FATE/CATBOX FICTION
Chapter 22: The Brugger Connection
Inside a shrine that was remarkably similar to Manoa in structure and design, a man in his late 20s sat at a desk that had every square inch of space occupied by towers of books and scribbled notes. Only the dim lights of candles and a couple of sconces provided illumination, while leaving the rest of the temple fairly dark. The man remained seated there for hours on end, digging into all the literature he could possibility burrow his tired eyes into. If he hadn't worn himself to exhaustion like this, his facial features framed by locks of steely grey hair and iron-colored irises would have made him rather handsome.
His attire was simple yet scholarly, consisting of a bulky grey coat, black clothes, and a dark maroon cravat wrapped around his neck and pinned with his family's coat of arms; a cross with four nails pointing inward at the center. It was a representation of his infamous surname, with the Italian word malo or Latin word malus meaning 'dangerous', and chiavella meaning 'spike'. Both terms were referring to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. When put together, they formed the name Machiavelli.
Niccolò Machiavelli had sequestered himself inside the Shrine of Tiahuanaco for the last two years, growing more and more frustrated with the lack of good leads. Coupled with the Atlas Institute's grim prediction, he was becoming quite impatient. At the moment, he was researching anything he could find about Celtic mythology to refamiliarize himself with Lancer of Akakor's background, hoping to pick out something that he overlooked this whole time.
Unfortunately, nothing of interest stood out to him. He was overly familiar with the story behind Connla's birth and death, but there was almost nothing about how she lived other than that she trained under Aife and Scathach. Considering that she lived isolated from civilization and then subsequently died at seven years old, finding any official documents related to her would be impossible. The best things Machiavelli could find were Connla's death certificate and a royal document posthumously recognizing her as a Knight of the Red Branch Army, both signed off by none other than King Conchobhar and his nephew Cuchulainn.
The philosopher rested his head upon his hand, feeling another headache coming on. Aside from physical exhaustion, he was also growing worried about how little time he had left to search for the truth. He kept thinking back to the times when he personally challenged Lancer. The little girl, clad in her lavender hooded poncho and thick scarf, would not say much to him, but she accepted his challenges each time without complaint. He didn't know about her three geasa during the Grail War, but after learning more about her, he came to understand how difficult it must have been for her to fight when she didn't want to. Machiavelli never fought Connla so much that he would try to kill her though – they were on the same side, after all.
Throughout the many years since the war ended, Machiavelli often wondered something; if Giselle Brugger allowed him and his Master to infiltrate the Extremist faction, did that mean her Servant knew about it as well? Connla was so quiet and adept at maintaining a poker face that it was impossible for him to tell if she was aware of his true loyalties. Maybe Giselle ordered her to remain silent on the matter, which meant she would have to put up a fantastic act in front of Maupin and Earp. Or perhaps Connla truly didn't know, which would spare her the stress of lying to her Conservative allies. At the very least, the other five Servants remained fully ignorant of the situation.
Machiavelli heard armored footsteps approaching from his side. He glanced over to find a tall, muscular man clad in Spartan armor and a helmet wielding a large golden shield and sharpened iron-tipped spear. The scholar murmured in a tired groan, "Leonidas…"
"I have returned," the spearman reported.
"Have you made any success?"
"I'm afraid not. Sanson told me that the Little One's mind is fully closed even to him. If he isn't able to establish communication with her, it will not be possible for her to grant you access to the Preservatorium."
"Curses. The latest hiccup in the Terminal's functions must have further damaged her psyche."
"He and the musician Salieri managed to resolve the issue, but now it has become harder for Sanson to speak with Connla. If this persists, I fear that her consciousness may be forever lost to us."
"That's not good," Machiavelli murmured as he got up to stretch his legs. "She's the only one who knows why the Grail War ended as disastrously as it did. For all the information I could glean out of the Mages, there's still something crucial missing."
"Such as?"
"What was Brugger's end goal when she ordered Lancer to activate the 1866 Grail?"
"You are not referring to the mother, are you?"
"No, the daughter. None of this would have benefitted Giselle in any capacity. So then, why would her daughter do it?"
"From my understanding, the second Brugger died immediately after the Extinction was activated, right?"
"Yes," Machiavelli whispered, then closed his eyes and reminisced of what he considered to be the worst day of his life as a Servant.
50 years ago…
On that day, he discovered that the security codes barring access to the 1866 Holy Grail had been breached. Growing concerned that someone was attempting to hack into the altar room, he went inside to investigate. What he discovered… what the very definition of a tragedy.
A young woman lay dead on the floor. Machiavelli couldn't even think about examining her, but in hindsight, he believed she died from some unforeseen medical condition like a heart attack or a brain aneurysm. What actually captured his attention was the sight of Connla holding the Holy Grail in her cupped hands, while looking at him with a frighteningly devoid stare in her glassy brown eyes. To Machiavelli's horror, the contents of the Grail were empty. It was now just a useless chalice. He remembered Giselle telling him and the other Conservative Servants what was inside it; the dormant wish that her insane grandfather made 60 years ago, to reduce all of humanity into mana so he could reach the Swirl of the Root.
That wish… had been used up.
Connla dropped the Grail and slowly stumbled toward Machiavelli. The astonished philosopher kneeled before her and tightly gripped her shoulders, trying to repress his shock as he asked her in a shaky voice, "Did you do this?"
"Master… wanted me… to do it…"
He glanced over at the dead woman's hand and noticed that all three charges of her Command Spell had been depleted. Connla appeared more and more listless as she asked him in a quiet whisper, "I did something bad… didn't I?"
"You…"
"I can feel them. Millions of souls… flying out… of their dissolving bodies. The mana… is getting stronger. With each second… I'm killing… more and more people…"
Machiavelli's chest seized up as he panicked, God have mercy!
He snatched the Grail and shouted many things at it; curses, insults, his regrets for not destroying it, commands for it to stop, anything. It didn't respond though. He was just wasting his energy screaming at a useless artifact.
"It was… Master's command…" Connla continued rambling incoherently while limping toward the door. She didn't even notice that Machiavelli was in the room with her, even though she just spoke to him. "But I… I'm just as guilty. I have to… take responsibility. Ahh… More and more are dying. I have to atone… for so many deaths. Someone punish me. Punish me… Punish me… Punish me…"
"NO!" Machiavelli yelped and threw his arms around her from behind. "You didn't do anything wrong! We're Servants! It's in our nature to obey our Masters! You didn't want this – your Master did!"
"I'm a witch. I'm committing genocide. I'm making humans go extinct. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people are dissolving because of me. Someone pass a sentence on me. Someone… anyone…"
It wouldn't be long before the remaining Family Tree Mages took Connla away from the altar and put her on trial for activating the Southern Hemisphere Extinction. Machiavelli eagerly took to the stand as a witness and testified that she was innocent, attempting to rest the blame on her Master. To his dismay though, he failed to preserve the dead Master's body, as the Mages had it incinerated to erase the evidence of her consumed Command Spells. Without that as his proof, Machiavelli's words meant nothing to the court. As far as the world was concerned, Lancer of Akakor acted on her own volition, making her guilty of far more deaths than what the worst tyrants had been capable of. After the trial was over, it wouldn't take long for Machiavelli to use any and all resources he had in his arsenal to discover what the Mages were truly after; that everything had been a long-drawn pretext for turning Connla into the Holy Grail Terminal after her execution, allowing them to tap into parallel worlds for their own benefit.
For many years, three particular words continued to haunt him, inspiring him on his own quest for the truth:
"I'm a witch."
Similar to Waver, Machiavelli wanted to vindicate Connla. He didn't want her to live under such a terrible shadow of guilt while being taken advantage of by everyone around her. He might've been the namesake for Machiavellianism – he certainly appreciated the irony of himself challenging the Mages' own Machiavellian ways – but his pride as both a fellow Servant and a human being would not let him forgive such an atrocity. Without her Master's body, he focused his search on finding new pieces of evidence in the hopes of getting a retrial for her. Now that it was 1976 though, he wasn't sure if the information he found over the many decades would be of any worth.
Would he be able to clear her name? Or would the world end before he even got the opportunity to speak?
Clock Tower, London
Inorai Valuleta Atroholm returned from a meeting with several of the other Lords. There had been growing concerns about the increasingly odd behavior of the Enforcers, and that contact with the Family Tree Mages had gradually ceased over the last few weeks. Of anyone in the Clock Tower, Inorai voiced her opinion the most about how risky it was to rely on the Enforcers when they were really on loan from the Family Tree. Even though most of the Mages acknowledged her logic, they still kept issuing orders to the Enforcers like they were their personal property. The Servants didn't seem to object to this relationship, but Inorai always harbored a lingering suspicion toward them.
After all, their True Names remained a mystery even 50 years after they had been introduced to the Clock Tower.
As Inorai made herself a cup of tea, someone knocked on the door to her study. Enforcer 19-Y stepped in and reported, "Lord Valuleta, I have come to inform you of some changes to the Enforcers' schedules. Due to 2-F's report of certain events occurring in Akakor, I have issued orders for several of my sisters to investigate the matter."
"Does this have to do with the renegade Master and her Servants that had been spotted earlier?"
"Possibly. 2-F wasn't specific about the details."
"What about the investigation into Waver Velvet and 22-S' disappearance?"
"They have fled into a parallel world. I couldn't tell you which one."
Inorai faced 19-Y with her usual stern expression. After a short pause, she said to the young woman, "Tell me something."
"Yes, madam?"
"… What is your True Name?"
"…"
The Mage grumbled to herself. She expected to be given the silent treatment, but the Enforcer's feigned smile greatly irritated her. She was sure there was something much darker lurking behind that sickly smirk. She knew the Servant was adept at hiding her true character behind masks of professionalism and friendliness, which made it all the more difficult to pinpoint her weaknesses.
"Never mind," Inorai muttered and drank some of her tea. "What about yourself? Are you about to leave with the other Enforcers?"
"No. As I have not been programmed with combat capabilities, I believe I will be little more than a hindrance to the investigation."
"Combat capabilities, hm? I take it you girls are preparing for some kind of battle?"
"It's just a precaution."
"For what?"
"…"
There was that silence again. 19-Y was obviously avoiding being specific about what they were doing in Akakor. Inorai sat before the fireplace, then said, "You know, I've been hearing certain rumors among the other Lords, particularly of how you girls have been insulting us Mages behind our backs."
"That's strange," 19-Y tilted her head curiously. "I didn't think you were the type to concern yourself with such petty trivialities."
"I'm not the one worrying about it. It's my more sensitive colleagues that you Enforcers need to be concerned about. I'm sure you know this by now, but some of the Mages don't take kindly to being treated like common pests."
"How unfortunate."
"You're the superior for the Clock Tower's Enforcers, aren't you? It's your job to keep such behavior under wraps."
"I have no control over what my sisters say or how they feel. So long as they finish their assigned tasks, I see no issue with our continued relationship with the Clock Tower."
"Why do you work for us anyway? I see little benefit in you girls bending the knee to any Mages outside of the Family Tree."
"We were ordered to provide our assistance."
"Who gave you that order?"
"…"
Inorai narrowed her eyes. "Was it the Family Tree?"
"… Sure. Let's go with that," 19-Y replied coolly.
"So it's not the Mages who sent you here. Does the Family Tree really have any sway over you girls? Or is there a different power at work here?"
"You're free to assume whatever you wish, Lord Valuleta."
The elderly woman grimaced. 19-Y's evasive answers were getting on her nerves. She retorted, "Leave me."
"Yes, madam."
The Enforcer left in silence. Inorai rubbed her forehead to ease her aching head. She reached over for a photo frame and stared intently at the picture. It was a black-and-white photograph taken sometime in the early 1920s, several years before the Akakor Grail War. It depicted three women, with two standing side-by-side with an elderly woman seated on a chair in the center. The austere, almost unapproachable old lady in the center was Inorai's mentor, Giselle Brugger. The young woman on the left was herself when she was in her early 20s.
As for the third woman…
Antwerp, PW #00162B
"Hmm, hm-hmm, hm hm hm…"
Iskandar hummed a merry tune to himself as he materialized out of spirit form and approached the cathedral's front doors. Thanks to his conquest of Brussels and his triumph over Magistrate Baert and Darius, he was in a good mood. He couldn't wait to tell Waver and Lexy the news of his victory, though he was certain that they already vested plenty of faith in his conquest anyway. Now that everything was settled here, he could leave the rest to Leclerq and the provisional government while he turned his attention to his real ambition; the takeover of Akakor.
As he opened the door to the rectory, he heard Waver blurt out, "Lancer had two Masters!?"
Iskandar threw open the door the moment that question was yelled. Waver, Lexy and Leclerq stared at the red-haired man in awkward silence.
"Ah, Rider… You're back," Waver murmured uneasily.
"Yo. Am I interrupting anything here?" Iskandar asked.
Lexy shook her head. "Not at all. We were just talking about this and that to pass the time. Mr. Velvet was most interested in the details behind the Akakor Grail War, and I just told him that Lancer had two Masters."
"Is that so?" the Macedonian king murmured as he took the seat next to her. "Sorry for barging in at such a bad time, but I have returned with Brussels under my control."
"Well that was certainly expedient," Leclerq remarked. "I thought I would have more time to get things organized."
"What, you expected me to dawdle or something? Nonsense! When I decide on which territory to conquer, I don't waste any time! Besides, I've left my scholars to handle internal affairs until you and the other mayors arrive. I need to focus on my next strategy for taking Akakor over."
"All right. I suppose I can rest here a little longer and listen to Miss Lexy's story. After what she told me and Mr. Velvet about the Akakor Grail War, I can't resist being curious about how this parallel world foolishness came to be in the first place."
"Hm. So then, Lexy, you said that Lancer of Akakor had two Masters?" Iskandar asked the Enforcer.
"Correct. The first was Giselle Brugger, as everyone knows. What hasn't been recorded in history books is that Giselle's daughter Luise inherited her mother's Command Spells after her death."
"That's strange," Waver murmured worriedly. "Why has there been absolutely no mention of this?"
"It was all part of Luise's plan to become the next leader of the Family Tree Mages. From my understanding, Luise was sent to be raised in a convent immediately after she was born, which lasted for 20 years until she was called back to Akakor."
"You mean they had no contact with each other that whole time?"
"I believe so. Giselle saw Luise as a student rather than her own child. Giselle also had another pupil under her wing at the time – Inorai Valuleta Atroholm."
"No way! Lord Valuleta was her student!?"
Lexy nodded. "Even though Lord Valuleta was to inherit a position as Lord of the Clock Tower, she still wanted to be taught by one of the best Mages in the world, even if that Mage was part of the Family Tree organization that broke off from the Mage's Association. Both she and Luise were taught by Giselle for several years until the Grail War began, after which Lord Valuleta was sent away for her own protection. Luise remained in Akakor to act as Giselle's representative, especially since Giselle was well in her 80s and bound to a wheelchair."
"That's insane! Giselle gave birth to Luise while she was in her 60s!?"
"Not through normal means. Luise was conceived via in vitro fertilization and gestated in a surrogate mother. Even when Giselle was young, she was not capable of producing children, but she still desperately wanted an heir for her legacy."
"I see. So that's why Giselle was so distant from Luise…"
"And that distance is what spurned something akin to bitterness or resentment in Luise towards her mother. My own memories are hazy, but when I was once a part of Mother, I could sense dark feelings swirling within Luise's soul."
"Interesting," Zhuge Liang's voice spoke from the Runes on Waver's body. "So you Enforcers are capable of remembering what Lancer of Akakor saw."
Lexy frowned and stared down. "Just bits and pieces. They're not very clear memories, but I knew something bad was going to happen to Giselle. It would only be three months after Mother was summoned that Giselle would die under strange circumstances."
"What sort of 'strange circumstances' are we talking about?"
"I'm not sure. Giselle was just alive one day, and dead the next. Despite her age, she was still in fairly good health, so I don't think she died from natural causes. Either way, Luise took Mother's Command Spells and became her second Master. The problem was that Luise didn't want any of the other participants in the war to know about Giselle's death, or else they would be suspicious of her."
"Meaning Luise murdered her and wanted to cover it up."
"Probably. She was talented with Camouflage Magecraft, so she used her abilities to disguise herself as Giselle whenever she needed to go out in public. Mother was the only one who knew about this, and Luise used a Command Spell to guarantee her silence."
"Clever. She may not be subtle, but I have to commend her talent for subterfuge."
Waver smacked his hands on the table and barked, "This is no laughing matter! If Lancer's Master was capable of murdering her own mother, would she have no compunction about using the Extinction for her own benefit!?"
Lexy grew more forlorn as she replied, "It's hard to say. Luise was found dead in the altar room where the 1866 Grail was, with all of her Command Spells used up."
"L-Luise… died? Did Lancer murder her? Did she commit suicide? Or was she caught in the Extinction as well?"
"I'm sorry. I really don't remember clearly. Maybe one of my sisters would know. For me, that moment in time is completely blank. All I can be sure of is that Mother saw something…"
"What did she see?"
"I don't know. It's something ingrained into her subconsciousness… Something so important that it would turn the nature of the Grail War entirely on its head… But I can't remember what it was for the life of me…"
Lexy became distressed and grabbed her head in obvious agony. Waver held her shoulders and implored, "It's okay. Don't try to force yourself to remember."
"Unngh… What did you see, Mother? What is it that made you go insane? Why won't you show it to me?"
"I think you need to rest a little," Iskandar said and helped Waver bring Lexy to the bedroom, where she collapsed upon the nearest bed. Once they made sure she was okay, they returned to the kitchen, and Iskandar said to Leclerq, "Sorry about that. I didn't think the discussion would cause such duress for the young lady."
"Don't mind me," the mayor said. "It's clear that you're going to have your hands full uncovering whatever this mystery is."
"At least Lexy's given us a vital new clue," Zhuge said. "Luise Brugger, embittered daughter of Giselle Brugger, and Lancer's secret Master who concealed her existence even from the record books. I believe it's safe to assume that Luise is actually the one who ordered Lancer to activate the Extinction."
"I think so too," Iskandar agreed. "The real question then becomes, why did Luise die immediately after it happened? You'd think she'd want to remain alive to reap the reward of turning half the world's population into raw mana."
"It doesn't sound like murder nor suicide, and Luise was way too young to die of natural causes."
Waver glanced away and bit his lip nervously. For some reason, he was becoming more and more anxious. To him, it felt as though he was being sucked into a black hole of conspiracy and mystery, from which there was no going back. Would he be prepared to face whatever the answer was to these difficult questions?
Akakor
Maupin and Quintrala finished telling Ritsuka, Mash and Earp the same information that Lexy divulged to Waver and Iskandar. Of them, Earp appeared the most shocked over this news. All he could murmur was, "Ya can't be serious…"
"C'est la vérité," Maupin said grimly. "Giselle Brugger's not the culprit – it's her daughter, Luise Brugger."
"An' Caster found out 'bout this somehow?"
"Oui. He told me that he arrived at the altar immediately after Lancer used the Grail. He found Luise's corpse nearby, and Lancer stumbling around in a confused daze before the Mages apprehended her."
"Why wasn't Luise ever mentioned durin' the trial? Ya'd think 'er Command Spells woulda been crit'cal evidence that proved Lancer's innocence."
"You idiot," Quintrala snapped. "The Mages wanted to find her guilty. Their plan was to turn her into the Grail Terminal, and it would've been extremely convenient for them to pin responsibility for the world's worst disaster on her shoulders. That way, they would have a good reason for both chopping off Lancer's head and using all of the mana that the Extinction provided to generate the Parallel World Gates. Luise's body would have been a huge detriment to their plan, so they had it incinerated."
"Gh… T-This can't be…"
Roman listened to the conversation from Ritsuka's transmitter, and he said, "It's sounding more and more like the Grail War was a charade rather than a proper battle between Servants. It might not be a good idea to gauge the Conservative and Extremist factions at face value, especially when the Mages in general were so interested in unlocking a method to using the Second Magic in this world. Sure, the whole conspiracy sounds like an Extremist plot, but the Conservatives might also express their own interest in the technology and would gladly throw the Extremists under the bus to get their hands on the Gates."
"Poor Cliste…" Mash moaned sadly. "She was the focal point of such a convoluted mess…"
Ritsuka nodded. "The more I find out about her, the more I want to save her. If Connla's right about Cliste being the source of a new Singularity, I have a feeling it will be something much worse than we've faced up until now."
"Worse than the Mad King or the Lion King?"
"How could Cliste possibly stay sane after going through something so terrifying? Plus she has the power of the Holy Grail at her disposal. This is just personal speculation, but she might not even know what she's doing anymore."
"Maybe," Roman agreed. "For now though, we have to focus on capturing Tiahuanaco. My maps are showing me that you're in very close proximity to the shrine. Stay alert – not only is Leonidas there as a Shielder, but we may have to deal with Caster of Akakor as well."
Quintrala frowned and gazed at the walls, noticing the many murals and paintings emblazoned on the ancient stone. The group turned the corner, and they finally saw a series of steps leading upward. She narrowed her eyes, then declared, "We're here."
"Remember, Earp," Ritsuka told the gunman, "we're here to talk with Machiavelli. Try not to provoke him or Leonidas if you can avoid it, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I 'ear ya," Earp grumbled, obviously sounding reluctant. "I'll just keep my trap shut an' let the rest of y'all 'andle it."
As Leonidas was speaking with Machiavelli, he suddenly faced the entrance to Tiahuanaco. He scowled a little and muttered, "We have company."
Those words brought the politician back to reality, and he furrowed his brow in concern. He wasn't sure how to react to this sudden intrusion, yet he didn't want Leonidas to use his authority to shut out what could be potential guests. After all, Quintrala had contacted him before about some information she wanted to share with him, and she was going to bring Maupin with her. Yet, there was also the frightening possibility that it was any one of the Enforcers who had been searching for him for the last few years.
"… Let them in," Machiavelli finally said.
"Are you sure?"
"I have faith in your protection, as well as my own skills."
"Very well. The barrier will remain lowered for now. If I believe they will pose a threat to the Little One's safety though, you know what I must do."
"I understand."
The two men waited in the center of the shrine for their visitors to arrive. A couple of minutes later, Ritsuka, Mash and the three Akakor Servants reached the top of the stairs. Just like in Manoa, the gigantic mural representing Tezcatlipoca loomed high above the crowd, as if the deity itself was present to observe this meeting.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Machiavelli," Maupin waved casually.
Although he had been expecting Quintrala and Maupin, Machiavelli glanced at the other three and said in a terse tone, "Archer's with you, hm?"
Earp expressed his displeasure with a click of his tongue, but said nothing. The philosopher eyed Ritsuka and Mash, then asked, "And who are the other two accompanying you?"
"Archer's new Master, and her companion – another Shielder Servant like Leonidas here," Quintrala said.
Leonidas stared at Mash, and the girl quickly grew uneasy with how interested he appeared with her.
"I trust there is a good explanation for the additional company," Machiavelli said to Quintrala.
"It's a long story. I'd rather not waste your time with such riff-raff and discuss why I wanted to come all this way to see you."
"Fair enough. I can inquire about the specifics later."
She approached him and handed over the bullet, then explained everything that had happened until now from her perspective. Maupin added her own comments so that Machiavelli had a better understanding of what was going on with the Chaldeans. After listening to their stories, Machiavelli regarded Ritsuka by saying, "I had been hearing rumors of a strange group of Servants prowling around in Akakor. So that was you and your allies, hm? And you all want to put a stop to the Grail Terminal?"
"Yes, we do," was Ritsuka's simple response.
"Well now. I had thought you were some greedy Mage who wanted to get her hands on the technology for herself."
"Absolutely not. I cannot forgive the circumstances behind the Terminal's creation. We want to set Lancer of Akakor's Spirit Origin free, especially since we think it's rapidly deteriorating."
The philosopher sighed to himself, pondering how to respond. While he could see how noble Ritsuka's words were, he was not the type to believe in mere conviction. Even so, he wanted the same thing for Cliste. Could he possibly trust these strangers when he didn't know they existed just five minutes ago? He flicked the bullet betwixt his fingers in deep contemplation.
"… 'Ey, Caster," Earp said. "Yer not havin' doubts 'bout my Master, are ya?"
"To be human is to doubt others, Archer," Machiavelli retorted. "We are not capable of reading each other's minds and hearts. That is why we must remain vigilant of each other at all times."
"Maybe, but think 'bout it. Do ya think I would cast my lot in with Chaldea if I thought they were out to 'urt Lancer? 'Sides, they got their own version o'Lancer in their group, an' she was the one who brought Master all the way out 'ere. That's exactly why I b'came a Servant o'Chaldea – she's tryin' t'save 'er counterpart, an' she needs all the 'elp she can get."
"Their own Lancer of Akakor, hm?" Machiavelli murmured, growing more and more intrigued.
"Dun ferget 'ow much of a simpleton I am too," Earp chuckled a little. "I may not 'ave the best o'personalities, but I know when t'throw my chips in with the good guys. I've 'ad 'nough of our Lancer bein' treated like this, an' I 'ate watchin' Chaldea's Lancer suffer 'cause of all this nonsense."
"Is that why you murdered your former Master's grandson?"
"Naw, that was just a pers'nal thing. I couldn't stand the guy, so I blew 'is brains out."
"At least you lend credence to your own claim of being a simpleton."
"The ladies told me that was the reason ya avoided me fer all these years. Couldn't 'fford t'let yer plans be spoiled by me an' my bad temper, eh?"
"It wasn't just you I had to worry about. There was also Rider stirring trouble in the Mages' underground societies. Not to mention that the Enforcers have been behaving rather erratically over the last two or three years."
"Oh yeah, Maupin mentioned something about some kind of 'Enforcers'," Ritsuka wondered. "None of us in Chaldea have heard anything about them yet."
Leonidas nodded, then said, "They are clones of Lancer, which she created to be her eyes and ears dispatched across the world."
"Really? How is she able to do that?"
"Since she has been merged with the 1926 Holy Grail and is continuously siphoning mana from parallel worlds, she has access to near-limitless amounts of magical energy. My understanding is that the Enforcers belong to an Extra Class known as the Alter Ego - a type of Servant representing a distillation of the original's personality that can manifest independently."
"I've never heard of such a Servant class," Mash said.
"Nor have I. I cannot fathom how the Little One came to know of such a thing. What I do know is that she can produce them endlessly whenever they are killed off."
"Which gets to my main point," Machiavelli interjected. "The Enforcers have been working for both the Family Tree and the Mages' Association, but I have always been baffled as to why they would obey the very Mages that conspired against their creator, Lancer of Akakor."
"Do the Mages know of their true nature?" Ritsuka asked.
"I believe not. The Enforcers have been extremely careful to obscure their connection with Lancer. I only managed to discover this thanks to my partnership with the Three Caretakers, of which Mr. Sanson was most generous enough to explain all of this to me. While I have no concrete proof, I strongly believe that Lancer commanded her clones to serve the Mages for some purpose. Since you Chaldeans claim that Lancer's Spirit Origin is deteriorating inside the Grail Terminal, I have more reason to suspect her aims toward the Mages are quite sinister in nature."
"It is difficult to blame her for resenting the Mages," Leonidas admitted with a sorrowful expression. "If I were in her position, I would quietly plot their demise in a similar fashion."
"The question is how disastrous her 'plot' may wind up affecting the rest of the world. Sure, the Atlas Institute may have predicted that this world's time will come in 1976, but is the Grail Terminal truly their answer to saving the world, or is it the very thing that is going to cause their demise?"
Ritsuka clasped her hands, then declared, "I don't know, and I don't care. Whatever may be going on, all I want is for this world's Connla to rest in peace."
Machiavelli fixed his eyes squarely on her, then coldly asked, "Even if it means causing an entire parallel world to die?"
The young Mage's heart seized up. Up until now, she had been so focused on saving Cliste that the thought of what would happen after the Terminal was destroyed hadn't crossed her mind. She didn't like how Cliste spent her entire life suffering at the hands of others, yet it was her who helped maintain this world's dwindling mana resources. Could Ritsuka really handle the burden of cutting off an entire world's equivalent to its life support?
Mash came to the rescue by blurting, "Even so, we can't forget that the Parallel World Gates are destroying other worlds that Chaldea will never get to see. Entire worlds could be dying while we're just standing here. Just because a cancerous tumor is 'alive' doesn't mean you should let it do as it pleases."
Leonidas became angry as he shouted, "Are you calling the Little One a cancer!?"
"No, I'm not! It's this world itself that's the problem! Now I'm understanding why the Second Magic should remain lost to the Mages – in their eyes, interaction between parallel universes is just a tool to be used by them! If the Mages truly possessed a collective conscience, they would have sought help from these other worlds, instead of sucking them dry just to save themselves!"
The Spartan king snarled at Mash, but couldn't think of an appropriate retort. Machiavelli sighed and closed his eyes, taking into careful consideration what the Demi-Servant was saying. He stared intently at the bullet Quintrala gave him and thought back to that tragic day. He couldn't imagine how devastating it must have been for Akakor Connla, unable to do anything but obey such a ridiculous order from her self-centered Master. Then, a new question crossed his mind:
How does Lancer feel about being the cause of not just the Extinction, but the destruction of parallel worlds as well?
Maupin noticed how distant Machiavelli appeared and asked, "Are you okay? You're as white as a sheet."
"I'm fine," he replied, though he was clearly looking unwell. He opted to change the subject by asking, "By the way, Quintrala, where did you say you got this bullet from?"
The Assassin said, "From one of the Enforcers."
His eyes suddenly widened in shock. "An Enforcer gave this to you?"
"Yeah. Why, is that a problem?"
Machiavelli barked at Leonidas, "Put up the barriers this instant!"
"Tch!" the Spartan grimaced and began to raise his spear.
Ritsuka became anxious in this unexpected change in behavior, and she exclaimed, "What's going on?"
Before she noticed what was going on, Mash shrieked, "SENPAI!"
The Shielder rushed next to her friend and braced her giant shield in front of them. A loud clang rang throughout the shrine as a strange javelin smashed against the bulky barrier. The weapon whirled in midair back to the raised hand of its owner. From the opposite corner of the temple, several small fireballs were launched straight for Machiavelli. He whipped his arm in an arc, conjuring several metallic spikes that hurled at each fireball to harmlessly detonate them. From a different wall, a small white-clothed figure whipped around like an imperceptible bullet, then performed a high-speed dive kick at Maupin. The fencer lithely backflipped to avoid having her head run into the stone ground, then she equipped her rapier and thrust multiple times at her attacker. The little girl avoided each strike and hopped back to meet with the girl who threw the spear.
Ritsuka panned her eyes all through the shrine. All four walls plus the stairway were blocked off by a crowd of ten Enforcers, who had snuck into the chamber while the Chaldeans were making their case with Machiavelli. They had been so silent that even Leonidas, the very Caretaker of Tiahuanaco, had not noticed them. Despite this ambush, Ritsuka was more surprised by how all of them really looked like white-haired variants of Connla.
Leading the Enforcers was 15-M, who had thrown the javelin at Ritsuka. She pointed her spear at Machiavelli, then robotically announced, "Reporting to 2-F. Caster of Akakor successfully located. Moving in to annihilate the target."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, I sincerely apologize for the late updates this month. It's just been so bloody hot, and I've been having author's burnout lately. Not to mention that the Battle in NY event is coming up, and I want to grind that as much as possible. I'm not sure if I should take a full break until NaNoWriMo comes around in November and power through the rest then, or keep taking it slow like this.
