Here we are again. I didn't really expect this story to get a whole lot of traction considering what people would rather read since I am going pretty off the top rope with this story idea and I understand that not a whole lotta people are into that considering what the top followed and favorited stories are of this fandom. But I spit on the idea of giving it up! This story is only going to be around 20 chapters or so anyway considering how massive these chapters are. So I only got about a year of working on this ahead of me. No biggie.
Somehow this ended up longer than the first chapter. Which is about 7k words ahead of what I originally planned to make this chapter. So that's fun, Lol.
Never ever have we accurately guessed the words we would use for a chapter in any story we write, I'm starting to feel we never will. -CrowSkull
Beta: CrowSkull
Idea Helper/Provider/Maybe Second Beta: My Friend Cam from a Discord Server
The Seventh War
Chapter 2
Francis marveled at his Servant, Susano. He knew the tale of the Japanese God of the Storms. The most amusing part about the tale was how Susano was apparently born out of the nose of Izanagi, the creator deity of that pantheon. He certainly didn't look like a piece of snot, however. For one, he was very tall. Francis was tall himself, but Susano was on another level. He had to be at least seven to eight feet tall, and he was rippled with tight and defined muscles that were as clear as day on the half of his body that was left revealed by his blue silky Gi. The straw hat that Francis had used as a catalyst was still in its place behind the Servant, but a new much more pristine one was worn by Susano himself. He looked down at him and stared into his eyes with those dark brown eyes and smug smirk of his. He looked full of himself, but Francis was willing to bear with that. He had just summoned his Servant! The Assassin Servant, to be specific. Ironically enough, he didn't look like an Assassin, but he supposed that not all assassins - or in this case, Shinobi from ancient Japan - needed to actually look the part. That would defeat the purpose of being stealthy. And what Susano failed in looking the part he made up in his choice of weapon which looked like it could cause quite a large amount of damage.
It had to be as long as he was, and it was thick as well. It had to be heavy depending on how it looked, but Susano carried it on his back with no signs of effort written upon his face. That made sense, given that he was the Storm God. The ten notches in the blade looked concerning, almost like it could break if an enemy struck their own weapon into it, but Francis had a feeling that the Notches were more than just aesthetic. According to the tale, Susano used that blade in its full form against a Hydra, and in the ensuing battle, ten notches were put into his blade after he cut off all of the Hydra's heads to save a grieving family from being devoured. At least that's how the story went, anyway.
"Well?" Susano spoke up as he stroked his long goatee. "You are the one who summoned me, correct?" He asked as he leaned down to get a better look at him. Francis flinched when he suddenly placed a hand in his head of white hair and gripped it. "You seem a little meek, are these what the humans of the modern times are nowadays? How disappointing."
Francis widened his eyes before narrowing them instantly. He pushed off Susano's hand and raised his left one, showing off his Command Spells and standing his ground. "My name is Francis Glacier, and yes, I am your Master. Also yes, you are my Servant."
"Hm," Susano looked at his Command Spells and nodded his head. "I didn't know the Spells could be blue, but so be it. That confirms it, you are my Master and I can sense the pact between us. You aren't as powerful as I'd like, but I can work with you."
Rude, and a bit arrogant. Francis didn't bother to say that out loud and potentially offend his Servant. They were meant to be working together to win the Holy Grail War, after all, it would be pointless to bicker about his personality if that was just the way he was. "I'm glad to hear that," Francis forced himself to say as his eyebrow twitched, showing that he was unable to fully hide his own taken offense. "Susano, as much as I'd like to continue our introductions, we are in the middle of a usually very populated park. If you could dematerialize I'll get back to my home and we can continue talking there."
"Why would we do that?" Assassin asked as he sat down on a nearby rock. He pulled up his sword so it's sharp side wouldn't grate against the hardened stone. "We can speak perfectly fine right here, there's nobody around right now, and even if there was they'd just have to be silenced per your little Mage Association rules."
"Well I'm not part of the Mage's Association yet," Francis pointed out before crossing his arms.
"You're not?" Assassin seemed surprised at that. He looked his Master up and down one more time before letting out a chuckle. "You're telling the truth, I can tell. Well then, I suppose that makes you a big target now. I'm sure that little organization isn't going to take kindly to a non-member becoming a Master in the Holy Grail War. I hope you know that you are going to have a target on your back."
"I already have a target on my back since I'm a Master. But even then, I can take care of myself," Francis declared confidently. "And besides, you are going to be keeping me safe. You are my Servant, after all. I feel safe around you."
"Do you?" Assassin teased, smirking that smug smirk Francis just knew he was going to have to get used to if he was going to be Susano's Master.
"Shouldn't I?" Francis asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I suppose you should," Susano sighed. "I'm not used to playing Servant just yet, so this is going to be a learning experience."
"Great, that's lovely. Now, can you get up so we can go now?" Francis repeated. "Someone is going to notice us sooner or later and the longer you sit there screwing around the more of a chance we have at getting caught!"
"One more question and then we'll go."
"Oh for the love of-" Francis slapped a hand across his face and dragged it down. "Fine, what is it?"
"How did you learn magic? Or magecraft, whatever you call it these days."
Francis once again raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you Servants would be concerned with that. But if you want to know so badly, my grandfather taught me. I learned quickly, and I have quite the knack for it, actually. Especially for the ice and energy affinities. My father was originally supposed to take my place but… he wasn't born with magic circuits."
"And you were," Susano noticed. "Interesting how that happens, eh?"
"I don't know what you mean by that but never the less I answered your question," Francis pointed out. "So, are we going to go now or is there something else you need to get off your chest? We can get to know each other better until morning comes or when I wake up. We're already taking a big risk out talking out in the open like this where we can get attacked from any direction."
"Relax, I don't even sense any of the other Servants right now," Susano remarked.
"Good, then we-"
"Hey! What's going on over there!?" A hostile man asked as a flashlight shined a light in their direction. Francis cursed and made to hide while Assassin sat tightly on the rock, simply offering the man a curious stare as he wondered what he was going to do. "You know this park is shut down for containment reasons! Come out of there, I know there's someone here, don't make me chase you or else we are going to really have a tough time…"
Francis cursed silently to himself before reaching toward his Servant in an effort to grab his hand and drag him back up to his feet. But instead of him dragging his Servant along, he felt an impossible gust of wind that made his head snap back in a whiplash. His eyes shut instinctively and he clutched onto the only available thing there as to make sure he wasn't going to be flapping all over the place like a flag. The only thing he figured that was happening was that his Servant was moving. The speed of the movement however caught him extremely off guard. He let out panicked screams as he held on for dear life.
The security guard that had just wandered into the spot they were just occupying shined his flashlight every which way. Wondering if he was going senile in his older years as he swore to himself that he heard two men arguing over something stupid. After a short search, he gave up and stomped away and muttering to himself how this was a stupid waste of time.
Francis on the other hand dropped to his hands and knees as he was dropped onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings next to Central Park itself. It was an expensive apartment building, he figured by the design of the railings around him. He was taking deep rapid breaths not out of exhaustion but out of the sensation of coming out of shock. Susano laughed at him as he crouched down right before his master, clicking the hilt of his sword on top of Francis' head. "Are you okay Master? Was that a little too fast for you?"
"Screw you," Francis rasped out with a soft curse straight after. "Shit. I didn't expect that. What's your agility stat?"
"Take a look and find out."
Francis did take a look. Leaning back so that he was standing on his knees and focusing in on his Servant. He heard of these stats before that he could see in any Servant as long as he just looked for them. In this case, Susano's was a very interesting A in both Endurance and in Agility. That made sense since he was an Assassin and more than likely relied on his speed and agility in a straight battle if he was caught out of stealth. But another stat caught his eye, above the Endurance stat was Strength. "You're Endurance and Agility is perfect with A's in both of them, but you have a C- in Strength. That's barely above a D."
"You're a smart boy, aren't you?" Susano replied, offense showing in the way his eyes narrowed and how he stood up and towered over his Master. "Strength matters little in a battle if you can't use that Strength to hit your opponent. Besides, stats should mean nothing. The weakest Servant can destroy the strongest if the latter was caught off guard."
"Yes, but one mistake and the weakest is dead meat," Francis quipped back as he stood up on his own, unintimidated by his Servant. "Keep that in mind, I'd hate to lose my Servant in the first battle."
"Oh?" Susano raised an eyebrow and let out a stifled chuckle. "The boy has a bit of hair grown on his chest, I see. That's good. Here I thought you were going to be a nuisance." The Servant reached forward and picked Francis up by the collar of his shirt that was poking out of his hoodie. It didn't hurt at all, and Francis held on to his back as Susano implied with his gesture. "I think you and I can get along, after all, Master. Now, tell me where this home of yours is and we can be on our way. We have a war to fight."
This time Francis was much more prepared for Susano's blitzing speed as he dashed and jumped from building to adjacent buildings and over streets. He kept his eyes closed as the wind pressure was too much for them to handle comfortably, but he felt it nonetheless. Now that he expected it, it was actually pretty fun. Moving this fast was often impossible unless you had a vehicle of some kind to drive, so experiencing it without the need of one was something that Francis could very well start to enjoy.
His home was a couple of miles away, but they made it there in less than two minutes thanks to Susano's speed and his helping with directions. Francis dropped down onto the small patch of grass beside a shed in his backyard and stretched his shaking limbs out away from him. Susano planted his hands together and formed some kind of gesture, and right before his very eyes dematerialized into thin air. Francis waved a hand through the blue and purple particles that flew about and faded away before he heard a voice in his head.
"Don't worry Master, I'm still here." His Assassin reassured him. "I've dematerialized, just as you wanted. I figure that you live with some family, no?"
"I do," Francis said with a short laugh. So this was what a mental link was like. It felt like Susano never left the immediate area, but he knew that he'd be the only one able to hear him. "My grandfather would be fine seeing you, but my parents… they don't know what's happening just yet, especially not my mother. So when they're here I'd like you to dematerialize."
"Fine with me."
Francis stepped into his home and locked the glass door behind him. Then he tiptoed up the steps and into his room at the end of the hallway right in front of him. He locked the door as soon as he closed it and then proceeded to fall into his bed. Feeling a lot more tired than he expected himself to be. He supposed that the summoning may have taken some stamina out of him, and the experience of meeting his Servant may have fatigued him just a bit, surely.
"I heard that," Susano indignantly remarked. "Refrain from insulting me in your mind, Master. I can hear your thoughts."
"Oh, that's fantastic," Francis said aloud. It would be good in a tight situation where they needed their secrecy, but in every other case, it'd just be annoying.
"Believe me, I am in complete agreement."
"There's an invisible bounded field around this building," Francis moved on without a hitch. "My grandfather and I made it together a few years ago, the only ones authorized to enter through it are myself and my family and… one other."
"One other? And who might that be?"
"A friend of mine… but that's beside the point," Francis yawned loudly. "It's time for me to go to sleep. I have school tomorrow, so we can continue our earlier conversation then. As far as I know, Masters and Servants are not allowed to fight when the sun is still out. So we should be safe as long as we don't do anything rash."
"If you say so," Susano replied. "Sleep well, Master. We were lucky we weren't attacked on the way here. You better be ready for blood to be spilled."
Francis sighed through his nose as he shut his eyes.
"I'm aware," He muttered. "I've been waiting for this war to come, after all. It's all my life has been leading too."
A cup of coffee was placed down beside her as Azael let out a small burp hidden behind her lips. She sat down comfortably on her knees in front of an oriental Servant. Her golden and orange battle kimono was made of a beautiful silky cloth that Azael was sure felt like the air itself. The sword at her side was a short katana of some kind, Azael wasn't sure exactly what kind it was, but she knew what it was called. Kusanagi. A gift from her brother in the far past. It had the ability to draw out the power of the user, which in this case was the heat of the sun. Furthermore, she had looked at her Saber's stats the moment after they were introduced and she was very satisfied with them. Very satisfied indeed.
"You have A ranked stats in all the right spots," Azael said as a pleased smile grew across her face. "I am pleased with your summoning."
Amaterasu, the Saber Servant, bowed her head gratefully. "Thank you, Master. I am happy to be able to please you so soon after my summoning. As you seem to already know, I am Amaterasu. I must thank you for decorating this room in such a manner in preparation for my summoning," The servant gestured to said room. At the entrance, Masuru, and Adrielle stood at the sides of the door, and spreading out from them were old-style Japanese thin walls along with many red banners with golden designs stitched into them. The floor itself was entirely made out of a soft kind of wood, and unlike what Azael was used to in her culture, they were sat down in a knelt position on top of cushions as to not scratch up their knees. There was a low table between the Servant and Master as well, and lastly, there were two paper lamps adjacent to each side of that table, acting as the only source of natural light in the entire room.
That would have been the case if Amaterasu didn't glow herself. It was constant, but not particularly a bother to the eye. It was a gentle and warm golden glow to her skin that reached up like an aura to her hair. It was extremely significant as it wasn't blinding but it was brighter than the lamps themselves. All it did was add to her beauty. But Azael just thought it made her look all the more powerful.
"It was a last-minute idea thought of about two weeks ago," Adrielle announced. "We knew that we'd be summoning you, so we figured that we'd make you comfortable. Inside this mansion, you are welcome to stay materialized the entire time. Though, if you ever decide to go out with my daughter, we'd ask that you put on my modern clothing akin to our own culture. This is New York, so people wouldn't take a second glance at your attire, but it'd still draw attention."
Amaterasu nodded her head easily and accepted the request. "I shall materialize a different outfit out of combat. In fact, I shall do so right now." Right before their eyes, Amaterasu's battle kimono and sword faded away and made way for a different set of attire. "I figured that I should akin to my Master," She explained as her clothing shifted to a very similar style of Azael's. She now wore a yellow leather jacket of her own along with black jeans and a red shirt underneath. Her boots were the same as her Master's as well. Though her hair remained in their style and her glow was gone, she still managed to pull off the look quite well. "Is this to your liking?"
"Er- yes," Azael answered awkwardly, not really knowing how to feel about it. "It looks well, thank you for the consideration."
"Of course," Amaterasu replied, bowing her head respectfully.
"With the introductions out of the way," Azael said as she made to stand. "Amy - I am going to be calling you that from now on, and Saber in front of others - I want us to go out on patrol as soon as possible. We could catch one of the other Masters off guard if we go now before the sun rises."
"Excuse me," Adrielle barked as he stepped forward. "But absolutely not. You haven't slept in over twenty hours and you still need to rest and recover from what happened this morning."
Azael glared up at her father, planting her hands on her hips, she rebelled. "Why not? This would make for the perfect chance to eliminate one of the threats early on. Do you think I can't do it?"
"Not as you are now," Adrielle stated as a matter of fact. "You are strong but you are more reckless than you ought to be. As your father, I demand that you stay here." To further his declaration, he brought up his hand and released a red orb of energy into the ceiling. Around them, they all sensed the magic barrier protecting their home strengthened and hardened. Azael looked at her father as if she'd been slapped.
"Are you seriously grounding me?" She asked, beyond annoyed and angry. "Do you trust me that little?"
"I do trust you," Adrielle said as he held his hands behind his back. "More than you know. But I also know what you, as my daughter, are capable of. Sleep, rest and recover in the morning tomorrow. I will bring down the shield for you to leave if you wish it, but only when the sun is up. This is for your own good, despite how angry it makes you, I'd rather you be alive and upset with me than prideful enough to get yourself killed."
Azael clenched her fists and glared up at her father as if trying to will him to stand down with her stare alone. It didn't work, and because of that, she stomped away without another word. Almost slamming the door on her way out and would have if Masuru hadn't caught it right as she left the room. Once she was gone, Adrielle sighed and ran a hand down his face.
"Are you sure that was wise?" Masuru asked, speaking up for the first time. "She may be your daughter but she is also a grown woman and you know her. She will not take kindly to this."
"I know," Adrielle replied. "I am prepared to deal with the consequences that follow. It is one of the many trials of being a father."
"I can respect your decision," Amaterasu said as she began to dematerialize. "My father wouldn't have been so kind. I do warn you, however, you may be my Master's father, but she is the one that I take orders from."
"I understand," Adrielle said with a nod of his head. "Fulfill your duty, Saber."
When Amaterasu faded away, Masuru stepped closer to her master. Offering him a question. "Do you think that she will be able to reel in Azael when she eventually goes out of control?"
"I believe that she is more than strong enough, yes," Adrielle replied. "Though I am not going to rely on her actually going through with it. That Saber Servant is the honorable type, and I don't believe that she'd go against an order from her Master if it came from her directly. When the time comes, I'm afraid I may need to step in, in order to protect my daughter from herself."
"She will not like that idea." Masuru pointed out the obvious.
"We don't know what other kinds of Servants are out there. We need to spend the next morning planning and strategizing even more and try to discover the true identities of the other Servants." Adrielle explained. "It takes a certain type of person to become a Master, and without a catalyst, a Servant would be summoned at random throughout all pantheons and throughout all tales. Some may be more powerful than we can comprehend, some may be within our reach. When it comes to our Saber, there was only one direct counter to her power. As one who wields the power of the sun, there is another who can smother the power of the sun. I doubt that Servant was summoned, but there is always a chance that one of the six other Servants can be too overwhelming. And that's without taking into account the other Masters."
"I see." Masuru nodded her head in complete understanding. "What do you wish for me to do in the meantime, then?"
"You don't remember?" Adrielle suddenly widened his eyes with a realization before nodding his head. "Ah, yes, that was the other one. Forgive me, I forgot that you were a more recent creation. You are to act as a healer and caretaker for Azael and her Servant. My daughter knows no restorative spells, so I will entrust you with taking care of her when the time comes. You are already her personal servant to be called upon normally, simply… feel that role is enhanced, so to speak."
"I understand," Masuru said with a soft nod.
"Good, see to it that my daughter eats in the morning. I will be departing for bed as well as I have been up way past my own bedtime," He laughed at the self-gripe before leaving the room as well, leaving the homunculus alone for the rest of the night to do her bidding.
Francis wiped a sleepy tear out of his right eye as he yawned loudly. He had plenty of hours of sleep for that night, but it somehow just made him wake up even more tired than he would have if he slept fewer hours. That was the consequence of going to sleep and waking up just so that he could go back to sleep and skip the morning class that he didn't really care about. Now he had another class coming up that he somewhat cared about and he wanted to at least make an appearance. The lack of a car made that difficult, and while he was sure his Servant would have loved to give him half of another heart attack carrying him across the city on his back, he wasn't willing to make himself so noticeable to the other Masters even in the day time.
"A shame, really." Susano echoed through their mental link.
"Stop doing that," Francis thought back. "This is my mind, let me think about whatever I want."
"What else am I supposed to do while we wait for the sun to fall?" His Servant replied in a whine. Really, he truly was a little bratty now that he thought about it.
"I'm sure you can figure something out," Francis grumbled before he unwrapped the chicken sandwich that his mother had made for him that morning. He started chomping away at it and enjoyed the flood of taste in his mouth. She always knew just how he liked it. Just the right amount of salt and pepper along with cheese and shredded chicken. It was a simple meal, in reality. But it was still a great one.
"Speaking of great ones…" Susano said with a laugh. "I'm looking through your memories right now and wow, you actually do have a reason to back up all that spunk of yours."
Francis choked on his sandwich and coughed up what was already halfway down his throat. Angrily, he cleaned himself off and made sure no one was paying attention to him. The school was in sight now, he just had another block or two to go until he entered it. "Are you going through my memories!?" He shouted indignantly through his mind.
"Well, you said 'figure something out'. So I did."
"STOP!"
"Now why would I do that when I have something to do for a few hours now?" Susano asked as he continued flipping through his Master's memories like it was a photobook. "I mean, you have some pretty nice memories to flip through. Looks like you lived quite the happy life - and oh, what's this? A girl to look forward to seeing again? No, someone you've already started seeing again. Nice kid, what a good catch this one is. Definitely looks like one who'd be fun in bed."
"Ugh…" Francis shook his head violently as he felt his face burn with embarrassment. He couldn't quite stop his Servant from invading most of his privacy, but he could at least think other thoughts, for now, to distract him from the fact that all of his most important secrets are literally a moment of thought away from his Servant.
"Think of this as a bonding session!"
At least it was only just embarrassing. Francis ignored the voice in his head as he stepped into the college, signed in at the front desk, and then started making his way up to his classroom. He made it there two minutes late, but the professor was also a few minutes late and she wasn't there just yet, which just made his tardiness completely null. None of those senses that his grandfather warned him about hadn't come to him just yet, so he was in the clear to continue blending in as just another student in a university with about three to four separate campuses' all across the state and city. His natural white hair made him stand out quite a lot, but that much couldn't be fixed. At least his classmates were used to seeing it and the popular belief was that he dyed it rather than it growing naturally like that.
The class was for coding computers. He liked it because, well, he spent a lot of time on computers, and learning how to code made it easier to do certain things that others wouldn't with a stock computer. He mainly used it to make some things a little cooler in some online video games, but there were also ways for him to use that talent to find out more about magecraft. Magecraft wasn't widely known across the world. He only knows of the Clocktower in London, Fuyuki city in Japan, and scarce other places of some significance. Then of course there was New York City. The Mage's Association here wasn't too in control of the ways things worked, but they had a large enough presence that they were able to put their own mediator into the Grail War. Francis hadn't spoken to him yet, but he planned to see what else he could learn about the Holy Grail Wars of the past. Namely the Sixth Holy Grail War. Scarce little was known about it, but his grandfather Victor was supposedly one of the Masters of that war. The Fifth Holy Grail War was quite popular amongst them all for obvious reasons since Rin Tohsaka had such a widely known name. There was one that joined her in the Clocktower who became her assistant for some time, but little was known about that ginger-haired young man.
He didn't normally keep up with gossip like that, but he was a bit of a fan of the Tohsaka lineage. Some of his spells were based around their affinity for fire and energy. Obviously, he had no fire affinities to his name. But he did have energy, it was at least one thing he had in common with them. "And yes, Susano, I still made some of my own spells and learned others. I can still be unique in my own regard."
"I can teach you a spell or two if you wish it," Susano replied. "Though it's an ancient spell of the Old Gods and not one I believe a mere human can learn, but if there's a will there's a way. Or so the modern saying goes."
"Maybe one day, if we have nothing better to do," Francis and his Servant knew that it would likely take years or at least months to learn a spell like that, which is far too long to plan for as the war is likely to end in just a few weeks or up to a month. But it was a nice thought, at least.
Francis felt his entire body tense and his eyes widen in shock as he felt something jolt his body awake. His eyes looked left and right, and even up and down as if he was looking for something. He stood up suddenly and grated his chair back when he did. Catching the attention of everyone in the lecture hall as he interrupted the teacher's lesson.
"Mister Glacier, is everything alright?" The professor asked him.
"S-sorry," Francis started moving out of his aisle and made way toward the exit. "I just have to take care of something I've forgotten about. Can I be dismissed for a few please?"
"Hm, just try to be back before class ends. You're one of the best in this class, it would be a shame if you start falling behind."
"Thank you," Francis rushed out of the room and slapped his back against the wall directly on the other side. Clutching his chest as he felt his heartbeat hard and wildly. There had to be a Master nearby. Perhaps even a Servant as well, as he sensed two beings. To the right, his mind subconsciously added, making him turn his eyes to the far end of the hallway. It felt so close, and yet he still couldn't actually see what was happening. His hand reached down into his pocket to stroke his other one, which had the command spells on them. It was wrapped in bandages to hide it from any prying eyes, but he felt it hum on his hand as his senses went haywire.
"One Master and one Servant," Susano reported for him. "Bold of them to come after us in broad daylight with the classes full of students and cameras recording everything. I like it. Shall I make myself known, Master?"
"N-no," Francis said with a shake of his head. "It's still morning, there's no way that someone would break the rules like this on the first day and risk ruining the war for everyone. I'm going to ride this out and see what happens."
"Great plan, Master. When they try killing you I hope you'll survive the initial attack, it would be such a waste to run out of my source of mana so early on. I sort of like being alive, if you couldn't tell."
Francis ignored him and started making his way toward the direction of the strongest sense. He felt it too as he started getting used to it. Two beings. One much stronger than the other, which must have been a Servant. He wasn't aware that he could sense another Master, but evidently he was definitely able to at this moment. He kept walking until he came to a set of doors that lead to a stairwell all the way down to ground level. Directly behind it was what he was sensing, and he was willing to bet that they sensed him as well. Gulping nervously, he cranked down on the door handle and stepped through.
On the other side was an unmistakably recognizable girl with fire-like red hair, leaning against the wall and glaring at him with equally familiar green eyes. Francis felt his heart skip a beat as he noticed the obvious red marks that indicated Command Spells on one of her hands as she kept them crossed, and the girl - No, at first glance it looked like a girl, but Francis knew the moment that he looked into her eyes and the way she radiated magic off of her. This was a Servant.
Azael's servant, to be specific.
"Aza," Francis forced out with a surprised smile. "I didn't know you were here, do you come to this school as well?"
"Cut the shit," Azael held out a hand, gesturing it toward the one he had bandages around. "You didn't call me today as I told you. You forgot."
"A-ah," Francis felt his heart drop a second time as he suddenly remembered that. "I'm sorry. I had other things on my mind and I guess it just slipped out. I'll remember next time, I promise."
"That woman right next to her is a Servant. Amaterasu, to be specific." Susano reported in a much more deadly serious tone.
"How do you know?" Francis asked as he kept up his facade.
"Just trust me. I know her very personally."
Francis didn't know what to make of that. Since if this was really the Amaterasu, then yes, she and Susano would know each other very well. Francis swallowed again and crossed his arms. Making sure his attention stayed on Azael rather than the Servant.
"Hm," Azael looked a little less angry now that he apologized. "Give me your hand, the one that's bandaged."
Francis instinctively hid that hand behind his back. "Uh… why? If I might ask?"
"I just want to confirm something," Aza claimed. "You trust me right? I'm not going to- GIVE ME YOUR DAMN HAND!" Francis yelped as Azael lunged forward and pinned him against the wall with her forearm, and then gripped his bandaged arm with the other. She pulled it out and pinched her fingers down on the top and bottom of his wrist. Francis looked down in panic as he felt a heart coming from those fingers, but before he could snap himself out of the shock and push Azael away, the bandages were already falling down as mere embers of what it once was.
It was out in the open now, as Azael staggered back she was caught by her Servant, and Francis looked down to see that his blue Command Spells were out in the open for the world to see. More importantly, for Aza to see.
They were both Masters in the Holy Grail War. They both had to take in. It meant that they were enemies. It meant that one of them had to die.
Yet neither of them was willing to attack the other. Azael honestly looked crushed by the discovery. He knew that she may have had an inkling the other day when she found him in the library, which was why he decided to avoid her for today as the war had just started.
No plan survives contact with the enemy, however. Francis didn't know what to say.
When she reached out to grab his hand again, much more gently this time, Francis let her. He sulked down as Azael ran her fingers over his Spells, while at the same time, her own Spells were pointed up at him. It was confirmation if anything, they were definitely both Masters.
"Just stay home," Azael said without looking at him. "Just stay home and pretend these marks never came. That way, you'll be safe. As long as you just don't participate in this stupid war then nothing will happen to you."
"Aza…" Francis looked up and stared into her green eyes. "I can't just sit back and pretend that this isn't our fate… We don't have to fight each other, I won't fight you. I know we don't like it, but we are both Masters. Even if I don't know everything I should, or at least not as much as you do, I know that this," Francis emphasized his Command Spells. "Can't be ignored. Even if I did stay home and hide away, it doesn't mean that I'd be safe."
"So what, you want to fight?" Azael scoffed.
"Not against you," Francis said with a clear shake of his head. "I… care too much about you. I don't think I'd be able to finish a battle against you if it came down to it. But we can work together. Like we always have before. Just because we're both Masters doesn't mean that we have to kill each other."
"Oh…" Susano realized at that moment just who this girl was. "Fate truly is cruel at times… this is most unfortunate."
"I…" Azael, for once, didn't have anything to snap back with. The Servant beside her, however, stepped up closer to them. Francis tensed at the gesture, but the Servant shook her head, reassuring him that she wasn't going to attack.
"If I may make a suggestion," The Servant started. "It is not unheard of for two Masters to work together during the war. It is directly stated that six of the other Servants must die, not always does the Master need to as well. Since I can see that something has happened… or is happening now, I suspect that an alliance would be the best course of action."
"I'm down for that idea," Francis said right away.
"Whatever…" Azael muttered before stepping away. "I warned you Francis, don't make me have to come to save you now. Just…"
"Stay safe?" Francis chuckled when Aza turned away and refused to look at him. He knew that she was too embarrassed to actually say it. That was just how she was. "I will. You too, Aza. I'll make sure to call you soon when night falls… we'll see what happens then."
He didn't get a reply as Aza was already halfway down the steps. The Servant stayed behind and looked him up and down, almost as if she was sizing him up. He stared back and stood his ground. "I don't know what to think about you just yet," Francis said honestly. "Do I have to worry about being stabbed in the back?"
"Not if you stay faithful to my Master." The servant replied. "I didn't attack because I was specifically ordered not too, and you didn't make yourself a threat. That girl… for someone so close to her to also be a Master is unfortunate. You are an ally, for now, Francis," He flinched as he heard the Servant say his name. "But that does not mean that you are trusted."
Before he could say anything she dematerialized into golden particles before completely fading away. As soon as she was gone, Francis felt his heart rate immediately begin to calm down. With a muttered cursed, he slid down the wall until he was sitting down. Clutching his head with both hands as he wondered what the hell he was going to do about that.
"Well… you definitely got a good catch." Susano teased. "Red hair, green eyes, and quite the height on that girl. You definitely seem like quite the match."
"Shut up…" Francis said with a laugh, grateful for his Servant's quips for once. "Now I'm going to have a shitty time paying attention in class. Damn it…"
"Sounds like your problem to handle. Go on then," Susano pushed him metaphorically. "You have a class to attend. Nighttime is still many hours away, with that time we can figure out what to do. Or you, rather. I'm not exactly a planner myself."
"Figures I'd have to do all the work," Francis said as he stood up and left the stairwell. "Just try and pay attention, I don't want to repeat myself too many times."
"Hehe. No promises, Master."
"Get down from there!" Katherine shouted up at the child Servant as he dangled from his fire tipped spear which was hovering in mid-air about twenty feet off the ground. The boy giggled and laughed as he twirled around the spear, threw himself, and flipped through the air before landing in a sitting position on top of the golden-red shaft of his spear. His black hair waved above him as if possessed by some unnatural force, revealing a red mark in the center of his forehead.
"You should try this sometime, Master!" Ne Zha said as he hung from the flying spear. His Armillary Sash flapped around him like an aura. "Being able to fly is so fun!"
"You're going to destroy something!" Katherine exclaimed as she felt a headache start coming underway. "Remember your own strength, child, you live in a world where your surroundings are much more fragile than from your era!"
"First off, don't call me a child," The boy who looked at most three years old said as he raised a finger into the air. "Second off, everything is fragile when I am around. Just look at me! I am the fire prince of the demon pearl!"
"Not a dragon prince?" Katherine asked as she crossed her arms.
"Pft, where'd you hear that from?" Ne Zha asked with an amused grin on his face, displaying a set of sharp teeth. Ironically for someone who claims that they are not a dragon they have teeth that could be seen in a dragon's mouth.
"From the tale of which is told about you!" Katherine replied.
"Yeah, don't believe everything you hear about ancient legends from the past thousands of years ago," Ne Zha suggested. "It gets just a little warped and exaggerated here and there. The real dragon prince would be my brother, Ao Kuang."
"Your brother is the God-king Tyrant of legend!?"
"Sorta kinda," Ne Zha said with a yawn. "You'd have to be there to see it, and I don't think you can travel through time sooo you're never gonna know the real truth!" The child threw his head back and laughed as he apparently found that hilarious. However, he did hover back down to the ground level just so he could show his Master that he was wiping a tear of joy out of his eyes. When he opened them, they were a fiery orange color unlike before. It must have been an emotional tick, as earlier when he was summoned he was much more neutral and now he was feeling joy out of teasing and annoying his Master.
What he said was true, however rude as he put it. He was still Ne Zha, and there was a reason that he was able to be manifested today as the Lancer Servant. His words carried meaning, and the real truth was often only truly known by those who were there to witness it when these legendary events occurred throughout the history of the time of the Old Gods. Ironically, Ne Zha didn't look old at all. There were some versions of the story that depicted him as a child, but he always grew up quickly and became a man. The fact that he was a child now meant that he had either died as a child or chose to stay in that form. It was very unlike what she expected, and it did disappoint her somewhat that her expectations were so far off when it came to the appearance and personality of the Servant that she aimed to summon. That was her fault, she supposed.
"Sheesh, stop looking at me like that," Ne Zha said as he leaned back and over the spear. His sash moved to support his weight, allowing him to sit while flying. "If you're so disappointed in the way I look you won't be for long. This is just my normal form, watch when I get serious in a fight. Then you'd get to see how I really look. Hehe."
"Is that so?" Katherine's interest was certainly piqued at that. "Then I have something to look forward to, don't I? And for the record, I may be disappointed but I am more disappointed in myself because of the expectations that I set quite some time ago. I should have considered this possibility more. My apologies for that,"
"Hm," Ne Zha grinned at her and nodded his head. "I forgive ya, don't worry. So when am I going to be sent out to hunt down some of the other servants? I'm itching for a battle to the death, that's the best way to get the blood flowing, haha!" This time as he laughed a burst of flames flew out of the tip of his spear and from the markings of his face and hair. He caught himself with a cough and waved away the smoke caused by those flames. Seriously, he truly was such a child. But he was her Servant as well, so Katherine knew that she'd have to get used to him quickly.
"Do not worry about the other Servants right now," Katherine said firmly. "They are in the city and hidden away in their own homes or hideouts. Considering that it is hardly afternoon, we still have hours to go before we can worry about looking for them. And even when it is night, I do not want you leaving this building."
"What!?" Ne Zha was so caught off guard that he fell off his spear and onto the floor. He recovered quickly and jumped up in a position to look up at his Master with pleading eyes. "C'mon you can't do that to me! I was already locked away for over half my life back then, I don't need to be locked away again!"
"Relax, you are not being locked away." Katherine was quick to reassure him. Ne Zha let out a sigh of relief and relaxed quickly, seemingly embarrassed by his outburst, he turned away from Katherine and kicked at the floor. "I am aware that you hate that feeling of being grounded or locked away from the outside world. Know that I am not forbidding you to leave the tower, I am only asking you to remain here until Servants are seen and confirmed. I want your existence to be secret, you are a powerful weapon and a weapon such as that is most effective when it catches the enemy by surprise."
"Yeah? That's fine, I guess." Ne Zha said. Turning around suddenly, his face changed. Not nearly as bright as it was before. "Is there going to be some kind of signal? Am I going to be stuck here until you give me permission or what?"
"Let me show you," Katherine smirked as she looked over to the man standing by the exit and entrance to the penthouse. "Greg, turn it on."
"Yes ma'am," Greg nodded instantly and pulled a small remote out of his pocket. He aimed it toward the ground some distance away from Katherine and Ne Zha, and immediately the sounds of machines and gears whirling within the floor was heard as furniture and other unnecessary items were tossed about to make way for a very large monitor to come out of the floor through a wide slot. Ne Zha marveled at what he saw, having been from a far less technologically advanced era, he never thought such a thing to exist. The Grail may have granted him modern knowledge so he wasn't useless in times like this - he knew English, for example - it just made everything easier to explain as a simple control panel in the form of a tablet was pulled out of Greg's coat.
He walked over and handed both the remote and tablet over to Katherine before nodding his head and walking back to his post. "This is a monitor that displays all the hundreds of thousands of cameras that I have gotten installed throughout the city," She said as she turned on the monitor. Just as she said, the large screen divided itself into hundreds of separate quadrants. Each of them showing a different view. Some were on the streets, others were in alleys, and more were within the buildings of New York. All of them fed a live feed over to this monitor. "Practically the entire city is under constant surveillance. With this, you can spot a Servant or Master and as long as you notify me of their whereabouts and what they are doing, you may go - as you said - hunt them down for a battle to the death."
"Use your prowess as a Servant to keep track of all of these cameras. This remote here has two buttons, one to change the channel to a different camera on several different screens you see here, and the other to enhance a view so that multiple surrounding cameras can provide a wider range of sight on any given area. I will worry about how long and how much power the monitor will have to stay active. I believe that this suffices enough to keep you busy while you're here, is it not?"
"This is awesome!" Ne Zha said as he ran up to the large screen and marveled at it even more. "I didn't know that tech stuff got this cool! You can count on me Master, I'll make sure no one doesn't have my eye on them! How do I contact you if and when I find any of them?"
"Greg here has been assigned as your caretaker to you, he is a close friend of mine and I trust him. He will be in this room with you for as long as this war continues. If you happen to find anything, he will see that it reaches me as well." Katherine explained.
"If you have any further questions, you may direct them to me," Greg said with a firm nod. "I will do my best to provide for you, Ne Zha."
"Hehe, cool." Ne Zha said distractedly. He was more focused on the screen in front of him to pay much attention to anything else. Good, that meant he was doing exactly what Katherine wanted.
"I will go about my business," Katherine said to Greg as she passed him. "Do let me know if he acts up. I have a feeling he is prone to rebel. Do not try and stop him if he wishes to do something rash, I fear that he won't take your life into consideration if you do."
"I understand," Greg said with a nod. "I have prepared for this, Mistress. Don't you worry about me."
"Good," Katherine patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck."
Ne Zha flashed around the room as he kept an eye on the monitor and messed with the controls to get used to it. As soon as Katherine left, Greg let out a sigh. He really hoped that this wouldn't turn into him becoming a babysitter to a super-powered child, he was already getting old as it was. He just didn't need that as well.
Night fell faster than he thought it would. Lao stepped out of the safety of his home garnering a more Americanized version of an outfit that was befitting of his culture and fighting style. His sword remained in its sheath as he took in the cool night air through his nose and out of his mouth.
This was it. His first patrol. Horus followed him out in his glimmering white armor. When Lao turned to face him, Horus asked him "Are you sure you want to split up during a time like this? I mean no offense, but you are merely human and a Servant is very powerful even at their weakest."
Lao snickered as he patted the top of the hilt of his sword. "You underestimate ordinary humans too much, Archer. Even we can find ways to catch your Servants off guard. Just because you are powerful does not mean that you are unbeatable. I can take care of myself, my entire magecraft is meant to increase my strength, speed, and skill."
"Is that all?" Horus asked.
"Of course not, but allow a man his secrets, all will be revealed in due time," Lao said as he turned and looked up at the moon, shining high in the sky and providing the light for the night. "With your Adjut eyes in the sky, we can find anyone on the surface while I can search for them in places you cannot see just yet. Not to mention our senses. If worst comes to worst, I shall use a Command Seal to summon you to my position. That, or I may try to hold on for as long as I can so that you may reach me in time."
"Very well," Horus' wings flapped out of his back as they materialized. He looked almost like an angel, but to assume that would be foolish. He was more than an angel, this was a literal God amongst men. "I shall roam the skies to see what I can find. I sensed two Masters and their servants some blocks away earlier, I shall fly north first and see what I can find. If you have a need for me, I will respond through our mental link."`
"Sounds like a plan that I'd make," Lao teased with a snicker.
Horus flapped his golden-white wings once and shot into the sky like a bullet. Thankfully, he wasn't as noticeable as one would think. The clouds were lower today, and with his Archer eyes, he'd be able to see from afar anyway. Now that he was gone, Lao immediately went on guard. Despite his strength, he was still merely human with traces of dying magic from a time long past. He was vulnerable, but only if he was caught off guard. So, Lao stepped forward and began his patrol. He would not hide away for the entire War like some may have done. He had been training for this for some time, he felt as though his life was leading up to this very moment. To hide away would be to dishonor his own teachings and what he has learned up to that point.
So he continued forward into vulnerable territory and kept his eyes out. He walked and walked until his home was a distant memory miles away. The city was strangely quiet for a city that was declared to never fall asleep, but he always heard something happening somewhere. A group of homeless people speaking, illegal or otherwise unsavory transactions being made, the general sound of cars starting and driving, other people, and all were still present. It never left, really. Lao was just more focused on trying to find anything else that may seem suspicious. No one paid him any mind and he did the same to them. None of them had traces of magecraft within them, and he knew that he'd be able to sense another Master if they grew near.
He felt that itch in the back of his mind constantly. The city was a massive place, but with magus' so scarce it was easy to tell which way those traces were coming from. In the north where Horus went were two signatures that were undeniably Masters. But they were far, too far. By the time he got there, he may have well screamed out his approach. He went east, where there were also two signatures, but one of them was much closer than the other. There were also the last two signatures in the south and west respectively, but with another Master so close, it would be redundant to go after them now.
As he grew closer to the signature, the city seemed to get quieter and quieter. The street was more empty and even cars were scarce to find. It seemed that this was one of the darker parts of the city itself as no regular kinds of people lived or even moved about out there. His hand reached up to gently grab the hilt of his sword and he slowly drew it. The sensation in his mind was all over the place now. It was like he was being surrounded, but he knew that he wasn't. Whoever he was hunting was also hunting him, which was made more evident by the way a young girl stood in the center of the road in front of him.
"Who are you?" Lao asked the young girl. "What are you doing?"
The girl didn't reply. She just stared at him with dead, empty eyes. Her hands were dripping with blood, which put Lao even more on guard. Subtlety was not this one's specialty, it seemed. "Are you a Master?" He asked, throwing caution into the wind as he held his sword with both hands and held it out before him.
Still, no answer. The girl simply raised her head slightly, as if finally acknowledging that he was there. At her feet was a trail of blood that led into a nearby alley. And the longer she stared at him, the more blood began to leak out of her mouth.
It got to the point where she bent over and threw up blood. Lao Ran jumped back just in case it was an attack. But the nerves were starting to get to him as he stared wide-eyed at the young girl who must not even be past twelve years old throw up easily a liter of blood straight out of her stomach. She didn't even fall over, cry, or make a sound as she finished. She simply wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and then continued to stare at him. The only other action she made was raising a finger to point at him. Lao narrowed his eyes and hardened his stance, prepared to defend himself.
"Sense Enhance, activate." Lao chanted as his eyes widened and green light shone from his magic circuits.
His senses screamed that something was coming from behind him, and so he turned around and parried a blade made out of shadows. Three more strikes followed, three more strikes were parried. Lao stepped back and leaned away from the fourth, and he stabbed forward in a counter thrust at his opponent. The man took the thrust into his shoulder but didn't even react to it. In fact, no blood even bled from the stab wound even as Lao twisted and pulled it out. The man simply charged forward and slammed a fist into his stomach. Lao tensed his muscles beforehand and diffused the damage with a spin. He skidded against the pavement and suddenly, it was two against one.
He took a deep breath and was not intimidated. Two against one was not impossible odds, and the girl hadn't even moved from her position earlier. Now that they were underneath a lamppost, however, Lao could see that his new enemy - which he knew for certain was another Master - was shrouded by illusions and shadows hiding all of his features and shrouding his silhouette. It would make for an annoying enemy to fight, but not one that he couldn't adapt to.
"I am Lao Rān, heir to my family's household." He introduced himself as he flourished his sword. "And I am a Master of the Seventh Holy Grail War. I am also the one that will end your life. Face me, my opponent, let us continue this duel!"
"How foolish of you to disclose your name to me so soon." The man said with a chuckle. "Aren't you worried that I may use them against you?"
Lao smirked. "I believe that they can handle themselves if someone such as yourself went after them."
"Ooooh, is that a challenge then?" The man said as the dark shadows moved away from his face. Revealing a dark-skinned man as he smiled a toothy smile at him. "A ballsy one, you are. Pretty strong too. I don't know if I can kill you before you kill me, but that just makes this all the more fun."
"I compliment your ability as well," Lao said with an honorable nod. He memorized the man's face, he didn't know when he'd next see it, but he wanted to be able to recognize the man if he ever saw him again. "What is your name?"
"Eren Vex," Eren answered as he gave him a mock bow. "I will remember you, Lao Rān, do be sure that we aren't interrupted the next time we meet."
"Interrupted…?" Lao widened his eyes as he felt a gust of wind whirl right past him. Eren was launched back into the alley where he jumped out from as an arrow impaled him through. However, as Lao's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw as Eren's whole body molded into shadows and for those very shadows to slip out of the alley and surround the bloody girl from earlier. Lao watched as both Eren and the girl disappeared, with the former giving him a farewell gesture as the girl simply kept staring at him, disappointedly he might add.
Horus landed beside him seconds later and withdrew his wings. His bow and a quiver were noticeable at his side in his hands. The white bow disappeared as the Servant regarded his Master. "Are you unhurt?" He asked.
Lao let out a long sigh before nodding his head. "I am. Why did you interrupt our battle? It had only just begun, and I was not in dire trouble."
"Two Masters became three in the north," Horus explained. "That means three Servants in close proximity to one another. I did not want to take any risks, so I just spotted two of the Masters to describe to you here. I was already on my way back when I realized that you were fighting. That makes four of the other Masters accounted for. As for why I interrupted your battle, I was wary of that man. His magecraft is deceptively powerful, even I couldn't keep track of his movements as he made his escape."
"Is that so?" Lao asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can tell that you are being serious. Very well, I believe that is enough for one night. Let us rendezvous back at my home and we can share with each other what we've found."
"Fair enough," Horus said as his wings spread.
"One last thing. Allow me to take care of that Master in particular. I swore that I would be the one to end his life, and I want to make sure that vow is honored. When it comes down to it, I will deal with him on my own."
"That honor of yours may get you killed, you realize?" Horus warned.
"I am aware," Lao said with a nod. "But if that is the way I die, then so be it. You can just find another Master if I die, can't you?"
"I suppose I could," Horus said with a scoff. "Very well, I hope you know what you are doing, Master."
Lao certainly hoped that he did. That man, Eren Vex… He'd need to be careful around him. Not many were able to sneak up behind him like that without getting noticed quickly. Any man like that was a man to be concerned with. Lao was going to make sure that he wasn't caught off guard a second time.
Eren massaged the stab wound on his shoulder as he mended the part of his stomach where he was shot by a Servants' arrow. If he wasn't expecting it after sensing the Servant already, he may have been killed. He got lucky. Way too lucky. "Reckless…" He berated himself with a short nod. "I will have to be more careful next time." He gestured for Destiny to follow him. The girl had been linked to him somewhat, and she was so traumatized that she couldn't speak. Well, she might have been able to speak, but she wasn't going to anytime soon. She just looked at him with those empty eyes of hers whenever he regarded her about anything. At least she was listening. So he couldn't complain. She was still the perfect little minion-slash-assistant that he could ask for. The best kind of person to control was the broken kind with nowhere else to go.
Some scarce miles away was where he encountered the other Master. Or so the magus from before explained before he finally died from his wounds. He saw the same kind of marks that he had on the back of his hand, so he supposed it was safe to assume that they were the same in that regard. That was good to know, the magus wasn't lying. Perhaps he deserved a less painful death. Bah, no point in thinking back on it now. The deed was done and now he was pushed into this war without really asking for it. He would have been perfectly fine being left alone, but after what just happened he couldn't rely on keeping to himself any longer.
Thanks to his shadow affinity he was able to survive the first encounter with the only other Servant he met. He supposed that it was good to know that while he had Berserker, the other man, Lao Rān had the Archer class Servant. Fighting a Servant in the future by himself was instantly a big no-no after that. Again, he rubbed the spot on his stomach where the arrow had impaled him on before. That was too close for comfort.
"Come, Destiny," Eren said as he entered the alley where his main hideout was located. "The barrier is open." Destiny stepped through and made her way to the trap doors that had appeared once she was close enough. At a distance, it was invisible to the untrained eye, to another magus, they may be able to see it, but what kind of magus would get near it? The one that tried to kill him before may have, but he's dead now, so he hoped that was a lesson taught.
She opened it for him and he stepped in and down underground. Destiny followed, slamming the doors shut behind her as he made his way down. The room was brightly lit this time around, with the cage from before and other stinky substances being dumped that morning. It was relatively homey. Ironically for a man like him and a girl like Destiny under his wing, it was much homier than he figured he ought to deserve. The thought made him laugh as he remembered breaking Destiny just the night before by feeding her the remains of the children that she had slaughtered. The saying really was true, it really only took just one bad day or night to ruin and change a person for the worst.
His Servant craned his head his way as he finished eating a meal of his own. From what he was told the night before, Servants don't need to eat. But they can just for pleasure and in some cases to refill their supply of mana to remain manifested. In this case, human flesh was quite rich with life force. Eren had kept some of it around after realizing that his Servant had a taste for it. But at the rate that he has been eating…
"Have you eaten that entire barrel already?" Eren asked, his shock showing on his face as he looked into the barrel of human flesh that he had filled just that morning. "That was at least weeks unto months of work…"
"I am called a Devourer for a reason, Master," Berserker said as he stared at him with those deep violet eyes of his. His Servant was dressed very interestingly, the entire upper half of his body was exposed but tattooed with what looked like ancient tattoos or runes. Eren didn't know where they came from and wouldn't ask, he wasn't the most well versed in history, but he assumed that they came from where the Servant was from before he died and became a Heroic Spirit. He had two brass bracelets on each of his wrists, and some kind of small banner that wrapped entirely from one shoulder to the other and hanging above his chest. His pants were plainer as it looked like it was simply a cloth or linen slacks that were loose and somewhat baggy. He was also barefoot, which further added to the wild aura that he gave off whenever Eren looked at him.
"For many reasons, probably. My appetite is quite insatiable I'm afraid. I know I don't need to eat but… where's the pleasure in not?"
"Fair point, I suppose," Eren said with a nod as he sat in the chair across from him. As he sat, he looked toward Destiny, who made herself comfortable in the far corner of the room. He smirked as he looked at her, getting an idea. "If you want to pleasure yourself, you're welcome to get it from her," He said, causing the Servant to raise an eyebrow at him. "She won't fight you off, and even if she wanted to, that just made it all the more fun, doesn't it?"
"Hm, I see what you mean." Berserker replied with a nod. "But no, not that one. She is more than broken. I can see it in her eyes if I were to try that she would be as silent as space itself. There's no fun in that, I'd just get bored."
"Hm, to each their own," Eren said. Looking back at his Servant, he leaned back in his seat. "I never asked for your name, Berserker. May I know it?"
"Mmmm, not quite yet," Berserker said as he tore another part of muscle away from a femur bone. "I want my name to remain secret, and you are not an extremely advanced magus of this time. They may be able to extract such information from your mind if you aren't careful. Simply refer to me as Berserker, for now, I don't mind."
"Alright then," Eren wasn't bothered by it. He would have hidden his true name as well if he were him. "I ran into another Master and Servant just now," He revealed quickly after. That caught the Berserker's attention. "I battled the Master for under a minute before the Servant arrived to help. He nearly caught me off guard and killed me, but I managed to escape with Destiny and throw them off my trail."
"Is that so?" Berserker chuckled. "You look alright, I commend you for not being useless."
"Why didn't you come to help me?" Eren asked with a small pout. "His Servant did…"
"I was a little occupied," Berserker said with a laugh. "Apologies, Master. I'll pay more attention next time. You're alive, anyhow. So there's no reason to give me that pitiful look. It's just going to get me annoyed."
"I suppose so…" Eren sighed to himself. He'd rather not have his life simply be a distraction for Berserker, but he wouldn't be able to control him unless he used one of these little Command Spells. However, he feared what Berserker would think if he used one on him. He seemed a little obviously unhinged already, and the title of 'Berserker' for someone didn't make him any more comfortable with the idea of angering him.
"Ah, there is something you should know about me, Master." Berserker said as he picked his teeth and flicked away bits of meat. "I should keep eating and keep a steady flow of mana. From where I was from, food became scarce after a certain war… I believe it drove me somewhat insane before, as I am of the same blood of a different nature of more divine properties. Since I seem to still have my old appetite, I'd recommend a constant source of sustenance for me, and not just for pleasure, but for your own safety. I'd hate to be the kind of Servant who'd kill their own Master. It'd be quite embarrassing, really."
Eren swallowed nervously. "I'll keep that in mind… Destiny can help you with that," He added as he returned his gaze to the now mute girl. "She knows just where to find the best kind of meat. Though, I do ask that you try some regular food if you can find a taste for it. It'd certainly make it much easier, but, beggars can't be choosers when it comes down to it."
"You are exactly right," Berserker said with a bright smile. "I should be okay for the near future, tomorrow morning seems to be a good time for the two of us to go out and spend some bonding time together." They both shared a laugh at the joke that only they understood. "I hope she doesn't disappoint, this… thing of yours."
Eren widened his eyes in surprise as Berserker was sat right across from him one second and then across the room caressing Destiny's face with a clawed finger in the next. "Destiny… what kind of woman would name her child that, hm?" Berserker laughed as he nicked Destiny's cheek, cutting it deeply and scratched across. Blood leaked out of her cheek, and Berserker caught some of it in his claw and sucked on it, tasting the flavor of her blood.
"Hey now… she's an investment," Eren said carefully. "Off the menu."
"Hm," Berserker thankfully looked like he understood that as he stood and moved away from the still silent girl. "I just wanted to check something is all. Continue on with your business Master. I shall wait here until the sun comes out. That way there will be no one strong enough to stop me when the time comes."
Eren nodded and returned his attention to the book that he had stolen before. He supposed that he should read more of it, just in case, there was something that he wasn't familiar with just yet. Which there was a lot of, in all honesty. He just discovered the Grail mere days ago, now that he was a Master, it would be best if he found out everything he could.
Bah… he hated reading. It took too much time out of the day. Eren bit his tongue as he drew the book out anyway. If it was for the best…
Carlos slammed a chair down in front of what he suspected was a futile tied down man. The man, who introduced himself as the Caster Servant Baron Samedi, looked at him with those milky white eyes of his. The black skin of his face contorting the white mark of a skull inked into his skin as he looked at him. He tilted his head when Carlos leaned closer to get a better look at him and chuckled when Carlos leaned back with widened eyes.
"You aren't human, you can't be," Carlos said in his shock. He couldn't allow Aj to be in the same room with this thing, not a chance. "How the hell is it that I summoned you of all things?"
"How rude! I am your Servant, I should be treated with some more respect." By the way Caster laughed as he said that Carlos could tell that he wasn't offended at all. "Forgive me for my quite sudden arrival, Master," He spoke with a certain soothing accent and a deep voice. Somehow, it seemed to fit the Servant quite well all things considered. "But when I heard that speech of yours and the Grail showed me just the kind of man you are, I just had to summon myself for you. Though I am afraid that a pact between us hasn't been made just yet since you technically did not summon me, but that can be changed very easily."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, diablo, you gave my guys a big scare when you came out of nowhere like that." Carlos pointed out. "I had someone look up that name of yours… Lord of the Dead? With a title like that, I'm not sure I'm willing to trust you as far as I can throw a person."
"With your strength that could be quite a lot," Caster pointed out. "I saw what you did to that mage from earlier. You're much stronger than you are letting on. Does your little brother know just how powerful his elder really is? My, you have your own set of secrets, don't you?"
"The fuck are you talking about man?" Carlos spat, standing up and over the Servant. "Unless you somehow forgot I am the one you need to convince to officially become your Master. No pact with me means you don't get to exist for very long. So try again, asshole."
"Allow me to rephrase myself," Samedi snapped his restraints as if they were made of paper and slowly stood. The action of it had the broken chains slamming into the floor as Carlos lunged back, surprised by what had just happened. So much so he was practically in the chair that he was sitting in before. Their roles were reversed so quickly, with Carlos the one on the chair as the Baron stood in front of him. His smile showed rows of yellow teeth. He was terrifying to look at, in all honesty. Which just made him all the more intimidating despite how casually he was dressed in a dark purple suit and wearing a top hat. "I am not here to cause you any trouble, my good sir. Dear no, I in fact admire you and this little organization that you have built up basically from scratch. What is it you called it? The two-one-two? Catchy name, I must say," Baron chuckled as he paced back and forth.
"I am here because the Grail gave me the opportunity to be here. You see, I know what it is like to have desires like yours. I like weapons, drugs, women - especially women - and all sorts of activities that are similar to your interests. I believe you and I can have a very successful partnership. Also…"
Baron Samedi stopped and faced his soon-to-be Master, and raised one black hand. He twirled one finger, and out from the ground came a wooden coffin which was strangely pristine for how violently it was summoned and torn out of the ground. Slowly, the Caster Servant began to open it.
"I am the Lord of the Dead, as you said prior," The Servant said as the body of Carlos's long-deceased mother was returned to its state just before it died. "She's still dead, mind you," He added before Carlos could get his hopes up. "But with the right tweaks here and there, she'll be as good as new. That is my Noble Phantasm, it is called 'Vodou Ceremony'. I can bring back the dead, from near present or far past for whatever means I could ever desire…"
The coffin slammed shut and shot right back into the ground. Carlos jumped to the spot, very uncharacteristically calling out for his mother as the coffin disappeared. He screamed for Baron to bring her back, but in reply, the Servant simply extended a hand toward him.
"I can make your wishes come true, Carlos Bone," Samedi said with a grin. "And you can do the same for me. All I ask is that you take my hand, and form this pact. Do you want this country? I'll give you the world. Do you want change? I'll give you the kickstart you need to start a revolution. You want your mother back? I'll return her to you in mint condition. Now… what do you say? Are you my Master? Or do you need some more convincing…?"
Carlos spent a long while knelt down on that floor, thinking about it. He didn't know Baron Samedi, he only knew what he told one of his men to look up about him on the internet. This could be a mistake, but saying no now… how long would Caster last without a Master? What would he do in that time? Carlos swallowed as he started making up excuses. At that point, he knew that his fate was sealed.
He grabbed Samedi's black hand. His Command Spells glowed with a red light.
Caster smiled a very satisfied smile.
Francis was on edge the moment he saw the sun drop over the horizon through a window. Now, it was in the dead of night. He thinks that even though it's only about eight o'clock at night at that moment, but the lack of sunlight spoke many messages. Namely, the one that he is no longer safe from attack. Another Master that wasn't Aza or another Servant that wasn't the one she owned would attack him. That was just how things were now. He needed to be careful. His senses were distorted as he was clearly losing his cool, but it was better than not expecting an attack that could surprise him. Being on guard like this was best, no matter how uncomfortable it made him.
"Keep acting like this and you're going to make yourself obvious," Susano warned from his mind.
"I know," Francis muttered as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I don't feel safe walking home right now and I feel as though I'm being watched from everywhere."
"That's likely because you are," Susano pointed out. "This is the first full night of the Holy Grail War's beginning. I would be surprised if there weren't at least scouts out to size up the other Masters and Servants. Even more so if there weren't any skirmishes."
"Gee, thanks for making me feel better, Assassin."
"Hey, I'm not gonna lie to you Master. It's better you know what you're up against than getting caught off guard and getting yourself killed."
"I guess…" Francis sighed through his nose as he kept his eyes forward. He was just another guy, walking down the street and making his way home after finishing up some course work in college. He was part of the crowd, another nobody to be disregarded after the first look. He had his hood over his head as well, so no one would see his white hair and be able to distinguish him from that alone. His demeanor was a little tense, but then who's wasn't? At this time of night, people needed to get home before the cops started to ask why people were out after curfew. Some were able to dodge them, but others didn't want to take the risk of getting in trouble with the law in any way, shape, or form. He'd act just like that. Another face in the crowd.
Only that wouldn't really work, would it? Even if he was in a crowd of a thousand people. He was likely going to be the only person with magic circuits, and even if there were a few others, he'd be the only Master among time. Just by being in the same building as Aza from before he sensed an overwhelming presence and knew that someone was there and from what direction. It would be the same for all the other Masters as well. Just because he was part of the crowd didn't mean he was safe. And every minute that passed, more and more people filtered into cars, taxies, busses, and into their homes. Thinning it out more and more as the seconds ticked by.
It didn't take long for him to realize that there just wasn't a crowd anymore, just a handful of people. And even they were beginning to filter out. Among the students, he was the only one present.
Francis nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He jumped forward and turned, his hood being torn off in the process as he looked back at an old man with a polite smile on his face. For a moment Francis thought that he overreacted, but that was changed when he saw that the elderly man had his own set of Command Spells on the back of his hand. His eyes narrowed and his hands unleashed an aura of frost and electricity.
"No, no, there's no need for that," The man said in a thick Russian accent. "I am not here for a fight. If I were, I wouldn't have even bothered trying to garner your attention."
"Yeah, I'm not entirely sure I trust you by just your word," Francis said as he prepared his spells. Old man or no, that just made the man more dangerous. He's had years and years of training and experience, to take him lightly could cost him his life.
"Then allow me to demonstrate, young magus…" The man raised his hands, a dark green trail of energy followed them and as he activated his magecraft he let out a long groan. He slapped his hands together and Francis felt his eyes widen as a burst of what almost looked like sunlight swallow up the entire area. He raised his own arms to cover his face and protect himself, but there was no need to. As his vision returned to him, the concrete sidewalk was turned into soft soil and grass. The buildings surrounding them turned into a dense forest, and directly above them was a brightly lit sky with a sun shining above. Francis gasped as he realized what this was, it was beyond anything he thought imaginable.
"A-a reality marble," Francis said as he marveled at his surroundings and the old man before him. "I thought that was impossible for a single magus, I thought this wasn't possible at all! How are you doing this!?"
The elderly man laughed and coughed as soon as he was finished. He wiped his mouth with a cloth that he had in his breast pocket and continued to look at the much younger magus. "This is what happens when old men don't have much else to do with their life." He explained. "This drains much mana from me, so I will not be able to hold it for now. But, allow me to show you why I couldn't have bested you even if I wanted to. Rider! Show yourself!"
Green energy in the shape of small birds and other animals all came together to form another old man. Though this one was far taller, even when hunched forward and using a walking stick to keep himself standing up. The two long horns on top of his head just added to that demeanor of a guardian of a sort along with his simple green leafy overcoat that hung from his shoulders and covered most of his body aside from his arms and half his legs. His free hand stroked his long white beard and his green eyes pierced into Francis'.
"If you disturb the peace, then I shall unleash the Wrath of Terra unto you. But I will not attack unprovoked, that goes against my ways." Rider explained as he looked around the marble himself. "This… is peaceful. You are certainly a worthy Master of my kind, Piotyr Vezenov."
"Thank you, Rider," Piotyr said with a pleased grin. "As you can imagine, my Servant is a bit of a pacifist. Unless you attack first he will not fight. Again, as you can imagine, that makes things difficult as Servants are required to be killed in order for a victor to be named. I have to change up my strategy entirely, and although you are oh so young, you are better than those that I have been able to find out about and the only other one worthy of an alliance is too far away to travel too safely."
"You want to ally with me?" Francis asked, the frost and electricity crackling off his hands fading away as he raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but I've already allied with another Master. I don't know if I can become an ally to another so soon after I just partnered with them."
"That is perfectly fine," Piotyr said, surprising him. "It needn't be a full alliance as it can also be a temporary cease-fire. However, the idea of three Masters and Three Servants working together? An interesting prospect I think, that already is almost half the participants in this war entirely."
"I don't know," Calming down from his shock from before, Francis crossed his arms. "I may want to speak to her- them about it before I can make a decision. But… a cease-fire sounds alright to me,"
"Just know one thing," Susano said as he materialized beside his Master. Revealing himself. Piotyr tensed at his coming, but he didn't make any rash actions. "I'm willing to trust my young Master here on his decision-making skills," He said as he planted a hand on top of Francis' head. "But I have a history of making choices like this that lead to… many deaths." Susano's grin was eerily threatening. "If you decide to do the same or something akin to betraying his trust, I'll show you what a notched blade can do to a human body."
"Message received," Piotyr said as he brought down the reality marble. His sweat and strain showed on his face, especially when Rider disappeared as well. "You look like a Saber Servant, or are you an Assassin?"
"Wrong, I'm the secret Servant class called Hittoman. You wouldn't get it, it's a Grail thing."
"I see…" Piotyr looked slightly bothered that he couldn't figure out the class of Susano since he had revealed that he was the Master of the Rider Servant, but he had two good guesses at least. He seemed content with the idea however as he used the same cloth from earlier to wipe his forehead of sweat. If it meant gaining an ally or getting a promise that another Master wasn't going to sic their Servant on him, then that was enough for him. "Well then, shall we shake on it? I promise you can have your Servant chop me in two if this is a trap," He said as he extended his hand out toward Francis. "It's not, but you have my permission to kill me if it is." He laughed at his own joke. Probably some coping mechanism since Francis really did consider listening to his gut and attacking the man, killing him before he can summon his Servant for battle and wipe one of them out so early on in the war.
But… He wasn't attacking, and he was just one old man. It didn't feel right killing him right there - he hadn't ever even killed a person before! He didn't know if he could do it even if it was just out of mercy.
Francis sighed and stepped forward, taking the man's hand in his and shaking it once. "Cease-fire for now," He said. "No more, no less until I speak with my other ally."
"Deal," Piotyr said as he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, young magus."
"Mm," Francis grunted as he wasn't paying that much attention. He looked past the man and toward a strange bright orange light that was on a building behind and a few to the left. He narrowed them as he tried to zoom in on what could be producing that light.
He reacted by instinct the second he saw the light burst into fire and explode toward them. He threw Piotyr to the side before a spear of fire could pierce through the old man's heart from behind and landed in a roll. Francis pushed himself up to one knee, eyes wide, he pointed at the attacking Servant.
As an ambush arrived, Francis called forth his own Servant for battle. "SUSANO!"
A blade enforced by thunder and wind clashed into the spear before it could be thrown at Francis and the now shocked and downed Piotyr. As it was parried out of the air, it was then grabbed by a sash of some kind. Francis heard the giggling of a small child as Susano and it started battling all over the street, destroying cars and toppling over lamp posts as they moved so fast it was nigh impossible to keep track of them. When they finally stopped - or rather, got caught in a blade lock with the child's spear being stuck in one of the notches of Susano's blade, they pushed against each other.
"Hahahaha!" What he now confirmed was indeed a child Servant laughed boisterously as he pushed against Susano. His hair whipped around as if it was on fire, and rather than actually standing on the ground, he had two wheels of fire that kept him off the ground and acted as sort of skates that allowed him to fly and move faster. "You're able to keep up with me! This is so awesome, I was afraid I was going to get some easy kills just now!"
"Not with me around," Susano grunted as he overpowered the child and kicked him away. The Servant crashed into a car so violently that it flipped the car over onto its side. "I assume you're the Lancer Servant by the spear."
"Funny isn't it?" The other Servant asked as he kicked the car right back at Susano, who sliced it in half in a single stroke without any effort. Now that the fighting had stopped temporarily, Francis was able to get a full view of what was happening. The child had strange markings on his face, the biggest one in the center of his forehead. He swore that he could have remembered where that was from, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. "I have a spear and yet the Grail calls me a Lancer. I mean, it sounds cool I guess."
Susano however, seemed to figure it out. "You are Ne Zha… the Demon Pearl of Chinese legend," He changed his stance as he spoke, holding his sword with both hands and holding it close to the side of his head, the point of the thick blade pointed at his enemy.
"Oooh, you figured that out already? That sucks," Ne Zha said as he twirled his spear and ignited into flames. "I'm going to have to kill you now, whoever you are. I'm sure I can figure out who you are, but what's the point in that if you're just going to die now?"
"You'll find that out soon, child," Susano said as he let out a deep breath. A dark thunder cloud started to form above them, part of Susano's Noble Phantasm, evidently. But it didn't seem to intimidate Ne Zha at all as he simply just laughed in the face of danger.
Instead, he lunged forward to attack. Susano twisted his neck to dodge what would have been an instant kill and threw his elbows forward as Ne Zha was too close for him to use his sword properly. Ne Zha flipped over the counter, however, and stabbed down at Susano's back. Francis feared the worst, but in a flash of lightning and wind, it was Susano slashed Ne Zha in the back instead. The red armillary sash under Ne Zha's control blocked the strike and Ne Zha used that force to bounce off Susano's strike and land on the side of one of the nearby buildings. He shot himself forward like a missile, his body slowly getting hotter and hotter with flames as Susano continued to get faster to match Lancer's speed. It was a constant cycle that lasted but a minute. Back and forth, red and orange flames exploding against thunder and lightning and water. Every time Francis thought Susano was about to get hit, it was Ne Zha about to get hit, and then the cycle would continue. They just kept going like that, and it looked like they were just warming up! Francis wondered what he could do to help, but he knew that if this battle was to end anytime soon as to not attract too much attention, he had to do something.
"Fria!" Francis chanted as a spear of ice shot out of his left hand toward where he thought Ne Zha was going to be. "Bolt!" He yelled out next as he shot forward traces of lightning from the tips of his fingers.
It struck Ne Zha in the back as his battle only grew in intensity against Susano, but a burst of fire mixed with wind exploded from the wind fire wheels that Ne Zha was using to move around. The ice was melted and his lightning bounced off of the flames.
"Projectiles don't work on me silly!" Ne Zha exclaimed toward him as he flipped away from Susano's follow up attack and landed on a nearby roof. "I'm a Lancer-Class Servant, after all. Now, this has been fun and all but I can feel my Master getting a bit stressed out at the moment. So I am going to have to end this!" Ne Zha stabbed his spear into the ground next to him and clasped his hands together. Immediately, a ring of fire surrounded his body in the shape of the sun behind him. "Now, let me show you my full power!"
"Master, get away!" Susano screamed as he saw what was coming. "This is not something you'd be safe fighting against!"
"Of power of sun and moon, of seas and sand, obey my command, and unleash my true form-" Ne Zha stopped suddenly before his chant could be completed. His fingers tensed and bent back and the ring of fire behind him disappeared. In fact, all flames coming from him dispersed as he looked much duller than before. "M-Master!?" He cried out through gritted teeth. "You're using a Command Spell on me!? C'mon, I was just getting to the good part! Damnit!"
Ne Zha picked up his spear and turned his back on them. "You're lucky tonight, my Master is calling me back. Next time I swear I'll go all out! So don't you dare die, Susano! I am the one who will defeat you!"
Ne Zha darted away in a random direction before anything else could be said. In response, the thunder clouds above their makeshift arena dispersed and Susano let out a deep breath. "Good job screaming out my name, Master." He said as he sheathed his blade on his back.
"Oh shut up," Francis said with a bark of laughter. "We just survived our first battle, let me feel satisfied for at least a minute."
"No time, I'm afraid. We need to get out of here, I can hear the sound of sirens blaring their way here. I'm sure you don't want to deal with the police, do you?"
"No… that wouldn't be fun," Francis said with a sigh. "Piotyr, are you okay?"
"I am alright," Piotyr said as he pushed himself back up to his feet. "That was quite the scare. The two of your are very formidable, it seems. But that Lancer is something else. I don't think he was anywhere near his full strength in your battle."
"I wasn't either," Susano said as he placed his hands on his hips. "Get out of here old man, we may not be fighting now but we will be some time in the future. My Master and I will be headed a different way."
"Of course," Piotyr said with a nod, turning to Francis, he said "Thank you for saving my life, young magus. I am indebted to you now. If you ever need anything, feel free to give me a call. I have already given you my card," Confused, Francis reached into his pocket. Indeed finding a card that had a phone number written on it along with Piotyr's name.
"Did you stick that in my pocket as they were fighting?" He asked as he wondered how it got there.
"Perhaps," Piotyr chuckled. "But I must warn you, young magus. While you and your Servant are formidable, I fear that you may be widely unprepared with what is to come. If you thought that was a battle, just wait until it is truly an all-out war. I'd suggest meeting with the mediator of this Holy Grail War. I trust that you know where he is?"
"The Cathedral Church," Francis replied. "Why would I need to do that though? I believe I might know enough as it is." Victor had told him much about it already, he trusted his grandfather.
"If you think that, you are a fool," Piotyr said. "I am giving you advice, do not take it lightly. Even I don't know everything there is to know about this Holy Grail War, but as it is now, I don't believe this will be as simple as you believe. I warn you, heed my advice. Please, I owe you that much."
"...I'll think about it," Francis allowed, sighing through his nose again. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. "Let's go, Susano,"
"Shall I stay materialized throughout the rest of the night?" Susano offered. "We don't know what other surprises we might face. I think it best that I am present to protect you."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Francis nodded his head, giving permission. One glance over his shoulder told him that Piotyr was gone, by what means he didn't know. But as he made his way down the street and got away from the police before they could ever spot him thanks to Susano's stealth, he kept thinking about what Piotyr said.
He only knew of a few Holy Grail Wars, along with the basics. The three original families that started it all, the Matou's, the Einzbern's, and of course, the Tohsaka's. And he also knew mostly what happened from the more recent wars. The fifth especially. Though the sixth war was still a mystery to everyone and the fourth war had its own degree of mystery as well. Anything beyond that… perhaps Piotyr was right, he thought that it might be best to get some more information from the mediator. Paul, if he remembered his name correctly, might be able to help him with that.
"We're going to the church," Francis told Susano as he looked up at him. "Something keeps bugging me like I'm missing something that I should know."
"I figured you'd say that," Susano replied. "Alright, let's change our path then. Your little girlfriend from before, are we going to tell her about what happened?"
Francis didn't know what to say to that, but the thought of telling her what had just happened now wasn't exactly savory… "I'll call her tomorrow morning, when it's safe."
"Just like you called her today, right?"
"Hey! I mean it this time!" Francis indignantly exclaimed.
"Relax," Susano said as he patted him on the shoulder. "You're a smart man, Master. I would have done the same thing."
Francis shook his head and took the compliment for what it was. The Cathedral Church wasn't very far, thankfully. All it would take was a twenty-minute walk through some hidden paths only known by those who had lived in this city for so long. From there, Francis hoped that he was prepared to hear about the truth of history. He had a feeling that he may not like it. There was only one way to find out, however.
And that is the second chapter! Whew, this really does take a lot out of me every time I write one of these. I hope you all enjoyed it! The next chapter will be worked on sooner than before, more than likely. Just bear with me for now. Do let me know what you all think!
Oh, and Astra, I didn't forget about you! Welcome back! Good to see your reviews again.
Glad you are okay as well. Hope to see more of you, if you wish of course, but your reviews are meaningful to us and we love seeing them... and sorry for the chapter length. -CrowSkull
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