So, the nuke works! Not that that's a great thing; it was a desperation, last line of defense type thing, after all. The fact I had to invoke it meant I really had been in the shit. But it works! That was good to know, at any rate…
Still, they blew up my backpack. I could replace the stuff that was in it easily enough; hell, I had replacements back home already. But the bag itself… that I couldn't replace. I had loved that bag; had it the vast majority of my life. Nothing was replacing that… They were going to pay for that, mark my words…
But, if nothing else, I at least got the sword back. Had to threaten to not reset the timer, which then brought on a whole other debacle… But eventually Archer talked his master into letting me go with it in hand.
…Come to think of it, Archer seemed fairly rational about the whole thing. Perhaps not the brightest amongst the summoned servants, but his rationality would most likely serve him well here. I would have to watch out for him in the future…
The big thing, of course, was getting over to Johnathan's place quickly. Night was setting in, and once that happened there was no guarantee of safety. Or, well… there was no such thing as guaranteed safety in a war, but… ugh, forget it; you get the idea!
Thankfully, the rest of the trip over was uneventful. No interruptions, not mental interferences… just how I liked it.
"Oh, it's you" Johnathan sounded a bit surprised when he answered the door and saw me standing there.
"Well, who else would it be" I gave him a grin as he stepped aside to let me in.
"…Good point" he winced. "Still, running a bit late, aren't you? Basically nighttime and you're only showing up now."
"Got a good reason for that" I sighed. "Got caught up in a mental illusion. Archer's master, if you don't remember."
"Oh shit" Johnathan jumped back slightly. "What happened?"
"If by that you mean how did I get caught up in it, I have no idea" I sighed. "I was just walking along when I started to feel like shit wasn't adding up. Distance, direction… shit like that. No idea when it started, though I did manage to break free of it."
"You broke the illusion yourself?!"
"Yep; walked over to a street I knew the timing for getting from point A to point B, and started counting in my head. Got to point B a few seconds early, and that's when I realized shit wasn't right."
"…That really worked" Johnathan sounded doubtful.
"I'm anal on timings" I laughed slightly at his doubtful look. "So yes, I do know my timings on shit like that. The illusion was rather sophisticated though; even messed with my thought process, I think. I kept doubting shit was wrong for the longest time. I only managed to talk myself into running a test when I caught myself dismissing my doubts. It was all very strange."
"All illusions are strange. Do you know how it works though?"
"…Somewhat, I think…? I feel like it's more of a visual overlay that's tapping into your mind. Like, I think it knew where I wanted to go, so it created a visual overlay of what the surrounding area would look like as I walked. But it can't alter the space. So, like, visuals will jump, so to speak, to realign themselves to what they should be to try and fool you, and to prevent you from walking into something you can't see, I'd imagine. But if you catch it trying to fix itself to match what the real thing would be, it crumbles rather easily. It also seems to have difficulty replicating people. Like, it can have them do basic things, such as walk or drive a car in traffic, but there's definitely something… inhuman about them. Or that's the feeling I got when one just let me walk up to it and stab it, doing little more than scream in fear."
"That… huh…" Johnathan didn't seem quite sure how to react. "You just… stabbed a person, thinking it was an illusion? Or did you know for sure?"
"I mean… it was a fairly good guess by that point. But not certain, no."
"…I see…"
"Look, it was either I kill someone else by mistake, or I jump in front of a car and risk killing myself" I shrugged. "I may not mind dying, but I'm not trying to actually die, you know? Sure, I might have killed someone else, but that's just a risk I had to take to make sure."
"…"
"So, long story short, I recommend not leaving this place on your own" I grinned.
"…Right…"
"Anyways, how are you and Sortiara doing?"
"Fine. As are Saber and Lancer. Ready to go back on the hunt tomorrow."
"Great! Who are we going after first? Berserker is a threat, for sure, but we might be able to just wait him out. Archer is going to be tough, I'd imagine. His master can do illusions, and we're going to be sitting ducks on the approach. Rider might be the safest bet from what we know, all things considered, and someone like Rider is definitely someone I want out of this thing ASAP."
"We'll deal with that tomorrow. What I want to know is why do you have a sword? One that has traces of magical energy, no less."
"Oh, this thing" I laughed slightly, shaking the sword.
Shit… I knew that was going to be asked, but… Damn it, I already mentioned that I stabbed an illusion. Can't claim I got it from Archer in any way now, no matter how unlikely that would have been anyways… Unless he wasn't paying attention, but can't rely on that…
"Got it as part of a payment for a job a did, couple years back now" I went with. "Guy claimed it was magical when I first got it as well, not that I had ever believed him. It looked just like any other sword for the time period, after all. But Archer's master said the same thing, that it was magical, so maybe the guy had guessed right after all? Or, well, I suppose he could have been a magus now…"
"You got a magical sword as payment? For a job" Johnathan raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Again, didn't know it was magical at the time" I laughed. "Also, I've gotten far weirder things as payment: books, paintings, jewelry and gems… You name it, I probably got it."
"…What do you even do for a living anyways?"
"Tracking, mostly" I shrugged. "Want something, or someone, found? I'm your guy. For a price, that is."
"So… you're a P.I., basically?"
"That might be too nice a way of putting it. I take whatever job either pays well, or sounds interesting as a target. I don't care about reason or motive, nor do I ask."
"…Meaning?"
"Meaning… say you wanted a certain girl to be found. I don't care if this girl is that person's long-lost daughter, or if they want to abduct her into some sex trafficking ring and just want me to figure out where she is hiding. I don't ask either. So long as the payment is good, or the target sounds interesting, I'll take the job, no questions asked. Gotten lots of good paying work, operating like that."
Johnathan looked visibly repulsed as he took a couple steps back.
"I'm not a good person by any conventional metrics" I laughed at his discomfort. "Nor have I ever claimed to be."
"Still though… that's-"
"Anyways" I cut him off before he could start a lecture I wouldn't care for. "Does that satisfy you about the sword?"
"…Not really… but I admit it is… plausible… Especially if you did some work for a magus, which is also entirely possible. Magi hire people to do things for them all the time, when it comes to things outside of magecraft. Tracking things online… yeah, they would need an expert for something like that."
"Glad that's settled" I smirked.
Phew… Well, if nothing else, that bit about how I work at least threw him off his game to drop the point, for now… Would have to remember that cover story for the sword now, going forward, but that shouldn't bee too difficult a task.
"Anyways, where's Sortiara" I continued.
"Out back, training" Johnathan sighed. "Oh, and she found your note this morning. Thanks for that; another round of lecturing from her about how stupid I am to give you access to anything."
"I mean… well, I suppose she isn't really wrong there" I laughed. "You were rather careless, giving me access to that computer."
"So I've heard…" Johnathan sighed something fierce.
"Ah, so I take it Liu-"
"Yes, Saber has informed me of what transpired last night" he growled. "Honestly, today has not been a good day for me in the slightest."
"Well, if it's any consolation, it's not like I'm going to tell Sortiara his identity" I grinned. "I'll keep things fair between the two of you."
"Great…" his tone making it clear it was anything but. "Moving on, now that you've actually met Archer, got anything worth sharing on the guy?"
"Let me think" I smirked. "Archer, eh? He's- …"
…My voice died in my throat. I tried. I tried really hard. But… nothing. I couldn't recall anything about Archer. In fact, it was worse than that. I was creating conflicting descriptions of him! Hell, I wasn't even sure Archer was a him!
He was slightly tanned, with a light green, maybe turquoise, chest plate and a red bow? No, he had a green cloak that covered his face with a hood, not a green chest plate. And the bow… it wasn't red, it was… silver? Bit of gold as well? No, the color was green, but she had a dress. The dress was green. And the bow… black? Hair was all green as well. In his hands had been a staff. Wait, no. Not a staff. He was an archer. Or she was… What was she? He?
…What the fuck was going on? Why can't I remember anything? It hadn't even been a full day yet! Not the outfit! Not the weapon! Not the hair! Not even the voice! He… she… it! Who was Archer?!
"Uh, Nathan…" I barely heard Johnathan's voice, despite how close he was standing to me now. "Nathan, are you-"
"Book" I stammered out, in a panic. "Book! Where's that book!?"
"What book? Are you alrig-"
"I'm fine! I know I'm fine! It's not me! I'm not the problem! Just get me the book! The one Sortiara mentioned yesterday! I need it! NOW!"
"Ok, ok, I'm going" Johnathan ran off in a panic. "Just… give me a moment. I have no idea where she stores her things!"
…Why could I not remember? It was only Archer; the master was clear as day in my mind. As was everything else… So why was Archer impossible to remember? Was it a skill?! Had to be a skill! Maybe a Noble Phantasm?!
"Fuck" I muttered as I began pacing the room. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…"
"Woah… you ok there, Nathan?"
I hadn't even noticed Sortiara enter the room until she spoke up. She sounded tired, as looked really sweaty. Must have been quite the workout…
No, forget that, damnit! Pin down Archer! Something, anything about Archer!
"Uh, hello? Earth to freak show, you ok in there?"
"Not now, damnit" I snapped. "I'm trying to think here! Just go help Johnathan find that book!"
"One, rude! And what book?"
Oh, for fuck's sakes!
"Here, think this is it" I heard Johnathan shout from somewhere on the second floor of the house.
Within what felt like an hour he was back, but it could only have been mere moments.
"Oh, that book" Sortiara noted. "Wait, the hell were you doing in my room?!"
"Forget that for the moment and power the thing" I snapped, practically ripping the book from Johnathan's hands.
"Please" Johnathan turned his attention to Sortiara. "Don't know what's gotten into him, but it seems… important…"
"Ugh! Fine, whatever! But I want a good explanation for this afterwards!"
I closed my eyes and began picturing the character pages for the servants. As soon as they came into focus, I flipped over to Archer.
Class: Archer
True Name: -
AKA: -
Parameters
Strength: - Mana: -
Endurance: - Luck: -
Agility: - NP: -
Skills
Identification Misdirection: A
Noble Phantasms
Identification Misdirection? …Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit… Fucking shit!
"Problem" I opened my eyes and made my declaration to the two. "We have a massive problem!"
"What problem? What is going on here" Sortiara demanded.
"Archer's identity" I explained without explaining. "Or rather, the complete lack thereof!"
"What does that even mean?!"
"It means- …Right, ok, ok…" I took a couple of deep breaths to gather myself. "Basically, I don't think I'll ever be able to pin down Archer's identity, short of Archer firing off a Noble Phantasm."
"Why? What did you see about Archer" Johnathan asked, sounding slightly alarmed now himself.
"Well… what do either of you two know about the skill Identification Misdirection?"
