Chapter 3: The War and the Servant
Cornwall, England (Five days ago)
"Five…more minutes…"
Tohsaka Rin wriggled deeper into her sleeping bag, when the first alarm clock began ringing at fifteen minutes before two. The pillow snugly covered her ears against the intruding noise.
"Five-"
Another pillow-side buzzer interrupted her sleep-talking, beating her eardrums senseless with an unholy screech that sent animals within a 50 meters radius scurrying away.
Rin bolted straight out of sleeping bag, clamping down on the device, before the subsequent cold sent her fishing for her overcoat and portable camping lamp. All sleepiness was flushed from her system by the time that Rin had dressed herself up in full winter apparel and managed to light the tent's interior.
Early November wasn't a good time to be camping out, but at least the field wasn't freezing over and the ground was solid enough to pitch a tent. The clear sky was on her side. She hated to think of having to camp out in the muddy bog if it started raining.
The buzzer was a drastic measure, but the timeframe of the summoning ritual was tight and unforgiving. Sleeping over the peak of her magic energy was a mistake she'd be kicking herself over for years to come.
The requirements for the ritual were riddled with uncertainties that forced her to start early. Missing the optimal summoning window meant another twenty-four hours of repeatedly kicking herself in the rear and camping out in the November cold. Leaving a finished magic circle unprotected was an even worse option.
"God…Why did I ever think this would be a good idea…?" Rin mumbled through chattering teeth for at least the seventh time that night.
There was a reason why she'd chosen this desolate field over her warm and cozy Hyde Park apartment as the place of summoning.
Saber.
After witnessing her strength in the last war, there wasn't any reason to set her eyes on other Servants.
She told herself that the right was only earned after having worked through conflicting historical accounts and interpretations for weeks on end. She had no catalyst in physical form, but Heroic Spirits were not only bound to this world through their artifacts. Some of their essence often lingered in the place of their death.
Or at least that was what she had come to believe.
Discounting the shady tours leading naïve tourists to random fields and brooks, finding the actual site of the Battle of Camlamn had been nothing short of a feat.
She initially had her doubts, but all doubt had flown away once she'd set foot on this dirt mound.
The landscape was alive. Curious eyes peeked through the clefts in the boulders and the partings between bushes. More peered across the river that ran further down the slope, hidden in the reeds on either side.
Remnants of the past days, bound to their final resting place.
Rin kept her eyes focused on the ritual ground. Looking around wouldn't do any good other than freaking her out. These onlookers could not be seen, not with her eyes at the very least.
Rin stepped into the remains of a small cairn. The formation of stone had long since been swept by time, but the old site of power left enough spoil to be claimed. Celtic magecraft was not her usual style, but the old energy pathway functioned nicely after she had drawn her own, connecting the rim of her magic circle the stone surface.
'Good as my own now. Sorry about that, old druid-guys…' Rin's thought gave her a small grin.
She wouldn't actually need all this energy, but it didn't hurt to go for overkill. The actual process of summoning was handled by the Grail. The magus only provided the pathway for the summoning.
"Not like that idiot would be able to summon a Heroic Spirit like her anyway," Rin mumbled in self-condolence, taking a guilty pleasure about beating Shirou to the punch.
Five minutes before two.
It was time to begin.
"Bare silver and iron. Stone for foundation and the Grand Duke of contract…"
A torrent of incantations flowed like a stream, solemn and steady. Heat overflowed from within and seared into her left arm.
A familiar sensation.
"…Emerge from the ring of control, the guardian of balance!"
The circle came alive as the final word parted from her lips.
Perfect.
A perfect setup for the strongest Servant.
"It would be an honor to meet you again, King Arthur…" Rin mumbled.
Tohsaka Rin's smug grin was well-deserved, but it was short-lived. An hour later as she raced back to London in a rented Ford Fiesta, the thought of a certain blond-woman behind the wheel emcumered her with a weird sense of disappointment.
Once again, a bigger mess on her big occasion.
In her defense, this time was hardly her fault. The unforeseen hiccup was not the result of a faulty summoning ritual or a suboptimal time window. She had both pinned down to the number. If anything, it might have had to do with Saber's unique circumstances as a Servant.
The urgent need to interrogate Shirou crossed her mind, but was dismissed. Rin took another long look at the blond woman, oblivious to the gnawing worry.
Goodness…After all your impossible streaks of luck, you can be one hell of an unlucky bastard, Emiya-kun. I almost feel sorry for you.
Tohsaka Rin was a softie at heart and a sucker for sappy happy endings (or as she would put it herself she was allergic to tragedy). Out of sheer goodwill, she had booked one ticket to Japan for the next morning. She had thought that a surprise reunion would have a made a wonderful gift to both of her dear friends.
Not anymore.
Now, it would be kinder to keep the two separated.
For the sake of Saber and Shirou both.
She intended to keep the two apart for as long as possible, but that possible could mean an awfully short time with the frequency in which Shirou kept getting himself into mortal danger. Fuyuki was a dangerous place for a magus, even more so when the Grail started acting up.
Rin heaved a sigh. It would require no less than a Servant to keep Shirou safe until her arrival.
Only a few more days of sorting out all the paperwork.
"By the way, Saber…Do your best to not let him see you."
"…As you wish," came a solemn reply, then the rest of ride proceeded in silence.
Tohsaka Mansion, Fuyuki City (Present Time)
Shirou had been to the Tohsaka's house before, but only loitered around the outskirts. There had always been a certain ominous air around the house that prevented him from just entering on a whim, and he was fairly confident that this feeling was more than just a hunch. There was little reason to doubt that a careful magus like Tohsaka Rin wouldn't have her estate strewn with booby traps.
The European manor stood proud amongst the many in this part of the city that resisted the flow of modernity. While its owner disappeared to the Clock Tower, the manor remained a hazard to both invading magi and careless burglars alike.
Tohsaka's long period of absence had contributed to signs of wear and tear that even the professional team of cleaners hired in a couple of days ago could not remove completely. In the dining room, a musty smell lingered in the carpet, not exactly foul but foreign and distracting.
"Take it easy and make yourself at home. Don't break anything that looks valuable and do stay away from the curtains. Replacing them would be brutal for my monthly budget. Oh, if you want tea, help yourself. I've only got mine."
Sipping her afternoon tea, Rin observed Lord El-Melloi II's stiff posture, trained through numerous meetings that he had survived from. When seated beside Shirou, he provided a contrast for the younger magus' darting inquisitive glances. Rin withheld a giggle after realizing that the two made for a dashing comparison.
"Not a single game console…" Lord El-Melloi II mumbled in disappointment. "You really are the worst Japs I've ever met."
"Thank you for your piece of mind, professor, but not all Japanese happens to be a closet otaku like you are," Rin said from the seat at the head of the table.
Grumbling something about not appreciating the artistic sense of her home country, Lord El-Melloi II turned toward Shirou and began. "Bah, let's get started. Under the order of Magi Association, you, Emiya Shirou, are to join us in the mission to dismantle and retrieve the artifact known as the Fuyuki Holy Grail for further study. You are to summon a Servant to assist in combat. Now, questions?"
"Yes, and many…What about the war being sixty years apart? Something about letting the Grail recharge? Seven years is just crazy…" Shirou said, sinking a little further into his seat. Something about the Lord El-Melloi II's dismissiveness didn't sit well with him.
"If you would give me a moment…" Rin said, giving the professor a questioning glance. She received a shrug in reply, then turned to Shirou. "Emiya-kun, I don't think you've read the documents I asked you to…I'm hoping you would tell me that I'm wrong."
"Unfortunately, you're not," Shirou confessed after a moment of hesitation.
Rin shook her head and sighed. "Well, as a bare minimum, I know that you do know about the corruption in the Grail at least. We'll start there."
"Let's see. Corruption spread into Fuyuki. Fuyuki became the Grail's platform, spawning all those hell-hounds that I take care of every once in a while. What else am I missing?"
"Everything, aside from technical aspects. This war is going to be different, Emiya-kun. You need to-"
Lord El-Melloi II waved Rin off. "Stop veering off topic. We're not here to give a lecture on the war."
"Geez, I'm working to get there, in case you haven't seen that Mr. Oblivious here had already lost track of everything you said. Don't you know how to exercise a little more patience, Professor Velvet?" Rin countered.
Lord El-Melloi II scrunched up his face into a frown, reluctantly quieting down. The name reminded him of the experiences in his younger years. Most were unpleasant.
"First off, we don't have a concrete reason why the Grail is resuming activities. I guess it's probably due the Grail having leftover prana, since Saber and you didn't make a wish. I suppose the Grail has both of you to thank."
"Should have just shown gratitude by staying out of trouble for a few more decades," Shirou mumbled under his breath.
"Secondly, we're not having a proper Holy Grail War. You can say it's a…" Rin cast a questioning glance at Lord El-Melloi II who seemed to be in no mood to offer help. "...Well, a recovery process from the taint. You see, the grail is a system, and all systems seek to return to their original state, given enough time and opportunity. In a sense, it's a Holy Grail War. Also, in a sense, it's also an entirely new thing now with two factions of Servants fighting the other."
"Doesn't make sense," Shirou interrupted. "Last time I'd checked, I didn't realize there were factions within the grail."
"For the record, that last time of yours was probably during the last war," Rin interrupted flatly, earning a cringe from Shirou. "By the way, everything I've said and will say from now would be available in that dusty sealed envelope in your mailbox. The one that you've never bothered to read and, yes, I checked during that visit to your empty house."
"Got it…I'll read it as soon as I'm home. Come on, Tohsaka, stop being miffed already…" Shirou pleaded in little voice.
"Too bad, I was just starting to get a hang of pushing you around. I was getting rusty after a year," Rin gave an evil giggle, but seemed to have relented.
Liar…Your forked tongue doesn't need any sharpening…Shirou thought, but knew better than to blurt out.
"Look, the Throne of Heroes doesn't account for factions. Its purpose is just to be there, storing heroes inside. However-"
"I'm bored. Skip the crap," Lord El-Melloi II waved Rin off. "There's ample ground for division, if you weren't blind to all those blighting serial-killers that are also called Heroic Spirits."
Shirou nodded. That much had been obvious.
"Yes, thank you, professor…" Rin continued. "We know that the evil Heroic Sprits became able to stake their claim on the Grail, after it was tainted during the Third War. Things have changed since Saber blasted the Grail to hell. The taint is weakening, after some of it spilled into the city. The evil ones are being kicked out and they're not awfully happy about it."
"So…We'll be stopping those evil ones. Is that it?"
"You wish," Lord El-Melloi II spoke, having just gotten over his fit of annoyance. "Getting into a free-for-all bloody smackdown with the heroes and the crazies? Two magi and an idiot wouldn't last the first day."
"Doesn't mean we shouldn't try…" Shirou argued. His dislike for the professor was growing.
"That, Emiya-kun, is where the summoning part comes in, in case you weren't listening," Rin said.
"Well, we've got nearly half the number. If all three of us got us a Servant, that'll make three of out seven," Shirou said.
Alliances were strong cards to play, especially during the pre-war phase. A pair would immunize themselves against surprise attack from the other Masters. A trio meant having the luxury of picking off the rest, at least they would notice and form counter-alliance.
Looking at the bright side of things seemed to be the way to go, but Rin and Lord El-Melloi II didn't share Shirou's optimism. Lord El-Melloi II in particular shot him an irritated glare.
"It's nice that you remember that at least, but as I told you a lot of things have changed," Rin elaborated. "You're missing seven Servants for a total of fourteen."
"Fourteen…?" Shirou repeated the number, which didn't seem to make any remote sense. "Okay…So is it my ears or is it my brain that's going crazy?"
"It'll be easier if you take a look at this." Tohsaka's expression darkened as she produced a stack of papers from her suitcase and slid it across the table. "Here, a courtesy of the Church and the Association."
Shirou gingerly picked up the document, almost with a sense of apprehension. Tohsaka's expression told him as much.
Shirou leafed through the thirty odd pages of the report. His sweaty palms crumpled the already messy sheets of paper. He didn't really care. He needed to ascertain one fact before anything else. The appendix section flooded his eyes with a torrent of letters and tables. He gleaned through them all, searching for one relevant piece of information.
Shirou flipped to the last page. His worry grew as he read through the list of new classes of Servants.
Beast, Tyrant, and Lunatic left little room to imagine what these entities had in mind when they made the decision to pursue the grail.
Clearly not something akin to eternal peace and global understanding.
"No freakin' way..."
"But I'm afraid it's going to be a yes freakin' way, Emiya-kun. Cliché as it sounds, we do have at hand the onset of a good and evil showdown. The grail's flushing out the taint, and those evil ones aren't happy about losing their stake on the Grail," Rin said.
"And so we'll have a full-house of seven bloody nutcases killing a hell load of people and raising hell all over. Hard to imagine otherwise," Lord El-Melloi II added with a snort. "They win, they get to stay. Not that it matters; guess whose job it is to be cleaning up this whole mess?"
"Okay, I get that Fuyuki's in crappy shape, but I mean…we still have the other seven to even things out…right?"
"Hah, waiting for a hero to come and save the day? You'll be disappointed." With his jest, Lord El-Melloi II apparently didn't share Shirou's optimism. "The seven 'greatest' heroes the world has ever seen will come here to take care of those 'bad guys.' Only a blithering idiot think they'll let the city get away scot-free."
"Not scot-free, but they could help!" Shirou shot a fiery retort. "What's with you looking down on other people? You're equally stupid, if you just turn away from these opportunities."
"Hah? What the fuck did you say?"
"Okay, that's it! Stop!" The rising tension forced Rin to intervene, springing up from her seat. "Professor, lighten up on the insults. We're not trying to start a fight. Emiya-kun, you too, calm down."
Shirou and Lord El-Melloi II turned toward Rin, then back to one another. Neither wanted to risk angering Tohsaka Rin more than they already had. Exchanging one final glare, both returned to their seats, making a point of averting their eyes from the other.
"Geez, this is like taking care of two school children," Rin mumbled and wearily sank into her seat. "Emiya-kun, don't misunderstand. There are two factions, but the whole wish-granting thing is limited. Expect in-fighting. Also, I didn't see all that many selfless heroic people in the last war. I don't think professor did either. Heroes entered the war to get that one wish, not to be all heroic…unlike you, of course."
"Whatever you say, Tohsaka. Not that wishing on the blasted thing will do any good," Shirou grumbled in reply. Rin's statement was true, but truth was a hard pill for him to swallow.
"Considering that all three of us do know the Grail's true nature beforehand, I don't suppose we need to worry if one of us happens to be the winner." Rin alternated glances at both Shirou and Lord El-Melloi II. The topic of the Grail sent a frown to both their faces.
Good.
That was the reaction she was looking. All three of them had ample share of hatred toward the Grail to eliminate the worry over broken alliance in the end.
"That said, a bunch of us are the wankers that neither side want to see. Both the Servants and the Grail won't try to be fucking chummy with us, if they learn of the funny stuff we're trying on their Grail," Lord El-Melloi II added to a particularly nasty implication. "If they aren't gonna hunt us down in the beginning, they will by the end."
"That is unfortunately true," Rin nodded in agreement. "Still, the Association just doesn't have more people with similar prerequisites, so the only Masters will be the three of us."
"Ummm, so…you said only three of us…?" Shirou asked meekly. Lord El-Melloi II furious looks and Rin's weary sigh was making him regret his lack of diligence.
"Open your ears for another lecture then…" For the third time, Rin was forced to trail off. "To begin, I'm hoping that you can remember the fundamentals of why there is need for the Master in the first place?"
"O-Of course, something about an energy source…then something about maintaining the Servant's form in the real world and, yeah, something along that line." Shirou couldn't bring himself to forget this piece of information, after the inconvenience it had caused Saber during the last war. Through all the hassles and the intimacy of implanting and transferring his magic circuit onto her, there was no way he could forget.
"Human batteries, simply put," Lord El-Melloi II concluded.
"That's why they are integral part of the war. They are an anchor of sorts that keep the Servants in the real world," Rin continued. "Again, things have changed. With Fuyuki leylines operating like an extension of the Grail, there would be like…recharging stations over the hubs of these leylines. That pretty much leaves us, Masters, unnecessary liabilities."
"Doesn't sound nice..." Shirou commented.
"It isn't. Anyway, use this map for reference." Rin retrieved and unfurled a laminated printout from her folder, but gave no time for Shirou to study the scrawlings on the page. That could be for later. "We marked down some of the potential hubs in this case. Remember them well, Emiya-kun. To put in words you can understand, these are strategic points."
Shirou did scan through with a couple of glances. There were the usual Ryudou Temple and the ruin of the Einzbern manor deep in the forest, and a few new ones such in Shinto part of the city. That was all the information he could make for the time being.
"That's enough bloody explanation. Bring up the agenda," Lord El-Melloi tried to cut Rin off, albeit not successfully.
"To conclude, the Grail won't be searching for new Masters, but the people who survived the old wars can exploit this summoning period to validate our rights over a Servant. Basically, we'll be forcing our way in-"
"The agenda. Now," Lord El-Melloi II repeated, his patience running out.
"Fine, fine, at your insistence." Rin rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Listen well, Emiya-kun, our order is to 'simply' dismantle the Grail, direct from those people who have their heads so high up in the clouds that the word simple didn't mean a thing to them. First thing on the to-do list, we'll be going toe to toe with Berserker. All three of us. We'll track him and eliminate him from the war ASAP."
"Woah, woah, we're going for toughest one first? Doesn't sound like much of a plan here."
"I guess more explanation would necessary...?" Rin cast a glance toward Lord El-Melloi II, who was grumbling incoherent curses in reply. "I'll take that as a no. In which case, do think, Emiya-kun, or at least attempt to. Exercise that grey matter you've been neglecting once in a while."
Shirou's frown deepened. He wasn't exactly making a conscious effort to leave his brain dusty and unused. It just couldn't be helped that he wasn't a genius by birth like Tohsaka Rin, the master of all the five elements. But it didn't take a genius to figure out their concerns. The same question soon crossed his mind.
"…Okay, so who's going to control Berserker?"
"Exactly, so now you know the gravity of the situation," Rin answered. "Other Servants might be able to contain themselves without a Master, but it's a different story for Berserker."
There wasn't even a real need to ask. Without a Master, the implications of setting that monster loose in the city full of people were already disturbing enough on its own.
"With other Servants being a car, Berserker's a fucking tank, stronger, tough as all bloody hell, but also guzzles more energy and runs out of juice before the other lots," Lord El-Melloi elaborated. "Without a Master, who can say the bastard won't be gulping down human souls?"
"We still do have a possible shortcut to gamble on, supposedly that one of us actually summons a Berserker. Poof. Problem's gone," Rin went to, but her expression made it clear that she wouldn't place too much hope on it.
"We have three people. What if none of us summon him?"
"…Hope one of us will. You won't like the contingency plan." Rin's defeated sigh was anything but reassuring. "And…That's it on the agenda."
"Great. That's it. Done. Meeting's over." Lord El-Melloi II sprang up from his seat immediately after Rin exhausted what she had to say. "I have to prepare my ritual. Both of you children play nice."
Without a single glance at Rin and Shirou, he promptly left the room, slamming the door as he went.
Rin shook her head in disapproval of the professor's lack of manners, a vice that he had no intention of overcoming. With a sigh, she turned to Shirou. "Goodness, Emiya-kun, I thought I'd already gotten used to giving lectures, but you're tiring me out…This has just become more of a classroom than a strategy meeting."
Her teaching experience at the Clock Tower didn't help much with Shirou. Most of her students had been willing to learn, at least, the theoretical side of magecraft.
"Yeah…great lecture, by the way," Shirou said with unconcealed dishonesty.
"Anything for my favorite apprentice…" Rin giggled. Out of Lord El-Melloi II's presence, her serious became more relaxed. "Emiya-kun, I was about to ask if you wouldn't want to be a part of this war seeing as how Saber is somewhere out there, but I won't. We don't have that kind of luxury. Any help I can get counts."
"You don't need to. I don't have any intention of backing away in the first place," Shirou replied.
"I thought as much but do try to act smarter than the last time though, now that Saber isn't there to watch your back." Rin nodded, finally backing off Shirou's case. "You best be on your way, Emiya-kun. Rest well and be prepared for the summoning. Get a strong one, if you can."
"What about you, Tohsaka? Waiting a few more days to procrastinate on the important stuff like the usual?"
Shirou expected a grin and a return quip, but what he received was a solemn silence. Tohsaka spent a moment gazing at the remaining amber liquid in her porcelain cup before replying. "Not this time…I was done with my summoning a few days ago."
"You don't look awfully happy about it," Shirou observed.
"Told you I have a tendency to mess up my big moments. Either way, my Servant's out on patrol." Rin took the final sip and restrained her urge to say more. Breaking the news to Shirou was not the easiest thing to do, given the circumstances. "You know that you won't be getting Saber now that she's out there."
"I know, but I'll run into her sooner or later if Saber's a part of this. Guess I'll be lucky that she shows up at all-"
"Even if you have to go against her?" Rin narrowed her eyes, studying Shirou's expression as his grin fell. Her simple question came with an exceedingly heavy implication. "Remember, Emiya-kun, everyone who decided to fight has their own wish to be granted. We are fighting so that no one will get a wish. A dismantled Holy Grail isn't good for granting any wishes, including hers."
A cold realization seeped in, tightening Shirou's lips into a thin determined line. "Saber…wouldn't on rely on something like that. She knows what the Grail is like."
"Who knows...? Things may have changed. Just something to keep in mind."
Silence ensued for five uneasy minutes until Shirou decided he had enough and wobbled out of the dining room, his expression a little more hollowed. He exited the mansion and recoiled as the outside blasted him with the full force of winter.
The tips of his fingers were shaking, and it wasn't just from the cold.
Status Page
Servant Roster, Compiled and recorded by Caren Hortensia, the minister of Fuyuki Church, the supervisor of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.
Lunatic: The Lunatics are unrepentant deviants. Driven solely by distorted mentalities, they seldom adopt any higher purpose than the personal urge to kill and inflict suffering upon those weaker than they.
Class Skills: Mental Pollution, Presence Concealment
Maleficar: The Maleficars leave trails of atrocities along their quest to connect with the mystical realm. Their intention varies: some strive for power, some strive for knowledge, but all through misguided means.
Class Skills: Witchcraft, Territory Creation
Scourge: The Scourges are the enemies of all living humans. Regardless of intention and purpose, so many lives fell by their hand that even the world rejected their existence.
Class Skills: Bane of Humanity
Beast: The Beasts are distinguished creatures of legend that have entered annals of history through rampage or benevolence. Since their existence is in itself an aberration to the requirements of a Heroic Spirit, even the Servants of neutral or good standing that belong to class 'Beast' would have faced rejection from the original Grail.
Class Skills: Monstrous Strength
Tyrant: Instead of virtue and glory, the Tyrants choose to enforce their legitimacy through force of arms. They are the most adept in wielding instruments of terror to cow the mass and manipulate those under their rule into submission.
Class Skills: Intimidating Presence, Riding
Fiend: The Fiends are spirits with connections to the netherworld, either through ritual or lineage. Their strength and skills are demonic in nature and, thus, are aberrations from the summoning scheme within the Throne of Heroes.
Class Skills: Demonic Arts
Apostate: The Apostates are heroes who have betrayed their codes of virtue, rejecting a life bound by rules and confined by morality. Driven by desire and spite, their rises to fame were bloody and often through dishonest means.
Class Skills: Counter Hero
A/N: I'm considering the option of making a separate page for all the technical stuffs in this story (Class explanation, Servants' profile, etc) once they start getting out of hand, but for the time being they'll crammed at the end of each chapter. Either way, hope you'd enjoyed the chapter!
