Disclaimer: I own nothing in this fanfiction.
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"Servant Caster, Anastasia Romanov, please take care of me, my new Master."
Shiki was mesmerized by the pain on his hand, it really reminded him of the fake anemia he had to put up with for as long as he could remember.
"Hey Shiki! It'd be bad if you don't answer the servant you contracted when she speaks to you." Tohsaka spoke after a brief moment of silence.
"Ah, Sorry about that, Caster, I am Tohno Shiki and this is Rin Tohsaka. We're… Allies.
I found you being surrounded and I brought you here as fast as I could." Shiki explained as Archer materialized by Rin. He took a good long look at Anastasia before he spoke too:
"Servant Archer, I don't remember my True Name so just call me Archer."
Anastasia stared at Archer for a good moment before she nodded and announced.
"Okay then, Master, my previous Master was not… Very kind in his interactions with me, I tried to endure it but it was just too much. So I froze him."
Tohsaka facepalmed and Shiki rolled his eyes.
"Wait, froze him? Can it be that you were responsible for the icy incident in Shinto Hotel?" Asked Tohsaka. She only just heard of that from Bazett… Bazett! She needed to tell Shiki what happened in Kotomine Church!
"Yes, I froze that level of the hotel, it was full of homunculi and I did not wish for them to be used as cattle."
"Sorry to interrupt Caster, there is a very important subject we need to discuss."
Caster stopped talking and smiled softly after shaking her head. It seems that she has deep respect towards Rin, or so thought Shiki.
"What is it? Tohsaka?" Shiki asked curiously.
"In Kotomine Church, the Masters' meeting was about Berserker. He's the one out of control and is responsible for the cases of disappearance lately. He was summoned by the Einzberns but they failed to keep a rope on him, so he escaped."
Tohsaka explained with a serious face.
"It seems he has some ability that allows him to maintain himself in this world by consuming living flesh, something similar to Vampirism."
Shiki frowned at that. So it was Nrvqsr…
"May I speak, Master?" Anastasia asked softly.
"Of course, you don't have to ask for permission for a simple thing like speaking…"
Was Shiki's answer.
"Then, when I was escaping and looking for a Master, I was chased by some weird familiars, they looked like birds but once they landed, they became wolves and chased after me. If it wasn't for Viy I would have been a goner."
"Viy?"
"Oh, Master, meet Viy."
Anastasia raised the straw doll in front of her before a darkness enveloped her and stared at Shiki with blue glowing Eyes.
Tohsaka went on guard but Archer assured her that no hostility was emitted by the darkness.
The darkness called Viy approached Shiki who was staring back in amazement, it reached out to his glasses and removed them slowly. Their eyes met for a long minute during which Shiki's eyes glowed brightly alongside those of Viy.
"Look, it seems Viy has taken a liking to you. Perhaps you two have something in common."
Commented Anastasia with her soft voice.
The darkness called Viy gave Shiki back his glasses before it proceeded to retract back into the doll.
"Wow, what was that?!"
Shiki reacted finally.
"Viy's eyes are Mystic Eyes of Clairvoyance, it allows him to destroy all bounded fields and see the weaknesses in structures. Your eyes, my Master, are notably similar right?"
"Yes, Shiki's eyes are called Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, they can see the lines where all things die." Tohsaka explained instead of Shiki.
Anastasia's eyes suddenly became serious and stood up as if jumping.
"Master! I detect a servant coming our way."
Said Anastasia.
"I confirm it, they seem to be headed over here, although… They are not emitting any sort of enmity." Archer remarked.
Tohsaka dropped her shoulders and sighed.
"It must be Bazett. I invited her here to discuss a strategy to defeat Berserker."
"Bazett?" Shiki wondered.
"Bazett Fraga McRemitz, Master of Lancer, she was at the gathering and we seem to understand each other fairly well. She's also extremely strong, we need to be careful around her. The gathering's result was a truce between all Masters until Berserker is defeated. She is not the kind to betray her promises but still, we should be on the ready."
It wasn't long then until they heard knocking on the door.
Rin opened the door and let in a woman with pink short hair and a mole under her left eye after a few words of greetings.
Bazett staggered for a bit at the sight of Anastasia and Archer.
"What does this mean Tohsaka? Didn't you say you only had one servant and an experienced ally?" Bazett spoke with a bit of anger at her tone.
"Yes I said, and only now did that ally find a servant and contracted with her. You don't expect me to call you just to inform you of something you are going to find out anyway, right?" Rin's answer was sharp.
So sharp that Bazett actually backed down.
"I see…"
Shiki approached Bazett slowly and extended his arm for a handshake.
"My name is Shiki, Tohno Shiki. I am an experienced Dead Apostle hunter."
Bazett stared at him for a bit, her eyes focused on his, before she shook his hand firmly.
"Bazett Fraga McRemitz, I hunt sealing designates for the clock tower. I also hunt anomalies alongside executors of the Church." Bazett spoke firmly, there was pride in her words
"Executors of the Church… Do you perhaps know of someone called Ciel from the Burial Agency?"
Shiki decided to ask about Ciel, if she knew her, she would probably be easier to understand.
"I heard rumors about her but never actually met her. How do you know her?" Bazett asked naturally.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you that she studied with me, would you?"
Shiki smiled sheepishly while answering.
Their conversation came to a halt when Tohsaka's throat clearing sound interrupted them.
"Yes, yes, done with the introductions? Then let's go back to the main subject, Berserker. Oh and by the way Bazett, won't you show us your servant? You've seen Caster and Archer here. So won't your Lancer join us?"
Tohsaka said.
"You're right, it's only natural… Lancer, show yourself."
And the servant in purple and brown tights appeared next to Bazett.
Her hair was longer than her master but shared the same color, as well as her eyes. Scáthach bowed her head slightly and introduced herself.
"Servant Lancer, I look forward to seeing you in action."
And so, with the introductions done, it was time to commence the strategy meeting.
"So, Bazett, do you know what the identity of Servant Berserker might be?"
Asked Rin, she was testing her and Bazett knew.
"No, but I have someone in mind, did you get to decipher his identity yourself?"
Was Bazett's answer.
"In fact, we suspect someone and it almost seems to be confirmed at this point. A vampire who goes around as a horde of beasts, and swallows people whole leaving no bodies. That exactly matches Nrvqsr Chaos's description." Shiki said.
"And how are you so sure that it's him? Did you hunt him before?" Bazett asked naturally.
"Bazett, can you keep a secret?"
"Huh? What are you asking all of a sudden?"
"No it's important, we need to share info about each other if we want to stop this disaster, but I'd prefer my info to not reach the clock tower."
"Hmph, I guess I can look away this time. What's the deal?"
Tohsaka tapped her feet nervously while Shiki explained to Bazett about his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. He even gave her a live show of him 'killing' one of the buttons on her jacket.
"Interesting… Very interesting indeed. If the mages association was to know about this, they'd hunt you down to the ends of the earth…"
"I'm sure they would. That's why you're not going to tell them, right?"
"Yes, I promised I won't tell them… Your secret is safe."
"Well, according to what Shiki told us about Chaos, we can assume he has a main body that should be basing somewhere nearby. Otherwise the familiars wouldn't be able to manifest so quickly and spread throughout the city."
"Yeah, that's what I think. As a vampire, he must have a lair."
"So we have to track down the familiars and see where exactly they are coming from."
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Meanwhile in the next room…
"So, Caster, you told us that you killed your previous Master due to him mistreating you, how did you pull it off? Masters have Command Seals for a reason, you know."
Archer asked Caster.
"Command spells don't work if the Master doesn't have time to use them. I thought you might know that since you're a counter guardian and all." Lancer answered instead of caster, Archer frowned almost immediately when he heard her answer.
"A counter guardian huh, so that's who I am…"
Archer shrugged it off.
"But it's interesting, how did you know he was a counter guardian?" Caster asked.
"A simple matter, I worked with counter guardians back when I was alive. They would come when a heretic starts a massacre or war that should not happen would begin and just massacre both parties enough so that the war itself wouldn't start."
Lancer explained, she then fixed her hair behind her shoulder before turning to the window.
Archer kept quiet, as any further words would come back to bite him.
"A-Anyways, Lancer, do you have any valuable information concerning Berserker?"
Caster inquired, she needed to change the subject because she felt the uncomfort in the air.
"Hmm, well yes. We know that the Berserker is a Vampire, with logical reasoning we can also confirm he has a lair in the city or near it. And all we have to do is follow his familiars back to his lair to find him."
Lancer answered with clear confidence.
"I see, but are we going to be fine against him? Servant Berserker usually is the Strongest servant after Saber, will the three of us be enough?" Caster fiddled with her dress.
"Heh, that is beyond me to answer. But if he has a heart, he is mine to hunt." Lancer's answer was accompanied with her summoning her weapon to her hand and pointing it at Archer.
"But I don't like you, you are hiding something."
Archer whistled at the sight of the red spear, Gae Bolg, the spear that reverses cause and effect.
"Bold words coming from the mistress of the shadows, miss Scáthach." Archer grinned as he stared at her surprised face.
"Hmph, a skill that allows you to decipher a servant's identity from their weapon, what an interesting one." Was Scáthach's reply.
"Well, I couldn't help myself, but I'll give you this. I'm not hiding something because I want to, it's necessary for my identity to stay hidden. I will tell you everything at the end of the war, if you stay alive that is."
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Practically a little chapter of relaxation. Sorry about being late but I have to make do, my schedule is crowded these days.
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