Vermilion Code

Hiroshi Tatsumi, Gaia - Lapis' Domain

The top of the nature pillar, streaming with the waters of life. There is 'space' visible all around it. Shining stars in the distance. There is an aurora of light flowing all around the pillar that speaks of its majesty. Below the 'top' is an everexpanding horizon of tree tops and flowing water. Hiroshi steps on the marble steps, getting closer to the very top of the shrine where Lapis SHOULD be. 

"Lapis, you around?" he took another glance. No sign? "Here on Messiah's behalf, you might not like me, but this is for her sake!" 
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Fuyuki City, Maya Going on an Errand

The city of Fuyuki where the Grail War had taken place only few months ago. And ten years before that, the Fourth War had been held. The darkness that prevailed in the past carries on into the future. Maya heard rumors in the network of the Tsukino Family, but nothing really concrete. Nothing like experiencing it. She knows Hiroshi helped with the 'clean up' of the last war. Now she was asked by Hiroshi to check on the Emiya Household. She met Rin and the others before, but nothing after that. A Rank A mage turned Rank S after creating the Jewel Sword. Sakura Matou, another Rank S Mage, thanks to her former vessel of the Holy Grail. The 'Third' and 'Second' True Magic made manifest? Pretty incredible. 

Maya herself has what they call 'Mystic Eyes' or 'Eidetic Eyes', people can't seem to stick with a name. She got off the bus at an intersection. She walked up the side of the street before coming to the entrance of the large Japanese style house. She rang the door bell while standing at the ready, a purse over her shoulder and wearing her school uniform. She ditched school for Hiroshi's sake, so he better appreciate it.
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Shirou and Rin, Emiya Household



A girl's voice with warmth. 

No, you won't die, Shirou. Because I'm the one that's going to shut the gate.

It was the voice of someone he couldn't remember. It was someone precious. Speechless, he fumbled through his shattered memories to remember her. Who was it? She was going for away. Far far away. 

"I... ..."

It had that letter.

Someone precious. Who was it? Remember her name. Remember her name. REMEMBER HER NAME.

"Il... ya... ..."

A vast expanse of blue.
An endless ocean of possibilities.

That's what came next but...

"Ilya..." he remembered. "ILYA... ILYA! ILYA! ILYA! ILYAAAA!" 

There was no answer. She moved, turned around, and vanished into white.

"Shirou," another voice. "Shirou, wake up!" 

Light.
The soul of a man who lost everything and the artificial body of the girl who saved him. Saved by Rider in the mountains of Ryuudou near the temple. His eyes went wide. "Tohsaka...?" a voice like the nameless girl left his mouth. "Ah!" he pulled himself up, taking a look at the feminine body. He clenched his fist.

"Did you have that dream again?" Rin asked. "Are you alright?" she reached up to touch his head.

Shirou pulled it away, "I'm fine," he mumbled while sitting up from the futon. "I need to get dressed. I slept in too late, I have to..." he realized he was naked. While his soul was a 'he', the body was a 'she'. He covered himself while blushing. 

"Here, I'll help," Rin wanted to laugh at the scene but... there was too much that happened to even find humor in it. She had him dress up in Ilya's old clothes. The purple-button shirt with the pink skirt.

Emiya Household

Sounds could be heard from the kitchen, including the humming of a fairly happy girl. Why was she so happy? It may be related to why Shirouko was waking up naked.

Sakura was currently cooking an English breakfast, complete with eggs and french toast. Rider was reading a book in the nearby dining room. She heard the sound of the doorbell and waved down Sakura who seemed to want to answer it. Rider made her way to the door and opened it up.

"Emiya Residence," Rider was certain they hadn't expected any visitors today, but in front of her was a young looking girl, probably still in high school, "Ah, who are you?" She adjusted her glasses slightly as she awaited a response.

Gaia - Lapis' Domain

She descended, liquid wings flapping to slow her fall, like an angel made of water. Lapis Lazuli glared at the human that had entered her watery shrine, though she resisted the urge to strangle him with water chains. Hiroshi was not her least favorite human, but he wasn't far off. Though, if he was truly here on her behalf, then...

"Hiroshi." She said flatly, arms crossed. "Just tell me what Messiah wants."

Gaia - Lapis' Domain

"No reason to be hostile," if a fight between the two of them broke out here, it wouldn't exactly be pretty. Hiroshi's speed and power added with Lapis' absolute contro lover water (which Gaia mostly was) wasn't going to be pretty. "It's about the Spire," he pointed in the direction of the evil structure. An enormous tower that seemed to be nothing than a thick black line in the distance. The size of each pillar could rival a planet in its size, mass, and population count. "She's saying that..." he's already mulled this over before coming here. He's not going to beat around the bush. "... there's a chance Sigil might fall. And you know what that means," he shouldn't have to say it. If Sigil falls, the entire pillar will have to split populace between the remaining three. If those sort of numbers overflow to the other pillars, living any form of sustainable life is going to be difficult. Not just that, transportation between will be insanely difficult. The lives of those in Lagrea might as well be over. It will delay the inevitable - but that's it.

"Before that happens, I plan on doing a suicide run into Spire. I've been making small headway toward the fifth floor," he bites his lip, sighs, and runs a hand through his hair. "It's not enough. I know we've come to you with this before. But this time we do need your help. You don't have to provide any sort of troops, since I don't know if that's within your power... but can we request that you start preparing more natural resources? Messiah has her hands full in keeping Sigil afloat. That's why she sent me."
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Emiya Household

This beautiful girl with the long purple hair was certainly eye catching. She was around the same height as her, just a little bit shorter. "Sorry to intrude," she bowed to Rider. "My name is Maya Tsukino. I'm a friend of Hiroshi Tatsumi. He asked me to check up on the Emiya Household to see how they're doing," Maya did her best to come off as polite. She didn't know what sort of relationship Hiroshi had with them beyond knowing them as acquintances.

While Maya talked with Rider at the door, Rin had already gotten Shirou ready. He came out with a smile on his face as soon as he saw that Sakura was cooking. "Good morning, Sakura," he said while walking across the table to the small kitchen. He could already tell that she was fixing an English meal. He smelled it then had a desire to help her out. Sakura is stubborn when it comes to cooking for him, so he simply chose to go take a seat to wait for it to get ready. Rin, on the other hand, went to go see who rang the door bell. 

"Who is it, Rider?" she poked her head out into the entrance hall.
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Gaia, Hyrule Field

A vast expanse of green with strange creatures roaming the field. There in the distance lies the famous LonLon Ranch. The Wild and Horned Hermit, Kasen, rode a strange yellow bird that liked to go 'qweh' a lot. It seemed calm, it wasn't Roc, but the bird was fine. It was called a Chocobo, though? That's what others seemed to call it. She rode the bird on all fours since she didn't trust her ability to fly. Since there were much much bigger 'beasts' in the sky. 

No mysteries answered, no one to ask, she simply sighed while looking back to those who came with her. "We're not making any ground... I think it should be fine if we rest for a bit."

Emiya Household


"Ah, you mean that annoying tall brat..." Rider's expression turned a bit angry, but otherwise her hostility didn't seem aimed towards Maya herself, "I suppose I should invite you in,"

When Rin came around behind her, Rider turned towards her, "Friend of Tatsumi," She said, moving slightly out of the way, not necessarily giving Maya room to get in but instead just allowing Rin to see her. Her expression asked if she should let Maya in or not, knowing that Rin would be perceptive of Rider's feelings. Rider herself knew she was a bit overprotective of Sakura, but that was just a trait that would never leave.

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Gaia, Hyrule Field


Rock Lee was running at a speed that matched the Chocobos, as they weren't able to acquire a third for himself and he decided to take it as a challenge for him to keep up! He could always use an extra workout anyway. Tenten might have debated with him on it but he had insisted!

"Yeah I suppose a break wouldn't hurt! Perhaps we can ask direction?" He pointed at the ranch in the distance. He sped up, passing the Chocobos, "RACE YA THERE!" his running began to tear up the ground beneath him, leaving footprints that were at least an inch deep the whole way.

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Machina, Traveling towards Gaia


A blonde and sorta skinny boy was walking with a young girl, "Man, I can't wait to see what's in Gaia! I hear they have the most beautiful waterfalls!" He hadn't really stopped talking about how excited he was for quite a while. Things were really looking up for the young boy! Ever since he'd gotten his real body back, he's been out searching for new experiences ever since, and nearly everything he does feels like the greatest thing he's ever had the pleasure to do.

Currently they were travelling towards the closest city on this level of the pillar that'd take them towards Gaia. The city they were travelling towards was a city of innovation, Republic City. From there, it shouldn't be too hard to hop an airship across the space towards Gaia, although they didn't know what they'd find in the city...

Emiya Household

"Ah, Maya-san?" Rin noticed the other dark-haired girl. "Yes, she can come in. She's not a hassle," there seemed to be more meaning behind the words the Magus used. Maya walked in while offering another courtesy bow to Rider.

"He can grate the nerves, but he's actually not bad. I should know since we grew up together," Maya tried to quell Rider's annoyance with a soft comment of her own. Rin walked her into the living room.

"We're having breakfast, but Sakura usually makes more than we need. You can have a plate, if you want," Rin sat down.

"I ate before I got here, you don't have to go through the extra trouble," she sat down Japanese-style. 

"Huh?" Shirou looked to the end of the table to see Maya there. "Tsukino?"

"Yes, that's me," she nodded. "I was sent by Hiroshi to check on you. Well, it was more that he asked me..." she was about to blame him for her skipping classes. 

"I'm fine," he said with a wave of the hand. "I'm not having any trouble adapting, really," he's not sure that he feels alright with someone checking on him. It's more that he doesn't want to inconvenience people rather than annoyance. After that something caught his eye. Maya was wearing a school uniform, wasn't she? "It's the middle of Summer Break. Why are you wearing...?"

"The school I go to has a special summer courses that add onto credits. It's more like a university or college than the high school it claims to be."

"Eee," Rin sort of frowns at the mention of 'college'. 

"That reminds me, Tohsaka," Shirou looks at her. "Have you checked in at the Clocktower? I mean, ever since..."

"Of course I have!" she stared daggers at Shirou. Shirou sort of sighs and relaxes his shoulders. "What's with that?"

"You don't seem like you're going to like it. I mean, you've talked about how uppity the students seem. And then there's that Edelfelt girl?..." he grasped for her name. "Luvia?"

Rin clinched her teeth at the mention of Luvia. "I can deal with sausage-curls just fine! And I just need time to get used to it. I'm sure I can pull through," Rin goes from Shirou to Maya. "You're a Mage, aren't you?"

She shook her head, "No. I'm not enrolled in the Gate Academy, so I'm not registered as a Mage or an Esper."

"Tch," Rin sort of 'scoffed'. Shirou figured that she wanted to grab someone else that she had even a modicum of familiarity with to soften her trip to a Noble-woman laughing hell. "That's too bad."

"I'm sorry," Maya nodded. "I was taught to be an assassin. That's all."

That talk caught Shirou's attention, "An assassin? Is that something you can talk about? Aren't those sorts of things usually secretive?" Shirou didn't have much experience with the 'dark world' beyond being a Mage. 

"It's not like I'm broadcasting to everyone I know. Hiroshi trusts you, so I can do the same."

"A ninja, huh?" Rin gave the concept some thought. It was strange, a girl like this being some kind of assassin?

Gaia - Lapis' Domain

The guardian of Gaia sighed.

"I can irrigate more land for crops, but if it's really that dire I'm not sure it'll be enough. Humans can be very productive..."

She walks to the edge of the Shrine and looks out. 

"And yet they can also be hateful. Whatever I can do to help, I will. However." She turned to Hiroshi. "If the people that immigrate here from Sigil wind up hurting Gaia, I will force them to leave."

And then a nun appeared at her feet. Evidently she came here to worship, as many in Gaia did. Lapis bid the water to lift the strange woman up to eye level as she put on her best smile.

"Hello. Are you here on a pilgrimage?" She asked.


Sigil - Motel


"Hmmm... you up for a morning quickie, big... boooooy?" Blue eyes open to find no one else in the bed.

"The fuck'd he go?"

The angel looks around the room but finds no trace of the stranger she was with last night. After a brief trip to the bathroom she slips on her red dress and shoes. As she's about to leave, however, something occurs to her.

"Oh, if that asshole stuck me with the bill I swear to god-" And then she notices the note on the table. Her partner apparently had something to attend to but paid for the room. She smiles.

"Aw, he's such a sweetie."

Panty leaves the room still smiling with a hop in her step. She strode down the streets of Sigil, confident that today was going to be a good day.

Gaia, Hyrule Field

"LEE! Don't you just run o-," Well, there he goes, practically becoming a speck in the distance. She sighed deeply. You'd think he'd have calmed down without their sensei helping feul his weird habits. "I'm sorry about my friend, he's... a little too gung ho?" Tenten gave their companion a nervous smile.

She had forgotten how they ended up travelling with Kasen, but since she had easily coaxed the Chocobos into letting them ride them, she couldn't complain much. The kunoichi was a little surprised with how the pink haired woman seemed to be a natural with animals.

---

Machina, Traveling towards Gaia

The young girl, herself, was walking cheerfully beside her companion. Her panda, Shao May, sat on her head eating a tiny piece of bamboo. A waterfall? How romantic~! The Xing princess thought, her mind wondering to a beautiful waterfall, her and Alphonse-sama watching it from a distance. Their faces got closer and closer until-

She flushed, slapping her cheeks, "We definitely have to see a waterfall first, Alphonse-sama!"

Sigil - Emiya Household

Rider didn't respond to Maya, opting instead for silence as she closed the door and followed the others. She wasn't interested in arguing with a guest, and she didn't really have any issues with Maya anyway. 

Sakura's head popped out of the kitchen in the middle of everyone's conversation, "Breakfast is almost ready- oh! I didn't notice we had a guest! I'll make another plate, Tsukino-san!" seems she hadn't heard much of the conversation since she was sort of lost in her own world, and as quickly as she appeared she pulled back into the kitchen. She quickly made platters so that everyone could grab seconds if they wanted, but also made individual plates for everyone.

With a flourish that showed how practiced she was at it by now, she got all the plates and platters to the table no problem. It was a fairly nice looking breakfast, if she did say so herself. With that, she sat herself right next to Shirou.

Rider, on the other hand, stepped out of the room since she didn't feel like eating and didn't like making Shirou 'uncomfortable' as he says she does. 

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Gaia - Lon Lon Ranch

Lee skidded to a halt as he reached the ranch, apparently he was plenty faster than some birds! Excellent! His training was really showing! He looked back and waited for the other two to show up, or at least he intended to when someone came out from the barns shouting, "YAAAH!" A tall skinny man with a mustache stepped out, wearing green overalls, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Lee turned to him, "YES, HELLO! My name is Rock Lee, and my friends are coming from that way!" He pointed at the two approaching figures on birds.

"What in tarnation...? What kind of horses are they riding?" He put his hand above his eyes to try and block the sun as he squinted at them.

(Yes I'm NPCing Ingo. :V Feel free to take Talon or Malon or whatever if you want, but remember this is the child point of the game or whatever)

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Machina - Republic City

"Yeah?" Alphonse looked at May, "I agree! It's decided then, we'll go hang out at the waterfalls first!" he was oblivious to May's intentions, to the point that he then took notice of someone else in the area.

"Hey is she... talking to herself?" Al pointed out a girl that seemed to have an argument with herself before running off.

Gaia, Hyrule Field

Kasen watched as Lee blasted off toward the nearby ranch. She reached a hand out to try to get him, but that was a lost cause. Away he ran across the green field. "That's one way of putting it. I guess people really are creatures of impulse," Kasen remarked while shaking her head. "We better go after him before he causes any trouble," Kasen looked at Ten-Ten's Chocobo which started speeding off toward the ranch. Kasen's bird followed on after. 
...

Kasen and Ten-Ten arrived just a little after Lee. Kasen looked around the ranch, the stables and the fenced in race track. "Nicely done!" she got off the bird while petting it with her hand. "Excuse me, Sir, can you tell us where we are? You see, we're a little bit lost," Kasen made sure to say that as casually as possible despite it being a gross overstatement. 

"Huh?" a red-headed girl with pointy ears opened up the stable door, taking a peak out at the stranger's that came to visit. "Oh! Hi! Hiii!" she waved as she ran over then tripped.
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Gaia, Lapis' Domain

"They're as productive as they want to be, regardless of motivation," Hiroshi put a hand to his chin. "And that's fair. If they hurt your home, you can force them to leave. Just don't throw them off the pillar. That'd be bad. Very bad," Hiroshi then saw the Nun lifted into the air to talk with Lapis. Another pilgrimage? Well, his business here was done. "Thanks for the help. Lapis. I hope everything goes well for you," he gave her a wave of the hand while making his way down the stairs and probably off Gaia.
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Sigil, Emiya Household

Maya fidgeted as Sakura prepared and delivered her own plate. Didn't she say she didn't want anything? She was about to protest again when a familiar voice echoed in her mind.

Never betray a host's hospitality. 

It was Hibiki's advice and, in a few select circumstances where this would be a death sentence, this didn't feel like that at all. The girl with purple hair had a smile on her face and the warmth of the household was comforting. "Thank you," she bowed her head while she started to eat. 

Whatever thoughts Rin had when discussing things with Maya sort of stayed in the back of her mind. She started looking at where Rider left to and then looked at Shirou. Her eyes were judgmental, closed half-way and never stopped staring. 

"Thanks, Sakura," Shirou said while he started eating. He felt like someone was poking him with a dagger until he locked eyes with Rin. His eyes darted from Rin to Sakura. He sort of realized what the issue was since Rider wasn't eating with them. "Ah S-sakura," he stuttered. "Why isn't Rider eating with us? Isn't she hungry?" he wanted to get up and go get her himself, but she was Sakura's Servant. While mostly docile, she'd really only listen to Sakura's orders unless she felt obligated otherwise.

"Uh, actually, I came here to ask for a favor..." said Mary, not entirely sure how to phrase her request. 

Hell with it; she might as well just spit it out. 

"Please provide me with a means of reaching the Spire!" she said. "I believe that the only other survivor from my world is at the top of the Spire; yet no one has the guts to take me there!" 

She then realized that she should probably mention the benefits of letting her go on a near-impossible rescue mission. 

"With help from that person, we could do significant damage to the Vermin. Maybe even wipe them out..." 

If that wasn't a good sales pitch; then she was at a loss to come up with one. 

--

As Hannah was searching for a more private location to talk to Crypto; she noticed someone who immediately caught her attention. 

That odango hair. The tiny panda on her shoulder. There was one thing this girl could be.

She'd found a cosplayer! Clearly her fellow nerds would be willing to help her out! 

("Uh, Hannah, the conclusions you're jumping to here don't really make a lot of sense...") 

She didn't care. She was desperate for anything that might be familiar. She calmly and carefully approached the two of them.

"Excuse me! I... have no idea where I am. could you by chance tell me what state this is? Or maybe what country?" 

("Welp. Now they'll certainly think you're a crazy person. Good job,")

Machina, Traveling towards Gaia

May glanced at Alphonse in cofusion then back to the strange girl. Did she really not know where she was?

"Uhm, I don't think this country has any states but we're in Republic City, right?" She looked to her companion for confirmation.

Machina

Alphonse nodded, "Yeah, we're in Republic City. Why? Where are you from?" He asked the clearly crazy lady in front of him.

----

"Ah, you know how she can be," Sakura waved it off, "Um, I think she might..." She adjusted where she was sitting, she was a little nervous, "Well," She leaned in to Shirou's ear and whispered, "Maybe she's nervous around Tsukino-san?" She didn't want to insult their guest at all, but it's true Rider's not good with strangers.

"..."

On the one hand, help against the Vermilion was never a bad thing. On the other hand, this woman was clearly insane.

"Are you... are you sure about that?" Lapis' expression was stern. "I mean, I could get you there, but I doubt you'd be able to do much on your own. I've seen too many people lost to that accursed place already..."

She looked down.

"I don't want you to just throw your life away."

Gaia, Lapis' Domain

Naruto ran through the area he was in. He was exploring all of Gaia so he would know where everything was. This was his last stop. He looked around in awe. He ascended the marble steps and came upon a area full of flowing water. "Hinata would love to see a place like this..." He said.

Sigil, Emiya Household

One Fate Testarossa's eyes fluttered open and she got up stretching. She headed to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed up. She headed back to her room and grabbed Bardiche. How long had it been since she came here.... How long since she was taken in by Shirou and the others. She headed to the kitchen where the others were and sat down. "Good morning everyone." She said.