

[She nods and says unflinchingly and she passes him the third girl and, moment later, the fourth. Only three girls left... Then they can take the boys.]

I will definitely not fail them. They shall be no lives claimed by this Caster.

[This is not her first unpleasant experience involving a Servant of that Class and children. She moves swiftly to take the girls from the open earth before the labyrinth heals itself and start devouring it again. She has no doubt this will happen.]

Will your steed cooperate?

[Before she became a king, she was once a girl who loved her horses, Saber isn't foolish to not know this animal has a conscience and intelligence and his cooperation is also important.]

[The way Saber says this Caster makes Rider wonder, fleetingly, what other casters has she seen? But the thought's gone as soon as he has the fourth in his arms, and he readies for the fifth.]

Until we're out of here, yes. After that, I can't ensure it. He is usually not this still.

[That gets a snort of agreement, making the nearest wall shake. It's a way to offset the labyrinth, preventing it from fixing itself for just moments more.]

[She tosses the fifth and, shortly after the sixth, nodding in acknowledgement as she releases the last girl.]

I see. [it must not be part of his wild nature. so his efforts cannot go unnoticed.] He must be rewarded for his patience.

[perhaps Rider's Master could purchase the bull favorite meal. Modern meals were delicious and better prepared than those in the past.]

You're free to try. I think getting out of here will do just fine.

[Seven, that's the last one, and Rider's glad to have cleared half of the children already.

He knows, admittedly, that the bull will be happy to thunder out of the walls, destroying what it can. That's what the Bull of Heaven was made to do, after al.]

[She's faster with the boys, only throwing four of them at his direction, with its respective measured pauses, while the other three, she piles together to carry on her arms.

Arturia leaps as the ground finishes its feeding process to escape in time to its powerful pull.

She lands by Rider's side, placing the children with the others.]

How do we keep them from slipping when we storm out?

S'why I was asking about extra rope.

[Rider shakes his head, knowing that they won't find what they need in the labyrinth. Not when the walls below are trying to shift now, to keep them trapped.]

Cloth to tie them to the horns? Only idea I've got.

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sorry for the delay! it's been busy :(

It's totally fine!

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