Yay another update, this one came pretty fast since I had most of the chapter finished about a year or two ago. I just didn't know how to close it.
Evening fell on Kanto as the final sun rays disappeared from sight. Irisviel and Maya had just finished storing away the plates used for dinner. The Einzbern homunculus felt proud of a job well done. Yellow was teaching her how to cook, and this evening, they made a delicious dinner together with Blue. The woman wanted at least to return the favour of being allowed to stay in the blonde's home. While she was not taught any domestic chores back in the Einzbern castle, she was diligent to learn from the people here.
The woman proudly looked at the closet where the plates and cups were stored away. It looked perfectly organised, just as she was taught.
"Thank you for helping me, Saber." The woman thanked the Servant.
"It was the least I could do," Saber answered.
The two women exited the kitchen and were greeted by Blue, Silver and Yellow. The brunette appeared to be fumbling with the television, while the blonde was reading peacefully on the couch. The calm atmosphere of the room was making her drowsy. Silver was watching his sister from afar.
"Oh, you finished just on time!" Blue declared happily. She connected a cable with the game console she brought and turned on the tv. Instead of its usual content, the tv was not showing the content of the game console.
"I thought it would be great if we had some fun after dinner." The woman explained. She turned on the television and the game console. "I figured a few rounds of karaoke and DDR would be a great solution."
"Karaoke is when people come together and sing, right?" Irisviel asked as she observed the game console. "I have never done this before, but it looks fun. What do you think, Maya, Saber?"
"If the Madam desires so, however, I will not partake in this." Maya declined flatly.
"But there's no reason for you to decline." Blue pointed out. "Whatever assignment you had before you came here is null and void as long as you're here."
"That's—"
Maya wanted to answer, but Blue cut her off. "Enjoying yourself for once isn't a sin. Come and relax, everyone is allowed to cut loose once in a while. How else do you think we survive here?"
The woman sighed in defeat. No matter what reasoning she would give, Blue would not accept it.
Saber glanced between the game console and Irisviel. "If you desire to play with someone then I shall take that task upon me." The Servant answered.
"Alright then! Now let's make this more interesting! We form a team of two, one who does the singing and the other the dancing. To make this fairer we should pair the more experienced players with the less experienced players. You guys can practice a few rounds first to get accustomed to the game. The teams switch roles every round so that we all get a turn. The one with the highest score and most victories wins and gets to order the losers around for one day!" The brunette explained. She quickly nudged Yellow who was dozing off. "Yellow wake up and help me with moving the couch, Silver you too."
The blonde awoke in seconds. She let out an awkward yelp before nervously rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Sorry." She excused herself as she and the others quickly moved the couch away and placed the platforms in from of them.
Irisviel and Blue ended up forming one team, Yellow and Maya were the second team, while Saber and Silver became the final team. After a few practice rounds, they finally began the official match.
"Wow Irisviel, you have an amazing sense of rhythm!" Blue pointed out proudly as the Einzbern homunculus earned another perfect score.
"Thank you, I never danced before, so I was very excited about trying this. It looked very hard in the beginning. But apparently, you just have to get the hang of it, right?"
"Ohoho! Of course, I have an amazing teammate! Victory is as good as ours!" The brunette laughed haughtily and gave her partner a high five.
"Let's win this!" Both women exclaimed with full determination.
Yellow and Maya silently watched the two women before they turned back to their own score.
"I'm having a great time." The blonde announced. "And miss Maya has such an amazing voice!"
"You give me too much credit, Miss," Maya disagreed. "Your voice is far superior to mine."
"Not at all. I have done this quite often with my friends. So it's a result of my practices."
"That in itself is admirable enough."
Yellow stared at the woman for a while before finally giving in. A soft laugh escaped her. "Thank you, miss Maya."
"The pleasure is mine. Your friend was right about my need to lower my guard. Ah, it is your turn next."
"Oh, yes. Wish me luck!"
The blonde quickly approached the platform to wait for her turn.
Of the three groups, Silver was the only one who let out a tired sigh. His partner was surprisingly competitive to a fault and he had no idea how to deal with it. "So you suck at rhythm games, who cares. It's not like the world is ending."
Saber sent the trainer a fierce glare and immediately silenced him. "I am not bad at this game! I am merely not accustomed to these rules!"
"Irisviel and Maya learned it quickly though." Silver muttered. He was again quickly silenced by the king's fierce glare.
"I will prove to you, on my honour as the King of Britain, that I can play this game with ease!" Saber got up and faced her next challenge with determination.
"Ugh, this sucks." Silver muttered tiredly. He didn't give a damn about winning or losing. As long as Blue was enjoying herself, that was all that mattered. But who knew that playing with a competitive person would ruin everything?
Before the young man could continue to curse his misfortune, a sudden loud crash and thunder which broke through the hallway and disturbed the players. Riderーalong with his masterー appeared on a chariot, carried by two bulls. The large Servant carried a barrel. He frowned upon seeing the odd spectacle.
"Hm, it appears that they have decided to go ahead and hold a feast without us." The man muttered. He was obviously disappointed for being left out.
"Rider, how dare you to interrupt my match!" Saber angrily scolded the man. "If you wish for a battle, then decide on a different date and location!"
"It's not like you were winning—"
"Silence!" Saber immediately cut Silver off.
The trainer shrugged and decided to not comment anymore. He was already suffering from headaches for the night.
Rider grabbed his frightened master and stepped out of his chariot. It disappeared immediately when his sandals hit the ground. "I have no intention to battle you, Saber. I overheard that that young lady over there had thrown you a feast in celebration of your arrival upon these lands." The man gestured to Yellow who blankly looked at the mess the servant created, "and I, as the King of Conquerors decided that it is only appropriate for us kings to have a proper feast among each other!"
"and just ringing the doorbell was too much of a hassle, I assume..." Yellow's voice interrupted the man, she stared at the now large hole that used to be her hallway. The damage wasn't too much, but it wouldn't be welcoming to have wild Pokemon entering your house when everyone is asleep. "I guess we can fix it temporarily for now," she mumbled.
Rider looked over his shoulder and noticed the damage his entrance had caused. "Do not worry, young lady. As compensation you may join us in the feast, I am curious about what grand tales these lands hold. It will be very informative for my conquest."
Yellow blinked speechlessly at the servant. "Your what?"
"Rider!" Waver wanted to scold his servant, but instead, the large man dropped him to the ground. The boy groaned in pain as he got up from the floor.
"This place is surprisingly small for hosting kings. Do you have something more fitting?"
"I have a clean pair of uwabaki if you please take off your shoes, wash your feet and clean up the mess you made." The blonde answered with a cold smile.
Rider gave Yellow a bewildered look. "Is that a custom of this world? Then I shall abide! Come boy we must not be rude to the lady!"
"What?! but you were the one who—! Ack!"
Waver was quickly grabbed by Rider as the man quickly took off his sandals and went upstairs to look for the bathroom.
Silver muttered softly under his breath that Rider was already too late in not offending his senior.
"Wait what are you doing!" Blue quickly ran after them. She gave her friend a swift glance, "I'll make sure he won't destroy anything else. We can clean the mess later. Meta-chan, can you please become a makeshift door for the time being?"
The woman called her Ditto from its PokéBall. It quickly transformed at its master's request.
Irisviel stared in awe at the Pokémon that had suddenly transformed. "How amazing!"
Yellow and Silver tiredly looked at the place Blue had disappeared to.
This night was surprisingly long and tiresome.
After a short— but chaotic wait, Rider, Waver and Blue returned to the living room.
"I'm surprised how Gold's stupid large Pokémon size gift came in handy," Blue muttered.
Saber turned her attention to Rider. "During normal circumstances, I would gladly accept your challenge. however, I will have to decline this time, as I am in the middle of an important battle." The Servant stated.
"And this 'battle' you refer to, is connected to what you were doing before my arrival?" Rider questioned as he glanced at the TV screen. The game was currently paused, but the round ended in a draw, as both Saber and Yellow could not finish their round.
"Indeed, it is a battle of concentration, agility, wits and performance! One worthy of a King such as I to master!" The woman explained proudly.
Yellow, Silver and Blue did not bother to comment on Saber's absurd statement.
"I see, then it would only be appropriate if I join too! Whether we do it through a conversation or a challenge of agility and ability. It can all be considered a feast! Now let us take this to a better location! This place is not grandiose enough for a King's feast!"
"And where would you take it, the garden?" Waver wanted to point out the lack of reasoning behind Rider's plans.
"Yes, that could work." The man pondered. He proceeded to grab the television, but Yellow quickly blocked his path.
"Please don't touch anything, you have broken enough of my belongings and taking a television outside is going to be difficult. Unless we have an extension cord."
"Then we better secure these; 'extension cord' you speak of." The Servant answered.
While Rider continued with his plan to hold a DDR match in the garden, Yellow, Blue and Silver exchanged dubious glances. It was ridiculous, even for them. However, Rider was not someone who would listen. Thus instead of creating another headache, they ended up carrying everything outside.
Luckily, the garden was large enough, and Yellow had placed enough lights to illuminate the whole garden during the evening. The trainers placed a large platform in the centre of the garden. Furthermore, they carried; a desk, the DDR mats, a few Fatboy sofas —which were left behind by some of their friends during a previous party— the television and the game console to the garden.
"Oh, the lady's garden is splendid." Rider commented as he placed down the barrel he brought with him. "Yes, this is far more fitting for a king!"
"... thank you?" The woman wasn't sure if it was meant as a compliment or not.
"This is the most pointless and stupid thing I've ever done." Silver complained.
"Relax Silver. See it as a change of scenery." Blue reassured her brother.
"Then please switch partners with me."
"No thanks, I like my team member a lot, and she's not a sore loser."
Silver could only grimace in annoyance. This was going to be an incredibly long and painful night for him.
Rider looked at the screen. "What are the rules of this game?"
Yellow explained the rules of the game to Rider and Waver.
The Servant inspected the television screen, which was displaying the game's title screen, as he listened to the woman's explanation. "Hmm, I had no idea you were also familiar with the languages from our world." The Servant muttered.
"We're not." Silver, Blue and Yellow answered simultaneously.
"We've sung a lot of Karaoke in the past. Yellow and I know the songs by heart now. Irisviel and Kiritsugu helped with the translation. I did get help with transcribing the lyrics," The brunette finished explaining, "For DDR you only have to follow the arrows and move accordingly to the screen. So there's no need for you to read."
"An interesting way to battle," Iskandar responded. "However, if this is supposed to be a king's feast it is only appropriate if everyone is present! If I recall correctly, there is one more Servant who called themselves a king.
As Blue and Silver exchanged baffled glances, a man appeared in a golden glow before the crowd. The two siblings froze as they recognised the Servant as the man they talked about a few days ago.
"You have a lot of nerve to invite me to this clown performance, mongrel."
"Archer!" Saber called out to the man. The woman was ready to engage him in battle. She would not allow him to harm the innocent.
"There is no need for hostility, Saber." Rider told the Servant. "I saw him walking around the city on my way here and invited him. Now I also brought some fine wine over to enjoy."
Yellow, Blue and Silver stared speechlessly at Rider as he took the wine casket and opened it. However, Rider's carefree expression quickly changed when he spotted something foreign inside the casket.
"Piiyuuuuuki!"
A Roselia popped out from the casket and let out a hiccup. The small Thorn Pokémon seemed slightly confused about its surroundings. However, it did not appear distressed at all.
"Pishuuuki!" The Pokemon hiccuped again and spun around happily, and giggled.
"How odd. I wonder how it got inside?" Rider frowned as he studied the Pokémon.
Yellow quickly picked up the Pokémon and studied it carefully. "It's drunk." She pointed out, "I heard that some wine stores use certain grass Pokémon like Roselia to create a unique flavour and aroma for their products. It's a recently applied method only available to a few stores. Thanks to its geography, Viridian city is one of the few places that provide this wine. The Pokémon bathe in the wine for a few hours in pre-heated rooms. You can see it as a type of spa. Though, I never heard of any of them getting drunk." The woman explained as she inspected the Pokémon.
"I see, so that was where the odd noise came from." Rider mumbled.
The Pokédex Holders exchanged speechless glances at each other.
"So you stole this." Silver pointed out. "Well, it's not like such things never happen here, but I wouldn't recommend drinking before playing a DDR game unless you want to look like a Spinda."
"A king does not steal! He conquers and takes the spoils of war!
"Same thing, don't do it again. It took my sis and me a long time to get off that damn supervision list. If things start disappearing, they'll blame us. Even though we haven't done anything this time."
Saber, Maaya and Irisviel gave Blue a questioning look, the brunette, however, evaded their gaze and pretended to be occupied with something.
"So are we going to start or not?" Yellow asked. "Though since we have one extra player, someone would have to sit this round out—
"I'll do it!" Silver immediately volunteered, "I will skip this match!" He turned to Archer and bowed as if he had applied for a job application. "Thank you very much for your curiosity. I can guarantee you that she won't bore you, and as your senior, in DDR she will be able to teach you all that you need to know."
Archer only raised his eyebrow at the trainer's questionable words. Was he supposed to be flattered by the mongrel's expressions?
Saber gave Silver the most incredulous look he had ever seen. "Traitor! How dare you run away and abandon your ally! Do you not have any pride, you coward?!"
"Lost it ages ago, after meeting Gold." Silver shamelessly answered. "besides, I prefer being a coward than being stuck with a sore loser," He marched towards Yellow, grabbed the drunken Roselia and held the Pokémon up in the air. "Here, this will be my new partner. I have the biggest handicap of all. Happy now?"
Saber could only gape at the trainer's shameless behaviour. The Roselia was still giggling and clapped their hands happily without knowing what was happening.
"Is this a manner of insulting me?" Archer coldly interrogated Rider. "You should realise that I will punish those insolent enough to undermine me!"
"No need to be so rigid Archer, I am sure this is their strange way of challenging others. Isn't it, ladies?"
Yellow and Blue exchanged glances. "Uh, sure..." both of them answered.
Archer only shrugged and sat down. He observed his surroundings keenly. "How surprising, for such a pathetic dwelling, the garden is surprisingly acceptable for my tastes."
"Is it normal for people in your world to throw backhanded insults at the host?" Yellow asked, feeling her patience had dwindled a lot after dealing with Rider.
"Stay your tongue girl, it is far from an insult." Archer chastised her, "I do not expect that a mere mongrel would have an abode suitable for a king. The fact that your garden does meet at least the minimum requisites is something you should be proud of."
The Servant's words did not help the woman to lighten her mood. Instead, she became riddled with questions about the meaning behind his words, which she did not bother to find the answer to. "Anyway. Welcome to my humble house. Let us just start... whatever this match is supposed to be." The girl sighed.
"First, I think proper introductions are in order ." Rider exclaimed, "My apologies for not introducing myself properly. I am Iskandar! King of Conquerors and Macedonia!" He gleefully slapped his master on his back. "Now boy, show some appreciation!"
"Ugh, my name is Waver..." The master groaned painfully.
"Nice to properly meet you." Blue smiled at Waver, who in return awkwardly grabbed the hand that the woman had extended to him. "I am Blue from Pallet town, that cute guy over there is my little brother Silver."
The trainer in question only answered swiftly. "Welcome to Kanto."
"Don't worry about his lack of words, Silver is only talkative with a select group of people. He'll open up when he gets to know you better."
The woman winked playfully, which made Silver blush from embarrassment. "Sis!" he complained.
"I am Yellow of the Viridian Forest." Yellow approached the master as she also extended her hand to him, "I hope your stay here will be a pleasant one."
Rider eyed Archer and patiently waited for him to also introduce himself.
"Considering your circumstances, I shall pardon your ignorance." he stated and eyed the other servant, "You are lucky that I am feeling magnanimous! Now venerate, for you stand in the presence of the great Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, 2/3 god and 1/3 man! Son of king Lugalbanda and the goddess Rhimat-Ninsun!"
The trainers silently exchanged glances with each other. "So we will still to called you Archer and you Rider," Blue answered.
Archer frowned, "You dare to disregard my magnanimity?"
"You names are too hard to pronounce, let alone memorize." Blue explained, "If 'Archer' and 'Rider' are also accepted by you, then I do not see a problem to not continue using them. Saber also has no problem when we asked her."
"If that is what you prefer," Rider commented.
"Very well, I will not deny your request." Archer agreed.
"I guess we can finally focus on the game now?" Yellow asked, feeling almost drained by how long the night ended up becoming.
The remaining people nodded. So after explaining the rules for the third time, the group was finally able to start their game night properly.