"We can't just abandon them." A familiar voice broke Evan's dark and silent world. It was an all too familiar voice that he knew well. The voice of a naive boy, a boy who thought if he stuck to his pretty ideal's things would work out. The darkened world that had encapsulated Evan gave way as rays of light began to paint a scene. A caravan of civilian vehicles rested on the side of a barren highway. The only vehicles for kilometers being that of the caravan and the armored military vehicles that had caused them to pull over. The sight of the military had at first instilled a sense of hope in the refugees of the caravan, a hope that was dashed with a few words.
"We can't help them, Weaver. We have our own priorities and taking care of refugee's isn't one of them." An officer explained to the boy who some would say was too young to be wearing combat dress.
"If our priorities aren't to help these people then we need to rethink our priorities!" The young Evan exclaimed. The amount of weight and concern the officer was giving the young soldier would have been seen as unorthodox by itself, but the several soldiers fidgeting nervously with their weapons made the scene completely unnatural. Adult, battle-hardened, soldiers were acting like the teen could pose a threat to them and their officer. When in any normal scene the boy should have just gotten a crack upside the head and told to carry on.
"That's enough!" A Sergeant that had lost his patients declared as he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. The sergeant barely had time to register motion before he found himself crashing into the side of his armored vehicle. The only evidence of the action being Evan's outstretched hand. Anyone would be forgiven for not believing the boy had tossed aside the much larger man, it didn't even appear as though Evan had even touched him. If it wasn't for the fact no one else was within arm's length many would have placed the blame elsewhere. Weapons rose and trained on the teen as soldiers prepared to take lethal action. Familiar luminescent veins spread across the boys exposed skin as he turned his attention to the rank and file soldiers. Sweat began to form on the soldier's brow as they waited for the command to fire from their officer.
"Lower your weapons." The officer directed, causing an equal amount of confusion in the soldiers and Evan. "What would you have me do?"
"We… We should escort them back to base, make sure they get to safety." He had not thought the situation through, he had simply acted on impulse. He himself wasn't sure what the best course of action was.
"You know I can't do that. There are just as many if not more lives depending on us getting to our destination." Evan knew what the officer was saying was true. But, the idea of just abandoning people in need sat wearily on his mind.
"Then… Let me go with them, I can guide them back." He attempted to persuade, causing the officer to chuckle.
"You are a ghost, Weaver, you are supposed to be dead. What would happen if someone recognized you?" There was a reason this officer was chosen to be in control of the abnormal boy. He had children of his own and knew how to deal with impulsive boys. Those in command knew there was no sure way to control Evan with force, but gentle manipulation and convincing could work.
"They won't." Evan defiantly replied. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he would be recognized or not, but he wasn't about to admit he was wrong, not in this situation.
". . .Okay, go with them." The officer relented, causing surprise from Evan and the soldiers standing witness. "Just know you will have to face the consequences of your decision later." Evan agreed, adamant that his decision was the correct one.
"No, don't go with them, stay on the mission." The older Evan attempted to warn. His voice, however, went unheard as he watched his younger self climb into one of the civilian vehicles. No matter how much he wished he could have changed his decision, his choice was already set in stone. It was a memory playing, unchanged, in his mind. Everything played out exactly as he had lived it. He led the caravan back to the base they had left from, unaware that it had been discovered by the enemy. Fire and death rained down on them. The civilians were caught in the crossfire and when the fires burned down, he was the only one left standing. Not even the soldiers at the base were left alive to punish him for his defiance. For all the power he had been granted he was unable to save anyone but himself.
#
A jolt of pain in Evan's jaw aroused him from his catatonic state. The world was still blurry and distant as he began to test his body. The soft chattering of chains filled his ears as his body sluggishly responded to his commands. His, wrists, ankles and neck were bound by chains that had been attached to stone walls. Glinting sigils were painted across every surface of the room, including his shackles and chains. The presence of the sigils was offensive to his magical body, draining it of any strength it may have. The second sting of pain brought the taste of blood to the servant's attention, as well as the figure standing before him. He could hear a distant, angry voice calling to him as his ears rang.
"Wake up, you son of a bitch!" The figure demanded of him as the world sharply came in to focus. He was surprised to find a petite Blondie haired girl was his assailant.
"Did you just hit me?" He inquired as he ran his tongue through his mouth, cleaning as much blood as possible before spitting. Though he went out of his way to avoid spitting in her direction, she still saw it as a disgusting act. She displayed her disgust by taking a handful of his hair and pulling his head up.
"You will show proper respect when I am in your presence." She ordered as she brought her face closer to his own.
"Should I kiss your ass as well?" He replied, causing her to deliver a knee to his gut. After regaining his breath, he finally took the full image of the woman in as she paced the room in frustration. "Hey, you're that knight . . . ehh what was it? Mordead?" Another strike to the jaw would be her direct response.
"Mordred." She corrected as Evan recovered from his reeling world.
"Ri…right, Mordred. Can I ask why you are here beating me?" Mordred didn't have any reason other than satisfaction for being there. A fact she wasn't about to share with the bound man. "Oh, I see." He said as he noticed Mordred's silence. "You heard I had been caught and you couldn't resist coming to get your licks in... how Chivalrous." Mordred's fists descended upon Evan's person with a ferocity he had yet to see from the knight. Each blow drew the world farther and farther from his consciousness, threatening to return him to a world of darkness.
"I'm not about to be lectured on chivalry by a murderer of the innocent!" Mordred stated as she relented in her assault.
"I guess that's something we have in common!" He retaliated as he felt his warm blood run down his face. Mordred's metal-clad hand grasped him by the throat as he finished speaking. Her grip was firm, but not enough to rob him of air. She only wished to silence him and make him question his next words carefully. "I'm sensing a lot of daddy issues from you." Mordred's expression honestly scared the young man as she pushed him away. Her sword materialized in her hands as she began to raise them. It wasn't an idle threat or attempt to scare him, she had every intention to split him in half.
"Mordred!" A woman's voice shouted before the knight could carry through.
"Fa. ...father!?" Mordred stammered as she turned towards the voice while lowering her sword.
"Father?" Evan inquired as he stared at the clearly feminine arrival. Both women appeared more as sisters than a child, parent relationship. A fact that only brought more confusion to the bewildered servant.
"Mordred, what are you doing here?" Artoria questioned, knowing full well of Mordred's motives.
"I... I was just." Mordred attempted to explain before the cold gaze of her father brought her to silence.
"Leave, we will speak of this later." Mordred thought of resisting the command, however; she did not wish to cross her father, not in this era, not over something so juvenile. Biting her tongue, Mordred stepped past her king, paying her and the prisoner one last glance before exiting promptly. "My master sent me to interrogate you."
"Oh, so your doppelganger wasn't here for that?" Evan asked as he attempted to will his wounds to heal. No matter how much he tried his body wouldn't obey. The room he was held in was a mana trap, blocking any from escaping or entering. What little managed to slip in was only enough to maintain his physical body. Any more wards painted or etched into the walls would turn the room into a slow death chamber for him or any servant.
"No, she was here on her own volition." Artoria responded before positioning herself before him. There was no hostility in her demeanor, but he could tell she was wary of him and full of contempt. No doubt a response to his actions before arriving in the cell that caged him.
"You should know. . .I... That wasn't me, I didn't kill those…" Evan attempted to explain, but he couldn't even convince himself of his own words.
"That's not why I am here." She interrupted before looking over her shoulder towards the door. "I'm here to provide you with a proposition, on behalf of my master. He is likely providing the same offer to your master as we speak."
"What?" Evan questioned as he witnessed the situation take a drastic turn he wasn't expecting.
#
"What do you mean a proposition?" Atsuko inquired as she looked across the table at the older man. When he first came in, she was met with concern when he dismissed the guards and turned off the audio recorder. She feared they had planned to deal with her right then and there, no messy trial, no public martyr, just a vanished girl.
"You aren't the only one to see there is something very wrong with this world." Conner informed the girl as he repositioned himself in his chair. "This golden age." Conner said before noticing Atsuko's disdain for the use of the statement. "Is only a side effect, and a short-lived one." He continued, pushing past Atsuko's look of disdain. "It's leading to another age of gods if things continue as they are." Atsuko let her features calm as she began to listen to Conner's words.
"An age of gods? Ho... How is that even possible? That could. . .would completely destroy our world." She commented after letting the words sink in.
"The amount of mana the crown of thorns has been providing hasn't been remaining at a baseline, it has been increasing every day." He continued, his expression growing stern as he contemplated his next words. "Most in the association simply want to ignore what is plain to see. Knowing any action to halt it could jeopardize the magi associations position."
"So, you willfully are leading the world to its own destruction in order to maintain your comfortable positions?" Atsuko replied as she felt her contempt grow even greater for the organization she despised.
"Not all of us, there are some who see the danger and are attempting to act." Conner reassured the young girl before carrying on. "But we can't openly act without the risk of starting a civil war. That's where my proposition comes in. I want you to act as a proxy and work towards setting the world back on its proper course. I cannot directly assist you, but I can point you in the right direction and provide you with other allies."
"If I even agreed to that, how would I get out of here?" She pointed out before gesturing to her surroundings.
"I had originally hoped to bring you in before anyone was aware of you and your servant. In any other situation, I would cast you aside and wait for another less conspicuous magi. However, we are running out of time and you are a special case."
"How am I special?" Atsuko inquired, almost afraid she may ruin her only escape at that point.
"You have your mother's eyes and fiery demeanor." He said with a soft smile.
"My mother? What do you know about my mother?" She asked as she rose from her chair.
"I helped Rin Tohsaka when she was brought in as a dissident. She took my offer, she may even still be out there attempting to fight the good fight. I haven't heard from her in some time though. She wasn't fond of me, however; So that doesn't surprise me much. I believe she had grievances with me being the master of my current servant." He stated as he recalled his last interactions with the strongly opinionated woman.
"My mother... Is alive?" Atsuko asked in disbelief as she sunk back into her chair.
"I cannot say for sure, but if she is, taking my offer is the best way to find out." He pointed out as he examined the girl's expression. He couldn't tell if she believed him, but regardless, he was offering her an out, an offer she would be foolish to turn down.
"Why didn't she ever try to contact me?"
"She is a wanted fugitive, she probably didn't want to put you in danger." She couldn't deny Conner's reasonable conclusion. "Please, time is of the essence. Do you accept my offer or not?"
#
"You want to explain the plan to me, one more time?" Evan requested as he rubbed his recently unshackled wrist. It had been a few minutes since the saber servant had removed his restraints and yet he could still feel their mana restricting magic.
"We are going to meet up with your master at the entrance of a network of tunnels." Artoria repeated. Her master had explained the situation to her the moment the servants master had agreed. She took little time releasing the servant and ushering him through the corridors of cells. She felt as though she had explained the situation properly the first time and was beginning to feel a sense of frustration at the servant's inquiry.
"Where we will be then led to a waiting boat at the river and taken from the city, yeah I got all that. . . However, the why eludes me." Evan retorted, causing Pendragon to turn her head slightly towards him.
"I already told you why, are you unable to recall such a short time ago?" She answered with annoyance in her tone.
"Yeah I can, in spite of your daughter." He mumbled as he rubbed his still throbbing head. "That's not what I mean. After everything I . . . did, why risk letting me out?"
"I do not understand my masters reasoning myself. He thinks you important to some degree to the events that are to come." Artoria replied before letting a moment of silence fall between them. "If it had been up to me, I would have had you unsummoned and cast back into the void." She stated as she thought of the dead and dying as they left the stadium.
"I deserve that, and so much more." Evan replied, causing Artoria to pause in her stride and turn to the servant.
"You wish to be punished for your crimes?" She asked as Evan stopped before the kingly servant.
"I made a choice that I didn't think through. I only thought of what was in front of me and who I wanted to protect. So, I gave myself willingly to monsters for power to defend my master. So, I should be held accountable for my wrong choices" Saber paused in thought as she looked the man over.
"You do not appear to be the same person I faced the day earlier. What monsters did you assign yourself to for power?" Evan chuckled softly before sighing at the king's question.
"That is something I don't think we have time for me to explain. Let's just say, it's part of my noble phantasm and leave it at that, for now." He answered, causing her great concern as Evan strode past her.
"Then you can never use your noble phantasm again when there are innocent people around!" She proclaimed as she took the other servant by the arm.
"I . . . I already resolved myself to that." Evan replied as he placed a hand over the hand grasping his arm. "I don't want to relive that again. I already have enough regrets."
"What's going on here?" Conner inquired as he noticed the servants holding hands as he arrived.
"Wha?" Both servants vocalized before noticing each other's hands. Quickly tossing each other's hands away both servants turned away from each other. A futile attempt to erase the awkward scene.
"Yeah, Evan, what's going on here?" Atsuko inquired as she moved out from behind Conner.
"Oh this? We were just having a moment until you ruined it!" Evan answered as he wrapped an arm around Saber's waist. With no hope of avoiding the awkward situation, Evan decided to embrace it.
"What? No, master, it was nothing like that!" Saber attempted to explain as she pushed Evan's arm away.
"I know saber, don't fret." Conner dismissed. "So, you are the servant that caused so much havoc?" He inquired as he examined the servant before him. "I don't know what I was expecting, but I just thought. . .you would be more impressive."
"Okay, ouch, ego's going to take a while to work that one out." Evan commented as his eyes drifted slightly in embarrassment.
"Artoria, I'm entrusting their wellbeing in your hands." Conner directed, ignoring Evan's embarrassment "I'll need to be present when they discover they are missing." Conner stated before turning away from the three. "I bid you farewell Ms. Tohsaka and good luck.
"You're not very impressive." Evan mumbled as the older man rounded a corner.
"Come, were not far from the entrance." Artoria stated before moving forward once more.
"Master, are you okay, did they hurt you?" Evan inquired as he remembered his own treatment.
"No, I'm fine." Atsuko replied flatly before moving to follow the saber servant.
"Th…that's good." He could feel an aura of dread coming from his master as he followed behind her. Her occasional worrying glances towards him soon told him where her feelings of dread were coming from. She had seen what he had become and what he had done. There was nothing he could say to explain himself to her at that moment. And even if he tried would she be even willing to listen to what he had to say. Trailing a safe distance behind her, he remained silent as they made their way to their escape vessel.
#
At the end of the tunnel, they were met by a simple yacht with a single man crewing it. He spoke little English with a strong French accent, giving the master and servant a good idea of where their destination was going to be. Artoria shared few words with the captain before they were directed on board and ushered to the lower deck. Before the ship even set off Artoria vanished back into the tunnel. The captain gave the departing servant a wave and a chuckle before he began to pull away from the shore.
"So… France." Evan attempted to spark up a conversation as he felt the ship begin to move.
"What the hell, Evan!" Atsuko finally exploded as she finally felt safe enough to express her frustration.
"What!? I think France is lovely, isn't it lovely? everyone says it is!" Evan answered with surprise and confusion at his master's sudden outburst.
"That's not what I'm talking about!" She clarified as she glared at her servant.
"I know." Evan admitted as he sighed.
"What the hell happened at the Stadium?" She inquired as she watched her servant fidget uncomfortably.
"Look. . . I'm not normal." He attempted to explain until he noticed his master's expression.
"No shit." She stated as she crossed her arms and looked upon his explanation with contempt.
"I mean, even in life I wasn't normal. I'm. . . Not exactly one hundred percent. . .human." Evan revealed with a sense of shame radiating from him.
"You are going to have to explain that statement." Atsuko stated with a raised brow.
"It's a really long and convoluted story and I doubt you would believe half of it." He warned before his master rolled her eyes and gestured for him to continue. "Okay, but I warned you."
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Author notes
A shorter chapter than what I usually attempt to create. But I felt I would rather give you a show don't tell exposition. I didn't think a wall of dialog text was the way to go. So the next chapter will be a flashback. I will probably narrate it from a first-person perspective. Please give me feedback on this idea and if you are even interested in a backstory chapter. Any feedback on the direction of the story and where you would like it to go is welcomed. Also if you would like to see your favorite servant appear in the story let me know.
I originally created this story with wanting to explore more of the idea that the throne of heroes exists outside of time. Where the past, present, and future are not a concern for it. However, if you would like a rewrite with a more traditional servant I am not opposed to it.