First: I'm very sorry for the delay, but the last few months were terrible for me… Let's just say that spending Christmas in a hospital wasn't nice at all.
Second: a lot of spears is flying casually in this chapter, hope You don't mind. ;)
Third: thank You for patience and tons of support, I really appreciate it!
8: Names
"Have you found something, Billy?"
The blond Archer jumped down from a ladder in a dusty library, carrying some very old tomes of reports and other formal papers.
"Not much," he admitted with a sigh. "Mostly things you already knew. In the past the Emiya family indeed participated in the Holy Grail Wars, twice, both with Saber class. And there's also the murder case…"
Medusa, who was sitting comfortably on a chair, with even larger portion of notes, nodded, letting her companion know that she knows about it as well.
"Keep searching," she said, adjusting her glasses. Archer wondered for a while if she's fully aware how good she looks in this simple sweater and jeans.
The system was shut down for about three weeks, so most of Servants already got changed to casual, modern outfits. Masters managed to activate their circuits enough to keep their remained familiars 'alive', but fights on the arena were still out of the question.
Some families already started panicking, feeling desperate and defenseless without regular inflow of cash. Others, less dependent on this shady business, only kept complaining and pressing on the Council to bring the tournaments back as soon as possible. The last group focused on preparing another team to be sent into the system and 'fix the mess that incompetent girl made'.
They completely ignored the fact that it was still too soon to jump to conclusions. Doctor Rufus, of course, would never admit that he, not that rebellious red Archer, was responsible for cutting off the communication with Aki Emiya. And the girl, who only tried to help everyone, was the last person they should blame for this catastrophe.
For some reason Gilgamesh supported the last fraction, and even declared that he will join the expedition. Medusa knew the King of Heroes long enough to suspect that he had some kind of a dangerous plan, so she considered joining the rescue team as well. She even participated in a meeting with the young mage from Tohsaka family, who was the official candidate to lead the volunteers.
"Makoto Tohsaka, the jewel mage, Gandr user, and specialist of fire spells," she read quietly, scratching the file with her fingernail. "Servants summoned: one. Class: special. Details unknown, never participated in a tournament. Hmmmm…"
Medusa could barely feel the presence of this strange Servant during the meeting. He was really good at keeping his statistics hidden… maybe thanks to a personal skill? Rider wasn't sure. Servants in special classes were extremely rare, so she couldn't tell much about them. The only one she encountered so far was a crazy Ruler lady, Astraea. Their duel had been recognized as the best fight of a season back then, that's why Medusa could now use her fame to gain more freedom and legally visit the archives whenever she wanted.
Billy interrupted this chain of chaotic thoughts and memories with a meaningful cough.
"I thought we're here to gather knowledge on Emiya family, not Tohsaka."
"Their stories are tied together stronger than you think," Rider replied with an enigmatic smile, turning few pages back. "Here: after the mysterious death of Aki's parents one of the three great families accused Tohsakas of the assault. It looks like a vicious scheme to me, honestly. The evidence was just too obvious and the tribunal of the Clock Tower seemed a bit too eager to sentence them. Only the Edelfelt family had some doubts back then. Although officially no one had been punished, rumors spread wide enough to destroy the Tohsakas. Makoto's parents died suddenly juts few months later, in shame and poverty, too proud to accept any help." She paused for a while, thinking, trying to gather all the pieces of this strange puzzle together. "I've heard that the boy summoned a Servant not long after their death, when he was still a child. Then he locked himself up in their residence and literally disappeared from public view, until yesterday."
"They must be truly desperate," Carmilla said with a nonchalant smirk. No one noticed she'd been standing in the open door for a while – a privilege of Assassin class, it seems. Her elegant, crimson dress discretely emphasized her vampiric nature. "Aki Emiya is considered an outsider in the magi society, but Makoto Tohsaka is a criminal, a roguish freelancer known for accepting even the dirtiest tasks." She chuckled. "And they still let him borrow the King of Heroes for this quest."
"I would rather say they think Gilgamesh will keep an eye on the young mage." Billy smiled, but sighed heavily just a moment after. "And we're going to keep an eye on the Goldie, I see." Rider nodded, although she had her own reasons as well. "And you, Assassin?"
"I'm staying. In case they're planning to get rid of all of you and shut the server down for good." A particularly wicked smirk crossed her beautiful face. "Someone has to."
Medusa nodded again, although she was sure that Carmilla was also plotting something and she might ask to return the favor, sooner or later. Bur, honestly, was there a better person to deal with a bunch of greedy mages than the Blood Countess?
Rider doubted that, and was actually glad that Assassin was in their 'team', at least for now.
Nero knew she's been losing control on the battlefield. The system was not interested in her war anymore, took command over soldiers of both sides and led them against the new enemy. Only the most faithful legionaries, kept closer to the emperors, remained obedient, although at the heavy cost of magical energy.
The dream, that was almost in Nero's reach, suddenly drifted away. And it was the last thing to worry about at the moment. Soon a new danger appeared before the emperor – a strange warrior with two spears, bathed in blood from head to toe.
"I have no time to waste, so I will ask you only once: will you withdraw your Noble Phantasm and let my Master leave the fortress?"
Nero blinked, not sure if she understood correctly this bold demand.
"You came all this way, destroying almost half of my army, just to ask such ridiculous question?"
Lancer's eyes narrowed dangerously. He had no intention of discussing anything with Nero – freeing Aki was his only goal and desire.
"So you won't let my Master go?"
"I won't. It's too dangerous, for her and everyone else."
Diarmuid did not even blink – he just raised both spears and prepared his most powerful attack.
"Gáe Dearg! Pierce! Gáe Buidhe!"
Nero's eyes widened in shock – she didn't expect this strange Lancer to just use both his Noble Phantasms without warning. Only skills borrowed through her Imperial Privilege saved her this time. Although dodging both spears at once seemed nearly impossible, somehow she managed to do so.
"I see..." Blessing her luck, she tried to act cool. Letting him catch her off guard felt embarrassing enough – showing weakness was out of the question! "Won't you at least tell me your name?"
But Lancer did not answer, only stared at her with those insane eyes and prepared another deadly attack.
Nero slowly breathed out the air, preparing for the worst. Whoever the warrior in black was, he couldn't be taken lightly. Saber acknowledged his devotion to that cute Master… or maybe it was something more?
"You're giving me no choice." She materialized a red rose and tossed it to the ground, summoning her Golden Theater.
Exactly at the same moment the walls of the enchanted Roman fortress returned to their original shape.
"The spell has been broken," Aki noticed with both hope and fear. "Good job, guys! Now we can finally get out of he... Whoa!"
A particularly big fragment of the ceiling almost fell on the girl's head. It seemed that Nero's Noble Phantasm had been woven into the structure of the building so deeply, that everything just started to fall apart without it.
"I need your sword," Aki commanded dryly, already running through the collapsing underground corridor.
"Are you sure? You're tired, and it will get even worse." The last time she borrowed Arthur's power, she paid for it with internal injuries and couldn't wake up for almost two weeks. It was long ago, and she's got much stronger since that day, but… "You should rather keep the energy for later."
"There will be no 'later', if the roof falls on our heads."
That argument convinced Saber. Aki could feel a characteristic shiver coming from tips of her fingers to elbows, when the familiar magic tried to take over parts of her body.
"Don't fight it," Arthur reprimanded her gently, and the girl blushed, humming something apologetically. With a slight blow of warm air shiny gauntlets appeared on her hands. "All is set."
Now it was Aki's turn to do some magic. She focused and activated Arthur's enormous circuits. It was easy to lose herself in this river of magic, to simply go with the flow and destroy everything on sight, so she concentrated all her willpower on keeping the raging energy in check.
She created a precise image of the sword in her mind, so perfect she could almost feel the coldness of metal and the thin layer of golden energy hidden within the blade…
"Trace on!"
With Saber's approval and help, Excalibur materialized obediently in all its glory. The broad, elegant blade did not feel heavy in Aki's hand when she swung it, adjusting her body to the strength she had borrowed from Saber.
"Ok. Let's go!"
Her feet of a top class Servant carried her through the labyrinth of corridors and let her swiftly avoid falling stones. Her sharpened senses detected the smallest signs of danger on the way and the magnificent sword in her hands destroyed every single obstacle, so easily it felt like cutting butter.
This bold charge ended abruptly just few steps from the main gate, in the infamous throne room where all the mess had started. The fortress threw at them its last guardian – a beast, probably made of stone, looking more or less like an imperial lion.
"A golem?" - Aki asked, adjusting the grip on Excalibur's hilt.
"Probably," Saber answered, observing the new enemy. "Some kind of construct for sure."
"Whatever it is, it's huge. And most likely the door won't open until it's defeated."
"Don't worry, Master. Destroying huge enemies is my specialty. Shall we?"
Poison her, huh? Easier said than done, Robin thought, pretending that he's not desperately searching for cover.
Although she'd been hit with at least one 'special' arrow, the huntress seemed unaffected by the toxin. Was it some kind of individual ability, high endurance or just rage? Archer didn't know it, but he was well aware that he's running out of time and tricks to come out of this alive.
Constantly reminding himself that the kitten is not a force of nature, but a Servant like any other, Robin insisted on talking to her and explaining his motives over and over. Who knows, maybe some particular choice of words will finally sober her?
"Let's say you have a point here…" – he kept babbling, losing hope – and breath – with every passing second – "…but what good will come from your blind rage? How can you save anyone if you can't even control your own emotions? What's your next step, huh? Turning into a Berserker and mindlessly hurting the ones you wanted to protect?"
At least a part of his verbal rampage must have hit the spot, because the huntress stopped suddenly. After few deep breaths she finally lowered the bow and whispered:
"It's just... in my core… I remember something like this already happened. I knew that nothing could be done, but something within me just screamed it's wrong, so wrong… I knew that rampaging around won't help anyone, but… If we truly are heroes, how can we just say it's fine and turn our backs on suffering of others?"
Her honest confession touched something within Robin's soul, opened an old wound, buried so deep he almost forgot it ever existed.
"It's all right," he ensured the other Archer, dissolving his weapons. "I understand how you feel, I fought countless impossible, hopeless battles. And I knew it's meaningless in the end but still kept opposing fate." He sighed. "But it's not important anymore. Now we must think what to do."
Atalanta took another deep, desperate breath and looked him in the eye, finally focused. When Robin was sure she's listening carefully, he continued with his explanation.
"Maybe we've lost one battle here, but the war is far from over. Was it just a sick experiment or a part of some bigger plan? Who's the enemy? The system? Or something far worse?"
The huntress tensed, realizing how little she understood. She shook her head, showing that she can't give him any answer.
"That's what we're trying to find out," the green Archer added warmly. "To prevent such tragedies from happening, we must know who or what is responsible for this mess. At least let us try. If we fail, well… you can kill us later. Fair enough, don't you think?"
Showing her that he cares was probably the most difficult thing for Robin. After all, he spent so many years on mastering the art of pretending that he doesn't care…
"Just leave me alone," Atalanta said eventually and turned around.
"Wha…?" Robin blinked, not able to understand this sudden change. "Aren't you going to do something with Saber? She's your friend, right?"
"Go away before I change my mind."
So he did, but when he glanced at her for the last time, he saw her arms shaking from suppressed cry.
"I feel jealous," Arthur said all of a sudden. "That was Siegfried's move, not mine! And that one you've learnt from Assassin. Does it mean that my swordsmanship is not enough for you?"
"I just wanted to be prepared in case we encounter a dragon or…"
"… or a really big swallow? But this is not anything of a kind, so my technique should be optimal. Now focus and fight properly, Miss Emiya."
"Hey, I am your Master, don't order me around!"
"And I am your king, ordering people around is my job."
It was only their ususal banter. Their bodies and minds merged perfectly, so they quickly discovered that the stone body of the lion is almost immune to slashing of a sword, even as magical as Excalibur. They needed some kind of short energetic blast to crush the golem in one strike.
Of course, Saber knew some useful tricks, but he remained hesitant – Aki could feel only a nice breeze of energy when they needed a hurricane.
"It's not the right moment to be gentle," she reprimanded him softly. "I'll be fine, just try not to blow up my circuits."
"As you wish."
Brightness surrounded the sword. The girl needed to be really careful and not drop the blade, when the golem tried to smash Aki's head with its enormous paws. She dodged, distracted the beast with a slash right to its nose and dived between the lion's legs to attack it from behind.
"Now two steps back, one step right," Arthur ordered and his Master obeyed without complaining. "Get ready!"
"Take thaaaaaaat!"
With a single swing of Excalibur a wave of blue light flew towards the enemy, devouring everything on its path. Saber's magic easily bit into the stone. One crack after another and eventually the construct disintegrated into dust.
"We… did it," Aki said, painfully catching her breath. The sword and gloves dissolved instantly and the girl fell on the floor, gracelessly hitting it with her butt.
And, before Arthur managed to congratulate her, she spat a portion of blood and fell limply on the floor, instantly losing consciousness.
"We're in trouble," the nameless Archer stated the obvious, barely avoiding a kick in the chest.
"Well, we both knew it won't be easy." Cú Chulainn gave him a wide, wild grin in response. "But she's at the level of our king, can't say I expected that."
The armored warrior seemed to hesitate for a moment, shorter than a blink of an eye. Is it possible that they're speaking of father? If so, she needed to end them quickly and check it before the war is over.
To reach that goal she sped up even more and attacked with such force that the ground split in two under the blow of her deadly sword.
"Pheeeew, you move like a Berserker!" Caster chuckled awkwardly, too proud to admit that he'd almost been beheaded. "Our teddy bear would be delighted to fight you."
Archer almost snorted at the thought of Beowulf's reaction after being called like that. Their gentle giant had a huge sense of humor, so he would probably appreciate the comparison, but his fists were sometimes faster than thoughts.
"Are you done fooling around?" Saber had no intention of giving them a break. Two insanely bold moves, a jump and a complicated maneuver with the blade, let her attack Cú Chulainn from behind. "Got you now!"
Caster's staff shattered to pieces under another strike and the druid found himself in serious troubles. Archer tried to intervene, attacking Saber from the left, but she predicted such action and sent him few meters back with a powerful kick in the ribs.
Fortunately, it gave Cú Chulainn enough time to fire flaming runes in Mordred's face.
"Damn you!" - she howled through the heated helmet, and pursued him mercilessly, more and more furious with his every successful dodging maneuver. "You can't running away forever, you know?"
Caster knew it, and was desperately trying to find a way out of this situation. Having no time for long incantations necessary to activate his Noble Phantasm, he clenched his teeth and decided to draw runes directly on the Saber's helmet, risking a serious injury in the process. Chances of blowing off the enemy's head were thin, but he really had no other choice, right?
"Ready or not…"
Cú Chulainn jumped forward and Saber slowed down, not sure what he's planning…
"Caster!"
Archer showed up again, literally out of nowhere, and threw something to Cú Chulainn, who caught it automatically. His fingers grasped instinctively a piece of cold, red metal. It felt like welcoming an old friend.
Thinking that the mysterious bowman will have to explain everything later, Caster took aim.
"Your heart is mine! Gáe Bolg!"
The way Saber reacted to this unknown Noble Phantasm seemed familiar for Cú Chulainn. She jumped back and tried to block the spear with her sword, not completely aware of the real danger behind Caster's attack.
Although the throw was unprepared and far weaker than usual, the spear clearly kept its magical abilities. Still, for a second or two Cú Chulainn wasn't sure if the special move of his Lancer counterpart really worked. Wild bursts of red light were dancing for a while on the surface of Mordred's blade, before the magic activated completely and pierced her heart. Saber made a surprised, painful shout, lost balance and fell on her knees, raising a cloud of dust from the ground.
Caster narrowed his eyes, observing how the spear dissolved into thin air like one of Archer's arrows he'd seen before. He had many questions, but did not start investigating the other Servant, feeling that the fight wasn't over yet.
The nameless bowman came closer, still tensed and ready to fight. He, too, suspected that the imperfect copy wasn't enough to bring down such powerful adversary.
Saber remained still for a long moment, but she didn't vanish. Finally her fingers moved slightly, searching for the hilt of the sword.
"You… two weaklings…" Mordred was struggling to catch a breath, so she dematerialized her helmet and parts of armor. She slowly stood up, ignoring the red sparkles, that were still burning her skin near the heart. "Now I'm really angry!"
"Hey, hey, hey, that's not funny anymore!" Cú Chulainn started to draw protective runes straight in the air. "We must finish her before she'll do something really stupid. Archer? Archer!"
But the red bowman did not listen, only stood there like a complete idiot, with his jaw dropped and gaze focused on the ranting woman in shattered armor.
"It can't be… That face…"
"Ha! I knew it." Mordred smiled triumphantly; it looked pretty scary in her current state, with blood and dust covering most parts of her face. "Now... be good boys and take me to father. If you do so, I may consider letting you live."
As soon as Aki opened her eyes, she was struck with a strange feeling of déjà vu. Her last nap on Beowulf's lap happened not so long ago, but it felt like ages.
It seemed that two more Servants were guarding her this time. The girl focused her gaze on Assassin's face and frowned. She has never seen him so worried - and battered – before. Siegfried was right behind him, glancing nervously at the fortress, as if expecting it to produce some kind of a new, terrible enemy. And Arthur in her head only sighed with relief, making Aki sure that convincing him to mix their powers again won't be easy anymore.
Ignoring the pain and exhaustion, she smiled warmly to her Servants.
"It's good to see you again. Where are the others? And how did you manage to bring me outside?"
"We heard your scream, so we came," Beowulf explained, shrugging, like it was only natural and did not involve a bloody massacre to get inside. "The rest is keeping enemies at bay, so don't worry and nap as much as you want."
"So the door opened like we expected?"
"We had no time to check." Assassin sighed. "Actually, Berserker came for you through the wall."
"Oh." Aki chuckled awkwardly. "And you, Siegfried? You want to ask me something, correct?"
"Master." The Dragon Knight looked and sounded like a tired dog, too shy to ask for a treat. "Sorry for troubling you when you still feel unwell, but Etzel will vanish, if we don't help her immediately. There are some things about the system only she can explain…"
Aki trusted him completely, so she only nodded and kneeled near the barely conscious Servant. All the explanations aside, she was sure that Siegfried simply didn't want the other Saber to vanish. Arthur hummed meaningfully in her head, confirming what she suspected.
"Don't you know who I am?" Atilla asked quietly, already too weak to hide the hand grasped by Aki. "I am Altera, The Divine Punishment, Whip of God… All I know is how to fight and destroy."
"These are just names," Aki said with a gentle smile. "If you have a problem with that, join as not as Atilla, the destroyer of worlds, but as Etzel, the graceful, brave and loyal Saber. You will be a perfect addition to our little gang, I'm sure of it. So – will you accept my offer?"
With every word magic gathered around Aki, moving her hair and clothes, forming a stream that reached the dying Saber and fed her with new energy. It was… refreshing, to feel dependent, but also gave Attila a new kind of power she didn't expect to have.
What a strange feeling… Now I understand why you risked everything for this cute Master of yours, Dragon Slayer.
A beautiful, warm smile formed on her lips, when she answered:
"Yes, M-master. I, Etzel, will become your sword!"
"Becoming my friend is more than enough."
Although she tried really hard, Altera couldn't hide her emotions. Even Siegfried's face softened at the view. He helped the other Saber get up.
"I can see you're still in shock," he said with a tiny but warm smile, trying to sound as neutral as possible.
"Y-yes." She shook her head, trying to hide a cute blush on her cheeks. "I don't understand how all of this works. I do feel like a new person and have no idea why is that."
"The contract between a Master and a Servant is a powerful spell that creates new reality," Siegfried explained. "Your life in this new form is yours to shape, mighty and gracious Etzel."
"Could you please… stop calling me that?"
"You don't like it?" Siegfried blinked, a bit disappointed.
Etzel lowered her head; her next words were barely audible.
"No. I like it so much I'm afraid I'm going to get used to it…"
Aki watched these two with a gentle smile – their innocent chatter was a nice change after long, tiring battles. She could feel Arthur's amusement and almost chuckled, when he said something incredibly stupid right into her mind.
This short but peaceful moment was brutally interrupted by a shriek of an unknown beast. They all looked at the sky, covering their eyes from the sun.
"A gryphon?"
"Where are Archers when they're needed the most, huh?"
"I think I've seen this creature before," Siegfried murmured, deep in thoughts.
And then a suspiciously feminine voice reached them from above:
"Fear no more! I come to save you, Maaasteeeer!"
In a dark, devastated room, two slim figures were sitting near the unused fireplace, sipping wine in silence.
"What's troubling you, Master? You're strangely quiet tonight." The taller figure put away the glass and looked questioningly at his companion.
Only an old-fashioned clock disturbed the silence between them, before the younger man decided to answer.
"He cannot be trusted."
The mysterious Servant chuckled in response.
"To think that the King of Heroes would make such impression on you…"
"It's not about my 'impression', Avenger," the mage interrupted angrily, narrowing his eyes. "It's about your ability to take him down."
They kept staring at each other for a while, exchanging no words but simple thoughts and emotions through their magical bond. Feeling that his Master had enough, Avenger smiled like a predator before a hunt.
"It's unwise to rush into battle unprepared," he said eventually.
"We won't be prepared if we can't dive into the System. And we still don't know if they let us do it."
"They will. Gilgamesh will make it happen."
The mage sighed helplessly, admitting defeat. He knew all of that, but was simply tired of waiting. Since early childhood all his actions were motivated by a single wish, which was now almost within his reach…
"So what should we do until then?"
"Let's do what we always do, Master. Wait and hope."
[I hate the way my brain works. Proceeding with this and other unfinished stories? Nah. Better plan a spin-off with Makoto Tohsaka, who has just made his debut here.
I hate to be me. Honestly. XD
Hope You enjoyed the chapter and see You next time!]
