*Heroic Spirit Summoned*
*THE NEW SERVANT*
Ah, this is the point for a self-introduction. Well then~
"Stop right there."
Though the air within the summoning circle is heavy with evaporating magical energy following the obviously successful summoning ritual, the signature of something on the level of a Servant stands out. While estimating distances behind my back isn't possible, they are some distance away, meaning either they have ranged capabilities or a weapon with very long reach. And his voice is very familiar.
"Saber. You survived."
The soft sound of cloth rustling as the swordman adjusted his stance ever so slightly gave away his reaction to the recognition. Well, in about the time that took to more positively identify my former comrade. It also became clear that we weren't alone - indeed, quite a few other Servants are nearby.
"Oh, it is her..." someone muttered softly in excitement from behind a banner-bearing Servant. Though the banner itself is neatly tied to the stave, guessing what might be on it is easy enough. Beside her, a Servant wearing plate harness without heraldry shifted smoothly to keep himself in between me and his own charge.
"Ahem. I'll take it from here."
An unforgettable woman stepped past her colleagues, staff-polearm held casually but clearly at the ready, topped with a large brimmed hat which would seem out of place indoors were it not worn by a Servant. "I recommend you come quietly."
A moment passes. Exhaling in a measured and deliberate manner, I frown slightly. "Saint Martha. Going to arrange my death again?"
She arched an eyebrow in displeasure, shifting gauntleted hands on her weapon. "I had nothing to do with that. Just because Kotomine abused his role... rather, I was summoned to deal with that."
"The esteemed saint did her role as a Ruler perfectly." In a tone that was likely matched with an ironic smile, Sasaki Kojirou made his own dissatisfaction clear. "Why I remember that-"
"Enough of that," spoke up the armored one. "The previous War has nothing to do with the present situation."
"Oh I know that." Faded red hair bounced about as the newcomer nodded for emphasis. "I'm just being a sore loser about your comrade with the Black Keys dispersing half of my soul to perma-kill me. By the way, I can guess your friend with the flag is Jeanne d'Arc, but you are?"
"You can call me George," he said casually, either seeing no risk in it or not caring; although it could have been some form of honor code since he knew who he was speaking to, even if she hadn't identified herself.
"I hope you're not secretly the older version of the King of Heroes," she sighed, once again wondering how he had managed to hide in plain sight in Fuyuki for a whole decade. "All that aside, what's going on here? Five Servants in this one room, three being Rulers, is unexpected."
"Things are a bit different for this particular Grail War, yes." Jeanne explained, resting her banner on a shoulder while still keeping her protectee behind her armored figure. "As a Ruler, I can assure you it's all above board though."
"Mhm." For a moment, no other response was forthcoming. "I'm assuming that this is that Chaldea thing Gilgamesh wanted."
"No thanks to your attempt at interference," Martha growled. "If the Four Houses had followed your petty instructions, it would have literally doomed humanity."
"That's quite enough, Martha." Stepping quickly out of Georgios' shadow, a girl with distinctive reddish-orange hair and tell-tale red eyes made her significance known by simply holding up a left hand and rotating it to display the Command Seals there. A pair of wings surrounding a sword and flower. "Recognize this, Ruler? Or perhaps you assumed you're still in a Caster container?"
"... Who are you?" Despite a quick recovery, it was still a recovery; obvious that a bombshell of some sort had been dropped. The newly summoned Servant pushed the short puffy left sleeve of her garment up to show a similar set of markings, though without the wings.
"So you are the one to get Command Seals," the last person to reveal himself nodded in approval from around Jeanne. "This will drive da Vinci wild."
Martha turned around, scowling though the moment of risk had clearly passed. "You just couldn't help yourselves, could you?" she scolded the two non-Servants. "Fine. Shut down the Summoning Room, we should let da Vinci run her scans."
"That would be logical," the girl Master said smoothly, letting the saint's displeasure roll off. "I did tell you there was no way the system would actually summon the Butcher of Septem."
"It would be too late for regrets if you found yourself pierced by hypervelocity missiles," Georgios remarked to the air tactfully. "We wouldn't have to worry if that wasn't precisely what transpired in the res publica singularity."
"You know full well that the system automatically limits the power level of any new Servant." The other Master blinked matching red eyes while running his fingers through dark hair in exasperation. The group began to exit the thick-walled ritual chamber that was built more like a vault than anything else. "I admit we were overenthusiastic when the first readings came in back then, but can you really blame -"
The group paused because one of them had frozen, looking down the hallway they had just entered. It ran straight in either direction, featureless except for doors or connecting corridors and devoid of anything, be it decorative or functional. It was also quite filled by a large number of somewhat similar-looking people who, while wearing many different types of clothes, made no effort to hide either uniformly red eyes and silver-to-white hair.
"-us?"
The Master raised an eyebrow, but not in surprise at the holdup. Rather, right at that moment the sound of swift feet and a new Servant signature rapidly closed in on the group, tackling the newcomer against the wall. Someone, or more than one, sighed as a sudden kiss scene was interposed.
After a long few seconds of awkwardness, Kojirou stepped over and, with a disgruntled sound, pulled Chloe off her target. "I thought you had gotten better than that..."
"Ehehe," the Archer swung around the Saber giddily. "Thanks~ for~ the~ snack~."
"Are you alright?" Georgios asked with some concern , helping a flushed Sasaku back on her feet. "You- eh?" The knight stepped back, instinctively swatting away a flying magical stick that suddenly appeared.
"Fufufu~" Magical Ruby deftly evaded the hand reaching out to it and fluttered over to hover above Sasaku's head. "Chloe's Skill is just super effective at making magical girls go weak in the knees. Why-" It abruptly flicked backward into the wall, bouncing off with cheer undiminished. "Anyway, it's good to see Chloe is healthy as ever."
"Er, yeah," Chloe said, having suddenly sobered up. "I see you've returned by hitching a ride on her Spirit Origin?"
l
(? ? ?)
From within the group of homunculi who had gathered, an otherwise unexceptional couple stepped back into a side corridor, having seen enough for themselves.
Millia turned to her partner excitedly. "Between Saber, Archer and even that Kaleidostick, we must have summoned Our Lady!" He only smiled wryly, feeling the same sort of excitement moving through the collective of Chaldea's homunculi population.
"I certainly hope so," was his measured response. The immediate moment of risk had passed, but there were still other factors, and factions, to consider. Even though Chloe confirmed this was the same Sasaku she knew, that doesn't mean she wasn't also the Butcher. His expression shifted to a neutral one as he quickly ran through the expected sequence of future events before tapping Millia's shoulder to transmit a direct telepathic message. "Remember to let a day or two pass before speaking with the ones assisting da Vinci with the scans."
She shot him a look as if to say, "Siegfried, I hope you don't think I'm stupid enough to forget." He didn't; truth be told it was probably nerves, trying to do anything discreetly under that Servant's nose was risky. Besides him, only one of the two Masters had the knowledge passed down from his mother, and fate or otherwise, he was present and would have to handle the future of his family.
No, rather, I'm here specifically because it was both our safest option and closest to the Fate system. Today's success meant the King of Heroes wouldn't be far behind. The Kaleidostick also meant that the Magician Tohsaka dealt with had decided to take the step of directly placing an agent in Chaldea; this might prove to be either the greater liability, or not one at all, but largely dependent on his goals, rather than anything Chaldea might be able to do.
He was about to turn to the residential area before changing his mind and heading to the cafeteria. Simply overhearing what the Organization's humans had to say in such a casual environment might prove valuable.
...
"Oh, if it isn't the little 'dragonslayer'."
Resisting the urge to sigh, the homunculus directed his attention to the girl clad in elegant dark blue who had addressed him. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of her, and possibly vice versa. "Pendragon. What can I do for you?" Being questioned by her was a situation both tense but also frighteningly relaxing due to one of her Skills.
"I've heard that Gil's latest prize showed up in your summoning system."
"Hmph." He flashed her a smile to make it clear he wasn't about to be prodded that easily. "No one has started shooting up Chaldea with mach 10 spears, yeah?"
"Apparently so..." Pale yellow eyes locked onto his red. "You wouldn't happen to know if there's likely to be any more summonings run, would you?"
Chuckling to hide his own similar thoughts, Siegfried let some time pass before reminding the Servant, "I'm not actually seconded to Chaldea, so shouldn't you know before me?"
"Mhm." Artoria looked about to inquire further, but thankfully another Servant with a distinctively long weapon showed up behind her, bearing an increasingly wide but sharp smile.
"Perhaps you were thinking it was about time for another match? I agree." Sasaki Kojirou immediately got to the point. Given the two were Chaldea's only Sabers at present, sparring sessions between them were some of most technically interesting to watch, according to a recent poll taken by da Vinci.
"No. Go bother Scathach, she loves training even more than you." The swordswoman's line of questioning had been immediately derailed by her fellow Saber's disruption, and she knew that cutting him off wouldn't salvage it.
"Caster's busy working her runes at the moment," Kojirou mused. When he was younger, Siegfried had wondered if the Servant had actually kept fighting non-stop during the events of the Founding; certainly Servants did not require sleep, rest, or even things like food, but still... Until he met the legend himself, that was.
"Perhaps one of the pirates might feel up for a challenge?" he suggested, out of a mixture of sympathy but also respect. Ever since his wife's death in the attack which triggered Chaldea's Separation Order, Kojirou's interest in swordplay had increased from his peaceful levels, as though to make up for some perceived lack of previous dedication.
"After Blackbeard complained at emptying all his pistols and hitting nothing but air and steel, the lot of them won't even consider it. If only the system could bring out Okita Souji for a rematch."
"Just who I was looking for!" The group fell silent as another Servant joined them, with a small box clasped in her black-gloved hands. Her elegant silk dress practically flowed around her form as she approached. "Jeanne's busy with the new girl, and these cakes won't stay fresh for long."
"If you'll excuse me..." At this moment, Siegfried saw and took his chance to depart.
"Marie, only if you have some decent tea to go with those." It seemed that Artoria had given up on him and switched to some other goal.
l
(Sasaki Kojirou)
Leaving the girls to their tea, and likely plotting of some sort, the swordsman decided on some tea himself, since a sparring partner seemed remote. Entering the cafeteria, it was obvious that, while it wouldn't be full during off-peak periods, the area was positively deserted with all the homunculi who would usually be present in order to balance the facility use... were not.
Understandable. Thinking while making his way to the smaller counter on the far side of the dining space that handled all the Servant's food, he considered the two most likely causes for Illya's heir's concern.
Though Kojirou himself could hardly envision watching a cloud of shards able to cut people into minced meat descend upon him at speeds that practically required Servant-level ability to see, a second time, that would only be the runner up. Sure, when the Control Room announced to the Summoning Chamber their evaluation at who was coming though, he had a very brief and irrational sensation that the team might have made a mistake in not employing the shut-off. But it was both brief and irrational.
No, it was far more likely that Siegfried was distracted with concerns about how Caster would view the current state of the Einzbern and Four Houses. Judging by what she had left behind, chances were good that she had foresen the possibility at least, but of course actually encountering the reality was always another thing.
"Do you have any good tea in store?" he asked the homunculus who was apparently manning a bare counter. This was because everything was kept in the room past the closed door at her back, which resembled a magus' workshop or security vault more than kitchen. Even homunculi tried to avoid unnecessary exposure to the mana-rich environment caused by all the odd foodstuffs which came back from Rayshifts.
"For you? Always." Smiling, she entered the storage and preparation area, closing the door behind her. The brief sound of running water could barely be heard over the hum of people talking. It wasn't long before the girl reappeared with a large steaming mug, clearly marked with a silvery band near the top. Taking it, Kojirou inhaled slowly, taking in the soothing fragrance of a Japanese tea that had come in a few days ago.
"Enjoy," she said easily, watching him with clear red eyes. He simply nodded thanks. The older ones, who had fought in what they now called the Founding Conflict, were never as nervous around Servants as the younger ones were. Since he had been on point for the whole affair, it went without saying that he had fought alongside Theia at some point.
Pausing, he lowered his drink. "You can ask," he suggested instead of leaving. That caught her attention. The question was not long behind.
"Was it really her?"
"I think so."
She simply nodded, ending the exchange. Like Siegfried, more caution than enthusiasm.
As Chloe ran up and asked Theia what she had for the day, the Saber took a sip of his tea. Thanks to the day's events, it brought to mind the time, years ago now, when he had shared a teapot with Caster before the somewhat pyrrhic closing battle of the fifth and last Fuyuki Holy Grail War. Granted, this particular beverage might only barely be safe for human consumption due to being mostly water.
He sat down at the closest table and waited. Sure enough, after a moment, the Archer appeared with a plate and sat down opposite him. "How is it?" he asked idly after about a minute.
"Pretty good," she replied distractedly. "Of course they do cheat with Caster's method to cook without being able to taste-test the food." Chloe's hamburg steak would probably kill a human who accidentally ate it. Homunculi would probably not fare much better.
"They do well enough," he returned noncommittally. For some reason, when she was summoned following the Fuyuki Singularity, Chloe was notably stronger than she had been just before her death in the previous War. Though practically nothing of her personality had changed. Much better that can being traumatized by dying.
"If only the system would be kind enough to bring out Rider, that would be perfect," Chloe continued blithely before cutting short, accidentally biting the spook she had been using. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"
He waved off the apology. "It was a thing only after you were gone, and over before you got back."
Chloe nodded, but didn't continue eating. "Humans... are quite..." she trailed off.