The moonlight lit up the forest overflowing with spirits and magical energy as Assassin avoided trap after trap with footwork befitting the best of boxers. He had become like a bullet train as he headed for the castle that served as the base of operations for a homunculus by the name of Chloe. At the same time, Saber and Caster stayed back and explored the perimeter of the Bounded Field that defended the castle. That barrier was easy for Assassin to pass through undetected thanks to a certain Noble Phantasm he created using projection magecraft. It was nameless and took the form of the red wrappings and cloak Assassin always wore. During his life, Assassin encountered many Noble Phantasms and Mystic Codes, two of which being No Face May King and Hades' Cap of Invisibility. Assassin traced them and, using his knowledge in modifying the weapons he's memorized the structures of, became able to project a Noble Phantasm that combined the properties of both. The result was a red fabric that concealed Assassin's scent, any sounds he produced, his magical energy, and made him unable to be detected by sight or magecraft. Combine such a Noble Phantasm with Assassin's A+ rank Presence Concealment, and only EX rank Presence Concealment could be considered superior for stealth and assassinations.
The imperceptible Assassin was like an arrow rushing through the air without creating a sound or a stampeding bull that nobody could notice. When he stopped on a dime, he stood before the castle, Einzbern Castle, the place that was his destination and a place he had seen before. So much of his original life was just a haze after being summoned so many times. Some things still stood out clearly like that golden haired girl he failed to bring salvation to despite the strength of his ideals. The palace in the forest was less clear in his mind, but he still knew with certainty that this building was somewhere he had been before even as its significance was lost to him. Assassin could feel multiple presences in the castle, several of which created a sense of nostalgia in the Servant, likely due to them having some part in the past he had long since abandoned. Assassin was just a solider now, a murderer, a hero, a slave, a guardian. The person he once was existed so far in the past that he may as well have been a different person entirely. But he was still a person who inevitably became who he was today, because of who he was, and because of the beliefs he held in justice and heroism. If only that boy hadn't been such a fool, if only he hadn't decided to walk down the path his father had rightfully abandoned.
Letting his self-hatred pass away, Assassin entered the castle by phasing through its walls while in Spirit Form. The inside of the building was bathed in light that made it clear just how much empty space there was in every hall that Assassin snuck through and in every room that remained unoccupied.
Assassin did eventually come across an occupied room and in it slept a girl who hadn't even bothered to get under the covers. She looked almost exactly like Irisviel, but there were subtle differences in their facial structures that implied that they weren't different individuals. The yakuza that Assassin had stand lookout around the city mentioned seeing three different homunculi with two looking very similar. Why was she here? The yakuza mentioned that the two similar looking homunculi were fighting the third one, Chloe. Something must have happened since then that caused them to form some sort of alliance, or the fight before was actually just due to a temporary falling out. In any case, this implied that Irisviel was here, but it also meant that it was likely that the two Saber Servants in red and blue were here as well. Assassin had sensed multiple Servants present and it looks like he was right. If the other Sabers were here, then that meant that all three Servants that had received wounds that couldn't heal because of Lancer were present in the castle. That might have been why they were working together, they were weakened and so they decided to team up to be safe. Even if they weren't at full strength, an Archer as strong as the one in this war and two Sabers are a threat that Assassin would prefer not to face head on.
Since this homunculus was alone, Assassin could just kill her, but he could also kidnap her and use her as a bargaining chip. If he captured her and revealed himself now in front of the rest of the occupants of this castle, then he could try to force them to let him kill Irisviel in exchange for this homunculus, but they'd likely be smart enough to know that he'd never actually kill this homunculus in that case since he'd lose his bargaining chip and they could just swarm him. It would be better to take this homunculus and leave now, and then come back and tell them he has her in his clutches to force them to do what he says like he's doing with Saber and Caster. There was still the question of if they would be willing to let him kill Irisviel in that case. It might have been safer to just tell them to do whatever he said and to help him like with Saber and Caster, and then secretly kill Irisviel when he eventually got the chance. He could also continue surveying the mansion and see if he could just kill Irisviel and escape, but if he left this homunculus here and it turned out there was no way for him to assassinate Irisviel and get out, he'd want to come back and return to the hostage plan, but this homunculus might not be alone anymore by that point. She might even wake up.
It was a hard call to make. Archer closed his eyes and focused on his sense of hearing. The homunculus' breathing was heavy and her body barely moved at all. She was in a deep sleep that she wouldn't be waking from any time soon. If the other occupants of the building were aware of this homunculus' state, they were unlikely to try and wake her if they didn't have to. It was safe then to leave her and to come back to kidnap her if killing Irisviel wasn't possible.
Assassin continued making his way through every hall and room of the mansion, memorizing the layout to make a map of later. There was no doubt that this was a location that Assassin had been to in life due to how easily he predicted where certain halls led and what the interiors of specific rooms were like.
In another bedroom, Assassin found his mark. Irisviel was sitting alone, crying. Why was she crying? Assassin didn't care. This was perfect. He could lop Irisviel's head off with a single swing of Kanshou while he sliced through her heart and lungs with Bakuya all in one swift attack. It was best to be thorough in her execution due to the threat she posed towards mankind. You never knew who had the ability to revive or regenerate or who had a body made of insects. That said, Assassin didn't want to waste time making sure she was dead; he increased his chances of getting caught that way. He'd take just enough time making sure the embers of her soul were suffocated and then he'd be gone before anyone realized a thing. Black and white short swords projected into Assassin's hands and he was about to do his duty.
A knock on the door. A Servant was on the other side. Assassin was so distracted being pleased at the fact that he found his target that he let his focus waver. A rookie mistake that made him bite his lip.
Irisviel frantically wiped the tears from her face and looked into a mirror to check herself, likely to see if it was obvious she was just weeping. She went to the door and opened it to reveal a face that was both familiar and new to the eyes of Assassin.
"Mordred, did you need something?"
Mordred, the treacherous son of King Arthur. Small wonder why he looked so familiar. This Servant was likely one of the Sabers, the one described as having wild behavior. If Assassin tried to take out Irisviel right now, he'd probably succeed, but this Mordred would likely lash out in reaction upon realizing what happened. He might just destroy everything in the area and kill Assassin by pure luck. It was unlikely given Assassin's speed, but he could get stalled long enough for the other Servants to arrive and then Assassin would be dead for sure. He would normally be willing to die to take out his target, but he still had a mission to make his Master's wish come true. What did he care about his Master's wish? The mission to save the World should have come first and yet he couldn't help but sympathize with that poor soul. Perhaps they too were a figure from his past. If so, they were barely recognizable. That was how harsh the hand they were dealt was in this timeline. Whatever the justification, the point was that it would have been irresponsible to go for some sort of kamikaze attack.
"Mom just got off the phone with the airport. Apparently there are no flights available right now and there aren't going to be for a long ass time." They planned to leave Fuyuki? Now that was news that piqued Assassin's interest and wet the palette of his more devious side.
"There aren't any flights at all? How can that be possible?"
"There's too much air traffic and all the seats that were available were all taken long ago. The airport said it was a mix of people scared as shit of what happened last night trying to get out of Fuyuki ASAP and crazy conspiracy theorists coming to Fuyuki because they want to investigate the commotion." It looks like their incompetence the precious night was coming back to bite them. It didn't take an Assassin to be 'stealthy' enough to avoid shooting a bunch of lasers and arrows all across the city and demolishing multiple buildings and a major bridge.
"We should've been more careful." Irisviel backed into the bed and sat down.
"We'll just have to leave by car to the next city over and book a flight from their airport." Mordred entered the room proper and closed the door behind him. "We can still leave early tomorrow morning like we planned. It still sucks ass, but we just gotta deal." Early tomorrow morning. It might require some rushing, but Assassin could prepare his Master's forces by then if he needed to. Arming them that rapidly would drain him of a lot of his magical energy and he wouldn't have a whole lot of time to recover. It was a good thing that working for the yakuza meant Assassin's Master could easily provide some captured enemy gang members and wayward humans purchased on the black market for Assassin to consume the souls of.
"Fine. If that's what we have to do, it's what we have to do." Irisviel sounded bitter.
"So, Irisviel, I, uh, I, uhhh, I don't know how to say this." It would be stating the obvious to say that Mordred was unconfident at that moment. The only reason it was noteworthy to point out was because Mordred had earlier shown a sense of confidence, blind confidence from what Assassin suspected, about himself that he now lacked. He was trying to broach a subject he wasn't comfortable with, or maybe he was just unused to these kinds of situations. "I…I know you were just crying. It makes sense considering all the shit you've got to put up with. But it also feels like you're upset about something that the rest of us don't know about." Irisviel kept shifting in place. "What I'm saying is that if you want to talk to someone about it, then you can talk to me."
"I'm fine. I vent to your mom when I need to."
"I totally get that, but I have a feeling that it's mom you have some kind of problem with." Mordred pulled up a chair and sat face-to-face with Irisviel. "If you want to share, it's fine. I won't tell mom anything. I won't force you, but I think it'd be a good idea for you to let off some frustration." So Irisviel wasn't in the best mental state. That might be a contributing factor as to why she's perceived as a threat by the World. The instability of her mind made whatever unique capabilities she had more dangerous. If she got some help from a psychiatrist then maybe she'd be able to reach a degree of mental peace and she'd stop being a threat, but it wasn't Assassin's job to think of alternative solutions. His job was to kill all that threatened the wellbeing of Proper Human History.
A shaky breath from Irisviel as she rubbed her forehead. "Alright. You're right, my problem is with your mom. Remember when we were voting on whether to work with Chloe or not?"
"Yeah."
"Do you remember what your mom voted for?"
"She…abstained, right?
"Exactly. That's why I'm upset."
"Do you mind explaining in a bit more detail? I'm not great at picking up subtle stuff."
"Choosing to work with Chloe was a gamble, one that, thankfully, went as well as it reasonably could. But it also could have gone horribly. Chloe could have ambushed and killed us or something like that. It was a risk."
"Okay."
"And your mom didn't even bother to vote." Irisviel spoke through her teeth.
"I, uh, can you explain the connection for me here? I'm still a little lost. Sorry."
"It was a decision that could have meant life or death if we chose wrong and your mom didn't even pick a side. It's like she didn't care what happened to us-and I know that's unreasonable, and that she probably thought that both saying yes to Chloe and no to her were reasonable options. I get that I'm being really bratty."
"There's something more to it still, right?"
"It's been pretty obvious that I've been more rude and reclusive lately. It's how I get when the bad thoughts start getting overwhelming, and this time it's worse than ever. But your mom isn't acting like it's a big deal. I've been rude to her and she doesn't care, I've been avoiding everyone and she doesn't care. To her, this is just my dark thoughts acting up like usual. It's become routine to her. My internal suffering isn't anything special to her, it's just part of the deal of being with me."
"I think I get it now. You feel like, because mom isn't visibly upset at your pain and isn't treating this as anything too different from usual, that she doesn't care."
"That's right."
"You want her attention."
"Exactly."
"I know that feeling."
Irisviel laid back onto the bed and turned away from Mordred. "I know I'm just being a needy bitch right now. I know that your mom does care about me and that she's just acting calmly to be a pillar of strength for the rest of us, to not make us scared by seeing her scared. She's doing the right thing. I'm just a bitch."
"You're not a bitch. Morgan was a bitch. I know bitches, and you're not a bitch." Mordred reached over and grasped Irisviel's forearm. "You need to talk to mom about all this stuff you're feeling. I really think you should, before we leave Fuyuki."
"How will that help? I'll just make her feel like garbage right before I leave."
"Me and mom needed to talk to get through our problems. In life, after mom initially rejected me, that was it, the only time we tried talking to each other about our situation, and that was what caused me to do what I did. It was only after we came back and we managed to have a proper talk that we finally made peace and stuff."
"You're saying that talking things out is a good thing and if we don't it could end up like what happened to Camelot."
"Basically. Talking shit out is hard as balls, but it works. It worked for me and mom before, so that means that mom is open to that kind of conversation. Plus, it's not like she'll ever understand what you're going through if you keep refusing to tell her what the problem is. You don't want to leave this shit sitting on your chest until it's too late." Mordred spoke quietly, each word gentle. It was the complete opposite of what Assassin assumed he would be like from hearing what the yakuza told him.
"I can't." Irisviel's voice cracked. "I'm not-" She took a breath. "I'm not strong enough. I'll just burst into tears and make a big scene."
"Then that's what you'll do. The point here is to get all your feelings and shit out. You're all clogged up with emotions and you need to get them out. That's what you normally do with mom."
"But this isn't the time for that kind of thing. We're all under stress here, not just me. I can't make everyone waste energy worrying about me when there's a bunch of people trying to kill us."
"Yeah, instead they'll just waste energy wondering what's got you upset."
"That's not true."
"Really? You think that everyone hasn't noticed how you've been? You think they aren't worried about you? That they wouldn't give an arm and a leg to help you? I mean, fuck, I noticed and I'm not the most emotionally mature person around."
"…"
"If you tell mom what you're feeling, you and her can at least put that energy that would be wasted on worrying and instead use it to resolve things at least a little. I don't know how, but I'm sure you and mom can do it."
"How would you know? You only just met me. You and Artoria didn't even have a real relationship back in Camelot so you basically just met her too. You don't know anything." Irisviel's cruel words made even Assassin feel bad for Mordred.
"I know mom can do it because she's finally learned to open up to others. She spent her whole life as King Arthur rejecting everyone, even her own child. She made standing alone as an icon a part of her identity. It was practically her only defining feature. And then you came into her life and she gave up that philosophy. Her love for you was so strong that she changed, and for the better. She learned to be honest with her feelings and to actually tell other people about them, tell you. She loves you so much it's crazy. You make her happy in a way I've never seen. It makes me wish she had met someone like you when she was King Arthur. If you were around back then, then everything wouldn't have gone to shit. My point is that mom would do anything for you. She gave up everything for people she didn't really even know when she became king, there's no way she wouldn't do the same a million times over to help you." Wistful. That was how Assassin would describe Mordred at that moment. Assassin felt like he was listening to the nostalgic musings of a rustic poet, not due to Mordred's diction, but due to his passion.
"I know." Irisviel was barely able to speak. "I know. Artoria is wonderful. She'd kill for me if she had to. But I'm not the same. I'm weak. I'm mean. I'm-"
"No you're not."
"Yes I am."
"No you're not. The worst you do is say catty things and that's only because of some metaphysical depression caused by the Grail fucking with you. That isn't that big a deal. I mean fuck, Chloe tried to kill you and Illya and you decided to let bygones be bygones. That's so forgiving it's kinda nuts. You even accepted me as a part of your family when I just popped into your life! Same with Gray! You're gonna tell me you're a bad person or too weak to do the right thing?"
"I'm too weak to change. I can't get better. I can't endure the pain."
"You got through your husband dying and having to move on while living mostly like a normal person when you used to have servants and shit, right? That's a pretty big change if I've ever heard of one."
"This is different. This is about changing who I am. It's about not being a horrible person."
"First off, you're not a horrible person. We've been over this. Being catty doesn't make you the devil, it makes you…most people. These bad thoughts are something you've always had, it's just that this time they're worse and you have some problems with how mom's been reacting to your bad thoughts lately. You've dealt with this kinda crap for ten or so years. You're strong. Fuck, you're a badass bitch to deal with all the shit you have! That's why I know you can overcome this new shit too!" Mordred had a big grin on his face.
Irisviel flipped over with a face wet with tears and mucus. "Okay. I'll talk to Artoria." The homunculus sat up and hugged Mordred. The young man was unsure of what to do by the looks of it, but eventually let instinct guide him as he hugged Irisviel back and rubbed her back. They stayed like that for a while. Assassin thought about how this would be a perfect opportunity to take them both out, but some part of him he thought he had buried and forgotten stopped him. The image of a red haired young man held the Counter Guardian in place.
"Mordred."
"Yeah?"
"You're my son. We may not be related by blood, but you're my son."
Mordred's face went from peaceful to shocked. He just heard something he never expected to hear. Assassin didn't know why, but the idea of Irisviel being Mordred's mother, or perhaps having a loving mother figure at all, made the former Knight of Treachery's eyes glisten with a sheen of held back tears. "I know. I know, mama."
Assassin left. He wasn't going to kill Irisviel yet. He'd wait until tomorrow. He already had the skeleton of a plan forming in his head that was progressively being fleshed out.
He continued and encountered three more homunculi, one with short hair, one with a ponytail, and one with a tan who was Chloe. There wasn't much that Assassin successfully gleaned from them as they went about doing pretty mundane daily activities.
Then Assassin saw two people who were very familiar, and very similar. That face that still appeared in Assassin's waking dreams and never left him no matter how many tragedies he caused and stopped, it was worn by two women who were nearly identical. That beautiful warrior, that King of Knights, wielder of the most resplendent holy sword. She was sitting there on that lounge with perfect posture, her dress gorgeous yet still sitting unworthily upon that body. It was no question as to which of the two doppelgangers was the one that Assassin had known, his King Arthur.
He wished that he could have saved her. He tried, oh how he tried to bring Artoria salvation of some kind as she continued to march ahead towards a self-denying goal. That pure heart of hers was meant for better things than revulsion of the self and fighting for an impossible goal of changing the past. Assassin did all he could to help her see the error of her ways, but that also seemed to be an impossible goal which he failed to achieve. They saved the World from an evil that Assassin couldn't remember, but Artoria still died with sadness in her heart and a wish for one more chance. She'd never get that chance for she simply returned to that hill of corpses one last time. Such was the futility of heroism.
Was it fate that Assassin met the woman he loved again? It didn't matter. They were enemies this time and Assassin had long since abandoned any desire of his own beyond the dream that he could someday stop existing. He would kill Artoria along with all the other Servants. He would prefer not to face her personally if he didn't have to. His plan would take that vestige of his individuality into consideration and make sure he and Artoria were on separate battlefields when the next day came.
This lookalike of Artoria that minced about the sitting room was someone Assassin definitely never encountered in his original life. She lacked the King of Knights' confidence, though there was a simulacrum of it inside her which colored the way she walked. It was like there were two incompatible substances inside this copy, like oil and water. There were little golden specks of light in the pupils of this mimic that displayed her Divinity and made Assassin even more perplexed. Why was this other Artoria divine? Why did she give off this weird sensation that was like a Servant's, yet not? Was she a Pseudo-Servant or Demi-Servant? She was certainly housing a Divine Spirit, but then why did she look like Artoria?
There were four Servant level fighters in this castle. This was going to be a pain to deal with, but considering the capabilities of Caster's Noble Phantasms and the fact that Irisviel and Mordred were going to be leaving tomorrow, Assassin had an idea of how to handle this.
"Mom, have I been different today?" The copy said as she kept pacing about. So she was Artoria's daughter?
"You've certainly been more confident and much calmer than normal."
"I know, but have you noticed anything else?"
"I'm not sure."
"I've been eating a lot more lately."
"That might just be because you used up a lot of magical energy last night. You felt the natural instinct to eat to replenish your reserves faster."
"But that also makes me more like you."
"I see." Artoria gripped her knee. "You're concerned about your identity again?"
"Yes, but more than usual. I just had a random thought about this a few minutes ago, but I'm eating a lot like you, I'm calm like you, confident like you." The copy hugged herself.
"Are you concerned you're becoming more like me? Beyond the body?" Artoria broke her usual poker face to display visible concern.
"Yes, but even more than that. Lately my clothes have been feeling tight." Artoria raised an eyebrow. "It's like I'm getting older."
"Your body is changing." Artoria whispered before smiling. "Perhaps this means that the effect of being around me is weakening. You might be developing your own appearance finally."
"I thought about that before when I first noticed me changing, then I remembered something. Y'know how I almost got possessed by that Divine Spirit version of you."
"Yes." Artoria sank down into the couch a bit.
"And you remember how we talked about how that version of you was…curvier." Artoria stood up as if she was just smacked in the face with a revelation. "And you know how that encounter left a little Divinity in me."
"You think that the Divine Spirit version of me is still inside you, like some kind of Pseudo-Servant?"
"Maybe?" The copy shrugged as she stopped walking around.
"But that shouldn't alter your physiology."
"Yeah, but I'm also supposed to be a vessel for your mind and soul. That might mean I'm a bit more malleable when it comes to version of you…entering me. I mean I already lost my face. It makes sense I'd lose everything else eventually."
Artoria clenched a fist. "We still don't know for certain that you're right, but…" Artoria walked over to her lookalike who stopped her pacing about. "I'm going to try something that should be able to confirm whether there's a Divine Spirit version of me within you."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I can connect to certain things associated with me. Avalon is an example of that. When I tried and failed to take Avalon out of Illya, I managed to connect to her deeply enough to see her Origin. I can remember what that felt like to enter another person conceptually. If there is another version of me inside you, I should be able to connect to them. I can do that to check to see if your theory is correct and, if it is, to take this Spirit out of you."
"You could take it out of me?"
"Yes, but only through my connection to it, which would cause it to enter me to act as its new host."
"But then you'll be the one getting possessed!"
"No, I'll be fine. I think the reason the Divine Spirit is, if it really is inside you, rewriting your personality is because of your unique capacity to be a vessel for the existence known as King Arthur. This means the Divine Spirit is trying to assimilate you. In my case, I am a complete being with no such capacity to act as a vessel. Also, due to the fact that this Divine Spirit and I are two versions of the same person, we'll likely fuse together into one person with the memories and abilities of both of us. We'll fuse equally."
"But won't that still mean you won't be you anymore? You'll be a new you."
"No, it won't. If this Divine Spirit version of me really is a version of me created by Rhongomyniad as we talked about after summoning Mordred, then this version of me has very little in the way of emotions. No emotion means no meaningful personality. As long as this alternate me doesn't have beliefs that are too alien as compared to mine, my personality should remain in control due to there being nothing to push against it."
"I think I get it. Okay. Let's do this."
Artoria nodded. "This may end up hurting, so brace yourself." The copy tensed up as Artoria put a hand to her chest. Both were focused on their ritual while Assassin just watched with no way of perceiving what was going on within them. The only things he could use as signals to tell how things were going were the occasional twitches of the twins' facial features. If the context for the situation wasn't so intriguing, then Assassin would have left due to the lack of interesting stimuli.
"I see it. You were right." Artoria said. "It's so large. It's everywhere. This is bad, it really is trying to assimilate you." The mimic flinched. "Don't worry. I'll get it out." Artoria's jaw clenched and forehead wrinkled. Some light groans came from both women as the operation proceeded.
Light sparked from the copy's body, the flickers of an aura. Something was getting dragged out and it was causing the daughter to grunt and whimper as she was definitely in pain. The thing inside her didn't have any plans to come out.
Artoria was also grunting as if she was participating in a tug of war with a strong opponent and she was slowly losing. The copy's breathing was quickening as she was all but crying from the suffering this procedure was causing. The mother kept mouthing, "Please work."
"I c-I ca-mom, I can't." That was the signal that made Artoria stop, both women were out of breath as they stepped apart. The operation was a failure.
"There really is a Divine Spirit version of me inside you. Are you okay?"
"I-" The copy took in a breath. "I think so."
The lookalikes just recovered for a moment as they absorbed what just happened and thought about what to do next. If this copy really was under threat of losing herself, then they would have to be thoughtful about how they proceeded, but also efficient since the copy would be lost to the Divine Spirit if they wasted time.
Artoria sighed and closed her eyes. "We need to be careful about this. Do you think that there's been anything that's influenced these changes, to make them faster or slower?"
"I think so." The copy's hands rose to her cheeks and her arms folded in front of her chest. "When I had to defend you from Archer, I started feeling more like a Servant and I was getting stronger really fast. I was fighting as if I was used to it, like I had more experience than I really did."
"You tapped into my experience, or the experience of the me inside you."
"Yeah. I think fighting is a catalyst for me to change faster. My body didn't start feeling different until after that fight with Archer."
"So we can't allow you to fight anymore. We especially can't allow you to unleash Rhongomyniad from Add. The influence of a weapon directly tied to me would definitely speed up the transformation." Rhongomyniad? The spear of King Arthur? This lookalike has it? She suddenly became a far greater threat, but considering this turn of events, perhaps not.
The fake Artoria began to shake. "I thought I was finally becoming myself. But I'm really just becoming a different you. Not just my body, but my mind too. I'm-I'm-I'm going t-to disappear." The girl was on the brink of a breakdown as tears were coming from her eyes like waterfalls.
Artoria sprung towards her doppelganger and held her tight. "You'll be okay. We'll find a way to fix this. You aren't going to disappear. I won't let that happen."
"But how? You couldn't fix my face before, and this is even-"
"It will be okay!" Artoria told the girl in her arms, as well as herself. "Every problem has a logical solution. We can figure this out. We just need to find a way to separate the Divine Spirit from you."
"But how do we do that?"
"The Divine Spirit inside you has to be a Spiritual Core and Saint Graph, just like any Servant. We just have to think of something that can separate those from bodies. The Spiritual Core is essentially the heart of a Heroic Spirit, its equivalent to the Mind, and Saint Graph is the blueprint of the Heroic Spirit's form, like the Soul." Artoria looked her daughter in the eyes. "That's it. We just need something that can separate the Mind and Soul from the Body."
"And what does that?"
"Remember what your birth mother gave to me when I took you away from your old village."
The girl realized what was being implied. "Erosion!"
"Right. The dagger Morgan Le Fay possessed. It can separate Minds and Souls from their Bodies. We might be able to exorcize the Divine Spirit from you that way." The daughter tried to smile, but she was so overcome with emotion that all she could do was bury her head in her mother's shoulder. "We need to go, Gray. Let's get Erosion and perform the procedure right now." The girl named Gray nodded her head and the pair ran out of the room. Assassin followed in order to sate his curiosity.
As the twins ran through the castle, they bumped into Irisviel and Mordred who had left the bedroom and were confused by the commotion. The energized Artoria didn't even give them a chance to ask a question before she began explaining the situation in great detail.
"So we need to get Erosion, like, right now!" Mordred said upon processing what was going on.
"Exactly!" And the duo now turned quartet was off with Assassin following behind in secret.
The group ended up at a dark storage room full of luggage that smelled vile. The scent mixed with the fact that this was one of the only rooms in the building that wasn't heavily ornamented made the space stick out like a black blotch on a white canvas. Artoria dug through one bag and pulled out something wrapped up that she unveiled as an old golden dagger covered in faded writing. Assassin instantly traced it and added it to his arsenal. He understood exactly how it worked, and why this plan of theirs was a dangerous one.
Assassin wasn't the only one as Irisviel spoke up.
"Hold on. How will we control which…person gets removed from Gray's body?"
"What do you mean?" Mordred said.
The King of Knights looked at Irisviel, then back at the dagger, then she just closed her eyes and growled so lightly it was nearly inaudible. "That's right." Artoria sounded defeated. "We don't know whether the Mind and Soul removed from Gray will be the Divine Spirit's or Gray's own." They could end up killing the very girl they were trying to save if they acted recklessly. "In fact, since Erosion is primarily meant to cut out the Minds and Souls of humans, it's more likely those will get removed than the components that make up a Heroic Spirit."
The adrenaline that was powering the group just blinked out of their bodies and left them all deflated. They were suddenly hit with dread at Gray's apparent fate, then elation at the prospect of solving the problem, and then frustration at realizing their hopes were unfounded. Artoria's shaking fist was ready to hit something, but the knight's restraint won out and prevented her from causing undue destruction.
"Fuck!" Mordred lacked the elegant self-discipline of his mother.
"Hold on. Can't you do the same ritual you just did before to detect the Divine Spirit inside me to make it so you can aim accurately with Erosion?" Gray made a logical deduction.
"The Divine Spirit inside you is too intertwined with your Origin at this point. Aiming for it, even when I connect to the Spirit inside you, is like trying to aim for the eye of a needle from a kilometer away."
The pragmatic bluntness added an extra sting to the answer, more than Artoria probably realized it would as the copy fell to her knees and just hunched forward into something resembling the fetal position and cried like a small child. Artoria shot to the ground and tried to embrace Gray, only to be met with the girl shying away from the King of Knights' touch. This copy probably wanted nothing less than to feel the touch of the same existence that was stealing away her identity. Artoria stayed crouched, hand on her face as she was probably just as trapped in her own mind as Gray was. They both were feeling the unadulterated despair of the moment. Irisviel was silently in tears for the third time today, or at least the third time Assassin had seen, and Mordred was interlocking his fingers as he looked ready to murder someone. What an utterly hopeless scenario.
"You could find Touko Aozaki to fix this." The third homunculus, Chloe, stood in the room's doorway. Assassin noticed her listening in and following the group as far back as when Artoria frantically explained the situation to Irisviel and Mordred. Assassin hadn't expected her to reveal herself considering how careful she was being to stay unnoticed.
"What do you mean?" Artoria said. All eyes except Gray's were on Chloe. "Who's Touko Aozaki?"
"She's a magus who specializes in, among many things, puppet magecraft. She can replace limbs with fake ones that look real or even use a puppet as a vessel for a person's Mind and Soul." Chloe walked into the room with her arms crossed.
"I've heard about her. She's under Sealing Designation." Irisviel said.
"Yeah, but she's hiding out in Japan. I don't know exactly where, but Japan isn't exactly a big country. I'm sure you could track her down, especially if I help you guys by sharing some of the resources and information the Einzberns left behind."
"If we get her help, she could provide a puppet body for us?" Artoria stood up.
"Yup. That way, even if you cut out Gray's Mind and Soul with your weird dagger and not the Divine Spirit, you can just have Gray transfer into the puppet body. I hear that Touko Aozaki's puppets are actually able to have their appearance molded based on the blueprint of the Soul. Since you guys said that Gray's body is meant to be a vessel or whatever and that's why she looks like Artoria, then this puppet body wouldn't have that problem and would end up looking like what Gray 'really' looks like, as in what she'd look like if she wasn't affected by the concept of King Arthur."
That got the copy's head to rise. "So this could really save me? And it would give me my own unique face?" Gray's words slurred together as she was still crying.
"Pretty sure." Chloe shrugged. "I'm no expert on puppets, I'm an alchemist, but it should work if the rumors are true."
"And you'll really help us?"
"We're allies, right?"
The doppelganger of King Arthur looked like she was going to throw up, or maybe scream. Whatever she was feeling, it was intense. The girl got off the ground and latched onto Chloe in a embrace so tight that it made Assassin wince. He imagined how much that vise of a hug must have hurt as Chloe was suffocating.
"Thank you so much." That was the only decipherable thing Gray said as everything else that came from her mouth was incoherent babble.
"Let go." Hissed Chloe as all the air in her body was squeezed out.
Gray did as she was told and Chloe gasped for air, only for her to get pulled into a gentler hug by Artoria this time.
"Thank you so much, Chloe. This is something that…you just solved a problem for us that was so great it was near unfathomable. Not just the invasion of this Divine Spirit, but of Gray's identity. This is the best gift we've ever received." Artoria couldn't keep her own tears from flowing. It was a strange sight for Assassin. To see this mighty king so vulnerable. To see the shell he failed to crack just burst like a bubble, it made Assassin feel inadequate and yet happy to know that there was at least one timeline where Artoria Pendragon managed to be free.
"You're welcome." Chloe pushed Artoria off of her and stood like she got a stick shoved up her ass. "Like with Irisviel, Gray should probably get out of Fuyuki ASAP, right?"
"You're right." Artoria composed herself. "Irisviel. Do you mind if Gray goes with you and Mordred? I know you were originally planning to leave the country, but instead you could spend your time outside Fuyuki searching for Touko Aozaki throughout Japan."
"That's fine with me." Irisviel said. "It's better than waiting around anxious about how the war is going with us gone. It's better to have something to do and there's nothing more worth doing than helping one of my children." Irisviel hugged Gray who buried her face into her mother's chest. These people just loved hugging each other and crying, huh?
"Y'know, Chloe," Mordred leaned on Chloe's shoulder. "I thought you were just a bitch when we first met, but you're actually kinda alright when you're not trying to kill us for dumbass reasons."
Chloe shrugged Mordred off her. "That's about as backhanded a compliment as I've ever received, but that's still more than I expected to ever get from you so thanks. That said, don't touch me ever again."
"Sure, whatever." Assassin had the distinct impression Mordred was now going to go out of her way to touch Chloe whenever possible to annoy her.
The whole moment turned all wholesome and Assassin knew he wasn't going to learn much else that was useful. Assassin left as he came, swiftly and completely undetected. He didn't bother going back to the sleeping homunculus to kidnap or kill her since he had a new plan that was a safer bet to go with. With all that he had learned, he already had a perfect two-pronged attack in mind that would lead to the elimination of multiple threats, including Irisviel. As the trees of the forest whizzed by and Assassin thought of how he would explain his strategy to Saber and Caster, he also thought about the lingering melancholy of having reunited with more than a few people from his original life, even if he couldn't properly recognize all but one of them. Ah well, melancholy was far better than the much more depressing feelings brought about by most of Assassin's missions. Those usually involved killing far more people.
The fact that killing his former loved ones was something he considered not that bad was the ultimate signifier of just how tragic Assassin's existence really was. He was a machine, a mind of steel that would forever work without rest to save humanity from itself. How pretentious a thought, but it was an apt description of the situation. Humans would always be under threat from other humans, and it was Assassin's job to eliminate those dangerous humans. This endless cycle of suffering born from the very act of being, like that which the Buddha described, would never be stopped. No rod would get between the spokes and stop the wheel from turning. It would just keep on going ad infinitum.
And so Shirou Emiya would keep on killing for the sake of an ideal he had long since forsaken.