video | un: laluna

[crisantemo]

WHO: Lapis (with some potential cameos from Husk and Jinwoo)
WHERE: Gemini
WHEN: A couple of hours after the July 4th Raids and Cú Chulainn's post
WHAT: So Lapis knows that one zealot a little too well, and it's time to warn people about him
WARNINGS: Potential talk of violence and gore, will update as needed!

[ When the feed flickers on, it shows an odd sight; an exhausted Lapis, who seems to have... one person leaning against her shoulder, a fluff of black hair peeking in view, and another is perched atop her head. This looks more like some brown fur though. If you listen closely there may be the faint sounds of rumbling snoring.

She has been sentenced to The Pile so that she doesn't go try to 1v1 a dog, and it seems to have worked. Her anger is gone for the moment, and now she's just tired. ]

So... I guess first is we - me, Husk and Jinwoo - are all fine. We're somewhere safe, they're just resting.

[ She's designated pillow for the night. ]

Second is... I'll just be blunt. That zealot who posted on Libra, his name is Cú Chulainn. If you've been with the Order for a while you've probably heard his name, but basically he's the one who gets sent out to deal with problematic teams.

[ And she imagines she doesn't have to expand on what "deal with" means, especially after his little post. ]

He'll talk a lot and try to make you angry, but you absolutely cannot go fight him. I've seen what he's done to his targets, he's even been sent to kill immortals, and he's far far too dangerous to fight.

I imagine since he hasn't been put in timeout somewhere he's out roaming the city, so just... Avoid him if you can. If you aren't a target, he'll probably try to taunt you into attacking first, and he won't hold back if you do that.

Dealing with him isn't worth the risk.

[ Not until they figure out a way to properly take him out. ]

Comments

text | UN: Thorn

[poisontippedcure]

I'm so glad you're safe, Lapis.

[There's a tinge of relief to Rose's voice. After everything with Teresa, and then Douman...when Cu had made his post, she'd feared the worst. She was glad that wasn't the case.]

I see. So that's who I spoke with the other day.

[She pauses. The vibes were so, so rancid.]

He was very good at getting me angry, I'll admit. [She doesn't like it, but it's true. This is the time for emotional honesty.] I'm glad I only spoke to him over the network.

Video

[prunedworlds]

"He's from my world, too."

Wasn't she just lucky, having two zealots in a row be reincarnations of people she knew?

"I don't know if his abilities are any different here, but I can tell you what I know about him, if it'd help.

"I'm glad all of you are safe, though."

action bc i can

[lowestclass]

[ he's half asleep and exhausted, but the sound of lapis' voice stirs him as he has always been a light sleeper--part of the point of piling on her was to keep her from going to find cu, after all.

once he realises she's on the network, he settles a little; closing his eyes with a slow breath. ]

Y'gonna take your own advice now, too?

[crisantemo]

Mm, I'm alright. Tired but alright.

[ Maybe best not to tell Rose that her and her family were Cu's targets... ]

He is very good at that, I've been a favourite victim of his for years. [ And he's managed to get under her skin a few times, much to her chagrin. The vibes are the most rancid. The absolutely, most rancid ever. ]

He's not hard to miss in person, blue hair and red eyes with a giant tail. If you see someone like that, just turn around.

[poisontippedcure]

[It is almost certainly better not to say that, yes.]

Should you all need healing, please let me know. Otherwise, stay safe.

[She's being good she's being good]

Understood. I--don't trust myself to not fall for his tricks. [She hates being this brutally honest, but it's true.] After all you went through rescuing me, I don't want to risk putting myself in harm's way.

[crisantemo]

Ah... Two zealots she knew from her world, and it's also two of the zealots that tormented Lapis the most. There's a pattern here.

But Lapis simply sighs softly, expression tinging into something sympathetic.

"If you could, that would help. What I know about him is that he's hard to take down, he's incredibly strong and fast, and he has that spear... I forget the name of it."

She's never paid much attention, not willing to expand more brainpower towards the man than necessary.

"And thank you. After some rest we should be all good."

private voice, but the other two can hear too. un: goldenrose

[twofoldfury]

[Diarmuid was similarly exhausted and the only thing keeping him from keeping this text only so none of his friend saw the state he was in was respect for Lapis using video.

Cu Chulainn... a Berserker Cu Chulainn, not an unheard of concept but to think someone of his caliber was within the Black Order...

His heart twisted. But there was something more important right now than his broken spirit.]

I'm relieved that you've all found safety.

the crab is law

[crisantemo]

[ Lapis puts her phone down when she notices him stir, a cheek nudging against his hair.

Before huffing quietly. ]

If you and Dad keep insisting, I'll have no choice. [ Just a little murder as a treat -

But Husk and Jinwoo have told her to stay put, and their words have more sway than they might realise. ]

... I'm still worried about him attacking the others. [ The rest of the Kaisou team can look after themselves, but knowing that man is after them still makes her anxious. ]

voice; un: silverrose

[fionnuisce]

Every time I think it can't get worse, I end up unpleasantly surprised.

I know who Cú Chulainn is, and I know having him in the class of Berserker is bad news for all of us. Are you sure you aren't hurt?

[prunedworlds]

The worst pattern, honestly. Normally Ritsuka would be thrilled to find more people she knew, and yet...

"The spear is Gae Bolg. It's one of his noble phantasms. The other one is Curruid Coinchenn, his armor. His defensive abilities include Protection from Arrows to dodge attacks, and Battle Continuation that lets him survive damage that should have taken him out."

Why, yes, she knows this kind of information off the top of her head for basically every Servant she met. She kind of had to learn it.

"The best way to fight him is either overwhelming force before he can fight back, or to have a way to avoid letting him use his noble phantasms against you until you've worn him down."

private forever

[crisantemo]

[ Ah... At least he's safe as well, after all that. It's a relief to hear his voice, though he sounds as tired as she feels. ]

And thank you for helping us. [ Things would've gone so, so much worse otherwise. ]

Are you alright?

[crisantemo]

We're not hurt any more.

[ The wording is deliberate here; she doesn't want to go into detail, but it was not an easy fight. ]

Berserker... Yeah, that suits him. He's certainly vicious and volatile.

forever and ever

[twofoldfury]

Whenever it's needed, I'll do so. As a knight and as your friend.

[Ah. Don't ask him that question.]

I've since recovered from anything minor. I only defended against him, but it seems to be as you said. He won't strike the first blow.

[His emotional state is another story but don't worry about that.]

text, un: Gany

[ganymed]

Oh, so that's who that insane man is.

I'm glad you didn't give into his stupid provocation, though. For what that's worth.

Anyway, I have no intention of getting caught up with whatever that guy has got going on. People like him are a pain in the ass; I'll leave him to who can actually deal with all of that.

[fionnuisce]

...I know. His legend exists in my world as well, but this is...wrong.

i am law crab

[lowestclass]

You don't have a choice.

You saw how quickly he downed me. [ it's still startling to him, even now. ]

And while you're definitely the stronger of two of us; the fact that he got me that quickly with one strike worries me.
I can't stand the idea of you getting hurt like that. The way he was talking to you? He wasn't just aiming to just kill you.
He was aiming to destroy you.

can't spell yeeclaw without law

[crisantemo]

[ He's right, and logically Lapis knows she doesn't stand much of a chance against Cu. She didn't before, and she certainly doesn't now. ]

I know... And I know I don't stand a chance against him.

Especially with how much he's wanted to kill me over the years, and now he has a chance to.

[ He's held back before, and even that resulted in her ribs being broken. ]

I just... don't want him to hurt you, not again. I don't want him to hurt Dad. I'm terrified of seeing that happen...

[crisantemo]

[ "Didn't give into his stupid provocation", don't look into why she's being piled on like this Ganymede. ]

yeah so long as you give him nothing to respond to, he'll leave you alone. and he's hard to miss too: blue hair, red eyes and giant spiky tail

he'll be bored while we're in hiding, so he'll be doing his best to rile people up

[crisantemo]

[ Lapis is quiet for a moment, considering. ]

... He's been part of the Order for a very long time, longer than I've been alive. Whatever he was like before, the Order would've worn it away.

[crisantemo]

[ Too bad Dia she's asking it. ]

Good, good. I'm glad you're safe... [ There is some guilt there, that he would've had needed to get involved if she hadn't tried to insist Husk and Jinwoo leave her behind, but...

She falls silent for a moment, considering that answer. ]

But are you alright?

[ You can't hide from her Dia, she does the exact same thing! ]

[fionnuisce]

I-I understand that. It's just...this is...

[A deep breath, followed by a tired sigh.]

Just stay safe for now. He's a Servant, so that makes him our problem too. When the time comes to deal with this, we'll be there to help you.

UN: Shroud | Text

[whiteshroud]

[....]

Okay.

[HOW ABOUT I DO ANYWAY]

[crisantemo]

[ ........ ]

please

don't fight the dog

[whiteshroud]

Lapis.

We're well past the chance to take the pacifist route with the dog.

[crisantemo]

i know

he's never had a pacifist day in his life

but please don't try to face him alone