Andrew parted ways with his Servants and Mash as he went to look for Waver having forgotten to ask what the Caster's Item Creation was capable of.
It took a little bit to arrive at his current location, which was down in the command deck where he was in a conversation with Dr. Roman.
Andrew waited until there was a lull in their conversation before interrupting. "Ah, pardon me for interrupting, Waver, there was something important I forgot to ask you about earlier."
"No problem Master ask away, Acting Director Romani here was just giving me the files on all currently summoned Servants by the FATE System." Waver said holding a stack of papers in his left hand.
"Well, since you are a Caster you have Item Creation, yes? I was wondering the extent of that skill, and if you would be willing to work with the other Casters on special projects like my armor." Andrew said, cutting to the chase.
"Limited, I can only create items from Zhuge Liang's legend, and my own skills are below subpar, even Territory Creation which is just something to be used in conjunction with my Noble Phantasm."
"Mhm. I don't actually know anything about 'Zhuge Liang' so could you give any examples?" Andrew said, before realizing he had no idea what Waver's Phantasms did at all. "Oh, and more importantly what do your Noble Phantasms do?"
"Zhuge Liang is a strategist and inventor from the Three Kingdoms Era of Chinese history, the same period Lu Bu comes from. He invented the landmine and various other traps, the automatic crossbow. And the Noble Phantasm the Stone Sentinel Maze is an inescapable maze to trap opponents inside." Waver took a whiff of his cigarette.
"Lord El-Melloi, we have designated smoke areas would appreciate you used those." Dr. Roman commented as he blew away the smoke.
"Fine."
"So you can make magical traps, huh. That could work really well with Robin Hood's skillset…" Andrew quickly double checked Waver's stat sheet to see if he was missing anything. "Oh yeah, what does your other Noble Phantasm do, the 'Chu Shi Biao' one?"
"No idea." He answered truthfully.
"Ah. Is Zhuge Liang not sharing?" Andrew asked. "Because I could probably use a Command Seal to-" Andrew was struck by a revelation and promptly facepalmed. "How did I not think of that before? If she wanted to know, I could've just used a Command Seal, but now she wants to follow the Hero's Journey or whatever, argh." Andrew berated himself in frustration.
"Somewhat correct, but I would not recommend doing that. That Noble Phantasm is something special to Zhuge, at least that's how I understand it. The man has a mind different from most humans." Waver said.
"Gotcha. I'm not going to use a Command Seal to do something like that if the Servant doesn't want it. Can you imagine the kind of stuff I could do with three regenerating Command Seals? I gotta make sure I don't do anything that would make any of our Servants dislike me, so I don't have to actually use them when I don't need to." Andrew rambled, still on a bit of a 'high' from his revelation.
"And with that, you're better than most Masters, as most Magi see Servants as only things to be used and not people." Waver said.
"Mhm. Yeah, I saw one of those in the Great Grail War. It was a relief when Mordred decapitated her…" Andrew said, before realizing Waver had zero context for that statement. "Ah, I kind of observed two Grail Wars from different timelines before coming here due to Zelretch. I also kinda saw the start of the Fourth Fuyuki one, but I got pulled here before the final Servant was even summoned."
"Hmm makes, ran a bit short on time before this whole shit show started?" Waver asked.
"Yeah, I kinda got kidnapped right before the Incineration started," Andrew said, mostly having gotten over said kidnapping.
Waver raised an eyebrow.
"Heh, we were on a hard timetable to fill the necessary Master roster, and Andrew has good Circuits. The same happened to a few of the other Civilian Masters, though less head smacking more bag overhead." Roman admitted.
"...Y'know, at this point I shouldn't be surprised, but somehow I still am. Partially that I wasn't the only kidnapped, and partially that Chaldea was able to do anything in a 'non-violent' fashion under the previous directors at all." Andrew said flatly.
Roman just shrugged.
"And now I have entered the circus, well Master I be calling you then I'm able to commence the lessons." Waver said.
"Ah, didn't you want help with setting up your workshop? I've never seen how a Magus does that and I kind of wanted to help." Andrew said.
"I just needed a place to set up a standard one up, and really it's kinda boring, just setting up Bounded Fields and bring in necessary materials." Waver answered.
"That may be boring to you, but unless setting up those Fields is as dry as writing on paper it would be interesting to me. I was a muggle before all this, so I barely know anything about how Magecraft works, and every time I see it used it's interesting in a different way because it's literally magical and I don't think I'll ever get over that." Andrew explained. "Hell, I've learned how to use Runes from freakin Cu Chulainn, and I'm still blown away by stuff that's 'boring' to Magi. I can set something on fire by tracing my finger along it in a specific way, how is that not exciting?" He paused to take a breath. "So, basically, everything involving Magecraft is interesting to me."
"Well, if you want to come and see Master I won't stop you." Waver said.
Xxx
"As said before Master, one creates a Workshop, which is the designated area that Magi operate in for most of their life as it is here all their research is done into Magecraft." Waver explained as both he and Andrew were inside the room that Waver had chosen to turn into his Workshop. "We designate that area through the use of Bounded Fields, an area created by the Magus that separates the inside of it from the outside, allowing one to create rules for what can happen inside of it." Waver explained.
"Mhm. And the extent of those rules is based on the power of the Field and its maker?" Andrew asked. "Like the difference between 'No Insects Allowed' and 'Up is Green'?"
"Yes, advanced Workshops can allow for great feats, and Magecraft that cannot be performed outside of it, by limiting the observational abilities of the world, some entirely separating it from the Common Sense of Man."
"And the Common Sense of Man is the thing that weakens Mystery based on understanding the universe, right?"
"The Common Sense of Man is also called the Human Order, it is the current layer of reality and what dictate the Laws of Physics. Magecraft at it source is just Science taken up another tech tree if one were to make the comparison. Everything one can do with Magecraft you can do with normal Science and Technology. True Magic is something that Mankind has yet to achieve but will. The whole weakening of mystery is more delegation of resources. If a Magus made a spell that could convert a kilogram of lead to gold and shared that precise spell to another, it would then only convert half a kilogram next time it's used. That's why Magi keep their research secret." Waver lengthily explained.
"Ooh, so Magecraft is kind of like a catalyst that lets humanity go beyond what it's currently capable of, but there's only so much to go around?"
"Yes Magecraft is a cheat to skip a bit ahead of normal science, but it's catching up and able to do things better than Magecraft, mass production is never going to be a thing in most cases with Magecraft."
"Huh. I wonder if there are any ways to circumvent that. I was really hoping to make what I've taken to calling 'Team Scarves,' and I figured I could sew some passive Runes into them eventually but I guess that would just be a waste of past the first few, right?"
"Your misunderstanding it doesn't matter if you use the spell several times, and besides Runes are exempt from that as they rely on a different Foundation to function than normal Magecraft does. Based more on the rune the quality of the material and the power input." Waver said.
"Oh, ok. Though what's the difference between a Mystic Code and 'an item with Magecraft on it' then? Because I was pretty sure, there was something about Mystic Codes not being easily replicable."
"No difference, Mystic Codes are just items with magic on them, what makes them difficult to be replicated is the spell put on it, that you have to basically reverse engineer."
Andrew perked up. "So I could make the runed Team Scarves for everyone without having to worry?"
"Yes."
"Then, do you know what is actually possible with Runes for that? I figure you don't practice Runecraft, but you probably know some things about it right?"
"Nope, Runecraft is looked down upon in the Clock Tower as a lesser field, the only ones who study it in the modern age are the Fragas and the Wandering Sea." Waver answered.
"Oh. I guess I should probably ask the Cu Chulainns then...but, sorry for getting off track. How does one set up a Bounded Field?"
"It is like rolling foil over food, anchoring it in one end and then pulling it over the area you want it to fit and then creating anchors so that it stabilizes." Waver said.
"Mhm. And theoretically, is that possible with Runes? I'll ask Caster Cu about how to actually do it later if it is."
"It is the same as if you do it with Formalcraft, you create the anchors first, and then the foil is put over given the effect of the anchors."
"Got it. Can I watch you make the ones for your workshop to see it in action? I work best with a practical example with the verbal. I-if that's not too much trouble."
"It isn't, but there isn't going to be much to see." Waver said as held out his arm and began to chant in Chinese.
Andrew felt the wave of magical energy being released as seemingly moved from one end of the room to the next and then stopped.
"See told you there wasn't much to see." Waver said as he looked at Andrew.
"Yeah, but I felt it, which was close enough. What does that one actually do?" Andrew said, an insatiable curiosity taking hold. He was speaking to an actual Magic Teacher right now, and he was going to use Waver to the fullest of his abilities.
"One of the more basic ones that act as a stabilizer for other Fields, so they don't get bundled up as well as a security lock." Waver explained.
And so they continued on, Waver making his workshop while Andrew asked what every single piece did and asking anything that came to mind.
Xxx
August 19th
Another week had passed that had gone by; there was a lot of helping Servants getting acclimated, a lot of learning for Andrew now that he had another Magical Teacher and a lot of cooking with Emiya to relax. And so Andrew and Mash were back down in the Summoning Chamber with a new ticket provided with by Da Vinci.
"The system is ready to be used Senpai," Mash said as she stepped away.
"Thank you, Kouhai. Let's see who's lucky ticket this is!" Andrew said as he proceeded to summon the newest addition to Chaldea's roster.
"I am Spartacus." The Berserker said, with a massive grin.
Andrew returned the grin. "Hey, big guy! Glad to see you decided to join us, your attack on Lev was truly...liberating, as it were." Andrew said enthusiastically.
"Yes, oppressor was destroyed."
"Remember Senpai, Command Seal?" Mash said quietly into his ear.
"Yeah, I'm getting to that, I need to ask because of the word choice," Andrew replied just as quietly before turning back to Spartacus. "Hey, Spartacus, I know how you feel about Oppression, but here in Chaldea things can get a little dicey, and I find we can better oppose oppressors if we can hold a proper conversation, so is it okay if I use a Command Seal to 'suppress', not oppress, the Rank of your Mad Enhancement while we're here, where there are no Oppressors?" Andrew asked, carefully wording his question knowing full well that Spartacus would not hesitate in trying to kill him if he thought Andrew was an Oppressor.
"Yes, Yes. Suppress the oppressor, madness is oppression." Spartacus said in his Spartacus like way.
"Alright, then, Spartacus, by this Command Seal, I order you to suppress your Mad Enhancement while here in Chaldea as low as possible," Andrew ordered.
As it did Andrew saw Spartacus's smile become less crazy and more gentle looking. "Ah, thank you, Master, it is great to speak with you properly within these halls."
Andrew smiled back up at him. "And it is an honor to properly hold a conversation with you, Spartacus. I hope you don't mind that you'll be on the strategizing team from this point onwards?"
"Yes, I shall put my now sane mind to defeat our enemies with as little waste as possible," Spartacus said.
"Awesome. Oh, and just so you're aware you can still come with into battle if you want, I just want to make sure you're tactical genius isn't wasted." Andrew said.
"Of course, the great oppressors shall feel my rebellious spirit." Spartacus grinned. "And by that, I mean a bomb of magical energy going off in their faces."
"Hehe, yeah, that was a truly spectacular way to go out," Andrew said, grinning before his expression became more serious. "You absolutely cannot do that again. If you can use a lesser explosion that won't kill you, that's fine, but I refuse to have any of my Servants perform a suicidal act in some grand gesture unless it is extremely literally the only way."
"That is touching to hear Master that you care for us Servants that way, we are just strength to be used and thrown away, our existence is temporary, but worry not that shall not happen like that again. The damage came to quick for me to properly expel the accumulated magical energy." Spartacus explained.
"Just because you're 'temporary' doesn't make you less of a person. I mean, I'm pretty damn sure I'm only temporary, as is literally everything else, so don't think of yourself as just a tool to be used. You are a person. And also the fifth person I've said this to, why do you all think like that?" Andrew said, trailing off at the end.
"You are truly one of the best to have aren't you. It is our Nature as Heroic Spirits. We are a power of the past meant to support those of the present. The last line of defense against Evil, but to be summoned as a Servant is a Miracle, so most will do everything to repay the one that has summoned them. Though that is just my opinion."
"Huh. That's a surprisingly optimistic take on it. But doesn't that...interfere with your wish?" Andrew asked.
"Depends upon the nature of the summoning, if it had been for a Grail War, I would have used to not be summoned once again for one, to be used by petty mages in their bid for power. But here, I can truly be a Hero." Spartacus answered.
Andrew smiled at the grey giant. "That's good to hear. Now, speaking of being a Hero, we need to introduce you to the other strategists…"
Xxx
"Senpai, I think it happened again." Came the voice of Mash, Andrew opened his eyes, but instead of finding himself in bed he was laying in a brick hallway that was covered by mirrors.
"Oh, joy," Andrew said as he got up and looked around. "Any idea which Servant it is this time? I'm drawing a blank with all these mirrors."
"Senpai, I think I recognize this hallway, I saw it in a history book about famous buildings-" Mash's voice was cut off by the sound of a tune being whistled.
They turned their heads, and from the side, they saw Marie skip into their hallway.
"Hello Master, Hello Mash did we Rayshift or something?"
"This is the Palace of Versailles." Mash finished her sentence as Marie approached them.
"Huh. I didn't think Marie had any deep-seated psychological issues." Andrew said, before putting two and two together from Marie's comment. "Unless this is Sanson's 'moment.' Though that doesn't make much sense either…" Andrew trailed off in thought, trusting the Marie approaching them was normal.
"Wow, this is surprising, we're in my Palace, say Master do you know what happened did we Rayshift or what my homie," Marie said.
"Uhm, what?" Andrew said, completely thrown for a loop. He had not heard Marie talk like that at all since the month and a half since meeting her.
"Oh sorry, I've been listening to some songs that have been using funny words like that, so I've been wanting to try them out, so wassup my homies," Mare said with a peace sign.
"Really? Actually, y'know what, it fits you." Andrew said, before shaking his head and getting back on topic. "Okay, so did anyone tell you about how Kiyohime went from psychopath to just a teenager?" Andrew asked.
"Ah, so you're saying that we are inside my dream?" Marie asked.
"Well, either your dream or one of the Servants close to you, I'm not really sure. This is only the second one of these, and the first one had two Kiyohimes in it, so I have no idea how this is going to go." Andrew said. "But I would definitely expect something related to your past that we'll have to fight."
"Oh my, I hope nothing bad is going to happen to you Master and you too Mash."
"Thank you for your concern, your Majesty," Mash responded.
"Oh yeah, I kind of forgot about it last time, but I wonder why you're also here Kouhai. Like, believe me, I am immensely happy to have you by my side, but I'm confused how I'm even here." Andrew stated. "From what I knew about Servants before all this the most the Master got involved with their Servants dreams was having dreams about their history, nothing like this…"
"Perhaps, it has something to do with the FATE System itself, Senpai it is very different from the one used in the Grail Wars you have witnessed in Fuyuki, the one created by the Einzbern." Mash theorized.
"True. And now that you've pointed it out about the different systems, the Grail Wars happened over extremely short time periods. I might have set the record for longest-standing Master of a Servant…" Andrew then remembered the apparent focus of the current situation. "Oh, Marie, sorry about that, this seems to be your dream so where do you want to go? Or rather, where do you feel we should go?"
"I think the throne room is our best bet, it was there we were taken, also Master, we Servants do still experience your memories, you were adorable looking as a child, it's quite a gossip among us females, except for Alter the brute that she is."
"Wait, what? You all have been seeing my memories?" Andrew asked worriedly.
"Yes, the whole memory thing goes both ways, I'm surprised you haven't seen pieces from our lives yet, though we have only gotten bits and pieces from your childhood, you adorable little tyke," Marie said as she pinched his cheek, standing on her toes.
A laugh was heard from Mash.
"Wait, Mash, have you been seeing them too?"
"No I haven't, perhaps it's due to my Demi-Servant nature, or our bond has been reinforced in different ways that allows me to accompany you on these lucid dream walks."
"I suppose that makes sense…" Andrew said, before turning back to Marie. "The second you or one of the other Servants sees my teenage years you need to tell me immediately. There is some sensitive information in there that could jeopardize our entire operation if mishandled. If it gets to that point I might even consider using a Command Seal, so you need to tell me if it happens, understood?" Andrew 'ordered' nervously, not wanting any of the Servants not in-the-know to see his memories of Unlimited Blade Works, as it would raise a lot of questions.
"Ohh, are you really that nervous of us seeing you jerk it to pretty ladies?"
Andrew's face turned tomato red at that. He sputtered for a bit trying to make a coherent sound. "That's not what I meant! I mean actually sensitive information that if some of the Servants knew it could ruin our relationships! I don't want anyone seeing anything else, sure, but the actual memories with Zelretch could ruin a lot of things!" Andrew rapidly explained.
"Ahh, I get it secret magus stuff, just like Amadeus. But still, I wouldn't mind about that especially if it was about me." Marie said with fluttering eyes.
"Shut up, please." Andrew half-ordered. "Unless the point of this whole dream is for you to become sexually active it has nothing to do with the situation at hand, so can we please get back to the weird dream that could potentially end in our deaths?"
"You're so easy Master, now then the throne room is this way." Marie sang as she began skipping.
"She is correct Senpai, you are rather easily flustered," Mash said.
"That part is because I'm surrounded by pretty idiots with crass tongues," Andrew said as he began to follow, trying to push aside what had just occurred for now. "And then the ones that aren't idiots are able to eviscerate with their words, like you."
"Shut up." Was the response from the now also tomato red Mash. "Let's go, Marie is leaving us behind."
Xxx
The three of them entered the throne room and immediately set their eyes upon the altered Marie Antoinette that sat upon the throne.
"My, my if it isn't the girl playing queen and her Master, so have you realized your true thoughts or do I need to beat them into you?" Came the question from the Dark Marie.
Andrew wasted no time in using his Stat-o-Vision on the other Marie to at least get an inkling of what she was supposed to be. He didn't expect much based on previous experience, but it would at least be a good hint.
He didn't know if he got a Noble Phantasm or Skill name. But Andrew saw the words Vengeful Flower floating above her head.
Which told him jack-all about what this was about.
Great.
"Marie, what is she talking about with 'true thoughts,' exactly?" Andrew asked the real Marie.
"Oh, haven't you told you're, our dear Master what our thoughts were when we summoned into that Singularity. To join the vengeful form of Jeanne d'Arc and help her destroy France?"
"I had no such thoughts."
"Yes, you did for I am those thoughts, those dark desires you keep suppressed behind that happy attitude, our need for vengeance against the country that took everything from us." The Dark Marie spat out.
"Mhm. And lemme guess, you're going to want to fight this Marie and become the dominant personality, right?" Andrew asked of the Dark Marie.
"No such thing, I just want her to accept our need for vengeance, to not ignore her true desires. To ignore me."
"Huh. Surprisingly civil of you. I suppose the two of you can talk this out then, yes? No need to go full Persona if its a simple acknowledgment of feelings and not a need to embrace them, right?" Andrew asked, looking back and forth between the two Maries.
"I think you misunderstand she needs to embrace me and us right the wrong that you 'corrected.' France shall be choked by our vines and thorns. It is not to avenge our death mind you, we would have accepted that, but they tortured us and harmed by going too far. Our children, our boys, and girls there was no need, but still they die as their heads were cut off in front of one by the one we called a friend as a child, while we begged for them to stop for Amadeus to come and save them, but he couldn't for he was already dead. But why her, why her our youngest she was only four." The dark image cried out, and Andrew heard tears come from the real one by his side.
Andrew placed an attemptedly-comforting hand on Marie's shoulder and spoke to both of them. "Your anger is absolutely justified. No one should have to go through that. But revenge won't change anything. It doesn't sooth the pain. It doesn't make it any easier to think of the people you've lost. Everyone involved is already long dead, so it doesn't prevent it from happening again. And if you go for revenge now, on people who were never involved in the Revolution, its just going to start a cycle of revenge since you'd just be doing the same thing to those people over and over again until one of them is strong enough to get revenge on you. Revenge just doesn't work." Andrew said in what he hoped was a coherent and helpful manner.
"I know that Andrew, that is why suppressed those thoughts, because even though that happened I was summoned to save France, that means that somebody believed in the good of some the French Nobility and I am the symbol, even if those memories are painful I would never betray my kingdom like that, so you can go and screw yourself," Marie said pointedly at her dark counterpart.
"You still deny me?"
"No I have accepted those thoughts and just decided to ignore them."
"That's a contradiction!"
"I don't care! Go Guillotine Breaker."
"Oh, cr-" Was all she said as the crystal horse kicked her in the face and through the wall.
"And that takes care of that," Marie said as she clapped her hands. "Sorry, you had to see and hear that Master."
"...I'm just happy you've made 'peace,' or maybe pieces, with your inner demons," Andrew said.
"I'm not done with you-" Came that voice again and was immediately cut off again as Andrew saw a vase collide with the dark image and both shattered.
"Yay, I contributed." Said Mash, still in a throwing position.
"Nice throw, Kouhai. Maybe we should start a baseball team so you can put that throwing arm to use." Andrew said.
Mash blushed again, and at that, the world around seemed to begin to wobble.
"Well, it looks like we're waking up," Marie said.
"Looks like. You feeling okay?" Andrew asked her.
"I'm fine better than ever, thank you for those kind words, Andrew." Marie thanked.
"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"
"They are Master."
At that Andrew woke up in the early morning it was now August 20th and the first thing he did that morning was to punch Sanson in the face with his gauntleted hand.
The day was off to a good start.
Xxx
[spoiler=AN] We're back again as Passive has returned from his vacation and I have graduated. Also up next Dumplings.[/spoiler]