Chapter 10: Coward's Cry
I woke up at sunset to find Lancer sitting upright on the other bed. He was looking at his left wrist for some reason. It appeared he had been up for a while, but I wasn't sure for what reason. Maybe some warrior instinct or something. I stretched and got out of the bed.
"You're finally awake?" He said. I walked over find some clean clothes. I needed a new shirt being there was blood on the other one. Also, an actually shower was something I hadn't taken for a while.
"I'm surprised you're not still asleep." I said and looked at him. I didn't want him to know what I had seen in my dreams. But now that I looked at him I could see the suffering on his face. I took off my long sleeved shirt and threw it on the dresser next to the red pendant. But before I entered the bathroom Lancer got up.
"Where did you get those?" He asked. I was confused until he pointed at my arms. The scars were exposed.
"From the compound." He looked concerned. Though I still had some pain, I didn't want him to worry. "They don't hurt anymore, just a reminder of the past." I said and turned my back. He shouldn't have been so troubled by it.
After a long shower I changed my shirt. It was a light grey, crew neck thermal. The bottom of the sleeves had thumb holes. I decided to wear the black gloves again, just for an extra layer of protection. I wore the same olive pants and decided to expose the locket this time. I looked at the picture inside. The three of us when we were still children. It was just a reminder to why I was here.
"So, what is the plan tonight?" Lancer asked and I snapped the locket closed. I hadn't really thought about it. I wanted to avoid Saber for now after hearing Waver's account. I thought it would be best to meet some more servants. There were two places we could go, being the Temple and the school. But, if I did see two servants in that vision at the Temple, then I would have to face two masters at once.
"Let's go back to the school." I said. And as soon as the sun was gone, we left.
We got to the school and I started at the roof. Lancer said he saw a marking there and I wanted to check it out. It was different from the magic in the building a night ago. The way the barrier was set held the same purpose though, draining the life force of those inside, it just had to be activated. We needed to lure the Servant and Master back here. I erased the circle, hoping that they would come to fix it.
Lancer and I waited in the trees outside the school where I watched last night. I was quiet, enjoying the nice breeze in the air. I sat on the branch and Lancer stood at the corner, were the branch and the trunk joined. I knew tonight that I would fight the Master, and I was ready to do so.
"What class servant do you think did this?" Lancer asked, my guess was the silence was getting to him.
"Don't know, but we'll eliminate them." I said. I wasn't exactly the best at being personable. But if we were going to be here a while, he probably wanted to pass the time. "Sorry, I don't talk to people much."
Lancer shrugged. "You're just forward." I thought I'd continue the conversation.
"I bet most men wouldn't like that in your day." I said and he chuckled.
"All women are stubborn, but if it's only with words they can be persuaded." Lancer said.
"Well I throw punches, so that won't work." He laughed at that and I smiled.
"I'm sure someone would have won your fancy." He responded.
"Would that have been you?" I joked, and he raised his eyebrow. I continued. "Come on, I bet every woman in Ireland wanted to meet the Child of Light." He smiled, exposing canines.
"That may have been true. However only one stole my heart." He smiled, looking at the moon as his red eyes glowed. I had forgotten he had a wife. "But, that doesn't mean I can't flirt." I chuckled to that, but I saw movement on the roof out of the corner of my eye.
"They're here." I said. We stepped onto the courtyard and I followed where the mana felt strongest. We went inside the building and I told Lancer to make himself invisible. He wasn't too happy about it, but in case we ran into a janitor I wanted to avoid him being spotted. When I came to the third floor, I found a kid. He was drawing another part to the barrier.
"What are you doing?" He turned and stared at me. He had dark blue curly hair and dull eyes, holding what appeared to be a spell book. His faced looked somewhat familiar. I think it was next to Sakura's photo in the yearbook. Maybe it was her brother but I wouldn't worry myself names now. I was surprised that most of these masters were kids. Shirou at least had some magic circuits, this kid was normal. That meant I could beat him will little effort.
"Who are you?" He asked, Lancer then showed himself. The kid's face immediately became afraid. "Oh crap, Rider!" He summoned, and she appeared. Lancer went into a defensive position, but waited until I said he could attack.
She had long lavender hair and wore a mask to cover her eyes. She had chains with spear heads at the end for weapons, and wore long black boots and a short black dress for clothing. My guess was the barrier was her idea, considering her master wasn't a mage.
"Did you put him up to this?" I asked Rider.
"I'm simply using the supply that's available." She spoke softly. Considering there would be more than one trap, her intention must have been to use the entire school to make her stronger.
"You want to use students as batteries to fuel your mana." I said. Lancer was still posed to attack. "I know your master is weak, but you'd kill them all?"
"I have no choice. To win I must have more power." Rider said. That was a mistake to admit she was weak. Lancer clenched his weapon tighter, this is something that got under his skin, taking innocent lives.
"Well, then we are here to ruin your plans." I said. It was time to duel. "Lancer, go."
He charged her with his weapon and she dodged his blow. She released her chains and he maneuvered around them. Lancer teleported outside and Rider followed. He moved into the woods and she pursued him. I trusted that he would win, he was smart and could defeat her easily in that terrain.
That left me with her master who stood at the other end of the hall. I began to charge my mana and took electricity from the ceiling. The florescent lights exploded and the glass fell on the floor, and some above my head. I made a large blade with my right arm, and instead of him going after me, he screamed and ran away down the stairs.
"Great, I get the coward." I said, and went to cut him off at the staircase platform on the second floor since the idiot decided to run down the hall on the floor beneath. I jumped down the railings and I heard him coming, just had to wait for him to turn. I caught him before he ran down the next staircase and pinned him against the wall, his spell book landed on the floor beside us.
"Please, please don't kill me!" He begged. This was pathetic. He wasn't going to escape, so I figured I would be able to talk him down.
"Can you see what Rider is doing?" I asked.
"I don't care." He responded. He was probably picked on at school and thought this would solve his problems. Now I had to play counselor.
"Let me guess. People treat you like crap so you want to get back at them?" I sighed. "Sorry, but doing this would just make you a murderer."
"What's it to you?" He said.
"I just want to win this war. But I get being out casted." It sounded like he just needed to relate to someone. Just a lost kid needing guidance.
"Yeah right." He said snidely. "You're not a disappointment. You at least have magic circuits. Your family can be proud of you." Well, that gave me enough information, the kid was probably came from a mage family and was the heir. But with no circuits he was useless. I figured I could be more direct about what I saw from Rider's plan.
"So kill your classmates who make fun of you. But then you will have their families wanting justice. And that will either land you in prison or have you executed. Does that sound like a life you want?"
"No." He said and looked away. "How do you know?"
"Because I've been there." I let go of him, thinking he wouldn't resist. But, his face had a grim smile and he latched onto my throat. He had a good hold on it, his thumbs pressing against my windpipe.
"I can't believe you fell for that!" He said as his grip got tighter. I had to think fast. I didn't want to kill the kid and have Lancer's battle cut short, but dying by the hands of this brat wasn't something I'd stand for. He continued to ramble. "I'm a genius! Now to finish you off. Rider, I command you to kill Lancer's Mas…"
Before he finished his phrase, I reached my right arm to his left shoulder and sent a jolt of electricity through his left arm to prevent him from using his command seals. The jolt broke his arm and escaped through parts of his skin which meant that blood ran down. Cleaned up all he would need was a sling, but he fell screaming in pain. I fell back and coughed, he was too distracted with his arm to continue his command. I stood up as he graveled on the ground in front of me, upset that I would fall for such a stupid trick.
"Ah, it hurts. It hurts. Just kill me now it hurts too much!" He yelled. I didn't think I would be babysitting, but I had to wait now until Lancer was back. I still had command seals, so he was alive.
"You'll live" I said. He kept crying in pain and I had to talk over his lamenting to prevent myself from punching him in the face. "This is what I get for being empathetic, someone who tries to choke me out." He was wailing only grew louder. "Stop crying, you're a man aren't you?"
"They'll need to amputate this." He said, his tone was more direct now. "You're the one who will be sent to prison. I'm the victim here." So I read this kid all wrong. He was used to praise, and that pissed me off more.
"Listen you entitled princess." I paused. "I was trying to give you a chance but you blew it. What you got hit with doesn't compare to what I've done to people in the past." I stepped forward, he was frozen still focused on his broken arm. I continued. "You're someone who wants others to fight for you. You think you are better than everyone because that's what you've been told since birth." He stood up and rose his right arm.
"I'll kill you, hag." He tried to charge me and I kicked him into the side wall face first. To my left was the staircase and the lights from outside lit the hallway. I grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back. I pressed him against the wall and continued my speech.
"Underneath your egotism is a boy who just wants to make an impression. But that attitude you have, that everyone owes you something, will kill you before someone like me does." I paused and squeezed his wrist tighter. I wouldn't break it, but I wanted him to think I would. "You may be a sick human being, and stay that way forever. But, reality will catch up to you, and you'll wish it ended here." I probably could have been less dramatic, but he needed to hear it. Even if he was a terrible person now, he could change it or disregard everything I said. Either way, at least I made an effort.
There was a red flash from the window and then a pause. I waited to see what would happen, and after about a minute the spell book that dropped began to burn. He looked at it, but I wasn't letting go this time. Lancer appeared at the bottom of the steps.
"She's dead?" I asked and he nodded. I let go of the kid and he stayed on the platform as I began to walk down the steps.
"Wait you can leave me here!" I was at my wits end with this kid. But I did one final gesture. I called the emergency line and asked them to send an ambulance. I said he stayed late and was messing with the lights and fell, breaking some glass on his way down. They said they would be on their way, which meant Lancer and I were done here.
"You have help on the way." I said and we both began to walk away, but the kid ran down the steps.
"Hey, I can't be responsible for all of this! It was Rider's plan not mine." He screamed.
"She was your servant, you share responsibility." I turned to face him one more time. "The most you'll get is a fine for breaking the lights. Don't change the story or I'll break your other arm." I didn't care to learn his name, the look on his face showed he was scared enough. His servant was dead so he was no longer on the radar.
Lancer and I left and walked down the river. I needed some time to breathe after almost being choked out. I was still coughing and got a bottle of water from a vending machine. But what happened, why the kid was like that, bugged me.
The fact that he would let his servant kill his classmates and not care what happened after was sadistic to me. But I had the hindsight of doing it before. I knew what a life of killing would lead too. But he had this idea like there was no blood on his hands. Rider would be the one doing the killing so he was innocent. But clearly, Rider hated having a weak master like him. Even so, killing the people in this city for the sake of a war wasn't worth it. I lucked out I guess, the only person I stabbed turned out to be a master.
I stopped at a railing and leaned over it, looking into the dark water. Lancer did the same and I figured we could talk about what happened.
"Was she a challenge?" I asked.
"At first. Once I figured out how her weapons worked then it was simple." He was modest. But I was curious how he defeated her.
"Did you use your noble phantasm?" I asked and he had a slight grin. He used it, but I knew there would be other battles. "Well save it for later I'd like to see it."
"Why did you break that kid's arm?" Lancer questioned, I guess he appeared after our whole conversation.
"He tried to choke me out so he could summon Rider to kill me." I said and Lancer sighed.
"I see." He had disappointment in his voice. I guess he hadn't seen how I get in battle with an enemy.
"I can be vicious when I want to be. All he wanted was to get back at his peers." I felt a tension and wanted to clarify something. After seeing what some of these servant were doing to gain the upper hand, I knew I didn't want to go that route.
"Lancer," I said. "I'm not going to make you kill people to improve your mana. It seems like other servants in this war don't care about killing civilians, but that's too much blood to spill. Masters and Servants are all we should worry about." I paused. "Though the kid was annoying, that wasn't a reason to take his life." I turned to him, his eyes were closed but he had a smile.
"I agree." He said, and turned to face me. "You did the right thing." His grin got bigger. I put my hands in my back pockets. I don't know what he saw in me, he had been doing this since we made the pact.
"What are you smiling for?" I said and he ran his fingers through my hair. I swatted his hand.
"There's some glass in your hair." He said and I stepped back. I wasn't found of people touching me. I began to use my fingers as a comb. But the night was still young.
"I'll brush it out later. Let's keep moving." I said.
I thought we could check out another spot Waver had marked on his map. It was a shipping yard. There were different shipping containers and construction equipment but I didn't think anyone would come here. It was run down but there was enough space to battle.
Lancer and I sat next to each other on one of the containers, and it was peaceful. He seemed happier now that one servant was out of the way. We chatted for a while about how the weather was nice. Lancer mentioned how the water reminded him of lakes he used to fish on. I told him that last time I fished was with Bazett. We didn't catch anything, but ended up with leeches on our legs because we wanted to catch the fish by hand. It was a found memory I shared with my best friend. I said if we had time maybe he could show me some tips, and he seemed pleased by that.
It was nice to have some small talk, just to pass the time. That's how Waver and I could stand each other. We talked about everything. But talking to Lancer reminded me of talking to Bazett. All we needed was the environment to entertain us. I had a feeling if she had become his master they would have clicked instantly. It was clear to see why he would be picked to be a Heroic Spirit, because underneath his valiant acts was still a nice guy.
I told him we could head back because it seemed like no one had followed us. We jumped off the cargo containers and began to walk off the sight. But as we walked away we both felt a giant surge of mana. Certainly something I had never witnessed.
"Leaving so soon? I wanted to play." The voice sounded like a little girl. Whoever this threat was, it wasn't going to be easy.