Shifting Shadows

School was as normal as it always was. Around the other students Marco acted mostly natural. Only Alfonzo and Ferguson recognized he was trying too hard. They figured it was because of the explosion at his father's construction site. Marco talked it out with them, but didn't say what really bothered him. He kept his real thought for behind the cafeteria.

Jackie wanted to go to the crater after school and have a look. Her bet was to find some signs of who did it, or even stumble on a Master. The idea of dealing with Servant did not bother her. Marco understood - Jackie was ready to stop more Servant-related disasters. He wasn't. They argued that first priority should be getting her own Servant, not exposing themselves to risk. Janna seemed to understand how serious the Grail War was. She defended Marco's point, which finally convinced Jackie to give up.

Jackie's summoning was going to be performed at Janna's house. Marco had only once seen her place and it was big, modern, something proper for a wealthy family. Plus her parents were out of town till the end of the week. Having the whole house free from unwanted attention was the deciding factor.

Before leaving school, Jackie made sure the others knew the plan for tonight. While she and Janna were busy preparing the place, Marco was to head back home. Janna had forgotten her backpack at his house along with the book. Actually Marco was planning to bring it with himself to school and had the backpack prepared. Then the news about an explosion consumed his attention and he left without realizing something was missing.

The weather was comfortably warm and quiet. Only a dozen cars were all the traffic around. In contrast, many people had taken the opportunity to walk to their own destinations. Marco's phone informed him rush hour was just beginning.

He stopped next to the Chinese restaurant. The poster of noodles with vegetables made his stomach rumble. A group of young adults passed next to him. Another group was coming this way. Their distance was not much, but enough for Marco to feel safe. He smuggled into the alley, where Archer had disappeared. Since then, no sound, no word, nothing had indicated his Servant existed in the first place. The bruise on his chest was a reminder that was not the case. He was wondering was Archer here with him at all.

As a response to his thought, the air in front of him started to vibrate. Archer materialized in the same clothes as this morning. She was furious.

"Hey, there. Here's the thing. You forgot to mention that your girlfriend is a Master."

Marco expected this problem. After all, the goal of the War was only one Servant to remain standing. Archer probably had overheard Marco and Jackie talking about it, then waited until end of school. Pretty awful way to find out.

"Look, Archer," he started, "I didn't try to hide it. With all that happened in the last twenty-four hours, it just slipped my mind."

Marco had a look behind him. People walked away. Nobody had noticed them arguing in the alley.

"Yes," he continued "for some unholy reason, me and Jackie are both part of the Grail War. And we both want to end it with minimal casualties. So we're a team - we will fight together against the other Masters."

"You do realize at the end I will have to kill her Servant."

"I do. When the time comes, we will let both of you fight freely. Let the better Servant win."

Archer's look soften up. "That's... actually pretty fair. But only if we get our identities known as well."

"Sure. Completely fair fight."

She raised a finger at Marco. "But don't you, my noble Master, have a wish? I bet Jackie does."

"First, don't call me Master. It's creepy. Second, no, we don't want anything from the Grail."

"And you don't care what your Servants might do with their wish?"

Such though had never occurred to him. Having a magical object that can make anything real was indeed a powerful tool for any goal.

Marco crossed his arms. "Well, if one of you turns out to be evil, I guess we'll have to stop him as well."

Archer made a puppy-wide eyes. "Do I look evil to you?"

Delicious smell of sweet and sour found its way to Marco. The thought of golden brown chicken chunks made his mouth watery. Stomach didn't miss to growl either.

"Archer, Jackie and Janna are waiting for us and I'm hungry." Marco partially turned around. "You coming, or not?"

"Right behind you," the girl said and vanished.

On the way home hunger became from tolerable to distracting. Even after an intensive karate lesson it wasn't that bad. Back at his house Marco found a full plate of this morning's pancakes. He was more than ready to deal with them, but could not let Archer just watch. When Marco stuffed himself with half of the reheated breakfast, he thought about the news report ten hours ago. His father still haven't got back from work. Not a good sign, but he tried think positive.

The backpack waited right where Marco had forgotten it. He told his mother they're going to Janna's house without specifying what for. Steering around the truth, no lying. With that, Marco made sure the book was inside, then left. Archer shortly followed him, until she found an opportunity to enter Spirit Form again.

XXX

Wide dark-slated clouds split the orange sky. Marco tried the doorbell again. Before his thumb reached, the entrance door opened. It was Jackie who came out and unlocked the garden door. Puzzled Marco watched, as she looked around for somebody. They were alone, except for invisible Archer. A playful smile grew on Jackie's face, then had a deep kiss with her boyfriend. It reminded Marco of their first kiss, the relieving jolt that weaken him, something much greater than what he just experienced. Before his thoughts came down to Earth, Jackie had already pulled him inside.

The living room, if that was how it's called, was as big as whole first floor of Marco's house. With a huge TV, electric fireplace, exotic paintings, it checked all the points for "we're doing better than most people" title. Janna never had mentioned what her parents did for a living. Whatever it was, it could explain why they are so often out of the country.

Sudden invisible weight dropped on Marco's shoulders. His legs wanted him to kneel. He took a deep breath and resisted it. Out of thin air Archer materialized. Back in silver armor and with a straight look. Jackie greeter her with a smile and a hand wave. The Servant shined up in response, then went back to being grumpy. Marco imagined she was still salty about the summoning of another Servant.

Then Archer's expression changed. She noticed a grocery bag full of candy bars.

"Sweet! Sweets!" she leaped over and dipped inside.

"Archer, wait. These are not for us." Jackie stopped her.

Like an ice cream on a summer day, Archer's excitement melted. Marco mentally compared her to a puppy. The Servant even let out a whimpering sound. He sighed, then turned to his girlfriend.

"What Archer wanted to say is she understands." He looked at the candy bag. "I though Janna didn't like any sweets."

"I know, right? " Jackie said. "Yet, she really wanted stop at the store load up on them. I think Janna has a little crush on somebody."

"You know what? Ferguson likes candies a little too much," he said.

"Dude, you blew my mind. That would be so adorable!"

"And gross, you sick people!" Janna interrupted them. She was leaning on a wall, as if she was there an eternity.

Archer smiled at her. "Hey, Janna-Banana! Can we try some of your precious candy?"

The raven-haired girl's eyes rolled over. Then gave a positive nod. Archer grinned and started a process of choosing which candy bar to try out. Jackie went to help her out. Watching a powerful Servant acting like a kid was entertaining for Marco. If it wasn't for the cold metal protecting her body, he would be fooled she was one.

The armored girl picked one with black wrapper and asked Jackie. Hiding her words with a hand, she whispered back to Archer. Both laughed loudly. Marco had no problem imagining Archer as a normal teen. Her innocent hyperactivity was great match for Jackie's endless energy. The boy could not help but wonder if his Servant was ready for a tough fight against others of her kind. And was he ready as well? The question jumped around his mind without getting closer to a definite answer.

With a shrug Jackie knocked Marco out of his thoughts. She surprised him with a candy bar. The coconut-flavored desserts were on one of his favorite, and she had picked exactly that. Guilt ran through him, because he had missed an opportunity to do the same for her. Except for Janna, the others enjoyed their treat. Marco did the same. For a moment his hunger was suppressed, then came back even stronger.

"So, who likes tons of sweets?" he asked, while carefully chewing.

"Someone special. And it's not Ferguson." Janna said.

From her resisting expression Marco knew digging deeper wasn't going to yield any results. But Jackie did not give up so easily. Her continuous barrage of questions only annoyed the raven-haired girl. Archer tried a few shots herself. Even Marco found teasing Janna funny. Little payback for pranking him.

Preparations for summoning a Servant were going one floor below - at the basement. Even with all the wooden barrels and metal crates, it was bigger than Marco's garage. Gloomy light gave the whole place a somewhat menacing look. Marco could swore, when he was not looking, shadows were jumping around.

"Is this your room? Love what you've done with the place," he said.

"So funny. Did you come with this on your own?" With one hand Janna tossed her backpack on the ground. "Now help me out. We've got a summoning to do." She pulled out the book with black covers. Then started drawing on the ground with a brush.

Besides a few details, the summoning circle looked similar to Marco's. Other steps of the preparations were either same, or too similar for him to notice differences. Only major was the so called catalyst - an old rusty revolver. It looked like a well-made prop from a western movie. Marco had no idea where Janna was getting these relics from. His wild guess was an antique shop. Maybe her folks collected and sold antiques?

Jackie removed the right glove, exposing her palm and the Command Spells. She took Janna's pocked knife from her and made quick cut. Her hands did not hesitate. Her face barely changed. On words Marco knew how passionate Jackie was about minimizing collateral damage from the Holy Grail War. Now he saw her confidence in action.

When Jackie started reading the incantation, Archer moved closer to her Master. She looked tense, serious. One of the first things you learn in karate was different stances and their purposes. From them Marco recognized his Servant's positioning and body language. Archer was guarding him. Only potential threat he could think of was the Servant, that was about to appear. Marco didn't mind some protection.

As Jackie continued reciting the summoning spell, weak blue light covered her feet. For a split second a dampened hissing noise came from somewhere else. Marco looked at a couple of wooden crates stacked in the corner. In the blackness of their shadows something with a sharp form had a cold shine.

The object suddenly disappeared, leaving only a neon red trail in the air. It went straight for Jackie's back. Archer stepped behind her. She swung and blurred the air in front. The trail ricocheted in her sword. It ended up in the ceiling. Only a second had passed since Marco heard the hissing noise. Half a second later and the trail was gone, leaving only a stainless steel kitchen knife.

Marco's blood froze. He was absolutely sure a Servant just tried to kill his girlfriend. Confused Jackie and Janna stared at steeled Archer. Marco tried to warn them, but the shadows were faster. Blur of darkness leaped from behind the crates. For a moment Marco recognized a human being with crimson eyes. The shadows smashed into his chest. He was on the ground with significant weight pinning him down.

Through the blackness appeared a face of a girl. Same light pink hair as the Asian girl from this morning. Same crimson eyes, only chillingly focus. Marco strengthen his arms and push against her weight. The girl tighten up the lock. Any freedom he had disappeared. One end of the shadows turned into a human hand. It grabbed Marco's throat and started crushing his trachea. Arms and legs resisted the lock, managing only to burn oxygen. With her other hand the girl raised a kitchen knife. Marco's face was not even purple. He still had time to see where he was getting stabbed.

Instantly the girl changed her grip on the knife and slammed it down. Jackie screamed Marco's name.

One ray of pink light hit the knife, knocking it off in the air. The other missed the girl's head, because she moved. She soften her grip on Marco, when Archer's wand started glowing. A barrage of the same rays overflew the shadows that was Marco's attacker. It became too bright to look. He squeezed his eyes and focus on his breathing. Each inhale was dull and painful. Light keep on flashing through the cover of his eyelids. Sounds of hundreds of bullets hitting were coming from what he though was right. Next breath was tolerable. A few seconds later the sounds stopped, the lightshow was gone.

As Marco opened his eyed. Archer jumped over him, scaring her Master even more.

"I'm going after her!" she yelled and disappeared into a cloud of dust.

That was exactly what Marco feared. He remembered the snow-covered hole with a size of a Mall. If a fight between Archer and another Servant had the same destructive potential, he had every right to worry.

Marco sat on the concrete floor. Breathing was back into normal rates. His throat still hurt, but it was manageable. Jackie rushed to him. She sat on her knees and softly put her hands on Marco's cheeks. Her face had lost some color.

"Oh God, Marco. Are you hurt?" she asked.

"I've had worse," his voice trembled a little. "You alright, Jackie?"

"Scared to death, otherwise fine. Was that the girl from the park?"

"She is a Servant. And since we're Masters, she tried to take us out the easy way."

"You met her? And didn't realized she is a Servant?" Janna said.

"In our defense, Janna, she looked like a normal high school girl." Marco said.

"And how in the world a Servant got in here without us noticing?" Janna asked.

"Somehow she found out we're Masters, what we're planning and followed us." Jackie said.

With the help of Jackie and Janna, Marco was back on his feet. He looked at where Archer had gone. The wall covering the stairs was full of tiny bullet holes and cracks. No bloodstains of any kind. Archer's attacks had completely missed their target and chased it away from her Master.

Suddenly Marco's legs really wanted him to sit somewhere. He had to command them to keep up for now. Exhaustion out of nowhere meant Archer was using his energy. The fight had already begun.

Marco turned at Janna. "Can you and Jackie continue with the summoning?"

She scan the summoning circle. "Everything seems intact. We're good to go."

"What about you?" Jackie asked.

"I'm going to make sure Archer and that girl won't turn our city into a warzone."

XXX

Archer and that girl are not inside the house. Or else, there wouldn't be a house. Marco concluded after he didn't find any signs of battle in the living room. Still, he felt getting more tired with each second. Sensei had taught him how to deal with physical fatigue and to continue. Getting your magical energy drained felt the same, yet it was not. Marco was finding a way to manage. For now.

Night has overtaken the outside world. Out on the empty street Marco felt exposed. The other Servant could attack him again. He hoped to have something to defend himself against her. He had looked for the knifes she left behind, but they had completely disappeared. Maybe humans could not use Servants' weapons anyway.

Something bright passed above him. For a moment the surroundings had bright blue tint. Marco stared up, waiting to see it again. A familiar ray of radiant light traveled through the sky and went downtown. It came from Janna's house, but not from inside. Somewhere above. With eyes locked onto the rays' origin, he carefully moved away.

On what seemed to be the house's tiled rooftop, Archer stood with a bow. Not those raw wooden bow from the Medieval Period. A graceful, even beautiful weapon, nothing Marco had ever seen even in video games. The curved frame looked like a pair of angel wings and glowed slightly. They grew from what was Archer's purple wand with a golden star.

The Servant set her free hand on the wand's base. She started pulling the air. A searing bolt formed from the wand's star, all the way to her fingertips. As she pulled harder, neon light glowed brighter from the bow's tips, creating its string.

Archer gently let go and the bolt split the night sky.

"Archer! What are doing?" Marco yelled.

"I'm trying to take down Assassin," she simply answered.

"Stop it! You're going to kill somebody."

"No, I'm not," the girl shot another bolt of light.

"Would you just listen to me?! Even if nobody gets hurt, somebody has already saw the fireworks. When they figure out where it came from, more Masters will come after us."

Archer prepared another bolt. Silently she aimed at the distant target. Then she returned back then magical arrow and it disappeared. Another moment of silence passed.

"Fine," she said and her bow turned into rainbow-colored dust. "I'm done anyway."

The Servant made a causal leap and landed next to her Master. The smug on her face raised Marco's curiosity.

"Did you get her?" he asked.

"Nah, she hid inside a house. And since I can't blow up the house-"

"Ok, I get it. Then why are you smiling?"

"I saw Assassin's Master."