Hey, here's the second chapter!
So I realized something when I was writing this chapter. We all know who the Servants' true identities are, but I wanted to keep them hidden until I legitimately reveal them in the story. But when it comes to Artoria's case, it's a bit hard cuz we will have two Servants of the same class.
For simplicity's sake, we will refer to the Artoria Servants, with 'Class' Artoria. Like Saber Artoria, Caster Artoria, Archer Artoria etc. with the exception of Berserker and Assassin of course.
Another thing I realized is in the first chapter, I sort of wrote in a serious angle. But the moment I started to write the Artorias, it sort of... didn't really work out, especially with MHX, MHXA and the swimsuit Servants.
So I'll try to balance out the serious angles and insanity of the Saber-fest this story is going to be.
Artyom-Dreizehn, wait no more. It's here!
Ryu wolf, Pendragon company indeed.
Nameless 212, its sort of inspired by the fanart. I've always been a big fan of Saber-faces, and my FGO support list is literally just Artorias... Cough...
kushalkool0924, indeed he will, eventually.
jmspikey, I mentioned this above, but it'll be a mix, hopefully I can balance it out.
PureSalty101, here ya go mate!
So yeah, here's the second chapter!
XXX
Shirou stared in awe when he saw the seven figures before him.
"I ask of you, are you my Master?"
Seven female voices, seven exact same voices asked him that same question.
They were all blonde, and there were some slight differences, so they looked pretty much like sisters.
Shirou blinked, as he felt the link between himself and the seven Servants take hold, "Y-yeah, I am."
The seven Servants nodded, before they realized they weren't alone.
Regardless, they quickly, almost instantly, recognized the same fact.
They were the same person. Differing in some parts of their history, but their identity was the same.
The moment they laid their eyes on each other, they knew.
Caster Artoria blinked, "Oh my, this is...interesting..."
Saber Artoria frowned, "What is going on? How..."
She glanced at the other six of her... counterparts. She could pretty much tell which class they belonged to.
She was obviously of the Saber class, and the older version was of the Lancer class.
What confused her was the others. The Archer looked exactly like her, except she wore a hoodie with a two piece swimsuit beneath it, and she held what looked like a water gun.
The same was for Rider Artoria, with the addition of alongside Berserker, they were the only two to have paler skin and paler hair.
Then Assassin, she, along with Archer, looked exactly like herself, except she wore a blue jacket with a scarf and cap.
Finally, Caster Artoria didn't look like a knight at all, and instead wore a traditional magus outfit from her era with what looked like a scholar's hat.
Lancer Artoria sighed, "I see, so this happened..."
The older version of the King of Knights glanced at Shirou with a hint of recognition and joy, "I can assume you are fine, Shi-Master?"
Shirou nodded, blinking at the slip up from the Servant, "Y-yeah."
Which begged the question, she obviously knew his name. But the question was how did she even know his name in the first place.
Lancer Artoria nodded, "Good."
Caster Artoria looked at their shared Master, "Hmm, so you're our Master."
She smiled, "I never thought I'd be able to meet you."
Shirou blinked, "H-huh?"
Assassin looked at her counterparts, and she scowled, "So many Saber-faces..."
Berserker looked sleepy, "X-san, you're mumbling again."
Assassin huffed, "Ecchan! You know how it is!"
Rider snorted, "Never expected for this to happen again..."
Saber blinked, "Again? You've... been in this war before?"
The king in the black swimsuit didn't answer, instead Archer spoke up, "No, we have a... let's just say different set of memories..."
Rider simply nodded at that, and it only served to confuse Saber more.
Until the female Lancer spoke up, "Enough, we can talk later. Lancer's getting up."
The seven of them looked out of the shack, spotting the blue Lancer on his feet.
The man was confused, "What the hell? He summoned a... what?"
The male Lancer trailed off when he spotted seven blondes in front of the young man he had been trying to kill.
The man blinked, "What the fuck?"
Archer Artoria glanced at her counterparts, "Sooo, who wants to have a go?"
Saber Artoria frowned, "Why ask? We should overwhelm him and take him out."
Caster Artoria smiled awkwardly, "Well, if we all went and fought, Master's house'd be gone."
The Saber version of the Kings blinked, "I... see, apologies, I failed to consider that."
Lancer Artoria stepped forward, "I suppose I shall go first, if no one is against me doing it."
Assassin waved it off, "Sure, go ahead. As long as you don't let us down.
Berserker yawned, "Good luck..."
Lancer Artoria resisted the urge to sweatdrop at their antics, and she continued walking forward.
Lancer raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you're coming at me alone?"
The busty blonde donned her armor pieces, drawing her weapon of choice. A whitish glowing spear shaped in the form of a European spear.
The other six counterparts of the blonde easily recognized the lance, for they too had the same relationship with the same spear.
Saber's eyes widened, "That's...!"
She barely held herself from saying the spear's true name, lest she revealed their shared identity.
They quickly focused on the battle, as the male Lancer raised an eyebrow at the spear, "A spear? I have no idea how seven of you were summoned, but against a Lancer such as myself, you seem pretty confident."
The blonde Lancer smiled with confidence, "Don't worry, you will find that I am more than enough to give you a good fight."
The male Lancer smirked, "I was ordered to do some scouting, kill that young man since he walked in on a fight. But now that we're here, I can't exactly back down now, can I?"
The blonde returned that smirk with a confident smile, brandishing the spear that shone to the ends of the world.
In the next instant, both Servants moved.
The blue Lancer thrust his spear forward, and the blonde simply used her own to redirect the strike to a side.
They then proceeded to trade blows, thrust for thrust, swing for swing.
It happened so quickly that Shirou could barely keep up, mostly seeing blurs, as if the two Servants had suddenly gained multiple arms and multiple weapons.
Lancer grunted as he dodged a swing from the blonde. Unlike himself, she was firm, strong in her every thrust and swing.
He relied on quick and strong thrusts, never stopping at any one same spot.
They both used similar weapons, but their way of battle couldn't have been more different.
Lancer dashed in again, sprinting left and right in an attempt to misdirect the woman. But the King of Knights easily saw it coming.
In a burst of prana, Lancer Artoria moved, striking the red spear aside, before kicking the blue haired Lancer away.
The blonde Servant pushed on to her advantage, sending more thrusts and swings at the opposing Servant, not giving him any space to recover.
The male Servant grunted as he did his best to fend off the blonde's aggressive attacks, barely dodging them.
Tightening his grip on the shaft of his lance, the male Servant managed to bat the opposing spear to a side, before he broke into a dash, positioning himself to circle around the woman.
But the blonde Lancer was having none of it, for she immediately spun and swung her spear at him, forcing the man to block the strike with his own spear, barely holding back the monstrous power of the swing.
The male Lancer grunted, as he managed to redirect the strike and leap away.
He stared at the woman firmly, "You... You're not a Saber, are you?"
The woman snorted, "Am I? The answer is simpler than you think, Lancer."
The male Servant scowled, "What?"
Lancer Artoria pointed her spear at him, the glowing spear flowing with power, "I'll ask you this once. Will you continue this farce, or will you back off?"
The male Servant thinned his lips, and after a moment, he relaxed, "My Master is a coward. There's seven of you, and even then he's confused. No, afraid, is more like it. I'll back off today."
Lancer Artoria nodded, "Of course."
The man nodded, before he smirked, "I don't know how there's seven of you, but I'm looking forward to our next bout."
With that said, the Lancer turned to leap away. As the man left, Saber Artoria approached her Lancer counterpart, "Why did you spare him?"
The older version of the blonde answered, "It is not time for such a battle, nor is it such a place. Would you not agree, Saber?"
The younger counterpart's lips thinned, before she reluctantly nodded, "I suppose so."
The Saber glanced to a side, "There's also two enemies outside the house, I shall pursue them."
With that said, she leaped onto the roof, dashing out of the compound, much to Shirou's surprise, "Wait, what?!"
Lancer Artoria sighed, "So she's that version of me..."
Assassin scoffed, "Shall I do us a favor and cut her down?"
Archer Artoria sweatdropped, "Not a good idea."
Caster Artoria spoke up, "Let's follow after her."
Shirou frowned, scratching the back of his head in confusion, "What the hell..."
Rider Artoria looked at him, "Master, what do we do?"
The redhead grumbled, "Ughh, we go after her I guess. We need to talk this out, seriously."
Lancer Artoria looked amused, "Of course."
The seven of them rushed out of the Emiya residence, and they quickly spotted Saber fighting the man in red Shirou had spotted prior at school.
The white haired man grunted as he held his pair of Chinese swords, parrying Saber's ever slash.
Every time he parried a strike, his swords broke. Yet in the blink of an eye, another pair appeared in his hands, as if they hadn't been destroyed.
Lancer Artoria and Caster Artoria's eyes glinted with recognition, but they had expected the Servant's appearance.
The other counterparts showed no reaction, watching their Saber counterpart fight.
As for their Master, he was having another splitting headache as he watched the man, "W-what...!"
His circuits flared as he instinctively used Structural Analysis, and he forced himself to look away.
Kan... Baku...
The names almost revealed themselves to the young man, but he stopped the process to stop that splitting headache.
Instead, Shirou focused on the other person nearby, and his eyes widened in recognition, "Tohsaka?!"
He opened his mouth to speak up, only for Caster Artoria to cut him to the chase, "Should we stop her, Master?"
Shirou blinked, looking at the Caster, and he nodded, "Yeah, can you stop them?"
The twin tailed blonde smiled, "Of course."
A staff appeared in her hands, and she tapped it onto the ground firmly, as four circular blades of prana, and she sent them at the two fighting Servants.
Both Saber and the man spotted the blades, and they backed away as the energy blades struck the ground, dispersing harmlessly.
Saber Artoria glanced back, and she spotted her counterparts and her Master, and she recognized where the attack had come from, "What is the meaning of this, Caster?"
Lancer Artoria spoke up, "Calm down, Saber. I understand they are the enemy, but rushing off alone is unbecoming of you."
The blonde paused, and she closed her eyes, "I suppose so..."
They turned to the opposing side, and the man in red could barely conceal his shock. Simply because it was impossible for him to comprehend the sight before him.
He narrowed his eyes, "Master, I propose we retreat. This has become a very troublesome situation."
Rin followed his line of sight, and she spotted the seven blondes, sharing the same face as the Saber they'd been fighting.
If what she assumed was right, it was a very complicated and dangerous situation, if not for the fact that they were in public, she would have lost it.
The brunette nodded, "Yes, let's do that."
She turned, only to find a blade in front of her, "Do you think we would let you?"
The Assassin clad in blue was already in front of her, and the man's eyes widened, moving to defend his Master, only to find himself staring at the barrel of a gun, and while he easily recognized that it was a water gun, he knew better than to underestimate its power.
Rider Artoria spoke out coldly, "Stay where you are. Until our Master has spoken, no one will leave."
The man smirked, "Our Master, huh? What have you gotten yourself into, Emiya Shirou?"
Shirou blinked, doing his best not to look at the man in red lest he got another headache, "You know me?"
The Servant made a disgusted face, "More than I'd want to."
Lancer Artoria looked at Shirou, "Master, what do you want to do?"
The redhead considered the situation. If it were a normal war like what his father had told him, after summoning a Servant, a Master would generally have to report to the Overseer.
But the situation was different, strange even.
To summon seven Servants in a single ritual, moreover seven different classes of the same Heroic Spirit, was most likely an extraordinary case.
The redhead suppressed his instincts to take down the girl, "For now, shall we call for a ceasefire, Tohsaka?"
The girl frowned, "A ceasefire?"
Shirou nodded, "I'll be frank. I only summoned my... Servants, when I was attacked by Lancer. To my knowledge, a Holy Grail War doesn't truly begin until all seven Servants are summoned, is that right?"
The man scoffed, "If that's the case, you clearly have all of them with you. I'd say the war has begun."
Rin gave him an irritated glare, "Archer! Shush!"
Archer simply snorted, and Shirou sighed, "It'd be a different thing if you were someone I didn't know. It wouldn't be personal, but you're someone I know. I'd rather not having to kill you."
The brunette scoffed, "You seem fairly confident."
Rider Artoria smirked, her gun still pointed at Archer, "Given the circumstances, do you think my Master should be anything but confident?"
Archer chuckled, "Point."
Rin sighed, "I guess we don't really have a choice now, do we?"
Shirou nodded, "Come inside."
He gave Archer a brief glance, ignoring the sudden flash of pain in his head, "Sorry, do you mind if he-"
The girl sighed, "Of course, Archer, wait outside please."
The man in red huffed, "I don't think that's a good idea, Master."
Rider Artoria scoffed, "Do you think you're in a position to say that, Archer?"
The white haired man smiled dryly, "Apologies, but you'll have to forgive me for considering my Master's safety."
Shirou spoke up, "Don't worry, if you don't attack us, then we'll have a ceasefire for now."
Archer didn't respond, and Rin spoke up, "We understand. We'll take that ceasefire."
The redhead nodded, and he gestured to his home, "Now come in, I think there's a few things we can discuss."
(Linebreak)
A short moment later, Rin sat in Shirou's living room, and she was honestly very intimidated.
Saber Artoria and Lancer Artoria sat opposite of her, while Assassin and Berserker were lazing around near the TV, the latter begrudgingly munching on a bag of chips, and Caster watched as Shirou brewed some tea.
Archer stood by the door, watching her, something mirrored by Rider.
Except for one fact, Rider had an annoyed expression on her face.
The reason? When Shirou had started to make tea, and the Servant had immediately offered to take over.
Though for whatever reason, the young man had refused and insisted that they wait outside of the kitchen.
Rin couldn't make any sense of it. First up, why did she get a smartass of an Archer as her Servant?
When Emiya Shirou got not one, but SEVEN Servants, one of which had almost automatically offered to work for him?! She had to use a goddamned Command Spell to get him to even clean up his own mess!
Furthermore, if what she could get from Saber Artoria's small exchange with Archer, that one Servant was very very strong. And the other six exuded a similar presence.
It simply wasn't fair!
Lancer Artoria watched in amusement as Rin had a silent mental breakdown. The girl was more or less an open book, and the older King of Knights could tell that the girl didn't have any malicious intentions.
The busty king asked, "So, Master of Archer, you are acquainted with our Master, correct?"
Rin stiffened when she was called out, and she nodded, "Yes."
Shirou spoke up, "Tohsaka's someone from my school."
Caster Artoria perked up, "Oh, so you are friends?"
The brunette made a difficult face, "Not friends per say... More like we just know of each other?"
The redhead nodded, "Pretty much."
He came out of the kitchen with a pot of tea, and he poured a cup for the brunette.
Rin took the cup, "Thanks."
Shirou sat down beside Lancer Artoria, and the girl asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"
The redhead let out a breath, "Where to start... I don't think this war will be a normal one..."
Rin snorted, "Of course it won't, you summoned seven Servants."
She looked at a side, an annoyed expression on her face, "Still, never thought you'd be a Magus, Emiya-kun."
Shirou chuckled, "I'm not a Magus, I'm more of a Spellcaster."
Rin let out a breath, "Right... Emiya... You're the son of the Magus Killer, right?"
The redhead nodded, "Yeah, but I didn't expect you to enter this war, with what happened ten years ago."
The brunette fell silent, before she spoke up, "...It has nothing to do with you..."
Shirou nodded, "Sorry if I brought up bad memories."
Rin simply closed her eyes, not saying another word.
The redhead then spoke up, "I don't have any particular wish for the Holy Grail, but say you win, what will wish upon it?"
The girl looked at him as if he was dumb, "The Root, what else?"
Shirou blinked, and he smiled, "I see."
The young man took a sip from his tea, "So, I say we have a ceasefire, at least until we get a clear picture of every participant, how about it?"
Rin sighed in defeat, "Do you think I'm in any position to refuse? If I say no, you'll just sic your Servants on me."
Rider Artoria smirked, "Glad you see reason, Master of Archer."
The girl sighed again, "I'm not suicidal, ya know?"
Shirou nodded, "Then we're in agreement."
He paused before he added, "Also, no attacking any of our schoolmates."
Rin looked at him as if he were crazy, "Of course not! I'm not a psychopath. My Servant might be one, but I'm definitely holding him back!"
Shirou nodded, only for Saber to speak up, "What if your... schoolmates are enemies?"
The two Masters glanced at the blonde Saber, and Shirou nodded, "That's true, in that case, if that happens we'll fight back."
Rin nodded, "But no harming innocents, got it."
The brunette looked at him accusingly, "Speaking of which, how on Earth did you get seven Servants?!"
The redhead scratched his head, "Yeah, that's something I want to know as well..."
He glanced down at the back of his left hand, "I have a set of Command Spells, and I can certainly feel our contract..."
Caster Artoria spoke up, "I have an idea, but I don't think it's wise to discuss it now."
Shirou nodded, "I understand. We'll report to the Overseer and sort things out."
Rin grumbled, "I guess that's the only way we can go with this."
Lancer Artoria glanced at her Saber counterpart, and she spoke up, "Master, may I suggest we take a moment to discuss some matters before we meet the Overseer? Preferably in private?"
Rin took the hint, "I'll get out of your hair then. Do you need me to bring you to the Overseer?"
The redhead nodded, "If you can, that'd be appreciated."
The brunette sighed, "Okay, I'll wait outside then."
Rin got up, and she turned to the door, where Rider Artoria stood, and the blonde in black let the brunette leave the house.
As soon as she did, Caster Artoria smiled, "Now, Master, I guess its time for me to show off a bit."
Her staff appeared in her hands, and the Caster tapped it on the floor, unleashing a small pulse of Prana as a Bounded Field formed around the Emiya Residence.
The twin tailed blonde nodded in satisfaction, "There, now we can talk."
Saber Artoria looked around, "A Bounded Field... I don't remember learning how to make one."
Caster Artoria smiled, "Because I'm a bit different than the rest of you...Well, for some parts."
Lancer Artoria nodded, "I think it's better we sort this out before we go any further."
Archer Artoria nodded, "Agreed, our Saber-self seems more confused than the rest of us."
Assassin scoffed, "What is there to discuss?"
Berserker yawned, "X-san, behave..."
Shirou simply scratched the back of his head, unsure what to make of it, "So... what did we need to discuss, actually?"
Rider Artoria looked at him, "Our identities, and the fact that you summoned seven of us."
Caster Artoria nodded, "Granted, you didn't summon our other Classes, but considering this is the Fuyuki Holy Grail War..."
Saber Artoria frowned, "So, what is going on? I can tell we are all one and the same, or at least, we share the same identity."
Lancer looked at the twin tailed blonde, "I believe it would be easier for you to explain."
Caster smiled, "To put simply, we are different versions of you, and vice versa."
She paused, and asked, "I can assume we can reveal our identity to our Master, yes?"
Everyone except Saber nodded, and the Saber counterpart paused, "I suppose so."
Shirou spoke up, "Wait, before we go there, why did I even summon the seven of you? How could I even do that?"
The seven Servants looked at each other, before Lancer Artoria spoke, "I'm unsure as to how exactly you managed to do so, but I can think of a few reasons."
She raised a finger, "One, there was enough magical energy to summon and sustain us, as surprising as it sounds."
Shirou's eyes widened, "The mana prism reserve in the house!"
Saber Artoria blinked, "The mana prism what?"
The redhead looked at the floor, before he shook his head, "I'll explain some other time."
He looked at Lancer Artoria, "What about the other reasons?"
The busty blonde pointed at him, "You possess something related to all of us."
Realization hit him, "Oh!"
Caster Artoria nodded, "You know what we're referring to."
Shirou nodded, "Avalon."
Saber Artoria thinned her lips, realizing why both summonings felt so familiar to her, but the king knew that wasn't the only reason.
The spellcaster asked, "So thanks to the massive energy reserve and Avalon, I managed to summon all of you?"
Archer Artoria spared her Saber counterpart a brief glance before she shook her head, "No, there's probably more to that, but we're not too sure."
Shirou nodded, "I see..."
Rider Artoria snorted, "We'll just have to work with what we have. I'd say the war is pretty much ours."
Lancer Artoria smiled softly, "That remains to be seen. Shall we return to our previous topic?"
Caster Artoria nodded and looked at their Master, "Of course, Master, no, Shirou, we are all the one same Heroic Spirit. Our shared identity is the King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon."
Shirou blinked, "Arthur Pendragon? As in, King Arthur?"
The seven Servants nodded, and Archer giggled, "Well, I'd prefer it if you called us Artoria."
Assassin scoffed, "Well I'd prefer it if you didn't, if you don't want to call me by my class, you can call me Mysterious Heroine X!"
Berserker nodded, "And you can call me Mysterious Heroine X Alter... or just Ecchan is fine too..."
Shirou just sweatdropped, "Uhh, sure... Ecchan... and is X okay?"
Assassin nodded, "That's fine."
She looked at him, her eyes gleaming in anticipation, "Speaking of which, can I have some food, Shirou?!"
Archer Artoria's eyes widened, "Hey, no fair! Me too!"
Berserker nodded, a look of expectation in her eyes, "Me too... Sweets please..."
Saber Artoria blinked, "How... How are we the same person?"
Caster Artoria giggled, "Well, I did say we're different versions, didn't I? Assassin, or Mysterious Heroine X, is a version of us from the Servant Universe. Its the same for Berserker, or Mysterious Heroine X Alter."
Shirou blinked, "Servant... Universe?"
Rider Artoria spoke up immediately, "Don't ask. That's hell you'll be walking into."
Saber looked at Archer and Rider, "What about you two? I don't remember having... such revealing clothing..."
She glanced at Lancer, "Nor did I remember having a body like that."
Lancer Artoria smiled, "Archer and Rider are versions of us that have participated in a different war. A more... shall we say, light hearted war."
Caster Artoria giggled, "Well, if you call a water blitz competition a war, sure."
Saber frowned, "That doesn't explain anything."
The older version looked at the younger version of herself with slight pity, "It's easier if we left it there. But they are us, that much I can assure you."
The younger blonde looked at her, "Then what about you? And you as well, Caster. I don't recall having learned such complex magecraft."
Caster spoke up, "I'll go first, Lancer's explanation will probably be harder to take in."
That only confused both Saber and Shirou, but the twin tailed blonde continued, "I am from a pruned history of mankind. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be summoned. But Shirou here is a bit special, and for once he had enough magical energy available. That's why I could answer his call."
Shirou blinked, "Me?"
The blonde didn't answer him, and instead continued, "I am the version of Artoria Pendragon that is connected to every version of us. You can say I am the combination of every possibility of our identity."
Saber frowned, "I see..."
Shirou spoke up, "Wait, if you're a combination of every possibility of your identity, does that mean you know everything about them?"
Caster smiled, "Sort of. My current Spirit Origin will only allow me to access so much of my memories, so I can't tell you everything, unfortunately. But I can say, that most of us, started off from you."
Saber sighed, "That doesn't answer my questions, but I will have to take it as it is."
She looked at the older version of herself, "What about you?"
Lancer smiled softly, "I am you, who survived past Camlann. I am the you who didn't use the Excalibur, but instead our spear as my main weapon."
Saber's eyes widened, "What?! That's impossible!"
The older version of the blonde shook her head, "Not impossible, in fact, I have experienced our contract with the world. And I lived past it."
The younger version snapped to her feet, "Then our wish! Did we make it?!"
Lancer Artoria closed her eyes, "I will not answer that. I am but one of many possibilities. You were summoned from the time when we made the contract with the world, and you have experienced the Fourth Holy Grail War."
Saber tightened her jaw, "But I need to know, I need to know-"
Rider Artoria cut her off, "If what you did was not in vain?"
The 'original' of the seven nodded, "Exactly!"
Archer Artoria spoke up, "Then it's better if you went through it yourself. We all experienced different outcomes, not including Caster, Assassin and Berserker. The fact that you're summoned here with the six of us means that whatever we tell you, won't necessarily happen to you."
Berserker nodded as she munched on some sweets that she'd taken from Shirou's cupboards, "... Agreed..."
Saber clenched her fists, and Lancer spoke up, "Calm down, is that how the King of Britain should act? Do you not remember what the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors said to you in the last war?"
The younger king let out a breath, and she sat down, "Then what is the point of all this?"
The Lancer let out a small breath, "That is something you will have to figure out. For now, Master, would you mind preparing some food for us? I believe that might help us recollect ourselves."
Shirou blinked, "Wait, me?"
Archer Artoria perked up, "Oh yes please! It's been ages since I had Shirou's cooking!"
Assassin nodded, "Me too, I need it!"
Berserker nodded, "...Red bean buns please..."
Lancer Artoria smiled, "We have absolute faith in your culinary skills, Master."
The redhead scratched his head, "Uhh, sure, I don't mind really... But you say as if you've tasted my cooking before."
Caster Artoria smiled, "They have, sort of. Don't worry too much about it."
Saber Artoria frowned, "I don't see the point of this, we are Servants, we shouldn't require food for sustenance."
Archer Artoria chuckled, "Wait until you try his food, my immature self."
The young man decided, for the sake of his sanity, he would ignore everything around the seven and focus on his cooking, for now.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Archer stood on the roof of the building opposite of the Emiya Residence.
Normally he'd be reminiscing his cursed past, but he wasn't in the state of mind to do so.
'What the actual fuck?' would be the statement that summed up his thoughts.
Archer easily recognized Saber Artoria. He had lived through that past before, after all.
Seeing the blonde king had been somewhat comforting, despite the fact that they would have to cross blades.
But what he didn't expect, what he never would have expected to see, was Emiya Shirou summoning not only Saber, but all seven classes of Artoria Pendragon.
It made absolutely no sense. Emiya Shirou, at this point of time, should've been a third rate magus.
But somehow he had enough energy to support seven Servants?
How in the name of the Counter Force was this even possible?
Lancer was one thing, but he never expected to see Artoria summoned in any of the other classes.
Then came Emiya Shirou himself. One glance was all it took, and he knew this one was different.
The way Emiya Shirou carried himself was different, a far cry from the past-self he had come to loathe. In fact, even if it was well hidden, Emiya Shirou carried himself in a manner similar to Emiya Kiritsugu.
Then, previously, he had spotted Shirou with a gun and a freaking grenade launcher of all things. How was that even possible?
Nothing made sense anymore.
Archer took a deep breath, glad that his years of training his poker face could be put to use, even if he was in his astral form.
But before the man in red could continue his mental rant, Archer spotted his Master exiting the house, and he reached out to her, "Master, are we done?"
Rin sighed, "No, I'm waiting for Emiya-kun to finish up with his Servants, then we're going to meet the Overseer."
Archer nodded, "I see... Very well."
He leaped over to another roof to get a closer look at the living room, and he almost fell.
The reason was simple.
Shirou was preparing food for the seven Servants.
Archer almost slipped, letting bits of his old self resurface for only a moment, and he had half a mind to go down to the house to warn the redhead.
That was hell he was walking into.
(Linebreak)
A short moment later, Shirou brought seven plates of garlic egg fried rice and vegetables. He didn't exactly have the time to defrost any meat, so that was all he could manage.
He glanced at Berserker, "I'm sorry, Berserker, but we don't exactly have time to make buns, but I do have some cakes."
The bespectacled Berserker nodded tiredly, "Okay, but I want red bean cakes tomorrow."
Shirou sweatdropped, "Sure."
Saber Artoria furrowed her brows when she saw her Berserker, Assassin, Archer and Rider counterparts inhale the food, while Lancer and Caster both consumed the food at surprising but very much slower speeds.
The 'original' counterpart asked, "Is this really necessary?"
Assassin looked at her, "If you don't want it, I'll take it."
Lancer Artoria shook her head, "Saber, just try it. Hunger is the enemy."
For some reason, those words resonated with her, and she sighed, "Fine..."
The Saber took a bite, and her eyes barely widened, and then she took another.
And another, then another.
Until she realized her plate was now empty. Saber blinked, before she reluctantly turned to her Master, "...Master, as shameful as I am to ask, may I have seconds?"
Shirou blinked, unsure if he should be proud that the King of Knights liked his cooking, or if he should be laughing.
Lancer chuckled, "As amusing as it is to have Tohsaka Rin wait for us, it's not an ideal choice. We still have to go meet the Overseer."
Saber almost blushed, and she cleared her throat, much to the amusement of her counterparts, "Y-yes, of course. Apologies."
Archer and Rider shared a look, the former with a smile, while the latter simply sighed, but the sentiment was shared between them.
Shirou put the plates into the sink, "Alright, we can deal with the dishes later, don't wanna keep Tohsaka waiting."
(Linebreak)
A short moment later, the eight of them walked out of the room, spotting Rin at the door with an annoyed expression.
The twin tailed brunette glared at them, "What took you so long?"
Shirou decided for the sake of his safety, he would omit some parts, "We got a bit... carried away with our discussion."
Lancer and Caster looked content, while Saber and Rider both had a poker face.
The redhead looked at Rin, "So, where is the Overseer?"
The girl sighed, "The Church in Shinto."
Shirou nodded, "Let's head over then."
Rin nodded, "I already let him know we're coming."
She smirked, "Well, I guess letting him wait some more wouldn't be that bad."
The girl looked at him, "You'll know why when you meet him."
The redhead nodded, before he remembered something, "Hold on, let me grab some stuff, I'll be back in a second."
Without waiting for a response, Shirou dashed back towards his shack, and he fumbled through the mess that used to be his collection.
The redhead sighed, "I'll need to clean this up later..."
The young man grabbed an APC9K and some magazines before shoving them into a small bag.
Shirou looked around, before grabbing a few hand grenades and threw them into his bag.
"Firearms?"
The young man looked back to see Saber at the door, "Oh, Saber."
Shirou nodded, "Yeah, you never know when you'll need it."
The King of Knights thinned her lips, "I see, you learned from Kiritsugu then."
The young man nodded, before he blinked, "Oh, right, you were in the last war, and my father summoned a Saber..."
Saber Artoria nodded, "That's right. I served as your father's Servant before."
Shirou nodded, "Seeing all this must've brought back some memories."
The blonde nodded, "... Indeed it has."
The redhead knew she didn't meant good memories, his father had told him of their relationship when they had talked about being a hero, "I'm not my father. He's taught me a lot of things, many of which may not sit right with you."
Saber closed her eyes, "...I see..."
Shirou looked at her, his bag of firearms still in hand, "But I made a promise to my father, that I'd be a hero of justice. So I'll show you, I won't do things the same way my father did. I am not the Magus Killer."
The King of Knights stared at him for a moment, searching for any hints of deceit.
She found none.
Nodding begrudgingly, she held her hand out, "Very well, then let us renew our vow. As long as you possess those Command Spells, I shall serve as your blade."
Shirou looked at her extended hand in slight surprise, before he nodded, taking her hand, "Good to have you, Saber."
The young man walked out of the shack, "Come on, we don't want to keep everyone waiting."
Saber Artoria nodded, and she followed the redhead.
(Linebreak)
Back at the entrance, the group looked to a side to see both Shirou and Saber approaching them.
Rin spotted the bag he carried, but paid it no heed, "Shall we get going?"
The young man nodded, and the girl glanced at her Servant, "Stay in astral form, but be on alert."
Archer nodded and vanished in a burst of blue particles, and Shirou glanced his own, "All of you as well."
Caster Artoria looked at her Saber counterpart, "Yeah, about that, Saber won't be able to use her spiritual form due to circumstances."
Rin blinked, "Wait, what?"
Lancer Artoria nodded, "The rest of us can, but she alone can't."
Saber Artoria sighed, "I figured you'd know this as well..."
Shirou asked, "Why?"
Rider Artoria answered, "It has nothing to do with you. It's a special case for her."
Rin sighed, "I see... We'll just have to go as we are then, we're late as it is."
Assassin retorted, "What happened to letting the Overseer wait?"
The twin tailed brunette blinked, "Oh, right."
Saber Artoria sighed, "It's fine, we can go as we are."
Her armor pieces vanished, leaving her dress remaining, "This should let me stand out less."
Rin sighed, "That'll work."
She turned as the six other Servants vanished, "Come on, the Church awaits."
Shirou sighed, getting a bad feeling about the coming meeting, "Alright."
The three, tailed by seven unseen Servants, made their way to the Church.
XXX
That's done! So that's the second chapter!
It's mostly building up for what's coming.