The Shattered Grail
(Author's Note: This is a take on just what happens after Fate/Hollow Ataraxia as an anime. I have seen the whole Fate/Stay Night anime and Unlimited Blade Works, but it has been exceptionally difficult to find a fully translated story of Hollow Ataraxia. However, this story involves AFTER, and an idea I figured of just what happens when the Holy Grail has been destroyed twice, and taken apart to finish the conclusion of the grail wars. The story revolves around the servants staying around and basically "hanging out" with everyone else. This is not a crossover, but I like the idea involving Elder Scrolls from the Elder Scrolls series (involving they are not physical objects per se, and are outside space and time. My take is they can take the form of whatever they are needed for, and as such could be the Holy Grail, which would mean there are others… many other games and shows have something similar usually) anyways, please keep an open mind involving this story, I'll do my best at keeping the characters as they are. This would follow the Fate route for the most part, and Shiro and Saber are together as it follows the anime.)
"Gaile… GAILE!" a man's voice snapped as the young woman suddenly woke up from her small nap.
"Huh? Wha?" Gaile awoke quickly and looked around from having her head rest on her arms at the desk.
"I need you to take care of your brother for a bit" the man told her.
"Are you serious? I'm trying to get my…" she had a momentary pause as she looked around at her notes "-my application put in for the university expedition!" she snapped back. The man had an amused look on his face.
"And when have you ignored the need to help? I need you to watch him just for a little while; it's not like it'll change you getting into that field trip of yours" the man replied.
"Uh, dad, I need to show them I am fully trained to handle the dig! He can watch himself now! He's fourteen!" she growled out a response, and then brought a hand up to her forehead.
"Please?" her father asked. She grumbled something incoherent. She hated being taken advantage of.
"Fine, sure, whatever, not like what I'm doing matters much apparently. I'm just trying to get myself out of my parent's house and on my own. You guys rely on me too damn much. Where are you going anyways?" she asked.
"Uh… well…" he looked away and thumbed at his nose a bit.
"You are not going to the damned game! Mom told YOU to do the chores, not me! Stop forking over your responsibilities onto your own daughter!" she snapped as she stood up.
Abigaile Henderson, age 21. Five foot eight inches and one hundred eighty pounds. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her glasses were pushed up against her nose. She wasn't intimidating by any means, as her being overweight due to not getting much exercise due to studying had slowed her metabolism.
"Just this once Gaile, just this once. Please?" he asked with a whiny tone. He brought up his hands in a praying motion towards her. She was being taken advantage of again. She couldn't wait to get away from her parents. Her mother was a slave driver and her father was a lazy good for nothing. The only way she saw herself getting out of the city of Seattle, Washington was to get into the university expedition, show what she had worked so hard with her scholarship to achieve, and start traveling the world. She had double majored in history and archaeology, and specialized in the supernatural in different countries. She loved the idea of the past, and sometimes the future. Her motto was always "Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." Sadly, she never took her motto to heart when it came to being walked all over by friends and family.
"Alright, fine… just go…" she grumbled out as she crossed her arms over her ample chest, slightly due to her weight, and pouted at her current position.
"Thank you! I'll make it up to you I swear!" he told her and ran off.
"You never do dad… it's why I'm trying to make my own way in life so damned quickly…" she grumbled out, but no one could hear her. She closed her eyes and pulled her glasses off to check for specks, and then put them back on. She then walked out of her bedroom and went to her brother's door. She noticed he was playing video games, his homework sitting on the desk untouched.
"Hey, how about you stop playing those and actually try and get your grades up?" she asked.
"If you wanna help, be my guest" he replied as he didn't even look away from his tv. He suddenly felt the presence of an annoyed sister behind him, and cringed. He slowly turned his head and looked up to a very angry looking pudgy woman.
"Let's try this again, from the top" she almost hissed out, pushing her long sleeves up and getting ready to pummel him.
"Right! Hehe, I'll get right on it sis!" he said half chuckling as he put his controller down and jumped into the chair at his desk.
"Much better!" she grinned, still irked that he said what he said. She walked back out of his room and heard some scuffling, and then the sounds from the tv came back. She sighed and looked at the ground. She couldn't win. She never won. It was like her voice meant nothing and no one listened to her. She squared her jaw and stormed to her room to finish her application for the expedition. Her brother could look after himself for the night, she just had to make sure he didn't leave the house.
She sat down at her desk and continued typing up her thesis on her very beat up looking laptop.
[One Week Later]
Abigaile walked away from her small car and towards the mail box to open it. As she reached in and pick up the envelopes sitting piled up, she felt a small package in the back. She pulled it out along with the rest of the mail and walked towards the house. As she sifted through the bills, she found one envelope that stated it was from the university. She immediately opened the front door as fast as she could and ran to her room with everything. She closed her door and dropped her purse and backpack on the ground, and then ripped open the envelope, the package still sitting on her bed. She read through the letter quickly, hoping against hope. Her jaw dropped.
"YES! YES YES YES YES!" She screamed out as she sat down on her bed and hugged the letter to her chest. She was going on a multi-area expedition to Japan, the UK and to parts of Russia. Her brother heard her down the hall and was confused as to her yelling, but ignored it. She hardly noticed that she sat down on the small package lying there on her bed.
As she removed the offending square box from under her rump, she noticed it was addressed to her. Her huge grin somewhat faded away as she opened it and looked inside. There seemed to be an old pendant inside, made out of gold. There were no rare gems, no jewels twinkling on it, just an old pendant made of gold with odd inscriptions etched through it. She couldn't tell the age of it, and it was somewhat dirty, meaning that it had been dug up from somewhere, potentially a dig site. Was this an offering from the university as a show that she was part of the team? She knew some places provided a marker of some sort, a wrist band or a pass showing who you were working for. It wasn't hard to make copies of old looking artifacts and give it to the rest of the expedition.
Her hands fiddled with the chain as she looked at the marks and scratches. It could have been Aztec, or maybe something closer, something Native American. She wasn't very good at figuring out Native American artifacts as she hardly worked on them; that was assigned to other groups for the most part. She was working on the mentions of supernatural artifacts seen throughout the world, such as Excalibur or potential blood pots found in Aztec ruins.
Abigaile took a deep breath and put the pendant around her neck, looking it over as she looked into the mirror. It didn't seem to suit her really. The dull shine of the gold seemed off on her body. She wasn't plain by any means, though she was fat. She knew it. Her family knew it. None of them seemed to try and help her overcome that fact. If she had just got the motivation to get up and exercise, then she wouldn't be in the position she was in of being beyond her recommended weight.
She sighed and smiled. She would get her workout at the dig sites they were going to, so it wouldn't be much of a problem for her later. She just had to hold out until then. She had one month to wait.
[One Month Later]
Abigaile couldn't get out of her parent's house fast enough. Everything was packed and she was going to be abroad for some time, so there wasn't a need for any furniture or moving into an apartment. Whatever she wasn't taking with her was stored in a public storage unit, not at the house. She was done with her family keeping her back. She wanted to really show what she was made of to the world, and prove some supernatural facts. As she got on the plane with her pack, she met up with a few other team mates who were going to be analyzing soil samples, liquids, as well as architectural designs found at the site. She couldn't wait to get there and start her work, and show what she knew. There had been a long standing history of the arcane happening in Japan, and she wanted to know what was up.
[Twenty-Two Hours Later]
Abigaile stepped off the plane with jet lag. She was so tired she had no idea what her small information packet had told her before. She was going to be staying at a house instead of a hotel. All of the team members were staying with people who lived in the area. She walked over to a carousel and waited for her bags to come down. In the distance were people standing with signs for waiting arrivals. As she picked up her bags, she noticed one sign with her name on it held by a red headed young man. Next to him was a blonde haired woman with her hair up in a braided bun.
She looked at her bags and then looked back over to the waiting people, as the rest of her team met up with others who would take them to their homes.
"Let's hope my Japanese is any good from the classes…" she whispered to herself. She walked right up to them and pointed at the sign.
"My name is Abigaile Henderson" she told the red headed man.
"Oh? Ah! Hi! Welcome to Fuyuki City! My name is Shiro Emiya!" he said with a large smile on his face. He bowed to her.
"Pleased to meet you" she said and put her hand out for him to shake.
"It's nice to meet you too! I volunteered to help out a friend with housing, I just didn't know much about who I was housing or why" Shiro chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
He didn't know who he was getting? For all he knew he could be housing a criminal or something…
"Right, well, I work in archaeological studies and history so, nothing truly amazing like a President or an Ambassador" she told him smiling.
"Right, well, I hope you'll enjoy your stay at the Emiya house! Ah, how foolish of me, I forgot to introduce you. This is-" Shiro said as he turned around and looked at the blonde haired woman.
"Saber. It's a pleasure to meet you" she spoke up for herself, giving Shiro an annoyed glance. She spoke in English, proper English. It didn't surprise her that the woman would be bilingual.
"Nice to meet you too" Abigaile replied and shook her hand.
"Well, I guess I should grab your bags" Shiro said as he picked up two bags and lugged them under his arms.
"Uh, well, I can carry those if you want" Abigaile told him confused.
"No no, I insist, I'm here to help however I can" he replied with a chuckle.
"Well, ok…" she trailed off as he grabbed another two bags and then tried to pick one up by the handle with his mouth.
"Um, Shiro?" Abigaile starte to ask.
"I got this don't worry! You won't have to carry a thing!" he said as he dropped one bag. Saber looked a little annoyed.
"Shiro… there are carts over there…" Abigaile said as she pointed down the hall to a lane of carts that could be borrowed to put the luggage on. Shiro dropped the bags all in one go and stared in disbelief. Saber sighed and closed her eyes. Abigaile giggled a little bit and walked down the hall to grab one.
[One Hour Later]
"Here we are, home sweet home!" Shiro said as he brought the last bag in with Abigaile carrying her backpack. The house was huge, with a dojo and a garden and everything.
"You live here, just the two of you?" she asked, impressed with the size of the place.
"Well, sort of…" Shiro said as he scratched the back of his head. There was a sound from one of the rooms as a young girl ran out.
"Shiro! Oh, another girl? You really pick them up quick don't you? I guess you aren't going for the good looking ones anymore are you" the girl said. Saber looked annoyed at how she was speaking. Abigaile stood in silence, wondering what that entailed. Shiro looked visibly embarrassed.
"Illya, can you watch what you say in front of others? That was very rude of you" Saber scolded her.
"Oh I'm sorry, she isn't a girl he picked up?" she asked. Saber looked like steam was blowing out of her ears.
"He's with only one woman!" she snapped, balling her hand into a fist and ready to pummel her. Unbeknownst to Abigaile, Saber's strength would probably smash her into the ground. Ilya looked a little worried and shook her hands in a stopping motion.
"Sorry! Sorry! I apologize! So, miss…" Ilya started to say.
"Abigaile, but all my friends call me Gaile" she replied.
"Gaile. Do you wanna see my doll collection?" Ilya asked.
"She's here on business Ilya, I highly doubt she wants to see some old collection" a man's voice was heard in the background from another room.
"Archer, that's a bit mean" another woman's voice was heard. Abigaile looked at Shiro and blinked.
"How many people did you say you have staying at this house?" she asked.
"I… didn't actually. Well you see…" he said and started to laugh a bit nervously. A girl with long black hair walked out from the room and put her hand out to shake.
"Rin Tohsaka, it's a pleasure to meet you" she said.
"Abigaile Henderson" she replied. Rin didn't seem to let go of her hand, and her eyes wandered down to the pendant around her neck. Abigaile looked down at her chest and then back up.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"Oh nothing, just noticing the design of the pendant you're wearing" Rin replied. Her eyes never left the pendant the entire time she was speaking. Abigaile felt a little disturbed by the response she was getting from her and pulled her hand back slowly.
"Come on Rin, don't scare the lady away. Abigaile? Let's get you settled in. Do you want something to drink as well? Hungry?" Shiro asked as he picked up some of her bags.
"Uh, what? Oh yeah, uh, well" she said as her stomach growled.
"Lunch is ready!" another woman's soft voice was heard in the background as if on cue.
"Oh boy! I wonder what Sakura cooked up this time!" another woman said as she scrambled through one door and through another.
"Oh Taiga…" Rin sighed and closed her eyes. There was a prompt sound of something hitting something, and a slight scuffle.
"Out of the way you big brute! Food is in that direction!" Taiga yelled out. There was a loud groan from a man as Taiga backed off out of the room. A huge man stomped forward in a T-shirt too small for him and shorts, as well as flip flops. His hair was a mess and he was a mass of rippling muscle. He also seemed to be wearing a very large pair of sunglasses, though it seemed there was a slight red glow coming from his right eye under the lens.
"Hercules, be nice! Go get something to eat" Shiro snapped at him. He groaned again and looked at him, and then at Abigaile. Abigaile was practically pissing her pants at that moment. He was massive, barely able to fit in the house. He groaned again and turned around slowly, entering the dining room and sitting on the ground.
"Don't mind him, he won't hurt you" Rin told her. She wasn't so sure. Shiro walked down the hall and Abigaile followed him. As she passed the door into the dining room, she saw another purple haired woman sitting at the table with a book to the side. She had some of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, and she could barely tell that her pupils were not circles, but square in shape. Ilya bounded in after and sat down to eat. There was another woman in the kitchen cooking with an apron on.
"How many people live here?" she asked.
"Uh… well… most of the people are just visiting right now" Shiro told her. Abigaile whistled. Shiro had a lot of friends it seemed. As they reached another room, she noticed it had sparse furniture, and there was a roll in the middle.
"Oh right, that's what I sleep on" she whispered to herself as Saber walked in behind her.
"Ah, sorry, I don't have any beds in the house. This is traditional Japanese sleeping arrangements. I guess we could get you a bed while you're staying here…" Shiro said as he scratched his chin in thought.
"No no! That's fine! I'm perfectly capable of sleeping on that! Don't worry yourself!" Abigaile told him with a smile.
"Well then, I'll show you to the bathroom then, and you can get settled in for a bit. Lunch is being served also if you're hungry" Shiro told her. Abigaile nodded as he gave her a tour of the house, and then let her get changed for lunch. As she entered the dining room, she noticed everyone else sitting at the table as well as the counter and couch with a coffee table. All of the people looked at her. She felt a bit out of place, but due to the servants and Ilya not looking native to Japan either, she settled down.
She sat down as Sakura served some food on her plate. She thanked her and picked up the chopsticks. She had used them countless times, and in more ways than eating. They were somewhat useful at getting rid of dirt on certain artifacts without damaging them. She didn't want to tell the people around her that however.
"So, what brings you to Japan exactly? A dig was it?" Shiro asked as the others ate.
"Yeah, well, I mean, I'm here to study any supernatural effects noticed in the area…" she told them and most of them stopped eating. They all looked at her.
"What exactly do you study?" Shiro asked.
"Supernatural effects known throughout history provided by different artifacts. I've studied all sorts of different acquisitions throughout my years at the university. Some I've only been able to gather information on from books however" she started to tell them as she blew on her food to cool it down.
"Are you looking for a specific item there?" Shiro asked.
"Mmm, don't really know. I'm just following along in the team. Professor Eagorn is the one who started the whole expedition. It's a multi-area dig, so after Japan we head to London and then… well, I don't know the specific places in Russia… but effectively northern Asia" she told him. Shiro raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I believe however I can be somewhat candid with any information I have though, which is very little. I mean, I heard about what you did here a while ago" she told him. Everyone stopped eating again and looked between them.
"What did I do? I don't really know what you're talking about" Shiro chuckled nervously and looked at Saber. She didn't seem to show any emotion on her face, though that usually meant concern.
"Oh don't worry, my lips are sealed. No one would believe me anyways. I know about the Holy Grail Wars and the Master Servant thing. I've been given a lot of background information in my studies. The Association tried to stop me and some others from gaining the intel, however I think they were stopped by someone though I don't know whom. Regardless, I know about the fight ten years ago and the Holy Grail. It's gone now, and I wish I could have been there to study it, but c'est la vie." Everyone stared at Abigaile. She suddenly realized she had said a bit too much in a short amount of time.
"Well… I guess we don't exactly have to hide as much… now that she knows… as long as you aren't posting papers about us…" Shiro said softly.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that, hehe, uh… as I said, who would believe me right? Don't worry about me! I'd be looked at as a nut in the U.S. As a show of good faith I can tell you what I know about the Holy Grail in terms of its history before the wars!" she told them.
"There's history on it beyond the wishes?" Shiro asked and looked at Saber.
"Of course it has history Shiro, I quested for it" she told him. He waved his hands trying to stop Saber from speaking, but it was too late.
"Oh, so… you're… a Pendragon?" Abigaile asked. Saber looked at her.
"Yes, King of Knights" she told her. Abigaile was giddy all over.
"There are so many questions I want to ask you, but I know it might be a bit much to do so. Don't worry, I won't prod you for too much information about your life. No invasion of privacy I assure you" Abigaile waved her hand up and down with another hand pressed in front of her mouth. Saber sighed.
"Just please don't pry too much" Saber told her. Abigaile nodded.
"I'm really just here for the dig. I'm hoping we'll find something that I think Eagorn was hinting at, though I don't think it will be here" she told them.
"What is it?" Shiro asked.
"Well, the Holy Grail's history can go back even before, er, Saber quested for it. It was supposedly the chalice that collected Christ's blood, however even before that it was of another entity entirely… at least we think it was…" she told them.
"Another entity? What?" Shiro asked wholly confused, as was everyone else. Even Rider sat looking at the woman, but hadn't spoken.
"Yes, well, I've found evidence that may show that the Holy Grail was something called an Elder Scroll. These Scrolls don't actually exist, and yet they do exist, just outside space and time" she started to explain.
"But how are you expecting to find one then? And how do you believe the Holy Grail was one of these Elder Scrolls? It was a Chalice, not a parchment" Saber spoke up.
"I'm getting to that. You see, they don't actually have a physical form, and aren't known about until something requires them to show. They can take a form required for some miraculous event. The Chalice was needed to carry Christ's Blood due in fact that any other container would have simply melted from the power in him. Any other container wouldn't function. It would be like taking a sippy cup for a kid and trying to stop a flash flood, it just wouldn't work" Abigaile told them as she picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks and ate it. Everyone was listening intently.
"Anyways, there are other forms they have taken in the past, not just the Holy Grail, and it could be that one of them is in fact the Throne of Heroes. One was an actual Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, however after being read it simply disappeared. It nearly blinded the people who found it as well, and there was no evidence afterwards that it was around. This lead to the name Elder Scrolls. I believe whatever it was needed for had past long ago and so the scroll wasn't going to be around anymore. There have been rumors that one of Nostradamus's prophetic books is an Elder Scroll, but no one has found it yet." Everyone seemed to be soaking in the information carefully.
"You seem to know a lot about the supernatural, are you a…" Shiro started to say, but Rin gave him a cold stare.
"A Magus? Yes I know about them from our sources. I don't get my information from hedge books Shiro; we have friends in the magic department, they just don't let everyone out there know they exist. To answer your question, I don't think so. I've never once used magic before in the past, and never had any peculiar events happen to me. Heck, if I tried to cast something right now, I'd bet I'd hurt myself. No, I don't really think I can do anything with, what do you guys call it… prana" she replied.
"We could always check, there is a very simple spell that can detect if you have any magical circuits that lie dormant" Rin told her quietly as she then sipped her tea. Abigaile looked at her.
"Huh? I already know I'm not magically inclined Ms. Tohsaka, no need to prove it again" she said slightly disappointed that she had just stated that she was the "normal" in this whole group. Everyone else in the room was either a heroic spirit with power beyond anything she had seen, or a Magus. She was an average human.
"So you've been tested before?" Rin asked non chalantly as she looked at her. Abigaile cocked her head backwards slightly.
"Uh, no, well, I mean, don't you usually show signs of having magical affinity at an early age? I've never done that" she told her, now questioning what she knew about magic.
"Look at Shiro. He's the very definition of a late bloomer for magic. I would hardly consider him a full Magus in all honesty" Rin said with a slight smirk.
"Oh thanks Rin, appreciate the vote of confidence… but yeah, she's kind of right. When I became a Magus I barely knew how to do reinforcements" Shiro said in his defense.
"Reinforcements? Uh, normal person here, I really don't know enough about the magical arts to say I understand what that is. I know I'm supposed to be well informed about the supernatural, but that's a broad category." Shiro chuckled as Abigaile looked around at the table for clarification.
"Reinforcement spells are improvements made to physical objects to upgrade their parts and provide far more structural strength and in some cases new abilities. In order to do them, one must usually focus on the object and understand its basic design and schematic, and in most cases the Magus pictures the object in their mind and figures out how to update the blueprint and apply the new improvements to the object with their Odic Force" Rin explained as she poured more tea.
"Ah… I see… well, I've never done even that, so I highly doubt I have magic in my blood" Abigaile said smiling and looking at everyone.
"So you don't wish to be tested?" Rin asked.
"Well, I mean, I guess we could, not like I have anything to lose right? Just… could we do it like… I dunno, tomorrow afternoon or maybe after tomorrow? I'd like to not worry about it until after I get to see the dig site and settle in" Abigaile told her.
"Of course. It takes time to gather the required ingredients to do the test anyways. Later then" Rin told her. Abigaile nodded in agreement and everyone continued with their meal.
"That's an interesting necklace you're wearing Abigaile" Sakura said softly.
"Oh this? Thank you, but I guess it's a symbol I'm with the expedition, it's not something I'd normally wear" she replied with a smile as she fingered the golden pendant.
"Ah. What do the symbols mean if you don't mind me asking?" Sakura said.
"Um, well… I don't really know just yet, as I haven't had time to study them. I think they're ancient Native American inscriptions, but I could be wrong. Considering many of the Native American languages aren't written and simply spoken, I'd have to find a phonetic translation system for what I know" Gaile replied.
"You can speak Native American?" Shiro asked.
"Shiro, there are many languages in the Americas, it is not simply an overlapping name" Rin scolded him.
"Right, sorry" Shiro replied and scratched the back of his head.
"It's ok. I know Na-Dene, Iroquois, Penutian, Uto-Aztecan, Cayuse, Algic and Chumash. I'm currently trying to learn Cotoname and Kalapuyan." Everyone stared at her again, some blinking in disbelief.
"What? Part of what I have to do is learn languages. You don't just dig up old things and think your job is done, you have to figure out who they belonged to and what the object meant to them. That usually requires you to know their language" Abigaile explained as she sat at the table and finished her rice.
"So, how many languages do you know?" Shiro asked.
"Well, you know I can speak fairly well in Japanese already. I know nineteen different languages so far, though a good portion of them you know are of similar verses and speech being native to the U.S." she told him.
"Sheesh, I can barely speak English as a second language, and I'm even bad at that" Shiro chuckled. Rin didn't say a word involving his skills.
"Alright, enough grilling the newcomer! Let's talk something closer to home!" Taiga yelled with a clap of her hands as she reached over and tried to steal a dumpling from Abigaile's right plate. Abigaile was used to her brother trying to annoy her in some form, and instinctively tried to impale her hand with her chopsticks. Taiga immediately shot her hand back in fear, no dumpling stolen.
"Ah! You could have taken my hand off!" Taiga exclaimed as she held her hand hidden under her armpit.
"Don't take what's not yours Taiga, especially someone who just got here and is a guest!" Shiro snapped. Taiga looked like she was gonna cry.
"But I'm hungry and there aren't that many dumplings" she mewed out.
"Oh, I have plenty more in the kitchen if you're interested. I didn't know how hungry Hercules might be" Sakura commented in her soft voice. Taiga jumped from her seat and ran to the kitchen to search for the delicious plump morsels. Shiro sighed.
"I apologize, we're not at our best around guests" Shiro said with his hands clapped together in a prayer to Abigaile.
"Says you Shiro, I'm always prepared and at my best" Rin commented as she ate one of her own dumplings.
"Says the person who sleeps in until noon" Ilya chided. Rin looked visibly irked.
"A lady needs her beauty sleep" Rin grumbled out with a twitch.
"Then you could be that Sleeping Beauty! Except you aren't beautiful, so you'd be sleeping ugly or sleeping zombie-" Ilya started to say as Rin got up and stormed around the table. Ilya got up quickly and Rin chased her around the rectangular platform. Shiro and Saber just sighed as Abigaile watched. Things were going to be interesting in this house for her it seemed.
[Next Day]
Abigaile woke up and stretched. She could smell breakfast being cooked in the kitchen, and so she decided to get up and get ready for the day. She got up and put her fuzzy monkey slippers on and her robe and grabbed some clean clothes from her bags. She then grabbed her toiletries and walked towards the bathroom. As she got to the door and opened it she suddenly realized she was standing facing a giant pile of muscle. There, standing in front of the mirror, was Hercules, with a towel wrapped around his waist and a mouthful of toothpaste foam with the toothbrush still in his mouth. He just stared at her.
"Ack! Sorry! I forgot to knock! I keep forgetting you guys don't have locks inside the house!" she squeaked as she closed the door. She heard a loud groan come from the other side, followed by the sound of him continuing to brush his teeth. Since the bathroom was in use, she decided to instead try and get some coffee. As she walked to the kitchen, she noticed Shiro was awake and dressed as was Saber and Rider. Abigaile said her good mornings to them and walked to the kitchen where Sakura was cooking.
"Breakfast will be ready in a minute. Would you like a cup of tea?" the purple haired woman asked her.
"Oh, right, no coffee" she said to herself mostly as Sakura looked confused.
"Oh crud! That's what I forgot to buy yesterday! I am so sorry!" Shiro said from the table. Abigaile looked at him and then back at Sakura.
"I'm sorry, we don't have any right now" she told the American.
"It's ok, when in Rome" Abigaile replied with a smile. She thanked Sakura for pouring her a cup of tea and went to sit at the table. Saber noticed the fuzzy slippers she wore and a slight smirk appeared on her face.
After breakfast was served and Hercules came out of the bathroom wearing incredibly tight jeans and a tie died t-shirt that said "peace" in Japanese, Abigaile finally got a chance to wash herself and get ready for her first day at work. Everyone else seemed to think it was odd that she took a shower in the morning instead of when she would come home, but they accepted it as she was American and they figured Americans had a different way of doing things.
"So how long will you be at the dig site?" Shiro asked as they got into the car.
"Oh, it shouldn't be later than three o'clock. There's quite a bit of categorizing of soil samples, found items, etc. that needs to be put in the books. It's a careful process that requires us to dig one day, and then process the found materials that same day, an off and on routine. Today is digging and cleaning, tomorrow will be sifting more like, which I dread" she told him groaning. He nodded in understanding as he drove her down to the dig site.
"Hey Shiro, why did you volunteer to house an expedition member? You have a lot of people who stay in your home already" Abigaile asked. Shiro laughed.
"I guess I just always like to help, and when I was asked by a friend to provide shelter for someone, I guess I just figured saying yes was the right thing to do" he replied as he turned up a street. Abigaile seemed to accept his answer as they drove to the site and parked. As they got out and walked towards the huge mass of people who would be working on the dig, Saber came up behind them from her seat in the back of the car.
"Alright everyone, we all have read our work orders, move to your assigned positions and let's get to work!" Eagorn said as everyone filed off in different directions, some to trailers for taking care of samples or cataloging items brought in, others moving to their dig spots. Abigaile got on her harness and a magnifying headpiece and noticed Shiro and Saber weren't leaving.
"Uh, did you volunteer to help here as well? You don't have a job?" she asked.
"Well, Raiga Fujimura takes care of all my living expenses, so I really just can do what I please it seems. I tend to do repairs for people when they need it" he replied as he scratched the tip of his nose.
"Oh, wow, that's really nice. I had no idea you were set for life it seems." Abigaile felt a bit awkward. She was working to show she didn't need to rely on her parents for support. She figured being American was different from being Japanese.
"Lemme know if you need any help with anything! Oh, the others are here too" Shiro told her with a fist pump, and then looked in the distance. Multiple other cars pulled up, one looked like a modified tank turned SUV. As each one parked, the rest of the group got out, including Hercules from the SUV and Ilya. Rin and Archer walked forward and waved at Shiro.
"Did all of you volunteer?" Abigaile asked astonished.
"Well, I had to goad everyone to do the right thing-" Shiro started to say.
"You mean to say you kept pestering them until they gave in Shiro" Saber replied with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Oh come on it wasn't like that. If it helps our community, why not?" he told her.
"Well we haven't exactly found anything yet, so it's not exactly helping anyone. If we do find something, it could increase tourism in the area" Abigaile told him as she clipped her harness to an overhang pole above her assigned plot of land. Shiro felt a little odd that he was just standing there while she started to dig carefully through her section of dirt. Saber walked towards the side of the plot.
"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked.
"Oh? Uh, well, could you take these samples over to trailer two? I think I've already found a selection of jadeite slivers" she told the blonde haired woman. She nodded and carried the small package Abigaile had given her to the trailer as the hanging archaeologist thanked her. Shiro walked up.
"What's Jadeite?" he asked.
"Basically it's a form of Jade, with the hardness of Quartz" she told him as she continued to pick through her soil. Shiro's eyes went wide at the finding, but Abigaile didn't think anything of it.
"Wow! You found Jade? Isn't that a valuable find?" he asked.
"Not really, it's in such a small form and not the green stuff you're thinking of. Jadeite can come in many different colors, and it isn't uncommon to find fragments of gems in the soil at a dig site in one form or another. There have been accounts of diamond dust found at areas in Africa, but it's just uncared for due to it not being a whole gem. The value depreciates the smaller it gets, and considering these are just slivers picked from different spots and not the green variety, it's not really worth much beyond mentioning in a report" she explained.
"God damn it… we always get sent second hand equipment…" he suddenly heard in the distance as a group of guys were attempting to set up some computers in a tent. One seemed to be trying to get the screen to stop flickering.
"I'll uh, I'll be right back" Shiro told her, and she didn't even turn to see where he was going, just continued to dig through the dirt hanging in her harness. Saber came back and kneeled at the side of the plot each time she was finished and gained another package to take to any trailers nearby. Hercules was seen moving large boxes that should have been moved with a forklift. Archer just seemed to be sitting around while Rin seemed to be doing paperwork that didn't involve the expedition. More than likely she was just there because Shiro was, but she had her own job to do. Ilya was just following around random people and asking them questions.
The day went by fairly uneventfully as the other plots started to get wittled down a foot into the ground, and her plot did the same. They took breaks for lunch, and Sakura had brought food for the gang including Abigaile, who thanked her gratefully.
"Alright, let's set up the pellet gun" one man said nearby after Shiro had helped "fix" the computers in the tent. Three men including Eagorn sat a large tube object on a tripod onto the ground and looked around for the right spot.
"Gaile! Gaile!" Eagorn yelled out and waved at her with the rest of the gang. She got up from her lunch and walked a few feet.
"Yes sir?" she asked.
"How'd you like to be the first to thumper check?" he asked. She turned around and Ilya cheered for no other reason than Abigaile was first.
"Ok, sure" she replied. Eagorn nodded and helped the men pick up the machine, which was heavier than it looked, and moved it carefully onto her plot of land. They set it up and fired what seemed to be a bullet into the ground, sending a slight vibration under everyone's feet.
"Alright, wave detection is being looked over, let's go check on the rest of the plots" he told them. They picked up the machine, and just as they were moving it, a man from the tent ran over. Abigaile picked up her things and watched as Eagorn moved the machine to each plot, checking the underground surroundings with a form of sonar. The data collected wouldn't prove if there was anything until later.
As the day wore on, the site was closed off and everyone started to get picked up by their volunteer hosts, excluding Abigaile who was working alongside him. He kept himself busy by moving equipment around from one place to another or repairing damaged equipment for expedition members. Saber seemed to be in high demand as she continued to bring samples to the trailers as well as help with cleaning of smaller artifact pieces found near the top layer in the other plots.
"Ready to go?" Shiro asked Abigaile as she sat down with a bottle of water.
"Yeah, that harness really digs into your skin. Gonna wear a sweatshirt tomorrow for added padding" she told him as she took a gulp of the liquid.
"Ouch, are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little sore that's all" she replied as she got up. The others got into their cars and drove away, as Rin went with Archer back to her home, and Ilya and Hercules went to Shiro's. Despite the fact she had her own home to live in, her maids would have kept her locked up, and so she decided she would never go back.
As they reached the house and walked in, with Shiro opening the door for the ladies, Abigaile nearly forgot to take her shoes off in the front of the house.
"So did you find anything exciting?" Shiro asked her.
"Not really. Just the Jadeite fragments. Eventually we'll do a core sample of the area, and I can date each layer with Archaeomagnetic testing. That won't come until much later though" she told him. He nodded as they went to the kitchen and he started to cook. He turned on the tv for her to watch, however most of the channels were in Japanese so it was a little difficult for her to follow some of the news reporter's fast speech. Ilya came in and jumped on Abigaile's lap.
"I had fun today!" she said excitedly and with a large grin on her face.
"Ooph!" Abigaile grunted as the girl landed on her thighs.
"Ilya! You should not jump on people like that! Did you take into consideration that Ms. Henderson does not want you to do that?" Saber scolded her.
"Oh? Would it hurt her?" the young girl asked and looked at Abigaile.
"Well, not really, but-" Abigaile started.
"Then it's fine Saber, see? Hehe!" Ilya said and threw her arms around Abigaile's neck.
"Ack! Ugh…" the woman squeaked out as Ilya somewhat shook her in a friendly manner.
"Hold on there!" Taiga snapped with a hand in a stop motion at the door to the kitchen, with Sakura right next to her. Ilya looked at her as Abigaile stopped being semi strangled.
"Get your hands off that lady! Don't you have any manners? Move!" Taiga said as she chased Ilya away from Abigaile.
"Uh, thank-" Abigaile started to say.
"So I found out you had an interesting treasure find eh? Jade? You wouldn't per chance have any of it would you? For a friend?" Taiga said as she zipped back to Abigaile with a catty grin on her face.
"No I don't, they were only fragments and they're being dated" she replied as the teacher's face was mere inches away from hers. Saber interrupted with a cough.
"You're invading my personal space as much as Ilya was…" Abigaile told her, but Taiga didn't seem to notice her speaking as she started to talk about the beauty of Jade and wearing it to the school and all the male teachers looking at her.
"I don't think she's listening" Saber told her.
"I can see that. Hopefully she'll wander off into another room and not listen in there" Abigaile said. Sure enough, Taiga was talking to herself and dancing around the table, away from everyone else, lost in her own little dream.
"… anyways…" Abigaile said as she looked at Shiro. He finished cooking and placed it on the table for everyone to help themselves. He looked a little nervous as Hercules looked as if he could eat the whole thing. The rest of the night was relatively calm as Abigaile was exhausted and retired early.
[The Next Day]
Abigaile woke up under her covers and realized something was grasping her body.
"Oh no… who knows what that thing is!" she gulped and bolted out of the bed. She knew they practiced magic in the house, and Rin could have miscast and summoned something… or Shiro could have. She grabbed a nearby aluminum plot placement tube and started to beat the bulge that was still under the covers.
"Owie! Owie! Owie!" the bulge said in a feminine voice as it kept moving up and down the length of the bed, attempting to keep away from any form of attack as Abigaile literally played Whack a Mole. A head popped out from under the covers. Ilya. Abigaile looked at her oddly as she tried to figure out just why the child had all of her limbs wrapped around her, under her covers and sleeping in her bed in the first place.
"Why are you hitting me?" Ilya asked.
"Why are you in my bed?" Abigaile responded with her own line of questioning. Saber knocked on the door of her room.
"Enter" the archaeologist yelped out as she still held the aluminum casing in both hands, ready to give Ilya a what for. Saber looked between the two and sighed. Abigaile could almost see the sweat drop appear on her forehead.
"Ilya, you know it's not right for a lady to sleep in other's beds. You have your own" Saber replied calmly. Apparently it had happened in the past on many occasions, and Saber was by now either used to it or all efforts to stop her were fruitless, so she didn't waste any energy on reprimanding the young girl.
"But it's comfortable sleeping next to her! She's like a big pillow with all that-" Ilya started to say just as Abigaile put on a look of death itself, waiting for her to finish the sentence.
"I'll sleep in my own bed then bye!" Ilya hastly said as she bolted from the room and down the hallway.
"Breakfast is ready if you are hungry Ms. Henderson" Saber told her.
"Call me Gaile. Being called Ms. Henderson, or even Abigaile… it feels weird…" Abigaile replied.
"Alright then, Gaile" Saber said after, letting the name roll off her tongue.
"What time is it?" the chunky half asleep archaeologist asked.
"Half past seven" Saber answered.
"Ah. Thanks" Abigaile said in response, rubbing her left eye and trying to wake up a bit more. Saber bowed and left, closing the door behind her. Abigaile grabbed her toiletries and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, and again opened the door without knocking. What she found wasn't like last time. There, standing with his back to her, was Hercules, looking between two different shirts and debating, and nothing else worn. She got a full view of his butt, however immediately closed the door and shot down the hallway. The door bolted open again with Hercules shooting his head out, looking in both directions as Abigaile plastered herself against the corner, out of eyesight. She then began to inch herself quickly sideways down the hallway as the door closed again with a grunt.
[Two hours later]
Abigaile was already in her harness, this time with a sweat shirt as she moved among the areas of her plot that she hadn't checked out yet. Shiro was kept busy with maintaining any broken equipment, and became highly prized during the short time he had been helping around the dig site. Saber continued to take soil samples and any found artifacts or bones to the trailers. At one point two expedition members started to play sword fight with containers, and Saber had walked by at that moment. One of them had tried to twirl, and would have hit her in the head had she not blocked and rolled with the attack, a true swordswoman even while helping with excavation. The expedition member was in such awe at her movement that he didn't realize the aluminum casing wasn't in his hands anymore…
"Hey! Hey Gaile!" Eagorn yelled out as he ran from a trailer. Abigaile looked up from her plot and moved herself to the side, and then stood up. As she undid the straps and buckles, Eagorn nearly shoved a paper in her face.
"We found something" he told her. She backed up a bit as she tried to read just what he had mashed into her nose, and recognized the scan they had taken the other day. The date, the time, everything. What she saw was odd. There was a sphere underground, taking up the entire area of her plot, though it was ten feet underground. It wasn't huge, maybe the size of a small car, but it was definitely something beyond Jadeite fragments.
"Already our second day and we've found something this big? Wow!" Abigaile said as she puzzled over the scribbles on the side of the print out.
"Of course! We're going to take a core sample quickly, and then I would hope that you would continue to work your way down to the sphere. Perhaps your host might help with that?" Eagorn told her as he seemed incredibly excited.
"Uh, well, he seems more technically inclined, but I could always ask" she replied as she looked at Shiro. He looked up, almost knowing she was staring at him. He got up and walked over.
"Hey Shiro!" Abigaile yelled out and waved for him to come over. Saber was just leaving a trailer and watched him walk over to the woman.
"Apparently they found a car under my land fill" Abigaile joked. Eagorn laughed, but Shiro was a little confused.
"This place is a land fill?" He asked. Abigaile sighed.
"No, that was a joke. Most dig sites are effectively land fills of the past, with old discarded tools and objects" Eagorn told him.
"Even cities?" Shiro asked.
"What do you think Rome became? Most towns and cities are rubble now due to people abandoning the buildings and heading to places with better amenities or leaving their homes due to some event" Eagorn told him.
"Well, that's a very basic way of saying it, but yeah, that's what happens in a nutshell" Abigaile added her voice to the conversation.
"Anyways, I was wondering if I could ask for your help to dig around the edges of my plot while I work the middle ground?" she asked. He gave her a thumbs up.
"Sure! I'd be happy to help!" he said with a cheerful grin.
"That's the spirit! Now, let me go check on the other scan reports and I'll see you two later" Professor Eagorn said as he nodded to both of them and walked away.
"Well, where do I start?" Shiro asked as he grabbed a hand shovel and brush. Abigaile giggled and pushed her glasses up her nose.
"First of all, you don't usually use the shovel after the first two feet of land is gone unless you're positive there is nothing that you can damage by digging up large amounts of dirt, and second, get more brushes. Here, take my spare pack" she told him as she unbelted the pack from her left side and handed it to him. Inside was an assortment of painting brushes, sponges, a small bottle of water with a spritz nozzle, as well as some small empty jars.
"Gotcha. I guess I have a lot to learn about this" he chuckled as he scratched his head.
"Well this isn't exactly your profession, so I would expect you to not really know much about this. Don't worry, You're just working on the outter layer, not the inside where… uh… well…" she scratched the back of her head trying to find the right words to tell him that he wouldn't find much at the edge of her plot. The scans were pretty clear that the sphere was buried deep, however the middle was where there were other items that had odd angles, and very little along the edge beyond more Jadeite fragments.
"-Where most of the artifacts will be found? Don't worry, you're in the spot light on this, I'm just happy to help" he told her. She nodded. Her name wasn't going to be hailed for the potential find of a lifetime, however, as Professor Eagorn was leading the entire expedition. She was just one piece to the puzzle, but the puzzle was named after him. She only hoped she'd get some credit or mention, potentially improving her reputation and ultimately her career. She didn't want to go back to her parent's home.
Abigaile got her harness buckled back up as Shiro started brushing away at the sides of her plot, and helped her maneuver back into the middle. Lunch came quickly as they both worked, and Saber continued to take samples from her and other plots. Hercules actually came by a few times and carried away excess dirt that was sifted through, nearly scaring the life out of Abigaile as she was helpless hanging from her harness. She doubted in her physical condition that she would get very far even if she wasn't dangling from the horizontal pendulum pole.
Saber had finished with her last transfer of samples found at other plots when she noticed someone odd moving among the expedition members that she hadn't seen before. He seemed to be wearing a hoodie pulled over his head, and he was bald from what she could see. He had tattoos running along his black hands and his dark cheeks, and he seemed to be trying to evade everyone, or wasn't being paid any attention to. It was odd for her, as he seemed to weave through everyone as if he wasn't really there. She followed him carefully as he went behind a trailer, and as she turned the corner, he wasn't there. She looked under the trailer and then around the other side. He had disappeared into thin air.
"Saber?" Shiro asked from nearby the plot as Abigaile got her harness on again. Saber came out a bit confused at what had just happened.
"Everything alright? You didn't eat lunch with the rest of us" Shiro asked. Saber didn't speak at first, constantly looking behind her as she scanned the area as if for a hostile ambush.
"It was nothing, I apologize, I was preoccupied" she told him as she looked back at him. He smiled, holding out his hand. Despite them being in love, they rarely touched, and it was even rarer for them to kiss. In all the years they had been together, they were just getting into the hang of holding hands.
"1950s much?" Abigaile giggled. Shiro pulled his hand away as did Saber as they both blushed and looked in another direction.
"Hey, I'm American remember? You know, like from the country that has people start making out in public? That was nothing" she told them as she walked away, another giggle escaping from her lips. Shiro and Saber still felt awkward.
The day was almost at an end as Abigaile had gotten another two feet of dirt gone with Shiro's help, and had found a few odds and ends that were still valuable, but not quite as valuable as the sphere much further below. As everyone packed up and got ready to leave, Saber again saw the same hooded man heading towards one of the trailers. She followed him as he entered, and just as she opened the door, caught him red handed holding a core sample, Abigaile's plot core sample, as well as paperwork involving the scan about the sphere.
"Hey!" she yelled as she believed he was trapped, with her frame still in the door looking at him. Apparently he wasn't. He already had the window open and slipped through it to Saber's amazement, as it was much too small for his frame. His body contorted easily as he slipped through and hit the ground running, heading away from the dig site. She flipped around and ran out of the trailer, giving chase at her normal speed just far enough away to keep the expedition members from seeing her use her heroic movement, and then started to jump quickly after the hooded man. She was gaining on him quickly, but suddenly he started to do the same moves as well.
Just as she was almost upon him, two shadowy forms leapt at her from the surroundings, coming out of nowhere. She blocked immediately, bringing her sword out and cleaving one of them in two. The shadow hissed away and disappeared as she turned to block another attack from the second shadowy fiend. She had no idea where it had come from, and didn't really care. It was hostile, and she was going to eliminate it before it could pose a danger to the dig site and the expedition members. Her armor formed around her as she prepared for battle. The shadow ran along the ground quickly, trying to flank her as she kept her eyes on it. Just as she tried to strike, it dodged left and tried to lunge.
Saber brought up the hilt of her sword and rammed it into the thing's stomach, knocking it to the ground and bringing her blade down on its head. The shadow hissed away, destroyed. She looked up at her surroundings. She was in a small meadow away from the dig site with a forest not very far away. There was no sign of the hooded man. She had lost him. Saber tried to search for a few more minutes, to no avail. She finally gave up and removed her armor and made her sword disappear before Shiro ran over a small hillock, panting. Abigaile was hot on his heels, though she was much slower and panting harder. She was definitely out of shape.
"Who was that guy?" Shiro asked as they looked at Saber.
"I don't know, but he took the core sample. I was not able to catch him" she replied as she looked back at the forest. Eagorn ran up with two others.
"Good thing you didn't try and fight him. No sense in any volunteers getting hurt. He could have been armed" Eagorn told them. Saber was going to interject she could take care of herself, however she looked at Abigaile who seemed ready to asked a question.
"What was he after?" Abigaile asked.
"He took the core sample and a copy of the scans you have involving your plot Gaile" Saber told her. Abigaile looked at Eagorn.
"So… why would he take stuff like that? This is an archaeological dig site. You'd think he'd try to steal dug up artifacts to sell on the black market" Abigaile commented. Professor Eagorn simply humphed and looked at the forest, and Saber caught a faint odd look in his eyes before it disappeared.
"Well, I think I'll make a few calls and see if I can't get some security in the area now, for everyone's protection" the Professor told them.
"That would be good" Abigaile replied as they walked back to the dig site and got ready to go home. As they drove back to Shiro's house, the woman couldn't get her mind off of why the man would steal information involving her plot.
"Saber?" Abigaile said. Saber looked at her as the spectacled woman looked behind her passenger seat.
"Yes?" Saber replied.
"He stole all the core samples right? I didn't bother to check in the trailer after, and I don't know what the others found out" she asked. Saber shook her head.
"No he did not, just yours. Something involving your plot of land means something to him, and…" Saber trailed off as Shiro parked the car.
"And?" Abigaile asked, trying to continue the conversation.
"Gaile, do you know everything involving the Holy Grail Wars? Do you know about Servants?" Saber asked her, narrowing her eyes and wondering if she did in fact have that knowledge.
"Yeah, though I found it hard to believe. I mean, well, I'm a normal human being, so it was difficult to wrap my head around the fact that you were Shiro's servant and all, and fighting with superhuman abilities? Though I did like the idea that you have Excalibur; I would love to see it sometime, eventually, if you would let me… without destroying the neighborhood of course…" Abigaile explained, a nervous chuckle escaping her mouth at the end as she talked.
"Another time perhaps" Saber told her. They walked into the house as the other cars pulled up. Rin walked briskly into the house, not saying a word to anyone as Archer sauntered into the living room and spread his body along the entire length of the couch. Rin went into the dojo and promptly slammed the door closed.
"What was that about?" Abigaile asked. Shiro couldn't answer. Sakura stopped by and started to cook for the entire crew as Rin stayed away from everyone for the next hour. Just as Sakura had finished cooking and set the table, Rin opened the door.
"Abigaile, you said we would test you involving your capability of being a Magus correct? I've set up the spells and the room" Rin told her. Abigaile looked between Saber and Shiro in confusion.
"Uh, wha, can it, well, can it wait until after dinner?" Abigaile asked.
"Yes, it can wait, as long as the room remains off limits to others. I don't want anyone removing important foci or inscriptions placed on the floor" Rin replied. Shiro sprayed tea from his mouth at the dinner table.
"You put inscriptions in the floor? As in you etched them into the floorboards?" he asked, worried that the runes and spells would be permanent.
"Of course I did. Don't worry, they will disappear after the test is complete. I did prepare in advance you know, I'm not a first year student of magic like some people" Rin snapped as she drank her tea without another word.
"Phew! For a minute there I thought… well, I don't know what I thought, but I'd rather not have the floor of the dojo be damaged. Splinters get into your socks if it happens, and I've had those… not fun…" Shiro chuckled. No one laughed at his attempt at casual conversation. Taiga had appeared right at that moment at the door, almost knowing that Sakura was cooking. As soon as Shiro opened the door, she pushed right by him with some odd excuse as to why she needed to be there and sat down at the table, as she attempted to battle Saber for the last dumpling.
"Age before youth!" Taiga snapped as Saber wouldn't let go of the dumping in her vice grip chopsticks.
"We are in agreement on that and yet you will not let go of the food!" Saber replied as she tried to pull the dumping away from Taiga.
"What? That means I'm older! That means I deserve it more!" Taiga responded as Abigaile just sat and watched.
"This will go on for some time. Considering the others are finished, how about we start that test?" Rin asked Abigaile.
"Huh? Oh, right now? Uh, hang on" she replied as she wolfed down her Udon Noodles and drank her tea. She found Japanese food to agree with her quite a bit, as well as the exercise she was getting at the dig site. In the past two days, she had noticed that her pants weren't quite fitting as tightly as before. She knew it would take many more days before there was a visual difference, but until then, she was content with how much healthier she felt inside.
The two women got up from the table and walked into the dojo, as Taiga attempted to grab at the dumping with her bare hands. Rider retired to the library to read quietly.
"Alright, sit right here in the middle of the runic circle" Rin said as she sat at another position. Abigaile complied and looked around. Candles were surrounding her, along with odd inscriptions.
"This won't hurt will it? I mean, seriously… it won't right?" Abigaile asked. Rin sighed.
"No it won't hurt at all, it's simply a test to see if there is any magic circuits flowing through you" Rin replied as she opened a book. Abigaile sat quietly for a moment as Rin read through her notes.
"Alright. Let's begin" Rin said as she started to chant in Gelman. She brought her hands up as she closed her eyes, the words flowing from her tongue like honey. There was a slight echo that softly came from her voice, as Abigaile simply sat there. Once she was finished, the circle started to glow.
"It's working" Rin said as she watched the spells take hold and analyze Abigaile. What she saw wasn't what Shiro had. There were no magical circuits, though there was a reaction from the circle itself, which meant there had to be magic in Abigaile's blood. The circle cast a blue glow, and suddenly flared around her. Rin was surprised by the reaction, as it almost acted similar to a summoning circle.
"That's odd. I can't detect any magic circuits in you at all, and yet the circle is reacting almost as if you're pouring prana into it at an alarming rate… far faster than I've ever seen…" Rin said as she examined her runic circles, checking and double checking the inscriptions.
"Uh, not quite proficient in magic, care to explain? I know about the Holy Grail Wars, not about what you guys exactly do" Abigaile responded.
"Magic circuits are what allows you to perform magic, and yet you have none. It could be detecting your bloodline. Did you have anyone in the past who might have been considered a witch? Wizard?" Rin asked.
"Uh, nope, ordinary family, just plain ordinary… sadly…" Abigaile told her, looking at the ground. There was nothing interesting that happened in her past or her family's history.
"Well, maybe… maybe it's something on your person. Take off your-" Rin was about to say clothes, but Abigaile stood up.
"So not happening" she replied, taller than Rin.
"Now Abigaile, this is to rule out anything on you that could be interfering with the test. For all we know it could be… the amulet you're wearing…" Rin trailed off as she stared at the amulet. Abigaile looked down at it and took it off her neck. She stared at it for a few seconds and came to a very real conclusion. No one else in the expedition was wearing a similar amulet.
"Ok, put it in the middle of the circle" Rin told her as she sat back down. Abigaile did as she was told and placed the artifact down and backed out of the circle. Rin chanted her words carefully again, making sure she got everything right. The amulet faintly glowed with the circles, but other than that there wasn't nearly as much of a light show as before… excluding the new glowing inscriptions creeping towards Abigaile.
"That's… incredible…" Rin whispered out as she watched the new symbols, curved in nature compared to the hard corners of the etchings in her circle move around Abigaile as she stood there watching.
"What the…" Abigaile said but couldn't finish as the amulet moved, flying straight towards her. It attempted to fall around her neck, however she moved at the last moment and it hit her on her forehead and dropped to the floor. The glow of all the inscriptions disappeared, as did the writing as the amulet fell right at her feet.
"What does that tell us? What was that?" Abigaile asked, clearly not in the know about what just happened. Rin quickly picked up one of her books and started reading though it, not answering her. Abigaile picked up the amulet and put it back over her neck almost instinctively. Somehow, a faint feeling had awoken inside her, though not quite as similar as Shiro with his magic circuits.
"I need some time to figure out what this means. We might do another test in the future, a different one" Rin said as she continued reading through her books.
"Does this mean the inscriptions are not on the floor anymore?" Shiro asked down the hall, overhearing Rin.
"Yes! It means they are no longer there as I told you!" Rin snapped as she looked annoyed.
"That's all I needed to know!" Shiro yelled back as Rin scoffed and started to write notes down. Abigaile sighed and walked out of the room, with no more knowledge about if she was magically inclined as before. What had happened to her? She had no idea beyond a glowing circle. Had Rin miscast a spell? Could she suddenly grow a third arm? The thought haunted her as she watched a bit of TV with the others before they retired to their rooms.
That night, Abigaile tossed and turned, with the same image appearing in her mind of bubbles, or what she thought were bubbles. They seemed to be in small clusters like suds, and one was faintly glowing. As it glowed stronger and stronger, a faint smaller bubble floated nearby, and she then noticed there were other smaller bubbles that were not connected to the other clusters. Just as the glowing cluster was no longer flickering on and off and was almost constantly bright, she could hear someone's voice in the distance…
"Gaile" she heard softly, and then it grew louder.
"Gaile! Ms. Henderson!" she heard and suddenly woke up. Saber was nearby.
"Huh? Wha?" She said groggily as she looked around, reaching for her glasses.
"You were speaking something in an unknown language. Shiro and I heard it while walking by your room. You were talking in your sleep" Saber explained. Abigaile sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"What was I saying?" she asked.
"I don't know, it sounded… odd" Saber told her and tried to repeat what she had said.
"Navajo? I was speaking Navajo and Cayuse?" she asked. Saber didn't know how to answer. Shiro shrugged.
"Oh Rin I knew I shouldn't have allowed you to do that test on me last night…" Abigaile groaned as she brought her hand up to her forehead. She had only been in Japan for three days and the new group of people she was staying with had already thrust her into brand new territory she had no experience in.
Unbeknownst to any of them, new inscriptions were slowly writing themselves inside the dojo, hidden from normal sight…