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Dusk.
The sun wades across the empty sky. There is nothing left in the desert; Achilles' men have vanished without a trace. There are no cries; no blood, no bodies. Only the desert wind accompanied the two men as the sandstorm subsided and the wind died down to a gentle whisper.
However peaceful the wind may have been, Gilgamesh was not. His head tilted as he scanned the area.
"Enkidu!" he yelled, his voice now hoarse.
Like before, nothing answered him. He angrily picked up a handful of sand and flung it into the air. The hope of meeting his old friend again faded away like the very grains he tossed away. Picking up a hoplite's broken shield, Gilgamesh threw it at the horizon. The disk quickly disappeared.
"Och, lad. Come. Let us go. Dere is nothin' to see 'ere." Lancer tapped his shoulder gently. The Irishman pointed to the distant city with his borrowed spear.
"Tis gettin' dark. We should return to the city lest some wee beasties be wantin' supper."
"Whatever, mongrel. Are you afraid of wild creatures?"
"No, lad, but we be wastin' time. Yer friend, if he was there, be gone now."
Gilgamesh sighed. He didn't want to admit it, but the Irish spearman standing in front of him was right, again. He turned around and absentmindedly brushed off a speck of nonexistent dust off his shoulder plate.
"I was just thinking about the same thing, mongrel."
"Would ye stop callin' me "mongrel?!"
"Only if you will stop referring to me as "lad." Come, mongrel, dinner is waiting for us at my palace. Then you can help me save the world."
You'd think he'd be a bit less haughty now that the world is in danger. Lancer sighed as he turned and followed the golden warrior.
"So, can we like, go now?"
The recruit whined as Utnapishtim dragged Rin and Archer to one side. He wanted to sneak over and listen to them, but he stopped himself. Nilk wasn't too sure if he should be snooping, but he figured that the old sage will probably tell him what he needs to know. He whistled again, looked at the beacon again, and knew he couldn't keep himself disguised for much longer. Thus, he contented himself with staring into the open sky as nightfall rapidly approaches.
"…So, at work my old friend is. Very well…"
"…Correct, and we believe the artifact in question that Locke requires is within the city limits…"
Nilk yawned. He wasn't sure if the humans understood what they needed to do yet, but he knows that he cannot interfere. For now, all he had to do was play his role.
I'm honestly getting tired of this whole "talking like a newbie" and acting human business. What I wouldn't give for some wing-room right now…
Sensing that Ramses was staring at him, Nilk quickly drew back to his spot.
"So, we don't know who this guy is or where he is from?" Rin whispered hurriedly as she stole a glance in the young man's direction. "You realize in these circumstances he could be with our enemies, right?"
"Rin, I'm not sure if I get it," Archer interjected. "He just helped us get help from bald guy over there."
"Idiot, what happened to your own counter-guardian training? It is PRECISELY these acts of kindness that we need to be on our guard for."
Pointing at the young man staring into empty space a mere thirty feet from him, Archer shook his head.
"I think we should trust him."
"Since when were YOU, out of all people so trusting? Rin's temper flared. Why won't he see it my way? "Seriously? Look at him. Don't tell me you can't feel something odd about the kid. In fact, you were the one who said that there was something wrong with him a few hours ago, wasn't it? Why is he talking like a teenager from Tokyo? He handles the sight of blood like any veteran, where did he get the experience? Where did he learn to play the Ocar-whatmachallit-"
"Ocarina."
"Oh, be quiet!"
"Young ones?" Utnapishtim tugged on Archer's sleeve, a look of worry coming onto his face.
"Keep on going, we're still listening."
"I…I forgot what I was going to say," Rin mumbled, blushing slightly.
"Typical," Archer smirked. "Anyways, I -" he looked around and saw the old man looking at him. "Sorry, please go ahead."
"Thank you, young one," Utnapishtim smiled.
"Powerful magic at work, will be. Your magic fragment, originates from here, it was. In normal situations, the essence of the world, appears as a book it will. However, take what form the tablet will, I know not. Act quickly, we must. Fragment is intelligent, yes, but it is picky when choosing its activation location."
"So we just need to wander around the city to find a place for the magic to work? Grrreat. Goldie's place is huge."
Utnapishtim didn't answer. Instead, he picked up his walking stick and flipped forward. Landing eight steps below the platform, he turned and shouted.
"Ramses! Stay on the hill, you will! Watch over the others, responsibility is yours.Huge it may be, but find it we will! To my abode, we go! Useful knowledge we shall find there."
Rin nodded. She had a hunch that they were going to go through moldy old books again, and then she realized that paper hasn't reached this part of the world yet. Sighing, she beckoned to Archer as the pair followed the sage.
"You're getting the heavy stuff," she laughed a little. Her dark tresses flying back as she ran nimbly towards the prophet of Uruk, who shrugged as he began walking downhill.
"Come, come! Do, or do not..."
"…there is no try," Archer muttered. He bowed his head in anticipation of the unrealistic amounts of clay tablets he needed to carry.
The pharaoh said nothing but stood still as he watched his mentor and the two strangers walk off the mountain. Turning around to face Nilk, he questioned.
"Warrior, who are you?"
"Huh? You know my name already. I'm Nilk." The youngster answered flippantly.
Ramses was not convinced. There was something too flippant about the young man's response. He looked at the youngster carefully. Their eyes met, and for a second, it did seem that something a lot more lurked behind his jade-green eyes, but that was gone as soon as it appeared.
Nilk looked back quizzically.
"Um, mister pharaoh person, why are you staring at me?"
The pharaoh grunted and looked away. Hefting his weapon, he began his slow descent down the hill.
Heh, if only he looked back. Nilk grinned as he hopped down from where he was sitting. Yeah, alright. That has got to be the lamest way of powering up, in the history of the modern world. Ever, but oh well. A dragon's gotta do with what a dragon has on hand, right? It's not like cold fusion have been invented yet, and it probably won't be for at least another couple of hundred – no, wait, what era are we in again?
Nilk smirked and look around in his pockets.
Swiss army knife, pickle slicer, half-eaten pack of gum, keys, portable USB…
She's gone now. She really is gone.
Dawn approached Shiro as he sat numbly in front of a small limestone marker. Saber was gone. Saber, his Saber. Gone because of him.
The remaining Knights of the Round pressed on. They had a mission to fulfill. Shiro could understand. He couldn't help them in his current condition, and he certainly wouldn't let himself be the one to drag them down. He has a mission to fulfill too, doesn't he? He had to save the world by breaking the perfect logic. But the only thing he could save was Excalibur, and that he buried away. Deep, deep, and away. Away from the surface.
Yet, how was he supposed to do that without Saber?
The little gravestone looked at him sadly, as if it understood him. It seemed to sway in sympathy as a light breeze rocked the surface of the once-green landscape. A few leaves circled around Shiro as he stared. Stared and sat.
Stared and sat.
He was useless, wasn't he? He couldn't do anything. Everyone is better fit at this hero thing than he is. Why did he even bother? If he wasn't here, none of this would have happened.
Stare.
And now she's gone.
Stare.
Meanwhile, about a few hundred yards away…
"Roobyn! hic I thinksh we should helpsh 'im!"
The fat friar mumbled as he downed another mug of ale. Robin said nothing. He heard a rustle as Marian emerged from the woods and sat down next to him, her hair still wet from her morning wash.
"Honey," she began, taking one of Robin's hands in her own as she pressed gently on it. "It's been a rough day for the kid - "
"Nah, Rough day? He just saw his crush-love person commit suicide in order to save his life. That's not rough at all. We can't stay here and watch over him either. That point's been agreed upon. We need to move as quickly as possible towards the battle destination. "
Will Scarlet snapped nonchalantly as he filled his pipe. Meanwhile, Friar Tuck was filling up an Ale barrel with water as he mumbled again, this time more loudly.
"Roobyn! hic I thinksh we should helpsh 'im!"
"Give the kid some time. He'll get over it."
"Will! That's not good for him! Look at him! He's like your room inside the Fortress, except broken."
"Roobyn! Ish reallysh thinksh hic yoo should talk hic to Sheerooo!"
"Alright, alright. So he's a little messed up at the moment. I've had worse."
"comrade, my love, my good friar, I think he can hear us." Robin quietly spoke.
It was true. Shiro was staring in their general direction, except with a blank look on his face.
"Personally, I think Will's right. Some things in our lives we can't control. I think it's better if we let him - "
"Honey, have a heart…"
"Uh, if we let him - " Robin paused as Marian inched her way into his lap and stared at him pitifully with those huge, luminescent eyes.
"Uh…"
"Dear, I know you mean the best for him. Shiro's not a bad kid, but trust me on this." Marian nudged playfully as she continued. "You need a woman's heart to understand this. Sometimes manning it out just doesn't work. So please, will you go talk to him? Please?"
"Alright, alright. You win. I'll go talk to him." Robin laughed as he gave Marian a light peck on her cheek. Will rolled his eyes, but said nothing. The chatter of Sherwood forest quickly drowned out Robin's footsteps as he approached the downcast youngster.
Marian, oh Marian…who did you think I was anyways? Richard the Lionheart? You know I can't…pep…talk…
Robin gulped as he sat down next to Shiro.
"Hey, kid."
Shiro turned around and look at him blankly, without much expression on his face.
"Uh…hey, kid. We know what happened, and uh…we know how you feel."
"No you don't," a blocky, mechanical tone replied. "You DON'T know how I feel."
Robin sighed again as he scratched his head. It was true. He doesn't know how Shiro feel. Regardless, he was going to give it a shot as he sat down next to the grieving boy.
"You're right. I don't. I suppose I'll know how you feel if I should lose Marian," the ranger said slowly, carefully picking out his words. He saw Marian giving him a quizzical look.
Help! He signaled with his eyes. His lady's eyes lit up as she nodded and slowly approached the pair.
"I do know, however, that we're trying to help you, and that we really want to help you. What do you say? Can you give us a chance?"
Shiro stared and said nothing.
"You know, dear, Robin's right," Marian continued. "We know what happened was terrible, but it'll only stay terrible if you make it to be so."
"What?"
"That's right," Robin continued. "We can't alter time. Or, actually, I suppose we can, since we ARE here in this messed up battle right now. You know, Marian, I - "
"HONEY!"
"Right. Anyways. We can't change what has happened, but we do have control over the present. You know, we have an old saying here." Robin smiled gently as he looked over to Marian's side and held his hand out. A leaf slowly fell onto his hand.
"Yesterday is history," he whispered.
"Tomorrow is a mystery," Marian joined in as another leaf danced pass them. Shiro raised his head and looked at them, like a man who is just beginning to wake from a nightmare.
"But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."
Shiro's expression softened for a moment as he nodded. Marian and Robin gave each other a knowing smile as they disappeared into the woods.
Maybe they were right. I can change what happens next.
Why bother? A bitter little voice said in his ear. They've still got each other.
"Get up."
Shiro jumped as Will Scarlet appeared out of nowhere. How in the world do all these ranger people do that?
"I'll keep it brief, but grow up. What you have suffered is nothing in comparison to some other people. You have to tough up and just take it like a man."
"Take it like a man? I don't see you taking up ANYTHING!" Shiro shouted. "Can you ever get off your stupid high horse and drop your tough-man act?"
He was expecting Will to flare up. Instead, Will just gave a little chuckle. There was a hint of sadness as he answered.
"The young thinks the world revolves around them. Little do they know, if they are the only sufferers in the world, then there will be no unhappiness left in the world."
With that, Will turned and walked into the shadows, leaving a very disgruntled Shiro.
Hmph. What does he know?
"Lotsh o' shthings!"
Shiro sighed in exasperation. He wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to be bothered anymore, and now he had to entertain a drunk along the way too?
"Could you please leave me alone?"
"Not until yoush getsh better!"
"I said, could you leave me alone?" Shiro snapped. He was losing his temper. How could this fat man ever understood what he was going through?
"Not until yoush getsh better! Ish can readsh yoo mind, Sheeroo."
"Go away!"
"No!"
"Go away!!"
"No." The friar said quietly. All semblance of being drunk have left his voice. He looked at the boy kindly. With a stern voice, he began speaking.
"Shiro Emiya. I may be drunk most of the time, but I see things better while drunk than you are sober!
First of all, you have no right to accuse Will Scarlet. He has gone through atrocities that you couldn't even bear to think. He lost his mother when he was young - "
"So? I never grew up with a mother. All I had was dad!"
The friar seemed to puff up a little as he looked at Shiro angrily. Despite his stained robes and his rotund figure, his scholarly voice is as powerful as any king.
"That year, 1315. Famine struck the land. The sheriff didn't care. He was doing fine while all of England went hungry.. I was working in the abbey as a scribe, oblivious to what happened around me. I had work, I had respect, I had everything most other people didn't have, but I wasn't content. I felt fake; like my life wasn't doing anything. I was supposed to be serving God, but instead, I was stuck in some little cubicle penning the fat sheriff's decrees.
It was then I first met Will. He broke into my house, and thinking him to be a thief, I brought him to the authorities. The sheriff of Nottingham decided to sentence him to death through hanging.
In a strange twist of fate, I was to be his chaplain the night before his death. I approached his cell that night, expecting another hardened criminal. Instead, he said nothing to me except this one thing.
"Do you know that you have killed not one, but three today?"
Perplexed, I sat down next to him.
"Brother Scarlet, the law is written, and the law is just. That's how it has been for the past hundred years."
"Friar," he continued. "I beg this one thing, then. If the law is just, then I will die justly here. When I die, please go out of town, about ten miles from Nottingham, and spare a little food for my family."
It was then that I learned of his story. Will Scarlet is, like so many of our townsmen, just another honest farmer trying to make a living. Unfortunately, the sheriff had eyes for his beautiful wife, and had tried many times to get his grubby hands on her. Scarlet naturally refused, and he became a target for the capricious man.
That year. Everything was scarce. We, the officials barely had enough to pass our days. I was, as I will stress this again, oblivious to what was happening outside of my small, pitiful world. I will tell you this again. Will is a good man. He cannot bear to see his family die in front of him. The law had to be broken. That was when I realized that God, whom I serve does not want me to be like this. How can I sit in my office, when His people are suffer?
I had nothing, except for a Bible – this Bible, that I carry with me even now." Tuck continued, pointing at the battered book clasped on his belt.
"I couldn't do anything for this man. This man was innocent. He was not a criminal. His request was legit, and I, for once, was ashamed that I was unable to do anything. Will Scarlet seemed to understand, and he asked me to spend his last moments alone.
I paced outside of his cell. It was then the most obvious method dawned upon me. I inched near him. with a clank, the keys to his shackles fell onto the floor.
"Here. You dropped this."
At that moment, I felt so inferior. What kind of a priest am I? Am I so afraid of tyranny that I was unable or unwilling to do a simple good deed? I picked up the keys with one swoop and unlocked his bonds.
"Go," I shouted, in a dry voice. The prisoner looked at me, not sure of himself.
"Go!" I yelled, licking my dried lips. "Before someone sees you."
He clasped my hand tightly and shook them in gratitude. I watched him leave, knowing that by allowing him to go, I've doomed myself. But I was content. For I finally realized that I've done something right. And I know, deep down, that God approved. That was enough.
A day later, I was sentenced to the same fate. I didn't care. It was all good. I've made peace with man, and more importantly, I've made peace with God. I walked to the gallows with my head straight, knowing that I'll die for the right thing.
What happened next was pretty much a blur, as I was rescued at the gallows by Robin and his band of "Merry Men." Sure enough, this man – Will Scarlet was among them. I was glad to see his face.
"Brother Scarlet," I inquired once we were at a safe location. "How is your family?"
Will's face instantly darkened as he told me the rest of his tale.
When Will returned to his residence, he found his wife and daughter both gone. His small cabin was halfway run to the ground, and all he could find was a scrap of his wife's crimson skirt, where it snagged on a piece of wood. Of his two year old daughter, he could find no trace, except for a small puddle of blood near the doorstep.
Will's burdens are just as bad as yours, Shiro Emiya," Friar Tuck continued.
"Yet he carries on. Do you know why? Let me finish my tale, then you can do as you please.
I was shocked. I didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be," was his response. He smiled wanly as he turned around. No tears, no sorrow. Just calm.
"I know that wherever they are, someone much more powerful than me is looking out for them. And I know that if they're alive, I'll get to see them again."
I was struck by Will's faith in people, and in God. It made my own feel insignificant, and it has pushed me; no, inspired me to do better.
"…And if they're not. Well, I'll see them somewhere else then. It's all alright."
I started to move towards the exit in shame.
"Friar, thank you."
I stopped.
"Thank you for giving me a second chance."
At that moment, I can say that I understood him.
"You have a new goal in mind, don't you, Brother Scarlet?"
"That I do," he nodded in affirmation. "To hold onto the present and do what I can to find them."
The Friar ended his story and stopped speaking as he took a chug from his mug.
"I'm done, young man. Do with what you need to do, and what you should do. God'll watch over you."
Humming a cheerful hymn to himself, Friar tuck walked away. Shiro watched the rotund scholar leave. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, nor was he sure about what he was supposed to be feeling right now. He could have continued, but a huge shadowed eclipsed over him.
"Robin and Lady Marian says to Little John that he should bring you this."
Shouldering a huge tote bag, Little John dropped it beside Shiro. With a huge grin, he opened the contents for Shiro to see.
"Little John knows how to eat and how to walk better than anyone else, so Little John packed Shiro some supplies."
"Wow…thanks," Shiro whispered. The bag was full of preserved meats and hardtack. All carefully packed away in what seemed to be a leafy material. A golden emblem with what seemed to be five different beer mugs was on the bag.
"Lady Marian really likes you I think, and Robin does too. They even told Little John to give you one of their enchanted rings so you could come to the Fortress any time," Little John pointed to a little band made out of oak that was tucked away in a corner. This one also had the same gold emblem printed on it. It glowed at Shiro's touch.
"Thank you," Shiro replied as he stood up. He felt a bit better about himself now. "I think I should try to head off now."
"Oh! Before Little John has to leave, Little John tell you secret."
The giant bent down as he leaned forward to Shiro's ear.
"When Little John was little, really little, Little John's mommy tell Little John that there is place that knights go to after they die. She tells Little John to not tell anyone because it is secret."
Shiro's eyes widened just slightly as he listened.
"Little John's mommy say that place is really really beautiful with many many trees and a shining lake in middle. So Little John say to mom that Little John want to be knight when he grows up. Mommy just laughs and tell Little John that Little John too little to become knight. So Little John become woodcutter instead. He still happy. Still, he really wants to see this place.
Little John's mommy tells Little John that place is called Avalon. She also tells Little John that only the pure of heart can find door to it," Little John whispered into Shiro's ear.
"Little John say to mommy, Little John wants to find Avalon. Mommy laughs again and says to Little John that he too nice and simple to find it. So it ok, Little John forgets about it until now."
"If your mommy tells you it's a secret, then why are you telling me this story?"
"Shh, Little John tells Shiro secret because Little John thinks Shiro is pure of heart like mommy says, and if Little John can't see Avalon, then maybe Shiro can do it for him." Little John winked.
"Plus, mommy say Little John really good at reading people's hearts, an' seeing what's on their minds. Little John not as stupid as he looks, so Little John thinks he could help."
"John, dear? C'mon! Robin's waiting for you to start us up!"
"Oops. Little John needs to go now! Bye-bye, Shiro, good luck!"
The giant frowned and leapt to his feet. With one smooth motion that is too agile for his size, he jumped on top of a tree. The trees seemed to unroot before Shiro's very eyes as the forest around him begins to move rapidly. He heard Robin's voice in the distant.
"Sherwood Forest…Roll out!"
The trees lined up and began a rapid march. Soon, they disappeared over the horizon. Shiro smiled for the first time since forever, and turned his face towards the rising sun.
Avalon…
Refreshed, the young man began his quest anew.