The next morning...
Rin thought that was a dream.
NOT.
She woke up to the newcomer sleeping with her on her bed and Karna on his bed.
The boy who calls himself her older brother, fast asleep on her bed with her.
She got up, washed her face in the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then changed out of her pajamas into casual outfit before combing her long hair...and tied it into two low pigtails.
She went to the desk where her writing tool was, and placed her hands on the side to get it running to write her report.
This thing, is frigging convenient when she's too lazy to write herself.
'Hey, what's that?' her brother woke up to see her machine.
'Its what we magi use when we're too lazy to write reports and send it by carrying it to the office quite literally.' Rin giggled. 'I would have used e-mail but most magi are inept with technology these days. Really now, its no different from living in the middle-ages for these people...I'm reporting the developments back to my teacher who's also my client for this job.'
Ah...
xxx
Zelretch receives reports from his apprentice.
He was stunned with the events that happened.
She reported what she and Kairi has done, seen, and what they felt about it with a wild card in the mix, and what conclusion they all came to that they teamed up against Amakusa Shiro and his team of Servants, knowing full well they are at a disadvantage. Even death was inevitable and the remnants of Yggdmillennia Masters(with common sense) teamed up with their Magi for the final showdown after ensuring they wouldn't be backstabbed later.
Indeed as Rin said Kairi felt, Darnic was a laughingstock in the tower when they got the reports, and the other masters of Red also took the fall for slipping too easily as if their stellar reputations didn't happen as first-rate magi and yet a heretic and a fresh graduate lasted so long into the war and actually accomplishing a lot the tower had no idea what to make of it. Then there's Ruler, a Servant the Grail itself summoned to ensure that the war goes the way it should was summoned that she was a wild card who now took the side of an alliance against Amakusa Shiro Tokisada in fear of him annihilating humanity with his wish.
Should the fortress reach the Einzberns and they were too late, Alaya would act in other ways and they'll never see the Greater Grail ever again.
That was also out of the question with the Animusphere Family most outspoken against that wish.
At any rate, taking back the Grail is still a mission. After the true Greater Grail War soon to commence, the Association shall pick up the Greater Grail and take it back.
At any rate, Zelretch was proud of his apprentice but she sure doesn't care much for dying when she hasn't lived her entire life yet and only saw a small part of the world.
He did wonder why.
xxx
Breakfast that morning...
As Rin introduced her brother to everyone, Joan could not help but shudder.
This young man, is in fact, what you'd call 'innocent violent monster' from the Revelations she receives but for now, he is of no threat. He was there to ensure Rin doesn't go through with her wish of dying in battle on a private telepathy link with those in the know of her issues in the table...and the truth of why she and her twin were abandoned came to light from Karna.
Rin was trying her best that her older brother get along with everyone at least.
For that day.
But around nighttime...
'Master, Ruler asked that she wants to see you in private in her room.' Karna told Rin.
'Oh, really? OK.' said Rin. 'I hope this goes fast since I'm forging Mystic Codes so we can all fly incase the worst happens.' she mused thoughtfully. 'Its time consuming too...' and she ran off.
'Huuuuh? What for?' Amaimon scratched his head.
'...counseling. I hope it works.' said Karna. 'Ruler believes that my suicidal master has to let go of her pain so she would stop being so suicidal. She would talk to Rin with Archer.'
'Umu...we don't have such thing back home so we have no idea how to deal with that so father sent me to ensure she won't kill herself, not when she's his true heir to the throne...'
'That's strange. No succession wars?'
'Nope. Only those who inherits the blue flames can succeed him. Everyone else disqualified.'
'...that's so easy when here in the human world, so much blood is shed over a decorated chair.' Karna commented. 'You have it convenient.'
'Humans are stupid that way.'
xxx
Rin could not believe that Ruler and Archer talked to her about her issues in a bid to dissuade her from her suicidal tendencies after asking questions about herself, which she answered truthfully as it was impossible to lie to these people.
But really, what was there to stay for? She was a half-demon she wasn't sure if even her brother will take to that kindly he was her only link to sanity she feared his reaction which was why if Caulus, her Servant and Joan, the only people who believed in her are gone, she had no reason to live. Why live for people who just popped out of the blue claiming to be her family anyway? If they were, why did they never come when she needed them most?
She felt whatever her 'demon heart' was, was no excuse.
She felt that they just needed her for something that they decided to show up only now.
'But Rin, your brother...Amaimon is pretty strong.' said Joan. 'He is as powerful as Karna but not as good as he is in fighting. That's easy to see but he can compensate with strength alone. He can easily force you away from numerous attempts and we really don't want you to die over despair either.' she said, using her persuasion skills as Ruler to convince her.
Rin was fighting it, but her human side ultimately lost to her and with reluctance, she said, 'If you say so but what would I live for now?'
'You only have 15 years of life Rin.' Archer told her. 'Not enough to see the world, and you have yet to meet people who would accept you like we have. Don't give up on people around you.' he said kindly. 'There are many meetings and farewells whether out of joy, sorrow and anger. As a long-lived being like myself, I can say it with certainty.'
'Oh...'
'Well, even in death I'm fated to meet and battle one of my own pupils.' Chiron sighed rather mournfully. 'Such a terrible example of meeting and farewell but as his teacher I wish to see how far he's grown. He left me after ten years of tutelage.'
'And then the Trojan War happened later.' Rin deadpanned. 'All that, caused by a godly beauty contest.'
'You opened your Greek Mythology book.' Chiron smiled ruefully. 'But still in that war, Achilles left his mark becoming a student I'm proud of. And now I shall battle against him soon. Have you decided who your opponent will be?'
'Yeah. Kairi and I decided to take on Semiramis with Saber and I will act as support while they deliver the killing blow. Karna will take Atlanta.' Rin told them. 'With you taking on Achilles, who will fight Shiro?'
'Leave that to me and Sieg with Rider.' said Ruler. 'Fiore and Caules will handle taking the Grail away...though I wish I can say that.' she moped, knowing full well what will happen next.
'Yes. As we speak, the Association already surrounded Romania's borders. I did all I could to protect those two but considering the nature of magi, its why they'll die unless they get lucky. The Greater Grail won't be in their hands for long and they know it.'
'I see...'
'Well, what's not to say that after taking it, an actually-official Holy Grail War will start straightaway?'
'Haaa?!'
'Actually, that IS very possible.' said Chiron stiffly. 'Magi have not changed at all since I was alive and there are very few humane magi.' he said. 'Magi are an abnormal existence who base everything on cold logic and results. What emotions they are capable of feeling is pride, greed, arrogance, jealousy, anger, spite and when faced with failure, despair. Everything else is irrelevant for the art. I believe in modern era, you could also call them psychopaths with magical powers.'
'Well, I'm trying NOT to fall so low.' Rin giggled. 'Its why for all my gifts as a magus, I'm a Brand-Class. Had I stooped so low in my humanity, I would have graduated a Grand.' she said. 'And the funny thing was, I'm looked down upon in the association for being cowardly to not jump the hurdle to greatness as they put it. But my master would beg to differ. He finds me refreshing because I'm not like everyone he knows because I'm still humane. Master is a humane vampire after all.'
'Er, what about blood?' Joan blinked.
'He pretends to be an anemic who needs his occasional dose of blood and buys them off blood banks when he's thirsty. His favorite flavor is Type O but he's OK with other types.'
xxx
And so...Rin found herself alone in a room she used as a makeshift workshop since she was making more copies of her sandals as a precaution to people who can't fly, in the form of children's tattoos since anklets are inconvenient. And the tattoos can be hidden inside boots and shoes. And she put Karna to task in answering Amaimon's questions while she was very busy.
Five days were not wasted.
On the fifth day, they headed for Bucharest, to an Yggdmillennia safehouse where Rider and Sieg stayed.
It was time for war.
Since there's no time for dinner, Rin had ordered the Homunculi to cook different types of Pirozhkis and prepare drinks for them to take on the plane.
It was already past evening by the time Fiore arrived at the safe house Sieg and the others were staying at. After she knocked, Rider swiftly opened the door with Sieg and Joan in tow.
Fiore sat in her wheelchair before the door with Chiron behind her.
'Ah, it's that time already?'
"Sorry for making you wait. Then, shall we get going?"
Astolfo tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Get going where?"
'Ah, I still haven't informed you all. We're going to the Henry Coanda International Airport. There, we'll board airplanes and head to the Hanging Gardens. Please come board the car, everyone. I don't mind if you change into your armor now.'
Fiore guided the three of them to the limousine. Joan and Astolfo followed her suggestion and changed into their armor.
'All right...are you sure you haven't forgotten anything, Sieg-kun?' Joan asked Sieg.
'Of course not. This is the only equipment I have, anyway.'
Sieg patted the sword hanging from his waist. It was the sword that Astolfo had lent him. He probably wouldn't even have a chance to use it in the final battle. By the time he resorted to using this, the situation would likely be hopelessly bleak.
Even so, Sieg felt reassured when he carried this, like an iron rod supporting his back. Not because having a sword was reassuring, but because it made him remember the warmth of the person who had given it to him.
'I plan to keep it with me, but is that all right with you, Rider?'
Astolfo readily agreed as if it were only natural.
'Of course. I gave it to you, after all.'
While feeling slightly reluctant to part with the safe house they had stayed at for a short while, the three of them joined Fiore in the limousine.
'Wow, it's so spacious inside!'
'Umm, is it really okay to wear my armor in here? It's hard to sit here without damaging the seats—'
'I don't mind. This car and everything in it are merely appropriated goods,' Fiore smoothly replied, as she skillfully sat herself down on the rear seat with her already activated Bronze-Link Manipulators.
'Now, let's be off! We should arrive...in about five minutes.'
It was so close that they wouldn't even have the time to properly enjoy the limousine.
'...Couldn't we just walk?'
Fiore firmly denied Ruler's suggestion.
'We rarely get the chance to use this limousine. This might be the last time we get to ride it.'
And with that, they arrived at the airport in the blink of an eye.
Unlike Sieg, who was a homunculus born in the Yggdmillennia castle, and Rider, who was a Servant summoned in the castle, Ruler had arrived in this country from France through this airport, and thus she recognized just how abnormal the current situation was.
It wasn't that anything had changed here. There was merely no one else around. The taxies in front of the airport, the customers, even the security guards...they were all gone.
'Ah, yes. It'd be a problem if we were seen by anyone, so naturally, I reserved the whole place. From the next twelve hours, we'll be the only ones using this airport.'
'Reserved, you say...?'
Joan was left completely speechless in the face of Fiore's casual words. Sieg and Rider seemed to be thinking 'We can't afford to involve any outsiders, so that's a wise decision' and thought no more of it. In Joan and Laeticia's eyes, though, reserving an entire international airport went beyond the realm of the ridiculous.
In front of the airport entrance doors, men in suits stood imposingly as watchman in place of the airport's security guards.
When Fiore approached them and swiftly said what seemed to be a password, the men nodded and opened the doors.
'I've set up a Boundary Field to keep people away around the airport. No one will be able to approach within a several kilometer radius around this area.'
'Wow, it really is completely deserted,' murmured Astolfo in amazement.
Just as he said, there was no one besides themselves in this vast airport. There were no receptionists at the counter, the always-running baggage claim conveyor belt was halted, and even the electronic display boards were off.
'Even I can't help but be amazed by my own sister...' Caules murmured in astonishment, as someone who had the common sense of an ordinary person. 'Just how much money did you spend on all this?'
'It wasn't that much. The price of arranging this was only five times the cost of the Mystic Code I designed.' and Fiore said that so casually making Rin wonder how much did those mechanical limbs of hers cost. Even her Mystic Codes didn't cost that much! OK, maybe along six digits but not that insane!
Rin supposed that the money Fiore spent was to make up for the revenues she'd cost the airport for just one day as millions of people come and go every day every hour on schedules.
'The bigger problem was the money to purchase the airplanes. Really now, I asked for old second-hand planes since they're going to be scrapped anyway, yet why did they cost so much? We truly are lucky to have the fortune that Grandfather Darnic left behind.'
'Well, that's… because they're jumbo jets.' Caules sweatdropped.
Sieg looked down at the visible airfield through the window in amazement. There were a total of ten old jumbo jets which Fiore had bought.
Fiore said that they were going to use all of these with their destruction in mind from the start. True, it was a valid decision, since a single plane would be completely annihilated by concentrated attacks. So instead, they would send out several decoy plans to increase their chances of survival...it was quite reasonable, if you didn't take the accompanying cost into account.
'Then, we'll deploy in the formation I explained in the car...Rider.'
'Yes, yes?'
'Your tome is our final hope if Ruler was compromised. Have you remembered its true name?'
'Err...'
Astolfo awkwardly averted his eyes—the faces of everyone else present turned pale.
'Hey, don't tell me you still don't remember!? After coming all this way, that's...'
Fiore drew close and pressed Rider, who waved his hands frantically.
'It'll be fine, it'll fine! Once it's night, I'll remember it! But look, it's still evening right now. Just give me a little more time, okay?'
'We can trust you, right?' Fiore stammered nervously because it all depends on him and Ruler to get them there!
'Leave it to me!'
'...they're clearly not convinced.' Amaimon drawled. Not that he could help, he was the King of Earth and he doesn't own a kin that can fly in the air and they know it.
Astolfo confidently placed his hand over his chest—however, dubious stares remained fixed on him.
He was nervous and sweating.
'Aha, ahaha...Master, help!'
He ran behind Sieg's back to protect himself from the stares.
'Rider...I'd like to talk with you about something with just the two of us, is that all right?'
'Eh? No, umm—'
Astolfo tried to say 'Wait a minute!', but Sieg grabbed his arm without bothering to ask for any further permission and moved them both away from everyone else.
'What is it?'
'A love confession, perhaps?'
The two siblings present both tilted their head curiously and conversed without any sense of tension.
'Maybe if it was Rider, but there's no way Sieg would do that.'
'He wouldn't know society's norms anyway and besides.' Rin swooned with her nose bleeding. 'That kind of thing is popular in Japan now among women...'
'Your nose is bleeding!' Fiore squeaked in panic, pointing at her.
'Oh this? This usually happens whenever I see something so cute.' Rin squealed.
'Master, your standard of cute is strange.' Karna twitched.
'Well, its normal where I'm from.' Chiron smiled, somehow becoming all sparkly. 'Youths often have wholesome relationships with each other before deciding on a woman for the sake of having children for the country.'
'Ohhh! You'll do well in Japan Chiron!' Rin exclaimed. 'There's plenty of that in Japan in comic books!'
'Ohya? Do tell.'
Fiore and Caules were stepping away when the conversation was too much for them, even for Caules who has an ordinary human's common sense.
Karna the bastard, he thought, has earplugs which was NOT fair and Amaimon looked very, veeeery lost.
Interference came in the form of Sieg, Astolfo and Joan coming back though Joan got back first.
'..It's time. We should get going now.'
'Huh? Now that I think about it, what about the pilots? I can pilot a plane, but the remaining nine...' Astolfo stammered out.
'Don't worry. We've put golems installed with the skill to pilot in all ten planes. They're golems that Roche originally created, so their ability is guaranteed.' Fiore reassured.
Being capable of 'expanding' their techniques and abilities after their initial creation according to need was one of the advantages of golems. Fortunately, they still had some humanoid golems that Roche had made left, and it was simple to install abilities that he designed beforehand into them.
'We'll be boarding this plane, so this is where we part.'
From this point on, Fiore would be acting independently of her Servant Archer.
Since they would surely clash with Achilles, who could fly through the skies before they reached the Hanging Gardens, it was very likely that Fiore would get caught up in their battle if she stayed with Chiron.
As much as it made her feel lonely, having him ride a different plane was the correct decision.
'...Archer. May the fortunes of war be with you.'
'Thank you, Fiore. I will obtain victory for you.'
Fiore shook her head at her Servant's words.
'There's no need to do it for me. It's you that matters most here. I want you to fight to your heart's content. —I permit you to use your Noble Phantasm as you see fit. There's no need to wait for orders from me. If you feel that you should use it, please do so.'
Chiron solemnly nodded. Her words meant that she was abandoning any intention of interfering in his battle and was entrusting everything to him. This wasn't an act of irresponsibility, but rather proof of her absolute trust in her Servant.
'Then, we should get going.'
'Yes...let's meet again at the Hanging Gardens.'
They were very curt words of farewell. Fiore stifled the regret at parting inside her—and gave him a final smile as she left his side. She thought that bursting into tears would be shameful. Her Servant also understood that, which was why he didn't speak to her more than necessary, in order to protect that resolve of hers.
'Archer.' Caules spoke up.
'Yes. I wish you luck as well, Caules. And, about my Master—'
'No need to even ask...go beat Rider of Red, Archer.'
Caules ended his farewell with a last wave of his hand. As if nothing had happened between them at all, he then pushed his sister's wheelchair towards their plane.
'Don't die, you two!'
The two siblings couldn't help smiling wryly at Astolfo's rude farewell. Caules turned around and called out to him with an exasperated expression.
'Right back at you, Rider. Don't get carried away and die by mistake.'
'I-I never get carried away! Stupid, stupid!'
'No, you do,' murmured Sieg next to his Servant. However, it was certainly true that Astolfo was stronger when he got carried away than not.
'Well, we'll have to board on separate planes.' Rin sighed. Because of their powerful prana signatures, its best if they're all separated so incase a plane was taken down, the others can continue on.
'Indeed. Where is Kairi and Saber?'
'They got their own plane. That paranoid bastard. They'll come after us.'
Karna got on a separate plane and Rin with Amaimon. The most inconspicuous plane, was the one the Forvedge siblings were on. Rin would have been safe, but the problem was Amaimon who was a Servant-Class fighter. He too, would stand out and he's here to stop her.
She sighed.
