Movie Night.


June 4th

Almost two months have passed since the Singularity in France, and the slow progress of finding the next one, wherever it might be located, was starting to concern everyone. The Chaldean Trio were especially hard at work, studying the history of many countries and nations, to the point that they didn't get much sleep. Roman then decided the best course of action was for them to have a couple of days off from any kind of research or training, with Artoria's approval. So, with almost nothing to do, but not wanting to just leave the other out, they set out to figure out what they could do on their day off, only to agree on having a movie marathon with some of the Servants and the Chaldean staff that didn't have anything to do at the moment. Artoria decided to join in after her curiosity peaked. Cú heard about it from Tatsuko, and decided to join in once more after the last one was a hit. Emiya decided to come along after hearing about it from Medusa. Davinci invited herself, much to everyone's amusement. Eric, being the movie buff he was, decided to come along as well so that he could give his opinion on potential movies, and Henry, wanting to spend time with his boyfriend, was more than happy to come along. It was only a couple of hours later, and they already got through two movies, and were ready for their third.

"Okay so not only did we get to finish the final Godzilla movie Ritsuka needed to watch, but we also got to watch the 2011 The Thing." Tatsuko said. "Now it's my turn to rummage through the DVD stockpile to see what's next!"

"Good luck." Medusa said.

Tatsuko made a mock salute and rummaged through the DVD cubbies until she raised her eyebrows at a particular movie. "Hey Twig Boy, since you got me hooked on Monty Python now, I think I found the movie we could watch."

"Show me."

Tatsuko turned around and showed the group what DVD she had in her hands, causing Ritsuka to chuckle.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Ritsuka muttered. "Man it's been a while since I saw that one."

"Honestly I prefer Life of Brian over that, but it's still a fun movie." Henry chimed.

"Both are great, Henry." Ritsuka countered.

"So, since I haven't seen it, can I put it in?" Tatsuko asked.

Ritsuka grinned. "Sorry Tatsuko, but I think we're going to have to save that for another time."

"Why?" Mashu asked.

"Let's just say that it would be better for everyone involved that we have more of the Knights of the Round Table here to watch it." Ritsuka answered. The male Master chuckled deviously, causing Artoria to grin mischievously in realization. Tatsuko shrugged and went back to the cubbies to rummage through. The female Master found a particular DVD, and grinned in amusement.

"Hey Davinci, what would you say if we watched this movie?" Tatsuko asked as she revealed what was in her hand, causing some of the staff members to chuckle. The female Master held out The Davinci Code in her hands. The Caster scowled at her and crossed her arms.

"No."

"Darn." Tatsuko muttered. "Okay, back to the drawing board."

The female Master went back to the cubbies and searched through whatever she could find, until she raised an eyebrow at a certain movie. "Okay, this is interesting."

"What is it?" Emiya asked.

The female Master turned around with the movie in hand. "Anyone up for the 2005 version of King Kong?"

"Well it's kinda creepy, but it should prove entertaining." Eric said.

"Creepy huh?" Tatsuko looked at the cover and shrugged. "I never saw it before so I'm kind of curious. Does anyone object, or is it safe for me to put it in?"

Everyone shrugged, and Tatsuko took this as a sign to put the DVD in the player. The female Master immediately rushed to sit down next to Ritsuka and Mashu as the movie started to play. A few minutes into it, Tatsuko raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"You can't be serious, Jack Black's in this?" She asked. "Looks like we're in for a comedy then."

Eric chuckled. "Oh you sweet summer child, you're going to regret saying that."

"I highly doubt that." Tatsuko said.

The group then fell into a comfortable silence as the rest of the characters were introduced, and made their way to Skull Island. As they continued to watch, everyone but Eric became very intrigued by the landscape, and how it looked…man made. Their intrigue soon turned to shock as the natives surrounded the crew, killing one with a spear, hearing a loud roar, causing the natives to capture the rest and execute one of the crew by having their head smashed by a spiked club. Their shock turned to slight relief as the captain of the ship saved them from the savage natives.

"Okay, I take back what I said!" Tatsuko said. "This isn't a comedy."

"I told you it's creepy." Eric chimed.

"Creepy is understating it." Ritsuka said. "That was downright frightening."

"It makes me wonder what could have made them this brutal." Mashu said.

"I'd rather not even think about that." Artoria said.

"Me neither." Davinci said.

The group returned to a comfortable silence, that is until the natives of Skull Island stealthily made their way onto the ship to kidnap the main heroine.

"Oh you can't be serious." Cú muttered. "As if those tiny sticks could hold their body weight!"

"Well they're probably emancipated enough for it to work." Ritsuka countered. "I mean look at them, they're practically skin and bone."

"Ritsuka's right." Henry said. "I actually arrested someone who was able to do this, and he had their physique."

Cú turned to stare at the chief of security with a look of approval before returning his attention to the screen. The group once again fell into a comfortable silence until the man of the hour showed up.

"Wow, that is one big ass ape." Tatsuko said.

"How in the world can he grab her without…..you know what, I'm not even going to finish that train of thought." Medusa said.

"Yeah, I'd rather not think about that either." Emiya replied.

The group continued to watch the movie, occasionally expressing shock or awe at the wildlife in the movie. They watched in amusement as the titular gorilla and the main heroine bonded, and showed their awe as the gorilla took down the three dinosaurs that attacked his charge. Their awe soon turned to confusion as the team set out to rescue the woman fell down into a ravine, and into a sort of pit.

"Oh boy, here we go….." Eric muttered.

"What's wrong?' Tatsuko asked.

"Only perhaps one of the most well known scenes of this movie." Eric answered.

Tatsuko raised an eyebrow at the statement and returned her gaze upon the screen. The female Master's eyes widened as she saw exactly what Eric meant. Bugs started to make their way towards the rescue party. She paused the movie and turned to Eric with absolute fear in her eyes.

"Oh god, there aren't any spiders, are there?!" She asked through her trembling.

Eric put one hand up and another on her shoulder to calm her down. "No, no, there aren't any spiders. But there are some pretty big bugs."

Tatsuko took deep breaths to calm herself down. "Okay, okay, I can live with that."

The female Master pressed the play button and everyone resumed watching the scene. They soon felt goosebumps throughout their bodies as they saw the weta bugs attack the group, then the carnicitis slowly eating the cook alive as he struggled to fight back. Tatsuko couldn't help but be amused as Jack Black's fought with ferocity to protect some of the rescue party, and was pleasantly surprised as they were saved by more crew members.

"Okay, I know I've seen my fair share of death and war, but THAT actually creeped me out." Cú said. "Whoever came up with that certainly knows how to mess with ya."

"I have to hand it to that cabin boy, he sure got lucky he didn't kill the guy when he shot those bugs off of him." Ritsuka said. "If this were real life, that guy would have been swiss cheese."

"Even more impressive because Adrian Brody was moving while the guy shot at him." Henry said. "That usually doesn't end well."

"Usually?" Emiya asked. "Try never."

"Fair enough."

The moviegoers then went back to their comfortable silence as they watched the rest of the movie. They said nothing, while they were happy to see the main heroine reunite with her group, they were saddened to see Kong tranquilized, and taken from his home of Skull Island to be used as a mere exhibit. They then braced themselves for the final act as Kong arrived in New York, freed himself of his chains and went on his search for Ann, and going on a rampage. They watched in silence as he took her up to the Empire State Building, and fought off the planes that attacked him, but not for long as he continuously got shot. Mashu watched on in sadness as Kong looked at Anne one last time, before succumbing to his wounds, and fell from the skyscraper. The moment the credits rolled, Tatsuko turned off the movie, and everyone stared at each other with blank expressions.

"Okay, that was both terrifying, and yet also fun." Tatsuko said.

"I found it rather sad." Mashu muttered. "King Kong had to be isolated all of his life, and when he finally found a friend, he was taken from his home and died in a strange new world….He did not deserve such a fate."

"Yeah. You know despite having watched it countless times, it still amazes me how they actually made King Kong a sympathetic character." Eric said. "Well done Peter Jackson. Well done."

"Okay, how about we take a ten minute break to stretch our legs." Ritsuka said. "And when we get back, I'll pick the next movie."

Everyone nodded and got up to take their breaks. As Henry started to loosen his muscles, he noticed Ritsuka was still in the room with him, and an idea popped into his head.

"Hey Ritsuka, I have a fun question for you, but feel free not to answer."

"Ask away." Ritsuka replied. "I'm curious about what you have in mind."

"Who do you think would win in a fight; the men of your home district? Or those natives in the movie?"

Ritsuka chuckled. "The natives would totally eat them for breakfast."

Henry raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Now that is surprising."

"Not really." Ritsuka said. "Their savagery would actually win them the fight. The guys back home might be nasty, but the natives are MUCH worse."

Henry shivered. "Well, good to know that a movie could be scarier than reality."

Henry and Ritsuka shared a chuckle over the statement before the chief of security left to get a drink of water, leaving Ritsuka to stretch his muscles all by himself.


Only ten minutes had passed and everyone returned to the Rec Room in order to resume their movie marathon. To the male Master's surprise, Marie and Mata Hari heard about the marathon, and decided to join in. Once everyone was settled, Ritsuka then proceeded to kneel and rummage through the cubbies for any intriguing movies he could find. It didn't take too long before he raised an eyebrow and pulled one from the shelf.

"Hey guys, is anyone interested in Marley and Me?" He asked.

"Let's not." Eric answered. "I'd rather NOT drown from everyone's tears. Thank you very much."

"I agree." Mata Hari said. "Last time Marie and I watched it, we both couldn't stop crying for hours."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "Umm….okay, so I guess that's a no."

The male Master put the movie back where he found it, and rummaged through the next cubby. He then groaned, causing everyone to raise an eyebrow.

"Everything okay over there?" Cú asked.

"No." Ritsuka said. "Something is VERY wrong here."

Everyone looked at him in concern. The male Master turned around, causing Eric and Henry to widen their eyes in horror at the black haired teen held in his hand.

"Why is The Room even in this catalog?" Ritsuka asked.

"Oh god, get that out of here!" Henry said.

"Someone get an exorcist!" Eric shouted. "We are purging this room of evil!"

"Okay, I know it's a bad movie and all, but are those reactions REALLY necessary?" Tatsuko asked.

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Tatsuko, have you even WATCHED it?"

"No, but I heard it was supposed to be terrible."

"Then how about we put that in and see if you feel we're still exaggerating." Eric said.

"Maybe you guys can do that another time?" Ritsuka asked. "I'd rather not punish anyone else by putting it in."

"Have you seen it?" Davinci asked.

"I've seen a clip….." Ritsuka answered. "And it was more than enough."

"Okay, I guess that means this is going to be a definite no." Emiya said. "How about you put that back and find another."

Ritsuka nodded and he put the movie back in disgust. The male Master then rummaged through the cubby and did a double take. "Well this is interesting."

"What is it?" Mashu asked.

"Hey Tatsuko, have you ever watched Pokémon?" Ritsuka asked.

"When I was a kid, yes. Why?"

"Okay so I never got the chance to watch it as a kid, so how would you rate this movie?"

Ritsuka turned around, causing the female Master to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Mewtwo Strikes Back?"

"Have you seen it?" Ritsuka asked.

"No, but I DID hear it was supposed to be really good." Tatsuko answered.

"Oh look at the little animals on the cover, they're adorable!" Marie exclaimed. "We have to watch it now!"

Ritsuka shrugged and looked to the others. "I've never seen it so this would be perfect for me to make up for lost time. Anyone have any objections?"

No one raised any objections, allowing the male Master to put the film in.

The Servants were surprised to see the small creatures called Pokemon during the girl, even more so when they showed their own abilities.

Marie gushed at the cuteness of the likes of Pikachu and Togepi, while Tatsuko was amazed at the might of Gyarados and Charizard. And while they all had different feelings about several of the Pokemons, all of them unanimously felt fear towards Mewtwo, the 150th. The psychic might of the artificial Pokemon amazed and shocked them on equal parts, seeing him casually batter aside many of his enemies, redirecting attacks with no effort and easily creating clones that surpassed the originals in strength. A few minutes later into the movie, Ritsuka looked at Fou with idle curiosity.

"You know, I've noticed that the Pokémon only say their names." He said. "And Fou does the same thing."

Davinci raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying?"

"What if Fou is secretly a Pokémon?"

"I mean, he's got the looks for one." Tatsuko said. "Though there's only one way to be certain."

"And what would that be?" Medusa asked.

"Fou, use Hyperbeam!"

"Fou, Fou!"

Everyone stared at the critter and Tatsuko in amusement as Fou simply remained on Mashu's shoulder. Tatsuko simply shrugged and scratched the critter's chin. "Okay, so he's not a Pokémon."

"Oh, Oh! Something big is about to happen!" Marie shouted.

Everyone watched as the final battle began, and Mewtwo's match came in the form of the very being it was created from, the mythical Mew. As the two clashed, the army of clones and originals fought below and Ash Ketchum tried to stop the fight between both sides, until ultimately being killed trying to stop Mewtwo from continuing his rampage.

Ritsuka heard something a bit strange in the moment, seeing how Marie was tearing up a little at the scene.

"I can't help it.." She answered while she was cleaning her tears.

Just as Marie did so, the Pokémon, both cloned and original, seeing the sacrifice of Ash, started crying as well, and the previously dead trainer returned to life in the small arms of his trusted companion, reuniting with him with a smile on both of their faces.

Everyone just gave small nods of approval as the credits started to roll, causing Ritsuka to turn the movie off.

"Okay, that was actually pretty good." He said.

"I'll say. I can't believe it took me this long to finally watch it." Tatsuko said.

"I am confused about something." Artoria said. "It had some anti-violence themes being hoisted upon us, but the movie showed in the beginning these Pokémon fighting each other anyway. Isn't that contradictory to what the whole show is about?"

"I think that's best left unanswered." Tatsuko said. "Movies like this are meant for entertainment as well."

"I see." Artoria muttered. "Then I guess that will have to do."

"Hey, how about you choose the next film, Artoria." Emiya said.

Artoria nodded and went to the cubbies to check what she could find.

"Oh, maybe you could find one of those romantic comedies I've heard so much about!" Mata Hari chimed.

"Oh that sounds lovely!" Marie said enthusiastically.

"Let's not force her to only pick those." Medusa said. "We should see what she picks up and put it to a vote like the others."

Marie playfully snapped her fingers in defeat. "I guess we'll have better luck next time Margaretha."

Mata Hari giggled. "I guess so."

Artoria ignored the comments and continued rummaging until she found something. "Well this certainly looks good."

"What did you find?' Henry asked.

Artoria turned around, causing Eric and Henry to grin at what she was holding.

"Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring Extended cut." Eric said. "Now THAT's a good find."

"Shall I put it in?" Artoria asked.

"I think we should save that for another day." Henry said. "Eric and I have seen the entire trilogy countless times already and I can say with absolute confidence we would be here the rest of the day and probably all day tomorrow to finish all three."

"That is a shame." Mashu said. "I always heard it was an excellent film series, so I got a little excited when Artoria picked it."

"Don't worry Mashu, you'll get your chance some day." Davinci said.

"Well, it would seem that I'll be putting this back." Artoria said. The Saber returned to the cubbies and continued her search. She then raised an eyebrow as she grabbed a certain DVD case. "Well this is an interesting title. Has anyone seen the Princess Bride?"

"I have." Henry said. "It's a good movie if you want a simple story."

"Are there any fights?" Cú asked.

"Most definitely." Henry answered.

"Then I'm going to watch."

"Oh, is there romance in it?" Marie asked.

Henry chuckled. "It's one of the main focus points."

"Oh how wonderful! We must watch it!" Marie said excitedly.

"Maybe this will help me understand the concept of love." Mashu muttered.

"I'm pretty curious about this myself." Tatsuko replied. "But what exactly IS a princess bride? Is she a princess? Is she a bride?"

"That's something you'll have to find out." Henry said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Davinci asked. "Get that puppy in the player and press start!"

Artoria chuckled and did as she was asked. The Saber then returned to her spot and took the remote from Ritsuka, and pressed play. Everyone went silent as the movie started with the cough of a child in bed.


An hour or so later, the movie was finished, and the group simply nodded in approval over what they just saw.

"That was a very entertaining movie." Mashu said. "I especially liked the relationship between Fezzik and Inigo."

"Yeah, that was actually pretty nice to see." Tatsuko said. "Though can we all just agree that the ending was one of the best parts?"

"Well it certainly gave me some cavities." Mata Hari said with a giggle.

"It wasn't as romantic as I anticipated." Marie said. "But it was definitely enough for my heart to skip a beat!"

"Personally I liked the test of wit and the iocane powder." Medusa said. "The amount of hoops that the man went through was truly dizzying."

"That was mine too." Ritsuka answered.

"So Cú, what was your favorite bit?" Emiya asked.

"The sword fight." Cú answered. "It was hilarious AND impressive."

"I am of the same mind as Cú." Artoria replied. "In fact, maybe we should train you to use your left hand as well, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka shrugged. "Well that's not going to be too hard."

"Why's that?" Davinci asked.

"Because I know something you do not." Ritsuka answered jokingly.

"I swear if you say you're actually left-handed….." Eric muttered.

"Nope. I am actually ambidextrous."

Everyone looked at the male Master with curiosity. Whenever he would write something in front of them, he would always use his right hand, so for him to reveal this now was certainly a surprise.

"Well, I will definitely be the judge of that tomorrow." Artoria said.

"Sure thing." Ritsuka replied. "Okay, who wants to pick the next movie?"

Davinci grinned. "How about you pick one out, Mashu?"

"Okay, I'll try to find a good one!"

The Shielder immediately knelt down in front of the cubbies and looked through the DVD's, with Fou coming to her side to help her. The lilac haired teen hummed to herself as she gently flipped through the numerous DVDs until she found one that looked promising.

"I think I found one." Mashu said.

"Let's see what you got." Mata Hari replied.

The Shielder turned around, and revealed Indiana Jones; Raiders of the Lost Ark.

"Oh, that's a good one." Davinci said. "That's one of Roman's absolute favorites."

"I never heard of it before." Ritsuka said. "So I'm curious as to what it's about."

Eric and Davinci looked at each other and grinned. They returned their attention back to the male Master.

"You're going to love it." Eric said.

"So that makes three wanting to watch it." Mashu said. "Is everyone else in favor?"

"The title sounds incredibly childish." Medusa said. The Rider gave a mischievous smile. "Therefore it has my vote."

"Okay, so who else?" Mashu asked. "If everyone is in agreement, I will-"

"Absolutely not." Tatsuko said sternly.

Everyone looked at the female Master in curiosity. They had never seen her like this before, and it made them curious. Ritsuka then raised an eyebrow as he noticed something odd; Tatsuko was shaking, only slightly, but enough for him to notice. The orange haired girl noticed his gaze and sighed.

"Sorry, I just saw it once before, and that one time was more than enough for me." She said.

Davinci looked at Mashu with a knowing gaze. "How about you put that back? You, me, Ritsuka and Roman can watch it together some other time."

Mashu nodded and put the film back, and resumed her search. The Shielder then found another promising movie, and showed it to the rest of the group.

"How about this one?" She asked.

"Titanic?" Eric asked. "Well, that's not a bad pick, but I'm not really into it myself."

"I'd rather we watch something else as well." Marie said.

"Really? And here I thought romance was something you liked." Davinci countered.

"Marie and I just watched that two days ago." Mata Hari said. "As much as we loved that movie, I think we should wait until watching it again."

"Well that answers that debate." Cú replied. "Let's find something else."

Mashu nodded and returned to her search. The Shielder gasped in delight as she found another promising candidate. "How about this one?"

Tatsuko recoiled in horror at what Mashu picked. "We are NOT watching The Last Airbender!"

"Are you sure?" Mashu asked.

"Mashu, even I have heard of that…thing." Ritsuka said. "It is cursed."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Henry said.

"Yeah, you two might be exaggerating a bit." Eric replied.

Tatsuko exhaled sharply. "I'm so glad I still have my cell phone. Because I'm going to show you all a clip, and you will understand why Twig Boy and I feel this way."

Everyone shrugged as the female Master brought out her cell phone and went to YouTube. The group then crowded around to watch a clip of the movie. Not a moment later, the group recoiled in disgust, with some looking away so they didn't have to watch anymore of it. The moment the clip was over, they all shivered.

"Okay, that was….I have no words." Eric muttered.

"And this was actually shown to an audience?" Artoria asked. "I pity those who went to see it."

"If I were them, I'd ask for my money back!" Mata Hari said. "You're supposed to entertain your audience, not torture them!"

Davinci turned to look at Mashu and reached her hand out to the Shielder. "Mashu, can you hand me the movie please?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to have it when I ask Roman permission to dispose of it." The Caster answered.

Mashu nodded and handed the abomination to the Caster. Davinci put it away in her pocket and sighed. "Okay, how about you go back to find another, and it will be the last one for today. It's starting to get late."

Mashu nodded and returned to the cubbies and looked through the covers to find something interesting. A few moments later, she raised an eyebrow and grabbed a peculiar movie. "What about this one?"

The moment she turned to show the others, they all raised their eyebrows. It was obviously an action movie, with a generic cover, but something about it seemed intriguing.

"Has anyone seen this before?" Mashu asked.

Everyone shook their heads in denial. The Shielder smiled and looked at the cover. "Maybe we should watch it then. That way we are all going through uncharted territory together."

"Sounds good to me." Ritsuka said. "Let's start it up."

Mashu nodded and put the DVD in the player, and returned to her senpai's side. The group would watch in silence, then in amusement as they watched the movie throughout the rest of their marathon.