AN- and thus the Trash is continued. I have Trash for days, son…
Chapter 2
We were back at my hotel room now. The two of us were still a little shocked from the Command Seal revelation, so it had been a unanimous decision to get me back to somewhere a little more familiar so we could talk properly. At my insistence and her grudging acceptance, Rider had manifested more clothing to cover her almost scandalous appearance (A cloak, skirt and the rest of that dang shirt she'd been missing). Turns out she preferred to fight with 'as little as possible getting in the way', but personally I just thought that Kinoku Nasu had an aversion to having any female characters that weren't Top Waifu material.
She still looked like a rogue cosplayer, but at least she was a bit more covered up.
So here we were- Rider sat on the bed, and me at the desk, with the provided kettle boiling tea for the complementary tea that hotels always provided.
"Well, this sucks." I began, ending the long silence between us. Clearly, I'd done something right, as Rider held back a chortle, and agreed with my summation. "I mean, I don't even know where to begin."
"Perhaps we should start with introductions." Rider suggested, then pressed on. "I am Servant Rider, but my true name is Boudica. You can call me Ms Boudica, if that is what you prefer."
"I'll stick to just Boudica." I replied. The name itself was unfamiliar- she hadn't appeared in most of the Fate content that I knew about. Not Stay Night, Zero, or Apocrypha, so I had to assume she was either from Grand Order or an original character. Either way, her identity meant nothing to me. "A-anyway, my name is James Branson, and I have literally no clue what I'm doing right now."
Again, she giggled. "Fufufu. It's nice to meet you. Now, with that out the way, I think we should get right to it."
"Aye. The elephant in the room." The Command Seals. If you looked at me closely and knew what to look for, they were quite easy to spot. The blades stood out on my hand, while the red of the seal on my neck could be seen poking out of the corner of my blazer. "Long story short, I have no clue why I have so many Command Seals. I woke up today with none, tried to leave Fuyuki but got attacked on the way out, and then they showed up."
"That was bad luck, but not exactly unexpected." Rider- no, Boudica- pointed out. "I could tell that the other Rider was only attacking you for your Prana. A ghastly practice, but she would have been a fool not to single you out of the crowd if that was her intent."
"And why's that?" I asked, eyebrow pointed.
"Oh, the ridiculous amount of magical energy you are radiating, or course."
I blinked. "The what? Magical energy?"
"Oh yes." She nodded her head contentedly. "Your Mana production is ridiculous. I barely feel any strain at all in manifesting and fighting. I could almost say that you might just be able to fuel all the Servants those Command Seals promise you have the chance of summoning."
"But that's impossible." I groaned. "I have no magical training- no background at all, in fact. I haven't even opened my Magic Circuits! I didn't think I even had any!"
"Well, it seems you do. The term the Grail seems to be feeding me is 'Magic Core'."
A Magic Core- whereas normal Circuits are like a machine that produces Prana, a Magic Core is more akin to a factory by comparison. The only person I could remember possessing one of those was literally King Arthur herself.
I gave her my best deadpan glare. "I think the idea that I, of all people, somehow has a Magic Core is preposterous."
She smiled teasingly. "Believe me or not, it's true."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay. I have no way of proving or disproving that statement, so I'll just accept it as truth for now and move on, since this mess is already pretty ridiculous."
She didn't dispute that. "What now?"
"I don't know." I told her. "As I said, I wanted to escape from the War without getting involved. Sure, if someone gave me a magic wishing cup, I could probably make a wish," namely, to go home, or maybe to gain control of the Second True Magic, perhaps. "but I didn't exactly plan this. I have a whole fuck tonne of Command Seals, which suggest I can summon up to Seven Servants total, but I still don't know if I even want to try and fight in this war anyway."
Boudica rose from the bed and approached me, then she patted me on the head and ruffled my hair affectionately- almost like an elder sibling would do to the younger. "Relax." She teased. "I don't much expect you to know what you want. If at the end of the day you do decide to drop out, then that's fine. Big Sis can fight on her own."
"Who says I get a choice though." I pointed out, raising my hand pointing to it. "I have seven sets. They are here for a reason, I'm sure they'll end up being used eventually, one way or another. I just… I don't know."
That is the crux of my problem, I believe. I don't know. Why I have the Seals. What type of war this is. If it's even worth fighting to begin with, and whether All the World's Evils rests in the Grail or not.
I just don't know.
"Then find out." Boudica suggests. "Isn't there an impartial moderator to the Holy Grail War? Why not go talk to him, and find out if this is an Apocrypha or whatever you said it was before."
"I wouldn't say impartial…" I noted, but I took in her suggestion all the same. It was a bad option, but it certainly was an option. Kotomine Kirei may have been a sneaky bastard, but for the most part, he did his job. If I went there for answers, then as a Master, he would be bound to answer me. Sure, he likely had Lancer in the wings and Gilgamesh skulking about, but I doubted he'd call upon them.
More likely, he'd let me go if only for the chaos that I could bring. Kotomine was a playwright seeking to make the Fifth War as despair inducing as possible, and hopefully allow Angra Mainyu to be brought into this world- my addition only added more 'actors' to the play.
The question was whether the risk was worth it.
Afterall, I could always go track down Rin instead. But then again, just how likely was she to know all the details? Kotomine was the most knowledgeable man concerning the Grail War due to his role as moderator.
And so, I made my decision. "Okay. We're gonna go see a priest. And you're gonna stand between us at all times, because holy shit, that man is terrifying."
XXXXXXXXXX
It was after midday by the time we stumbled into Kotomine Church. We were both strangers to Fuyuki, and it showed- we got lost, oh so lost. We literally had to stop for a lunch break, between us leaving the hotel and finding the church.
"Oh my, some lost sheep have come seeking guidance. How interesting." The man noted, with a knowing smile as he took in the two of us- more accurately, the Seal upon my hand and the Servant beside me.
"Hi!" I greeted. "I'd like to have a private chat, if that's okay with you."
Kotomine apologised to the few Christian patrons presently in the church, but dutifully led us into a backroom, where he provided tea and biscuits.
"Okay, let's cut straight to the point." I said, not even engaging in the smallest of small talk before pressing onto the meat of the argument. "I'm here because I am a Master. However, events have led me to think that I don't quite have the full picture."
"How so?" Kotomine replied. "I sensed the summoning earlier today. The Seventh Servant has been summoned. I do not see what the issue is."
"This." I said. Then, I shrugged off the jacket and rolled up my shirt to reveal the excess of Command Seals.
"Oh my." Kotomine remarked, genuine surprise in his eyes.
"Do you know anything about this." I gestured. "I didn't want in on the War, but I know about it. And there is no reason for me to have this many Seals."
"Surprisingly… I don't actually know anything about this." He told me, with real happiness. "Truly, this is a surprise. Rejoice, unknown Master, for a miracle has befallen you than none other have had the pleasure of enjoying."
"Mother of-" Boudica growled, before cutting herself off. "Look, do you know anything or not?"
"The Grail System underwent a large energy surge earlier on, but I attributed it to a particularly strong Servant being summoned." He admitted. "At this point, I cannot predict anything. What I can say, is that those Command Seals are individually distinct. Three Seals are given to a Master, to accompany one Servant. Those are not excess Seals for your present Servant. They are separate sets- each one is definitely tied to its own Servant. This War will include at least fourteen Servants, it seems."
Oh- I saw what you did there, you sneaky cheat with your bullshit Gilgamesh! Fourteen due to the original seven plus seven new one, yet also fourteen due to my seven, the present six (As Shirou has yet to summon Saber) plus the extra Servant from the last war!
"Do I have to Summon them?" I finally asked. "Initially, I had no intention of joining the War. If I left Fuyuki, would any more Servants be summoned?"
"Young man, once you are a Master, you are a Master. The Grail has already committed to the summoning of the six other Servants coupled to your Command Seals. It is merely waiting for you to do so. If you do not, then it will find opportunities of its own to call them. Those summons will happen, one way or another, whether you like it or not."
That hit me like a suckerpunch. I couldn't run away. The Servants were going to be Summoned, one way or another.
"You do not have to take part, though." Kotomine reminded me. "You can give up your Seals to me and forfeit the war."
"And give YOU an extra six Servants to play around with? Fuck off."
"That isn't an option." I said, quietly. Boudica perhaps sensed my distress, so she offered me a small smile. "I'm going to fight." I decided. "I don't know what wish I would even want, but it's going to happen, one way or another. I can't really run away." Not only would the War follow me, but there was also the whole 'end of the world' problem too. In an AU situation like this, where I've already fucked things up by summoning Rider, can I necessarily guarantee that the War will reach a satisfying conclusion?
I'm no goody two shooed, do-gooder, but I do care if the world I'm presently living in is a horrific hellscape or not. Angra Manyu breaking free would be good to absolutely nobody. Until I confirmed the status of the Grail and ensured that one of the few good people in the War was going to get the wish, I couldn't leave it be.
It was dumb. Immensely so. But I was going to have to see this through. But hey, at least I'd have seven Servants on my side, if I played my cards right.
"Are you certain?" He asked, seeking clarification. To my side, I saw Boudica gaze at me intently too. She was here to win the War as well. She wanted to know if her Master was going to stick with her or abandon her.
"Yes." I said, though I wasn't nearly as resolute as I wish I was. "I will be the Eighth Master in the Holy Grail War."
"Excellent." He told me, with a little chuckle. "May I have your name?"
"… James Branson." I told him, hesitantly.
"Well then, James, I wish you the best of luck. Oh! And one last thing!" Kotomine said, suddenly, as if it just came to him.
"Yes?"
"Be careful." He warned me. "The Holy Grail War was designed with only seven competitors in mind. Saber has yet to be summoned, and you are an outlier. At its core, the Heavens Feel is a fair ritual. I doubt the Grail will be satisfied with your presence as it is, though it has clearly accepted your presence even so. So be careful, for I feel that you won't be the only 'curveball' in this War."
Now that was a worrisome point, though true. I had confirmed some things, but so much was still unknown. This was no normal war, and I needed to prepare for that.
"Oh! One last thing." I snapped my fingers, as the final reason I agreed to come here came to mind. "Do you have any books on activating Magic Circuits or summoning Servants? Sorry to say it, but while I may have some knowledge, I am an absolute novice when it comes to all matters of magic."
Kotomine laughed and laughed and laughed.
