Aloha, Magi!

"Well I'm not horribly well connected, but I can see what I can do," Lazarus went through the contacts on his phone. As he was doing so, Aaron piped up, "Julian is really well connected! I bet Yui knows some people too! Hang on!" Aaron got up from the table and went to call his significant other.

He shrugged. "Well I'm sure you're no better connected than I am. I was thinking more along the lines of using the power the Grail gave you to covertly... change some minds." He wiggled his fingers mystically.

The blush of Phillipus's cheeks was hidden behind the rim of his glass. Why did so many of his colleagues have to be so accursedly good-looking...

"Animusphere... By God, I think I remember your ancestors! One of the more cordial members of the Association, to me at least."

Mari scratched the inside of her ear with a pinky. "I could try to bend a few ears with my contacts, but A) I'm fired and B) you probably don't want to deal with what they'll want in return."

"Hmm...well that sounds a bit shady, but if it was your wish I can make it happen!"

At that point Aaron came back in, holding the phone out to A-San, "He wants to talk to you."

"It is my wish. If you can do it, I'll be happy to repay you. Perhaps starting by giving you a tour of my facility."

"Oh." He took the phone. "Moshimoshi. Is this Mr. DiSorvin?"

"It is. Its nice to finally speak to you directly, Mr. Animusphere," the voice was surprisingly light and pleasant. "My husband tells me you have some interesting patents you're trying to get in front of the mage's association. What kind of problems are you running into? "

"Well, at the moment, they believe my patents have no practical application, based as they are on abstract theory. They can be fairly snobbish about things that they don't think can benefit them directly. They just need a little nudge."

"Okay. Perhaps they'll be convinced by evidence. I like to do quite a bit of hybrid research myself from time to time. Do you think it would help if I funded research and development for one of your patents? If so, we can present it's practical application, and they may think about purchasing your other patents."

There was a quiet and knowing snort into a wine glass across the table.

He thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on the counter. "I think this can be done. One of the patents in question deals with Rayshift theory. If you haven't heard of it before... it's essentially a form of time travel. If we can demonstrate that it can be done, that should be more than enough to convince them."

"Perfect! Just send me an itemized list of costs for the project and I'll get started with you as soon as I can. It's too bad no one has gotten the grail yet, or this would be a little easier." he chuckled, his laugh rather sweet. So far he was turning out to be rather cordial and kind.

He laughed. "Of course. I will make sure to add you as a sponsor of the bill. I will speak to you later."

After he said goodbye and hung up, he took a nervous breath. "I haven't been able to prove Rayshift theory in a practical setting before. But, if you gained knowledge from the Root, you might be able to help me stabilize the technology."

"Absolutely! A lovely first project! Let's get to it!" Lazarus sat down next to A-san, joined by Phillipus, and began taking notes on ideas and issues that A-san had been running into.

Aaron, meanwhile, breathed a large sigh of relief. He wasn't sure he could keep this up anymore. He took his phone back and went outside to give his husband a call. It would be better to be truthful now and have Julian find out from him.

"I'll wash dishes, so you guys can go play." Mari waved Phillipus towards the others, and he gleefully unrolled a sheaf of parchment and took out his pen. She hummed happily while loading the dishes into the washer, then looked around for washer tabs...

Her face fell. Foiled. There was even more shopping to do.

Before he started taking notes, A-san got a serious look. "Before we start really getting into this, there's something else you need to know. Ozymandias and Lancer had some plans. Lancer said he would return to his home country and redeem his name--unfortunately, I don't know what country that is or what that would entail. Ozy similarly sounded like he wanted to return to the land of his birth too. I can't imagine either of them will be up to any good."

"Well if we don't know where they'll be causing trouble, we'll just have to wait until they start. But we can keep an eye out and be ready to go to wherever they might be to stop them."

Watching Mari, Avalon chuckled, "Oh no, guess you need to go on a walk with me this time instead of napping!" she grabbed her purse and began putting on her shoes.

Phillipus drummed his fingers on the table. "Well, Ozymandias will likely be going to Egypt - as if there isn't enough political turmoil... Do you have any clues as to who Lancer might be? The name of his Phantasm?"

Mari leisurely wiggled on a pair of sandals, tapping the toes against the floor. "Oh no, whatever am I gonna do. I'm gonna die from missing the nerd sesh." She looped her arm into Avalon's and the two struck out.

A-san shook his head. "Never used any of his skills or his Noble Phantasm. Can't really tell off his appearance either."

Lazarus sighed, "Well, logic would dictate that we go to Egypt immediately then, at least. However, I was hoping to see my children at some point before running off again..."

"I would hate to keep you separated from them any longer. Perhaps there's a way that Herr Animusphere and I could go, along with Aaron and Darius? But if he has any Phantasms more powerful than that ship..." His brow furrowed.

"We could wait to see if he does anything disruptive. Though I think the odds of him staying quiet and not bothering anyone are on par with a mountain passing through the eye of a needle."

Phillipus snorted. "That's like asking the sun not to rise, and believe me, I've tried."

"Oh! And perhaps Artoria and Cleopatra could join you as well! I agree that he definitely won't stay completely quiet, but trying to scour Egypt to find him probably wouldn't help.
I feel it's best to wait until he pops up. "

He brightened. "A wonderful idea! Artoria's been quite agitated when faced with time for leisure, I'm sure you've noticed. As crude as it is to say it could lift her spirits, I think she'd be more comfortable in a situation of leadership and strategy. And perhaps Cleopatra would take such an assault on her homeland personally?"

Cleopatra looked mortified. "You want me to fight Ozymandias? The Great Ancestor? He holds the Egyptian gods in his body! I don't think I could do that. Especially as an Assassin."