Chapter XIII
Atalanta and I had followed Mordred out of the Gardens as Ruler and Archer of Black had taken another route, no doubt to regroup and tell the Yggdmillennia clan what had happened and that basically, their Holy Grail War had become a mess now. Dad was right, these Grail Wars barely seemed to be worth it.
"Mordred, right?" I asked the Servant of the Sword once the three of us were back on the ground and standing in the ruins of what had once been a brick building.
She frowned in annoyance, "I don't like people using my name so casually like that, but yeah, I'm the Knight of Treachery. What's up?"
"Where's the old man?"
"Huh? Oh, he stayed back," she replied with a shrug. "Given the defenses that I had to go through to get to that room you were all in, it was a good thing too. Not that I don't trust my Master to take care of himself, but that bitch of an Assassin had some nasty toys set up."
Then why the hell didn't Semiramis use them to defeat the Servants of Black when they invaded? Oh right, Shirou wanted to recruit all the Servants to his side. But why? Why consolidate all Servants involved with the War when he already had the Holy Grail? Semiramis may have been summoned as an Assassin, but she could probably tweak the Grail's systems to allow her Master to summon more Servants. And given that he was currently supporting four Servants while being one himself (maybe?), he didn't seem to mind the mana consumption.
This Grail War was all kinds of fucked up.
I shook my head before addressing Mordred again, "So what do you and the old man plan on doing now?"
"Dunno," she shrugged. "We just found out that the priest turned out to be a Servant, so there's that. And to top it all off, he has both the large majority of the Servants on his side and has possession of the Greater Grail."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Yeah, this situation was bad news stacked on top of more bad news. Though if I live to see the end of this, I would love to see Barthomeloi tear the Church a new one since it was their representative who went AWOL and took the Greater Grail to Root knows where.
"Though I could ask the same of you," continued Mordred, eyeing me in interest.
I looked over at Atalanta, but she seemed to be lost in thought and not paying attention to the conversation, occasionally giving me glances from the corner of her eye before looking away again. Oh right, the bastard of a priest brought up New Mexico.
Shit.
"We're probably going to consider our choices," I turned back to the Saber Servant. "With the way everything is though, it's a given that we might ally ourselves with the Black faction."
"Yeah, I get it," Mordred nodded, frowning contemplatively. "Us too probably."
"For now, Archer and I should get back to our camp," I said. "You and the old man are welcome to join us. If he still has the phone I gave him, I can send him our camp's location."
Mordred was silent for a moment, no doubt asking her Master via her mental link to him from their Master-Servant bond before she nodded at me. "Yeah, we'll join you. I'll wait here for my Master, you two can go on ahead."
I nodded in return and turned on my heel in the direction of the camp, a still pensive Atalanta following me.
…
By the time Atalanta and I made it back to our camp, I could tell that Atalanta was full to the brim with questions. Tossing the remains of Custom Eagle on my workbench, I sighed as I grabbed Mugetsu from my back and set it on the table as well. Rebecca was going to kill me when she found out what happened to the custom-made Desert Eagle.
Shrugging out of the ruins of my blazer, I tossed it onto the back of the workbench's chair. A shame, I liked that blazer. Leaning back against the worktable, I crossed my arms as my gaze was drawn to my Servant. The walk over had been silent and I was uncomfortable with it. She knew I had been abused during my second kidnapping, but I never told her any of the particulars because it never became relevant again. There was little doubt that she wanted to respect my privacy, but also couldn't help her curiosity.
Maybe I should tell someone else, Axelle always did say that the more I talked about it, the better I could process and heal from it.
"I know you want to ask about it," I spoke as I walked over to my bed and sat on it. "It's okay if you want to ask, ask. I'll tell you."
Atalanta stared at me for a long moment, no doubt considering my offer intensely. It wasn't long before she sighed before taking in a deep breath, staring at me with those vibrant green eyes of hers. "Faelan, what happened in New Mexico?"
Steepling my fingers together, I opened my mouth, but for some reason, I couldn't speak. I stayed that way for a long moment, trying to make a sound, but then slowly I closed my mouth before looking down at my joined hands. Besides Axelle, my therapist, I have told no one of my memories of the event, not even Mom and Dad. And to be honest, telling someone else scared me for some reason. I was broken out of my thoughts when Atalanta knelt before me, putting her atop mine.
"Whenever you're ready," she smiled.
Huh, smiling made her pretty. Well, more pretty anyway. Still, it was best not to have those thoughts at the moment, not when I was about to be emotionally compromised. Giving a sigh, I nodded before shifting over to give her some room to sit.
"I mentioned that I was tortured before, right?" I finally found my voice.
"Yes," she nodded sitting beside me, "I remember it when we were discussing my wish on the train to Sighisoara, but you never elaborated further on it."
"A cult comprised of mediocre first-generation mages were interested in one of the Lesser Grail Wars that was being conducted in the state of New Mexico in America," I began. "And being first-gen mages, it meant the quality of their circuits were subpar compared to already established mage families, much less the old ones. Even with a Lesser Grail providing most of the mana, the longest the best member of the cult could probably have supported a Servant would be a day if the summoned Servant remained materialized. One of them apparently found out about how Ashford heirs have been rumored to be exceptional in some way…"
"And figured they could use you to supply their Servant instead," Atalanta finished, scowling in anger. "But to do that to a child!"
"They are still mages," I shrugged. "Plus, their wish for the Grail was to gain exceptional magic circuits. The death of a child they didn't know was an acceptable cost to their eyes. But apparently, they got it into their heads that why should they wait for a Grail to grant their wish when they had a kid with more than average number of circuits in front of them."
"They wished to transplant your circuits to themselves?!" she exclaimed incredulously.
"Yeah," I nodded, "but the problem was, they had no idea what they were doing, so every day became a twisted game of surgical experimentation." Chuckling mirthlessly, I stared at my arms. "They'd cut me open head to toe and root around like I was a goddamn Operation board game, taking out my organs and bones in vain attempts to try to figure out how to pull out my circuits. Unfortunately, one of the members was uniquely specialized in a form of healing magecraft, so the whole time I was conscious."
"You were conscious for the whole time?" she stared at me, horrified.
"Yeah," I sighed. "Day after day, I woke up tied to an operating table to get my skin cut open as they rooted around for hours and I'd go to sleep as they were stitching me close. After the second day, I was too tired to even scream in pain."
"How long?" she asked, trembling.
How long was I kept by that cult?
I frowned as I rubbed my forehead, "Over a week, maybe? After the third day, everything began to blur together before I woke up and found out that Mom and the old man rescued me. Hmm, maybe it was two weeks?"
Feeling the bed shake enough to break me from my thoughts, I looked over to Atalanta and saw that she was angry so much that her very form looked like it was moments away from exploding in mana. Reaching over, I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Atalanta, it's okay, it's all in the past now."
"Okay?! How can it be okay?!" she demanded, rounding on me as she grabbed the collar of my shirt. "How can any of it be okay?! You were operated on as a child by uncaring mages who had no idea what they were doing! It was torture, plain and simple! How can you be so frivolous about your own abuse?!"
Staring at her, at her rage, I couldn't tell what angered her more; the fact that I was a child when I was basically tortured, or that I was tortured in the first place. And if I was being honest, that was what cemented my feelings for her.
"Because I've had ten years so far to go over it, talk about it, and eventually accept it," I replied before smiling at her. "That journey to do so has been long and arduous, and unfortunately still ongoing. I have yet to unseal the last memories of what happened in New Mexico, remember?" Placing my hands on her arms, I gently got her to let go of me. "But I thank you, Atalanta, for caring."
"I…" she hesitated for a moment before she nodded, unable to say anything else.
Silence fell between us, as the both of us were unsure as to continue. I was letting the memories of my abuse come and go and not latch onto the nightmarish memories and fall into despair. It was easy to do that, to give in. It took nearly everything I had not to get caught up in a particular, yet hazy memory of scalpels cutting into my body and hands rooting around as if searching for an insignificant bauble.
Good evening, Faelan. How are we doing?
No.
No! Stop it!
Let the memories flow!
Don't. Latch. On!
Feeling Atalanta's hand place itself over my clenched fist as she leaned against my shoulder, I discovered that my fist was trembling until she had done so and that my breathing rate was increasing. Looking over to her, to her bright, caring green eyes. I had to close my own eyes to stop myself from falling into the abyss that was my own memories, biting my lip so hard that had drawn blood from it. Honestly, I hated how easily it could to fall and lose so much progress in moving on. All it took was one stupid detail, one goddamn memory to get through, and then suddenly, you're back to where you started.
I don't know how long we stayed like that as I desperately let my memories flow away, could've been minutes, could've been an hour. I just knew that I probably shouldn't be alone right now and that there was someone willing to support me. Soon, my breathing slowed and my thoughts calmed, and after several more moments had passed, neither of us made to move from our position.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, barely able to find my voice.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," she replied, just as quiet. "It is I who must apologize for bringing up those memories. I am truly sorry."
"No, it's just that I…" I tried, unable to put into words what I was thinking, feeling.
"Shh." Her thumb began to slowly rub against the back of mine. "You don't have to speak, Faelan. Right now, nothing matters. Not the War, not the Holy Grail, just do whatever you need to do."
Taking comfort in that, I allowed myself to relax and lean against her. And it was only after I had done so did I realize that my body felt sore from how stiff it had ended being so wound up from. We stayed that way, her continuing to rub the back of my thumb with her own, for a long while. And with it being nighttime, there wasn't a way for me to even check the time without pulling out my phone, especially since I felt too exhausted to do so.
"Ehem, I hope we're not interrupting."
Never before did I ever move so fast as I scrambled away from Atalanta with her moving just as quickly. With my face a beet red, I turned over to glare at a widely grinning Kairi Sisigou and beside him, Mordred had the same wide grin as her Master.
"Cuz you know, we could step out if you want us to," Sisigou offered slyly.
"How-how long have you been there?!" I demanded, still red-cheeked.
"We just got here," he shrugged with his grin still remaining. "But seriously, if you want us to leave, we will."
Feeling my brow twitch rather violently, I continued glaring at the Necromancer. "So help me, old man, I will use Mugetsu as a steering stick after stabbing you with it so I can use your corpse as a meat toboggan!"
The reactions of everyone else varied for while Mordred looked impressed and had become deep in thought, no doubt thinking if such a threat was possible, while the old man cringed as he took a step back. Though I couldn't tell what Atalanta's reaction was given that she had her back turned to us the moment the old man had spoken up, not that I really blamed her.
"Yeah, you're definitely Aella's kid," I heard Sisigou mumble with a grimace.
Eventually, though, everything calmed down as all four of us found places to sit or lounge on. Sisigou was sitting on a chair while Mordred was sitting cross-legged on top of one of the tables. Atalanta and I had gone back to sitting on my bed, though there was some polite distance between us this time.
"Can I get you both anything?" I offered, having calmed down and deciding to be a good host. "Tea? Water? Snacks?"
"What kinda snacks you got?" asked Mordred, her interest piqued.
I began to list off the supply of snacks I had, "Cookies, chips, crackers, dried fruit, beef jerky, trail mix, assorted nuts, granola bars…"
"Eh, just gimme a little bit of everything," she shrugged.
I blinked, "Okay then. Anything for you, old man?"
"Tea's fine," Sisigou replied.
Nodding, I put water in the electronic kettle and turned it on before grabbing an empty platter from the Gate of Babylon. I had thrown it into there on a whim, but it looked pretty and expensive, so I didn't want Lin playing around with it.
"So your father wasn't kidding, you really do have the Gate of Babylon," said Sisigou, breaking the silence.
I blinked before looking up to see that the Necromancer was looking over at me in intrigue, or rather the golden ripple that signified that a portal to the Gate was opened. As the ripple closed, I walked to the electronic kettle, poured the hot water into a teapot before grabbing a small container, grabbed a few tea leaves from it and placed it in the teapot, and allowed it to steep for a bit.
"Dad told you that I had it?" I asked as I continued grabbing snacks and putting it on the platter.
"Yeah," Sisigou nodded, "he sent me a letter the day I left for Romania, asked me to keep an eye on you just in case. Mentioned that you had a key to it and could unlock the Gate."
The only ones who knew that I had a key to the King of Heroes' treasure house were my parents and Lorelei Barthomeloi. And now I could add the old man to the list, along with a majority of the remaining Servants. While I didn't mind Sisigou knowing, he wasn't a gossip anyway, I wasn't really keen on making the list any bigger. Hopefully, I could buy off the silence of Yggdmillennia and add a geis scroll while I was at it as I had little doubt that Archer of Black has at least mentioned the Gate to his Master.
"But tell me," he continued, "is you activating the Gate the reason why your eye color changed and they're now red?"
I blinked, "They're what now?"
The old man glanced over at Atalanta, "You didn't tell him?"
"Other matters had more precedence," Atalanta shifted uncomfortably.
Frowning at the two, I pulled out my phone and opened up the camera app, setting it to the selfie setting. Looking at my own reflection, I was surprised to see that the old man was right. What had been gray was now a deep red.
"That's gonna be tough to explain to Lin when she asks…" I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Faelan, forgive me," Atalanta said hesitantly. "I was going to tell you when I first saw the change back in the Hanging Gardens, but…"
"It's fine," I waved off with a sardonic smile. "I had a feeling there would be some sort of consequence for using the Gate as I did. Never thought that changing my eye color would be it though."
"It never happened before?" frowned the old man.
"I never used it as a weapon before," I shrugged. "Until now, I've only opened it to store items, never take out."
"What is the Gate, exactly?" asked Mordred, taking a moment from drooling as I continued to pile the small mountain of food onto the platter. "We Heroic Spirits know of the Gate of Babylon due to it being in the King of Heroes' legend, but we don't know anything beyond that Gilgamesh had it."
"The Gate of Babylon is a storehouse that contains all of the treasures that Gilgamesh collected over his travels," I replied as I walked over to her, platter of food in hand, and handed it over to her before going back to the kitchen area to get the teapot. Taking out three teacups, I poured tea into all the cups before taking them and handed one over to the old man before taking the other two for Atalanta and I. "The treasury itself exists between dimensions, so there isn't really a physical place for anyone to find it as the only physical door to the treasury was destroyed centuries ago. That's why no one in today's era has found it, magus or mundane."
"Until you did," Kairi gave a nod in thanks for his tea before his brows raised from behind his shades. Though I was confused as to why he wore them when it was dark out. "Oh, is this gyokuro?"
"Since we lived after the priest's betrayal, I thought why not celebrate a little?" I shrugged as I handed Atalanta hers.
"Heh, can't argue with that," he shook his head before taking a sip. "Mm, good stuff."
"Thank you," Atalanta nodded as she accepted the teacup and took a sip, her lion ears twitching a bit. She must like it too. Good thing, because this batch of gyokuro had cost me quite a big sum that Touko Aozaki charged me. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you find the key?"
"I found it in an urn in an off room in the Anu Ziggurat," I replied sitting back down.
"You were in Uruk?" Sisigou frowned.
"Yeah," I nodded, "after coming home from a bounty on a Sealing Designate turned Dead Apostle, I felt the urge to head over to go to Iraq and then to what was once Sumer. I don't know why to be honest, but I am glad I did since I found the key to the Gate. Though I am surprised that it does open for me, I always figured only the King of Heroes was the only person the Gate opened for."
Everyone else was silent for a moment as everyone digested that.
"Faelan, are you truly a descendant of Gilgamesh?" Atalanta asked, breaking the silence. No doubt subtly referencing what Camden had tried to do to me when I was a kid.
I turned to her. "Yeah, I am," I shrugged. "The Ashford family is the only one left with a direct line to him while other branches of his lineage have either fallen to ruin or were killed off for one reason or another. Hasn't helped that there's been a near-constant conflict in the Middle East, so many of the more "pure" lines have disappeared."
The Ashford branch to Gilgamesh's line had been created when a curse specialist from Iraq migrated to England some few hundred years back in order to broaden her education of magecraft. She met an heir of the Ashford family and the rest was history.
"So if the Gate of Babylon is a treasury, how much loot is in there?" asked Mordred, gnawing on a cookie.
"When I found it? None," I replied, taking a sip of my tea.
"None?" Atalanta blinked.
"None," I nodded. "Sometime after Gilgamesh's death, Darius I was the first person to have found a way to open the Gate, then again by the Assyrian Queen Nitocris, and again by Darius III. All the treasures that Gilgamesh collected had spread all over the world as many coveted the riches and various weapons for one reason or another."
"So then what did you put in it?" asked Atalanta. "During the battle with Lancer of Black, you fired several weapons that were holy in origin, but what else did you put in there?"
"Holy in origin?" Sisigou raised a brow at me from behind his shades.
"Black Keys," I explained, "An associate of mine who I sometimes run into on Dead Apostle hunts gives them to me in lieu of payments for favors. And over the years, I've tossed every one of them into the Gate, so I have a small stockpile of them, but the battle against Lancer of Black and his Master has depleted some of that amount." Though oddly enough I had no idea that the Gate of Babylon could fire weapons like that prior to the fight with Lancer/Darnic, instinct drove me to do it. Although, I wonder if Gilgamesh used the Gate of Babylon like that when he was alive.
"How much do you have left?" asked Sisigou curiously.
"Mm, about fifty-six or so, give or take," I replied before taking another sip of my tea.
"Well, it's a shame that you don't have any awesome Noble Phantasms in there," sighed Mordred as she munched on some potato chips.
I couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. Indeed it was a shame that there weren't any Noble Phantasms in there, well one that I could use anyway, so the only way I had been using it prior to the battle with Lancer/Darnic was basically an inventory system like in video games. However, unlike those video games, my inventory system was infinite for there were several doors that led to other rooms in the Gate of Babylon. Sure, all those rooms were empty and a few of them had traps that I wasn't willing to go through and disable as Gilgamesh himself probably set those up, but the Gate itself seemed to be infinite.
"I hate to be a Debby Downer, but I have to ask, what are your thoughts concerning the priest and the Grail?" said Sisigou, his expression turning serious.
For a moment, I was quiet as I looked down into my tea.
Atalanta, what do you think?
We have little choice in the matter and quite honestly, I am glad that you had the foresight of not remaining with the priest. Who knows what he and Assassin have done to coerce the other Masters to give up their Command Seals. It's harrowing to think the same could have happened to you.
Yeah, I'm glad that I dodged that bullet.
Indeed, as for what we should do, we have little choice but to join the Black faction for now. They may have only two Servants left, but they still have access to more resources and have more defenses set up than we do, despite the damage done to the battle.
Amazing how this War is turning out to be, isn't it?
You mean headache-inducing?
That too.
"Atalanta and I will join the Black faction, albeit for as long as interests align," I replied before taking another sip of my tea.
"Yeah," Sisigou nodded, sharing a look with Mordred, "same with us two."
Mordred frowned to the side, "As long as I get a chance to put that bitch of an Assassin in her place, I'd even join the Saxons themse-"
All three of us were surprised when the Saber servant suddenly disappeared, leaving her platter of food behind.
"Uh, old man?" I raised a brow at him.
Sisigou frowned before his expression went through a myriad of emotions, signifying that he was conversing with his Servant via their mental link. "It seems the Black faction are dealing with Caster of Black's Noble Phantasm, a golem made to be a complete copy of the primordial human, Adam. Ruler called her over to help them deal with that."
I blinked, "The one that made the world around him into Eden?" A thought then occurred to me as I turned my gaze over to Atalanta who was just as confused as the rest of us. "Wait, then why didn't Ruler call you too?"
"Perhaps it requires more precision than strength?" Atalanta shrugged. "As powerful as my Noble Phantasm is, it is similar to the carpet bombs in today's era of weapons. Or perhaps given the amount of Servants there are in the vicinity they may also be worried about friendly fire, my Noble Phantasm is indiscriminate to anything beyond my position. However, I remind you that they still do have Archer of Black, so likewise my involvement as an Archer Servant could be unneeded for that particular fight. Of course, this is all conjecture."
Finding no flaw in her explanation, not without any more information anyway, I shrugged as I went back to my tea and the old man seemed to be of the same mind as he did the same.
"We should approach the Black faction in the morning," I spoke, lowering my teacup.
"Right," Sisigou nodded.
"Until then, you're welcome to stay for the night," I offered before gesturing to the far-off wall. "There's some extra beds stowed away over there. The kitchen area's free for you to use, so help yourself to any food, and there's a working toilet in the back along with a bathtub if you want to wash yourself."
"Thanks, kid, I think I will stay," he nodded.
The rest of the night passed by without much fanfare after that, save for Mordred coming back sometime later looking no worse for wear. Though she did go back to eating her food platter that she had left behind, giving a brief explanation of what had occurred on her end of things. Eventually, everyone soon became mentally exhausted given current events and after the three of us finished the tea and Saber finished her mini snack feast, dishes were cleaned and put away before we all tucked in for the night.
…
The next morning, the old man and I were standing in the field where the last night's battle took place after sending Yggdmillennia a message that we wanted to parley. Though I had a change of clothes given the blazer of my previous outfit was missing a sleeve. So I had changed into a red sleeveless and zippered turtleneck, a black and grey two-tone jacket that was left unzippered and open with the sleeves fastened to just below my elbow, and a pair of black pants. I had switched out my black gloves out for a pair of fingerless ones and I also kept my black boots, but I had strapped on a pair of boot gaiters over them, the boot gaiters themselves were black that faded to red at the bottom.
Strapped to my back was Mugetsu and holstered on my right thigh was the 5.7 Custom and I knew the old Necromancer was still keeping his sawed-off shotgun on his person. Even if the old man and I were forced to join the opposite faction, we weren't stupid that we'd go in weaponless. As for our Servants, Atalanta had found a perch that had an unobstructed view of our current position and Mordred was waiting nearby in case the Yggdmillennia decided that teaming up with us wasn't worth it and decided to get rid of a couple of unnecessary factors.
"You really think they'll ally themselves with us?" I expressed my doubts to the old man.
"They do only have two Servants left," the old man countered. "Well, three if you count the homunculus. And the priest has four of his own on top of being a Servant himself, so it would make sense they'd want to even the playing field as much as possible."
Right, Sieg was somehow able to transform himself into a Siegfried. It probably had to do with the Saber of Black's heart being in the guy, but it was a miracle in of itself that Sieg hadn't exploded or liquified in the two instances that it had happened. Better make sure only to tell Barthomeloi about this as several departments would be extremely interested in dissecting Sieg just to see how it all worked.
"Fair enough," I shrugged as my attention drifted to the scenery.
How peculiar that everything seemed so peaceful given that a battle between Heroic Spirits had occurred here hours ago.
"Hey kid," Sisigou nudged me before nodding at something behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I was surprised to find Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia in a wheelchair which was being pushed by Archer of Black. Not that I was surprised by her being in a wheelchair, I'm just surprised she wasn't using her Bronze-Link Manipulator. Even if both the old man and I found it more advantageous to ally ourselves to the remnants of the Black faction, we could at the very least be considered less dangerous enemies compared to the priest.
"Hmm, I assume both of your Servants are nearby?" asked Fiore as she and her Archer approached us.
"Yeah," Sisigou nodded. "A show of good faith."
"Hmm," she narrowed her eyes. "A moot point considering one is an Archer. Even without her Noble Phantasm, she is more than capable of taking down my own Archer and I from quite the distance if we were otherwise occupied. Perhaps the two of you are still aligned with the Red faction and are simply playing the long game."
Yeah, I don't blame her for considering the possibility. I would too in her shoes.
"If you'd like, I can recall her," I offered. "I'll even use a Command Seal to do it."
I still didn't know who Archer of Black is, but I had a suspicion since I remember Achilles calling the man "teacher" back during the fight with Lancer/Darnic. So if he was who I think he was, it wouldn't be impossible for him to take both the old man and I out before dealing with Atalanta's projectiles.
Fiore frowned at me, no doubt considering my offer. But then she shook her head, "No, you offering to do so is good enough. My Archer here and Ruler told me of what happened in the Hanging Gardens last night, at the very least I know that you responded to the threat… my clan's previous head had become to the sanctity of the Holy Grail War and the world itself, and acted accordingly as an Enforcer bound to the Barthomelois."
I merely blinked at the name drop of my boss, but merely nodded at her words.
"You on the other hand," Fiore turned her gaze over to the old man, "are a freelancer. Who's to say that the priest hasn't hired you to infiltrate us?"
"Well for one," Sisigou frowned, "I never trusted the guy the moment I met him when I registered at the beginning of the War. That one meeting was the only time I've ever spoken to him as Saber and I have been doing our own thing until the skirmish in Sighisoara and last night's battle."
"I vouch for him," I spoke up at Fiore's frown. "I know you don't technically trust me since this is the first time we're meeting and not fighting, but I swear on my family name that he can be trusted so long as all of us have mutually aligned interests."
Fiore had turned her gaze back at me and stared for a long moment before shaking her head. "Very well, it's not like we can be choosy who our allies can be for the moment." Straightening in her chair, she regarded us both. "As our allies then, Ruler wants to convene the remaining Servants and Masters and discuss what is to be done given recent events. Come along."
As Archer of Black wheeled his Master around back towards the Citadel, Sisigou and I followed after them as our Servant were making their way back towards us. By the time both Servants materialized at our respective sides, we had reached the Citadel proper and I had to refrain myself from making a low whistle at the damage done to the Citadel from Berserker of Red's Noble Phantasm. Of course, I was on the Citadel grounds when it happened, but it was dark and all I saw was the destruction around me at the time. Furthermore, I hadn't bothered to look back down at the place when Rider picked us up, so I didn't really see the full extent of the damage. I still don't, but I could tell it was going to cost a tidy sum to rebuild it all.
Though I did note that a large number of homunculi and golems remained, as the sizable force was busying themselves with clearing scattered debris or helping injured homunculi. I wonder if Sieg's group stayed as well. Eventually, Fiore and Archer of Black had led inside the Citadel building and into a room with a table big enough to accommodate a sizable party. Already seated were Sieg, Rider of Black, Ruler, Fiore's brother Caules, and a rotund man I recognized as Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia. Soon, everyone began to make introductions as Ruler revealed the True Names of every Servant present. I honestly didn't care and neither did Atalanta, though I did note that Mordred was grumbling to herself.
"Hey, Sieg, you manage to get your friend's out okay?" I greeted the homunculus as Chiron brought his Master to the head of the table.
Sieg looked surprised for a moment before nodding. "Yes, though they have decided to stay for the moment. Thank you again for helping me."
That got everyone's attention, especially the Yggdmillennia clan members.
"Was that why you were here last night?" Fiore frowned at me.
"Not really," I shook my head as Atalanta and I stood against the wall opposite of the old man and Mordred. "I initially wanted to cause some havoc for you Yggdmillennia Masters while the battle was going on or either kill you outright or blackmail your Servants by taking each of you hostage." Caules, Fiore, and Gordes regarded me cautiously. "But then I ran into Sieg here and he begged me not to kill any of the homunculi but I decided to help him out instead. The fires I created were intended to be a distraction to let his group escape."
"I see," Fiore maintained her frown at me.
Why help them, Faelan?
Dunno really. That Sieg guy is so incredibly naive, he kinda reminds me of a kid. So I guess maybe that's why I did it, just couldn't help myself really.
So, you were reminded of Lin, then?
Ah, no. Even Lin isn't that naive and wouldn't trust a complete stranger that she just met. If I were any other magus, I would've milked that guy for everything he owned, either used his fellow homunculi for my ends or outright killed them, before killing the kid last.
Is he really that bad?
Atalanta, it's like he was born yesterday. And I mean that without any amount of jest or sarcasm.
I see…
"If we can get to the matter at hand here," Ruler cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
"Ah, yes," Fiore shook her head before turning her attention to the War overseeing Servant. "Let's."
The Ruler Servant, Jeanne d'Arc, regarded all of us before she nodded at Saber of Black. "First, we must discuss the crux of the matter concerning what I learned last night."
"Which is?" asked Caules.
"The wish that the Master of Red, that controls the majority of Red Servants, wishes to make on the Grail," spoke Ruler. "That wish is the salvation of humanity."
A beat passed as we all processed that.
Salvation of humanity? I couldn't help but glance at Atalanta from the corner of my eye. Why? Because her wish and the priest's were similar. While the intentions may be good, the actual enacting of the wish could become dire depending on the person's perspective and the wish's wording.
"Salvation of humanity?!" Gordes guffawed into incredulous laughter.
"Yes, that is what Shirou Kotomine said," Ruler frowned before shaking her head. "Or rather, Shirou Amakusa."
I frowned as I considered the name, ignoring everyone as they began to bicker about the capabilities of the Holy Grail and if such a wish was actually possible. I never heard of the name, Amakusa, but then again, I never paid much attention to East Asian history as the farthest I've ever been deployed on a hunt or mission was Turkey and the farthest I've ever traveled overall was Iraq.
As the old man pointed out a potential flaw in Shirou Amakusa's wish, causing everyone to bicker over that, I turned my attention to my Servant.
Atalanta, does the Grail provide you any information regarding the priest since you know his True Name?
Vaguely. His legend tells of a man who was capable of performing miracles and followed the Christian faith. He led a small rebellion but failed due to one of his own collaborating with the enemy and as a result, every person who followed Amakusa died before he was executed as well. His legend doesn't tell of a man who was a warrior or a soldier, just a man who tried to break the status quo and push against the world, but paid the price for it as the world pushed back.
I see…
"Enforcer Ashford, do you have anything to say?"
Upon hearing my name called out, I looked at everyone else. I had been offhandedly listening to the conversation, so I knew what everyone was talking about, but to be honest, I didn't have anything worthwhile to add to the discussion.
"Not really, no," I shook my head. "Regardless, with the potential threat that Amakusa represents, it is imperative that we intercept Assassin of Red's Hanging Gardens and obtain the Grail to either dismantle or destroy."
"You want to get rid of the Greater Grail?!" Gordes demanded incredulously.
"Indeed," I nodded, ignoring his outburst. "Assassin of Red is capable of Age of the Gods level magecraft. If given enough time, I wouldn't put it past her or their Caster to be able to subvert the Grail's ingrained systems so that only her Master would be able to access the Grail's mysteries after letting everyone else on his team have a whack of it even if Amakusa's wish didn't kill everyone on the planet."
That certainly got everyone's attention as they had not considered that possibility.
"Optimally, it would be better if we could dismantle the Grail while allowing the remaining Servants to remain, however, time is of the essence, here," I continued.
"Agreed," Fiore nodded. "Despite the distance the Hanging Gardens has already made, catching up to it should be relatively easy."
"We could chase them with a plane," Caules proposed.
"Yeah, luckily they don't have an Archer anymore," the old man nodded, "however, that doesn't mean that the Hanging Gardens isn't without its defenses. I'm sure the Rider Servant here can attest to that."
The pink-haired Rider of Black grimaced. "Yeah, shooting down a plane with her magecraft would be possible for Assassin of Red."
"Yes, Assassin of Red," Chiron, Archer of Black, frowned. "True Name; Semiramis. An ancient queen of Baylon that had managed to restore that kingdom and is known to be the old poisoner in human history. While they have suffered losses to their number, three Servants of Black have also already been defeated."
"And to top it all off, our Assassin went AWOL," sighed Caules.
"Then it's a good thing that the two Masters of Red who didn't join Amakusa are willing to ally themselves with us," spoke Fiore, glancing over to Sisigou and I.
"Well, if it's to take down Shirou Amakusa, I'm all for it," nodded the old Necromancer. "Besides, neither the kid or I can really do anything until he's gone. What about you, Saber?"
Mordred narrowed her eyes, her gaze moving towards the homunculus at the table, "Lemme settle the score with that knockoff Saber first."
This elicited a reaction from Rider of Black as he (?) stood up and stood in front of Sieg with his (?) arms held out protectively. Oh, so did the homunculus become a Master? Well, even if this Grail War was completely fucked up beyond all recognition, at least it was interesting. Though if Rider of Black's True Name was Astolfo, a Paladin Knight of Charlemagne, I had to wonder why he was dressed as a girl.
"What a loyal dog," Mordred scoffed, rolling her eyes at the Rider Servant. "Anyway, the priest's underlings piss me off, especially that poison wench, Assassin of Red."
Kairi, Atalanta, and I couldn't help but smirk in agreement.
"Very well then, then everyone here can agree to a truce to defeat Shirou Amakusa," concluded Fiore.
"Yeah, we can even bind it with a geis scroll if you want," Kairi offered.
"No, neither of you have to go that far," Fiore shook her head, "your word will be sufficient enough. We all understand what's at stake here."
I raised a brow but kept my mouth shut. What magus would trust another like that? I didn't because I knew every other mage would stab another in the back without even thinking about it. I myself didn't go around trying to be underhanded because I found the practice too annoying and quite honestly, I didn't hang around any other magus besides the ones in Barthomeloi's direct employ. And no one went around backstabbing one another in fear of the Queen of the Clocktower's wrath. But to find a person who was willing to trust another, even despite the circumstances…
With the meeting adjourned, every one made to leave.
"I'd like to ask that the Masters of Red along with Sieg remain for a moment," requested Ruler.
"If I may," I approached Fiore and her Servant on their way out, "I'd like to apologize for attacking you last night, Lady Forvedge."
"No, it's quite alright," she shook her head with a small smile. "Under those circumstances, we were in a Holy Grail War. And as you said, it was a typical mage tactic."
"Speaking of tactics," spoke up Chiron, "I commend you for your quick thinking last night in light of Darnic's actions. If it wasn't for you, it's possible Lancer could have found a way to escape and be set upon the world."
"It was nothing," I shook my head. "All I did was act as according to my station as an Enforcer under the employ of the Barthomeloi." The Queen would have skinned me alive if I were to ignore a vampiric threat like that. "Coming from the legendary teacher of Greek heroes, however, is quite the compliment," I smirked at the centaur. For a second, I wondered why he didn't look like a centaur, but then again, he'd probably take up a lot of room if he did.
Chiron chuckled, "As you say, I am a teacher of heroes. As such I do have an eye for talent. You must be proud to have such a Master, Atalanta."
"I am indeed thankful," she nodded, "Who knows where I would be if Faelan wasn't my Master."
"We can speak again later," Fiore spoke up, interjecting. "For now, there are matters I must attend to and Ruler still requires your attention."
"Of course," I nodded, stepping aside to allow the two through.
"Is it really over already?" complained Mordred.
Looking over, I saw that Ruler had taken the old man's hand that held his Command Seals. Which before only had one Seal beforehand, now has two.
"What did you expect from a Command Seal transfer?" Ruler raised a brow at Saber.
"I dunno," Mordred shrugged. "Something awesome maybe?"
"Huh, you were true to your word," Sisigou looked down at his new Command Seal.
"Feel free to hand over the last one whenever," grinned Mordred, throwing an arm over Ruler's shoulder. "I mean, you are gonna give it to me, right?"
"I am afraid I cannot promise you that," Ruler shook her head before throwing Mordred's arm off of her and walked over to Sieg. "Give me your hand, Sieg, you're next." However, before the homunculus could protest, she took his hand. Pausing for a moment, she frowned at him. "In addition to the first time, you also transformed to defeat Avicebron's Keter Malkuth, Adam, meaning you have transformed twice in total."
"Yes, that's right," Sieg frowned.
I am still trying to wrap my head around that concept, spoke Atalanta via the mental link.
Yeah, so am I. Hell, I know several mages back in the Clocktower who would give their legs, right arm, and their heir, for a chance to dissect and observe Sieg to see how he hasn't killed himself in the process of becoming a Servant.
"Command Seals are coalesced magical energy as designed by one of the founding families of the Holy Grail War system, the Makiris," Ruler continued for Sieg's sake, as the Servants, the old man, and I knew what they were. "Typically, Command Seals disappear when the power is lost or used up."
"Mine aren't completely gone yet," Sieg frowned at the remaining Seal on the back of his left hand, before noticing the contemplative frown on Ruler's face. "Uh, is something wrong?"
"Hm? No, it's nothing," Ruler broke out of her reverie and began the process of transferring Command Seals.
I remained quiet as I noticed that Ruler had transferred over to Sieg two Command Seals, bringing him back to three Seals.
"Being on your final Command Seal is an issue," said Ruler, "therefore, I have transferred two over to you."
"Wait, what?!" Mordred cried out. "That's not fair!"
"Stop!" Astolfo stepped forward to protect his master.
"Outta my way, pipsqueak!" the Sabre of Red demanded.
"Shut up, you delinquent!" the Rider of Black fired back.
"The hell you just call me?!"
"Will the two of you grow up?" Ruler sighed, shaking her head at the two Servant's bickering.
"Thank you, Ruler," Sieg smiled.
"Only twice," Ruler warned him, "that is the only amount of times you are allowed to transform into Saber of Black. You must make sure you must never use your final Command Seal."
"What? Why?" blinked Sieg, confounded.
"Do you not understand?" Ruler spoke incredulously. "The fact that you are alive and in this current state is nothing short of a miracle in and of itself! And miracles are not without cost! These Command Seals are stealing something important from you, Sieg, something important."
"From me?" frowned Sieg, lowering his gaze. "What would anyone want to take from me? I don't have anything. Nothing that is similar in worth to a miracle."
"That… that is not the point!" Ruler pressed before turning to the homunculus' Servant. "Rider, please make sure your Master doesn't hurt himself."
"Leave it to me!" Astolfo thrust his chest out, beaming in pride. "I'll make sure to keep my Master in custody!"
…
The fuck?
"Er, I mean safe."
Massaging her temples with her thumb and fingers, Ruler turned her attention back to Sieg. "Now that you are a Master, you also gain the responsibilities such a role entails. As such, you must keep a good grip on Rider's reins."
"Right," Sieg nodded.
I raised a brow but still remained quiet when Ruler took Sieg's hand again. "And remember," she spoke, "never use your last Command Seal… Miracles do not come without cost in this world."
Idly, I noticed the old man shifting minutely.
"Ehem, Ruler, is there any specific reason as to why I'm here as well?" I cleared my throat to get her attention.
"Yes," she nodded, letting go of Sieg's hand, and approached me. "I wish to reward you as well for your efforts in aiding with taking down Lancer of Black."
I frowned, "What? But I still have all three Command Seals."
"Regardless," she shook her head, lifting her hand up, silently asking for mine, "you realized the threat Lancer of Black represented and acted accordingly to the rules of the Holy Grail. Such heroism should be rewarded."
I maintained my frown for a moment before I took her hand with some hesitation. Having four Command Seals was unprecedented and as far as I know, has not happened so far in the history of the Fuyuki Grail Wars or the subsequent Lesser Grail Wars. If we did manage to beat Amakusa and his faction and get the Grail back without taking any losses, the Grail War would have to continue. And having four Command Seals would put a large target on my back.
After Ruler transferred a Command Seal to me, I looked at the back of my right hand and was surprised to see that the fourth Seal took shape in the form of a broken chain link below the paw print that was my first three Command Seals. And I wasn't the only one to be confused at the design, for when I looked up at Ruler to ask her about it, she was frowning at the design of the fourth Seal as well.
"How interesting," she uttered under her breath. She then looked up to properly address me, "And to think that I thought I had a good handle on who you were. I believe that you are an interesting person, Descendant of Gilgamesh."
"What do you mean by that, Ruler?" Atalanta scowled at the blonde Servant, looking like she had been kicked in the stomach a bit.
"N-no! I didn't mean anything like that!" Ruler hastily let go of my hand to frantically wave her hands in denial, her cheeks red in embarrassment. "Honestly! I just think that your Master is full of surprises is all!"
"Oh, really?" Atalanta stepping in front of me, arms crossed all the while maintaining her scowl at the Ruler Servant.
I had to take a double-take as I watched Atalanta behave in a way I have never seen her do before. Hell, I didn't even know what to call it because I had no idea what she was doing or why she was acting this way.
"Uuu, really, really!" Jeanne cried out, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.
…
Sitting atop her throne in the throne room, Semiramis was frowning as she contemplated. Her thoughts weren't centered around her Master's plan, for she believed in his goal wholeheartedly and approved of her Master's actions. Though her thoughts were on a Master in this Holy Grail War, the Master of Archer of Red in particular. Something was off about that boy, she just didn't know what.
"Something wrong, Assassin?" asked Shirou as he climbed the stairs up to her, a concerned smile on his face.
"The Master of Archer, we should've disposed of him," she spoke. "He is a significant threat with the Gate of Babylon in his possession."
"If it was the King of Heroes' treasury, I would understand your concerns," Shirou shook his head. "However, Faelan's Gate of Babylon is this era's Gate, meaning all of the King's treasures are gone and have long since been distributed throughout the world. Faelan is a threat, I will agree with that, but not so much so that he will threaten my plans for the salvation of humanity."
"You sympathize with the boy," Semiramis accused with a frown.
"I do," Shirou smiled sheepishly, "I have not shared my findings on his background because of that. However, what happened to him is exactly why I want my dream, my goal, to come to fruition. So that children will not have to suffer what he did."
"Was what happened to the boy so horrific?" Semiramis asked dubiously.
"It is," Shirou nodded, his smile fading.
Semiramis was silent for a moment before she sighed, "Very well then, I won't press you on it. However, I must remind you that the boy's core is abnormal as it was similar to that of a Phantasmal Beast's. It may not be so unusual that the situation is akin to the homunculus who can transform into Saber of Black, but it is something we must consider in our plans moving forward."
"We will if it becomes relevant," assured Shirou. "If what you say is true, then the threat Faelan may pose can at the very least be contained. But if he doesn't become one, I implore you that we at least keep him alive, that boy has suffered enough already."
Semiramis regarded him for a moment, before she acquiesced, "As you wish."
Omake: Run! It's Godzilla!
Shirou offered his hand towards Faelan, "Would you please join me?"
The Descendent of Gilgamesh looked at the proffered hand for a moment. "Okay, but I have one condition."
"Master, you can't be serious!" Atalanta spoke up incredulously.
"I am, Atalanta," Faelan nodded before looking at the priest. "If you satisfy my one condition, I'll join you."
Shirou smiled, "Name it."
After all, it couldn't be that bad, right?
Days later…
"Run! It's Godzilla!"
"That's right motherfuckers! Fear me!"
As a 108-meter giant nuclear fire-breathing lizard trampled through a city in New Mexico, Faelan was standing atop said lizard's head and laughing in manic joy as buildings fell and military vehicles were destroyed in vain attempts to defeat the monster.
Nearby on the ledge of the Hanging Gardens, Semiramis was staring at the scene in complete befuddlement. "Why…?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Probably has to do with the fact that young Faelan was tortured here," Shakespeare helpfully chimed in. "Most likely he wishes to wipe this state off the face of the Earth so as to forget the whole thing."
"No, no, that I get," Semiramis, irritated, turned over to the Caster Servant. "But what I fail to understand is why he needed to use a fictional giant monster to do it."
"The correct term is "kaiju,"" Achilles chirped with a grin, wearing a Godzilla tee-shirt while drinking his Slurpee through a straw from a Godzilla cup.
Semiramis turned her eye towards the Rider Servant with a baleful glare.
"You're just mad that this all caused the priest to have PTSD, Assassin," Karna said, wearing a hoodie with a picture of Godzilla on the back while looking up at the release date of the next Godzilla film on a phone Faelan had loaned him.
Indeed it was true, for to the side, Shirou Amakusa was huddled in the fetal position, rocking back and forth muttering "Godzilla" over and over as if he had once been a victim of Godzilla's rampage, which was technically impossible as the priest wasn't even alive when the first Godzilla film came out and said monster was until recently a fictional creature. However, what many people did not know was that Godzilla's legend had made it to the Throne of Heroes somehow and every Japanese Heroic Spirit was terrified of the monster when they learned what the monster had done in the various films, razing Japanese cities to the ground.
"This was so not worth it," Semiramis groaned sadly into her palms.
"Pfft, says you," Atalanta scoffed as she watched the carnage below from a lawn chair and a bowl of popcorn on her lap.
"Oh look, a gorilla!" Faelan shouted with glee, "Kill it with fire!"
Releasing an ear-piercing roar, Godzilla happily obliged.
AN:
Another week, another chapter.
Some small background information into the Ashford family, Faelan himself, and quite a bit of fluff. And that little tidbit with Ruler and Atalanta, well, I figured that since I was getting rid of their fight, I could at least put in a reason for Atalanta not to like her, even if the reasons are different.
The Chaldea Boys event is almost done, a few hours left. I farmed for all the materials that I wanted. Also, if you have friended me, you may have noticed that I got Achilles as of last Tuesday. To be honest, I wasn't expecting him but I had a surplus of tickets so I decided why not. Out of the 24 tickets I used, I got my third Yan Qing, Lanling, and Achilles of course. I was expecting nothing more than CEs and 3-star Servants, but I'm not complaining. Now all I really need to save up for is Atalanta in the Apocrypha rerun, Castoria, and Muramasa.
As for the omake, Godzilla vs. Kong comes out in sixteen days and if it isn't apparent enough, I'm on Team Godzilla.
Also, expect the next five or so chapters to run off the tracks so to speak, as Faelan's time in the Great Holy Grail War will once again divert from the main story.
Stay safe and see you all next week!