AN: Finally going to get started with 2wei! Yes! I really can't wait to get started in this, believe me~! Well, let's get started!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Fate series, they belong to someone else.
"Forty-six… Forty-seven… Forty-eight… Forty-nine… Fifty…"
"Alright, that will do for now, Lance-sama." Aversa spoke as Lance sighed and stood straight up after doing fifty push-ups, his body covered in sweat. "I must say… It has only been a few days, and yet you are already completely healed."
"Then am I allowed to take these bandages off?" Lance asked politely, Aversa nodding as he began unwrapping them, before starting to head inside. "I'll be going to wash off now. I still have to help Illya and Miyu out with morning duties."
"Very well. Do take care for the day." Aversa smiled as he entered the house, giggling quietly to herself as her mistress walked over to her. "Alexis-sama. I take it you were watching Lance-sama in his physical examination?"
"He's done well. As expected of my little brother." Alexis smirked as she placed a hand on her hips, wearing a school uniform similar to Illya's, but fit for a high school student. She then turned and started walking away. "We'll set off as well, Aversa."
"As you wish, Alexis-sama." Aversa curtsied as she began following after her.
(Emiya Household)
After taking a quick shower, Lance dressed up for school and left, saying goodbye to the countless maids in his home. As he left the mansion, he came across Miyu, waving a hand at her with a smile.
"Good morning, Miyu." Lance greeted as she smiled back.
"Morning Lance." Both then walked over to Illya's house and rang the doorbell, as one of Illya's caretakers, Sella, opened the door and let them in.
"What brings both of you this morning?" Sella asked as she led them to the living room.
"Illya and I are on class duty this morning."
"And I'm just here to help them out." Miyu and Lance said respectively, both of them looking to the side as Leysritt waved at them.
"Guten Morgern." She greeted, before Sella stopped and scolded her.
"Liz! At least greet the guests properly!" Sella scolded.
"It's proof of how close we are." Leysritt replied. "Even this early in the morning, you're so strict, it's stifling."
The two kids watching this sweat-dropped, then excused themselves to head up their own, leaving the two of them there. Miyu and Lance made it up the stairway to Illya's room, then opened it to find the girl still sleeping while hugging a stuffed bear. Walking up to her, Lance began to gently shake her.
"Illya, it's time to get up now… We'll be late if you don't…" Lance spoke as she slowly began to stir, fluttering her eyes open as she looked at him, Miyu standing beside him.
"Hmm? Onii-chan?"
"Wait, why does this sound familiar?" Lance muttered as Illya sat up and wrapped her hands around his neck again. "Oh, now I remember…"
"I see, so you don't have morning practice today, Onii-chan…" Illya giggled as she leaned in, Lance sighing as her eyes suddenly snapped wide open as she realized who he was, blushing. "E-Eh? Lance!?"
"I believe that this was the second time? At least we didn't actually go through with it this time…" Lance blushed, but then glanced at Miyu as she opened her mouth to say something. "No, Miyu, this isn't what friends normally do, so you don't need to ask for one."
She closed her mouth and nodded in understanding.
"You are taking this surprisingly well as compared to last time, Lance-sama." Specter spoke as he materialized, Sapphire doing the same as Ruby woke up. "And good morning to all of you."
"Good morning~!" Ruby greeted.
"Good morning as well, Nii-san, Nee-san." Sapphire greeted.
"We can trade pleasantries later. You and Miyu have morning duties today, right?" Lance grinned as Illya panicked, completely forgetting. Pulling on his scarf, he turned away and began to leave. "Please get dressed fast."
"We'll be waiting for you downstairs." Miyu said as she followed after Lance, the boy taking one glance at her again before blushing and turning away.
"Lance-san definitely remembered the kiss." Ruby teased.
"R-RUBY!" Illya yelped.
(Homurahara Elementary–Class 5-1)
The morning went by normally, the class was quiet, with no trouble occurring. It was currently June, with the summer heat starting to set in. It was peaceful… Though it was quickly destroyed when Tatsuko came barreling in, being as loud as usual.
"Let's go to the beach! The beach!" Tatsuko screamed, wearing an inflatable ring around her waist, with Lance blinking at her appearance.
"What is it, Tatsuko?" Illya asked, just as the others of their group arrived. Lance and Miyu got used them, and weren't actively glaring at them anymore.
"Plans for summer break." Suzuka muttered as she bonked the hyperactive Tatsuko on the head, getting her to stop. "It's still June, but she's all excited already."
"I see." Illya giggled.
"The beach?" Miyu asked in confusion. "What do you do at the beach?"
"What do you do? You swim, of course!" Tatsuko replied, looking at her weirdly, Miyu just tilting her head to the side, still confused. "Oh! School swimsuits are forbidden! You each have to bring your most erotic swimsuit!"
"Huh? What's "erotic"?" Lance questioned, looking confused, but was ignored by her as she began jumping around.
"I can't wait!" Tatsuko cheered as she went back to being hyperactive.
"Settle down!"
BANG
Nanaki punched her straight at the gut, sending her flying as Tatsuko landed behind her. Lance staring at the downed girl.
"Oh… Miyu, have you never been to the beach before?" Illya asked, Miyu nodding.
"Then let's all go together!" Mimi suggested.
"Knowing you, I bet you're a fast swimmer." Suzuka added. "With the beach this close, it'd be a waste not to go!"
"I-If Illya and Lance are going, too…" Miyu muttered as she looked at them.
"Yeah, let's all go together." Illya nodded, Lance thinking about it.
"Hmm… The last time I went was back in England…" Lance shrugged, not seeing anything wrong with it. "Sure, I'm fine with it."
"Okay! It's settled!" Suzuka nodded as she stared at the sky through the window.
"I can't wait!" Mimi giggled.
"Turtles! Bring on the turtles!" Tatsuko blurted out, laughing. "We'll rescue them, then eat them dancing!"
"I don't think the turtles would appreciate that…" Lance shuddered.
"You're making the Dragon King's Palace shudder." Nanaki muttered.
Illya let out a small smile as she stared at her friends interacting, particularly at Lance and Miyu.
"They're both still awkward around them, but when we first met, they barely spoke at all… Thinking about it now, hasn't it been one month since then?" Illya thought as she continued to stare at them.
"What's wrong, Illya?" Miyu asked, noticing her stare, Lance looking at her as well.
"Oh, it's noth—" Illya began, just as a memory came to her. The memory of her using the Archer Card. "What was that, anyway?"
Lance and Miyu blinked as they looked at her, confused.
(Time Skip-Park)
Lance was currently standing near the slide as the others were currently playing around with the different equipment, snacking on ice cream they had ordered. Though Lance kept thinking back on stuff as he leaned in the slide's stand.
"Nee-sama is probably still in school right now, so maybe I should cook her favorite tonight for dinner? But do we still have enough ingredients for chicken ballotine?" Lance thought as he scrapped some ice cream off using a wooden spoon. Looking at the sky, he let out a frustrated sigh. "Maybe I should buy some just in case…"
Taking a glance at his side, he saw Tatsuko trying to eat all of Suzuka's ice cream, and Mimi and Nanaki feeding each other. He's still a bit uncomfortable around them, but he can manage.
"Lance." Turning to his left, he saw Miyu standing there, scrapping a bit of her ice cream, and holding it out to him. "Ahh."
Lance looked at her strangely, but complied, not seeing anything wrong with it. "Ahh…" He opened his mouth as she put the spoon in. "Hmm, pretty good…" He muttered, before scrapping some of his own. "Here, have a taste. You might like it."
"Ahh…" Miyu accepted, taking the offered scoop. "Mango?"
"Uh-huh, I like mangos, they taste good." Lance chuckled.
"AHHHH!" Illya's scream caught their attention as they looked at her rushing down the slide towards them, shoving a scoop in front of Lance's face. "Here, say "Ahh"!"
"Huh?" Lance asked, confused, but seeing her look, he accepted. "O-Okay, ahh…"
"What's with that reaction?" Miyu asked, Illya spluttering as Lance continued to taste the scoop given to him.
"W-Why did you suddenly feed him, then!?" Illya demanded.
"I wanted to try out what the others did." Miyu stated, Lance now going back to enjoying his ice cream. "But your reaction was a bit strange. I also fed you some, didn't I?"
"W-Well…we're both girls, so it's fine, and, well… But feeding a boy like that is… That's something only c-couples do!" Illya yelped as she blushed red, then turned to glare at the only boy in their group. "And Lance is also at fault since he fed you back!"
"It tastes good… But, it lacks, something…" Lance muttered, before blinking, looking at the girl glaring at him. "Wait, what?"
He looked to the others, wondering what he did wrong. The only thing he saw were the teasing smirks of the four girls behind the two.
"My, my… Did you see that, Nanaki-san?" Suzuka grinned.
"Goodness, look at how passionate they are, Suzuka-san." Nanki teased.
"Illya-chan, I'm glad all three of you are so close now." Mimi smiled, Illya looking at her weirdly, Miyu looking away, and Lance having a questioning look in his eyes.
"You three are so steamy, Suzuka's ice cream has completely melted!" Tatsuko laughed as she continued to spin madly on the teacup-ride.
"Uh-huh… Wait! Suzuka looked at her hand and saw her ice cream gone, and then she spun Tatsuko in the opposite direction. "You ate it, didn't you!?"
"But, I saw Nanaki and Mimi do it too… So I don't see the problem." Lance muttered, pulling up his scarf as he looked at them weirdly. "Besides, it's something friends do, right?"
"Lance is right, both of you were doing it, too!" Illya stated, chuckling nervously.
"I don't recall…" Nanaki pretended.
"Nope." Mimi giggled.
"That's mean you two!" Illya yelped, raising her clenched hand. "That much is normal between friends, isn't it?"
Lance and Miyu blushed, hearing Illya say the word "friend", Lance smiling fondly.
"Friends, huh…?" Lance muttered quietly, feeling happy.
"Your reaction to him getting fed by another girl doesn't really seem like something friends would do." Suzuka teased, enjoying the blush Illya got. "It kinda sounds like you're an overprotective lover."
"I-It's not like that!" Illya yelped, her face red.
(Time Skip)
After they left the park, they were just walking around town, just as the girls began talking about swimsuits, something Lance did not involve himself in, seeing as it is something he has no comprehension of.
"A trip to the beach… I guess my training short would suffice for it." Lance though, walking ahead of the group, all of them stopping at the stoplight. Lance's senses then kicked into overdrive. "Huh? Wait, this aura feels like Nee-sama…"
A car suddenly stopped in front of them, before three pairs of hands grabbed Illya, Miyu and Lance into it, before the door closed and it moved away, the other four staring at the vehicle, mouths agape.
"Miyu… She's been kidnapped!" Tatsuko screamed in horror, Mimi rummaging in her pockets for something. "What do we do!? Hey, what do we do!?"
"Officer!" Mimi yelled as she blew into a whistle.
"Oi… Come on, calm down." Suzuka sighed as she and Nanaki calmed them down.
"Isn't that car from Miyu-san's place?" Nanaki asked.
Back with the other three, Illya and Miyu were on the floor trying to recover from the sudden yank, while lance was looking confused as to why they were there.
"Nee-sama? Shouldn't you still be at school right now?" Lance asked, seeing Alexis sitting there with Rin and Luvia, the latter two were wearing the same uniform as Alexis. He then sighed as he helped his two stunned friends sit up. "And shouldn't the other two be there as well?"
"Don't worry, I got permission." Alexis confirmed, Lance accepting the answer.
"Sorry it's so sudden, but…" Rin started.
"There's work to do." "There's work." Rin and Luvia said at the same time.
The three then began explaining about the orders given to them, how the ley lines in Fuyuki haven't been restored yet, and that they need Ruby, Sapphire and Specter to restore them.
"And so, we'd like to ask all three of you for your help" Rin finished.
The three mystic codes then appeared, and Ruby floated near the three teens.
"Ara, judging by those uniforms, you three have transferred to the same school, right?" She asked, inspecting the uniforms worn by the three.
[Yes.] Luvia and Alexix answered, Rin beginning to strangle Ruby in irritation at not listening, with the Kaleidostick gagging fakely.
"That reminds me… What happened to the Cards we gathered together?" Illya asked.
"We have them… Luvia, Alexis and I split them evenly." Rin answered, Lance looking at her weirdly.
"How? There are only seven of them, right?" Lance asked, wondering how they split seven things to three people equally.
"But weren't you trying to steal the Cards from each other before?" Illya asked again.
"Indeed." Ruby agreed, having floated back to Illya. "They even involved a helicopter in their disgraceful dispute."
"At the very least, I hope the pilot is alright." Specter sighed.
"Ohohoho! Whatever are you saying? Right, Rin Tohsaka, Alexis Sieghart?" Luvia laughed.
"Yes, I'm a Japanese woman who values harmony. Why would I ever be part of such an unseemly arguemnet?" Rin asked.
"A person from my family would never be seen in such barbaric actions, so it is only natural that I do not." Alexis boasted.
The three kids gave them weird stares, unsure if what they heard was right, while Sapphire spoke up.
"To translate, the three of them were informed that neither could return to the Mage's Association until they learned to cooperate." Sapphire stated, Lance snapping his fingers.
"Oh, right, now I remember." Lance recalled Alexis saying something like that to him.
"I still think there's something wrong about fighting so hard, you crash a helicopter." Miyu pointed out, Lance nodding.
"It was fortunate that they crashed in the woods, and not in the city." Lance muttered.
"Ahaha! They're hopeless idiots!" Ruby laughed, the three getting into another fight again as they argued over whose fault it was. The three kids looking at them with flat, blank stares.
"You think they'll actually learn cooperation?" Illya asked, Miyu and Lance looking at each other before shaking their heads.
"No"
"Impossible." Miyu and Lance said respectively.
"It seems more like they tactfully rid themselves of a nuisance." Ruby stated, the three kids letting out a sigh.
(Time Skip)
The rest of the ride there was filled with listening to Rin, Luvia and Alexis's arguments, and Lance was grateful once they finally reached their destination, knowing that his ears would bleed should he listen to their shouts a second longer. He looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was already setting, before he noticed the many steps ahead of them.
"What a long staircase…" Miyu muttered, also looking at it.
"No matter how often I see them, I don't want to go up…" Illya stated.
"It feels intimidating, seeing this up close…" Lance sighed as he closed his eyes, taking in the mana in the area, an image of a swordsman with long grey hair, standing before a dragon appearing in his mind, before it disappeared. "… It pales in comparison to the overwhelming presence you make."
"Well, let's stop dawdling and get moving." Rin ordered as all six of them began moving up, Lance still keeping quiet as he recalled the battle with Berserker, when he finally tamed Balmung…
"But I haven't used it since then, so I'm not really sure if it's still under my control…" That thought always unsettled him. What if it controlled him, instead? It scares him… The thought of losing himself is scarier than any of the fights they've had…
"Lance? What's wrong?"
Lance snapped out from his thoughts as he looked at Illya looking at him worriedly. He shook of his earlier thoughts and continued walking, following after Miyu and the others, givin Illya a reassuring smile.
"It's nothing, don't worry about." Lance reassured, Illya accepting it as she also continued to move.
They separated from the main route as they entered the woods. Lance's senses began to kick into overdrive as he sensed the massive mana pool coming from the direction they were heading in.
"Nee-san, Nii-san, I believe it's best we don't come out too often in places where people may see us." Sapphire stated, getting a nod from both of them.
"That's true. It's safer to rest in Illya-san's hair, anyway." Ruby answered.
"My bracelet form shall cover for me, so do not worry." Specter replied.
All of them suddenly stopped at a certain area, and in front of them was a cliff.
"It seems there's a barrier here." Luvia stated.
"A barrier?" Illya asked.
"This place is guarded to ensure that no ordinary bystander would suddenly walk in here, especially since this is one of the places where the ley lines intersect." Alexis explained.
"Then we won't be able to enter, will we?" Illya asked again.
"A barrier of this level poses no problem for us." Luvia answered, Rin looking back at the kids.
"Illya, please step back a bit." Rin said, the three doing so as she raised her hand in front of her, a gale of leaves appearing, before the cliff disappeared and revealed an open space with trees surrounding it. Illya gasped at the sight. "Now, let's go."
"She maybe odd at times, but Rin-san really is an incredible mage." Illya thought as the three elementary kids stared at the tree teens. "Luvia-san and Alexis-san, too, of course. They're always fighting each other, but in the end, they're both pretty reliable."
The teenagers then sunk into a bog pit that was literally right in front of them, almost as if the three had completely failed to notice it. Lance and Miyu shared a disappointed, blank look as they watched it, and Illya merely blinked, and then formed a rather crooked grin as she tilted her head. The three then approached the bog and stared at it.
"A-A bottomless bog—" Illya muttered, before yelping as the three of them jumped back when Rin, Luvia and Alexis burst up from below, flailing while covered in the dark liquid.
"Why is there such a lethal trap here!?" Rin screamed
"What do you mean!?" Luvia yelled, the kids going in and helping them, Illya grabbing Rin by the arms, and Miyu grabbing Luvia by the hair. "Why are you pulling my hair, Miyu!?"
"Lance, get me out of here!" Alexis pleaded as Lance quickly went to her and managed to pull her out. "Phew… Thank you…"
"Don't mention, Nee-sama." Lance smiled, happy to have helped her, and smiled wider when she bagan to pet him. "Ahaha…"
"Lance-sama is surprisingly strong…" Specter muttered, not at all surprised.
While the three were conversing, Illya and Miyu still haven't gotten Rin and Luvia out, both of them being too much for the two girls.
"Uh-oh, it doesn't appear you can pull them out." Ruby hummed.
"Miyu-sama, with a bottomless bog, I believe we'll have no trouble disposing of the bodies." Alarm bells rang in Lance's ears when he heard that statement, and went to help them out, lest Sapphire actually convinces them to do just that.
"Now isn't the time to be saying that, is it!?" Illya yelled.
"Illya, in this case…" Miyu stated, getting a nod from Illya.
"Yeah…" Illya turned to Lance, a bit flushed. He glanced at her once he was near.
"Don't worry, I won't look. I know what happens when we Trans." Lance reassured her, trying his best at pulling both teens as they struggled, turning away from Illya and Miyu, his sister standing in the background. "For some reason, I can't seem to carry them out… Maybe they're heavier than Nee-sama?"
Rin and Luvia growled, with Alexis laughing at what Lance said. The two girls behind him started to transform, the indication being the light that glowed beside him. Lance then slipped and let go of them both, leaving them struggling until they sank, leaving only their hair to be visible.
"Um…sorry?" Lance sweat-dropped as he watched bubbles float up, before seeing Illya and Miyu clad in their magical girl outfit. He moved out of the way, watching as they pulled the two out, before moving to help clean his sister.
"What were you two doing!? Rescue us sooner!" Rin yelled once they were fully out.
"Sorry…" Illya sighed.
(Time Skip)
"Wow, this is an incredibly big cave…" Illya awed at the massive cave they were in, Lance, Miyu and herself in their transformed state. "I didn't know this was here."
At the same time, Luvia and Alexis finished preparations as they nodded at Rin, who nodded back.
"Okay, let's finish this quickly, and head home." Rin stated as she unzipped the bag she was carrying, revealing it to be a staff, before she stabbed in in the middle, causing a magic circle to form beneath it, the staff itself then expanding to look like a tree as it reached the ceiling of the cave. "Finished placing the dowser. Now, Illya…"
"Miyu." Luvia called.
"Lance." Alexis called.
The three kids turned to each other before nodding, forming a triangle around the dowser, preparing themselves and awaited the signal to start. Rin gave it as she ordered, "Commence mana injection!" They then directed their respective mystic codes to it as a glow surrounded them.
"Replenishing at ten percent…" Luvia stated, placing a hand in the circle, the glow intensifying. "Twenty… Thirty… Forty… Fifty…"
"We can do this…" Alexis muttered as she, too, placed her hand on the circle, the same as Rin.
"Maintain outputs at those level!" Rin ordered. Illya, Miyu, and Lance looked up as the energy flowed.
"Sixty-five… Eighty… Ninty-five… One-hundred!" Luvia shouted.
"Release!" Rin ordered, the three kids stopping the flow, watching as the energy went down the dowser from the branches, entering the ground below them, the dowser returning to its staff form, the magic circle disappearing as well.
"Are we done?" Illya asked, Alexis nodding as she and the other two stood back up.
"At least for now, we are." Alexis stated. "Until we measure again, we won't know if it was successful or not."
"For now, our work is complete. Let's hurry and go back." Luvia stated. Lance's senses flared into overdrive as he noticed a slight tremor. Widening his eyes, he went to warn them before it became stronger, but was too late as the entire place shook violently.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE
"Hold on!" Rin screamed. "What is this!?"
Cracks started to show on where the dowser was placed, violet light shooting out.
"Knockback!?" Alexis yelled.
"This isn't good. It's coming!" Luvia yelled as the ground gave in, causing them to fall. The three kids immediately activated their method of flight.
"Rin-san! Luvia-san! Alexis-san!" Illya shouted as she flew down to help them, before being stopped by Miyu, Lance passing the both of them as he went ahead.
"We've got this… Illya, secure our escape!" Miyu stated as she went to follow Lance, Illya nodding to her words as she flew away. Lance quickly grabbed Alexis and Rin, with Miyu grabbing Luvia, both of them now maneuvering their way through the falling rocks as they tried to escape. Suddenly, a huge debris was heading towards them at a fast pace, shocking the two flyers. Lance was about to use one hand to project his shield, but the sight of Illya with a blank look beat him to it.
He watched as she Installed the Archer Card, her eyes golden, conjuring a four petals, purple version of his own blue Rho Aias. It blocked the incoming debris, just as a blinding light covered them, and the next moment, they were all on the ground, Illya not among them.
"Guh…" Lance opened his eyes as he saw them already on the ground, standing up as he looked at the others, but no sign of Illya. "How was she able to use Rho Aias…? And it was similar to my version… Just who is the Heroic Spirit in that Card?"
"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked them as she flew in.
"Just now, what was that?" Rin asked, coughing, before Luvia suddenly stood up, a rock perfectly balanced on her head with blood pouring down. Lance wonders how she wasn't feeling that.
"Miyu, are you alright!?" Luvia asked, looking at the girl, who turned to her.
"Yes, I'm fin—" Miyu started, before seeing Luvia's current state, turning away from her. "But you aren't, Luvia-san…"
"Luvia-sama, I believe you should inspect yourself." Sapphire stated, Luvia blinking.
"Do you not notice the rock on your head?" Alexis muttered, Luvia still not getting it, causing the teen to sigh.
"Lance-sama, are you alright?" Specter asked, Lance nodding as he stood straight.
"Illya, where are you?" Rin yelled.
"I'm here! My head hurts!" Illya replied, all of them turning to where she was, and saw her rubbing her head. They immediately rushed to her. "I think I hit it…"
"Well, at least you're relatively unharmed…" Lance sighed as he and Miyu went ahead of the other, before stopping in his tracks as his eyes widened in shock, the others doing the same. "Huh? What…?"
"What is this?" Rin gasped, looking at the sight before them.
"What is going on?" Luvia asked.
"Something like this is…" Alexis mumbled.
Illya lifted a brow, unsure of what they were talking about, before Lance pointed to her side, making her turn her head at what it was, before her eyes widened in shock.
Beside her sat a perfect look-alike of her, with pale lavender hair, strange golden eyes, and tanned skin. Her clothes consisted of the same clothes Illya wore when she Installed the Archer Card, but it was tattered as compared to hers. They were all confused, none more so than Illya herself, as the two of them stared at each other, unmoving.
Lance felt a strange sensation when he stared at the dark Illya, as if her presence was familiar to him. Feeling his gaze, dark Illya managed to turn away from Illya as she then stared at Lance, her eyes sparkling as he blinked, unsure of why she looked at him like that.
"… Huh?" Lance was at a loss for words, the dark Illya continuing to stare at him.
That day, Illya became two people… At the same time, it was the beginning of a bigger chain of events… The clock was set, and our true story starts here… And it all began from the appearance of another Illya…
AN: Well, there it was, the ending of the first chapter of 2wei! Another Illya appeared, leaving all of them shocked at her appearance! Just what will happen next!?
Well, see ya!