Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate series or any related works. They are the property of TYPE-Moon. Please support the official release.
A/N: Chapter 2 will still primarily be focused on Batreaux and Mordred, and will hint at one of the Servants of Red. Ch 3 will reveal some of them, then shift focus to the Blue Faction.
On reviews: I am quite pleasantly surprised at the feedback this story's gotten so far. Hope I can live up to your expectations.
-Yagami Kuzuki: I currently have no plans for MordredXShirou, I personally prefer ArturiaXShirou. 400PercentSync's JoJo crossover seems to heading in that direction if you're interested though. As for Apocrypha skills…. Well, Shirou might get a chance to Trace the Black Keys (rejoice) in the future.
-Anthem of the Night: Personally I've always felt I don't put in enough details, but if it took you 15 minutes then I guess I'm doing fairly well with them.
-Reishin Amara: I presume you were intending to add a term for a specific set of male organs at the end there yes? At any rate, you're right. Batreaux caught on to the fact he'd summoned Mordred, but he certainly wasn't expecting the Knight of Rebellion to be a cute (from his perspective) teenaged girl. It'll probably happen again when he meets the Blue Team's Saber, too.
-AznPuffyHair: I'd originally wanted to use Jeanne for the Ruler role because she's my favorite saint and would give good opportunities to have Mordred assault the Ruler class or bring in Jeanne Alter, but Martha needs more attention, I agree. I'm not quite decided yet. Yeah, Shirou's definitely got more "potential" mana he can use. Kid's got a Reality Marble after all. Batreaux doesn't have enough to fully realize Mordred's potential, no. Most of her stats are weaker than they should be, and she's going to have to do stuff like eat a lot of food. He doesn't actually have enough to keep her fully manifested on his own.
-Dragoon Swordsman: I do plan to have Mordred and Arturia reconcile eventually. Even before getting into the Fate series I'd thought Mordred got a worse rap than they should have, considering Camelot was apparently fated to fall anyway. Both versions of her in FGO pretty much fit what you described about her and Batreaux's relationship.
I've wasted enough of your time. Let's begin.
.-.
The partnership between Batreaux Westwood and the infamous traitor Mordred Pendragon was not off to a good start. The cause of all this was the single word Batreaux uttered upon seeing his summoned Servant was in actuality a young girl.
"What."
That word had triggered all the wrong thought processes in Saber's mind, leaving the Heroic Spirit in a state that was a mixture of shock and rage. But mostly rage.
"Oi, oi, what do you mean 'what'?" Saber snarled at her Master. "You're the one who summoned me aren't you? And stop staring at me like that you idiot!"
Batreaux had instinctively taken a step back without thinking about it. Man, she's intense. I can't believe a girl shorter than me is the infamous Mordred. I'll have to be careful when dealing with her.
"Sorry about the staring, Saber. I was just getting a look at your abilities." The ability to see a Servant's stats was one all Masters shared, but Batreaux wasn't sure if Mordred knew that or not. In that case, it may as well have been a lie. One his Servant fortunately would have bought, judging by the smug grin that crossed her face. For the moment, her rage had been placated.
"Oh really? I guess I can't be mad at you for that, Master," Saber gave a quick shrug of her shoulders, plates of her armor grinding against each other. "So, what do you think? Amazing aren't I?"
In terms of astonishing sights, everything about Mordred was amazing to Batreaux. In terms of her stats as a Servant, well, things were a bit less amazing there. Now that her helmet had been removed, Batreaux could properly see his Servant's statistics, and they were a bit underwhelming.
"Honestly, Saber? You're a bit more average than I was expecting. Most of your stats are C rank."
Mordred's rage came back in full force. Her teeth clenched and her eye began to twitch. For whatever reason, she was summoned weaker than she should have been, and she was determined to find out why.
"Oi, what the hell do you mean average!?" Mordred's armored hand grabbed Batreaux by the collar and lifted him off the ground. To an onlooker it would have quite amusing to see her lift a grown man so easily. For him it was anything but funny. Honestly he was starting to panic.
He'd summoned Saber to be his Servant, and yet here she was, effortlessly holding him in the air with one hand like he was the teenager and not the other way around.
"I'm supposed to be stronger than this, so that means you must have screwed up somewhere. Tell me what you did before I bust your teeth in." Mordred's other hand pulled back and curled into a metal plated fist. A punch from her would likely do much worse than knock Batreaux's teeth out, and he could tell from the sheer anger radiating from her that she was serious.
"S-Saber, I swear I didn't do anything to you! There wouldn't be any point in it! Please, just put me down!" Saber complied, and dropped her Master down to the floor rather painfully, though it was better than being her punching bag. She didn't do so out of any sort of kindness or loyalty. She did it because she was confused.
Batreaux had said he hadn't done anything to alter her parameters, and he was telling the truth. Under normal circumstances, Mordred's Magic Resistance would've been a solid B ranking as a Saber class, enough that it was simply impossible for him to have weakened her stats magically. That left only one other explanation.
Mordred looked down at her Master intensely, emerald eyes piercing him like steel lances.
"Are you telling me you're really so weak as a magus that I've been debased just by forming a contract with you? You shouldn't have even been able to summon me in that case."
"W-well," Batreaux began, cringing lightly in pain as he stood back up. "I did have a catalyst relating to you. I guess it let me summon you anyway?"
Saber had turned away from him at the mention of a catalyst, looking towards the small altar behind the circle that had bound her to the world once more. She began to shudder lightly at the sight of the Round Table splinter.
Of course. She thought. I should've known he wouldn't have wanted to summon me.
"Look, Saber. I think we got off on the wrong foot there. I'm sorry if I offended you when I reacted like that. You just aren't really what I was expec-"
Batreaux was cut off by Mordred slamming her sword down on the splinter, destroying it instantly. All that remained where it had been placed was a few pieces of stone and wood. She swung her sword back up and rested it over her shoulder.
"Good riddance." Mordred turned back towards Batreaux. Her anger was still present, but it was more subdued. If he had to guess, he'd say destroying the splinter had lightened her mood a bit. "Let me guess. You were expecting to summon a proper knight, like Lancelot, Gawain, or God forbid, my Father."
Batreaux swallowed. He really didn't want to set Saber off again. Fortunately, it seemed she was at least willing to listen to his explanations now. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and looked her straight in the eyes before continuing. He figured at the very least, Mordred would appreciate him being honest with her.
"Not so much King Arthur, but yeah. It didn't even cross my mind that you might still be considered a Knight of the Round Table. Sorry about that."
"Don't mistake me for one of those spineless fools." Mordred's sword, the demonic blade Clarent, faded into red light as she narrowed her eyes. "I'm the only true heir to the King of Knights."
"But… you rebelled against him right?"
Mordred turned her gaze down towards the church floors and tightened her fists.
"He never saw me as anything but a tool. Neither of them did." She tried to hide it, but sadness had crept its way into her voice. From that and use of the word 'neither', Batreaux assumed Saber was also talking about her mother, the evil fairy Morgana. He said nothing about it, assuming that letting her vent would be good for both of them.
"He never appreciated my skills or anything. All that hard work at being the perfect knight, wasted." Mordred's rage had flared back up again, but at least for Batreaux it wasn't directed at him this time. For the moment she seemed more interested in yelling at the ghost of her dead father.
"Well I showed you!" she yelled, a crazed look in her eyes, mouth curled into a worse snarl than the one she'd given to her Master shortly before. It probably wasn't the best time for him to do so, but Batreaux couldn't help but notice her canine teeth seemed more like the fangs of a wolf or a lion. "In the end your reign was worthless!"
Mordred slammed her armored foot down on what little remained of the splinter and ground it into dust. She'd begun panting lightly, having gotten herself worked up. Batreaux just watched on in silence. The rage he'd just seen from Saber didn't feel like that of an evil tyrant. To him, Mordred seemed more like a person who'd been hurt by someone she'd trusted, and lashed out in pain. In any case, his Servant's tempestuous personality was at least interesting.
"Saber, you probably won't believe me when I say this, but I don't think you're a bad person. It's clear the legends got more wrong about you than I first thought."
Mordred raised an eyebrow at Batreaux and rested an armored hand on her hip. "The hell do you mean by that?" Even when she wasn't actively trying to be malicious or threatening, Saber's mere presence was enough to make her Master nervous. He really had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.
"W-well, it's just that all the legends described you with certain… pronouns. I didn't expect the infamous Mordred to actually be a little girl is a-"
Within an instant, Mordred had rematerialized Clarent and closed the distance between her and Batreaux. The blade's point was less than a hair's width away from his throat, demonstrating the immense skill Saber possessed. If she wanted to, she could kill him at any moment she pleased.
A burst of air accompanied the swing of her blade, blowing back Batreaux's hair and nearly throwing him off balance. If looks could kill, he'd be dead. Mordred's face held a look of absolute hatred he assumed only King Arthur had seen before.
"The next time you call me 'little girl', you lose your head, Master."
Batreaux was shocked. He knew from earlier experience Masters weren't guaranteed to get along perfectly with their Servants, but Saber threatening to kill him? He was her link to the modern world, there was no way she'd go through with it, right?
But another look into his Servant's eyes told him that yes, Saber was serious. She was even willing to kill him in the middle of a church of all places!
To be killed by one's own Servant before the Grail War had even begun… was there any more pathetic death for a Master? For the sake of his own safety, Batreaux decided to back down.
"S-sorry, Saber. Won't happen again." Saber stared at him for a moment longer before deciding he was sincere. The anger on her face vanished as if it had never existed at all, and Clarent disappeared into red mist once again.
"Good." With a burst of the same red energy Clarent had dissolved into, Mordred removed her suit of imposing steel armor, the energy taking the shape of a flame as it rolled off of her body.
A body she was ironically showing off quite a bit of with her "casual" wear. It was composed near entirely of bright red leather. Long detached sleeves, a collar, a thin strip of leather covering her chest, all of it red and none of it connected to a shirt.
The only part of Mordred's outfit that wasn't red were her leggings, and even those weren't attached to any kind of pants. Instead she wore a long dark red loincloth. Though the irony of it wasn't lost on him, Batreaux was now worried about even being seen in public with her.
At least when Saber had the armor on there was at least the possibility of her wearing an outfit underneath that won't get her arrested… he thought to himself.
"Well, at the risk of being further threatened with bodily harm… I have to ask. Saber, is there anything you could do about your outfit?" Saber blinked twice and looked at Batreaux like he had two heads.
"What about my outfit?" Even when speaking normally, Saber's voice had a confrontational edge to it, like she was always seeking out a fight. "If you're concerned about my manner of dress I could put my armor back on."
Batreaux mentally facepalmed. "No, Saber, that might actually be worse. Either one of your outfits might end up with the cops trying to arrest you." It didn't take a genius to play out that scenario in their mind. While Mordred would certainly win any altercations with the police should the situation come to that, it would nevertheless be much more trouble than Batreaux needed.
"It's gotten pretty dark outside, Master." Saber spoke up, now reclining herself on one of the pews. Batreaux hadn't noticed due to all the… excitement caused by the summoning of his Servant, but the sun appeared to have set recently. Checking his watch, Batreaux found the time to be roughly eight thirty pm.
Strange, he thought. Father Bianchi should have returned by now.
Due to interacting with his Servant and the act of summoning her that was his first use of magecraft, Batreaux was just about ready to drop dead any second. The faster he and Saber got back to his apartment, the better. He decided it best to wrap things up here.
"Well Saber," he said, as she sat up to look at him in response, "I can't say meeting you was the most pleasant or least painful thing I've ever done, but one thing's for sure." He reached out his hand towards Saber, who had decided to walk over to him.
"You're a hell of a lot more interesting than the rest of the Round Table Knights. Glad to have you on my side, Mordred."
"Alright! Let's do this thing, Master!" Mordred grinned and smacked his hand like they were doing a high five instead of shaking it. Batreaux was thankful she hadn't actually punched him earlier. Just that relatively gentle slap had stung like a hornet's nest or spoiled pineapple.
Mordred cracked her knuckles and looked up at him excitedly. "So, where's the enemy?" Batreaux was started to get a bit worried about her now. Of course, it was good Mordred was willing to fight off their enemies, but the girl seemed to have an almost berserker-like zeal for combat.
He chuckled nervously. "Calm down there Saber. None of the other Masters or Servants have shown themselves yet." Mordred's excited grin turned into a frown.
"Oh… So what's our next move then?"
Batreaux yawned. "We go home. I don't know about you, but I need some sleep. We can start making plans tomorrow." He pulled off his jacket and tossed it over to Saber, who caught it effortlessly. "It's night, so if you put that on we shouldn't have to worry about the cops for now. You like red, right?"
Saber nodded as she put on the jacket. It wasn't leather like she would have hoped, but it would do for now. "Yeah. Thanks, Master." Mentally, she was glad her Master hadn't asked her to take spiritual form.
"Alright, let's get going then." Batreaux stopped to pick up the book on the basic workings of Thaumaturgy he'd been studying before deciding to summon Saber. He figured Father Bianchi wouldn't mind him borrowing it for a while, considering the future that lay ahead of him.
I hope the old man's alright.
Pushing open the doors of the church, Batreaux Westwood and Mordred Pendragon stepped out into the cold night air, unaware of the small familiar that had been observing them.
.-.
The short walk back to Batreaux's apartment was rather uneventful, leaving Mordred to sink further into her boredom. She'd nearly gotten to have some fun when a drunk off the streets tried to hit on her, but unfortunately for Saber her Master managed to diffuse the situation before she put anyone in the hospital.
He'd managed to work out a simple hypnosis spell from what he'd learned in his borrowed textbook, and it turned out to be quite effective against a pre-inebriated mind.
That second use of magic had nearly drained all of Batreaux's remaining mana, and Saber was beginning to get suspicious of her Master's abilities. On some level it made sense that summoning a Heroic Spirit as powerful as her would take a lot out of a magus, and maintaining her would require a large amount of mana.
But after he'd cast that hypnosis spell, Mordred felt the mana she was receiving through their spiritual link slow to a drip. Though she didn't want to believe it, Saber had an idea that her summoning was the first magic her Master had ever performed. It would certainly explain her being weakened.
"Aww, crap." Batreaux's sudden voice drew her out of her thoughts, and she stopped beside him. She followed his eyes to where an old, busted pick-up truck was parked. She tensed herself, mentally preparing for a fight.
"That truck belong to someone who's been giving you trouble, Master?" Sleep deprived as he was, Batreaux noticed some of the same excitement from earlier in his Servant's voice. That realization managed to wake him up a bit.
"Woah, no no no no, nothing like that, Saber." He waved his arms in front of him rapidly, trying to dissuade her from attacking. "That's my roommate's truck. I forgot she got off work early tonight." Mordred relaxed, yet again disappointed she wouldn't get to fight.
"Oh. And this is a problem why?"
"She's not a magus, Saber. If I just showed up in the middle of the night with a half-naked girl, she'd think I'd been off doing something perverted." Mordred's face tinged slightly red at that.
"Servants are basically high-class familiars, right? Do you think you could take spirit form, at least until I come up with a good excuse?"
Mordred firmly crossed her arms and puffed up her cheeks. "I refuse. I can't think straight if I don't have my feet firmly on the ground." Batreaux sighed. His Servant really was a handful.
"Alright then. I don't want to make you too uncomfortable. I'll just have to think of an excuse now then." With that, Batreaux opened the door to his apartment and he and Mordred stepped inside. "Yo Elise, I'm home!"
The first thing Mordred noticed was that none of the lights were on. Instead the rooms were being lit by candles. Though she was used to candlelight from her time in Camelot, the knowledge she'd gained from the Grail told her electric lights were nearly everywhere in the modern age.
That said, it didn't seem too bad to her. All things considered the apartment seemed decent enough, at least as far as the living room and kitchen went. It was no castle, sure, but in some ways it was better due to the march of technology.
The second thing she noticed was the young woman sitting on the living room couch smirking smugly at her. The woman had short brown hair and eyes as grey as stormclouds that nicely complemented her fair complexion. Mordred assumed this was her Master's roommate, Elise.
Elise put down the book she'd been reading as she stood up and quickly hid her hands behind her back. Mordred almost thought she'd seen a bit of red on Elise's right hand, and noticed the air seemed… charged, somewhat.
Could she be one of the other six Masters? she thought. Master said she wasn't a magus, but…
"Hey, Bat, welcome home!" Elise said warmly. Then, she looked her roommate straight in the eye and smirked. "I see you finally got yourself a girlfriend~."
As if on cue, both Master and Servant staggered and flushed bright red. It took all of Mordred's willpower to not strangle Elise then and there.
"Gi-girlfriend?"
"Mmm-hmm~. You know, I always knew you were into blondes, Bat." Elise put on a look of fake confusion before continuing. "But I thought you liked your women a bit… curvier? And older?"
If embarrassment were physical, Batreaux would've been buried in a mountain of it. Mordred would have been in a similar situation, but with anger instead. As it were, she was about to snap.
Fortunately for Elise, Batreaux had managed to come up with an excuse just before Mordred lost it.
"S-she's not my girlfriend, Elise. She's my little sister, Mooooorrrr….gan. Morgan. Yep."
Mordred made a mental note to punch her Master later. Even if it was for the sake of keeping their cover, making her use her despicable witch of a mother's name was a step too far.
"Morgan, huh. So where've you been keeping this sister of yours all these years, Bat?"
"She's been studying abroad in England. Our parents thought it would be good for us to spend some time together while she's on vacation."
"Uh-huh. So how long is she staying here then?"
"About two weeks or so."
Elise didn't believe that story for a second. It all seemed too convenient to her. But, she had no proof her roommate was lying, and hey, it wasn't her job to police his… interests. She decided to play along for now.
"Uh-huh. Okay, so. I'm gonna run down to the store real quick. I've already made dinner, leftovers are in the fridge, and you look like hell, so I assume you'll be asleep when I get back." Elise walked over to the key rack they kept to pick up her keys and unlocked the door.
"Nice to meet you, Morgan!"
The door shut and locked behind Elise. Master and Servant hesitated a while longer to make sure she was gone. Then Mordred slugged her Master in the arm.
"Ow! What was that for, Saber?!" If her gentle slap stung like a hornet's nest, her actual punch felt like being hit with a metal baseball bat.
"That's for making me use my mother's name, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking?! And that roommate of yours, the hell's her problem?"
Batreaux winced and rubbed his pained arm. "Right, right. Sorry about the name thing, I kinda panicked. Elise is great when you get to know her, I swear."
That was strange, he thought. It isn't like Elise to hurry off like that.
"Anyway, I think I'm gonna go to sleep now. Do you want to use my bed or the couch?" he said, pulling a plastic water bottle out from the kitchen cabinet.
Mordred smirked, having found another way to get back at her Master. "Eh? Isn't your bed big enough for both of us, Master?"
Batreaux nearly choked on the water he was drinking. "N-no it isn't Saber! Even if it was we don't nearly know each other well enough for that! Besides, Elise thinks you're my sister, remember? I really don't need her thinking anything weird about us."
Saber laughed gleefully at her Master's suffering. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. I'll take the bed, thanks." Batreaux narrowed his eyes and stared at her for a moment.
"Down the hall, second door on the left." Batreaux yawned again. "Jeez, I need some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Mordred." Batreaux laid down onto the couch and near instantly fell asleep.
"Oh, wait! Mast-" was all he heard before he left the conscious world for Dreamland. Mordred shrugged and turned to find her Master's room. "Ah well. I'll tell him tomorrow." She couldn't shake the feeling she'd felt when Elise had meet her gaze. There had been another Servant in the room. She knew it.
.-.
After making sure she was a good distance away from the apartment, Elise looked around to make sure nobody else was in the area. She didn't let on to it while around Batreaux and his "sister", but she'd noticed the marking on his right hand. A Command Seal. Elise knew what it was, as she had one of her own.
While Batreaux's was shaped like a knight's helmet, hers took the shape of three parallel lines. Elise sighed. She had really hoped her friend wouldn't be drawn into the Holy Grail War. But the facts were undeniable. They both had Command Seals. That meant at some point in the near future, they would be forced to fight each other. Only one wish could be granted.
So you noticed it too then, milady? The voice of her Servant sounded inside her mind, clear as day. I believe you do not need to worry about him. He has a strong, just heart. As you do.
I know he's strong enough to handle this, she responded. I'm worried about when we have to fight each other. I'm worried about you. You saw that girl he called his sister right? She was definitely his Servant. And she's strong.
The girl does indeed appear formidable, milady. But have no fear. So long as your wish remains just, I shall be your shield. My powers are greatest when on defense. Our enemies may be strong, but I shall prevail.
Elise was silent, simply staring at her Command Seal. A cold wind whipped across her face. In the face of her cruel destiny, however, it was nothing. Elise steeled her heart and mind.
Secretly, she hoped Batreaux would die long before they had to fight each other. She couldn't bear the thought of killing her best friend, but she would if she had to.
To make a better world… She would kill whoever she had to.
Thank you, Rider. I'll be relying on you from now on.
Of course, milady. I am yours to command.
….Rider, there's something I need you to do for me.
.-.
Batreaux awoke the next morning barely feeling any better than when he'd gone to sleep. The feeling was mostly physical, however, due to the poor position he had slept in. Though it was his own fault for offering Saber first pick of sleeping areas, so he couldn't complain too much.
His mental exhaustion had been relieved only slightly. Though he had recovered some of his mana, it wasn't much compared to what he'd used to summon Saber the night before. If he had to guess, he'd say it was roughly twenty percent.
His dreams hadn't helped with that. It wasn't that he had a dreamless night, he was used to that. And when he did have dreams, they were never frightening. Strangely enough, Batreaux had never had a nightmare in his life.
But his dreams had never come in pieces before.
He was alone in a decrepit, abandoned castle.
He was in the same castle, standing before a tall, thin woman with pale hair and her face obscured.
He was facing down a group of monsters.
He was standing alongside a group of what appeared to be knights.
He was bleeding out on a hill, surrounded by corpses as he stared up at the sky.
Needless to say, he was unnerved. Batreaux rubbed his eyes to clear out the morning gunk, yawning as he sat up and put his glasses back on. He took a moment to crack his joints, then looked over to the table, where he saw Mordred was already awake and eating some cereal.
"Good morning, Saber." He noticed she'd taken the liberty of putting on some of his clothes, sweatpants and an old tee shirt. Both of them red, obviously. He could only pray she hadn't put on his underwear too.
"Morning, Master," she responded through a mouthful of chocolate. "You sleep well? I survive off your mana, you know. So it's important you're as rested as possible."
"Ehhh, not too well, I'm afraid. I kept having these… pieces of weird dreams." Batreaux had moved behind Mordred and into the kitchen to set a pot of coffee. "What about you? You have any weird dreams? Do you even need to sleep?"
Mordred put down her spoon and stared at him. "Seriously? The first night after you summon me and you start having 'weird dreams'? Hah! Modern magi sure are sensitive." Batreaux narrowed his eyes and stared right back at his Servant. Clearly he was not in the mood for a jape.
"But to answer your questions, no, I didn't have any weird dreams, and no, I don't need sleep. But," she paused to take another bite of her breakfast, "It does lower my mana usage. And food recharges me a bit."
"Ah." He supposed it made sense. Even if she was technically dead, Saber did currently possess a 'living' form. It was only logical she could gain energy from eating. It was also a plus for him, as it meant he wouldn't need to use as much mana maintaining her.
"Hey Saber. You know where Elise is?"
"Yeah," she said through another mouthful of cereal. "Said to tell you she was going to work early today, since you don't have a job anymore." Wait. Batreaux hadn't told Elise about him being fired. He didn't get a chance to.
"How did she know about that?"
Saber merely shrugged in response. Apparently she didn't have an explanation either. The blonde swordswoman lightly swallowed before draining her bowl of milk, which had turned brown thanks to chocolate from the cereal leaching into it.
"So, Master. What are we doing today?"
Thanks to his coffee, Batreaux had woken up completely. Personally he hated the taste of it, but sometimes he needed a little extra to get up in the morning. And the day after summoning the spirit of an ancient hero(?) was certainly one of those mornings. Now that he was fully awake, he was able to put together a rough day plan in his mind. He and Saber would work out the details as they went.
"Well Saber, I was going to exercise for a bit, then I thought we'd play some video games for a while before working on our battle plan." He noticed a smile appear on his Servant's face when he'd mentioned video games. Clearly she was curious about trying them for herself. He was honestly a bit surprised she hadn't been playing one already when he woke up. Then again, he supposed someone from the middle ages wouldn't really know how electricity works to begin with.
It seemed like Mordred was about to say something, but at that moment Batreaux's phone began to ring. The blond checked the caller id to find it was Father Bianchi, and quickly answered.
"Father! Are you alright? I got kinda worried when you didn't get back to the church before dark."
Oh yes, I'm quite fine. I was simply catching up with an old friend of mine and lost track of time. I noticed you've taken the book on Thaumaturgy with you. Does this mean…
"Yeah, it does. I'm officially part of the Holy Grail War now. I summoned a Saber class for my Servant. I don't mean to brag or anything, but I think I've got a pretty good shot at winning this thing." Batreaux and Mordred grinned, sharing each other's confidence.
The priest's mirthful laughter came through from the other end of the line. Oh, I don't doubt it my friend. But, that said, would you mind coming back by the church today, as soon as you can? There's something important I need to tell you, and it's best done in person.
Batreaux narrowed his eyes slightly at that. Whatever the old man wanted to tell him, it was doubtless about the Grail War. Perhaps there were other rules he needed to learn about? At any rate, any matter relating to the Grail War was not to be taken lightly.
"Of course, Father. I'll be there in about an hour."
Ah, good, good. And bring your Servant with you, if you don't mind. They need to hear this too.
"….I see. Goodbye." Batreaux hung up on the call and looked over to Saber, who was staring at him again.
"So, what was that about, Master?" she asked, folding her arms behind her neck and resting her feet on the table.
"Better get dressed, Saber, we're going to have to leave sooner than I expected." Inwardly, Batreaux was worried, and Saber was excited.
"Where are we going? For you to abandon the day's plans like that, this must be important, huh." Batreaux had headed down the hall to brush his teeth and get ready to leave, Saber following in order to get back to the room she was borrowing.
Batreaux grinned at her. "We're going to confess to our good priest of course." This time Saber was the one left who could only give one word.
"What?"
.-.
Within the darkness of the Greater Grail, Avenger laughed triumphantly. The summonings of the Red Faction couldn't have turned out better. He'd had his doubts when Saber hadn't been summoned yet, but upon seeing who had been chosen, he was convinced. His plan was perfect.
Now all that was left for him to do was to summon the Ruler. He'd quickly ruled out (no pun intended) Holmes and Amakusa. Either of them would cause him no end of trouble. Leaving him with two choices. One of the holy women would win a temporary pass back to life, as his unwitting pawn.
Fate/Stay Night: Dai Taisen
Episode 2: Holy Summons
A/N: This chapter was supposed to have about another thousand words on it originally, but I decided to cut them off and add them to the next one. I felt having a parallel to the first chapter made for a better ending point.
Standard requests apply, leave your questions, comments, concerns, and reading time in a review, and I will see you all next time.