For some reason, I was having difficulty writing this chapter. It just did not want to be written…
Hikaru was floating in darkness.
She looked around searching for any light, anything that could tell her where she was. Where was that girl? The girl that looked exactly like her?
"Hello?" she called into the darkness. No response. She wasn't even sure if her voice had carried in this place at all. She tried swimming forward again but with no context of whether she was moving or not she didn't know if she was actually moving or just looked like an idiot.
She did not know how long she swam (or attempted to swim). The darkness around her was unchanging. "Hello?" she called again.
No response.
She sighed. Now what? There was nothing here. What was there to do?
"I'm sorry."
Hikaru jumped and turned around. It was that girl again. The girl that looked exactly like her. The tattoos that covered her body seemed to be a little bit lighter than last time. Finding her voice, Hikaru asked, "Sorry for what? Where are we by the way?"
The girl shook her head and sighed. "I'm just too selfish for my own good…"
Did she hear a word Hikaru said? "Hang on. What are you talking about?"
The girl looked up at Hikaru in surprise. "What are you still doing here? This is no place for you." She waved Hikaru away with a tattooed hand. "I told you, it is not time for you to be here yet. There is still much to be done." She looked around at the darkness that surrounded both of them. "So much work to be done…"
"But that doesn't tell me anything!" cried Hikaru. "Why…why do you look like me? Where are we? And what do you mean by 'you're sorry'? Sorry for what?"
The girl shook her head again. "It is not time for me to explain yet. Don't worry Hikaru. You will know in time." Her eyes narrowed and she looked behind her like she heard something. She sighed and turned back to Hikaru. "Well, I have work to do. Go on. Return to where you belong."
Hikaru woke with a start.
That dream again.
She looked up at the ceiling of her bedroom and tried to process what in the world had just happened. Again she had dreamt of the girl that looked exactly like her. Maybe she should discuss that girl with Rin? No. The girl had said to keep it a secret for now and weirdly enough, Hikaru wanted to keep it that way as well.
"I'm going to explode from all of the secrets I'm keeping," she muttered. She turned to check the clock by her bed and saw that she still had a couple more hours to sleep.
She turned over in her bed and shut her eyes. With the War going on she was going to get as much sleep as possible.
Hikaru's eyes shot open and tears pricked the edge of her eyes. Her breathe was ragged as the flames that raged her dream began to subside. She slowly sat up in bed and pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. She tried to pull remnants of the dream to her but all she could remember were the flames and the heat. And an overbearing sense of fear and sorrow.
"It's more vivid," she murmured. The fear and sorrow were new. What did that mean? Nothing. She could remember nothing else from the dream.
Knowing there was no point in thinking about it; she pushed the covers off of her and got up. It was already nine so there was no point in staying in bed. There was much to get done today.
After calling Rin(no answer again) Hikaru went through her daily morning routine before heading downstairs. She was not surprised to see breakfast on the table. She grinned when she saw the two place settings.
She stuck her head through the kitchen doorway. "Morning!"
Archer looked back at her from the sink. No matter how many times she saw it, it was really funny seeing her tall, manly Servant in an apron. "You can sit down. I'm almost done here." He set the plate he had just finished washing on the drying rack.
"Okay." Hikaru returned to the table and sat down at her usual spot. She waited for Archer to join her before she began eating. They ate in silence for about two minutes before Hikaru could not take it anymore. "So," she started.
"So?" repeated Archer.
"Caster," Hikaru tried again. Couldn't he see that she was trying to make conversation? "Are we going after her today?"
"If you are up for it. It would be a good idea to go after them since they are probably not expecting an attack after what happened yesterday."
"Who is Caster anyway? She's not Alice from Wonderland right?"
Archer shook his head. "She's the embodiment of nursery rhymes. She just took on the form of Alice, her Master, in this War."
Nursery rhymes? Wow. Hikaru was not expecting that one. "That's such an unique Servant. I'm jealous." She sighed loudly. She watched Archer expectantly. Was he going to challenge her? Was he going to make a comment of how unique he was?
He didn't seem to hear her as he just kept eating silently. Wait. There was a small smile on his face. She grumbled to herself as she continued to eat. "Am I ever going to get any information about you?" she muttered under her breath.
"Master, if you keep talking like that, I'm going to tell you nothing."
Ack! He heard her. He was watching her in amusement so she knew he wasn't mad by her gibe. "Well I don't believe you," she huffed. To prove her point, she aggressively ate some rice.
"Alright then Master. I guess you don't want to know after all." Hikaru glared at him and he chuckled in response. "Don't worry. I'll tell you soon, I promise."
Hikaru munched on rice in response. When she swallowed, she held out her pinky finger. "Swear on it. Swear that you will tell me soon. Within the week!"
"Master that's just…." Archer sighed. Hikaru mentally patted herself on the back. Oh yeah! This was perfect! A little childish but it was the thought behind it that counts. He linked his pinkie with hers. "I promise to tell you soon about myself-with the week of course. If I don't, may I swallow a thousand needles if I lie."
Satisfied now, Hikaru returned to eating breakfast. No matter what, she was going to get it out of him who he was. However, she didn't get to eat much as she sensed a sudden surge of mana.
Archer's eyes narrowed and he got up from the table and headed for the door, breakfast now forgotten.
"Hang on Archer! What's going on?" Hikaru grabbed the leftover food and raced to the kitchen to throw it into the fridge.
"It's a Servant battle…" He looked back at her in surprise. "Wait. You felt it?"
Hikaru nodded. Wait. Did she just figure out how to do something that she didn't know how to do before? How did that happen? "We're going to check it out?" She was silently grinning when she saw Archer give her another surprised look. Oh yeah! She was being a bundle of surprised today. "We could get some information about whoever fighting."
"That is the smartest thing you've ever said," chuckled Archer.
"What does that mean?" Hikaru puffed out her cheeks and looked away. Stupid Archer. She said smart things before! She just didn't do them…
"Well, let's get going then Master. We need to hurry to get there before the fight is over."
Her heart rose to her throat. She had a feeling what this meant. "You are going to carry me aren't you?"
"Oh sweet ground. How I love you so!"
"Master. You are embarrassing yourself. Please get up."
Hikaru looked up at her Servant. "Oh hush Archer." She got up and dusted her knees off. "Why couldn't I have a Rider class Servant?" She shook her head. "At least I can ride in style and not in fear. I'm joking," she added quickly.
Archer waved her concern away and gestured for her to follow him. They were in the abandoned section of the harbor. They were on top of a warehouse building and the battle was raging on the ground below. While Archer walked over to the edge without fear, Hikaru dropped on all fours and slowly crept forward until she could see the ground below.
It was Berserker and Rani against Alice and Caster. Wait. What in the world was that? Berserker was not fighting little Caster but a huge red human-like beast. Odd blue lines covered its skin except for the face which had soul-less yellow-white eyes.
"Jabberwocky," Archer stated grimly.
Jabberwocky? Hikaru ran through her knowledge of Alice in Wonderland. "The beast from the poem that could only be defeated by the vorpal blade?"
"Yes. That one. Caster summoned it. Smart move to use against Berserker but she is going to lose at this rate." Archer was watching the battle with arms crossed.
Hikaru turned her attention to the fight. She had to agree with Archer. The Jabberwocky was powerful. It was taking hits from Berserker's lance left and right with no problem. However at the same time it looked like it was unable to throw many punches or fight back well against the other Servant.
It was like watching a car crash happening right in front of her. Hikaru wanted to look away but she just couldn't. The Jabberwocky was getting slower and slower. She could hear, no she could feel the panic radiating off of Alice. The little girl was backing up a few steps like she had realized what was happening. Caster was holding her ground as a barrier between Alice and the fight but once the Jabberwocky fell, Hikaru knew that Caster would not be able to fight against such a monster.
"What will…" Hikaru gulped. "What will happen to Alice once Berserker breaks through?" The look on Archer's face told her everything. Her eyes widen and she looked down at the frightened little girl. Even though Alice was her enemy and had trapped Hikaru in the Nameless Forest the day before, she was still just a little girl. She didn't deserve to have her life snuffed out now!
Archer sighed and patted her on the head. "Alright, alright. Stop making that face. Let's go help her."
"Wait really?" Why was Archer being so compliant today? She really thought he would complain for a bit about how stupid she was and then do it.
"Do you want me to change my mind?" Archer summoned his bow along with a sword with a spiral blade. "Tell Alice to have the Jabberwocky protect her and Caster."
"Right." Hikaru sucked in a deep breath and yelled at the top of her lungs. "HEY ALICE! GET JABBERWOCKY TO PROTECT YOU OKAY?"
"I thought my eardrums were going to explode. How can you yell so loud?"
Hikaru turned her nose up and held her head high. "Well, I am a girl with many talents. That talent has helped my class win the cheer portion of the sports festival!"
"I wouldn't exactly call that a talent…"
Archer shook his head and notched the spiral sword on the bow. Caster stared at Hikaru for a few moments and then made a hand motion and the Jabberwocky lumbered over to the two small girls and huddled over them protectively.
"What is the meaning of this?" Rani looked up at Archer and Hikaru in confusion. Berserker had turned his attention away from the Jabberwocky and roared. It looked like he didn't like the interruption as much as Rani did.
"I am the bone of my sword," Archer chanted as he drew back the spiral sword. "Caladbolg!" He released the sword-arrow at the monstrous Servant. It flew through the air at an improbable speed for something that was fired out of a bow. Berserker roared and swung his huge lance to try to intercept the sword.
Everything happened so fast. Hikaru wasn't sure if the lance had connected with the sword-arrow or if the sword-arrow had passed through but a huge explosion rocked the area. She flailed a bit and grabbed Archer's leg to prevent her from tumbling off of the warehouse roof from the shockwave of the blast.
After what seemed like an eternity, the smoke and dust in the area cleared and Hikaru saw that Berserker and Rani were gone. She guessed they had escaped somehow. Alice and Caster were sitting on the ground looking up at Hikaru and Archer. The Jabberwocky was gone, probably destroyed from being in such close proximity of the explosion.
"Master. If you want to get down there to speak to Caster and Alice, you should let go of my leg."
"Oh!" Hikaru released Archer's leg from her death grip before backing up a couple steps so she could stand without having to worry that a breeze would push her forward and make her fall to the ground with a splat.
Before she could take a breath, Archer had swept her off of her feet and jumped down to the ground with his Master in his arms.
She would have complained about it but Caster had gotten up and stood like a barrier between Hikaru and her Master. "Why did you help us?" Casted asked.
"Because Berserker was going to kill you!" replied Hikaru. "Well, kill Alice…"
"Nee-san, you tried to save me?" The little girl glanced fearfully at Archer. "It is the mean Nii-san. He ruined our tea party last time."
"Don't worry," Hikaru took a step towards Alice with her palms out so she seemed less threatening. "Archer here won't do anything. I won't let him. I'm his Master so he has to listen to me no matter what!"
"Master…" began Archer under his breath.
"Shhh," Hikaru quickly said back in the same low tone. She raised her voice so Alice could hear and gave the girl a gentle smile. "I don't want to hurt you Alice. I thought…I thought we could be friends!"
"Friends, Nee-san?" Alice's purple eyes lit up.
"No Alice. You mustn't listen to her!" said Caster. The Servant was glaring at Hikaru with mistrust.
Caster's mistrust did make sense but this was no time for this! Hikaru knew that the explosion was going to attract attention and it was best if they were out of here by then. "If I wanted to take you out, I would have done it already!" she pointed out. "Your Jabberwocky is gone, your prana is spent and you are a sitting duck right now." She lowered her voice and added softly. "But I'm not going to."
"Believe my Master," spoke Archer. "She's an idiot but she means what she says." He shrugged. "If I did try anything she would use a command seal to stop me."
Hikaru silently thanked Archer. Caster seemed a bit unsure and Alice got her feet. "I think Alice should trust Nee-san!"
"Alice…" Caster sighed and stepped back. She shot one last glare at Hikaru. "If anything happens to Alice…"
Threat taken. Hikaru walked over to the little girl and held out a hand. "Why don't we get out of here Alice?"
"Look at that hippo!"
Archer had to face palm as his Master ran over to the hippo exhibit while bouncing around like a little kid. After they had left the warehouse area (Caster had casted a spell to make them invisible so it was easy to walk past the warehouse workers that were running to the scene) Hikaru had decided the best thing for them to do was to go to the zoo. Her reasoning had been something about a little kid loving animals but Archer had a feeling that Hikaru just wanted to go to the zoo herself.
"That hippo is huge Nee-san!" agreed Alice.
It was like watching two little kids during their first trip to the zoo!
"What is she trying to do?" Caster crossed her arms as she watched the two Masters run to the elephant exhibit and they both began mimicking the huge creature.
"She just wants to be friends with Alice," explained Archer. He had switched into casual clothes but Caster was still in the frilly dress and was drawing the attention of some of the passersby. "Although I think she is more of a kid than Alice is…"
"I have to agree with you." A tiny smile crossed Caster's face. "She is a very unique Master isn't she?"
Archer had to nod and smile at that. "Indeed she is." Why did it feel like him and Caster were the parents to two children? That was an interesting thought…
"Archer! Archer! They have crepes!" Hikaru ran over with sparkly eyes and the biggest crepe ever. It was covered in every possible thing a crepe could have and then some. Heck, it would be easier to list what wasn't in it. Alice was a couple steps behind her with a simple chocolate-covered crepe.
"You are such a little kid." Archer flicked her on the forehead once she was in range.
"Gah!" She jumped back a few steps. "What was that for!?" She rubbed the spot on her forehead but quickly stopped when her crepe started dangerously tipping over from all of the stuff in it.
Archer shrugged. "I just felt like it?"
She puffed out her cheeks and huffed. "Well then. I'm not sharing my crepe with you!"
"You were going to?" What a difficult Master he had. Although she was adorable when she was pretending to be mad at him... "Are you even going to be able to finish that?" The crepe was bigger than her head!
"Of course I can! Don't doubt the amount of dessert I can fit into my stomach!"
"That's amazing Nee-san!"
"Please don't follow her example Alice." Caster rolled her eyes.
"You guys all stink!" Hikaru pouted. "Fine then! Alice and I are going to go look at animals by ourselves with our amazing crepes! You two can stay here and be party poopers! Come on Alice!" Hikaru led the way to the lions' exhibit where she promptly started trying to communicate with one by making weird cat noises. Alice giggled and mimicked Hikaru's weird sounds.
"I have to thank your Master," Caster said as Hikaru and Alice went to see the flamingos next. "Alice is smiling now. A real genuine smile. I didn't think she would ever show that during the War."
"Hikaru just brings that out in people," Archer replied as the two Servants followed their Masters as they went from exhibit to exhibit. He remembered the week against Alice in the Moon Cell. Even though Alice was her enemy, Moon Cell Hikaru never wanted to hurt her. Would this kind of thing have happened if she had been able to become friends with Alice without the worry that she would need to kill the little girl at the end of the week? Maybe.
"I think she brings out much more than that in some."
Archer glanced down at Caster who was staring up at him with a knowing look. He could feel his face heating up and he looked away from Caster. "It is nothing like that."
Caster shrugged. "If you say so. Based on what you did to break her free from the Nameless Forest though I think otherwise."
She saw!? Archer groaned. It was bad enough just remembering what he did. "Please don't tell me Alice saw too…"
"No, I just watched using my magic. Alice is too young to see that sort of thing." Archer so wished that Alice and Caster were doing the creepy twin thing they did in the Moon Cell right now. This version of Caster was way too perceptive.
Before Archer could respond, Hikaru and Alice had walked back to their Servants. "You ate the whole crepe…" Archer said slowly.
Hikaru nodded and lifted up the final piece of her monstrous crepe like it was a prize. "The final bite!"
"Don't blame me if you get sick later."
Hikaru ignored Archer and ate the last piece. Alice clapped. "Wow Nee-san! You are really amazing! Alice is so impressed!"
"Thank you! Thank you!" Hikaru bowed a couple of times before throwing kisses everywhere. "I could not have done it today with the help of dear Alice-OW!" Archer flicked Hikaru's forehead before she could continue her ridiculous speech. Alice laughed and even Caster cracked a smile.
"Well, we should get going." Caster walked over to her Master. "It's getting late Alice."
Alice frowned. "But…but I want to spend more time with Nee-san…"
"We can meet up tomorrow!" Hikaru said quickly. She thought for a moment. "How about in the park near that picnic table? Where uh…the Nameless Forest thing happened." She glanced over at Archer and looked away, probably thinking the same thing he was.
"Yeah! We can meet there! Can Alice meet Nee-san tomorrow?"
Caster nodded. "Sure. Alice can meet Nee-san tomorrow."
Alice grinned and turned back to Hikaru. "See you tomorrow Nee-san!"
"Yup! See you tomorrow! Bye Alice! Bye Caster!" Alice and Caster headed for the bathroom. Archer figured Caster had recovered enough prana to just teleport them both out of there. Hikaru didn't stop waving until the Servant and Master were out of sight. She sighed and dropped her hand. The cheerful disposition she had during the whole zoo trip was gone. "Was that the right thing to do Archer? Alice is such a cute little girl. For her to be involved with a War like this…I did try to see if she would tell me anything but she wouldn't. I have no idea why a little girl like her would want to be involved in such a bloody War. Plus even if I'm friendly with her now…"
"Don't worry." Archer patted Hikaru on the head. "You did good Master. Don't worry about defeating Caster for now. We still have common enemies, such as Berserker. We'll focus on defeating them first."
Hikaru nodded. "Okay…" She forced herself to smile. "So shall we go home Archer?"
"Yes. Let's go. I do have to say that your childish excitement when you were taking Alice around was very well acted out."
Hikaru winced and looked away. "Ummm…that was not acting…"
Archer stopped walking and just stared at Hikaru for a couple of seconds before he shook his head with a small smile. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Huh? What does that mean!?"
Archer didn't respond as he began walking to the zoo's exit.
I apologize if I got the mechanics of Caladbolg wrong. I was trying to find information of what happens when it is fired at close range but all I got was stuff from the various games so I just used that.