"Tomorrow your parents will come down to talk about what they do in their career." Miss Bustier announced.
"My parents are in Fuyuki," Ari said as she raised her hand.
"Can they call on video?"
"I think so...they can do it in the morning."
"Then you'll go first. Anyone else have questions? Mizukume?"
"My parents are dead," Tamamo said.
"Tamamo!" Adrien whispered.
Marinette and Arthur went home, while Marinette was fine with having her parents go to school with her, Arthur wasn't so happy with Merlin going along. She had been a nuisance ever since she arrived in Paris. She and Arthur spoke in his room, they thought of careers she would have. She wasn't much of a chef, she had never touched a stove in her entire life, she didn't garden, play instruments, or anything at all.
The only choice Arthur thought of was to pass her off as a magician, she was a Caster servant, so it wasn't farfetched. He told her not to use any spells that would indicate she was a servant or gather the attention of other the servants. Especially that of Ruler, who was awake and cleaning up some of Jack's mess. If she got wind of any dangerous magic going on, there would be no end to her lecture.
"My name is Sakura Matou. I work with the Mage's Association and that's my brother back there." Sakura said over the video and she pointed to her brother, Shinji, who was putting books on a shelf.
"Can you tell us more about yourself miss Matou?" Miss Bustier asked.
"Well, I do some book work, my husband teaches at Clocktower and..."
"Not again!" Shinji fell off the ladder when he was trying to reach for a far spot, he landed in the pile and Sakura had to cut the call to help him.
"It could be worse," Rider commented. He saw that Ari had her face on the table, "you could be Arthur."
"Not another word from you!" Arthur yelled.
"Speaking of Arthur, is your mom here?" Miss Bustier looked to Arthur.
"Regrettably," he said, making the class look at him with confusion.
"Hi kids! I'm Arthur's mommy, but you can call me Lin!" Merlin stormed into the classroom to make a huge entrance. She was dressed as a magician with a black top hat, suit, skirt, and boots.
Arthur slammed his head on the table and whimpered as she took off her hat and pulled out flowers from it. The class was impressed, except for Chloe, who scoffed at the tricks Merlin was doing. She kept pulling flowers from her hat and answered any questions the class had for her. She was happy to be there, well aware that Arthur was crying at that point.
Something crashed outside and Merlin instinctively summoned her staff and changed into her clothes as a servant. That gave the kids even more questions and she tried to cover it up with anything she could. Alya leaned over to Marinette and pointed out Arthur wasn't even looking at what was going on. He was too embarrassed to move.
Miss Bustier had to get the students to move on and went to other families that were present. Chloe had brought her mother, who bragged about her work and the magazine "Style Queen". She spoke more than the other parents did and tried to make herself stand out as better than the others, something that was common with that family.
Miss Bustier had to stop Audrey from continuing, or else the class wouldn't have any time for anyone else. Audrey lowered her sunglasses to get a better look at the teacher. Merlin put her staff between the two, she had a serious look on her face that told Audrey to back off. She was like Arthur in that way, she had a presence that made people back down instantly and wasn't afraid to face someone head on.
Audrey scuttled back to her corner and allowed the other parents to talk. Merlin patted Arthur on the head then went to her own corner. When Audrey had some time alone with Merlin, she gave the mage a warning about getting in her way. A threat that Merlin didn't like. As she was about to walk away, Merlin gave her own warning, that Audrey shouldn't get herself involved in things she didn't understand.
"What did you do this time?" Arthur asked Merlin.
"The usual," Merlin replied. "I should probably tell you to stay away from the park, Karna and Arjuna are at it again."
"In broad daylight?"
"You know them."
"Aren't we supposed to fight at night?" Tamamo asked.
"You tell that to the trigger-happy brothers," Rider sighed. "They'll fight each other in any circumstance."
"What about the cease fire? Aren't we supposed to only fight Jack?" Adrien asked.
"You clearly haven't met the brothers," Ari responded.
"Ohhh, what's that?" Merlin said as her eyes went to something in the class.
"What?" Arthur tried to see what she was looking at. "Oh crap!"
The class all looked up to see an akuma flying around. It was going for any of the students or parents who were scared to see it, but Merlin grabbed its wings before it hit anyone. She was enthralled by it, she waved it around and looked at its coloring. She used both hands to spread its wings and admired it. Ari was all over it as well, she described it as one of the most amazing bugs she had ever seen.
She said that the butterflies looked like the floating lanterns that rose above Fuyuki during the summer festival. Then Rider covered her mouth to stop her and the entire room forgot about the akuma when he dragged her out. Merlin took that opportunity to run off with the akuma and Arthur went after her. A crash was then heard and the class went to see what was going on.
Both Arthur and Merlin were on the floor at the bottom of the stairs and the akuma made a run for it. Since they were servants, they weren't hurt badly, but they were knocked out. Miss Bustier called for help from the ambulance to get the two some help, luckily, their condition wasn't bad enough to send them to the hospital, so they were put on blankets on the floor.
Audrey got a call from and stepped outside to take it. She spent the entire time ranting about Merlin and how stupid it was to go to school with Chloe.
"What's going on?" Karna looked up from his lance after he was pushed back by Arjuna.
"What?" Arjuna looked up as well. A cloud of golden dust zooming around Paris where the school was.
"Assassin again? Oh, come on!" Minami sighed.
"I kept telling you to stop," Ruler said. "Shirou ordered a cease fire."
"Yeah great, let's go beat Jack to a pulp, then our servants can kill each other."
"Whatever you say." Ruler said as she and Karna headed to the school with Arjuna carrying Minami there as well.
"Miss Lin, where are you?!" A woman made of pure glitter walked around the school grounds.
"Assassin! That's enough from... oh." Minami kicked open the door to see it wasn't Jack.
"What are you people wearing? It's disgusting! Especially you two!" The woman pointed at Karna and Arjuna. "Wear something in style! You're both fired!"
"Arjuna!" Karna pushed Arjuna out of the way and was turned into a golden statue.
"Karna!" Arjuna was about to touch the statue of his brother, but Ruler stopped him. They had to escape before they were also turned into statues. Ladybug's power would reverse the effects later, so they didn't have anything to worry about.
Arjuna backed off and followed Ruler outside with his master. They hid behind a wall and were forced to move between hiding places as the super villain had her sights on them. Ruler summoned her flag and used it to deflect the lights shot at them. They weren't supposed to be involved in superhero business, so all they could do was protect themselves.
Ruler told them to go hide somewhere else while she took all the attention in herself. Ruler raised her flag to activate her Noble Phantasm, but she was too slow, she was turned into a statue within seconds. Arjuna and Minami hid in a small building, he curled himself into ball and started crying. Despite the hard exterior he showed to the world, he didn't actually want Karna dead.
His wish was a fair fight against his brother, and he knew Karna had the same want. Seeing Karna turned to a statue made him realize just how much he cared for his brother, and how much his brother cared for him. Minami went over to Arjuna and hugged him; everything was going to back to normal when the super villain was defeated. All they had to do was wait.
Tamamo and Adrien ran with Nathalie not too far behind them. They had to lose her if Adrien was to become Chat Noir. Tamamo tripped over a wire and held her ankle, she said it felt like it was sprained, then she looked to Adrien and winked. He said he was going to get help and ran off. He didn't have too much time to be away, so turned into Chat Noir and went after the super villain.
Marinette and her parents watched over Merlin and Arthur in the locker room. The rest of class was scattered, all hiding from the super villain. Some were also in the locker room, they paced around, waiting for Ladybug to show up before they were all turned to statues. One thing was certain, the super villain was after Merlin. She and Arthur were out of commission, and with Marinette not able to separate herself from the ground she had to wake up Merlin.
She put her left hand on Arthur, showing the command seal to everyone who was watching her, and used it to force him to wake up. He was engulfed in a golden light, and it was gone, he stood there with his armor on and sword in hand. Marinette had one seal left on her hand, which meant if she used it, she would be out of the war. She ordered him to get Shirou, the priest would know what to do.
Arthur left through the window and went for the church. He soon returned with Shirou who he was carrying on his back. Shirou told them that Minami and Arjuna had the super villain's attention, but they weren't going to have it for long. Shirou estimated that it wouldn't take long before they were defeated too. Chat Noir was also waiting for Ladybug to show up, meaning it was a serious situation.
"Mister Kotomine," Miss Bustier said. "What's going on?"
"To put it simply," Shirou started. "A super villain is after a master and servant pair, which is illegal. According to the rules of the war, superheroes and servants are to stay separated. Could anyone tell me who the super villain is?"
"It's my mom," Chloe said. "She got super upset when Lin told her off, and rightfully so."
"Lin?"
"Merlin," Marinette whispered.
"Ah." Shirou looked down at Merlin. "I can fix this, but I expect groceries for compensation."
"Shirou, I swear!" Arthur mumbled.
"It's fine, we'll give him some cake and he'll leave us alone." Marinette said.
"Wait," Sabine stopped Shirou. "What do you mean there's a war? And how does Marinette and Arthur relate to this?"
"You didn't tell them?" Shirou asked the two. "Why do you complicate everything?"
"Tell a nice couple their daughter is a master in a murder war and their supposed son in law is a servant whose power can nuke the entire city? Really Shirou?" Arthur whispered.
"Okay, I get your point. Now, let's get Merlin back in action. By the way, what happened?"
"Fell down the stairs."
"No really, what happened?"
"Don't really know, we shut down."
"We'll talk about this back in the church."
Shirou put his hand on Merlin's chest and sent a pulse of mana to wake her up. Her first reaction was to slap him, then it was to summon her staff and hit him over the head. Arthur had to pull her away and tell her to knock it off. They had to deal with a super villain who was after her and didn't have the time to pick on Shirou over whatever he did wrong that day.
Merlin went outside with Arthur, Marinette, and Shirou following behind her. On their way, they saw what happened to Karna, then Ruler. That got Shirou, he didn't like the idea that the overseer of the war being turned into a statue. He told Marinette to transform into Ladybug and they would help in any way they could. Normally they would wait in the church, but that time it was different.
Ladybug and Chat Noir met up on top of the school building. Chat Noir had been trying to get in contact with Ladybug, but she wasn't answering. She said that she had some business to deal with before she got transformed. The two found the super villain as she chased Minami around. They recognized her as Style Queen, someone who was tough to beat due to her body being made of pure glitter.
Arjuna grabbed Minami right at the moment Minami threw a gemstone that blinded Style Queen. Merlin showed up in their place as Shirou and Arthur got them out before Style Queen turned them into statues. Both were exhausted from running away for so long. Shirou told them to head to the church, he had it set up so that akuma attacks didn't affect anyone inside.
Style Queen chased Merlin who fought back with her magic. She eventually had to use her Noble Phantasm, Garden of Avalon, to blindside Style Queen. She was joined by Ladybug and Chat Noir, both who had been trying to catch up. Merlin helped the two fight Style Queen; she saw openings and blasted the super villain any time she saw fit.
Arthur also helped out when he could. His blade cut through Style Queen's body and scattered the glitter so that she couldn't repair herself. With the four of them, they beat Style Queen and Ladybug caught the akuma. When she turned back into Audrey, Merlin and Arthur were gone.
"This meeting is great Shirou," Ruler said. Shirou had asked them to meet with him at night to discuss a few things. "But What are we doing here? Karna and I are fine."
"I'm keeping you two here until I'm sure you don't get in more trouble." Shirou responded.
"Shirou, I got a pack of ice cream sitting on the table. Let us go home."
"You can buy another pack, this is important."
"Let them go Shirou, this doesn't concern them." Merlin commented.
"Okay, Fine." Shirou sighed, "go home, Ruler, Lancer, we'll talk later. As for you, Merlin, Arthur. I want to talk about why you two passed out when you hit the bottom of the staircase."
"Shirou, this is not a big deal."
"You are servants, you don't just pass out when you fall down a flight of stairs. Arthur, you got thrown down six stories in the last war and didn't have a scratch on you."
"We don't know what happened."
"It could have been the Grail. But Arjuna and Karna weren't affected."
"Shirou! Maybe we should stop trying to figure it out. Maybe it was just a freak of nature or...what is that?!"
"What?"
"That!" Merlin pointed to the small chalice that was on the table.
"Oh, that's a Grail replica." Shirou said with a smile.
"Don't lie to me asshole! You're repairing the Grail that Ari Matou broke! No wonder strange things have been happening! Every time you put a new piece on that thing, something goes wrong!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Arthur and I were knocked out and it took a command seal and you to wake us up! Don't tell me that thing didn't have a part!"
"Okay, Okay, I maybe put a piece in and it made you two go down the stairs."
"I am going to report everything to Lord El-Melloi II! He will not be happy!"
Merlin stormed out of the church with Arthur behind her. She started packing her bags immediately when she got home, she wasn't in the mood for questions and answered anything Marinette's parents with short sentences. Marinette was a master, Arthur was a servant, they were supposed to kill the others in the war, or be killed, whichever came first.
Marinette's parents were left in complete shock, they hadn't heard about the war before and weren't sure what to do when Merlin slammed the door shut. She was going straight back to Clocktower and there wasn't anything going to stop her. Marinette and Arthur had a long night of trying to explain that they were stuck in the war and nothing could be changed. Sabine walked to the dining table and finally explained her linage as a mage.
She thought her family left that life of magecraft and wars long ago, but it finally came back to bite her when Marinette was chosen as a master. She told them about the first Grail War, about the Lancer servant her ancestors had at their disposal. The hero Enkidu, who was killed by the Saber Bedivere. Her family lost to the Tohsaka's, and they left the mages association after the war ended.
Sabine never thought to tell her family, she thought the wars would stay in Fuyuki and no one from her family would be chosen. She revealed the mana crest on her left arm, it dated back a few years before the first Grail War, which was probably a reason the family lost. They didn't have what it took to be masters then. She was planning to tell Marinette on the day of Marinette's eighteenth birthday.
Tom was supportive of both his wife and daughter, he knew the dangers of the world, and if their family lived through it for hundreds of years, they could as well. Arthur asked if he could stay, since he was revealed as a servant, he didn't know if he was welcomed anymore. But Tom and Sabine let him stay, he was family, servant or not.
Arthur laid down in his bed, finally a night where Merlin wasn't around to bother him. He laid down on his bed and spread out, something he wasn't able to do with Merlin sharing the bed. He was grateful he could stay, else he'd be staying in the church with Shirou, and that was a nightmare. Arjuna spent a night there when Minami kicked him out for cleaning, and he didn't get any sleep.
"You Okay Arjuna?" Minami asked.
"Hard to say," Arjuna replied.
"I know today was crazy, and you broke down after seeing Karna... you know."
"What do you want?"
"I want to know if you're doing okay, you're my servant and it's my job as your master to keep you going."
"I'm fine, really."
"Well, I invited some friends to help you feel better."
"Arjuna, Minami," Karna entered.
"Hi guys, it's me Leticia." Leticia waved. "Ruler says hi too, she's sleeping right now."
"How's it going kids?" Rider also entered with Tsubasa and Ari.
"Are you throwing a party?" Arjuna asked.
"Cheer up Arjuna, your brother is fine and the Matou siblings are great at keeping people entertained." Minami explained, "we have cake. Can you really deny cake?"
"Maybe."
"Always so negative with you."
Rider picked up Ari and placed her on the couch, the apartment was surprisingly clean for Minami, she usually had the place filled to the ceiling with trash or books. Tsubasa poured tea for the group and Minami brought out the cake, she and Leticia cut it into slices then set it on the table. Karna and Arjuna were talking about anything on their minds, they really had strange relationship.
Tamamo was back in the Agreste mansion, she said that her ankle was fine after Ladybug fixed everything. She stood up and started walking around to show Gabriel and Nathalie that she was fine. She and Adrien headed to his room and took off her bows, she was getting tired of wearing them all the time. She wished she didn't have to but keeping her identity as a servant a secret was necessary to keep the war a secret.
She had gotten a huge lecture from Ruler about what happened with Lila, and not to mention the entirety of questions Gabriel had for her. She was almost kicked out of the mansion if Adrien didn't vouch for her. She was lucky and got to stay if she didn't cause any messes or get in the way, but she was told to not get involved in anymore of Adrien's activities, such as his photo shoots and fencing lessons.
Jack, Kaede, and Iris were looking out the window of their apartment. It was getting dark, the perfect time for Jack to strike again. Prince Ali was planned to be out, so they had Jack break into where he was staying while they handled him. They were after the piece of the Grail he was holding to, there were only a few pieces left, and after that was done, they'd have the answers Shirou promised them.
Yakumo and Berserker were getting ready for bed, he spent the entire day talking to Kirei Kotomine about Shirou and wasn't in the mood for anything else to bother him. He felt for where the bed was and sat down, Berserker turned off the light when he was laying down, then went to her room to go to sleep. She was taking on a heavy job when she said she wanted to take care of him alone.
She took the place of Yakumo's friend to take care of him. She was his servant after all, she spent the first few days learning his routine, then got used to it and had it in her daily routine as well. Berserker turned off the lights to her own room and went to sleep.