Fate Identity Reborn

by Nick of Fire

Kirei Kotomine, at the temptations of Gilgamesh, gave in to his dark desires and caused a flood of death and tragedy. But, what if he didn't give in and remained true to his ideals? A cavalcade of changes would follow. The birth of the makeshift family of Kirei, Rin, Sakura, and Caren. Another makeshift family of Artoria, Irisviel, Illyasviel, and Gray. This is a new Fate.

5. Chapter 5: Saber the Son

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 5: Saber the Son

Okay, this was weird. Mordred just got summoned, and the first thing she got to see was a group of people that included two King Arthurs. Did two of them get summoned? Could two of him be summoned into the same war? Why were they together? Why were they here for Mordred's summoning? Was this a Great Holy Grail War? So many questions.

One father was one the ground, looking up at Mordred. They looked surprised, but they didn't appear to know exactly who Mordred was so they couldn't have been the real King Arthur. Their expression said they were about as confused as Mordred as to what was going on. Were they the one that summoned Mordred? Could Servants summon Servants? Maybe a Caster, but father wasn't able to be a Caster. Then again, this wasn't father.

The other father was at the back of the room. They definitely recognized Mordred. They looked uncomfortable. That look. It wasn't father's normal look when Mordred was around. It wasn't as cold. That wasn't the detached and focused gaze of King Arthur. It was the look of someone who was guilty. But, somehow, Mordred knew that was the real father.

"Okay, someone explain to me why there are two fathers, stat."

The father on the ground didn't move. They were stunned by Mordred's appearance. That definitely wasn't the father Mordred knew. Father was always so composed, to the point that it pissed Mordred off.

"Mordred." The father at the back of the room finally decided to say something. "I am the father you know. The girl in front of you who looks like me is my descendant. She's a living person of this era. To make a long story short, she's the result of your mother's machinations."

Honestly, that's all Mordred needed to hear to accept such a weird scenario. Mother was always coming up with plans that were way over complicated.

"That sounds about right. Next question, is she my Master?"

"Yes. Her name is Gray."

Father's descendant got up and nervously extended a hand. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Gray, It's nice to meet you-wait, I already said that. Sorry. I hope we can get along."

This was father's descendant? She could barely talk. Morded got in close to get a good look at the girl's face. Her hood was in the way so Mordred yanked it down, making the girl yip. The kid wanted to say something, but she just awkwardly stood there, eyes darting around.

Wow, she really was the spitting image of father, even more so than Mordred. Actually, her pupils were different. They were these golden little pinpricks. Tiny lights instead of circles of black. They looked sort of divine. Weird.

God, this kid was nervous. But, she seemed alright.

"You'll do. Nice to be working with you, Master." Mordred slapped the hand offered to her in a makeshift high-five. Master whimpered a bit. She was a wuss. How could someone descended from father be such a baby? "Anyway, next question. Father, why are you here, why are you with a descendant of yours, who are those other two chicks, and, well, just explain everything. This is annoyingly complicated."

Father was getting even more uncomfortable. He looked to the woman to his right. They were pretty. Was father seeking comfort in her or something? No, he didn't find comfort in anyone. He kept everything bottled up inside, never even letting it explode outward. He just let it fester. Wait, there was another woman that looked like the one father was looking at, with the red eyes and the white hair and everything. Is everyone in the place a clone?

"I'll start from the beginning. Mordred, I was summoned in the Holy Grail War before this one. In that war, I found out that the Holy Grail was corrupted and evil. It can only cause destruction."

"Then why fight for it?"

"Nobody knew it was corrupted. This woman next to me is Irisviel von Einzbern. She was the vessel for the Grail. It's thanks to her that we figured out the truth. We stopped the ritual from completing, but now it's starting up again and nobody but us knows the true nature of the Grail. We plan on winning the war to destroy the Grail permanently."

"So the Grail's worthless. Well I can't get my wish, then. That sucks."

"What was your wish?"

"I was going to challenge Caliburn. I wanted to try pulling it from the stone to prove I was worthy of being king, that you were wrong."

"Oh. I see. I'm…anyway, between the last war and this one, Irisviel and I have been living together. The other girl is Irisviel's daughter. Her name is Illysviel."

"Can nobody have a normal-ass name?"

"Says the chick named Mordred." Illy-whatever said.

Mordred pointed his blade at the bitch. "Guy! I'm a guy. Don't get it mixed up again or I'll cut your head off."

"I didn't realize. Sorry."

The blade lowered. "Father, continue with whatever you were saying."

"Right, so, I've been staying with Irisviel and Illyasviel, and we eventually found Gray and took her into our…family."

"Family?"

"Yes. Yes. Irisviel and I fell in love, and Illyasviel and Gray are like my children. We're a family."

Family. They're a family? Not a real family. No, definitely not. Not father. He can't have a real family. He doesn't know how. A family isn't really a family to him. It was something he needed to have as a king. It was an aesthetic thing, something to keep the people satisfied. That's why father never loved Mordred, because he didn't fit into his little family unit the way he wanted. Father loved that white haired woman? No, not possible. Why didn't father love Guinevere then? Why didn't father get angry from Lancelot cuckolding him. No, something's up.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you need this family? What do you get out of it? Is it going to help you save Camelot or something? Are you gonna start a new kingdom? What's the plan here?"

Sad. Father was sad. "Mordred, no. I'm just living a normal life. I love Irisviel. I love Illyasviel and Gray. We're a real family." He looked away. He was chewing the inside of her cheek. "Mordred, I'm sorry that I didn't let you have that kind of family."

What? No. Father was lying. He had to be. He couldn't love them. It wasn't possible. If he could, why didn't he love Mordred? Why couldn't he accept Mordred? Why couldn't they have been a family? Why, only now, after Mordred was gone, did father finally decide to open his heart? Why only now did he decide to connect to others, to try and understand them, to be a genuine human being?

But, father said he was sorry. He said he was sorry he didn't let Mordred have the kind of family he had now. Was he serious? He really had a normal family? A happy one? A real one? If that was true, father had the capacity to be a parent. Father could be a parent. Were his kids happy? If so, Mordred could have been happy. Mordred and father could have been a real family, with Guinevere, too. They could have been happy. But, they didn't get the chance, because father wouldn't let them.

"So you just happened to change after I was gone?"

"Mordred."

"It just had to be while I was gone."

"Please, Mordred, listen-"

"My entire life was suffering because you wouldn't accept me and it led me to rebelling and causing Camelot to fall and I ended up with me being remembered as a villain forever and you get to come back and have a loving family! I wanted to be a family with you and I got rejected and screwed over by you, but once you decide you feel like having a family, you get one big happy one straight out of a painting! How great for you! Man, God loves you so much!"

Magical energy like red lightning crackled and trailed across Mordred's body, streams snapping out and destroying nearby objects. Chairs, beakers, and grimoires got zapped and turned to vapor. Master jumped back to avoid getting hit while father ran in front of her. He was so willing to protect his new kids.

Mordred launched towards father. His fist became consumed by red lightning as Mordred used Mana Burst. The strike impacted with the arms father raised to block. The collision made a sound so loud it drowned out all others. The air was vibrating. Mordred could feel his father's skin warp and the bones underneath begin to bend. Blue magical energy manifested as an aura around father's arms. He activated his own Mana Burst, the magical energy acting like a shield for his arms. The raw power Mordred was releasing pierced through father's Mana Burst, though a large portion of Mordred's lighting was still blocked. Father winced in pain. This power was greater than Mordred's usual output. For some reason, Mordred's parameters had been boosted.

As Mordred's own hand felt slightly numb from her own strength, father skidded back, his feet trailing long divots in the floor. The arms of his jacket and undershirt had disintegrated. The flesh that was now revealed was reddened, covered in gashes. Father regenerated immediately, though that didn't diminish just how powerful Mordred currently was.

Now was the time to show father was wrong, to make him pay for all his bullshit. It was time to make sure father understood the kind of pain Mordred had felt all his life.

Mordred was ready to attack again, but he suddenly couldn't move. Programming entered his mind. He was ordered not to fight. A Command Spell? Mordred looked to Master, but she wasn't doing anything, just trembling in her boots. Wait, the bitchy girl from before. Her whole body was glowing with Command Spells. Why did she have them? Why were they all over her? Why did they work on Mordred? Was that Gray girl really not Mordred's Master?

This wasn't like a normal Command Spell. It could easily keep a Berserker with high Madness Enhancement in complete check. It wasn't just that Mordred felt compelled to stop fighting, it felt like not fighting was his own idea. It was as if the Command Spell was rewriting his own will.

"What's going on?" Mordred sneered.

"I'm your second Master." The bitch said. "You don't need to know how that works. All you need to know is that you aren't doing anything without my say-so. Don't think you can just do anything you want just because you got a power boost, which is thanks to me, by the way. So, don't get conceited."

"Conceited? I'm the conceited one? Not the bastard who thought he was too good for me? Too good for everyone? Please, enlighten me on how I'm the real conceited one here!"

"Mordred, I never thought I was too good for you, or anyone else!" father said.

"Well then why did you reject me? Why'd you push everyone away?"

"I thought that was what I had to do! I thought I had to bear the burden of being king alone! I'm sorry!"

"We never asked for that!"

"I know that!"

"Well, too little too late!"

"Listen, this isn't the time for this! We have to get ready for the war!"

"Don't run away from this!"

"I'm not! I just, I-"

"Maybe you should go into our bedroom, have a moment alone." the bitch's mother said. She grabbed father's hand and he instinctively squeezed it. He really did love her.

"That's-" Father took a deep breath. "I'll do that. I'll be in the bedroom for a…while. I'm sorry."

Father shut the door behind him as he left the room.

"Coward." Mordred spat out.

Father's new wife was angry. "Mordred. I understand your anger. You have plenty of reasons to be. But, that doesn't make it okay to be so rude to Artoria. She feels awful and she's sorry. I'm not saying you shouldn't talk to Artoria about why you're angry, but you should do so to try and reach some reconciliation. You shouldn't just point out the failings she already beats herself up over without your help."

"Who's Artoria?"

"Wha? Wha-y-I'm talking about your mother, the person you were just talking to, the one who just left."

"He's a man. His name's Arthur. He has a female body, but he's a man, like me."

"No, she's not. She told me she just pretended to be a man in life since there would have been people who wouldn't have accepted a woman as their ruler."

"Wait, father told you that?"

"Yes."

"Father considered themself a woman?"

"Yes."

"I…didn't know that." Mordred felt heavy. He had been misgendering his fa-er-mother for as long as he could remember. Thinking about how Mordred would feel in his mother's situation, he thought that he should probably apologize.

As his head cooled, Mordred considered the other things mother's wife said. Mordred yelling at mother wasn't exactly productive, that was true. Mother really did seem sorry. She definitely was. But, Mordred still didn't understand why mother did what she did. Why didn't she accept Mordred? Why? Mother said she felt she had to push everyone away to be a good king, but she pushed Mordred away more firmly than anyone else. She was more accepting of Lancelot and Guinevere who had an affair. Yet, Mordred just got ignored, treated like he wasn't connected to mother at all, even before his rebellion.

Mordred needed to know the truth. Why did mother really reject him?

But, mother probably didn't want to talk about it right now, especially after the way Mordred blew up at her. Mordred wanted to apologize, for being so cruel to her, for misgendering her, and especially for causing the fall of Camelot.

"What are your names again?"

"You forgot already?" the bitch-uh, the daughter of mother's wife said.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"I'm Illyasvile, but you can call me Illya. My mama is Irisviel. My sister is Gray."

"Illya, Irisfiel, no, Irisviel, sorry, and Gray. Illya, Irisviel, and Gray. Got it. By the way…I'm sorry for how I was acting before."

"I appreciate your apology, but it isn't us that you should be apologizing to."

"I know. I'm going to apologize to mother, just not right now. She obviously wants to be alone for a bit."

"That's good." Irisviel stretched. "That was a lot. How about we leave the workshop, which I'll need to clean later,"

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Let's go into the living room and chat a bit. I'd like to get to know you, Mordred. If we're going to be working together, we should try to understand each other and get along. Plus, I want you to tell me what Artoria was like in your time. She still won't tell me so much about her previous life. She won't even talk about Guinevere because she's afraid I'll get jealous or upset."

"I can tell you Guinevere was hot."

"I knew it!"

"She also wore glasses."

"I knew it!"

"Mama, you're going into gossip mode again."

"Let me have this."

Leaving the workshop, Mordred was led by mother's family into a rather simple living room.

As everyone was entering, Illya handed Master something. A box?

"What's that?"

"This is Add."

"Sup, meathead." The cube said.

"It talked? And don't call me a meathead!"

"I mean your first instinct when angry was to punch someone, so I don't think there's a better word for you. Unless you think breaking stuff is the height of intellectualism."

"You'll regret making fun of me! Also, what's intellectualism?"

"Ihihihihihihihihihihihihi!"

Mordred's fist charged with red magical energy.

"Mordred, wait, don't break him! He's actually important! He's the seal for Rhongomyniad!"

"Wait, what, really?"

"It's another thing Morgan did."

"I'm getting real tired of that explanation."

"Add's personality was based on Sir Kay's apparently."

"Oh, goodie. More of Kay. Totally missed that dick." Why, out of all the Knights of the Round Table, did Morgan go with Kay? Why not Gareth? Gareth was nice. What if Morgan gave the seal Mordred's personality, or her own? Too many what-ifs to waste on an annoying box.

The couch catching his eye, Mordred helped himself to a seat. The armor he woore vanished. Master blushed. The outfit Mordred wore without armor was revealing by most people's standards. He guessed Master was a prude. Either that or Master thought Mordred was hot.

Everyone else sat down as Illya asked, "Mordred, I'm curious. How were you born? The legends say mom and her sister had sex to produce you, but since they're both women, that isn't exactly possible."

"It's possible, and it's what happened, sorta."

"Really? How?"

"Merlin gave mother a dick to impregnate Guinevere and mother, Morgan I mean, used magecraft to steal mother, uh, Artoria is who I was-y'know what I mean. Morgan stole your mom's sperm and impregnated herself with it. She did some weird alchemy during the pregnancy to make me a clone of King Arthur. It was all to enact a plan to tear down Camelot. I was a freak homunculus born from Morgan's…sexual assualt. The legends are true. I'm a bastard born of incest."

"That…"

"Don't say you're sorry or pity me. You didn't do anything and it pisses me off when I'm belittled."

"I wasn't going to belittle you. Mama and I are homunculi."

"That so? No wonder you two are like twins."

"Yeah. We were created to be vessels of the Holy Grail."

"I was born to be a clone of another, like you." Irisviel said. "I'm a clone of Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, the homunculus created to be the core of the Holy Grail. I was born to just be a shell for the Lesser Grail, always meant to die. Illya isn't a clone of me, but due to alterations to her, her lifespan was shortened. We managed to fix that, but, well, my point is that you shouldn't consider yourself a freak or anything. We may not be natural, but we're still people."

"I can actually relate to the shortened lifespan thing. I had the same problem. That didn't get solved as much as, well, the whole Battle of Camlann happened. I was so spiteful."

"Was spite why you rebelled?"

"That wasn't what I meant. I was spiteful against humans, normal ones with normal lifespans. I was also spiteful towards mother. She was immortal thanks to Avalon. She didn't age, while I aged rapidly. But, I could overlook that with her when I couldn't with humans. I hated humans. It wasn't just for the lifespan thing. I just found them-actually I still find them hard to understand which pisses me off."

"What about humans don't you understand?"

"They're the kind of people who'd reject a king for being inhuman despite them being kind and self-sacrificing. At the same time, they'll praise a rebel who is just using them, calling their selfishness noble somehow."

"Didn't you criticize mom before for being too inhuman and self-sacrificing?"

"I did. I never said I didn't also hate myself. I'm an idiot and a hypocrite. I fell for Morgan's crap and did everything she wanted me to. I was made to be a tool and I ended up really being one. You two were supposed to be vessels for the Grail or whatever, but you managed to break away from that. You're better rebels than I am."

"You're a lot more introspective than I thought." Illya leaned forward and held her head in her hand. "If you're this sharp, why were you so volatile before?"

"I'm in a special kind of mood right now. Savor it, it won't last."

"At least you're self aware."

"Mordred, you really are Artoria's son." Irisviel was pleased about something.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm smiling, but it's sad. Both you and Artoria are so self-deprecating. You're just less honest about it. It isn't a good thing, but it shows me you're like your mother, which also means you're probably a good person."

"You do remember how I sacrificed a bunch of innocent people for my revenge on my mother, right? The Battle of Camlann, we just talked about it."

"Well, okay, you made some very big mistakes. But, part of that was due to Morgan's manipulations, right?"

"A little."

"I have a feeling it was a lot more than you even realise. You're a good person at your core, but your circumstances put you down the wrong path. But, now you're free from that."

"Then why did fath-mother reject me? Was it just because I'm an abomination?"

"You're not an abomination. Artoria would never see you that way."

"Then why?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't. But, Your mother isn't a hateful person. If she rejected you, even if she was wrong to do so, she definitely had reasons that were compassionate towards you, if misguided."

Mordred found it hard to believe his mother felt any empathy towards him. Well, it looked like mother did now, or at least she didn't hate him. The emotional way she acted before proved that. The issue was whether mother cared about Mordred back when they were both alive, back in Camelot. If mother really did care about him, that made Mordred even angrier than he already was. If mother did love him, or at least cared about him, why did she push him away?

Mordred shot his limbs out, stretching them to their limits. "Why can't things just be simple!" Falling to his side, Mordred's body splayed out across the couch as if he were a cat.

Master was gripping her knees. Did she need to take a shit? Nah, she was bothered by something.

"Master, what's up?"

"Nothing. I'm just anxious about everything…actually, it's more than that. Mordred, you're a clone of mom. How does that make you feel?"

"That's a big question. I used to feel proud of it. I idolized King Arthur, so learning I was her child made me feel anxious and excited and hopeful and a bunch of other stuff. I thought that maybe I could be just like mother. After I was rejected, I felt ashamed to look like her, that I was a gross imitation. Not only that, I was angry. I felt betrayed. I felt like I had every right to be with mother since I was her perfect copy. I felt so many different things at once. I still don't know how I feel."

Master clutched at her own body. She was reacting intensely from what Mordred said. She was definitely relating to Mordred. Master was conflicted about her feelings on mother, too. Mordred could feel that kinship in frustration. It really just made sense. They were both copies of a person who was just…so much. King Arthur was so much and to be the shadow of such a person was an onslaught.

"Do you regret when you rebelled and destroyed Camelot?"

"No matter how much I hate to say it, yeah." Mordred felt the need to be honest and open. Master needed it.

Master stood up. "I'm gonna use the bathroom." It was definitely an excuse to leave discreetly.

While Master left, Mordred kept an ear out for her. His superhuman Servant hearing meant that as long as Mordred focused he could listen to things extremely far away with great detail.

"I'm gonna take a nap." Mordred lied. It was his own excuse to be able to listen to Master without interruption. He wanted to know what was going on with him.

"I figured you were more of the hyperactive type. It's not like you need to sleep, so-" Illya said.

"I like napping."

"Whatever."

Closing his eyes, Mordred focused on the sounds on the other side of the house. He could hear the mincing of Master's feet on the floor. Master's footsteps stopped. She was in front of something. A door, probably.

Wow, she was shaking like there was an earthquake. She was trying to build up her nerve for whatever she was about to do.

"C'mon, Gray, just do it. The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be." The annoying box said.

"I know."

A few more seconds of shaking and Master knocked. It was so light you'd have to be a servant to hear it.

"Come in." Well, whoever was inside heard it. Wait, that voice was mother's. The person inside was mother. She sounded tired.

The door creaked open and Master entered.

"Hi."

"Hello, Gray. How are you?"

"Good."

"That's good. How is Mordred?"

"I'm…I'm not sure."

"…"

"…"

Wow, Mordred had never felt more uncomfortable. These were two people who lived together, right?

"Gray, your eyes."

"What about them?"

"Your pupils are gold."

"Really?"

Wait, was that not normal for Master?

"Your eyes have shining lights instead of pupils. They feel like divine light. I think you have Divinity right now."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know. You didn't have them before the ritual. Did anything feel strange when you summoned Mordred?"

"Actually, I've been kind of waiting for a moment to bring this up, though this wasn't why I came in here, but I had a vision. I think it was a vision, but it may have been an out of body experience or something."

"Tell me what happened." mother said with a worried tone.

"I had a vision of this expanse full of Magic Circuits, and after that I ended up at this big burning ball of magical energy. I think it was a Magic Core. Out of it came this big red dragon, and it ate me. It hurt a lot. All I felt was pain, to the point that I-I wanted to die. It was like anything was better than feeling the pain anymore, a-and I just wanted it to stop, but I couldn't. I was helpless, and so I just had to let the pain keep going and going and I just felt so scared and in pain and-"

"Gray, you're panicking. Stop for a second. Take a deep breath. It's okay. It's okay."

Mother was holding Master and petting her head. Mordred was envious.

"I'm okay, I think. After the pain, I felt myself slowly becoming not myself." Master was already getting choked up again. "I was forgetting who I was, and I was becoming the dragon. The dragon was you. I thought I was you. But, I also thought I was something called the Lion King and that I was a goddess. I don't get it."

"What happened next?"

"I managed to remember who I was, and I fought back. Everything got really bright, and I was attacked by this woman. She looked like you, but she was more…she had bigger breasts and stuff. Like she was you if you were more developed." A groan came from mother. She was embarrassed. Mother with bigger boobs. How would Irisviel react to that? Probably well, very well. "The lady attacked me, but I hit her away. Then, I was awake in front of Mordred. That's it."

"I see. I think that confirms my suspicions."

"Suspicions?"

"Sit down. I have a theory of mine to explain."

"O-Okay."

This was getting really interesting for Mordred.

"Gray, I think when you connected to the Throne of Heroes to summon Mordred, something else tried to summon itself, too. I think the spirit summoned was me, an alternate version of me."

"Why?"

"What you saw in your vision was definitely my Magic Core. I have no doubts about that. As for the goddess part, this is where my theory comes in. It is possible that, if I used Rhongomyniad as my main armament instead of Excalibur, its divine power would have slowly turned me into a goddess. You are a carrier of my blood, which could have acted as a catalyst to summon a version of me. My own presence in the room likely contributed. Add, or rather Rhongomyniad, also acted as a catalyst, summoning a version of me from another timeline who was deeply connected to the spear. Why it specifically bonded with you may be because you were being prepped by your old village to be a vessel for me. Your body may have accidentally sucked in the Divine Spirit version of me because that was what your body was raised to do. The Throne of Heroes essentially saw an empty slot and automatically sent something to fill it."

That was a lot of coincidences.

"Okay. I think I followed all that. But, why do I have glowing eyes now? Is it possible for you to have gained Mystic Eyes?"

"It isn't impossible, but that's not what's going on with your eyes. Though you pushed away my Divine Spirit counterpart, I think it still affected you somewhat. You've gained some of its power. You have a level of Divinity, and you're likely stronger as well. You may have even gained some of my skills like Mana Burst. If you couldn't fight evenly with a Servant before, now you will definitely be able to."

"That's good, though I don't know if it's worth the new pupils. It's going to be hard explaining what's going on with my eyes at school."

"Minor magecraft will be all you need to make them look normal."

"That's true. I have another question. Why did this version of you seem so much more…big."

"When I pulled out Caliburn, it halted my aging when I was fourteen. I was fine with that since I had physically matured early compared to most girls. I already looked like an adult, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pass as a grown man my whole life. I wouldn't have changed much more if I hadn't pulled out Caliburn. But, Rhongomyniad, if I were to wield it as my weapon, would slowly convert me into a Divine Spirit. In that process, it would likely alter my body. It could potentially cause a second growth spurt that would make my body develop to be more voluptuous so I'd fit the more commonly accepted ideal of what a goddess should look like."

"Wow. I didn't know Rhongomniad could do all that. You could've become a goddess."

"I can't say I didn't consider it during my lifetime. It would have made me even stronger. But, I would have truly lost my humanity in the process. Even though I thought a king needed to reject many of their human traits, I decided that I could never go too far. If I did, I truly wouldn't be able to be a king of humans. I'd have been a king for humans. I don't know if I'm making sense."

"You are."

"Good. I'm proud of you, by the way."

"Why?"

"You were nearly overtaken by a version of me that was a Divine Spirit, yet you managed to push it away. That isn't something anyone can do. It takes a strong will, and a distinct sense of self. You nearly became me, but you managed to prove that you're only you, and so you stayed you. You didn't let yourself change. You're Gray, not even a god could take that away. That's how much you're you and no one else. You're strong. I'm proud of you, Gray."

Silence. Then sniffles. Sobs. Master was crying. Mother's words hit her hard. Mordred didn't know why. But, Mordred felt the love in the room. Mother was a good parent to Master. Had mother always been capable of this kind of affection, or had she changed? Master and mother were hugging. Master was crying with joy, but mother sniffed enough times to prove that her own heart had been moved.

"Mom, I'm sorry." Master said.

"Sorry for what?"

"The other day, when I said I wanted to fight in the Holy Grail War and you said no, I yelled at you. I said you were trying to take everything away! I'm sorry! I know you'd never hurt me on purpose! You only wanted to protect me! I want to participate because I have a feeling it'll help me find myself. When you said I couldn't participate, I got mad. I felt like you were trying to prevent me from being myself, but I know that's not true! I yelled at you and said you were ruining my life when you saved me from my old village and did so much for me! I'm sorry!" Master's words were muffled from burying her face into mother's body.

"It's okay, Gray. You were just frustrated and you have every right to be. If it weren't for me, you would never have had to go through so much agony. If I wasn't selfishly living in an era that wasn't my own, you'd be free."

"But, you never did any of that on purpose! You didn't know! And I am free! I get to live a happy life with you and mama and Illya and I get to go to a normal school and do whatever I want because I'm not stuck in my old village!"

"But, you still don't have your own face."

"I know. I still want my own face. But, I want to try appreciating what I do have. Maybe it's because I saw how much Mordred suffered. He went through so much pain, why do I get to complain for something so much less?"

"Mordred…Gray, listen. It isn't a competition to see who's suffered more. Your personal problems are still valid. If you're upset about your face, don't hide it. Tell me. I want to know, to connect with you. That way, I can help you better. I've always struggled to open up to you. It's my fault. My guilt makes me want to avoid confronting you, but I'm not running anymore. When we have problems, even with each other, we'll work them out together? No more self-hatred, no more suffering alone. Okay?"

Master barely got out a "Yes" before she returned to bawling. But, that yes had power behind it. It was a yes that could move continents, a yes that could change the path of one's life. It was also a yes that made mother begin to quietly weep along with her daughter.

Mordred didn't know the full context of the situation, but he didn't need to. Through just sound alone, he could feel the intensity and meaning behind the exchange. This was what a happy family was like. Mordred yearned for such a life even more as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

Sitting up, Mordred decided to stop listening in to mother and Master's private moment.

"Mordred, are you okay? Your eyes are red and puffy." Illya asked.

"I just had a good dream."

"Why cry from a good dream?"

"Get off my ass. It's none of your business. Where's Irisviel?"

"Cleaning up the mess you made."

"Oh, yeah. Again, I'm sorry."

"I'd say it's fine, but that'd just be me being polite. It's actually a huge pain and you destroyed some grimoires that were really important and expensive."

"Sorry." Mordred stood up. "I'll help clean."

"Don't bother. Mama would insist she can handle it by herself. If you want to make up for your outburst before, I suggest you just try and restrain yourself better. Don't fly off the handle so quickly."

"Fine." Mordred hated that he knew Illya was right. The worst part was that it was the same critique Mordred heard from mother all throughout his life.

Speaking of mother, she had returned from the bedroom. That was quick.

She was probably going to apologize again.

"Mordred, I challenge you to a duel."

What?

"What?"

Mother's feet were planted firmly. "I, Artoria Pendragon, challenge you, Mordred, to a duel. Not a duel to the death, but a duel nonetheless."

"…Why?"

"I am not going to run away anymore. I am going to confront you in the most intimate way possible, through combat."

"So therapy but with more punching. I can get behind that."

"Wait, mom, really? You're gonna fight? What if something goes wrong and one of you kills the other?"

"We'll be fine. Mordred, we're going to a forest outside the city for our duel. Since your outfit will attract attention you'll have to travel in Spirit Form."

"I hate being in Spirit Form. Unless my feet are on the ground, I feel antsy."

"If you want to stay materialised, you'll have to wear normal clothes. You can borrow one of my suits."

"I can deal with that."

Mordred went into another room and got changed while mother explained the situation to her wife. The suit was more constricting than Mordred normally preferred, but it also felt kinda nice.

By the time he was ready, mother was ready to go at the door. Excitement tingled through Mordred. This was a chance to show off and let off some steam. With the power boost he's got, he'd easily beat mother this time.

"Let's go."

Mother nodded and said her goodbyes to her watching family. They were definitely concerned for her. They better have been after seeing what Mordred could do earlier.

Before getting through the door, Master said, "Mordred."

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

It took a moment for the words to register with Mordred. "Thanks." he said with a smile before exiting the building.

The town mother's family lived in was so quaint. Their house was amongst rows of identical others. Nothing stood out. It was the opposite of the days when King Arthur ruled from a castle.

Mother got into the driver's seat of a vehicle. The knowledge the Grail provided referred to it as a car.

"Can I drive?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll break something."

"I've got the Riding skill, I can drive that thing easily."

"My concern is how roughly you'd drive, though I guess it wouldn't be much different from Irsiviel, or Illyasviel for that matter."

"So I can drive it?"

"No."

With a huff, Mordred got into the passenger seat.

The drive began and it was quiet. The high energy the challenge created petered out and the atmosphere became awkward, especially as Mordred remembered the events of right after he was summoned.

He had to apologize. But, that was easier said than done, and just saying it took the same effort it would to move a mountain. Mordred kept wriggling in his seat as he let his mind wander to anything that could distract him. He wanted an excuse not to have to apologize yet. He wasn't having any luck, though.

He had to just do it. Just get it done and move on. He's the great Mordred, he couldn't be defeated by a trial as simple as this.

Unlatching his pursed lips, a sound so small, something less than a murmur came out. It was incomprehensible. Mother didn't even move her head in reaction. Mordred needed to be clear, confident.

"Mother, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

The eyes in mother's head were so wide they nearly fell out of their sockets. She really wasn't expecting that. What kind of impression did she have of Mordred that would make her think he wouldn't apologize? Probably an accurate one.

"Thank you Mordred. I'm sorry for reacting poorly, too."

"Yeah. It's alright. I'm sorry for other stuff, too. I'm sorry for always calling you father and 'he' and stuff. I didn't realise you weren't like me. Y'know, I thought you were a boy in a female body, too."

"It's okay. It never bothered me and I'm used to being referred to as a man."

"Yeah, but it's still shitty, so I'm sorry."

There was one last apology to be made, the big one. Mordred needed to apologize for his biggest sin. But, he couldn't gather the energy to get even a single word out of his throat. His vocal cords wouldn't even vibrate. He just couldn't do it. There was still too much shame and regret and anger and spite whirling inside Mordred.

More silence for the rest of the trip until they reached the edge of the snowy forest. The pair got out.

"We'll need to go very deep into the forest to avoid catching attention. Try to avoid damaging the environment too much when we fight, by the way."

"Got it."

They ran into the forest at speeds so fast that the human eye wouldn't be able to see even a blur.

By the time they found a secluded area of the forest, the night had taken the area and the moon was high. The trees were narrow but dense in quantity. Snow crunched under shoes which turned to metal boots as Mordred and mother forged their magical energy into armor.

Mother's invisible blade was summoned. She held it with two hands. It was at her side, parallel with the ground. A solid stance for dashing right towards the enemy and going on the offensive, but she could easily shift to a defensive stance with just a slight adjustment of her feet.

Mordred brought out Clarent and held it one-handed so his other hand was free for whatever he wanted. His style wasn't orthodox, but that didn't mean it wasn't effective, though mother would say otherwise. The helmet of Mordred's armor shut around his head. He was ready to fight.

"You ready to get your ass kicked by your son?"

"Don't think that you can beat me just because you have an advantage in raw power for once."

Both fighters were staring each other down. The frigid air blew through and made a cloud of snow cover the area.

The fighters clashed. They had made a beeline for each other at the exact same time. Their swords slammed into each other, the resulting windstorm dispersing the cloud and clearing the ground of snow. Trees whipped about as if in a hurricane.

Grip tight on his weapon, Mordred reared Clarent back and swung again. It crashed into Invisible Air, blocked but the force made the wind rage again and pushed mother back.

Not wanting to let mother have a moment to breathe. Modred continued with swing after swing. Mother deflected each slash, angling her weapon so Mordred's sword would slide down the length of her blade upon impact. This dispersed much of the energy behind each of the strikes and made it easier to defend without getting knocked back.

The ground was like an endless earthquake, unable to rest as each collision between weapons sent vibrations throughout much of the forest and deep into the land. The clanging of metal against metal was so loud it sounded like a series of explosions. A normal person would go deaf if they were in the vicinity of the duel.

Mother's feet were getting buried in the ground as she endured much of the weight of Mordred's blows, even though they were getting deflected. But, she was just waiting for her chance to counter. Mordred made the mistake of going for a horizontal swing, so mother ducked under it and spun her body, going for a sweeping kick that knocked Mordred's feet from the dirt. While he was still airborne, mother thrust her blade at Mordred for a stab that he barely blocked in time. Most fighters didn't know the length of mother's blade due to its invisibility, but Mordred was one of the few that knew the true length of mother's sword.

Because he was in the air, Mordred went flying from the force behind mother's thrust. He crashed through dozens of trees but that was nothing but a tickle to him thanks to his high endurance and armor. She was the one who said to protect the environment earlier but she was too caught up in the fight to practice what she preached. How human of her.

Once his feet were touching the ground again, Mordred was ready to run back at his mother, but she was already a step ahead, having closed the distance near instantly. Mordred swung his sword, but mother swerved out of the way and swung her own blade. With barely enough time, Mordred blocked again. He was tough enough to take the hit and immediately attack back with a punch.

Juking around the attack again, mother got in close and was about to swing her sword at point blank range. There was nowhere to dodge.

In that case, Mordred lunged at her mother, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug. Accompanying the grapple was a headbut from Mordred with his helmet still on. His armored skull smashed into her mother's face. Her nose broke and blood gushed and got all over both of their armors.

Falling down, Mordred took both of them to the ground. With himself on top, Mordred pinned his mother.

"How d'you like that? I'm smarter than you thought!"

"That was a good maneuver." Mother's voice was nasally and filled with gurgles of blood. "But, you let your guard down too quickly. Strike Air!"

The compressed air around mother's sword released and raged like an invisible spear aimed at the sky. Because of the weapon's position in mother's pinned arm, Strike Air couldn't directly hit Mordred, but it was able to graze him. Just that was enough to launch him into the air and pull him into the attack's vortex. Wind buffeted Mordred's armor, leaving small scratches but the armor held strong. If it was a direct hit, it would have been a different story.

As the vortex ended, the vacuum created pulled in nearby air and the ungrounded Mordred along with it. Stuck high in the sky, Mordred watched as mother, whose nose healed with magical energy, was still on the ground and standing right where Mordred was going to fall. She had her sword ready to swing right when Mordred dropped low enough to get in range.

Mordred was pissed. He had managed to pin his mother and she got out of it so quickly. It was frustrating. "Don't think this is over yet!" As Mordred's body descended, he activated Mana Burst. Red lightning engulfed Clarent and the air itself quaked.

Mother looked shocked before returning to her usual determined gaze and activating Mana Burst, too. Her Invisible Air was coated in blue magical energy. It was powerful, but Mordred's was definitely stronger.

Mordred fell in range and he swung his blade, the red energy flashing brightly.

But, mother didn't swing, she deflected again. The two swords connected and magical energy from both their weapons went wild. It was like two wildfires trying to devour each other. From a distance, a person would see two massive explosions turn hundreds of nearby trees to nothing but atoms. The red detonation was easily twice as large as the blue, but that didn't matter. Mother's sword used the magical energy around it like armor as it once again let Clarent slide down the length of its blade and miss its target. The averted swing still released the red magical energy in a grand crimson arc that sliced through the earth and across the forest, leaving a canyon in its wake as everything that got in its way was erased. The crevice was several kilometers long, wide, and deep. Any surrounding trees were ripped from the earth and sent flying at best, or turned to wood chips at worst, such was the power of the raging winds created by the energy wave. There was no snow left to be seen in the area as it had all vaporized.

The power of his own slash caused Mordred to go soaring through the air. As he crossed over a hundred meters, he looked at the destruction his attack caused and was stunned. With a full power Mana Burst, he could attack with the force of a C or C+ rank Noble Phantasm, and with the reserves of magical energy he had, he could spam that shit if he wanted.

Impressed with himself, he also felt bad. He just destroyed a big chunk of the forest. A lot of animals just died or lost their homes. Mordred wondered if he really was good at nothing but destroying things.

Falling into a pile of shattered trees, Mordred quickly stumbled back onto her feet.

"What were you thinking?" mother said. She followed Mordred's flight through the air on foot. Her body was shaking, still reeling from the impact she knocked away. "I told you not to damage the forest too much."

"Says the woman who started throwing me through trees earlier."

"That was a mistake on my part but nothing compared to how you just made a mess of this ecosystem."

"I'm sorry! Alright? I already feel shitty about it, you don't need to hammer it in. Can we go back to fighting?"

"Why must you be so reckless? Can't you stop and think about the consequences of your actions for once?"

Mordred growled. "I said I'm sorry! Why is it that the only time you ever talk to me is to complain!"

"If you didn't always do things that were objectionable, I wouldn't have to! But, you keep making poor decisions that hurt others."

"Is this why you rejected me? Because you think I'm just bad at everything? Is that why you didn't want me as your heir? Did you think I'd destroy Camelot with my bad decision making? Well, maybe if I had a proper parent to guide me, I might've become a better decision maker!"

Mother looked like she was going to yell, but then her body drooped down. You're right."

"Hell yeah I'm right-wait, did you just admit I'm right?"

"Yes. You're my child, and I denied taking any responsibility for you. I should have tried to help you, raise you, make you my whole world, and instead I just ignored you. I thought it was better to just not deal with you at all, as if things would just work themselves out. I talk so much about diligence, but I have no footing to stand on. I'm sorry."

Mordred's helmet disassembled. "Really? But, but, why only now? Why only now, after everything? If you realized all this now, why didn't you before?"

"It was a lot of reasons. It was so many different anxieties coalescing into one mountain of doubt."

"Like what? What anxieties?" Mordred just wanted to understand, to have the catharsis of a reason why.

"Part of it is, well, what you think it is. I was disconcerted by your existence. You were a clone of me born through incest and my sister's scheming. I couldn't trust you weren't a part of some plan of Morgan's to ruin my life and take the throne, which ended up being the truth. I feared me getting close to you was what she wanted, though the opposite ended up being true. And, if I'm being honest, the nature of your birth did make me feel uncomfortable. You were like the embodiment of a sin of mine, even if it was unintentional."

Mordred's teeth gnashed. Of course. It always came down to this. "My life really is just a stand in, huh?"

"Mordred?"

"To Morgan, I was her tool. To you, I was a threat and a monster. To history, I'm a villain. No matter what I do, all that matters is everyone around me, who I'm related to, what they assume I am. My actions don't matter. I don't matter! What I represent matters! I'm not my own person! I'm whatever everyone else wants me to be! Well, now I'm choosing things for myself!"

Like a human lighting bolt, Mordred ran at mother and swung his sword in an uppercut slash. Mother blocked with her sword at the last second, getting launched high into the sky in an arc.

With a leap that made the ground below him pulverize, Mordred followed his mother. Mana Burst activated and Mordred's sword was once again a conduit for his raging magical energy. Since they were at cloud level, there was no need to fear damaging the environment if he went all out.

Right when he got in range, Mordred swung Clarent, releasing all the built up energy at point blank range.

The Invisible Air's wind whipped up again. Mother didn't use up all the compressed air before in her earlier Strike Air. She knew it wouldn't directly hit anyway since it was a grazing blow so there was no point to waste all the air.

"Strike Air!" Releasing the remaining compressed wind, the miniature tornado propelled mother at high speed out of the way of the Mana Burst blast. The gust fired mother's body through the air, her body just barely avoiding the edge of the massive wave of red and getting in even closer to Mordred. They were so close their faces were inches away. The obscuring wind was gone so mother's sword, Excalibur, was revealed in all its glory. The glittering blade was blindingly bright yet didn't make one wish to avert their gaze. It was a gentle light, but powerful nonetheless.

In a panic, Mordred shot his knee forward, but mother's higher agility allowed her to react in time by thrusting Excalibur straight through the knee, impaling Mordred's leg. A blazing hot pain hit Mordred. He felt the bones in his knee crumble and muscles split apart. A cry of suffering came from Mordred which made mother wince.

Mordred's free hand formed a fist and slammed into mother's face. Blood and teeth flew out of mother's mouth as her skin rippled like water. Her cheek split open but mother endured it and yanked her blade out of Mordred's knee, making him groan from the sudden sharp pain.

Both fighters actuated their Mana Bursts again and their blade's clashed once more. Another explosion of red and blue. Mordred's attack was far stronger, but since they were both airborne, they were hurled away before either of them took the full brunt of the mystical eruptions.

After each of them flew for a good kilometer, they hit the ground. Mordred immediately started healing his damaged leg since he wouldn't be able to stand otherwise. He could hear his mother running for him, her feet ripping apart the ground with each step. She was lucky her messed up face and teeth weren't something that limited her movement.

By the time Mordred's leg was healed, mother was in sight. She was running in ready to make a big slash.

Mordred dashed towards his mother, ready for his own swing. This was going to be the deciding exchange.

When they got within swinging range, Mordred swung first. Mother raised her sword in a defensive manner. She was gonna try deflecting again. Mordred was expecting that. With as few tells as possible, Mordred shot her free arm forward, his hand latching onto his mother's hands which held Excalibur. Holding mother's hands, and thus her weapon, in place, Mordred continued his swing with Clarent.

But, mother lunged forward. Mordred's sword began cutting into her right shoulder as mother headbutted Mordred like he had done to her before. Mordred wasn't prepared for this and was pushed back by the hit to the head. Clarent stopped digging into mother's shoulder and even pulled out as Mordred stumbled back. Mother ripped her hands free from Mordred's grasp, allowing her to use Excalibur again.

By the time he had regained his footing, Mordred felt the tip of Excalibur pierce into his stomach.

"Don't move. If this was a real fight, I'd just have to activate Mana Burst and your torso would be destroyed and your Magic Core along with it."

Mordred lost. Even now that he was stronger than ever, he still lost. It wasn't fair. It never was. Mordred's entire life was completely and utterly unfair.

Everything was worthless. Everyone acted like they cared about each other, but it was all a load of shit. That was especially true of mother. She didn't care about Mordred. She didn't feel bad about his fate. She didn't care at all.

Now was the time to prove it.

Defying his mother's order, Mordred raised Clarent high.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

Mother didn't do anything. Why didn't she activate Mana Burst and kill him?

"What's wrong, are you too much of a coward to kill me now?"

She still didn't do anything. If Mordred brought his blade down on her, she'd be dead, her new family would lose her. All she had to do was activate Mana Burst and Mordred would be dead. He was just a thorn in her side anyway. This was the perfect excuse, she would be completely justified. She would have just been defending herself.

"I swear I'll split your skull in half!"

Mother's expression stayed the same. She was sad, and guilty, and concerned. She really wasn't going to kill Mordred. She really wouldn't do it.

Mordred felt his arm slowly lower. Clarent fell out of his hand and dematerialized.

Why couldn't mother just be cruel, be horrible, be someone Mordred could hate without remorse?

"This isn't fair!" The ground cracked under Mordred's foot as she stomped. "I loved you! I watched you from afar! You were the most amazing thing in the world to me! I didn't even want to be like you, I just wanted to be near you! I worked so hard, became knight in your court! But, I was doomed to die because I'm a homunculus! I wouldn't have lived to be an adult! So, I revealed who I really was, so I could spend what little time I had left with you! And instead I got ignored! I got treated like I'm not even there! I'm just an abomination born from incest! I disgust you! I didn't know what to do to get your attention! I didn't even know what I wanted anymore!" Mordred began to cough from talking so fast without a break. "The next thing I knew, I had torn down your kingdom, and you stabbed me in the gut. I lived for you. I was even willing to die for you. Why couldn't you love me?" Mordred was crying.

With his vision blurry with tears, Mordred couldn't see his mother's expression. But, he could feel it when mother pulled Excalibur out of Mordred's stomach, allowing him to heal the wound.

Getting pulled into a hug, Mordred felt his mother's careful touch. For the first time, he knew a parent's genuine embrace. He desummoned his armor just so he could feel it more vividly. He wanted to burn this experience into his Saint Graph, so he wouldn't forget it when he was summoned again.

"You did your best, Mordred. You were always trying your best. You were manipulated by Morgan, and rejected by me. You didn't deserve the life you lived. You deserved my love. You deserved everything I could have given you. I pushed you away, but it wasn't just because of how you were born. It was more than that. I was worried that you, of your own will, wanted to just take my throne. I worried you'd make a poor king. I judged you when I should have been guiding you. But, I think the biggest reason I pushed you away was simply because I didn't know how to embrace you. I thought a king had to stand as a lone, unshaking pillar. I forgot how to connect to others, to love them as individuals, not as citizens of my kingdom. There was part of me that wanted to accept you, but I just didn't know how to."

Both of them were crying. They finally bridged the gap between them, or they were starting to, at least.

"I've thought so many times about how I failed you. So many nights, I've stayed up thinking about what I should have done. I should have accepted you as my son. I should have made you my heir and trained you to be a better king than I was. I could have used Avalon's healing properties to counter your shortened lifespan, like I did with Illya. If only I wasn't so stupid and paranoid and afraid. I wanted to love you. I want to love you. But, I don't have the right to."

Mordred finally understood. He finally had a real explanation, a full one. It was complicated, with facets upon facets, but so were Mordred's own motivations. He could hear the pain in his mother's voice. There wasn't a single lie coming from her lips. She was being brutally honest. That's all Mordred wanted. She wanted to see the true face of the mother she despised and idolized.

"I'm sorry, mother."

"For what?"

"I'm sorry about starting the rebellion and destroying Camelot. I was mad at you, but that wasn't the only reason I did it. I wanted to prove I was worthy of the throne, but that was even less of a real reason for me. I did it because, well, when I look back on the men who joined my rebellion, they hated you for being inhuman in their eyes. That made me mad, makes me mad, but I still thought you shouldn't have been ruler, and I might finally understand why now. I didn't like you living as this distant king because of the burden it put on you. You didn't get to live a normal, happy life. You didn't get to feel anything. You were just a king doing whatever was best for your people. I wanted to free you from that. I wanted to take your place so you could be free to be a normal human being."

"…You really are my son. We're both fools who go to such extreme lengths for goals we don't even understand. Thank you, both for your apology, and your kind intentions."

"You said you don't deserve to love me, but I don't care. I want you to love me. I want us to be a family. But, once this Grail War is over, I'll go away. I might not even remember this."

"But, you can stay, the same way I did. As long as Gray and Illyasviel are willing to keep providing you with magical energy, then you can stay."

"Really?"

"Yes. You can join our family. It's already a little crazy, but there's plenty of room for you. I'm going to give you the life you always deserved to have."

Mordred couldn't even speak. All he could do was cry like a child. The years and years of suffering, of loneliness, of rejection and spite. All of it could be washed away. The sorrow would never truly vanish, the scars were too deep. But, that didn't mean all of Mordred's life had to be those scars.

Clutching his mother's body, Mordred felt like a child again, or maybe for the first time. He could live a full life now, one where he was loved, one where he wasn't alone.

It was like a dream. Mordred expected this moment to be revealed as some sort of illusion. But, it wasn't. It was real.

"Can we really be a normal family? This is so fast and sudden."

"I know, Mordred, but we can be a family. We just need to be willing to give each other a second chance. We need to let the past rest and move on."

"I love you, mom."

"I love you, Mordred, my son."