(Cafeteria of Chaldea)
(Daedra)
"Halloween celebration?" One of the humans was commenting to his fellow as they had something light to eat. "First I've heard of it."
"Some of my assistants were chatting at day's end," Daedra ignored the grimace that their mention provoked. As far as she could tell, even within Chaldea, many of the magi did not like having the homunculi around when they were doing personal work. Which ironically, or perhaps frighteningly, occupied an increasing fraction of their time.
Now, it was certainly true that the Four Houses would, one way or another, also end up with the various developments which they had assisted with. This was in many cases the 'red line' which many did not want to cross. Even among those willing to essentially trade 'low value' magecraft knowledge for an otherwise very unlikely chance to make their own new discoveries with the Houses' resources, few could stomach the thought of not having full control over those discoveries.
Despite their substantial achievements, only topped by those playing out at this moment of crisis, the Houses' had not been interested in applause. Quite the opposite, actually. But she couldn't help but think it also a very subtle ploy. For example, Daedra had noticed that none of those in Chaldea had less than two completed term contracts; chances for an easy and apparently genuinely no-strings-attached departure into Clock Tower society with their newly gained research. Quite a few talents had taken that off-ramp, and sink or swim outside, never seemed to show up before the Four Houses again.
And now, she could more fully understand their reasons. Rayshifting was far more powerful than what an official 'observatory' should ever possess, and the sheer number of Ghost Liner familars walking Chaldea's smooth corridors was an unthinkable force for following a mere two Masters. While just their one Saber made waves showing up at the Clock Tower with Tohsaka, him being a single entity might allow one to still sleep easy at night. Chaldea now hosted a whole sixteen, now including the latest: the Butcher of Septem.
That last summoning would certainly make anyone wonder why the homunculi all seemed to view it as a major turning point, despite not being any closer to the mastermind behind the ongoing Incineration.
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"Halloween, huh?" Martha frowned slightly to herself, as the event was not one she had much personal experience with. "Who exactly is taking part?"
Artoria raised pale eyes from her burger. The fresh tomatoes which had come back with Gudako's haul of Proofs was definitely as much of a highlight as the richly-browned patty. Perhaps more, since meats which came back were usually non-standard. But this combination tasted good. Thankfully, a little Spirit Origin contamination didn't take away the pleasures of actually decent food. "It's for the children. And I don't mean just the Servant ones."
The Ruler had tried some of the burgers which the homunculi had made, but didn't quite find them to her taste. However french fries had a combination of sturdy crispness and light fluffiness that she fully appreciated, even if Artoria seemed to dislike anything potato based. But in any case, that brought to mind her last escort mission; not annoyance, but rather how the pair seemed disturbingly able to handle losing their parents so suddenly. Only three months ago, now.
"Have you spent time with them? Like with Marie, I mean," she clarified quickly.
"I visited them a few times, but the Masters forbade that Skill," Artoria stated flatly. "And it seems unnecessary..." she sounded unsure about that, though.
"I wasn't aware there were any concerns about your Skill ?" Martha may have posed it as a question, but her Ruler access to Servant data meant that she knew, at least to the extent it was not recorded, there were no side-effects.
"Humans can become dependent on anything," the Saber explained. "And with children, you wouldn't assume something to be safe without a lot of study."
"Hmm. Oh Kojirou? Does this mean everything is wrapped up on the other side?"
He nodded a yes to that, taking a seat while putting down the tea in his hand. "I'd say anyone born after the Grand Arias began doesn't view death in the same way as we do. Not that they did even during the Founding, though..."
That tidbit seemed to arouse Martha's attention. "The Four Houses' magecraft system? Why would it do that?"
The hero of the Founding Conflict seemed hesitant to answer. "Apparently one stays represented there even if they die or go somewhere else. Or so Gudao explained to me."
"What... that sounds like a rather attenuated afterlife," the Ruler was either thoughtful or upset, but which wasn't clear to the other two.
"Oh, I'd say it's more like with us; a copy. Especially if it happens even while still alive," Artoria commented. "Wasn't Chloe being summoned after the Fuyuki (proto)-Singularity a big deal for them?"
"Really, ah... more that she remembered the Grail War," Kojirou shrugged. "By the way Martha, does your Western heaven exist? Because it seems all the legendary 'evil people' are also with you in the Throne of Heroes, so that isn't it."
"I doubt you're asking seriously," she grumbled. "If so, you'd better ask da Vinci."
"What does she have to do with it?" Artoria asked in some confusion. "Unless... she figured out something?"
"No, but Kojirou here and Chloe have caused her to question how far people can be summoned as Servants via someone else's legend." Martha turned towards Kojirou. "Your case is more understandable, but Archer has... 'being a magical girl'? With the same wand that showed up with the new girl?"
"Hm. The Four Houses couldn't make a perfect Jeweled Sword, I doubt they can make a Kaleidostick," he replied, disinterested. "So they're organizing something for the children?"
"Er, yes. Well them and Chloe and da Vinci, I guess? Logically, we might include Kiyohime, but she's... you know." Artoria shrugged. Even Servants, except for the Rulers, hardly spent time around the Berserker. "I think it's more of a cultural festival or something; they've set up their halls for it."
"The Masters successfully resolved the Event, right?" Martha asked, noticing that Kojirou had something else on his mind now that the possibility of having to deploy was past. "Going to spend some time with the kids?"
"That's right. I also got an invitation, anyway." At first that seemed to be the extent of the matter, but then he added, "If only Emiya and Matou had, well 'had a third child,' the question of succession would be much easier."
"Can the Houses of magi adopt in so easily?" Artoria questioned her fellow, having her own experience with such questions. "I thought that Magic Crests couldn't be transferred like that."
"That consideration hardly matters now, does it?" It wasn't just that he knew a couple things she didn't, or that the attack on Chaldea had been carried out with explosives; making for closed caskets all around. "Simply having a legitimate successor is critical for continuing the House."
"Aren't you in Tohsaka? Surely the adoption option is still open," Martha said encouragingly.
"Anyone who looked at it would have suspicions, and more importantly, the World might not consider me a legitimate representative." It seemed he had discussed it before at some length, probably with the Masters or Siegfried. "Sure, the homunculi would, and they're most of the Houses and all of the System, but that only holds internally. And descent isn't an issue if you're in the Four Houses."
Not interested in continuing that thread, Kojirou took out a leaflet, really a small piece of paper, and handed it to Artoria, who look a look at the handwritten invitation.
"Did Theia just give it to you?" the other Saber asked, receiving a nod. "The Ninth Hall... I'm surprised they finished construction. Hmm, guess I'd have the time."
"Is number nine special somehow?" Like most of the Servants, Martha didn't interact with the greater portion of Chaldea's other residents, human, homunculi or otherwise. Though otherwise was really to say the cats and Fou.
"They were slightly overcrowded with eight," Kojirou explained concisely. "Not anymore."
"The new hall will probably be for general use," da Vinci commented while rolling in balancing a large warded box. "We're back, and some nice treats came with us." With that vague promise she made her way over to where the Rayshifted items were kept prior to being cooked for Servants.
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(Daedra)
Hmm. After pausing to think, she stopped a couple of homunculi about to pass her in the corridor.
"What is it?" one of the pair asked her with a smile. She probably didn't know most of the eight hundred of them in Chaldea, including these two, but of course they all seemed to know her. Because of the System.
"Where's the Halloween event occurring?" she asked directly.
"Ah, everything is starting in the Ninth Hall," was the equally direct response. "There's still time, about half an hour."
Daedra nodded. "Thanks a lot." They replied in kind and went about their affairs as though the brief interruption had never occurred.
... Ah. Where is the Ninth Hall? As the names implied, the Residential Area was where all the humans' rooms were, and likewise with the Servants' Quarter. But the Halls where the homunculi had their living spaces were spread around through Chaldea, with half of them in the rather mysterious lower sections where a lot of the mundane work for sustaining the Security Organization was carried out.
Feeling a little foolish, she looked up and down the corridor and stopped a small group carrying some nondescript boxes. "Which way is the new Ninth Hall?" she asked, seeing that they seemed to be all business at the moment.
"Not too far. We're headed there, so come with us," one of them suggested. As their type went, he seemed to be a little on the younger side of the spectrum.
"Okay, thanks." Daedra simply fell in with the rest of the group. She could guess that they had materials or tools for the festival preparations.
The Halls in Chaldea had a particular style to them, unlike those she had seen at the Einzbern Estate; because the design before her had been created from the ground up by the builders, rather than re-purposing any and every existing structures for maximal savings. Each Hall's entrance faced only a corridor wall, and had its own Reinforced wall section several meters within its space.
To enter, one would have to turn off the corridor, and then turn twice more to actually access the main area of the Hall. Obviously, given that a hundred of them lived in each Hall, this would add up to a lot of trouble when moving bulk items on a cart or trolley. A minor detail, but when she asked why they had deliberately built their home this way, being told that the concept dated back to the Founding hinted at something very surprising.
The Einzbern family had been around for a very long time. But the current population spoke as though the Founding was within living memory. This, combined with their constructions on the Estate outside, were basically proof that some sort of coup had taken place unbeknownst to the Clock Tower. Of course, given how rarely anyone in contact with the Einzbern met actual humans, it had been joked that the family had none, but it seemed that even their leader was not a human either.
Standing outside while making sure to not obstruct the walkway were three homunculi holding signs. She could identify one as wearing the local German fashion, while the other two were clearly following suit with a Japanese and, by process of elimination, Hawaiian style - after the three locations with established Grand Arias. Seeing who was approaching, the trio quickly made way for the incoming group and their deliveries.
"Hello," commented the German one, with the usual faint local accent of the Einzbern Estate. "Have fun."
"I will." He simply nodded, and she realized again that in general, Chaldea's hosts never tended to greet one another.
Following her companions of the moment inside, Daedra was surprised to see that the space was broken up by what looked like a series of sturdy but movable partitions, in contrast to the one Hall she had seen before which generally used curtains. And most of the visible spaces were busy with the preparation work.
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(Iri and Matthew's room)
*knock*
"Yep, open !" Iri looked up as the door soon opened and da Vinci rolled in with a box which she emptied out onto their bed. The two children quickly took apart the collection of clothes to assemble the outfits which the Servant had made for them.
The distinctive furry cap was definitely hers, as well as the long white coat with matching collar and wrists. According to the Masters, it was something her namesake had been seen in before. Following a purple color scheme in several different shades, Matthew's was elegantly simple, matching the Saber who had taught him a little about the martial art of swordsmanship.
"Hmm? Let me help you with that," Sasaku volunteered, having accompanied the Rider over. Smoothing out Matthew's clothes she helped him get the outfit in order, while da Vinci did similarly with Iri.
"It's Kaleido Ruby, right?" he asked after a moment while she was rearranging the front of his clothes. "Except a cat bell instead of the ears."
"You better not think I'm copying," Ruby responded from over Sasaku's shoulder. "After all I'm the original not some fake. Uh..."
"I see," its contractor mused. "So Prisma Phantasm is basically based off Chloe's branch then? Hmm, but neither of the two main characters dresses like her..."
"This would be quite warm even if we could go outside right now," Iri said happily. "I can see why my grandmother would like it. Yours looks much fluffier than usual, too, but the same theme?"
"Well I'm basing it off Leonardo," da Vinci said slyly. "So, adult-me. For example, these glasses." She demonstrated.
"Those... aren't just mundane clothes, are they?" the other Servant asked abruptly. "Between that and the gun, how are you adding these things to your Spirit Origin anyway?"
"I'm an artist and inventor, after all," she replied cheerfully. "Invention may be like a Mystery, but simple logic applies: it has to not have been there before, and be there after. Well, there's limits though, I couldn't put together something with Noble Phantasm level effects easily, if at all. Unless..."
"Unless?" Iri nearby was immediately taken in by the obvious set up.
"Well, I'm sure that some version of me has a proper Noble Phantasm that I could invent in lieu of being summoned with it. Might be more involved though, take a Rank Up Quest or something, you know? Gotta earn these things."
"That's certainly the way." Ruby approved of the proposed course of action.
"I was experimenting with a staff. Functional, of course. But, er, wouldn't go walking about Chaldea with a weapon, obviously." She eyed the kalediostick as though wondering how it worked. "By the way, do you happen to have a staff form, too?"
"No. But I do have a sword beam form, like a Jeweled Sword," Ruby bragged.
"Though having a large head on top would be fine on a Mystic Code, it needs to be fancier than just a flat star insert." da Vinci was already lost in planning the visuals of her staff.
"Why not something powerful and striking, like a Saint Quartz?" Matthew suggested abruptly. "Rin said they are the most 'energy dense' formation. I think."
"Um, don't encourage her," Sasaku chided him playfully. "Not that we're in danger of running late, though."
"By the way," Iri said, watching them from the side. "Is that a real one?" while pointing out the Command Seals which were clearly visible since the Ruler's upper arm was uncovered when in her transformed state.
"Yeah."
"Uh, you know..." Matthew concluded his thoughts on the earlier subject after a while. "Magical girls actually exist then?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ruby retorted.
"Well no, since a Servant shouldn't count. Unless lots of fictional characters also 'actually exist' just because there are records on the Throne and those can be summoned, like Saber," Sasaku frowned at the wand.
"But before the last War, Rin made a contract with me. She counts," was the smug response.
"Makes sense." da Vinci had apparently finished mapping out the look of her new staff, returning crisply to the task at hand. "We'll have plenty of time, but why not head over to the Ninth Hall now and have a look at what everyone's put together?"
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Notes:
The shielded-warded boxes they carry materials and dangerous items in look like the FGO present box, roughly cubic with the top tied on. The bright coloration makes them highly visible and are a warning of sorts. Meanwhile, regular boxes just look like cardboard boxes.