Tohsaka Mansion - More or Less

Caster tossed his hair over his shoulder with a flick of his wrist. He wasn't just a cat who got the cream, he was a pampered Siamese left alone at a dairy farm. "Well, since you ask!"

"As I've looked through the mansion, I've seen an Azoth sword around. A very good likeness, and a quaint memento." He reached into his robe and withdrew the sheathed blade. "But it's not mine." The gems of the scabbard sparkled with an ethereal gleam, shining in different hues, the light drawing up to the jewel set at the pommel. Pause for emphasis and awe.

"hoLY-! Can I hold it?!" Lazarus' eyes lit up at he painstakingly kept himself from grabbing the thing out of Caster's hands.

Yui's eyes shone. "Of course! I should have guessed. You're quite well-known as the inventor of the original Azoth. I assume it generally works the same as mine? On a much more refined scale, of course."

"I can funnel mana from it as needed - and I have, for a top up or two at this point. What makes it truly special is what lies inside it." He unscrewed the jewel at the end, a smaller gem tumbling out of the hilt and into his hand. He held it up into the light, letting the rays shine through it as he passed the sword itself to Lazarus.

"This... is the Philosopher's Stone."

For once, Yui was completely speechless. She gaped at the stone, then up at Caster as if to say... "It can't be... can it?"

He allowed himself a satisfied smile and nodded. "That which alluded me so much during my mortal life, finally in my hands. So legendary it has been sought after for centuries, as I understand. One touch can heal any mage or Servant, and can be used once - but only once - to bring the dead back to life. The ultimate gift of health."

Lazarus nearly dropped the sword with his mouth agape at the stone. "I will literally find a way to trade bodies or something with you so that you may live forever if you please let me inspect that." the words were rushed and slurred together, and Lazarus' fingers unintentionally twitched.

"Careful, Lazarus, you may start drooling," Caster teased. He took the sword and carefully placed the stone in the palm of Lazarus's hand, standing close to catch it just in case.

He stared into it as if he was staring into the depths of the universe. "I wonder if it works on servants...we could sacrifice someone and bring them back..."

Caster rolled his eyes slightly and took the stone back. "Unfortunately, it doesn't - and that would use up all of its power, leaving us in the dark should the worst occur. Thought I appreciate your enthusiasm as usual, it's hardly the best time for experiments." He screwed on the pommel jewel after depositing the stone back in its place.

Lazarus frowned at Caster's attitude. "Well I was trying to hopefully preserve your life but please, roll your eyes a bit more." he took a deep breath, pushing down the memories of so many mages looking down their noses at his family, rolling their eyes when they thought no one was looking, and continued. " I agree that this isn't the time for experiements, unfortunately. Something I thought I would never say!" he chuckled. "So we know out advantages. How shall we use them?"

Caster's eyebrows knit slightly, apologetic. He had clearly picked at some old wounds.

"Well, it sounds to me like the more people we can lure here the better... which is doubtlessly everyone else's strategy. We do have the upper hand of people seeking out the Grail, however, although one assumes that finding and eliminating the Apostle is priority number one."

"There's one last thing," Yui put in. "Berserker's Noble Phantasm. It may help us as a last resort, but it's something I want to avoid using at all costs. She gathers up all the energy in her weapon and discharges it at once, destroying everything around her in one go. Unfortunately, it also drains her of all her energy. She'll die." She sighed. "She can use weaker forms of it without dying, but it may not be enough to kill Servants outright. The option is still there, however."

"As for all this together, I say we start with Caster creating a Territory here. It can't actually expand outside of the mansion, but we could use it to expand the basement. That will let us create lots of extra space, and hopefully give us an advantage in close-quarters combat, especially against Archer. If we wait in the basement, they'll be forced to enter Caster's Territory to engage us. If Archer tries to use her Noble Phantasm from a distance, we can have Berserker set up above ground initially to absorb it with Bridal Chest. What do you think?"

"Well...if we have the philosopher's stone, then can't we just let her use her phantasm to kill them? Not at first, obviously. Okay! I suggest we take care of the apostle, then head back here and wait, eventually, they will HAVE to come here. When they do, perhaps we can find some way to sneak past the radius of berserker's attack. Perhaps not leave immediately, but either way, especially if she absorbs energy from the battle with her hammer, we can leave, let her discharge her phantasm, then try to bring her back with the stone before she passes away."

"I know for a fact the stone's power can only be used on mortal humans. I won't be able to bring her back, and I don't want to risk her life."

"Aplologies. I meant to make it clear that I wanted to heal her, not resurrect her. Which you did say was possible yes?"

"I'm not sure that will work. Instead of damaging her, it drains her reactor dry and shuts it down. I'm not sure there would be time to restore her mana before she dies. It may be possible, but I'm not sure we can risk it unless we come down to a really dire need."

The mage shrugged. "That's alright. It was only a suggestion. I'm relatively certain after the dead apostle is taken care of, we only have one or two more masters. Since it's the last ditch effort, I feel as if it would be worth it. However, I suppose that's Berserker's decision to make. No matter what happens, she will die anyway..." the thought of the servants dying pained him as it resurfaced, but there wasn't much to be done...yet.

"Even if the stone doesn't work on her, I would do my best to heal her myself." He turned to Yui. "I agree, it's a risky plan, but not one to throw out entirely. Lancer, the obnoxious cur, would be easy for the two of us if not for her getaway plans, but Archer is extremely formidable, and Rider is still unaccounted for."

"I will still create the territory as soon as possible - disabling her Noble Phantasm in particular is almost as important as the Dead Apostle."

Yui nodded. "It is still a last-ditch option if need be. We might get lucky and be able to heal her. Or even luckier and not even have to use it."

"But yes, once the Dead Apostle is taken care of, we're pretty much down to one or two last battles. If they figure out we have the Grail, they'll come to us. Or they may come to us anyway. As long as we don't leave the mansion, we have the home field advantage."

"First off, of course, is the Dead Apostle. With less than 24 hours left for our deadline, I'm guessing even the most ruthless Masters would prefer teaming up to take it down. No one wants to risk the Church coming in and putting us all down."

"If we do team up, our communication should be distant and indirect. The most ruthless Master probably wouldn't hesitate to turn on us even before the Apostle's body hits the ground."

Lazarus nodded in agreement before his attention was caught by the news report. "Well...looks like we found him. Shall we send the familiar over?"

Yui nodded. "Let's. I have a minor familiar nearby I can use to scout the scene as well."

She held up a gem and mentally steered one of her pigeons in the direction of Homurahara.

Lazarus equally guided the familiar in the same direction with some help from Caster.

Caster's eyes widened. "A Master and two Servants have arrived. They've see the false Yui, they'll be suspicious."