I ended up being roused from my sleep by the sound of shouting from the kitchen. Even with my senses not being all there, I could tell the kids were having an argument, though as to what I couldn't quite make out yet. Honestly, if it's not one thing with those two, it's another… Not to mention how inconsiderate it was.
…Well, not that I would actually raise that point to them. I was still crashing on the couch, so… I suppose that's more my fault than theirs.
"Ok, ok" I mumbled as I staggered into the kitchen, still not fully awake. "What's the problem this ti- Oh."
Oh indeed, for it wasn't just the kids, but rather all four of them in the kitchen. Saber and Lancer were both glaring at me from where they stood by their respective masters. The glares weren't quite murderous, but I could tell neither my interruption nor presence were… welcomed, let's say.
"Actually something serious then" I yawned as I tried to scratch the itch at the back of my head with my arm.
It didn't work, sadly. Honestly, the act probably just made me look stupid. Trying to find ways to do things without my hands was proving to be a right pain in the ass…
"You could say that" Johnathan sighed, turning his attention to me from the table.
…Wait, the table?
"What you got there" I asked as I took a step forward, only for the glares from Saber and Lancer to intensify, bringing me to a swift halt.
"A letter. From Assassin."
"More likely from his master" Sortiara grumbled as she glared at Johnathan. "Not that you needed to know."
"Ah, a strategy meeting then" I concluded. "So, what the letter say?"
My question would be met by silence from all four of them.
"You know, I'm starting to get the feeling I'm not wanted here" I grinned.
"Gee, you think" Sortiara rolled her eyes.
"Well now, that's just uncalled for" I teased. "What's the harm in me knowing what a letter says at this point? Not to mention after all I've done for-"
"You've done quite enough as is. That's the point" Johnathan cut me off.
"Really now? You too" I sighed. "And here I thought our conversation last night was enough to smooth some things out."
"Hence why you're still in the house."
"Aight, aight, if that's how you all feel, I'll leave y'all to it" I grinned. "But really, it's not all that hard to figure out to begin with. Assassin is telling you two to go somewhere tonight, and you two are debating if you should listen or not."
"Yeah, and what makes you think that" Sortiara tried to counter.
"Well, for one, that response" I laughed. "Two, because I'm not stupid and it's not a hard thing to understand. This war is on its last legs. We're in the late game now, and one of the late game pieces is still on the board. The game is effectively over, and Assassin has won. Either Assassin, Assassin's master, or both are simply tired of waiting around and want the game to end already, so they can claim their prize."
"Don't count us out just yet."
"Girl, face it, you've lost" I sighed. "Lancer has a day or two at the very fucking most, and Jonny boy over there is close to popping command spells to simply keep Saber around. Y'all don't even know where Assassin even is, and do you really think that Assassin, the one that has done basically nothing this entire time, is gonna fade away on his own first?"
"For all we know, the letter is a trap because Assassin is going to fade away tonight, and this is their last chance to win."
"You have to be trolling" I groaned. "Of course it's a trap, but you can't seriously be thinking that Assassin is the one in danger of fading away first naturally. Besides, you two have been walking into traps this entire war. Why are you caring about walking into a trap now, of all times? This might very well be your only chance at stealing a victory you don't rightly deserve."
"Master, this entire conversation is pointless" Lancer finally spoke. "Please allow me to remove him from-"
"Yeah, yeah, don't bother" I sighed as I turned to leave. "Wouldn't want to spoil your final day together."
"Wait."
To my surprise, it wasn't the voice of Johnathan that called out for me to stop, but rather Sortiara herself.
"…What are you thinking" Sortiara sighed.
"…You actually want to know" I raised an eyebrow.
"No… but Lancer is right in that this conversation is pointless. Hearing your speculation on things won't… hinder this anymore than it already is."
"Master-"
"Lancer, we don't have time for this."
"…"
"…Any objections" Sortiara turned her attention towards Johnathan and Saber.
"What do you think, Saber" Johnathan asked.
"Reservations, several. But if you believe it to be best, master, then I have no objections" Saber simply stated.
"…Here then" Johnathan held out the letter to me.
"Oh, I don't need that" I dismissed. "There's only so many ways this thing can play out. If you don't go, you lose. If you go, you likely still lose."
"Then why go at all?"
"Because improbability is not impossibility" I grinned. "See, you all would acknowledge that this is a trap. Thing is, what kind of trap is it?"
Both the kids gave me a puzzled look, while Saber and Lancer both faded into spirit form. Clearly, they were going to leave this to their masters, but undoubtedly they would be lingering around here, listening in, just in case…
"I ask this" I continued after no response, "because there are two ways this trap could work, not just one. The first case is what I believe you all are thinking the trap is: you show up, and Assassin does something or other that ends up defeating Saber and Lancer. However, in my opinion, that would be a stupid and terrible trap."
"Ok, why" Johnathan questioned.
"For one, you all already suspect that to be the case. As such, you aren't going to show up off guard, and even with everything as is, do you really think Assassin can take on both Saber and Lancer?"
"No" Sortiara immediately responded.
"Agreed" I nodded.
"And this other reason" Johnathan continued.
"Because Assassin doesn't need to fight you; just needs to outlast you. Therefor, why actually lay a trap that involves fighting. Why not lay a trap that simply stalls for time instead?"
"…"
"…"
"…So, you're saying that if we do go tonight, nobody's going to be there anyways" Johnathan asked.
"Not quite. Someone will have to be there, either Assassin or Assassin's master, to make sure you did, in fact, show up. Perhaps even both will be there. After all, if an opening for quick and easy kills presents itself, why not take it, right?"
"Right."
"Right" I nodded again. "So they will be in the area, but they won't be expecting to actually do any fighting. As long as nothing goes wrong, that is."
"And if you're wrong and neither of them show up to make sure" Sortiara questioned.
"Then the risk they took to deliver this letter is pointless. They're trying to get you out there to scout you out, see what they're still up against, and if they have to change their own plans. They don't know what you're doing in here, and if you have alternative means of providing Saber and Lancer with magical energy that may, in fact, enable you to outlast Assassin. …Presumably. Getting you to move to a spot they chose says a lot about the current state you two, and thus the war, is in. If there's no one around to confirm it, then they're throwing away so much potential information. Also, if they simply choose to believe that you will follow the letter, and don't go themselves to make sure, and you two decided not to follow the letter, then…"
"Then they risk being caught flat footed" Sortiara correctly finished.
"Provided you can find them, which nobody can guarantee one way or another, so why take the risk? Exactly" I grinned.
"Still sounds to me that no matter what we do, we're wasting our time here" Johnathan sighed.
"And so far, you would be correct. So, let's flip this on its head."
"How?"
"What do you mean, how? You don't walk into the trap; you get them to walk into the trap."
"But this is their trap!"
"Because you're letting it be their trap" I sighed. "You two need to fight Assassin, and Assassin needs to stall you two. Assassin may have laid down the bedrock for this trap, but that bedrock can be used for both cases. Think about everything you two have ever told me about anything to do with magecraft for a moment, and I'm sure you'll manage to piece together my idea."
Both the kids went silent as they thought about it. To their credit, they were getting better too; only took a few seconds for the look of realization to come to their faces.
"You can't be serious" Sortiara immediately blurted out.
"That's an insane risk" Johnathan spoke at more or less the same time.
"Ah, but this is a game, and you're on the back foot, nearly eliminated" I grinned. "If there was ever a time for risky plays, would it not be now?"
"Well, yes, but this-"
"If they ignore this, then-"
I had to wave an arm to get the kids to stop talking over each other and to quiet down.
"But that's the thing: they can't ignore it" I pointed out once the two kids settled down. "Assassin's master is tied to the Mages Association, even if indirectly, and what is the single most important thing to the Association?"
"That magecraft remain a secret" Sortiara answered.
"So, as Assassin's master is the last master with ties to the Association present, who's duty is it now to ensure this absolute disaster of a war doesn't reach the absolute worst-case scenario?"
"His" Johnathan answered this time.
"So, you know Assassin's master will show up. As such, you know that Assassin will show up. You also know that, by refusing to move, you force Assassin to fight you, to erase the evidence. The evidence, of course, being the Heroic Spirit remaining."
"But if it's two on one, he still might-"
"It wouldn't be two on one" Sortiara cut off Johnathan's train of thought. "It would be one on one."
"What? Why would it-" Johnathan began to question before it swiftly dawned on him as to why. "Because Assassin's master will still want to win…"
"So you cannot eliminate his potential to win" I confirmed. "All you can do is give yourself a chance to win. One of you, that is. As to who, I don't care, but practically speaking, Johnathan and Saber do have the better chance, considering the two command spells remaining."
"Fat chance I'm just giving up now" Sortiara immediately shot down the idea. "Lancer and I are fighting to the end."
"Sortiara, think on this" Johnathan tried to reason. "What's better overall-"
"I'm not just handing you the grail, Johnathan" Sortiara shut him down immediately. "It may not be what we originally agreed on, but it's clear we go no further than this together. If you want to back out, by all means, I'm more than happy to-"
"While I hold the advantage over you? Not happening" Johnathan dismissed.
"Then it seems like you two have decided" I interjected before they could start fighting each other.
A bit too early for that, after all.
"Now, with all that out of the way, prepare yourselves" I grinned as the two kids turned to face me. "One way or another, this all ends tonight. So, go out there, have fun, and put on one hell of a show."
A/N
Hey, look at that. A post up within a decent timeframe. Praise be, for it's a god damn miracle xD
