Endless Dream

By Pata Hikari

Chapter 8: A Day Off

Lancer felt it right away.

One moment he was getting a supply of mana, the next he wasn't.

He ran towards where his Master had been.

Inside the study, was Tohsaka Rin, a bloody dagger in her hands, and Kerei's corpse resting in the chair.

"...daaaammmnnn." Lancer said.

"Oh, hello Lancer." Rin turned around. "This is a bit of a problem for you, isn't it."

"..." Lancer crouched, "You were invited in and you kill him? Not very nice miss."

"War isn't nice, Lancer." Rin answered.

"True." Lancer shrugged, remembering all the less then good things he had been forced to do in his life. "Well, then. I guess..." Gae Bolg formed in his hands.

"You're going to kill me? You won't last long in the world, you know." Rin wasn't afraid, she had the upper hand. "...if you make a contract with me, Lancer, then you'll be able to survive and fight more. So... which will it be?"

"..." Lancer lowered his lance. "Heh, you make a convincing argument miss. And, well, to tell the truth I never liked him anyways. Fine, I'll join up with you."

"Good." Rin held out her hand, and Lancer took it, the contract was sealed, and Rin felt her Command Spell reach out and take Lancer.

"Whoa." Lancer grinned, "And you're supporting Archer too? Damn, you're a way better Master then he was."

"Of course." Rin folded her arms, "First order as Master, Lancer. Cut off his arm. I want his Command Spells. I only have one left and wouldn't mind replenishing them."

"Fine." Lancer looked at Kerei's corpse. "Heh, can't say you don't deserve it, you bastard." He swung down Gae Bolg.

----

"..." Archer was waiting in her room as Rin walked in with Lancer, holding the arm of the former Master.

"Yes, Archer?"

"...isn't this a little... harsh?" Archer stared at her. This wasn't like the Rin he remembered. While she did what needed to be done, she wasn't the type to do this.

"Well, Archer. Tell me, which is better? Getting rid of a Master now? Or later when he has a Servant like Lancer."

"...true." Archer said. He had to admit, Rin was simply doing what was logical. He had often done the same, in fact, he encouraged her to do so.

"I've made a contract with Lancer, the two of you will be working together now." Rin plopped the arm down into a nightstand. "I'll be getting the Command Spells from this."

----

Morning came, and Shirou decided to stay with Sakura again.

"Today..." Shirou announced, "We are all taking a day off."

"..." Saber stared, "Are you sure?"

"We need a break." He said seriously. "Everybody, let's just do what we want today."

"...very well." Saber said.

"I agree with Sempai." Sakura sighed, "Just... rest today." She stared at her Servants. "OK?"

"Fine." Caster muttered.

----

Shinji woke up.

It was another day like every other.

When he woke up, he usually found a book resting on him, where he had been reading it the night before.

He scratched his left hand, it itched. "Well... time to go to school."

His hand kept on itching, even as he scratched it.

"Weird... oh well."

----

Saber found herself sitting in the dojo again.

It was peaceful here, to meditate calmly and ponder how to win the Grail War.

The door opened.

"Saber?"

"Oh? Shirou." Saber turned towards her Master.

"Yeah, um, you want to talk?" Shirou asked, sitting down across from her.

"..." Saber glanced down at the floor, "Talk about what?" She asked.

"Oh, um, you know, anything?" Shirou smiled uneasily. "So, you're King Arthur?"

"Yes. My true name is Artuia Pendragon." Saber said, "I was crowned King of Briton when I was fifteen."

"I see..." Shirou examined Saber. "I'm surprised that you're a girl, actually. It's never mentioned in the legend." He laughed a little.

"Yes. I pretended to be a man." Saber said, "Only my brother, my teacher, and a handful of my most loyal knights knew the truth."

"Geez, how'd you pull that off? A beautiful girl like you, passing off as a man?" Shirou muttered without thinking.

"Oh..." Saber's face turned red.

"Um..." Shirou realized what he said. "Err..."

"It... it was easy. Most of my public appearances I was in full armor, and everyone knew I had a youthful appearance.... and I rarely spoke to people..." Saber muttered. "Anyways... Shirou. You shouldn't think of me as a woman..."

"That's impossible." Shirou sighed, "You may be strong, but you're still a girl. I can't just stop thinking of you as one."

"..." Saber sighed.

"Besides, like half the Servants are girls anyways." Shirou said, "You, Caster, Rider. And there are lots of girl Master's too. Sakura, Tohsaka, Illya. Worrying about them being girls is, well, pointless I guess."

"True." Saber looked over Shirou. "Hmmm..."

"What is it?"

"Oh, something Caster told me. She said I'm just like you." Saber's face became red again.

"Really?"

"I guess it makes sense..." Saber said, "After all, you called me without any artifact, I assume."

"No... I don't own any artifacts."

"Yes." Saber smiled faintly, "There are two ways to call a Servant. One is to simply summon one. This will call a Heroic Spirit most like the summoner. The other way is to possess an artifact with ties to a Hero. This will that that exact hero."

"I see..." Shirou nodded, "So I'm guessing that Caster was called with an artifact then, because she's nothing like Sakura." He laughed.

"..." Saber frowned, "No... if Caster was called with an artifact, then Sakura would know her identity. Caster told me Sakura does not. So she has to have been called because she's the most like her."

"...that makes no sense."

"...I know." Saber agreed. The quiet, passive Sakura contrasted greatly with the loud proactive Caster.

"...perhaps there's a side to Caster we haven't seen."

"Perhaps." Saber nodded.

----

"Hmm?" Sakura noticed that Rider and Caster were sitting at a small table in her room.

A pair of glasses was sitting on the table, Caster running strands of light over it.

"What are you two doing?" Sakura sat down on her bed.

"Making a pair of Mystic Eye Killer Glasses for Rider." Caster explained.

"Yes. She says she can temporarily seal them so I can walk around normally." Rider said.

"...you sure that'll work? I mean, Medusa has to have a pretty powerful look..." Sakura said.

"Shh! Not while we're in this house!" Caster hissed. "But don't worry, I met a guy once who had more powerful Mystic Eyes then Rider, and he sealed them off with a pair of glasses." Caster wrapped more and more strands of light around the glasses. "While these won't be as good as those, I can still make them pretty well. They'll do when not in battle. When fighting, Rider can summon back her Gorgon Breaker."

"So I'll be able to walk around outside without attracting stares?" Rider asked.

"Well... less then before. Many guys would stare at you anyways." Caster smirked.

"..." Rider blushed, glaring at Caster.

"Give it a moment... come on..." The magic circled around the glasses. "...now!"

All the light condensed around the glasses, flashing for a moment, before fading.

"OK!" Caster picked them up, "All right, Rider, face that wall and put these on."

"...OK." Rider turned around, pulling off the Breaker Gorgon. She then slipped on the glasses. "Ummm how do I test it?"

Caster jumped in front of Rider.

"Woah!" Rider recoiled, "Caster!"

"Hmmm, not feeling anything at all. Success!" Caster grinned.

"..." Rider slowly turned around and faced Sakura.

She looked completely different. Her pale grey eyes peered out from behind the lenses.

"Wow, you have pretty eyes Rider." Sakura smiled.

"..." Rider blushed even deeper, "Thank you, Sakura..."

"Well then, I'm impressed." Caster nodded, "I didn't expect to get it right the first time."

"...so you willingly jumped in front of me, even though you risked being turned into stone?"

"Oh no, I have enough magic in me to avoid that. I'd just be slowed down at first." Caster was smiling still

"..."

"..."

Sakura and Rider sighed.

"...what?"

----

Lunch time.

Shirou was putting together food from leftovers.

"..." Caster looked at Saber and Rider.

Saber had one outfit that she wore when not in armor.

Rider was still wearing that black tube-skirt... thing.

"Let's go shopping." She said.

They all stared at her.

"Well, I was just thinking. Saber, Rider and I don't have much in the way of alternate outfits. So perhaps buying some would help out?"

"Caster, I fail to see the need for for that." Saber said.

"Yeah, there's no need. But, lets face it. Sakura and Emiya-san have decreed a day off, and I still have the old bastards credit card."

"...old bastard?" Saber asked.

"She's probably referring to Sakura's grandfather." Rider explained. "The description of 'old bastard' is accurate."

"Huh? You live with your grandfather?" Shirou asked as he brought some microwaved leftovers in.

"...yeah."

"Funny, I never met him when I went over." Shirou passed out some bowls.

"He's... private, Sempai."

"More like he's so ugly he can't see the light of day." Caster muttered.

"Ah, what's he like?" Shirou sat down as they began to eat.

"As Caster said, he's an old bastard. Any humanity he had in him rotted away decades ago." Rider picked up her chopsticks. "...damn it." She struggled with them.

"..." Sakura was silent.

"Here, let me show you." Saber adjusted the chopsticks in Rider's hands, "There we go. Now eat like this." She scooped up some rice and ate it.

"...how did you figure that out so quickly? You're about as far from this country as I am."

"Oh." Saber shrugged, "I was summoned in the last Grail War too. So I'm used to this country."

"...what?" Rider shook her head, "That's... quite a coincidence."

"I was summoned with an artifact that time, so they wanted me."

"Oh? Who summoned you last time?" Caster asked.

"...the Einzberns." Saber said quietly.

"...wait, as in the same family Illya's from?" Shirou said.

"...yes." Saber looked away. "My... partner in the war was Irisviel von Einzbern."

"What was she like?" Shirou frowned. Did she like her better then me?

"She was a kind person. Innocent, in a way. The Holy Grail War was the first time she had left her home. I feel sorry..." Saber trailed off.

"Feel sorry for what?" Caster was curious now.

"...feel sorry for her daughter. She's been dragged into this mess." Saber finally admitted.

"...wait. Illya's her daughter?" Shirou was surprised.

"Yes." Saber sighed, "I saw her before we left to fight."

"Poor girl." Shirou sighed, "Losing her mother, then forced to fight in the same thing."

"It's tragic, but that is how the Einzberns act." Saber shook her head.

"Sempai, who's Illya?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, right. You've never met her. She's a Master. Her Servant Berserker is Hercules." Shirou shuddered, "He's insane. I don't know what we're going to do about them."

"Hercules?" Rider asked, "Hmm.... if he's Berserker, then we're safer."

"...how can you say that?" Shirou glanced at Rider.

"I... well, I knew of him. If he had his mind intact, then he'd be able to make use of his skills in archery, swordplay, and use the fullness of his cunning. Hercules is not a stupid man. But as Berserker, all he does is mindlessly attack, no? If so, then it would be easy to surround him as we are now, with three Servants, and defeat him."

"That's an optimistic opinion Rider." Saber said, "But if you know of his weaknesses then we'll take it as fact."

"Well then." Caster stood up, lunch was done, "I'm going out, who else wants to go shopping with me?"

"Oh! I will!" Sakura stood up, grinning.

"...if Sakura comes, then I do." Rider said.

"..." Saber looked at Shirou, looked at Caster.

"Eh, you can go Saber, come on, it'll be fun." Shirou smiled.

"But... if I leave..."

"Then tell you what, I'll come to." Shirou stood up, "There, now you can come and you won't be leaving me alone."

"...fine." Saber stood up, "You people..."

----

The shopping district in Shinto was busy as usual.

Rider had hid in spirit form until they had first picked up a more suitable outfit for her to wear.

Now she was in a gray t-shirt, with dark blue shorts, her long hair tied up in a pony tail. She was blushing as Sakura commented on her.

"Wow Rider, you look completely different, it looks nice." Sakura smiled.

"..." Rider said nothing, just quietly accepted the praise.

"OK! Saber, what did you pick out..."

Saber was holding up a black suit, black tie, shoes, and even black gloves.

"...I like this."

"...my god, did pretending to be a man your entire life screw you up?" Caster sighed.

"..." Shirou imagined Saber in that suit. "OK, I can see how you managed to pass off as a man."

"..." Saber glanced at Shirou. "Um... maybe something else." She turned back to look for a different outfit.

"..." Caster just grinned, "Hey, Emiya-san. It looks like Saber values your fashion input."

"You're trying to tease me again." Shirou muttered.

"Fufufu, all I do Emiya-san, is point out facts."

"..." Sakura glanced at Shirou, and then turned to look at Saber.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Rider asked.

"...nothing." She smiled at Rider.

----

Shinji walked into his house.

Everything was the same.

Sakura and Shirou were still not at school. And now even Tohsaka had vanished.

"..." He sat down on his bed, scratching his left hand. "Odd..."

The left hand, where Sakura had gotten her Command Spells.

It itched, it had been itching all day.

"Damn it..." He scratched the hand. The itching wouldn't end...

"Whatever." He picked up one of the magecraft books. "Time for another day of study." He read the book, as he read he, out of a habit born of desperation, quietly chanted the incantation for the spell. It was a simple spell, one which caused the object being touched the become illuminated via binding light from the sun to it.

A rushing feeling filled his body.

"...what the?" Shinji looked down at the book.

It was glowing.

"...wha... how?" He must be dreaming. He let go of the book.

It ceased to glow.

"What... what is this?" Shinji picked up the book again.

Nothing.

"..." Shinji touched the book with his left hand.

It glowed once more.

".............." Shinji stared at the sight.

And began to laugh.

----

The hours bled by as a pile of outfits was gathered. Even Shirou got two new shirts.

Finally, they arrived home.

"Ah, that was nice." Caster dropped her bag full of clothes on the table.

"Um, Caster, can you put your clothing in your room?" Shirou asked.

"Oh, does this mean you'll give me a room Emiya-san? You're too kind." Caster was smirking.

"...yeah, you and Rider can pick out a room. There are plenty here."

"Oh thank you, come on you two, let's get some new rooms." Caster grabbed Sakura and Rider.

----

Zouken stared at Shinji. "You're telling me, boy, that you did magic. You dragged me up here to say that insanity?"

"Yes!" Shinji said, "I'll prove it too!" He held up the book, "Watch." He grabbed it with his left hand, held it up by the window to let sunlight stream in and and spoke the incantation... and the book glowed again.

"..." Zouken stared, "...I'll be damned. In all my years I've never seen anything like this." He paused, "Heh... this could prove useful."

----

Caster looked around at the nearly empty guest room. "I'll give Emiya-san this, he keeps his place clean." She placed her new clothing into the closet and sat down on the sleeping mat. "Ah..."

"Sempai is a very clean person." Sakura sat down next to her. "Hmm?" She noticed the two objects attached to Caster's belt, "Hey, Caster, what are those?"

"Oh, these. They're my Noble Phantasms."

" They seem... plain." Rider said.

"Hey, they work." Caster grumbled, "When activated they do some impressive things.

"Can I look at them?" Sakura asked.

"Sure." She pulled the two items off her belt.

A sword and a small wand.

"Hmmm..." Sakura picked the sword up, "Wow, it's lighter then I thought."

"Let me see it." Rider reached over and grabbed it, "Wow, you're right."

"Well, technically it's not for fighting mainly." Caster said, "It's used as a enhancement for my magic when needed."

"Ah, and the wand?" Sakura picked it up.

"...please don't mess with it." Caster muttered, "That Noble Phantasm is far more dangerous."

"Really? Um... Caster... it looks like something you'd see on a kids show." Sakura examined it further.

"...the person who made it had issues." Caster muttered.

"It's kind of cute looking." Sakura felt a small link of mana on the wand. "Hmmm..." She poured some of her own energy into the stick.

"Sa-Sakura, what are you doing!?" Caster realized the mistake she was making.

But it was too late.

"Kaleidostick activate!" The wand spoke.

"...Caster, why did it speak?" Sakura whispered.

"Damn it Sakura, let go!"

"I... I can't!" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Ohohohoho. Interesting a new Master, well, somewhat. Old Master is still around."

"Damn it you let her go!"

"Oh... but I think there can be some fun here." The wand, Kaleidostick, cackled.

"Caster!?"

"Let's see.. a suitable alternate universe counterpart..."

"Damn it let her go!" Rider grabbed the Kaleidostick's head, tugging on it. Trying to remove it from Sakura's hand.

"Hmmm... oh! Two of them! Excellent, I know just the world!"

"...I can't let go now either!" Rider began to panic.

"Now then." The Kaleidostick began to glow, "Let's begin my two lovely Masters! Henshin!"

The two began to glow, light surrounding them.

"...oh God damn it all." Caster sighed, "How am I going to explain this.

"Henshin!" Both Sakura's and Rider's voices came out of the light.

"Well, there we go, they've been sucked in." Caster groaned.

Cherry blossoms appeared in the room, blown around by a gentle breeze.

"It's winter goddamnnit."

The light faded, and Sakura and Rider were standing there.

In outfits.

"...I think I liked Magical Girls better."

They were wearing sentai outfits. Sakura's was pink, skin tight, her eyes covered by the helmet. Her hair fluttered freely in a non existant breeze. Rider's outfit was identical, only a dark purple.

"Heroine of Justice!" Sakura shouted.

"Fighter of Evil!" Rider added.

"Pink Glory!"

"Violet Rider!"

"Together we shall save the City!" They both shouted.

And then they posed.

They posed as theme music played out of the blasted Kaleidostick.

"...I hate you so much." Caster muttered.