Chapter 19: Aftermath
It felt like years since Chiaki had come back to the apartment. The last time she was here, she had been preparing for her date with Archer. It felt like so long ago…
The layout was the same as she had left it. Amidst all the turmoil and chaos of this war, the apartment had remained unchanged.
Chiaki was just sitting on the couch, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Magazines were scattered on the coffee table, some half open. Chiaki was a little confused at the lack of fashion magazines, but then remembered that Berserker had taken those up to her room in order to "help her" get ready.
Currently, Berserker was in the kitchen, making sandwiches. She wasn't sure why. But he had been doing that since they got back. Not that Chiaki really cared. She had other things on her mind.
It didn't seem real. The way that Uhlan just casually showed up out of nowhere. She should've known that he would know about the Holy Grail War going on. She was so blinded in her quest for… whatever it was she wanted… that she hadn't even considered that she was basically advertising her current location to him by entering this war.
The moment she saw him again, it was like it was 'that night' all over again. She had trained with Berserker for so many nights… she had fought in so many battles… learned so much about herself and Berserker…
But she was still the exact same person she had started out as, unable to even muster up the proper amount of anger to avenge her father. That was until Berserker had touched her. It seemed like Berserker had noticed it as well at the time. The moment he placed a hand on her… She felt anger boil up inside her and spill out almost instantaneously. It surprised her. It felt… good. Right.
Berserker appeared in the room, holding two plates with sandwiches on them. "Chiaki… there's something you need to know."
Chiaki was taken out of her thoughts. She looked at Berserker. "What is it?"
"I think you've been cursed with a love spell."
The abruptness of his statement caught Chiaki off guard. She furrowed her brow. "What? Why would you think that?"
Berserker took a few steps forward and placed the plates on the table. "You remember what the Ariadne Thread does?"
"Yeah, it shields anyone who touches it from mental alterations."
"It was meant for madness… but a love curse would also be nullified by it's presence."
Chiaki looked at Berserker's hand. "And you think Uhlan cast a love charm on me?"
"A love curse, yes."
No. No way. Chiaki had known Uhlan nearly her whole life. They had met as kids. It was at that very first meeting, she remembered, that she fell in love with him. She had thought love at first sight was only just in stories… but she had been proven wrong that very day. The idea that that love was the result of magecraft or witchcraft or whatever… it would've been nice and simple if it were true… but it wasn't. There was no way.
Chiaki just looked away and shook her head.
Berserker kneeled down in front of her. "Chiaki."
Chiaki didn't look at him.
"I need you to say that you can kill Uhlan."
Chiaki just shook her head again. "Why? What would it prove? I could say anything and not mean it."
"You said last night that you would. Out of nowhere. And I felt it. I saw it in your eyes and I heard it in your words. I felt your resolution to do so," Berserker spoke.
Don't remind me, Chiaki thought to herself. She stopped herself. Was she… ashamed of wanting to kill Uhlan?
"Chiaki… take my hand."
She looked back at Berserker. He had his hand, the one covered in the Ariadne Thread, held out to her, palm up.
Chiaki reached out her hand… but it was slow. She felt like she was reaching into a bear trap. She knew what the truth was. She knew that Uhlan - him being alive, her own suffering because of that - was all her fault. It was her weakness and indecision that allowed Uhlan to walk out of that room alive. She knew that. But this Ariadne Thread threatened that idea.
What if… what if it was a curse? Did that mean she never really loved Uhlan? Did that mean she never would've seen him as a friend, or even tried to get to know him? Would Uhlan… even have gotten close enough to hurt her otherwise?
Chiaki's hand just barely touched Berserker's fingertips.
Uhlan… his face… his smile… everything…
She hated it all. He was a vile, repulsive, disgusting waste of life that didn't even deserve to be called human. And she was going to murder him for what he did to her and to her father.
Chiaki pulled her hand back as if she had touched a burner.
That was impossible. Then… it really was a lie. Her entire friendship with Uhlan, from the very beginning was all because of this curse.
She looked up at Berserker. Berserker studied her, his gaze piercing through her.
"I… I'm going to…" Chiaki began.
Berserker closed his eyes and stood up. "That bastard…"
Chiaki's gaze faltered towards the floor. "He… he really…"
Berserker moved away from her, towards the kitchen, but he didn't leave the room.
Chiaki shook her head. "How did I never figure it out? He was so talented with every Magecraft from an early age… he must've learned something early on… used it on me before I even realized he existed," Chiaki reasoned out.
It was more than just her friendship with Uhlan. She had had this curse on her for her whole life. She could be a completely different person than she thought she was. An angry, vengeful person, who hadn't ever been let out.
The plate with the sandwich on it suddenly came into her view, snapping her out of her train of thought. She looked up and saw Berserker holding it out for her. "Then we finally know. You've had that determination to avenge your father inside you the whole time. It's… just been trapped."
Chiaki slowly reached out and took the plate from Berserker. Berserker and her looked at one another.
"I'm not… free, either. Unless you have your hand on me, I won't be able to act on it," Chiaki lamented, looking down at her sandwich.
Berserker nodded. "Normally, I'd have no problem with a scenario like that, but in this case…" Berserker replied, rubbing his chin.
Chiaki just shook her head, and almost made the mistake of smiling. She knew better than to encourage that kind of talk with Berserker.
Despite that… she didn't want to push him away. He had a lot of perverted tendencies, that was true, but he was also capable of real compassion. He was someone who could support her when she needed it, and relished in her happiness.
She was lucky to have a friend like him. And she didn't want to leave him behind like she had left so many others. After she had completed her goal of avenging her father, it might be difficult for her to return to just having a normal, everyday life… but she felt she could do it, so long as she had Berserker with her.
"It's impractical at best. I just have to be within arm's reach of you at all times," Chiaki eventually said.
Berserker thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "There are worse solutions."
Chiaki did smile this time. "So our big strategy is to do exactly what I said we should've been doing from the start?"
Berserker folded his arms. "Chiaki, you had no idea that it was actually necessary for me to be within arms reach of you."
"Or didn't I? Maybe I'm just thinking that far ahead."
Berserker just smiled and closed his eyes, turning back into the kitchen.
"I'm going to miss you," Berserker said wistfully.
Chiaki stopped. Everything. She stopped thinking, she stopped seeing, she even stopped breathing for a moment.
She had completely forgotten that Servants couldn't exist normally outside the Holy Grail War. It hadn't occurred to her that Berserker would be the one to leave her behind.
Chiaki returned her attention to Berserker devouring his sandwich in two colossal bites.
She cleared her throat. "I… I've been thinking about that."
Berserker arched an eyebrow at her as he swallowed. "About what?"
"You know… after the war."
Berserker seemed to freeze up. He shook his head and sighed. He turned around. "You should eat and get some rest."
"I'm not hungry right now."
"You have to eat."
"Then I'll eat later."
Berserker waited a moment. Then he turned, and moved to exit the room.
No. Chiaki wasn't going to let this happen.
"Stop," Chiaki commanded. She stood up, looking at him. "The Grail is full of almost infinite power. You can use it to incarnate yourself."
"You already have a wish, Chiaki, don't-"
"I'm talking about you. You don't have a wish for the Grail, right? Use your wish to-"
"I lied," Berserker interrupted, turning and looking at her. "I… I'm sorry."
Chiaki could feel her heart plummet. "What…?"
Berserker's face twisted in pain for a moment. He closed his eyes and took another deep sigh, then he looked back at her. "Ariadne. She's still out there, Chiaki, on the Reverse Side of the World. I have to find her. I need to ask for her forgiveness. Even if she won't give it to me, I need to hear as much from her mouth."
After a moment of hesitation, Berserker turned again, and moved to leave.
Chiaki's face was hot. This… this wasn't how… she couldn't think properly. She didn't need to.
"So it ends, just like that? At the end, you're just gonna say 'see you' and leave, so simply and easily?"
"It'll be that simple. It won't be that easy."
Chiaki clenched her fist. She wanted to throw something at him. She ended up just shouting at him as she fought against tears. "You said you would be there for me! However I needed you to be!"
Berserker stopped and turned again. There was a look on his face. "That's just it, Chiaki. You won't need me. After Uhlan is defeated-"
Chiaki exploded. "Oh, shut up! Don't talk like you're somehow doing this for my benefit. I do need you, Berserker. And you're running away, just like you ran away from Ariadne."
Berserker's eyes widened. The sad look on his face quickly became one of frustration. "Now wait just a moment-"
"No! Ariadne is so damn important to you, is she? I can certainly tell, the way you flirt with literally everything with two legs shows just how much you care about her. The truth is that you never cared about Ariadne. You're just taking whatever excuse you can so you can leave. You did it to her, and now you're doing it to m-"
Berserker suddenly threw his fist out, sideways, hammering it into the wall beside him. The wall crumbled like it was made of sand. Dust came from the ceiling and the new hole in Chiaki's wall.
Berserker's hand shook as he pulled it back to himself. His red eyes bored holes into Chiaki, and she reflexively stepped back.
"Don't you… ever…" Berserker growled. He gritted his teeth.
Chiaki could only look at him. She wasn't angry. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't sure she could feel anything at the moment.
After a long, harrowing moment passed, Berserker shut his eyes and faded into Spirit Form.
Chiaki waited, looking at where he used to be. Why did she do that? She had just told herself all about how much she wanted to keep Berserker around… and then she decided to chase him off.
"I… I'm sorry," Chiaki said, stepping towards where he used to be. She prayed that he could hear her.
"I… I didn't mean…" Chiaki continued. There was no response. No indication he was even around anymore.
She slowly felt the power in her legs giving out, and she fell against the wall, looking at the hole he had made. Her bottom lip trembled, and her eyes fell to the ground.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
"Please come back…"
Tohsaka stepped in to her study. She sat down at her desk, staring forward.
She was alone. If the others planned to return to Old Einzbern Castle, as she had planned, then they had yet to make it back. Lancer was at least in communication with her, but he had locked himself in one of the other rooms, not too keen on sharing exactly why.
If what she had seen was true… that he had gotten pierced in his Spiritual Core… he'd be dead soon. She had lost.
With no idea where Remia and Archer were… with no idea where anyone was, she became completely and utterly aware of how alone she was.
The Mage's Association was collapsing. What was left of her family was scattered. There was nothing left for her.
She suddenly slammed her fists down onto the table, making a loud thud echo out into the empty room.
She was a fool. She was so reliant on her own abilities that she never once imagined what she would do with her life once she lost them. Perhaps she didn't want to think about it. Nevertheless, she was here at the end, and she had no idea how to deal with it.
Rin had seen the signs. She never learned the family magecraft because she knew it would be worthless in a few years. That's why she took up Spiritron hacking instead… or at least that's how Sakura saw it now. Perhaps the truth was that she just made a decision that Sakura disagreed with.
And Sakura had rejected her because of it. She thought the legacy of their family was worth more than her own sister.
Master… if I might intrude on whatever it is you are doing. Please come join me.
Sakura quickly wiped away the tears in her eyes before they truly had time to manifest and took a deep breath. She needed to be composed, at least for the time being. If nothing else, she would see off Lancer as the best representative of the Tohsaka family she could be.
She took a moment to place the nameless bow and her black archery sleeve back in their box. She stood up and straightened out her clothes. She took one more deep breath before turning and moving into the hallway.
I'll be right there, Lancer.
She moved quickly through the halls, desperately trying to shut out the hollow sounds of her footsteps against the carpet. Eventually, she found the room that Lancer was in.
She pushed it open, and was greeted by an unusual sight. Lancer was sitting, criss-cross, in the middle of a large, elaborate set of runes, set up in a spiral around him. They curved up and onto the walls and ceiling, encasing the entire room in glowing sigils. The room was dark otherwise.
"Please come in and shut the door," Lancer requested. Sakura realized she was just standing in the doorway, gawking, so she did as he said.
"What… is all this?" Sakura asked, looking at the runes, and carefully trying to not step on any.
"My legacy, I suppose. It fills me with an odd pride to see my Runic Magecraft having survived into an era so far removed from my own, even if a lot of the particulars that made it so powerful in my time have been lost," Lancer explained, closing his eyes.
Sakura's observation of the array of runes led her to realize that there was a small break in the formation. There was a circle that cut through the spiral, one that was only apparent because it was made visible by a lack of runes, rather than being comprised of them.
"The only eye that can see the present is the physical eye. The only eye that can see the past is experience. And the only eye that can see the future is wisdom. What I'm about to do will violate the natural law of the Holy Grail War. I may not even succeed… but it is our last chance at victory."
Sakura looked at Lancer, who had now folded his hands into his lap, like he was meditating. He opened his eyes and looked at Sakura. "I recommend fleeing this place, at least for as long as it takes for me to perform this ritual. But before you do…"
Lancer pointed at the empty space of runes, the one that created the circle around him. "...I need you to draw a Summoning Circle around me."
Remia was watching the sun rise when Archer came back to him. He had propped himself up on the breaker box of the building they stood on. Archer had wrapped him in the Bloody Cloak. It couldn't heal him, but it eased his pain.
"The area is secure. Assassin and True Saber are nowhere to be found."
Remia nodded lightly. "What… what about those people affected by Rider?"
Archer hesitated. "Dead. Even the ones in my Spirit World."
Remia nodded again. "Figures. Spent too much time worryin' about people who were already dead."
"You did not know they would already be dead."
"Yeah, I did. Somewhere deep down. Just couldn't accept it."
"That is not a bad thing."
Remia gave a shrug without looking at Archer. "Well, didn't do me any favors for the past thirty-somethin' years. Just was a good way to depress the hell outta me every time I failed. I didn't even succeed in beatin' that Robin Hood asshole."
Archer sighed. He moved and sat down next to Remia. They sat in silence for a while.
"Hey, Archer…" Remia said.
"Yes?"
"You wanna know somethin' funny?"
"Very well."
"I was gonna kill myself after this war."
Archer took a moment to process the information.
"That is not funny."
"No, it ain't. It's just… I got kinda annoyed when Berserker came to me and asked that I look after Chiaki for a while after the war… 'cause that meant I couldn't just be done, y'know? But then…"
Remia took off his hat and placed it on his knee. "I kinda started to look forward to it. And now I'm dyin'. And I… I'm really disappointed that I won't get to..." He looked down at his lap, a sullen expression taking over his face. "Funny how life works out like that."
Remia reached to his side and took out his pistol, holding it by its barrel. He held it out to Archer to take. "I don't 'spose you could make a delivery for me?"
Archer waited a moment before taking the pistol. "To whom should I deliver it to?"
"Chiaki, o' course. She's the only one who knows how to use the Detonation, now. The only bullets left are the ones left in the gun, though. She'll have to learn how to make more on her own."
Archer nodded. "Then I shall see to it that she gets it."
Remia reached out and grabbed his hat, returning it to his head. "Well… I guess it's time I moseyed on…"
Remia reached up to remove the Bloody Cloak, but Archer stopped him. "Johnny Remia. Do you know why I called this cloak my home?"
Remia arched an eyebrow at him. "No."
"I died in this cloak. It is my blood that stains it. At the end of my life, it was my only possession. It was my home."
Remia looked down at it. "Well, that's a 'lil morbid."
Archer gave a melancholic smile. "Johnny, you are my family. Everything I own is yours. It would… it would be my honor if you were to call this cloak your home as well."
Remia looked up at Archer again. He smiled, but Archer could see it was only to hide his sadness. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came. He looked out over the sunrise. "Thank you," was all he said.
Archer turned to look at the sun as well. He could feel it coming. Remia was beginning to slip away. His breathing became labored.
"Man… what a pathetic… double act we made…"
"...Indeed."
Remia took a few more grasping breaths, each one taking longer than the last, but more shallow.
Eventually, he let his head dip down, and he died.
Archer waited for a while before turning to look at Remia. Remia's eyes were still open, gazing down at his feet, now. Archer reached over and closed them.
"Goodbye, Johnny Remia. May your memory guide me as you say mine has guided you."
Archer stood up.
"I appreciate you being quiet for the time being," Archer said, looking over his shoulder at Saber, Travick and Trussa.
"We… did not mean to intrude," Trussa explained. She was breathing heavily. She was sick, it appeared.
Archer nodded. "I appreciate your consideration. Have you business with me?"
Trussa went to speak but began to cough. Travick patted her on the back a few times.
"None. I take it, with the Independent Action skill that the Archer class wields, you still consider yourself in the running for the Holy Grail?" Travick spoke for Trussa.
Archer thought for a moment. "No. I have been bested. The time I have left shall be dedicated to burying and honoring the dead."
Travick nodded. He motioned for Trussa and Saber to join him as he left, supposedly back towards their own home base.
Trussa joined him. Saber did not. Saber was just staring at Remia's body. There was a look in his eye. A look Archer, in the few times he had met Saber over the war, had never seen him have.
Saber faced Archer, giving him that same look. "I'll do it."
He then turned and followed Trussa and Travick away.
Archer said nothing and let them leave. He wondered, only for a moment, what kind of conversation Saber had been having inside his head as he stared at Remia… but he decided to leave it be.
He had a burial to prepare, and a gift to deliver.
Assassin sat in his cave, sharpening his knife. The knife didn't actually need to be sharpened, and in fact trying to do so only resulted in rocks being scraped to dust, but it helped him think.
His Master was being quiet in the corner, thankfully. She hadn't caused him much trouble over the war, for which he was thankful. He'd let her live for her trouble. Although… considering what he had planned, maybe it was more merciful to kill her.
We'll see how I'm feeling when the time comes, Assassin decided in his head.
He didn't react as Uhlan and True Saber walked into the cave. "Ah. I see you succeeded in retrieving the body," Uhlan narrated as he looked at the corpse Assassin had lying next to him.
Assassin glanced at Hitler's body. The gemcraft arrow was still lodged in his forehead. It was quick, nearly painless. Professional. Tohsaka had surprised him with that. She would've made a pretty good partner, should he ever have the mind to get one…
"It was too good a death for him," Uhlan decided, standing over him. "You have no idea how it killed me inside to invite him to the war, rather than just kill him outright."
Assassin gave no reply, continuing to sharpen his knife.
"We should begin soon. The Mana inside his body will begin to leak out before long. Saber, begin the preparations," Uhlan commanded, walking further into the cave. True Saber bowed.
"Where is the False Saber?" True Saber asked Assassin.
Assassin never looked at True Saber. He didn't like talking to him. He didn't like his voice. Assassin wasn't afraid of him… but he also wasn't stupid. He knew that True Saber was infinitely more powerful than him, and would kill him without a second thought should he know what he was up to.
"On his way," Assassin said simply.
True Saber nodded and grabbed Hitler's corpse.
