Hmm... I think Author's Notes at the beginning will become a staple for the Compendium. Well, more like 'I talk about why I wrote this Xover/ the idea behind it' y'all know the drill. So, I love Gate, and I was wondering why no-one seemed to have the same idea to combine them like this, so I gave it a try.
This falls into the category of 'I'd love to see someone else do something similar because I doubt I'd continue it'.
And let's begin!
Fate/Gate
Let it be said that whoever said Reincarnation wasn't a thing, he was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong.
That was what one Shirou Emiya thought as he fended off another attack of the enemy soldier, twisting his arm in such a way that he dropped the sword he held. Using the momentum generated, Shirou used said sword to block the horizontal strike of the second, while taking care to avoid the third's blow.
He had to thank Saber's lessons in swordsmanship for that, since he had no magic at his disposal, currently. Oh, he still felt the soft hum of his magic, and knew for a fact that it was still there – he simply was unable to access it at the current time.
Really, what idiot thought putting a magical gate in the middle of Tokyo was a good idea?!
Shirou was about to curse the Magic Association, when he remembered, oh right, new world, no magi.
Strange how reincarnation worked, huh? There was no Fuyuki, no magic (that he was aware of), and yet here they were, being attacked from what looked like a Roman Legion. With dragons and probably other fantasy creatures. It almost looked like his life turned into some kind of manga or something similar.
Really, and it even was his day off! Sighing, Shirou turned his attention to the fourth soldier and threw his own knife in an arc, the steel embedding itself between his eyes. That was for trying to surprise him!
This would be a long day, he could tell.
-Fate/Gate-
What felt like years later, he (and the whole JSDF, really) stood in front of the suitably titled 'Gate', ready to venture forth into the unknown. One of the soldiers next to him grinned.
"How's that for luck? The newbie got admitted to the mission. Heard ya stood your own pretty well against the invading force. Even getting a promotion!"
Shirou smiled thinly. It seemed that he might be one of the youngest members to go onto this mission, even going as far as to having gotten a rank promotion after the Ginza Incident – he wasn't the only one, since one of his superior officers (and one of the few peoples he had regular interaction with, considering Itami Youji was an old friend of his late father – who was Kiritsugu again) was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.
Shirou would've found a way to enter the gate anyhow, since this reeked of magecraft. Already he could feel his circuits thrumming in excitement, urging him forward.
The doors of the gate were opened, and with a silent sigh, Shirou gave a wry laugh.
This'll be the Grail War all over again. I wonder what Tohsaka would say, if she were around?
Fate/Gate
Saying they were superior to the Special Area force was like comparing a pebble with a mountain. The resulting fight was, simply put, a massacre – Medieval Age plate armor against modern machinery – even if said machinery was somewhat outdated – was like a knife against butter. On some level, Shirou felt bad for them, two days after the establishing of their forces on the hill, but on another, well, they invaded Japan and killed harmless citizens. He really had no pity for them in that regard.
Barely three or four days later, some of the force were assigned to deep Recon-Teams, who were to act as the bridge between the residents of this world and theirs – he himself was in none, currently, but there might be changes from HQ soon enough; until then, Shirou had to stay at the base, even if he would have loved nothing more than to go out and help.
And as such, he sat in his room (well, tent, since they were still building), having finished with his work, thinking.
This whole world seemed similarly advanced to the Middle Ages of their own homeworld, if you wouldn't count the magic, which pushed it further (yes, he was certain there was magic as well, because he could feel his circuits reacting to the abundant mana in the air – no wonder, since this world seemed to have dragons as well, or wyvern at least).
It reminded him of his dream cycle with Saber – he even begun to draw parallels to her Britain and this world- the Special Area.
It left him with a bittersweet smile, but it gave insight, somewhat.
There really was nothing much to do in his room, so, with a sigh, Shirou went off to find some work. It was easier than thinking about Saber.
-Fate/Gate-
When Recon Three came back, roughly a week later, with Special Area locals, Shirou was only mildly surprised. There was an obvious language-barrier between them, but that was nothing new. In preparation for the whole mission they had tried to learn as much about the language as the captives back home and the earlier recon teams provided (he had thought, admittedly, that whatever the Gate was, it would provide the language of the locals, like the Grail did for the Servants, but apparently not).
Which meant that they had to learn the language, now even more than before, and lo and behold, Shirou found himself with a new assignment. Not that he was against it, mind you; he was already one of the better speakers. Many of the other soldiers did their best to construct some safe-haven for the refugees. That Itami had fought against a dragon of all things however, worried Shirou slightly. Dragons were the pinnacle of Phantasmal Beasts in his old world, and not to be taken lightly. A dragon even was the crest symbol of his Saber's, during her time as King.
It seems that this world was more harmful than he anticipated.
He did notice though that the blue haired girl, Lelei La Lalena, and her master, Cato El Altestan, were magi, or however this world seemed to classify them, which meant he would approach them sometimes in the future.
Fate/Gate
Some days later, Recon Three, as well as Shirou, helped the refugees settle in – he would never admit it, but he cried tears of joy when he was allowed to help cooking. There was something about making dishes that everyone likes that calmed him, so he oftentimes made a beeline for the kitchenette and hummed softly to himself while cutting radish or other vegetables.
Lelei was often around, and they developed a game of sorts, where she would say the name of an item in her language, and he would repeat it – or he'd explain the dish he was making, and she'd repeat it in her language. It was a good method of learning, and out of all the refugees she was the fastest at understanding Japanese.
She reminded him of Rin and Ilya somewhat, what with her eagerness to learn, her obvious magic (even if she had yet to demonstrate it) and silent calculations of everything around her. From whom Shirou kept away the most was the Oracle or whatever she was, Rory. She reminded him of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, and until he figured out why, he was cautious around her.
Shirou was slowly testing his limits with his own magecraft, determining how far he could go before his body burned up from the inside – it seemed like he could once again start learning magic from the very first steps.
"This sucks," he sighed, "why couldn't I keep my progress? No, better yet- how do I manage to train with so many people around?!"
With another heavy sigh, he embraced his new regiment.
-Fate/Gate-
The latest messenger had left, and the pale-blonde knight looked over at his king. "...it truly was a smart idea, not engaging in the Empire's wishes."
Green eyes sparkled, "Did you doubt me, my dear knight? It would have been a massacre if I would have sent reinforcements at Molto's request. We are on a loose alliance with the Empire, and one I do not wish to risk my people for. I heard that even Duran has lost in battle against the might of the army on Alnus Hill."
The King of Elbe was an old friend, and an ally amongst all of the nations that have given themselves to the Empire. It was a shame that even he aided the Emperor in such a foolish endeavor.
"I will admit, I was more surprised at the fact that you were aware what weapons the enemy would use -" there was a grimace on the knight's face, no doubt recalling the gruesome image the tale of the messengers painted, " - what surprised me also is that the villagers who have sought refugee within our walls spoke so highly of the 'Men in Green'."
The king smiled even as the knight's voice dropped to a low murmur. "I was most surprised that they took on a dragon."
"I did say that they would only be defending themselves – you know just as well as I do that Alnus Hill is a sacred place for the Emperor."
Voices were drawing nearer, and the king glanced in their direction.
"I have a mission for you."
The knight's eyes widened in surprise, "Yes, my Liege?"
"I want you to go to the encampment of these men in green – I believe they are Japanese, from the name the village elder gave me – and ask on behalf of our territory for an alliance, if they prove to be trustworthy."
The blonde only hoped that the information given by the villagers of Coda were true – if not...
"My Liege?!"
A smirk crossed the king's lips, "I would love to accompany you, but alas, there are some matters which I have to take care of first. I will let you decide if they are trustworthy enough to enter our lands, or if I should follow after you with the others', so as not to endanger our people – send a correspondence as soon as possible. By griffon, it should only take you three to four days, if you travel light."
The voices grew louder, but the knight ignored them. Bowing once, he muttered, "By your leave," and exited the room.
The king's gaze never left him, until he was out of sight.
"I hope I am not mistaken..."
Fate/Gate
When Shirou had heard that Itami allowed the refugees to take the dragons scales from the many corpses lying around, he didn't think that they would spend the better part of the day and the last collecting them.
"They are valuable," Lelei had said, so he'd gone and asked if he could have one or two for himself. They had agreed, and given him a small sack full of scales, as a sort of 'Thank You', he guessed.
He was currently examining them in his helicopter (well, Kiritsugu's, who named it Irisviel, but since Shirou knew how to operate it thanks to his late father's teaching, and his own past life, as well as the fact that he did enroll into the unit originally, before his promotion, it was his) as the comm turned on.
"Shirou Emiya speaking, yes?"
There was a short buzz, before the commander answered, and Shirou snapped into formality.
"It seems that Lieutenant Itami is rubbing off of you, Emiya." it was followed by a short laugh, and Shirou exhaled audibly. "There is a man approaching the perimeters – he seems harmless, but others have been stationed for safety – I need you to act as a medium, since the blue haired girl isn't available."
"No offense, but aren't there others more capable than me?" If you ignored the fact that he was on the same level as most of the other soldiers', maybe a bit more proficient. There was another laugh.
"The old wizard requested you specifically, since you are one of the most commonly seen around the refugee village – Itami left an hour ago for Italica. It seems that the approaching soldier is riding on a what looks like a gryphon, but from what we could gather from the refugees, he is from an outside force."
Shirou blinked. "Not associated with the Empire?"
"Yes. If that is the truth, and the man wishes to propose an alliance, then we should listen carefully."
There was a short 'dismissed' after, but Shirou understood the implications as he made his way to the refugee village. If they could ally themselves with an enemy of the Empire, it would give them a tremendous advantage – all of the intel that could be gathered, not to speak of the political inclinations.
-Fate/Gate-
The first thing that was obvious was the gryphon. The next was the flag with the crest of arms – a dragon and a gryphon, but something about it was vaguely familiar to Shirou. The third thing was the mysterious knight, who greeted the smiling children as if they knew each other.
Cato stood next to him, utterly relaxed, and muttered to him. "Dragon King's Knight of Silver – legendary for their feats. Comes from neighboring kingdom's main city, Camelot."
Shirou froze at those words. Camelot – it could be a simple coincidence, considering Itami was on his way to a city called Italica, but still. "What is the kingdom called?"
The knight had finished greeting all of the children, and even let them pet his gryphon – there was a much smaller, white one perched on his shoulders, who was currently glaring at it's master in betrayal, as Cato answered once again.
"Albion – known for big-winged-birds," the aforementioned gryphons, Shirou thought morbidly, "and just ruler. In past, known for dragons too."
Cato went ahead to greet the knight, not noticing Shirou's discomfort. One of the stationed soldiers next to him glanced at him. "Are you alright, Emiya?"
Shirou grinned forcefully, "Yeah, only finding it ironic that the knight's kingdom is apparently called Albion, with Camelot as it's center."
"Ha!" Another soldier to his left was grinning. "I wonder if King Arthur is ruling over them?"
"Oh, I would love to see the fair Queen!"
"Ignore the Queen, what about Merlin? Or the Knights?!"
His comrades-in-arms were laughing and grinning and Shirou had to sigh good-naturedly. Finally turning his attention to the knight, he stepped forwards.
There was something eerie familiar about his face, but he couldn't put it to words.
"My name is Shirou Emiya, a pleasure meeting you, Sir Knight," he introduced himself, switching to the local's language. The knight eyed him with a raised eyebrow, before he gave a curt nod; there was a second of silence, after which he spoke.
"Ic i béo Bedwyr"
Shirou felt the color drain from his face, and murmur breaking out between the higher-ranking soldiers behind him.
Fate/Gate
After assuring that the few villagers he saw were, indeed, safe in the green men's hands, Bedivere turned his attention to the magus – Cato El Altestan, a face he hadn't seen in years – and lastly, to the soldiers standing at the entrance to the fortress on Alnus Hill.
To think, that if the king would have allowed the Lords to enter the fight, they would be laying across the fields with the common dragons. A frightening thought. Giving a short glance at each of them, he was sure that they could kill him withing a moment's thought.
The youngest looking soldier stepped forth and introduced himself as 'Shirou Emiya', and Bedivere weighted his options. It hadn't escaped him that he tensed up while hearing Albion and Camelot, no doubt knowing the names from history – he also understood 'Merlin' and 'Arthur' from the others, but they were mostly joking, it seemed. And the name sounded familiar, somehow.
So, he took a blind approach and hoped it would yield results. Introducing himself in Brythonic, he watched the redhead's expression turn ashen.
"Rídend fram Arthur?"
With a surprised expression Bedivere watched the frown on his face as he tried recalling the no-doubt unfamiliar words. Having seen enough, he switched to the common language, and continued, "Yes, Knight of the Round of King Arthur. If you wish, we can talk in Common."
"That... would be nice, yes."
There was even more murmur between the other green men, but Bedivere ignored it, his attention on this Shirou. "...my King has sent me to ...find out what kind of people you are." It sounded highly impolite if worded as such, but if he were to use words more difficult than those of the common folk, he feared they would not understand each other. "And maybe discuss an alliance, if possible."
There was another nod, and one of the soldiers broke out of formation, probably going to inform a superior about the possible partnership. There was another word from the redhead, and Bedivere understood what he was doing – sending away the other soldiers for a short private conversation. He glanced at the refugees and the magus, who were out of earshot.
Well, this would be interesting.
-Fate/Gate-
Shirou took a deep breath, feeling the headache coming. When the other two soldiers – Tajo-kun and Ikkune-kun – left, he was in a position to ask what was on his mind the whole time.
"... I will be blunt; King Arthur is a woman, yes?"
Sir Bedivere's eyes widened, and Shirou knew he was right. Then it really was Saber. The knight composed himself. "Yes. You knowing means you met?"
Shirou grinned wryly as his comm buzzed. This might get interesting, later on.
Fate/Gate
They were in the middle of a rather long-winded discussion, when Shirou was called somewhere. It was a surprising transition from the somewhat blunt, but nice and polite young man to an alert soldier, and Bedivere's interest was peaked, immediately.
Slipping into his native Brythonic, he asked what was wrong, and was answered with a sharp explanation of 'under attack'.
"By whom?" he was back in Common, so the ...Commander? General? Bedivere didn't quite get his rank, but he was obviously the one in charge of the operation, wouldn't grow wary.
"Bandits in Italica. Recon Three asked for help – we ready helicopters, Emiya pilot."
Bedivere nodded, glancing at the redhead. While he didn't quite know what a 'helicopter' was, he could guess that it might be some sky-transporter on a speed-basis, like his griffin.
Or something like that.
"I will be coming as well, Shirou."
"And you can – wait, what?"
He looked perplexed, but Bedivere was standing already, having nodded politely at the General, who also looked rather surprised. Shirou was ready to argue, but thought better of it. Muttering something in Japanese, he nodded at the knight, and excused himself.
-Fate/Gate-
"I do not believe you said that." Shirou looked annoyed at Sir Bedivere, who had a grim expression. They were in Irisviel, having gotten orders to fly to Italica – and they were the only two in the 'copter, because the not-quite alliance was hanging in between, and the knight asked to be only with the flier.
Bedivere grinned slightly, looking around in wonder. After Shirou made sure that he was secure, was sitting on a helmet, and the radio was on, he concentrated on his circuits, and made a rudimentary bounded field that blocked outsiders from listening in (even through the radio), thankful that he was able to do at least that much.
Still, his Tracing would've been preferable.
The knight glanced back, and muttered something under his breath.
"Our King asked me to verify the rumors about the 'men in green', before we are to even talk about alliance. This is the perfect situation for thus, no?"
Shirou grimaced. Great, another language.
"Well, I understand that, obviously, but you still left my senior hanging there and we are breaching military protocol by letting me fly Iri unsupervised."
Bedivere raised his eyebrow, but smiled softly. "It seems we have finally found common ground in a language, then."
"And you have to thank my former magecraft instructor and the academy for that." And, well, Saber as well, since it was the dream cycle that allowed him to understand Latin as well as some Brythonic.
Checking his time and the comm, Shirou saw that they had plenty of time still, so Shirou sorted some of his more urgent questions.
"So... how is she? King Arthur, or Artoria, or Saber?" his voice had grown soft, something the knight noticed.
"The King is well. Guinevere stands by her side, and the Roundtable is at the ready, as well as the lords that still remain under our kingdom – the others have deflected to the Empire, but about those I could care less."
Shirou nodded.
"Though I believe you meant personally, no?" Bedivere laughed softly, "It was a surprise for us, when some of us – myself included – wandered to Albion, in hopes of finding the King. Before her marriage to the Queen, she had visited the Empire quite often, on political business – many families, Emperor Molto's included, wished to wed their daughters to her. Imagine all of their surprise that she choose the daughter of a lesser lord, who was born from a concubine, as wife. I have never seen such a gleefully evil expression in her eyes!
Of course, contact with the Empire became a rarity after that, but I believe it was for the better. She smiles much more, and is fond of whatever jest Percival or Dagonet come up with." His smile strained. "Or Merlin, or Mordred. Or Kay, whenever he feels like it."
His voice became quieter, "I am ...happy, that she seems to enjoy doing whatever she does, and we make sure of it to remind her that she is still human."
Shirou nodded, agreeing completely. The pale blond knight glanced at him, and asked, after a moment, "You. You are the continuation of her dream, are you not? The mage she fought with in the war for the Monkey's Paw."
A blush spread across his face, and Shirou looked alarmed at Bedivere. "I- wha? … well, if you word it like that... I guess, yeah."
Bedivere smiled.
"You cannot imagine how happy this makes me feel – to have met you under all of these soldiers. It does make the whole 'if you trust them' easier."
"I can imagine. And it also explains the reason why no Albion forces were with the onslaught of the Army – if Saber still remembers me, then she would also remember the knowledge gained about modern society. And all this -" Shirou waved one hand around the helicopter, indicating 'all this'. Bedivere nodded sagely, and was about to retort, when the radio came to life.
Nearing target – all units at the ready.
"Hey, Bedivere-san? This fight will, probably to you, have neither honor nor chivalry, but please don't disrupt me – especially since there should be at least four other people manning Iri."
Bedivere had no time to question the strange addendum to his name, as the music started.
And Bedivere saw hell.
Fate/Gate
Shirou had been right, there was no honor in fighting how the JSDF fought – it was pragmatic, cold and ruthless. The helicopters wiped out every bandit outside of Italica, and the one dubbed Hunter 1 took care of the ones inside.
It was hell.
During the scuffle, the knight caught sight of the Priestess of Emloy, as well as of Princess Pina co Lada, who probably must've mirrored his own look.
They were landing outside of Italica, ready to help, but Bedivere was silent.
"...this is," he gulped as the engines stopped, "this is how you fight war in your own world – our old one? There truly is neither honor nor pride on the battlefield." His fist was balled, and Shirou stepped next to him, a grim look on his face.
"You're right, there's barely any honor in fighting like this – I would enjoy it more if I could face my opponent, personally. But that's why I want to help these people – we should go inside, look if there's any work to do."
He begun walking, Bedivere following half a step behind. "I am glad that there seems to be at least such an honor-code. That there are some things I can agree with."
"I don't expect you to – Commander Colonel Kengun! Lt. Colonel Youga!" Shirou abruptly broke off their conversation, not willing to risk being found talking Latin. Bedivere glanced at the two men, who looked at the redhead, before glancing warily in his direction.
"Emiya, good work! If this continues, you'll be promoted once again; manning Irisviel alone." The one called Youga heartily patted him on his back (and the knight had to ask him later what they talked about), while the superior officer spoke to Bedivere.
"...how was the flight? Different to your big-bird?"
They obviously knew the 'Special Area's' stance on their warfare, the knight mused, but answered pleasantly. "Different. On the griffin, you are able to feel the wind and are unable to fly as high, but it feels free. Helicopters are a cage." And that was as far they could come, with the language-barrier still in effect, though he had to admit that both superiors spoke Common surprisingly well. He glanced into the direction of the city gate, noticing the Princess once again, and excused himself.
Passing by Shirou, who still spoke with Youga, Bedivere mouthed 'Princess' to him. Shirou nodded once, but stayed where he was.
-Fate/Gate-
"...well, there he went." Kengun looked after the knight. "I was surprised that he wanted to accompany you, lad. You already seem pretty close."
Shirou sighed.
"Bedivere is a nice man, Kengun-san, but he obviously doesn't like our method of waging war. He didn't scream my head off, at least."
Glancing at both his superiors, Shirou asked the question that was nagging him. "Why are both of you still here, if Hunter 1 left? Shouldn't you report back?"
Youga smiled slightly. "We should, but we have to negotiate first, about the treatment of the prisoners." Then, his smile turned into a grin, "But I'm sure that Itami will be all-right with being sent as the representative."
Shirou sighed again. Sometimes he worried for his officers.
"You should go after the knight, lad. You have been assigned as his guide."
"... which means, that I have to babysit him, right?"
"Yes. He seems to trust you, which is good. You'll probably assigned to whichever group it is that will accompany him to Albion, was it? For the peace treaty, if it comes to fruition."
"Understood, Commander."
-Fate/Gate-
Bedivere had indeed found the Princess of the Empire. She was on her way somewhere, talking to two other people. The knight walked over, catching the last part of what probably was a rant.
"- It was the Priestess of Emloy, Rory, and the SDF that won. Not me. And the SDF is our enemy which continues to occupy the holy hill of Alnus. In intending to save Italica, have I not called in a far more terrifying force? That iron pegasus and powerful magic that wiped the brigands out in but a moment... if they were turned towards Italica, then both I and Myui, the countess Formar, and one of the Empire's most important agricultural areas would fall into the enemy's hands. And the people would welcome them with cheers and open arms."
The princess looked forlorn, and Bedivere had to wince at her words. They certainly rang true. The brown haired girl was about to protest, but Pina cut her off. It seemed to him that she would enter another negative speech, so Bedivere interfered.
"If I were you, princess, I would trust your own people more."
"Who-?" She whirled around, hand inching to her sword, and Bedivere had to smile.
"Bedivere, of the Silver Knights of King Arthur of Camelot."
The male knight muttered a curse under his breath, and the brown haired girl looked shocked.
"Albion's forces." the knight glared at Bedivere. "Where were you when we fought against the SDF?"
"Protecting our people." All good humor was gone. "I do believe that you are aware that Albion has scarcely connections to the Empire, and Camelot even less. We are in a mutual treaty for the merchant roads, not in an agreement to send men for war. I was sent by the High King to investigate the JSDF, after word had come from the survivors of Coda village that they took on a Fire Dragon."
"The people of Coda village are safe, then?" there was a barely concealed hint of hope in her voice, and Bedivere smiled.
"Yes. Tristan found them when they were resting – the village split, with many remaining in the Empire's reach, but roughly half traveled to Camelot's borders."
Her shoulders sagged with relief, but the knight – Grey, if Bedivere remembered correctly – still seemed displeased.
"Sir," Bedivere's gaze was cold, "I believe you are underestimating the Empire's reaches. We keep the people safe, but have no say in their actions. If they decide to stay in Albion, we will do our utmost to make their stay comfortable. Our King is no fool – he knew that venturing into the other side of the Gate without establishing what threats lie therein was a fools' errand."
He gestured to the helicopters, and Shirou, who seemed to search for him. "The JSDF is quite obviously superior in both ground and air force, so it would be a folly to oppose them. Albion is nearly not great enough of a nation that it could send it's forces without retribution, like the Empire."
His gaze softened and he addressed the Princess again, "...but I do not believe that they are men or women of ill repute, and believe that they are honorable."
"Honorable?! Sir Bedivere, did you see the destruction those iron pegasi did?"
"I accompanied Sir Shirou in one such contraption, on my own behest. I do not believe that we can compare or superstition our beliefs about honor, chivalry or battle and war over their own – if the JSDF fights with these modern arms, then the other countries and nations across the Gate have to do the same."
Pina looked surprised at him, but Bedivere paid it no mind. Shirou was calling for him, probably to leave. Giving the princess one last glance, he murmured, "I believe an alliance between Albion and the JSDF is the most beneficial conclusion- I do not know what your father will choose, but I implore you to think things through."
And he left.
Fate/Gate
Writing a letter to Artoria was harder than Bedivere would have liked.
Oh, the political part was finished, as well as his impromptu meeting with the princess, and the reveal that there was some 'Diet' – a summit of some sort – in the other world in scant four days. Bedivere could already imagine that Artoria would wish to attend – and he had a feeling that the princess of the Empire did as well.
Bedivere made a mental calculation: he arrived within roughly three days, having had excellent weather conditions, as well as almost next to no armor or weaponry. His griffon, Lucius, was one of the fastest of the whole brood, which also accounted. He'd send the letter as soon as he was finished, and the owl-griffon (Lucan, after his old brother) could probably arrive sometimes in the morning hours.
Which would leave the King ...three days, if she hurried. It would be rather short-notice, but Bedivere knew that the second he jotted down the last part of the letter, she would come; leaving everything behind as it was, probably, but she would hurry.
Brushing through his hair, the knight sighed as he resumed writing, Lucan cooing at him.
-Gate/Fate-
Lieutenant General Hazama looked surprised at the Emiya kid. He was even more unpredictable than his father, which was a feat in its own.
"Sir Bedivere... wishes to attend the Diet?"
Shirou sighed. "He is writing King Arthur as of this moment, so the High King might attend too."
Hazama blinked. "That... tell me that you're joking, Shirou."
"No. I told him that attending the Diet itself would be impossible, but he still wished to tag along."
Hazama bit his lip, thinking. If they could win an ally such as the king of Albion, it would be highly beneficial in further dealings with the Empire. "... I will contact Sugawara Kouji and the Prime Minister's Adviser, to see if they can hold a meeting. I will inform you later – please see to it that Sir Bedivere passes the health check-up, and inform him that his king can only attend if he is on time for the check-up."
Shirou nodded. "I will do so, Sire."
The General raised his eyebrow. "You actually refer to me as 'Sire'? What happened to Kerry's son?"
They shared a laugh.
-Gate/Fate-
Bedivere looked at the needle with distrust. He had finished the letter, and sent it off, and was doing some precaution against bacterial and viral infections, as far as he understood, but still...
"This truly is safe?"
Shirou sighed. Try and explain modern medicine to a knight, all right. "Yes, it's perfectly safe – if you don't pass the health test, you cannot come to Japan."
The nurse looked at him and smiled, motioning to his armor.
Bedivere's look soured. "Do I have to take off all of my clothes or is the tunic enough?"
"Uh, wait -" Shirou asked the nurse, who suddenly looked over at Bedivere with a hungry look, but composed herself again. "- the top is enough."
The knight sincerely doubted that the nurse said 'enough', but he begun unclasping his armor nonetheless.
Dutifully discarding the tunic, he was left with only his arm.
The nurse and Shirou looked at it, one blankly, and the other with something akin to awe. She muttered something, and he grimaced.
"The arm also, Shirayuki-san is afraid of infection."
"Of course," the disgruntled knight muttered, "always the arm."
There was a silent gasp from nurse Shirayuki, but he ignored it expertly.
-Fate/Gate-
"Well... she said everything's looking remarkably good, and she was surprised that the wound's closed without any bad tissue scarring, or protruding bone."
Shirou was translating the small report the nurse had given him, both magus and knight in the former's room, once again talking in Latin.
Bedivere gave him a flat stare. "...has she mentioned anything else that looked 'remarkably good'?"
"Ah, you noticed?" Shirou grimaced slightly. Shirayuki had checked him out, quite obviously. And commented on his 'impressive physique and muscle mass, which shouldn't be possible due to the severity of the lost limb'. And his 'scarred skin, which reflects his lifestyle as a knight – as every scar speaks a story for itself'.
Admittedly, Shirou was afraid that she'd comment on something else entirely if given the chance to 'further heal' Bedivere, but he kept those thoughts locked away.
"Quite. Was rather hard not to, wouldn't you say?"
"True, I'll give you that."
Shirou glanced at the silver limb. "Say, Bedivere? You moved the arm with magic, no?"
"Yes, it's infused with Merlin's magic and activates once you run a minimal amount of prana through."
"But I don't sense any more magic – which is why I asked."
There was a short silence.
"It might deactivate if I take it off – that's something we still try to fix." There was a blush, and the valiant Knight of the Round decidedly did not look at Shirou's deadpan expression as he muttered the answer.
"What?"
"... it did not happen in Britain, so we were surprised that it did here. Um, but it is as secure as a real limb, so it's not as if it would f-fall off..." Now he started fidgeting with one hand.
"..."
"W-well, anyhow, Shirou; I wanted to ask you about the time you spent with the King-?"
That was the most blatant change in conversation Shirou had ever seen, but he went along with it anyway. And thus, most of the night was spent bonding over talks about their Saber. And while neither of them would find out until much later, word spread about their meeting in the magus' room, and from there on a tale was spun about the illicit romance between one of the SDF's youngest soldiers and a knight in shining armor from a far away kingdom.
Fate/Gate
The next two days passed without much incident, Bedivere mostly following Shirou around the base, and the latter pointing out some details. The day after, Hazama was glad that he called Shirayuri Reiko, because Lt. Itami had managed to drag the Princess of the Empire and her knight with him, and they wanted to attend the Diet, too.
Bedivere had been rather surprised, but smiled charmingly at them. He was certain that Molto didn't approve of this – or actually, didn't know about it – but left it unsaid.
He did talk to the refugees some more, though. And to the Priestess and the elven girl as well.
And then, in the middle of the night (well, more like early morning), Lucan looped onto his arm, chirruping blissfully. Shirou and him glanced at the owl-griffon, blinked at each other, and left the current game of chess to follow the frolicking bird to where – presumably – Artoria would land.
In the small alcove the soldiers provided for Lucius. With a loud 'whoosh', the animal landed, and it's rider dismounted it with practiced ease. Shirou could hear footsteps, and knew that they only had a few, precious moments before either the refugees or higher-ups arrived.
There was a moment in which neither party moved – King Arthur gave a quick nod to Sir Bedivere, but her attention was focused on the young redhead before her.
A smile blossomed on her face at his awed look, and her eyes glinted.
He smiled himself. A miniscule nod of his head.
Her hand over her heart –
"King Arthur!"
And the moment was gone, and the King was back. She turned her attention to the children – the leftovers from Coda Village, she guessed – and Shirou's smile turned slightly bitter.
Here she was, and he would not be able to touch her, due to her status in this world. Or have any kind of private moment until the summit was over, and even then it was only a probability.
-Gate/Fate-
Hazama had to admit that the King of Albion truly knew the in's and out's of political plays. While Sir Bedivere was good, King Arthur was leagues above him. Still, the man seemed everything but tyrannic, and the short talk was rather pleasant.
The young-looking man was currently in the nurse office, as they had to hurry to post the documents needed till morning. He almost mistook the blonde for a child, but then again, they had an Apostle of Death and an immortal Elf in camp, so a King who looked barely older than (and here he had to pause. He looked somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five)...so twenty it is, could very well be thirty.
What surprised the Lieutenant General more were the soft glances Shirou seemed to shoot him, during the little talk earlier, as he'd interpreted.
Still, the kid was a big fan of the Arthurian Legends, as far as Hazama could recall, so he might be awed. Considering that the whole SDF practically raised him from his early teens, it was hard not to notice the change in Shirou these past days.
Many would think that he was favoring him, allowing him to go to such a dangerous mission, or letting him show the knight around, but if there was one thing Hazama was sure, then it was the fact that Shirou earned everything he accomplished.
Picking up his language book, the General smirked slightly. The next discussion with either the Princess of the Empire or with the King of Albion would happen sooner than later, and he wanted to savor it.
-Fate/Gate-
If there was one thing Pina was, then it was nervous. She would be leaving the known world and venture to the other side of the Gate, without knowing what could await her there.
Her only solace was the blonde knight standing beside her – she was unbelievably glad that Boozes decided to accompany her. They were, of course, not the only 'Special Area Locals' who went – the Priestess, the nomad girl and the elf were going as well, and she knew that Sir Bedivere was there on behalf of the treaty Albion wished to make.
So she was surprised, when she saw Pendragon blue and a crown.
" – King Arthur!"
Boozes turned around sharply, and she could hear a gasp from Tuka.
King Arthur Pendragon walked over to them, a small smirk on his face, flanked by one of the SDF's, as well as Sir Bedivere.
"A pleasure meeting you, Princess Pina."
His eyes shone, and Pina had the feeling that there was a silent challenge, albeit not one she knew about. Pina was about to question it, when Lt. Itami arrived, and they were ready to go, the gate opening ominously.
-Fate/Gate-
Unbelievable. Astounding. Frightening. Those were words that could describe Pina's feelings on the oth- Japan. The buildings were massive, reaching far into the sky, and filled with humans. The earth was covered almost completely in stone, and almost everything was filled with grey.
She knew that Boozes had the same, astonished expression on her face, and the three others as well. Sir Bedivere looked the same, but he sported a strange, longing and resigned gaze. The only person that was from the Special Area, and that wasn't surprised – or didn't show his surprise – was King Arthur.
Rather, he muttered "I see," under his breath, glancing at Shirou and Itami.
Pina gulped. The Empire truly was foolish, if it thought they could win against a country like this – she suddenly understood more, why King Arthur wishes an alliance, or at least a truce.
-Fate/Gate-
Artoria glanced outside, taking in the familiar view before her. It seemed that every time she visited Japan, it was winter in this country. Bedivere and Shirou were next to her, the knight looking at the outside view from the bus with the same wonder as the Priestess and her friends.
"So, this is how you celebrate Christmas nowadays?" His voice was low, and she still could hear the question Rory asked, while Shirou answered.
"-a charm of some sort?"
Neither Lelei nor Tuka could answer, so Artoria leaned forward.
"I believe it is a feast that started out as the celebration of one of the local religions, but evolved further into a national holiday. As far as Shirou said, at least."
They looked at her, surprised. "You buy presents for your loved ones and family, and celebrate at home."
"True." Itami looked at her, surprised, and Artoria grimaced. She had to be cautious about what she knew and what she couldn't possibly know, at least until she had spent some time with Shirou.
"Still," the man continued, "we stop at a store – the Diet's still some time off, and at least Tuka needs formal clothes for the occasion."
-Fate/Gate-
"...how did you talk me into this, Sire?" Bedivere fingered the hem of his suit awkwardly, adjusting it on his metal limb. Even if he was unable to move the arm, keeping it on would let him blend in better. And it left him feeling better, before the people glared at the missing space.
"Because we couldn't come wearing armor, and my tunic is too informal?" She was batting her eyelashes magnificently at him, and to the side, Shirou snorted.
"What an utter lie, Saber." He grinned at her mock-anger. "You simply wanted to wear a suit."
"Well," she begun, looking over the mirror, "...that is not far from the truth, yes."
-Fate/Gate-
They were having lunch, next.
Artoria set her tray down next to the Princess and Boozes, Bedivere following. They looked warily at their food, and glanced over at her's.
"...you eat the egg as well?" The blonde knight asked.
Breaking apart her chopsticks, she saw Bedivere go for the cutlery. He looked skeptical, himself, at the egg, but followed her instructions.
"Yes. You should try it, for hunger is the enemy."
With that, she clapped her hands together, muttered her thanks, and begun to eat.
There was a very happy mmmh~~ around her, and Artoria smiled.
Fate/Gate
The conclusion of their meeting was favorable, in Artoria's mind, especially for the Empire. She could feel Pina's discomfort radiating off of her in waves during the meeting, more so when it was revealed that Japan held 'prisoners'. Artoria had to snort at the thought. No doubt this was one of the best prisons most of those have seen.
Her own meeting was before, and while they only ironed out the groundwork, she was pleased that they were agreeing to the trade offer. She furthermore would let a team of politicians and SDF members, mostly of her choosing, into Camelot. She had no doubt in mind that Pina will allow it as well, but the Empire is still mostly out of reach for Japan. Bedivere had been surprised when she agreed, but she pointed out to him that the medical knowledge of the Japanese was superior to their own, and that she, most of all, wished for a team of medical experts to look into the remnants of the cold that had befallen most of the common folk in the past months.
There were of course other agreements, but now was not the time nor place for that.
The Prime Minister's Adviser stood up and extended her hand to Artoria. "It was a pleasure meeting you, King Arthur. I hope that this alliance may bring fruits."
Artoria could feel the surprised gaze of the princess, and allowed herself a small smile.
She shook the hand, silently grinning at the surprised sound to her left. When it was the princess' turn, she looked scandalized for a second, in which Tomita leaned over and explained what the gesture meant.
-Fate/Gate-
Shirou won't say a thing about the subway ride, other than the fact that Bedivere was surprisingly afraid of it. And clingy.
-Fate/Gate-
Finding out that Itami had a (ex-) wife was the most surprising event that day. Artoria sighed simply, and mumbled something incoherently. Shirou was pretty certain it was something along the lines of 'stupid idiot' and 'thick headed'.
Fate/Gate
Going shopping the next day was an experience to be remembered. Bedivere, Artoria and Shirou had gone their own way – only accompanying Tomita, Boozes and Pina to the library – but the knight would be lying if he said it wasn't full of wonder.
Christmas sales were everywhere, and Artoria decided to get the other Roundtable Knights and Guinevere presents. They ran from one booth to the next, Shirou and him laden down with more and more ridiculous gifts. What the knight found aggravating were the glances most people sent them, but he ignored them for the most part.
They were currently in front of another bookstore, Shirou having gone inside to buy gifts of his own.
"Marvelous, would you not agree?" His Majesties breath came out in little puffs, her cheeks slightly red.
"Yes," Bedivere let his gaze linger nowhere in particular, as he held the plush dog to him.
(Artoria had bought one for each one of them, all different races. When Shirou had asked why dogs in particular, she said because they were loyal to her, and Bedivere added softly 'because you took most of us in, despite not having any noble title, and cared for us, and we care for you in return,' but only Shirou heard and agreed).
Their moment was broken by the opening of the automatic doors, however, and Shirou stepped out.
"Alright, we can go," he smiled at them.
(Upon arriving at the station, where everyone looked at each other, all grinning slightly about their findings, he wondered how they managed to not attract attention.)
Tuka looked over at them. "What did you buy? There's so many bags!"
Artoria grinned cheekily.
"Well, I bought a little something for my most trusted knights and Queen."
"Oh? That's nice of you, Arthur." Rory smiled slightly, and Lelei nodded. Tomita's group looked sullen, and Artoria had to wince. The two women had developed a liking to Japanese 'art' – not the sort you'd find in a library focused on different time periods, like Rome or Ancient Greece.
"Well, if everyone's had a good time, then we're ready to go to the hot springs!"
Itami grinned while saying so, more enthusiastic than he normally is.
-Fate/Gate-
When they were in the changing room, Shirou had silently wondered how Saber would be able to maintain the facade of a 'man' – he wondered, even earlier, how she managed to pass through the health check, if she had to take off her shirt/tunic like Bedivere had to.
Five minutes later, in the hot spring, Shirou felt like smacking himself. Magic! Of course!
Artoria looked at him, as smug as he's ever seen her, while Bedivere was at her other side, smiling apologetically.
There was a sigh. "This is bliss."
"Yes." Tomita agreed heartily.
"It's only us, huh?" Itami's voice was blissful, and relaxed.
"Yes." Tomita agreed again.
Shirou stared at them.
A second passed.
"I'm into women!" Tomita hurried away from Itami, sloshing the water, and Itami whirled around. "That's not what I meant at all!"
Shirou sighed, already used to his superior's antics, while Bedivere asked,
"Does this happen often?"
"Yeah. Way too often, in fact." The other two soldiers were background noise at this point, and Artoria had to snort.
"I worry for Japan's forces, sometimes, when I see how half of them are behaving."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up – they're professionals. Mostly."
"Of course we are!" Itami sounded aghast. There was a second of companionable silence, until Tomita spoke.
"I was wondering about this before, but-" he glanced at Artoria, "- how come's that you seem so calm around everything that's happened?"
There was a short wait, as Artoria shifted around. "Hm, I guess that I have seen much stranger things during my rule – a gate to another world is not even the tip of the iceberg. I knew that helping the Empire would have been a fool's errand, so I opted for the safer option: sending Bedivere to ascertain that the Japanese are trustworthy."
Her gaze lingered on Shirou, before shifting back to Tomita and Itami. "I see that my trust has not been misplaced."
"I see..." Tomita seemed deep in thought, but Itami nodded. "Just like King Arthur!"
"...Captain?"
Not listening to his squad mate, Itami elaborated, "I was wondering, but is the name of the Queen of Camelot maybe Guinevere? And are there other knights, like Lancelot, Gawain or Percival?"
"Yes." Artoria nodded solemnly, but on the inside, she was doing her hardest not to laugh, "I heard from Shirou that there seems to be a striking similarity between this Arthurian Mythology and our own home. I can assure you, however, that it is most likely a coincidence. Whoever knows how the gate functions, so something like parallels between worlds might not even be unheard of."
Itami visibly deflated. "I see. What a shame."
Artoria 'hm'ed in response, ad leaned against Shirou.
"Wh-!" gold eyes looked alarmed.
"Shush, idiot. I am trying to relax."
Shirou glanced away, embarrassingly scratching his cheek, while Itami and Tomita blinked.
-Fate/Gate-
There was a second of silence as Artoria looks over at the remnants of the one-sided fight, Rory smiling at Itami, while she whispered to Shirou.
"...Holy Grail? Avenger? Saber, Lancer, Rider?"
"Uh..."
"Who came up with those definitions!" Her eye was twitching slightly, and Shirou gulped, opting to leave out that it might have been his father who did.
Instead he turned his attention to the Lieutenant.
"We're leaving."
A wise decision, if whoever that attacked them was still out there, then leaving the area as fast as possible was the smartest idea.
"Roger that – King Arthur, Sir Bedivere?" Both looked at him, and Shirou motioned inside, "Change as fast as possible, we're leaving."
They nodded.
-Fate/Gate-
They hijacked a car next, squeezing inside and hauling all of their belongings into the back. Shirou was slightly worried for Itami's state of mind as he answered the question of why exactly they ran away with an 'I don't know', but the hypothesis of the Princess was interesting.
She thought it was because she and Saber were in the car. A logical conclusion, really.
Itami was about to respond, but Shirou was faster. "While it does sound logical that the reason for our stealth movement is because information got leaked, I don't think it necessary that it has anything to do with either you or King Arthur – it probably goes without saying that the other countries wanted to secure their own Special Area local, and they simply got in a crossfire with each other, on Japanese soil. It's common that celebrities or rulers would be highly sought after, especially if they have a military connection."
Shirou glanced at Itami. "Right, Lieutenant?"
"Huh- yes, yes! That sounds about right!"
There was silence in the car after that, until Tomita pulled into a gas station, and Lelei, Rory and Tuka went to get them something to eat and drink. Saber leaned forwards.
"Still, if we ignore the constant threat to our lives, it was quite enjoyable up until this point, would you not agree, Pina?"
The Princess of the Empire blinked, stunned. "...well, I guess you are right, your Highness. It was certainly... something."
Bedivere simply shook his head slightly. "Life truly never gets dull around you, my Liege."
Saber grinned. "Well, I can guarantee that."
Meanwhile -after the three off-worldlers came back- Risa tipped away furiously on her laptop.
"What are you doing, exactly?" Shirou looked confusedly at the screen, but the smaller woman only grinned. "You'll see!"
Fate/Gate
Arriving back in their own world had never felt so wonderful, Bedivere mused. After the former wife of the lieutenant had managed to call forth a massive amount of people, they managed to enter the Gate without much further incidents, thankfully.
After that, the Japanese soldiers hurried around, leaving them to do as they please for the rest of the day. Bedivere found himself being called to a shower like water takes to a sponge, while the King was talking with the Princess.
Finally being able to relax, the knight let out a sigh of relief upon coming into contact with the warm water.
There was a soft sploshing sound around him, and Bedivere could feel the warmth of the person next to him. Opening his eyes, the knight glanced at a blonde head.
"Wonderful, isn't it? The warm water."
He nodded. "Quite, my Liege."
…
"My Liege?!" Bedivere jumped out of the way as Artoria grinned at him.
"Whatever is the problem, Sir Knight? After all, both of us are men." The way the currently-under-a-magical-potion-influenced female King said it sent shivers down the knight's spine, and he shuddered.
"Still..."
Artoria shook her head. "No 'still' – it would be more suspicious if I were to go in after you. As it is, we have to talk."
Talk alright, Bedivere mused as he sunk further into the water, but that didn't mean that he didn't feel uncomfortable. He didn't know if this lack of concern over her modesty was good or bad.
"Talk about what?"
Artoria sighed. "I will be leaving tomorrow for Albion, to talk about these new matters with the others. You will stay here to further monitor the people, and you have my backing as representative of Albion to decide in my name about those that will visit. I will send you word per griffon as soon as possible, after which we will decide how to continue."
Bedivere blinked surprised, but nodded his head nonetheless. "Are there some people you would request personally to come?"
The King thought over it for a moment, before nodding slightly, dipping her chin below the water in the process. "Yes; I would like to invite Lieutenant Itami's team, as well Sugawara Kouji, if he is interested and able; other than that, soldiers with medical knowledge are welcome as well."
"I see," Bedivere nodded, before he grinned suddenly, "and I take it that Shirou is also to be a part of these?"
Artoria blushed and turned to the side. "Well... yes..."
Bedivere continued with a smile. "And I take it that he should be made representative, if possible, so that he can stay in Camelot while the discussions happen?"
She blushed even stronger. "...that would be quite favorable, yes..."
"Of course," he had to continue, even if he was walking on thin ice by now, "should I also inquire if he wishes to be granted the title of honorary lord (and citizen), so that he may be around Your Highness without arising suspicion?"
Her whole face was red and she tried to glare at Bedivere, with a rather cute effect. "..."
His teasing smile took on a gentler note, and Bedivere shook his head fondly.
"I am happy for you, my Liege, believe me, and I do not mean any of this in ill intent."
She smiled herself, looking somewhere far away as she answered, "I know."
So, that's it. I like the interactions between Shirou and Bedivere the most, but the rest feels rather...lacking, which is why this ended up in the Compendium and not as a stand-alone.
Review Time! :D
98kazer: Trust me, I know the feeling well xD At least I said I wouldn't update it, so you don't have to get your hopes up.
Delca: Hm.. I see what you mean, writing their interactions was the most fun in the whole fic (that, and owl-familiar Rin, but mostly that). I'm not too big on the dual-existence thing either (oh, the irony), but I thought 'why not?'
And thank you for your kind words, reviews like that make my day and leave me grinning like an idiot :3
Amused Archer: thank you very much ^^ I only heard about it when it premiered on Tv, myself.
CG-3m1y4: Never read the novel, sadly, but I liked the idea of 'female King Arthur'. Well, Allie was the inspiration for Saber's background in Cafe, so there's that :)
'I am the ink of my pen' – Unlimited Graphic Design Work xD
sheikhrajela: I know about that stuff, but since this never got that far, Shirou wasn't able to show what he learned in runes
Well,
A Good Writing To You!