Week 5.

[trustfellowship]

WEEK 5 Another week has passed; another two people have died. Tsubasa Hanekawa and Nachetanya Loei Piena Augustra have joined the ranks of the deceased. Whatever you may have thought about them in the end, one thing hovers heavy over the group: the fact that neither their compassion nor their ambition was enough to keep them alive in here. Is yours? Saturday is given to regrouping and rest; the static blares out early on Sunday, but at least there are no bodies to find today - it seems you're safe for now. The night before wasn't necessarily a peaceful one, however; you'll probably feel a bit groggy when you wake up, and it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost... And of course, with another successful trial comes a new addition to the building, another corridor opening up on the west side of the building. The doors leading to it branch off of the hallways leading to the second and fourth sections of the building; have those doors always been there? You can't remember... It's a new week. Of course, that means you've been here for over a month, and your stay doesn't seem to be coming to a close yet. PATIENTS REMAINING: 22

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week five of Trustfell! Feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget to save those threads for coins and the activity check!

If you'd like to get in contact with the Transmitter, you can do so through text or the phone in your room!]

Comments

[imaginex]

It's your Servant's arm.

I wasn't present when it happened, but it was forcibly attached before the Archer Servant was killed.

[heritrix]

[Rin stiffens, turning sharply towards Sakura.]

Did Kirei attach it?

[imaginex]

[her eyebrows knit]

I'm not sure. [She wasn't present for that, and doesn't often exchange words with the priest] But the wrappings on Senpai's arm are meant to bind off the Servant's power from the rest of his body. If he breaks that seal...

[heritrix]

[Rin's eyes are solely on the monitors now. She doesn't even have to think about it to finish that though.]

It's the arm of a Heroic Spirit. It'll swallow him whole; a human body could never handle such a thing.

[And the body of a spirit creature should have been impossible to join in the first place. That's why Rin asked if it had been Kirei to perform the transplant; to connect the arm, much like Rin's Magic Crest was transplanted to her, it would need to be surgically attached to Shirou's soul.

Even then, it shouldn't have worked... Rin bites hard on the top of her thumb.]

[imaginex]

[No, it shouldn't have worked... but Sakura had hoped that her personal confusion was a result of poor training. She can hardly be considered a proper mage.

Which makes Rin's reaction all the more telling, even if Sakura doesn't know what it means]

... For now he's stable, though you, Illya-san and him have been working on something that requires that arm... Probably a way to counter Grandfather.

[heritrix]

...The situation must be dire, if it's come to that.

[imaginex]

[no comment to that besides a sad hum; Sakura isn't going to deny it.]

[heritrix]

[It'll be up to her to break the silence then. Rin has a lot to think about.]

[imaginex]

[Silence is Sakura's bread and butter, she has no reason to chase it away. However, she'll be glancing between the screens and Rin the entire time, watching the other girl practically think hard enough to form theories over her head]

[heritrix]

[It continues for over two minutes then. Rin's expression changes little, but she seems... There's a determined glint in her eyes, but her shoulders are slumped as well; resigned. Still, she's done thinking.]

And what course are you taking, Sakura? In the Holy Grail War where I'm allied with an Einzbern against your kin.

[imaginex]

Taking?

[Her head tilts]

I'm not taking anything. I never had an interest in winning.

[She would've rather not played at all]

[heritrix]

You know what I mean.

[Her eyes slide back to Sakura.]

Even if you're not interested in the prize, you're still participating. You told me yourself you seized control of Rider back from your brother.

[imaginex]

[She shakes her head]

Nii-san used up his method for controlling Rider and lost his chance.

She came back to me automatically.

[heritrix]

[Rin frowns, getting irritated now.]

What are you hiding?

[imaginex]

[Glancing at Rin in mild... something. Muted surprise? Who knows]

I'm barely a participant in the war, Tohsaka senpai. At this point, Rider is there to protect Senpai and everyone else at my command.

[heritrix]

[To her credit, Rin entertains the thought. Pushing the past the initial credulousness, her eyes are squinted, and flicker back to the monitors to watch Shinji again. Sakura never wanted to be a participant in the first place, she knows.

But humoring her can only go so far. Too many things don't add up for that.]

If that's how you feel, why not transfer your rights as a Master to Emiya-kun? You've said yourself that he's without a Servant now. It's not enough to order her to act as a bodyguard, if he gets in a bind and immediately needs to change plans.

[imaginex]

[Sakura... seems to consider that, though whatever conclusion she comes to isn't worn on her expression]

That's a lack of consideration on my part, then. I suppose I've underestimated Rider's attachment to me. She... she refuses to leave me, even though I'm hardly a capable Master. That, and I can at least power her properly. Senpai had trouble enough keeping Saber in top form.

[He's more a master than Shinji, but in some ways, that isn't saying much. There's a pause before she continues]

And since no one else has breached the subject, I can only assume it's because the Tohsaka-senpai from my reality doesn't think it'll do much good. If it won't increase anyone's chances of success, there isn't a point.

1/2

[heritrix]

[Ah, Sakura navigated her trap. That Rider would be far, far stronger under Sakura was the immediate thought that came into Rin's mind, but if the Matou girl didn't say as much, she would have gotten very angry. It would be as good as saying she put zero thought into the lie at all.

Because this is still a lie, Rin is positive. It doesn't explain why Zouken Matou would allow his granddaughter to stay among his enemy, or why Sakura Matou would turn against her kin. If they're relying on Archer's arm as their best bet of winning, it means too that the Illyasviel von Einzbern of Sakura's world no longer has Berserker.

In such a scenario, Sakura Matou cannot under any circumstances afford to be an inactive participant in the Grail War. She's the only one in the position who could win it, or otherwise stop the threat at hand.]

[heritrix]

[But Rin doesn't say any of that. After a moment, she simply tilts her head, calm and quiet.]

I see. [Her voice is almost musical, as she watches Archer's face. The flicker of his eyes finding the camera.] That does sound like the pragmatic approach I would take.

[Because we're not allies in your timeline. Otherwise, if you really wanted out, you would have given Rider to me.]

[imaginex]

[The calmness of that answer earns a dashed stare before it rebounds to the floor.]

... Yes.

[Her next pause lacks the same put-upon patience as the previous ones; she shifts, and bites the inside of her cheek while struggling to speak again]

It isn't just Grandfather we're fighting. There's... something else there. But we don't know what it is.

[heritrix]

Different from a Servant?

[If she doesn't know what it is, presumably it would have to be.]

[imaginex]

Yes.

Right now we think Grandfather might be allied with it. Maybe. But regardless, it's dangerous.

... A shadow that devours people.

[heritrix]

[...]

It's going for bystanders, who have nothing to do with the war?

[imaginex]

Yes.

The Servants... they can't defeat it. According to Illya-san, that's what took down her Berserker. It covered him while Saber-san attacked and--

[Ah yes, she realizes blatantly this isn't something she'd mentioned. After a sigh, Sakura backtracks in explanation]

Saber-san came back, but she's no longer Senpai's Servant. That shadow thing is controlling her.

[heritrix]

[That is alarming. Hearing this development, Rin feels zero envy for the Rin Tohsaka of Sakura's world. What would have the power to do that? To control a Servant? Not even Command Seals are absolute. To control Saber, with her magic resistance...]

I haven't encountered anything like that, in my memories. I think you have it backwards. Whatever it is, Zouken Matou is the lynchpin; the most tremendous different between your version of events and mine is that that man got involved. If this shadow creature were at play, I should have seen it with our without his hand otherwise.