When Charles woke up, he was tied to a chair. 'If I get knocked unconscious one more goddamn time..'
"Charlie?"
"What?!"
"Sorry, is this a bad time?"
"Oh. Tohsaka, is that you?"
As Charles' eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a vague outline in the corner of the room. Unlike himself, however, they were standing upright.
"They've got me chained up here. Mana-sealing bonds. You?" Akira whispered.
'They recognized she's the bigger threat out of the two of us. Tch.'
"Uh.. yeah, same. If you're awake, how come Caster isn't here and busting us out?" Charles asked.
"There's an incredibly powerful Bounded Field on the room. I just wasted a Command Seal."
"Are you serious?!"
'No Command Seals.. That means Saber isn't going to save us.. It can't end like this.. Can it?"
"Well, have you got a plan?" Akira asked.
"I just woke up, give me a moment."
Charles thought for a moment. His hands were bound, but he could still work his fingers. He could wiggle his toes, too. He flexed his back.
He could work with this.
"What're you doing?"
"Just give me a moment. If I can.. Reach my teeth around to my ropes, then I can.."
"They put you in ropes? Are you a magus or not? Do something!"
At that moment, however, the door to their cell opened, and two hooded figures- priests, Charles guessed from how they were dressed, were at the door.
Silently, one moved to cut Charles' bonds, while the other moved to unshackle Akira.
"Uh.. Thanks?" Charles started to leave before the priest sunk a powerful fist into his stomach. Winded, Charles stumbled back, unable to get the air to verbalize his pain.
"Stay here. You will be sent for," the priest droned.
"Let- go of me, you bastards! Kusoyaro! Unhand me, this instant!" Akira complained, struggling against her priest. In a similar fashion, the priest sank his fist into her chest, and she went limp in his arms.
"You.. dare.. Touch.." Charles started, but the cell door soon shut. Instantly, Charles' hands went to his pockets.
"They cleaned me out. Seriously?" he murmured, turning out his pockets. The end result was not pretty. A few grains of nitrate, a pinch of sulphur, some ethyl..
"I'm not about to make the world's most underwhelming mustard gas. Although.."
Charles shook his head. "Right. Stupid."
Turning, he held one of the chair's legs in his hands and murmured a short chant. "My will, your will.. My will, your will.. Yes!"
The chair leg splintered off and the end had been fashioned into a reasonably pointy spike.
"And they said transfiguration is a parlor trick."
Although.. Charles didn't know where to go from here. Even if he stabbed one of the priests by surprise, there would still be another ready to kick Charles' head in. And it wouldn't exactly be useful against a Servant, either. Charles threw the spike away, dejected.
An eternity seemed to pass until the cell door opened again. Akira wasn't returned, so Charles could only assume that he was being taken to meet the same fate as her.
There was only one priest, but it was too late for Charles to grab his spike, so he got up and dejectedly followed the priest out of the cell and into the hallway. It was a huge space, he realized, old-timey torches marking what he could only assume were dozens of other cells.
"These people seem to be having a merry old time down here, don't you think?" he asked.
The priest didn't respond.
"Who's your boss? It's a very rustic theme they have going on here. Really digging the whole Temple of Doom aesthetic."
Still no response.
"It never occurred to me just how odd us mages are, don't you think? I mean, this is going a bit too far, even to satisfy your boss' ego, right?"
"No talking."
Charles grimaced. At least it was a response. Soon, they were in the same throneroom as before, except it was now emptied of all the congregations. A statue of a jade serpent had its mouth closed around the throne, as if swallowing it.
"Wait," the priest said, and left.
Charles heard the door close behind him. And.. nothing.
"Hello? Hellooooo? Tohsaka?" he called out. "Akira?"
His voice echoed off the stone walls, but no-one came out to greet him, or fight him, or anything.
Minutes passed, then an hour, and Charles found himself sitting in the corner of the room furthest from the snake-throne. That was about the time when the serpent statue opened its jaw. Through the cracks in its teeth, Charles could see more of that Divine light from earlier.
"Tch. If I don't end up cooked-!" Charles shielded his eyes with his hands.
"What're you doing all the way over there, maggot?" called a voice.
Charles lowered his hand, and his attention immediately zeroed in on the woman sitting cross-legged at the throne. She was… in a word, perfect. Long green hair, bound in gold ringlets, cascaded down the woman's shoulders. She was dressed from head to toe in a simple white dress that barely concealed her legs, but the gold jewelry that decorated her every limb betrayed her obviously royal status.
She had an aura of unmistakable authority. It was different from the Nameless Saber, as she completely lacked any inviting warmth. Charles felt like he was barely worthy to even look at her.
He was so caught up in her appearance that he barely recognized that she'd started to speak.
"I am the Goddess Isis," she proclaimed, and despite the rational part of his brain telling him it was impossible, Charles believed it.
"What business do you have encroaching on my domain, O enemy Master?"
Charles cleared his throat, mustering his bravado. "I don't speak to the help. Unless you're going to kill me right now, I want words with your Master, Servant."
Instantly, he felt a large wave of murderous intent, but it vanished almost as suddenly as it came.
"What, pray tell, would you define as a Master, magus?"
"For starters, one who wields your Command Spells."
The Goddess Isis smiled widely. "Like these?"
She held up the back of her hand for him to see, and Charles could barely believe his eyes. It was hard to see from far away, but sure enough, three segmented red marks formed an image of a snake eating its own tail- Ouroboros.
"I-Impossible."
"Quite possible. I am my own Master, now and always. Though, if you're referring to the small man who summoned me, he is currently out in London, doing busywork. He is no longer my own Master. After all, a Goddess bows to no-one, least of all a mortal. That brings me to my point, though, mage. Oh, do you have a name?"
"Where's Tohsaka?" Charles asked. "If you've hurt her-"
"The lovely girl is being acquainted with the rest of my harem. Her Servant will make a fine addition to my forces. You would be wise to follow in her example."
Charles snorted. "Impossible."
Isis' eyes hardened. "What is possible or not is not your concern, mage. Now, tell me. What is your name?"
Charles felt it again- that crushing, vice-like presence. It wasn't charm that compelled his actions in the slightest, despite her overwhelming beauty. It was a deep, primal fear.
"Ch-Charles. Charles Yarenes.. III.."
"Ah. Charlie. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked brightly, clasping her hands together. "Now, Charlie, you will join my forces, will you not? Of course, you'd be rewarded handsomely for your service in my new empire."
Charles clenched his fist. "Lady, I don't care who you say you are. I'd rather die before handing my Servant over to you. She'd rather die, too."
However, Isis continued on as if he hadn't said anything.
"I don't care to participate in something as drab as a Holy Grail War myself, but having your Servants do the fighting and the dying for me.. Well, I must get that Grail, don't you agree?"
Charles was on the verge of tears. He hated it, but his head jerked downwards and up in a nod. His mind said one thing, but his instincts- or more likely, he realized, her influence, was forcing him to comply.
'The.. Divine right to rule.. Manifested and amplified by a Servant Class Container and the Holy Grail.. It's a Skill, or maybe even a Noble Phantasm. Tch. Just knowing doesn't do me any good against a geas like this. I really am a third-rate magus after all…"
"Oh, I know! Why don't we make it official? Here, take my hand." Isis held out her hand. "Walk over here now!"
Charles' legs stiffly shuffled to the top of the throne. He nearly tripped, but righted himself at the last moment.
"Now. Shake my hand. That's it. Nice and slow."
Charles slowly extended his hand, watching it slowly drift towards Isis' own.
Suddenly, Isis' eyes narrowed and her eyes darted to a far corner of the room. But it was too late, and a thin beam of energy sizzled out on her hand.
"WHO DARES?!"
Isis leapt back and her eyes started to glow. "Show yourself!"
Charles felt himself being tugged back- he realized someone had picked him up. Almost immediately, he was set down, but by that point he had been set down. In front of him was a tall, thin, neatly-dressed man who was currently running a hand through his well-kept blue hair. He turned his head to address Charles.
"I know you must be in a state of shock, but you may consider me an ally for now. If you go back the way you came, you should be able to fight your way to the surface. Do you understand?"
Charles hesitated. "... Alright. Wait. Before I leave.. Who are you?"
The Servant turned his back on Charles, bowing to the Goddess on her throne. "You may both call me Archer."
As he said that, a myriad of strange mirrors started to protrude from his back. They all caught the light of the temple walls in a dazzling way. Charles realized that must've been where the laser came from. However, the more dominant, sensible part of it didn't want to stick around to find out, so he turned on his heel and ran while he could.
Isis raised a hand, and all around Archer, small portals opened up and started raining blasts of mana down on him. The mirrors detached from their wires to intercept, either cancelling out the sources or redirecting them at Isis herself. The few that did make contact with her seemed to dissipate on contact.
"Archer. A man who wields no bow deems himself worthy of the title? Have you no shame?" she asked calmly.
Archer smiled widely. "Of course, Caster, or even Ruler is my calling of choice. But this is a role I can play too, Assassin."
Isis' eyes went wide. "You.. dare…!"
Archer smiled even wider. "Even if your True Name escapes my sight at the moment, just contact with those beams were enough for me to get enough of a reading to discern your Class. To answer your previous question, 'Archer' is a broad term. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be proficient. I tried once in life, but I just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Besides, these are projectiles enough, no?"
Archer raised his hands and the mirrors conjoined into one large glass.
"Besides," he continued. "If you would like us to act like our Classes, I'd always found that Assassins do best shrinking away from the light like the cowards they are, no?"
Light seemed to be sucked from every corner of the room, drawn into the mirror's center, and then spewed out all at once.
Isis held her hands in front of her eyes, for the light was too bright even for her. But when she opened them, the room was empty. Both enemy Master and Servant had vanished.
Charles sprinted for a good ten seconds once the door had slammed behind him, separating him from the fight between Archer and the terrible goddess Isis. Something made him stop in his tracks though.
"Tohsaka. Shit."
'Just.. Get Fran and come back. Running back in there is suicide. Isn't it?'
But Charles was already running. He'd picked a random hallway, and decided that he'd search the complex corridor by corridor if he had to. 'She used a Command Seal when I couldn't.. Wouldn't. Tch.'
"Tohsaka?!" he called out. 'The staffs' chambers must be close, so they can best serve.. Her. Surely it can't be far.'
Sure enough, at the far end of the tunnel, one of the doorways was casting light into the hallway. Grabbing the doorframe for support, he swung into the room to maintain his momentum and.. Stopped dead in his tracks.
"Ah. Yarenes-kun. Welcome," Akira greeted. Beside her were a dozen or so young women. They were all dressed the same- plain white dress, hairband and sandals.
"Have you decided to serve the Goddess as well?"
Her smile seemed sickly-sweet, and she moved as if she were in a haze. Charles realized her expression was the same as all the other handmaidens- vacant, and her pupils were worryingly dilated, as if she were drugged.
"Tohsaka, we're leaving," Charles said cautiously.
Instantly, her eyes turned sharp. The transition was enough to give him whiplash. "Good," she snapped, kicking off her sandals. "This place smells like crap."
Charles sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that."
"I didn't know if you were under a compulsion or not. How'd you get away from that Servant?"
"Walk and talk," Charles insisted, grabbing her hand and dragging her back down the hallway.
"H-Hey!' Akira protested.
"We caught a lucky break. Also, we're never going into one of these creepy complexes without Saber again."
"What was the break?"
"The Archer Class Servant just happened to be passing through. We got super lucky."
"A-Archer? Are you sure?" Akira asked.
"He said so himself, and he looked like it. Plus, we've got our clue to who this 'Isis' might really be."
"What do you mean?' Akira demanded. "Her Divine readings were off the charts. You and I both felt it."
"That's true. But does anything about Isis' myth correlate with 'Assassin?'" Charles grinned. They were at the steps that lead to the surface now. Charles figured that as Archer had come in, he'd punctured a hole through the Bounded Field that surrounded the temple.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Archer dropped her Class super casually and she freaked. I didn't stick around to see much after that, though."
They were nearing the last few stairs now, but Isis seemed to have caught up with them. "I've changed my mind. I'm just going to kill you both, you insolent whelps!" the Goddess shrieked.
'So close.. Just a few more steps..!'
"Ingrain! Schild!"
Akira threw her last gemstone behind them, and it met the beam of light in the middle, refracting it in every direction except their own. "The underway's collapsing!"
They had emerged in the subway station now, but fresh air was still a ways off yet, and the falling rubble only seemed to give Isis pause for a second.
"You.. dare!"
She was upon the two in an instant. In the split second before Isis' fist came into contact with Charles' very vulnerable head, it was pulled aside by an outstretched, gloved palm.
"Archer!" Charles exclaimed.
"The very same. It seems our Queen hasn't had enough today. Her bloodlust truly is insatiable once ignited," Archer smiled. He turned to Isis, though instead of opting for his mirrors, he crouched low, in some sort of martial arts stance.
Charles was frozen for a moment, but then grabbed Akira's hand again, urging her to leave. "Come on, while she's distracted."
Akira resisted, however, turning her back on him to face Isis, and the unknown Archer. "I'm sorry, Charles," she murmured. "I haven't exactly been a hundred percent truthful with you."
Akira Tohsaka took a deep breath, drawing herself up to her full height. "Archer!" she suddenly barked. "Are you receiving mana?"
Archer turned his head around, not unlike an owl. On his face was a look of surprise. "Are we doing this?" he asked.
"Yes, we are."
Archer chuckled. "Very well, my Master. Engaging the enemy."
He sprinted in, throwing a lightning-fast punch at Isis. Isis pulsed a dark shade of purple and she caught the fist.
"Martial arts? If I had to place it.. It would be.. Hmm.. Baritsu, no? How quaint. I'll play your game, then, 'Archer.'"
She spun on her heel, her leg lashing out at Archer's head. He ducked under and sunk a fist into her stomach.
"You are most certainly not an Englishman, Assassin. Just how would you be proficient at this already? Unless you're receiving assistance somehow.."
"Do not.. Call me that!" Isis screamed, sinking blow after blow into him. He raised his hands in front of his face to block, but even he had to give out against the onslaught of punches and kicks sometime.
With every punch, the pillars that supported the roof of the subway station quaked, creaking slightly as they absorbed the remnants of the force of the blows.
"Archer! Either take this outside, or finish it now!" Akira ordered.
"Permission to use my Noble Phantasm, then?" he asked, slamming Isis with the force to send her a few dozen meters underground.
Akira bit her thumb. "Tch. Fine. I've played this game of masquerade for too long already. Archer, Noble Phantasm, now!"
Archer smiled. "As you command."
As Isis flew up to meet him, she was suddenly encased on every side by mirrors- not mirrors, but magnifying glasses, Charles realized. They wouldn't hold for long, maybe only a couple of seconds, but it was enough time for Archer to release the True Name of his Noble Phantasm.
"Let us begin, then. After all, to solve this problem would be all too simple."
The magnifying glasses assembled in front of Archer, all focused on the spot where Isis was about to pop out of the ground. As she emerged, she was caught in a blinding light.
"Elementary, My Dear."
The light being cast on Isis changed from the reflection of ambient light to full-on highbeams, and though no physical damage seemed to have been done, she sank to her knees.
"Tch.. What.. Have you done..?" she whispered.
"I have revealed all that you are to the world. All that you will be. Servants rely on their Mystery, no? What happens if that's taken away? That is the nature of my Noble Phantasm," Archer told her.
He looked back over his shoulder, towards Akira. "Master. For some reason she's still invulnerable, but this temporary lapse in her Mystery should grant us the opportunity to leave. Your thoughts?"
"Ach-!"
Akira was caught in a stranglehold by.. Charles looked between the Isis that was currently knelt on the floor, 40 meters away, and the Isis that had Akira in a stranglehold. He was gobsmacked. Surely she didn't have that skill in her arsenal. He could think of a way that Isis could've approached Akira undetected- Presence Concealment was a standard Class Skill for Assassins. But how had she managed the body double.
"You know," Isis sighed, pulsing purple yet again. "You really caught me off guard, Sir Sherlock Holmes. I didn't expect this much trouble coming from a mere detective. But, it is in a ruler's nature to have body doubles, in the case that someone attempts to assassinate her."
Of course.
Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous detective. Summoned here in London, even the normally non-offensive Servant would be an absolute powerhouse. And in a Holy Grail War, which was fought with information as much as it was with physical force, the world's best detective was a no-brainer of a choice.
The Isis that was knelt on the floor keeled over, and slowly morphed into one of the handmaidens that Charles saw earlier. Her skin was red and badly burned, too, as if she were cooked from the inside. For her sake, Charles hoped that she were dead.
'So that's the price of housing Divinity within yourself..'
"I thought giving her only a fraction of my power was all that was needed to defeat you, but.. Well, if I want a job done right, then I must do it myself, I suppose."
She tightened her grip on Akira's throat. "And you, boy. You seem to care about this one to an extent, so no Command Spells or any funny business from your own Servant. Wench, command Archer to commit suicide or I'll take your head off myself."
Holmes stood frozen. He'd been duped, and by the looks of it, he wasn't used to the sensation. Charles figured that either he wasn't thinking at all, or he couldn't think of a single solution to their current predicament. He could relate.
"All I have to do is that, huh.. Alright.." Akira mumbled. "You'll spare me, right?"
"I'll consider it. Now, repeat after me. 'Archer, by my Command Seal.."
"Archer.. By my Command Seal.."
"Commit suicide immediately."
Akira took a deep breath. "ARCHER! KILL THIS BIT-!"
In one swift motion, Isis twisted Akira's neck, and the Master crumpled to the floor at her feet.
"Tohsaka!" Charles screamed.
Isis sighed. "How messy. I haven't had to kill a single mortal since I was summoned, and now this? I expect someone will be burning these shoes once I'm done with them. They've touched trash," she said, kicking Akira's limp body over to Charles.
Slowly, he knelt down, and touched her forehead gently. A slight sheen spread over her body.
"Sorry, Tohsaka. It's not a real embalming, but it's the best I can do for now," he mumbled. "Archer! You've got some time left, right?"
"... Yes. My Independent Action will buy you a few minutes to get away and get to Saber."
"Thank you," Charles eventually said, picking up Akira's body and taking off. Isis attempted to blast him with a beam of mana, but one of Holmes' magnifying glasses stopped the beam and reflected it back at her.
"Your opponent is here, my Queen," he smiled.