Fate/Asterism Liner

Chapter 11: Answers

"Haaagh… no turning back from here."

Eil sighed to himself as he stood at the gate to the Einzbern house. With the new day being overcast, he felt like the weather itself was reflecting the overall mood he felt. After last night, he could only use the word "grim" to describe how some of this felt at the time. With Illya having ran, and Miyu's attitude about the event, a troubled feeling was what pervaded Eil's mind.

As he'd expected, Illya hadn't been at school that day. After the events of last night, he couldn't blame her for it. She wasn't a magus. Those kind of things weren't something she'd been taught from a young age could, and would, happen in a way that she could see. The likes of him, Rin, and Lluvia were. While they would find such a horrible thing perturbing, they'd long since learned to remain calm and rational under those kinds of situations.

But again, that key difference came to mind for Eil. Illya wasn't a magus. But that only made more questions come to mind. If she didn't know who she was as an Einzbern, then it only brought along a bunch of other questions.

And for Eil, there was an insatiable desire for him to understand that. Since a young age, he'd learned very quickly he had an overwhelming sense of curiosity. A desire to learn, to know, that pervaded his thoughts to the point of unwavering determination to learn the truth behind whatever piqued that curiosity.

With another sigh, Eil passed the gate and knocked on the doorway. With a moment of silence following it, Sella answered the door… though this time, she seemed far less surprised to see him.

"Uh… hey." Eil said, "Is uh… is Illya doing alright? She wasn't at school today."

"She's fine just… taking the day off for… reasons." Sella said, Eil putting a hand behind his head, "Notes and homework, right?"

"Yeah…" Eil muttered… then another sigh came from his mouth, "Okay, actually, you know damn well why I'm here, don't you, Einzbern?"

"Haaahhh… I honestly hoped something like this would never come to pass." Sella muttered, looking at Eil near coldly, "Though I didn't quite expect that woman's son to be the one darkening our doorway about this. For whatever reason I had expected Madame Galina to end up here for some reason."

"It's far less surprising to me that you know my mom than it should be." Eil muttered, his hands sliding into his pockets, "So am I gonna be stuck standing outside?"

"Hugh… no avoiding it now. Come on in." Sella stepped aside to allow Eil to enter the house. He easily caught the sound of her locking the door once he was through the threshold. Eil was guided into the living room next, Sella going off to the side, while Leys was lounging as usual for her on the sofa. "Leys, perhaps we should do some reintroductions between ourselves and Illya's… "friend"… here."

"Huh? Are you talkin' about the fact he looks like that weird lady we met years ago?" Leys' remark got Eil to flinch a bit. He had not been expecting the two maids to be readily knowledgeable of who he was from appearance alone. Last he checked he and his mother shared barely a passing resemblance, "I mean, it's all in the eyes with this one."

"Dammit, I always forget about that one. The one thing about our Trait that might as well be a goddamn ID tag to the ones who actually know about it." Eil gave a hiss as he brought a hand to his face. "I get the distinct feeling there's something you wanna know from me before I'll even get a chance to ask… considering you also shut and locked the door leading out of here."

"At least you're perceptive." Sella said, stepping away from the mentioned door. She calmly took a chair, and then nodding. "But, yes, there is something I want to know. What is it that Illya has been getting up to? If it involves a Zvezda then it can't be something simple. Your clan has something of a reputation for always showing up when something big happens."

"We met your mom when that whole Grail War thing was gonna happen like… how long ago was it now?"

"Almost sixteen years, Leys."

"Thanks Sella."

"The same age as me and Illya…" Eil thought. With the eyes of the two young women on him though, and the fact he was locked in, he started thinking on it. True he could probably easy break out of the place and run, but it's not why he was here. Of anything this was the perfect chance to get some of the answers he was looking for, "To the point then. I was sent her alongside the heirs of the Tohsaka and Edelfelt on orders from the Clocktower… well, less the clocktower, more my mentor, Zelretch. Some anomalies that appeared here in Fuyuki several years ago became abnormal to the point something had to be done… and these anomalies, are these Cards."

Reaching into his pocket, Eil produced the Saber card. If he wanted to get answers from the two, then he couldn't be restrictive. Not like he followed the normal rules of a Clocktower magus anyway, so why would he have to care?

"That's… Saber… Servants?" Sella said. Eil didn't find it that surprising it turned out the maid was knowledgeable about this, "But, how? Lady Irisviel and Sir Kiritsugu had…"

"Had what?" Eil responded, Sella going silent. Seems he had to say more. "Hah… but in the short, after some… problems caused by the Mystic Codes Zelretch lent Tohsaka and Edelfelt ditching them to find new Masters… Illya was picked out by one of them, and we had to get her help to collect these things."

"WHAT?!" Sella shot to her feet immediately, Eil staying firmly put in place, "You're saying that… Illya's been going out every night for the past week to fight Servants?!"

"Yes." Eil responded. There was no getting out the obvious anger in Sella's voice. He was pretty sure the woman would've been trying to throttle him if she knew she could get away with it. "Look, we didn't force her if that's what you're thinking. We explained the situation to Illya and why we needed her help, since the damn stick that contracted to her is a stubborn pain in the ass. The simple fact of the matter is that Illya agreed to help us of her own free will. But, last night… ugh… she saw just how ugly the world of a magus can really be. While we were collecting the Assassin Card, the Servant we fought had turned out to… I dunno, it was either some kind of decoy or just something even stranger than that. But…"

The image flashed through Eil's mind again. Of the brutal way in which the real Assassin had appeared, and Illya's terrified expression at having been right in the face of that kind of thing. It was something he didn't have words to put to.

"In short it just wasn't something Illya was prepared to see. It's just… hard to describe." Eil stated, his hands tightening up, "Look, I don't have any kind of excuse to offer. All I can say is it's something I hadn't wanted to happen, but the matter is that it did. Now we're here."

"Illya having to fight… and Servants of all things… no wonder she had that fever the other day. We must have been right about what happened."

"Right about what?"

"Zevzda boy, you'd be aware of the inner workings of the Grail War, right?" Sella asked, Eil nodding, "Then it won't be hard to explain. Any magus would know about the three founding clans of the ritual."

"Obviously. Tohsaka, Makiri, or, well, now it's Matou I think, and the Einzbern. The Einzberns in particular created the Greater Grail that ran the Wars before something happened sixteen years ago. It had always been the job of the Einzbern clan to provide the… wait…" Eil was already coming to the conclusion himself as he spoke. His thought process had started working, connecting dots. The reason why Illya, a completely normal girl with no training as a magus whatsoever, could have such a natural talent for the craft and such a deep well of mana reserves within her… there was only one answer he was able to come to.

And it wasn't one he liked.

"The thought had come to mind a couple of days ago." Sella said, tenting her hands, "There was evidence a seal on Illya had been unlocked for a short time. The thing is, it was the kind of seal that could only open if she was facing life or death circumstances."

"For the record, at the time I thought that she was overthinking it." Leys said, then tilting her head to one side, "Guess I was wrong. If it's a Zvezda than it's gotta be some kind of dangerous mess.

"And if you're talking a seal, then it was locking away some kind of power." Eil said, a long sigh escaping him, "The power of the Holy Grail itself. Am I right?"

"Yes." Sella answered, one hand tightening on her sleeve, "Illya was born with the power of the Grail inside of her. The ability to become the vessel when the time was necessary. That… isn't the life her parents wanted for her."

"Her father is the Magus Killer himself… I don't need to put a lot of thought into why the Einzbern clan suddenly went totally silent, knowing that." Eil let out a breath again. Eyes were on him now. "Right… that explains it… last night, Assassin caught us off guard. We hadn't expected it to be a gestalt comprising well over fifty bodies… and as a result of that, I got injured. With what Illya saw before that, and then seeing what it's actually like for somebody to be injured in that way… I think that seal you're talking about came undone again. There was just… this outpour of mana that came from her. It was nothing short of an explosion that destroyed everything around it. After that, well… she panicked and ran."

"She had a fever again this morning, and the same signs as before." Sella remarked, putting a hand to her chin, "Dammit… of all the things to be happening, why something like this, and why now? Was there really no choice in the matter for all of this?"

"Like I said before, Illya chose this herself. She could have chosen not to, and I would've taken the Mystic Code back. I know a spell to cancel their contracts thanks to my Mentor. The simple fact of the matter is she saw how bad things can be the other day." Eil stated, and he didn't flinch when Sella shot over to him, clearly incensed, "And I'm not saying I don't feel a bit of responsibility for that… honestly had things been able to go smoother I doubt Illya wouldn't haven come close to being involved. But neither of us can change the fact she is… and so I have to deal with the consequences of those events."

"Tch… who'd have thought there'd be a day one would meet a magus who actually cares about people in a normal fashion." Sella stepped over to the door and undid the lock, the woman giving a sigh, "Go talk to her. It's what you're here for, right?"

"Yeah… thanks." Eil said. As he stepped out, he stopped for a moment though, "I honestly don't want her to get hurt… I actually kind of like Illya. And I promise, if she decides not to fight anymore, then I won't try and do something to hold her to it… we may only have one more Card to go, but, it's her decision to make. So, I'll respect whatever she decides to do."

After Eil headed up the steps, a moment of silence was left to the maids, Sella giving a long sigh.

"He'd make a good boyfriend." Leys remarked, Sella yelping.

"Don't say weird things!"

"What? Illya's at that age, isn't she?"

"You're making it sound like he's here for something else!"

"I mean one day it could be."

"STOOOOOP!"

"This is familiar… but now entirely different." Eil deeply sighed as he stood in front of Illya's door, his hand raised but not yet knocking on the door. It took him a moment more to do so, but it was almost like a hollow echo, "Hey, uh, Illya? It's me, Eil I was… I just wanted to check in on you after… last night and all of that so… hagh… look, I know what you saw scared you, I don't blame you for that. The only difference between you and me there is that I was taught to expect those kinds of things. It's a hard truth but, the world we magi inhabit isn't that pretty… I wouldn't blame you if you decided to back out of all of this."

Eil placed his forehead on the door as he spoke. He wasn't even sure if Illya was awake to hear what he was saying. Something told him she was though, and trusting his gut was something he'd long learned to do.

"Your life was basically normal up until now. And it suddenly changing… it's understandable you'd be scared. Especially after… that. Illya, it's up to you whether or not you want to back out of this and go back to that life, or wrap this up… I'm not here to try and convince you of anything, I swear. I just… want to hear it from you personally." Eil was met with another moment of silence… and the he heard an exasperated grumble.

"Ahhhh! I can't stand this kind of tense silence!" Ruby's voice is what he heard, and then the door flew open, something flying around and smacking Eil on the back of the head, "Get in here!"

Eil tumbled to the floor no thanks to the blow he'd received, getting up on a hand and grumbling a few curses as he held the spot where he'd been hit, a glare moving up to Ruby as the stick flitted into his view. Though with another look, he saw Illya sitting on the bed, in what he could only call wrapped up as a "blanket burrito" as she sat on the bed.

"Uh… hi." Illya murmured, Eil standing up completely, where Illya retreated a bit into her "shell."

"So… there was all that I said, so uh…" Eil muttered, putting a hand behind his head.

"No, I get it but… hey uh… do you want to go out somewhere?" Illya's tone was off. Despite her attempt to smile as she asked the question, Eil could tell it was more "I want to get out of here" than anything… but maybe there would be a better chance to talk outside of this room. At least, that was the intent he managed to gather from it. "Just so… you know, we could at least walk around?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Eil said, but his thoughts were elsewhere, "I wonder… how different could this situation be if Illya was aware of who she really is? Who knows… not really a question I need to be asking now, is it?"

The walk through town between Eil and Illya had started silent and stayed that way for a while. It remained that way for a while until the two reached a park.

"You know… part of me right now is just thinking 'I don't want to see any more of those scary things.'" Illya said, stopping and looking up at the overcast sky.

"That's… understandable." Eil said, pocketing his hands.

"And, honestly, at first, I did it for fun, and out of curiosity. It was like some wacky dream from my childhood had come true y'know?" Illya said, her hands bunching the hem of her skirt, "But, even though I became a magical girl, all I actually did was risk my life in battle. And I've already nearly died once or twice. I never had the reason… or the resolve to fight."

"You know, there's nothing to be ashamed of in being scared." Eil leaned against a nearby bench, a bit tenderly on his left arm as it was. Illya couldn't help but look at the spot where he'd been injured. She was sure the injury was probably tightly wrapped up. She still couldn't get that horrible image out of her head though… the sight of Eil's face contorted in agony haunted her. "Honestly most people probably would've backed out after just fighting Caster. But you stuck around. You honestly wanted to learn more about all of this, and despite things, I did have fun teaching you."

"Yeah it… it was fun." Illya said, her hands going into tight fists, "But… I didn't know things could be that scary or that… there was a chance any of us could be hurt that badly."

"I… don't have much to say to that." Eil muttered, a hand at his left shoulder, "When I was being taught about things particular to my family back home in Russia, it just kind of became commonplace. I was taught from a young age how to tolerate pain. That even when it hurt enough that I was screaming, I was to grit my teeth and power through it, because the one who did it wouldn't stop to let me catch my breath. Course though, I'm a mage with an unspecialized magic that covers a lot of bases. I have some edges in versatility others don't. But… that's just me."

"How though?" Illya asked, still stuck staring at where Eil had been stabbed, "I mean… yesterday, from how you looked, it was hard to… and then… ugh… I can barely think straight right now, it just… none of it makes any sense now… what I did back there… when I fought Saber…"

"What?" Eil looked surprised as Illya said that, the girl holding one of her arms, a solemn look on her face.

"After what happened… I remembered everything that happened. How I fought Saber… and how I used the Archer Card." Illya said, "But, it's so strange. I remember it, but it doesn't feel like a memory I have. It felt like… like somebody else was in control then. Like I wasn't the one who had acted at the time. I just don't get it… is… is something wrong with me?"

"Now how the hell do I answer that?! I can't just up and say "oh, you were born to be a vessel for the Holy-freaking-Grail and it makes you stupid kinds of power!"… stupid! That's not the kind of thing you can tell someone when they're like this… I mean she's probably going to learn eventually, Illya's inquisitive but… dammit, how can I answer that without making this worse?" Eil gave a sigh as the thought went across his mind, though at least something came to mind. "Well… I'm not exactly a normal magus myself either. I mean, c'mon, I have a bloodline trait that gives me speckled blue eyes and is the only reason I can even use the magic that I do. So… I guess we're both in the same boat as being kind of strange. But… I can't really say anything for sure about that."

Eil's voice stopped dead when he was about to say something else. It would have been an attempt to lighten the mood, but he knew that just wouldn't have worked out. Illya caught the intent of the silence. She honestly hadn't expected much anyway.

"Yeah… I guess we both are."

"So… well, if you decide you don't want to fight, I won't hold it against you." Eil said, Illya glancing back at him, "I mean, I could definitely try to. I mean, our last enemy is a bloody Berserker by process of elimination. I'd say we need all of the help we can get. But… I want to respect whatever decision you make about all of this." Though then another thing came to mind…. "Shit… saying that out loud sounded way too much like I was trying to guilt trip her, didn't it? It came across as guilt tripping, didn't it?! Stupid stupid stupid! I meant what I said about wanting to respect her choice, but it coming after all of that, it sounds like a stupid guilt trip attempt!"

"Right…" Illya's hands bunch up again. And Eil was rather thankful he could keep his cool without much trouble, since he was still mentally freaking out, "Eil, I'm sorry but… right now, I just don't know. I don't want any of you to get hurt again, and I'm not so dumb as to think my life can just go back to normal now. There's still so many questions I want to ask, things I want to learn… but I still can't decide if I want those answers more than I want that normalcy I had before… no, that's not right. It's more just… I don't know if I have the same kind of resolve you do. The resolve to know how ugly this world can be, and look at it without being horribly shaken up."

"Heh… well, you're definitely more mature than some people would initially take you for." Eil hummed, sliding his hands into his pockets, "Again, I won't blame you if you choose not to fight. That's entirely your choice. After all…" Eil then lifted his right hand up, extending his index finger until it was pointing skyward, "For Zvezdas like me, we follow the stars. Whether we can see them or not, that's where we get our paths. Just so you know, we're not going to fight Berserker until the day after tomorrow so… well, whatever you decide to do, I at least promise none of us will hold it against you. And besides… I'm sticking around for a while longer anyway so… not like we won't be seeing each other after this is all said and done."

"Eil, w-wait, before you leave…" Illya reached into her pocket as Eil turned to leave, the young man stopping and turning back around. When Illya put her arm out, Eil saw that she was holding the Archer Card out to him. "I… I'm going to think about it. I may not be sure but… I know I don't want things to just end with that but I… I know I can't go into another fight when I'm unsure like this. So… please take this Card with you. Consider it a lucky charm from me to you."

"Hehe, then I'll be sure to put it to good use." Eil said, taking the Card and pocketing it, a casual smile coming to his face, "So then… see ya' at school tomorrow, yeah?"

"S-Sure!" Illya waved as Eil trotted off, and he returned the gesture as he began to vanish from view. And that was when a massive breath escaped from Illya as she hunched over a bit, "Uggh god… I started getting really nervous there! I know it wasn't a date but-AHHH! Why is this the first thing I start thinking about?! I mean… not that I wouldn't wanna go on a date with him but… AH! No, be serious Illya, SERIOUS!"

"And now I'm here for the fourth time." Eil didn't even bother with a sense of politeness and downright barged into the central chapel of the church. His eyes scanned around, again searching for any possible tricks… and he got his answer when he was suddenly snared from behind him and yanked him down onto his back. And of course, the one to greet him was Caren, looking down at him with a wry smirk on her face.

"Oh look at what I caught." Caren hummed, Eil's expression flat in return.

"Haha… can you unbind me so we can get this routine overwith?"

"Sure… but let's go to the garden first."

"Huh?! Wait don't drag me there dammit!"

Eil tried to struggle free as Caren, surprisingly, started pulling him along by the end of the shroud that she was holding. A few moments later, and he was free, pulling himself up to view the simple garden of the church. The central part was left open to the air… but it again made him wonder where the bloody hell they got the funding to make a CHURCH this nice of a place.

"Again, more and more questions… I just can't catch a break with this stuff." Eil muttered, dusting himself off. He chose to lean on a pillar, while Caren sat on the nearby bench, producing her notepad as well. "Last time was Assassin. It pulled one heck of a surprise on us by somehw decoying as another Servant…then the real one appeared from its corpse."

"Interesting. I would've liked to have seen that." Caren remarked, "So what of Assassin's identity, hmm?"

"Hassan-i-Sabah. Or at least, one of the many people who had that name." Eil stated, turning the Assassin Card in his hand, "Something feels a bit unique about this card. Considering it relates to Hassan, it could be possible that it encompasses all of the Servants who embody the idea of "Hassan" as a whole."

"Ah, I see. Because the identity of Hassan was not owned by a single person in history, the theory stands that Card is, in short, potentially all of them. Perhaps, it would vary by the user." Caren remarked. Eil was somewhat thankful he hadn't told her what an Install was. Considering he lacked an understanding of it, there wasn't a point in relaying that full information, yet. "And so… that only leaves your lot with Berserker to take care of. Sounds fun."

"If we're lucky Berserker might just be a crappy one… but with how things have been, considering we fought bloody King Arthur… I don't have high hopes." Eil pocketed the Card he was holding, giving yet another sigh.

"Well whatever happens, I don't care so much as long as the job is finished." Caren set the notebook down, and then looked at Eil, "You have this expression that says something is bothering you."

"I do not."

"It's the eyes. They can say a lot more about a person than you might actually think they do."

"Why is it always my damn eyes?" Eil muttered. When he looked down, Caren had again chosen to invade his personal space, "Do you just like getting uncomfortably close to me?"

"Somewhat."

"Not even an attempt to deny it huh? Geez you're strange…"

"Yes and so are you, Zvezda." Caren then looked to Eil's shoulder, giving a hum, "Another injury… and that same kind of warm feeling I felt from it as the last time you showed up heavily injured. There is something about your body that's different than others."

"I have no idea what you mean by that." Eil looked to the side, giving a grumble as he did, "What the hell is even your end game."

"That could vary. We could remain unlikely allies due to this business with the Cards… or it could possibly end with you violently having your way with me."

"What the hell kind of person do you take me for?! I'm not that kind of carnivore!"

"Oh so you don't deny you are one though?"

"I never said that."

"In a way you kind of did." Caren's remark also came with her tightening a bit of her shroud between her hands, "Of course odds are I would just tie you up with the shroud again if that did come to pass."

"Do you just… thrive on tormenting others?" Eil felt an eye twitching.

"Mostly just you. You're surprisingly easy to tease despite your seeming disposition."

"Y'know… now I kinda feel like Berserker is gonna be the least of my problems." Eil hung his head as a hoarse sigh left his throat while he muttered something incoherent. "Seriously, why me? Why am I the schmuck getting involved in messes like this? And why are most of the women around me so weird?!"

A/N

Eil it's called the Tohno Gland. It grants "Harem Protagonist: A++" as a Skill but comes with the little catch most of the women are just bizarre in some manner. I think you and Shiki would get along swimmingly, HAH. Or maybe not… whatever. And so we draw closer and closer to the battle with Berserker. And BOY do I have plans in store. So for now, see ya next time!