Author's Note: This idea was buried in my head for the last month while I was full of the cold, and I couldn't get rid of it, so...I got it on paper...so to speak. This'll be a one-shot, for the moment. I'll come back to it if and when I have the inspiration. Enjoy.
"Saber!" – Speech
'Praetor!' – Thoughts
"I command you!" – Command Seal Usage/Noble Phantasm Invocation
Chapter 1: Awakening to War Again
Unknown Location
My eyes felt heavy and so did the rest of my body. I couldn't move. I could only lie there and breathe. Not that my mind was any better; it was muzzy, slow and sluggish.
I couldn't remember anything. Who was I? Where was I? How did I get here? Why was I like this? When had I last been awake?
A voice intruded into my state of torpor. It was male, cold, emotionless and somehow mocking. Also familiar for some reason.
"Well now, isn't this a surprise? The pseudo-Master with no memories or reason to fight other than survival actually won the War." The voice sounded decidedly amused. "I am afraid that you cannot slumber anymore, Champion. You must awaken."
Awaken? I already am awake. I just can't move beyond breathing.
"Hmmm….ah, the loss of your Servants at the end of the C.C.C. Incident must have affected you worse than anticipated." The voice mused. "Let's see…ah, yes. This should resolve the problem."
A wave of cool energy flowed over my body, chasing away the lethargy that locked my limbs from my control. Simultaneously, a warm feeling entered my mind, burning away the ice that froze my thoughts. After a few moments, I experimentally tried to move my hand.
It worked!
Sitting up abruptly, I opened my eyes, blinking as the dull blue light around me stung my eyes until they adjusted. My mind was free again…I knew who I was now. I was Kishinami Hakuno. I had entered the Moon Cell Holy Grail War with no wish. I had had two Servants, Saber as my main Servant, and Caster as my Sub-Servant. I had fallen for them, as they had fallen for me, and had fought through the bloody war with them supporting me.
We had faced down Twice H. Pieceman and his monstrously powerful Servant Saver at the end of the Holy Grail War in order to survive. He had wanted me to wish for the perpetuation of war. It had been exceptionally tough to face him, as Saver's true identity was Siddhārtha Gautama, the Shakyamuni Buddha, the first one to achieve enlightenment and break away from Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation. With his Counter Hero Personal Skill and his two Noble Phantasms [Chakravartin: Turner of the Wheel] and [Amita Amitābha: Transmigration into One], not to mention his Master's skill at Code Casting, it had almost proved too much to defeat them, but together, Caster, Saber and I had managed to win.
Then…then had come the C.C.C. Incident. I had been cast to the Far Side of the Moon, somehow, and Saber and Caster had to save me again. We then entered the Sakura Labyrinth and fought all our enemies from the first war all over again, ending up fighting against Sesshouin Kiara and her Caster-Class Servant, Hans Christian Andersen.
Then…I couldn't remember. Nor, in fact, could I remember what happened after Saver was defeated. Just what was going on here?
"Ah, so you have truly awakened then?" the voice spoke from my left. I turned around and looked up, seeing a man with short brown hair and dull brown eyes looking down at me. He was dressed in the black clothes of a priest. More to the point, I knew this man.
"Father Kotomine?" I asked softly. My voice was quiet, soft and just about the most feminine part of me aside from my long brown hair. Anyway…Father Kotomine Kirei had been the NPC Guide during the Grail War and had been the Commissary Keeper that Masters had bought items from. I had also fought against him and his Servant Lancer towards the end of the C.C.C. Incident.
"Indeed." The NPC nodded at me. "Can you stand?"
Taking mental stock of my body, I judged that I could. Looking down though, I blinked as I saw that I was wearing a pure white dress, with a red and blue sash cinched at my waist and a red and blue wristband around my left wrist. Looking at the neckline of my dress showed that it also had red and blue lines around it, spaced out in alternate lines. I was also barefoot for some reason.
Standing up, somewhat shakily, I really looked around at my current location for the first time and my eyes widened. We were standing in the middle of the SE. RA .PH Core! NPC's weren't supposed to be here! I was going to be deleted!
"Have no fear; an exemption has been made for you, Kishinami Hakuno." Father Kotomine placated me with a slightly sadistic smirk as he easily read the panic on my face. "The Moon Cell would not bring you here in order to delete you when it could simply do so remotely."
I deadpanned at him for a moment. That…was not comforting in the slightest.
"You are the Victor of the Moon Cell Holy Grail War and the Conqueror of the Sakura Labyrinth." The NPC informed me seriously. "Both times, the SE. RA .PH locked down your connection to your Servants, meaning you had to fight and push every step of the way in order to triumph. For a weak Pseudo-Magus with no memories, this was…unexpected, to say the least.
"I am the NPC copy of a human girl in the real world who has Amnesia Syndrome." I informed him, somewhat indignantly. "That I have no memories is a given. What of it?"
"A dark time is coming for SE. RA .PH and the Moon Cell." Kotomine explained. "The original Holy Grail War you participated in was to find a person worthy of aiding it against this threat. That the victor was someone with no desire other than to live, no great wish, was an unexpected event for the SE. RA .PH, so you were tested again…"
"Wait…so BB? Caster and Saber's memories being locked away? Sesshouin Kiara? The entire Sakura Labyrinth? All of that was a test?!" I exclaimed in shock and disbelief.
"Just so." The priest said smoothly. "And now, the Moon Cell desires that you be tested a third and final time. Three times is the charm, or so people say. Observe."
With a gesture from him, a holographic globe appeared before us. It resembled the moon in shape and form, what with all the craters. What was different about it was that it was covered in different type of terrain; plains, forests, deserts, mountains, seas, islands, archipelagos, wastelands…and cities.
"This is a Reality Marble World that the SE. RA .PH created for this test." The NPC stated calmly. "A name to call it…refer to it simply as [Luna Secundus: World of Trials] and that will be sufficient. Unlike in the two preceding Wars you have fought in, you will not be fighting in a tournament-style combat situation; your goal is to conquer this land and make it your own. The one to conquer every territory shall be awarded…that."
Pointing at the centre of the SE. RA .PH Core, he indicated I should look. Following the direction of the man's hand, I espied…a ring. It was a simple band with a colourless gem affixed to it, but…it radiated power unlike any kind of [Formal Wear] I had worn in either of the Wars. It was stronger than a Mystic Code for certain, so….
"A Noble Phantasm?" I asked with a discrete gulp.
"A good guess, but no." Kotomine denied. "That, my dear Champion, is the {Regalia}. Ownership of it grants Administrator access to the Moon Cell Automation Computer itself. The Master who wins this War will be the Ruler of the SE. RA .PH, alongside their Servant. A most worthy prize, no?"
I swallowed audibly this time. What could possibly make the SE. RA .PH offer this as a prize? What could force it to do this? "It is." I said quietly. "Although I have to wonder what could possibly compel the SE. RA .PH to offer such a thing as a prize."
"Hoooh…so you are not as blind as you make yourself out to be." The NPC smirked again. "I'm afraid that is something you will only find out should you emerge victorious. Now, I must ask whether you will take part in the war. Nothing more can be said of the War until you say yes or no."
"What will happen to me if I say no? Will you delete me?" I asked with slightly narrowed eyes. I did not trust this situation. It was so suspicious that I could almost feel Caster and Saber collectively glaring at Father Kotomine.
"Yes." He confirmed bluntly. "Other masters would merely be sent back to their bodies, but as you were originally an NPC, you will be deleted."
Knew it.
"Fine. I accept. I, Kishinami Hakuno, declare my intent to take part in this Third Moon Cell Holy Grail War." I said irritably. I didn't normally get irritated, but this situation was not one to my blackmailed into accepting was a low blow.
Kotomine bowed to me. "The SE. RA .PH thanks you for agreeing. I will now give you the rules of the War."
"It had better be good." I crossed my arms. "Even with both Caster and Saber, I couldn't hope to conquer an entire moon."
"Ah, but that is the interesting part." The priest smirked yet again. "You are simply one part of the equation. You recall the name given to your unique dual Servant Summoning, correct?"
"The Unique [Twin Empresses] Class." I answered with a nod.
"Well, this is what the war roughly is. You choose a location on this globe to start in and a city is raised there." A hand was waved negligently at the map globe. "The first Servants summoned will have the title [Sovereign] added to their class, so yours would be [Twin Sovereign Empresses]. They act as the keystone of the country, with you acting as something similar to a First Minister or a Representative. Of course, as the Master, you will be the one in control, but it is better to protect your Sovereign Servant, otherwise your country will fall apart."
"Do tell how I'm supposed to conquer anything with my Servants being practically my country made manifest?" I asked sarcastically.
"But of course." Kotomine bowed. "You get to summon other Servants. Each Master in this war gets to summon a single Servant from each of the standard Classes in addition to their Sovereign Servant to act as generals, advisors and warriors. Additionally, you can create armies of programs…such as this."
With another wave of his hand, a figure appeared beside him. It was black, with glowing white lines running across it in places. It actually resembled a more advanced version of the Effigy that all Masters were given during the trial before the first Moon Cell Holy Grail War. This one was equipped with a short sword and shield. I wished I had some of my [Formal Wear] on me so I could look at its stats. Not for the first time, I cursed my status as a mere Pseudo-Magus.
"This is the…I suppose you could call it a template form of the Attack Programs." Kotomine explained. "Its Parameters are all at E- and it possesses no Noble Phantasms, Class Skills or Personal Skills. Even you would be able to defeat it in one-on-one combat if you had a weapon. The greatest utility of this Program is that it is easy to manufacture and takes very little time to create."
My head was spinning with all of this information. I didn't know what to focus on. This was beyond anything I had done before.
"Now, please select where you wish your starting point to be." Kotomine nodded at the globe. That woke me up.
"I have no clue." I protested instantly. "For all I know, the ability to make soldiers is dependent on a daily income of data that the city's location affects!"
A surprised eyebrow rose up on the man's head. "You are entirely correct. The location of a city and its area of influence affect the number of Data Points, or DP, that its owner has access to each day. The richer and more defensible the area, the more DP you gather each day."
"Is there any way to tell that on this globe?" I asked.
The priest poked and prodded it for a moment and then nodded. "Done."
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I advanced to the globe. A little flag appeared hovering next to the globe, bearing a red rose and a cherry blossom next to each other. Saber and Caster's symbols, I presumed.
"Plant that small flag on the location you choose and a city will rise there." Kotomine informed me. Nodding, I turned back to the globe. There were six flags already flying on it; so presumably, other masters had been summoned before me. Speaking of which…
"How many Masters are in this 'game' that I'm in?" I asked him.
"You are the last to be summoned." The NPC Priest answered.
Well. That was certainly different from the other two wars I'd been in. The First had had 128 participants, although I had only fought seven of them in the War itself, as I didn't count Twice H. Pieceman and Saver as a part of the War. Sakura Labyrinth had me and my Servants fighting at least twelve times against other Servants, including BB and her Alter Ego-Class High Servants.
Looking at the globe, I frowned as I noticed that all of the flags were blank. When questioned, Kotomine informed me that until I or my forces encountered them, I would not know who the other masters were. The same applied to them about other masters, including me.
I also noticed that four of the other masters were clustered on the same 'continent', albeit spaced far enough away from each other to not encounter each other for quite some time. That seemed like a bad idea to me. The only two flags away from that continent were on opposite sides of another large continent a third of the way around the moon. These two were either enemies or allies and I didn't know which of those was a worse outcome of the two.
I needed to be away from the melee of the four and the possible ganging up of the other two, so…ah, there was an archipelago leading up to a small continent that was roughly equally distant from both larger continents. This left me with a question, however.
"I take it you can make Attack Programs look like ships?" I queried.
"Naturally." Kotomine said in an 'obviously!' tone of voice.
OK, that meant that I had to set up as a coastal city. All of the other Masters had cities in the middle of deserts, up on mountains and in the middle of great plains. If I could build up a decisive edge in naval warfare, I could offset a bit of the size advantage any of the other Masters. Good thing I had talked with Saber about the times she had talked with her generals when she had been Empress of Rome.
Scanning the coast of the small continent, I saw that each possible location for a city had several Parameters; Data Output, Defensibility, Blessing and Special Characteristics. All of them were, similar to a Servant's parameters, ranked between E and EX. Not all locations had Special Characteristics, but those that did generally had higher Parameters than the rest, so I focussed on those.
Finally I found the right place. It was an area of the coast that had an exceptionally large natural harbour and also had a small mountain range to its north with only a small pass for troops. Additionally, it had a river to the south. A highly defensible location, I would say. Let's see the stats to confirm it though…
Data Output: A-
Defensibility: A
Blessing: B+
Special Characteristics: EX
Oh yes. This was perfect.
I plucked the flag out of the air and planted it firmly in the centre of the circle that I presumed that the city would encompass. It started to glow a golden yellow for a moment before fading.
"An excellent choice." The NPC hovering nearby said faux-unctuously. "Now, allow me to conduct you to your throne room."
Another wave of his hand opened up a black rectangle in space that looked suitably ominous. It was pure black and seemed to draw light into itself. But that lasted only a moment before resolving into a room made of stone. I let Kotomine lead the way through before padding after him. I also made a note to get some footwear, as stone that had only just materialised was apparently somewhat cold.
The room I entered was circular and was about the same length and breadth of the Archery Range at the Tsukumihara Academy Reality marble that the First Moon Cell War had taken place in, but it was about four times as high. In the centre was a single plain white throne, just big enough for someone my size, resting atop a dais. There were four doors at the northern, southern, eastern and western points of the room, showing that the room was atop a building of some sort.
"This is your throne room, the centre of your power as a Master." The NPC priest informed me. "Once you take your seat on the throne proper, your Sovereign Servants will be automatically summoned before you and you can then commence the summoning of the secondary Servants."
I eyed the seat in question. It was, as I mentioned previously, perfectly suited to someone of my size and seemed to be carved from a single piece of marble. It had a tall back and a pair of armrests on it as well. The only thing that could be called ornamentation on it was the little crown carved in the headrest just above where her head would be once she sat down. Carved on either side of the crown was a pair of roses and cherry blossoms.
"Well…here goes nothing." I muttered and strode over to the throne, wincing at the temperature of the cool marble under my bare feet. Why was I barefoot again?
Turning around and tucking my dress properly, I took a seat on my throne for the first time.
Instantly, white light gushed out from the slight dais that the throne sat on, rushing out of the doors and out of my sight. At the same time, a pair of red magic circles formed in front of the dais itself and positively blazed with light for a moment before the one on my right unleashed a cloud of red rose petals and the one on my left unleashed a cloud of pink cherry blossom petals. In the midst of the blizzard of flowers, two familiar forms appeared.
One was a medium-height blond-haired woman wearing a red dress. Her bust was prominent and the front portion of her dress' skirt revealed her panties to all who looked. Clasped in one hand was a large red and black greatsword that greatly resembled a flickering flame.
The other figure was of similar height and was clad in a blue kimono tied with a long black obi, with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders down to the elbows to reveal slender arms. The chest portion was also missing a bit from a traditional kimono, revealing quite a bit of décolletage. The most drawing features of this person though was the pair of pointed ears poking out of her pink hair, as well as the long and bushy tail emerging from above her derrière.
These were the two Servants who had stood by me through thick and thin, against Servants, mad scientists, insane Goddess fangirls and everything else that the Moon Cell Holy Grail War and Sakura Labyrinth could throw at us. These were the women that had captured my heart.
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the Fifth Emperor of Ancient Rome, and the Heroic Spirit of the Sword, Saber.
Tamamo-no-Mae, Bunrei of Amaterasu-ōmikami, and the Heroic Spirit of Spells and Sorcery, Caster.
My Servants.
Two pairs of eyes, one yellow agate and the other emerald green, blinked in confusion before they locked onto me and widened in disbelief.
"Praetor?!"
"Wife?!"
"Saber…Caster…!" I choked out, uncaring that I was crying in front of Father Kotomine. "I missed you both…so much…!"
I hurled myself out of my seat and tackled them into a hug, one arm around each, burying my head onto their shoulders. Thank god, they still had their memories. They hadn't forgotten about me. I would interrogate Kotomine as to the hows and whys of this later, but for now, it was good enough to hold them again.
Exchanging bewildered looks with each other, Saber and Caster carefully embraced me as well. Saber was extra gentle, stroking my hair soothingly as I cried, while Caster cooed softly in my ear, reassuring me that they were here and that everything was going to be fine.
After a few minutes of this, I drew back, embarrassed from my lack of control. "S-Sorry…"
"Nay, Praetor. Do not be ashamed." Saber kept one hand on me reassuringly. "It seems we have much to discuss…such as where we are and how it is we are still here despite the fact the SE. RA .PH should have deleted us both."
"Mou, Saber." Caster pouted. "Our Master is clearly in no shape for such heavy talk! We should do something fun to get her spirits up. We're alive and with our Master; what else needs to be said?"
"A lot, unfortunately Tamamo." I answered as I wiped my eyes dry. "We have another Holy Grail War to win, and the stakes are higher than ever."
It took me a short time to run through the basics for them: why they were there, what the new Holy Grail War was about and exactly why I had accepted, as well as a little on the location of the other Masters in comparison to us.
It was the third point that made Caster glare at Kotomine and growl at him like a fox. "You dared to threaten Tamamo's wife?!"
Saber wasn't far behind her fellow Servant, her hand tightening on Aestus Estus. "Indeed, priest. You overstep yourself, daring to entrap the one who holds the heart of Nero."
"My apologies." Kotomine bowed deeply. "I am simply an agent of the will of the SE. RA .PH. The rules are ironclad and I could make no deviations in what I could offer to your Master, much as I would have liked to."
That statement could be taken in so many ways, not all of them pleasant. I decided to ignore it in order to calm down my Servants. "Caster, Saber, it's fine. Even if he hadn't delivered his ultimatum, I probably would have joined the War in order to have the chance to see you both again."
That made both of my proud, noble Servants blush very prettily, especially Saber. She was very weak to sincere compliments and loving words, probably due to the lack of them as she was growing up under Agrippina. If I ever had the chance to punish that bitch of a mother of hers…
"Ahem!" Saber coughed, her face a lovely shade of pink. "A-Anyway Praetor, now that we are in this war, I must compliment you for the strategic moves you have made. We are well away from the general melee and can build up our strength at leisure. Sadly, Rome was no naval power, so what little I know of such things is limited to coastal battles."
"Tamamo isn't knowledgeable of such things either." Caster admitted. "But I shall give my all to support you, darling!"
"Umu! I as well." Saber agreed.
This made me smile. Despite the fact they could fight like cats and dogs at times, the one thing that they agreed on was that I was more important than their squabbles. A not-so-subtle cough drew our attention to Kotomine, who looked bored.
"I do hate to break up the happy reunion." He said insincerely, "But there is the matter of the other seven Servants you must summon."
"Ah yes. That." Caster didn't sound terribly enthused with the notion. "This Tamamo, after being so terribly loyal and cute for her Master, not to mention understanding enough to share her with Saber, must now share her Master with even more Servants?"
"Caster, as strong as the two of you are, we can't conquer a moon with only the two of you." I reminded her, "Besides, you are both my Sovereign Servants. My life literally rests in your hands, while it won't with the others."
"So that rule is still in effect? Our defeat will not only destroy our Master's kingdom, but her as well?" Saber asked Kotomine sharply.
"Indeed. Even if it is by poisoning outside of battle, you will still doom her to death should you fall." The NPC confirmed. "You both recall the main weakness of the [Twin Empresses] class, I take it?"
Saber and Caster both nodded grimly. [Twin Empresses] allowed me to have both Caster and Saber as my Servants, counting as one for the purpose of SE. RA .PH's monitoring systems, but that was a double edged sword. If one of them fell, both would fall. And if both of them fell, I would fall with them.
"So these new Servants are absolutely necessary to protect our master." Caster relented, her ears drooping. "Muuuu….!"
I gently grabbed her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. Ah, there we go. Her ears stood up again.
"So what is involved in summoning these Servants?" I asked as I returned to sit on my throne, Caster and Saber flanking me, while Kotomine strode around to stand several paces away from the dais.
"It is basically a pair of [Formal Wear] that allow you to cast a single Code Cast apiece." The NPC explained concisely. "You cast them like normal, but with a chant to go along with them. They can be altered by the Master to either purposefully call a specific Heroic Spirit in the case of the first, or to exclude any number of Heroic Spirits in the case of the second. Each has limited usages. The first may only be cast three times, while the second may only be cast four times."
"Umu. A good explanation." Saber admitted begrudgingly. "I can think of several Casters I would wish to exclude. Agrippina for one."
She steadfastly refused to dignify the woman who had poisoned her with the honour of the term 'mother', as was only right.
"That meanie Abe no Seimei too." Caster agreed. "He'd take one look at Tamamo and try to seal her away under a new Sesshō-seki."
"Consider it done." I assured them. I was going to exclude Hans Christian Anderson and Nursery Rhyme from that particular class myself. Lu Bu would be excluded from the Berserker Class, hell, all classes. No way did I want that nut job around me. Vlad the Impaler would get the boot from Lancer and Berserker, ditto for Elizabeth Báthory. Those two were nuts as well.
Why did I run into so many insane Servants in my time as a Master?
Kotomine pulled a pair of half-moon spectacles from inside his robes, along with a monocle. "The monocle is for Servant Selection, while the eyeglasses are for Servant Exclusion." he told me. "Bear in mind you can only use them one at a time, but, if you wish, the Servant Exclusion Code Cast can summon all four of them at once."
"Priest. What if a Servant refuses to bend knee, metaphorically speaking, to my Praetor?" Saber demanded.
"If a Servant is that incompatible, then it shall be dismissed and another one summoned automatically." The NPC answered. "That shouldn't happen, however. Without Catalysts being used, the Servants summoned will be the most compatible ones for your Master within the class…well, other than Saber and Caster, as the most compatible Servants within those classes are standing before me."
"Great, he just jinxed it." I grumbled. I just knew that one of them was going to go nuts or something now.
"So, which do we need to summon specific Servants for?" Saber asked, holding up the monocle in one delicate hand.
"Rider." I said immediately. "We need a Heroic Spirit to command our naval forces. I know at least one that fulfils that qualification."
"Sir Francis Drake." Caster nodded but then wrinkled her nose. "But will that loud, boisterous, greedy and unpleasant woman even work with us? We did defeat her before."
"Who else?" I riposted.
"Christopher Columbus." Saber suggested. "Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Blackbeard too."
"All of these people are Chaotic Evil in alignment." I groaned. Well, technically Mary Read was Chaotic Neutral, but still.
"Riders who use ships aren't very common." Saber shrugged, "We must work with what we have, Praetor."
"Then we should go with Drake, because we know how she ticks." I pointed out. "Money, booze and treasure. Give her enough of those and she'll follow orders, plus it'll power her up thanks to her Profligate Pillaging skill."
"It should be noted that Caster has poor compatibility with Rider." Kotomine noted. "Additionally, that skill will not be allocated to Drake should you summon her."
I scowled at the NPC. How vexing. That would have been one hell of a cheat. I took his point about Tamamo and Drake though. Drake was a hedonist who lived for the moment and cared not for tomorrow. Tamamo was a Divine Spirit, albeit degraded into a Servant, who thus represented eternity. It was only natural that they'd clash.
"Caster, can you try to not antagonise her?" I asked my 'wife' pleadingly. "I don't know what the Noble Phantasms of the others are-"
"[Queen Anne's Revenge: Revenge of the Queen Anne] for Blackbeard, [Santa Maria - Drop Anchor: Exploration of the New World] for Columbus and [Caribbean Free Bird: Wings Abreast As If Trees With Entwined Branches] for Anne and Mary." Kotomine supplied. "Those are the main ones anyway."
"So…you're telling us that for free?" I asked suspiciously after a moment of surprise.
"I am at your disposal when it comes to information on the Servants you wish to summon." The man replied. "I cannot give you information on Servants that have already been summoned, however."
"Very well then." Saber nodded. "What are the Rank and type of those Noble Phantasms?"
"Blackbeard's is C++ and Anti-Army, while Columbus' is A-Rank Anti-Army and Anne and Mary's is C++ and Anti-Unit." He answered.
"Muuu…Drake's is A+ and Anti-Army." Caster pouted. "Darn."
"Be good. For me?" I asked gently.
"No fair, Master." Her pout deepened. "Ohhhh…! OK! I'll ignore her!"
She flailed in place, looking like a child being told she has to go to the dentists. It was actually very cute.
With that said, I equipped the [Formal Wear] that had Servant Selection and started to write the Code Cast. Unlike all of the other Code Casts I had used up until this point, this one actually required me to say a chant along with it, just as Father Kotomine said. Odd, but there were stranger things.
Servant Class: Rider
Servant True Name: Sir Francis Drake
Do you wish to summon this Heroic Spirit?
Finishing the Cast, I felt words come to me and I extended my hand out as they spilled from my lips.
"Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill!
Be repeated five times, yet destroy each once filled!
Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let Photons and the Archduke of Contracts be the foundation.
Let the banner I fly be emblazoned with the red rose and cherry blossom.
Raise a wall to block the wind.
Close the four cardinal gates.
Let the three-forked road from the Crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate!"
As I chanted, a red circle of summoning the same as the ones that had summoned forth Caster and Saber came into being. With every line I spoke, more details appeared in the circle, more characters in Japanese and Sanskrit appeared around the inner circumference.
"I declare here and now.
My will and the SE. RA .PH shall create thy body,
And my fate, I leave with thy sword.
Abide by the beckoning of the Moon Cell.
If thou dost accede to its will and reason, then answer my call!
I do swear this oath.
I shall attain all the virtues of Heaven!
I shall rend asunder all the dominions of Hell!
From the Seventh Heaven,
Attended to by three great words of power,
Come forth from the ring of restraint,
Protector of the Guardian Scales!"
With a great flash of light, the circle exploded. When the light cleared, a familiar woman stood there, an arrogant smirk on her face. She wore white trousers (breeches, I suppose you'd have called them back in her day), black thigh-high boots and a crimson red captain's jacket that was only buttoned up to her solar plexus, showing off her large bust. Her long pink hair fluttered in the wake of the summoning and a large scar diagonally bisected her face from the top right of her forehead to the bottom left of her jaw.
"I am Servant Rider." She declared, her aqua eyes meeting mine confidently. "I ask, are you my Master?"
"I am, Rider." I nodded. "Do…you remember me?"
"Aye, the little mouse with two Servants." Francis Drake smirked. "I see you proved you were worthy of beating me twice, girl. You've grown strong. So, what shenanigans are you up to now, entering a third Holy Grail War?"
"I have my reasons, Rider." I informed her. "But the stage this war takes place on is grander than the previous two. The goal is to conquer this moon, and I need a Servant skilled in naval warfare. Who better than El Draque to lead that fleet?"
"Heeeeh…aren't you the interesting one." Rider nodded. "Well, it'll be good working with you, Master. Better than being beaten by you for a third time."
"Then our contract is complete." I said before I winced and hissed in pain as three Command Seals burned themselves onto my left hand. Yep, there they were; three black tattoos that granted me the ability to give three absolute orders to my Servants. So long as the Servant I ordered with the Command Seals followed the order, they would be granted power beyond what they could normally manage. I could even order them to break into an area locked down by the SE. RA .PH, such as the Colosseum.
"OK, that hurt." I commented, waving my hand absently before a thought occurred to me. "Father Kotomine, are these Command Seals the only ones I'll have?"
"No, you shall receive three for every Servant that you summon." He answered.
My eyes bugged out. "Twenty-one Command Seals?!"
"Perhaps even more." The NPC said with a mysterious smile. "I'll give you the full details once you summon all of your Servants."
Seeing that I would receive no answers from him about this until I summoned all of my Servants, I exchanged exasperated looks with my three Servants and we got to discussing who I should summon next, after giving Rider a brief explanation of the way the moon was set up and where the other Masters were.
"We should see about summoning another Saber, Praetor." Saber opined. "Having two of my class here would be a boon."
"I say Archer." Rider put in. "Someone good at reducing the enemy forces. We're going to be at a numerical disadvantage on land and sea. I can make up for the difference at sea with [Golden Hind] and my best Noble Phantasm, [Hunt of the Golden Hind: Golden Stag and the Eventide Tempest], but I can't be everywhere. Archers are tricky and can be devastating if used right."
I looked up at the sky in pleading thought. "Father Kotomine, can you tell me what the Noble Phantasm of Robin Hood is?"
"There are many with such a name, but the one I suspect you are asking about...that would be [Yew Bow: The Holy Bow of Supplication] and [No Face May King: Faceless King]." Kotomine answered. "Although I'm certain you are aware of that."
"I was just confirming that he was still available." I sighed.
"Praetor, you cannot be thinking of summoning him!" Saber objects heatedly. "He poisoned you! He almost killed you dishonourably!"
"That's what Robin Hood is, Saber." I sighed. "A combat pragmatist. And if I'm remembering his Personal Skills correctly, he has an A-Rank in Subversive Activities. We need that on our side, Saber."
"Master…!" Tamamo whined. She didn't like Archer that much either because her he had hunted her Master (me) like an animal and that had brought up bad memories for her.
"Last time, I promise." I said, earning pouts from both Saber and Caster. I started entering data again.
Servant Class: Archer
Servant True Name: Robin Hood
Do you wish to summon this Heroic Spirit?
Satisfied, I started to chant again. The process went smoothly and within no time, Archer stood at the edge of the dais. His messy orange hair was as dishevelled as I remember it being. His Lincoln green cloak, the manifestation of his [Faceless King] Noble Phantasm, fluttered in the breeze and the crossbow mounted on his right arm was held pointed down at the floor.
"I am Servant Archer. I ask you, are you my Master?" the Green Man said dully. "Ah, you again. Seriously, this makes three times."
"Yes I am and yes, it has been." I agreed. "This time you're on my side though."
"Welcome to the club, kid." Rider smirked.
"Lovely." Archer muttered, eying Rider, Saber and Caster. "So what's this shindig about anyway? Last I checked, you were only supposed to have one Servant per Master…or two in your case."
"Actually, how am I maintaining Saber, Caster, Rider and Archer?" I asked Kotomine. "I don't feel any draw on my mana and I don't think the SE. RA .PH is maintaining them either."
"The city is maintaining them." Kotomine answered. "As long as you have at least one city, they will cover the costs of your Servants' mana. The more cities you have, the easier it is to maintain your servants and build an army."
Well that was useful to know. I had to presume that once all seven Servants were summoned, my city would have basically no mana left over. Just perfect.
I moved on to give Archer the basic download about the world we were in and what I hoped to accomplish in it and he agreed, somewhat dubiously, to fight alongside me. I promptly felt the pain of three more Command Seals burning themselves onto my arm, this one taking the form of three arrow-like stripes around my wrist.
"Okay, so…which Class do we use the last charge of the specific summonings [Formal Wear] for?" I asked as I rubbed the magic seals around my wrist.
"Well, Saber isn't going to be a problem, as long as you don't summon as stuck up git like one of the Round Table." Rider opined.
Archer nodded. "Yeah, their fixation on honour and that kinda stuff cramps my style."
"Tamamo thinks Caster just needs to have a few Heroic Spirits removed from selection to be useful." The fox-like beastwoman said as she flicked her ears.
"What about Berserker?" I asked. "I'm removing Lu Bu from consideration on that one. Any others?"
"Yeah, Herakles." Rider said with a moue of distaste. "A Berserker version of him would be too hard for you to control."
Gulping, I nodded. Yeah, the Bastard of Zeus would be hard enough to control in the Archer Class, but he would be nigh unstoppable as a Berserker. Divinity was a pain in the ass as a skill…
"Ngg!?" I felt a burst of pain in my head as a flash of a man in golden armour came and went in my mind in an instant.
"Praetor?!"
"Master?!"
Caster and Saber yelped as I cradled my head. Ow…
"I…I'm OK." I managed to get out. "Just…just a headache."
"Considering you've summoned two powerful Heroic Spirits, it isn't exactly a surprise." Archer drawled. "Maybe you should give it a rest for a while. Even if you're just acting as an anchor for the ritual, the mental strain of performing them still gets to you."
Seeing the surprised look that Caster sent in his direction, Archer rolled his eyes. "I was a Druid's son in life." He reminded us. "And my former Master, Dan Blackmore, talked about summoning me. Said it was a strain just for a single Servant, so you must have been greatly strained with two at once, Master."
I blinked. "The only strain on me when I summoned Saber and Caster was that I was in the middle of being beaten down by one of those Effigy Pseudo-Servants."
Rider and Archer both scoffed at the mention of those things. I can understand why. Their stats were, very roughly, E to D- ranked, they had no Skills, Classes or Noble Phantasms and they were somewhat predictable in the manner in which they attacked. Any competent magus could hold their own against one, at least for a while.
I, being a Pseudo-Magus, hadn't had any Magecraft at that point. I had fought with my own Effigy as best as I could, but I had been overpowered and been seconds away from death when I had somehow miraculously summoned Saber and Caster.
"Anyway, the class that might be a problem is Assassin." I said with a shake of my head. "From what I remember hearing during the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, it's common to summon Hassan-i-Sabbah, but a lot of the other Heroic Spirits who can fall under the Assassin class are problematic and downright troublesome, like Cleopatra and Doctor Jekyll."
"Praetor, how did you…?" Saber looked surprised.
"I did a lot of reading in the Library back at Tsukumihara." I shrugged. "Matching possible legendary figures to classes was something I did as a sort of hobby. I would run them by Father Kotomine and he told me if they were right or wrong as long as they weren't already Servants in the war. Don't suppose this place has a library?"
"You can buy it as an upgrade to your palace." Kotomine informed me.
"Good to know. Now, is there anyone that you all would like to nominate as Assassin, or should we just roll the dice on that one?"
"Muu…Assassins are fairly easy to deal with if you force them into a direct confrontation." Caster said with her arms crossed. "I would personally try to select a Berserker that's easy to handle, preferably one with a low rank in Mad Enhancement."
"Do you have someone in mind?" Archer asked sceptically.
"One of my tails." Caster smirked and went on to explain that she had cut off eight of her nine tails after a millennium of training and attaining divinity, and that each of those tails was in turn a Burin of her, becoming Heroic Spirits that exemplified specific aspects of her personality. All had a part of Caster's divinity within them and, while the part of her that was a Berserker was embarrassing for her, she knew that her Master could control her.
"I feel a very high amount of foreboding here, Praetor." Saber opined. Clearly, she did not look forward to having two versions of Tamamo-no-Mae in the palace.
"And just what do you mean by that, Miss Saber?!"
And just like that, another one of their famous quarrels started up. I programmed the monocle as they did so and started the chant. This one was somewhat different, as it had an extra verse in between the penultimate and final verses.
"Yet, thou serve with thine eyes clouded in bestial chaos!
Thou, bound in the cage of madness, bound by chains on a leash!
I am she who commands those chains and grasps that leash!"
Once I finished the incantation, the circle blazed with light, revealing a girl who superficially looked similar to Caster. She was dressed in a kimono of a similar cut to Caster, albeit red rather than blue, and she had the pink hair and the fox-like ears and tail, but that was where the resemblances ended. Rather than the elegant geta that Caster strutted around in, Berserker instead either had actual oversized fox paws on the end of her legs or she was wearing oversized shoes that resembled fox paws. Her hands were also replaced with fox paws, although these were clearly the genuine article.
Also, around her neck was a red collar with a bell. What the heck?
"Nyaaaaa…" the figure of Berserker said as she looked around before sighting Caster. "Nya! YOU! Betrayer!"
"Caster?" I asked with a sigh. "Please tell me you didn't leave something out about Berserker here?"
"Tamamo…may have kinda-sorta…sealed them away?" Caster half stated, half asked bashfully.
I felt another headache coming on.
Standing up from my throne, I advanced on Berserker, who turned her head to face me like a turret locking onto a target. I raised one hand towards her.
"Mad Enhancement, deactivate!" I ordered, enforcing my will on the skill that derived my new Servant of her reason. It took about a quarter of my mana to do that, which left me gasping for a moment, but it was worth it. The blind rage and hostility that raged in Berserker's agate eyes dwindled and was replaced with reason and awareness.
"Ara? Is this Berserker not under Mad Enhancement anymore?" she mused before looking at me. "My manners have escaped me thus far, my apologies. I am Servant Berserker. Are you my Master?"
"I am, Berserker." I nodded. "I am also the Master of Caster over there, whom you seem to have some disagreement with. Might I ask what that might be?"
"You may." Berserker said frostily, directing a glare at Caster. "She arbitrarily created us and then had the absolute gall to seal us away in the Imaginary Number Dimension for no reason! It took all of us working in tandem to break free!"
"Only because you eight started running amok after I created you!" Caster spat out as she stamped her foot childishly. "Gah, if there had been another way to save my beloved Master without growing all of my nine tails back I would have done so! And if there was a way to remain a Servant without cutting eight of my tails off, I would have done so too, but I couldn't! And then you eight go nuts, acting as you please! As if I would risk you stealing my Master…ahem, I mean harming my Master, so I sealed you."
I just sighed and palmed my face. Tamamo-no-Mae was a jealous woman. This situation proved that beyond all measure, as she was jealous of what was, for all intents and purposes, multiple versions of herself!
Berserker was spluttering in outrage. "I…you…!"
"Enough." I sighed. "Berserker, I understand that you have an axe to grind with your creator, but this is a war I am involved in, with my existence at stake. I'll scold Caster and get her to apologise for what she did, so can you put your…ah, enmity with her to one side?"
"WHY?!" Caster wailed.
Berserker regarded me for a moment before smiling. "Very well, Master. I will do my utmost to do so, but I cannot speak for my sisters in the Tamamo Nine."
"The what now?" I asked with raised eyebrows.
"It is how we eight refer to ourselves, plus our original." The currently-not Mad Warrior explained. "I can sense the presence of the other seven on this world. Doubtless some will be Servants belonging to your enemies, Master."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Berserker." Saber put in. "Berserker, might we know your true name if it differs from this vixen in heat?"
"What was that?!"
"My name is Tamamo Cat, Saber." Berserker stated. "Each of the eight tails represents a part of the original's personality. I represent the crystallisation of the more sincere and pure aspects of Tamamo-no-Mae, and I am known as the Wild Beast among my sisters."
"Welcome to the team, Tamamo Cat." I said with a smile, before wincing as three more Command Seals burned themselves onto my arm. Looking at them, I saw that these ones looked like three cat eyes in a triangle formation. They were situated right behind the ones that Archer had given me. Great, my left arm was going to look like a tattoo shop ad.
…where had that comparison come from?
Shrugging mentally, I returned to my throne and Berserker moved to one side.
"OK then. That just leaves Saber, Lancer, Assassin and Caster." I said aloud. "I'm going to program the exclusion tool, so speak up if there's any Heroic Spirit you don't want me to summon in any of those classes."
As it turned out, there were more than a couple. Medea, Morgana le Fay, Circe, most of our previous Caster enemies, Lu Bu, Vlad the Impaler, Hassan-i-Sabbah and several other Heroic Spirits were systematically removed from consideration. The last one I entered was Agrippina. Then I started to chant again.
Once more, a burst of light brighter than I think my eyes could normally tolerate erupted and then vanished, and I saw three figures standing in the smoke. One was a girl wearing a blue sleeveless kimono, two katana sheathed at her waist. Her pink hair was tied up with what looked like an oversized tsuba.
Standing next to her was another girl of smaller stature and dressed like a kunoichi, with a form-fitting bodysuit in burgundy and black, thigh-low burgundy shorts and a long crimson scarf flapping from around her neck. One major oddity was that her limbs looked completely artificial.
The last figure was a little girl clad in a black hooded cape of some sort. All that could be seen of her was her legs, with thigh-high skin-tight stockings and armoured shoes, her purple hair, in a long plait down her back, and one hand grasping a weapon that was taller than she was, somewhat resembling a scythe.
"I am Servant Saber-"
"I am Servant Assassin-"
"I am Servant Lancer-"
"""-I ask of you, are you my Master?""" all three asked simultaneously.
Nodding mechanically, I said, "Yes, I am. But…why hasn't Caster…the second one…appeared?"
All of the other Servants turned to regard the last summoning circle, which was still shining red, but not as bright as when a Servant was summoned. Father Kotomine walked forward to peer at it.
"I suspect that you excluding some of the Servants it could summon has something to do with it." He said at last. "Possessing Tamamo-no-Mae as a Servant should act as a catalyst to summon Abe-no-Seimei, but you deliberately excluded him from consideration. Similarly, possessing Nero Claudius as a Servant should act as a catalyst to summon Agrippina or Simon Magus, but you excluded both of them as well. It will take the SE. RA .PH a moment to generate a Servant for you."
"Why did you want to exclude Simon Magus?" I asked my first Saber. He had been her teacher in magic, if memory serves.
"I-I-I-…" Saber spluttered before looking to one side. "I…didn't want someone who was in authority over me as a child interfering with my relationship with you, Praetor."
The blush on her face was adorable. Gah, I think I'm going to die from a cuteness overload!
Thankfully, I was distracted by the summoning circle brightening and unleashing a soft ruby light as Caster finally appeared. All around the room, jaws dropped, even the cynical Archer, and especially mine!
Standing on the summoning circle was a girl of my height, with long brown hair, warm russet eyes and wearing the tan uniform of Tsukumihara Academy. The face looking back at me…was…was…!
"Greetings." My voice said, but it wasn't me who was speaking.
"I am Servant Caster. I ask you; are you my Master?" The Heroic Spirit Kishinami Hakuno asked while looking straight into my eyes.
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Next Chapter: Setting Up
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