Abigaile didn't feel any adverse effects from the test Rin had performed on her once she was awake, but the dream seemed to haunt her throughout the day. She was expecting things to be weird once she found things at the dig site, not before.
"Gaile?" Shiro asked as she nearly walked into him at the dig site.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, wasn't watching where I was going" she apologized to him as she backed up smiling.
"You seem preoccupied. Something bothering you?" he asked.
"Um, well, does Rin's, you know, stuff, does it ever have adverse side effects? Like has she ever screwed anything up before?" she asked, her question closing off in a whisper as she looked round for the person she was requesting information about in hopes that her ears wouldn't pick up what Shiro would respond with.
"Well… uh… w-why would you ask? I'm sure it wouldn't cause any problems for you" Shiro tried to dodge the question as he chuckled nervously, remembering what had happened with Avenger.
"Just wondering. So no?" she asked, trying to get a more detailed answer.
"I… well…" he tried to figure out how to tell her.
"Oh god, she did didn't she! Oh I hope I don't get turned into a frog or something later…" Abigaile groaned.
"No no, it's nothing like that! I'm positive the spell won't do that. It's a fairly simple-" he started to say, but a few people started walking by and he stopped for a moment, letting them pass.
"-It's a fairly simple spell that just tells if there are magic circuits, and apparently there aren't from what Rin told me… well, she was fairly certain you don't have magic circuits…" he told her, trailing off in thought, the same way Rin did.
"Do I have magic in my blood or not? There is no middle ground I thought" Abigaile asked. She was getting frustrated with the spell casters not even knowing their own trade, and yet still playing with spells. She figured it was playing with fire for them, and sooner or later they'd get burned, and the rest of them would pay the price in some form.
"Rin is trying to figure that out. Until then, there's really no need to worry. I'm sorry I don't have any other information on it" Shiro told her.
"No, its fine… just worried I'm being her guinea pig that's all… I guess I should be more worried about that man that stole the core sample… hey… whoa…" Abigaile stopped and pointed. Shiro turned around, as did the others as they saw men in security uniforms walk by.
"They're the protection detail? They look… pretty well armed…" Shiro whispered to her.
"Yeah, I didn't know Eagorn knew anyone in the military department…" Abigaile responded.
"You think they're military?" Shiro asked, and Saber walked up nearby overhearing them talking.
"Of course, or EX MIL. Seriously, look at their gait, their hardware. They are definitely not a normal security firm. They have rifles, not mace cans. They don't carry batons either… if they find anyone trespassing… oh my, they might kill them" Abigaile told him in a very serious tone. Her eyes told him the place was no longer an easy going dig site.
"Maybe you should go talk to Professor Eagorn about this, and gain an explanation" Saber said.
"Right, that's a good idea. I'll go talk to him right away" Abigaile replied and put her brushes down. She handed a small trinket to Shiro to continue cleaning as she got up and walked to a trailer nearby. She opened the door and looked around, and noticed Eagorn in the corner looking over paperwork. There were cardboard boxes everywhere, with piles of folders nearly falling out of each. Multiple halogen lights were hanging overhead, though one was flickering. There was a small isle between four desks that she started to take to get to him at his seat.
"Yes? Ah, Abigaile" Eagorn said as he looked up from his desk. His grizzled beard and spectacled face looked up with his blue eyes and gave her a smile. He looked close to his fifties, with a balding head, though he was physically fit from two other expeditions he helped lead.
"I wanted to ask you about the security detail you got to be hired for us. They seem a little…" Abigaile stopped, trying to find the words to explain what she thought of them.
"Prepared? Confident?" Eagorn asked.
"Overzealous" she responded finally, mentioning their equipment. There were multiple Joint Light Tactical Vehicles around the dig site now, the next evolution of the Hummer. Each one carried on a pintle mount a high caliber weapon, which was not normal for a university funded expedition of any size, regardless of the risk of someone stealing anything.
"I assure you they are here for our protection; you don't have to worry about anything Abigaile. We are quite safe, and they are here to assist" he told her as he got up and put his hands on her shoulders. She seemed to accept his assurance somewhat, but still didn't feel happy about the amount of weaponry they brought.
"Alright, well, if you say so" she replied.
"I know so. I have a few friends in high places that want to see some of these relics make it to museums, so they provided the escort for us. Have no fear while around them Gaile. Now, was there anything else?" he asked.
"No, well… no, that was the only question I had. I… I'll get back to work" she told him, nodding at her response. He gave her another smile and sat back down as she turned around and left the trailer slowly. Shiro and Saber watched her leave with a confused look on her face.
"Everything ok?" Shiro asked.
"I think so… well… yeah, sort of" she replied, looking around the site. At each plot there was at least one guard now. They weren't so much looking out at their surroundings as looking at the other expedition members, which was odd.
"Hey Abbey" Ilya said as she walked up and smiled.
"Abigaile or Gaile, not Abbey. I hate when my brother calls me that" she said, visibly irked by being called the nickname.
"Oh? I'm sorry" Ilya said as she brought her hand up to her mouth, worried she did something wrong.
"It's ok. What did you need?" she asked.
"Just saying hi. Do you like your job?" she asked.
"Um… yeah, for the most part" Abigaile replied as she took another look around the site.
"That's good to hear! It's always nice to enjoy your work. Hey, I heard you might have magic cir-" Ilya started to say, but Saber's hand quickly clamped over her mouth.
"Not in front of everyone else Ilya" Saber interrupted. She grabbed the young girl and walked her off as Ilya mumbled under her hand.
"That was a close call" Abigaile said under her breath as Shiro walked to a table and sat down for a drink. Abigaile went back to her plot and put her harness back on. Rin and Archer weren't around today as she had her own job to take care of. Sakura was taking care of her bakery, and Taiga was still at school teaching.
The day wore on until lunch, and Abigaile hadn't come upon anything incredibly significant. Two other plots had found pots and some cutlery, as well as some fabrics. A few found metal that could have been used to build a house, which was odd as most of the past living conditions in all areas of the world were either stone or wood. She did get another two feet below the ground with Shiro's help.
"Hey…" Abigaile mumbled to herself as she pressed down on a spot of dirt that didn't give. She pulled out her small hand shovel that she hadn't used after the first foot and pressed lightly around the edge. Again, the dirt didn't move. She had only gotten four feet below the surface, so she was sure she hadn't hit the sphere.
"Hey Shiro…" she somewhat whispered as she checked the rest of the dirt nearby, swinging herself somewhat as she looked to get around the hard object. She thought she found something. As she dug a bit to get rid of the dirt, she heard a TINK! from metal.
"Shiro!" she yelled out as she took out a brush as he looked up and tried to get closer to her.
"Did you find something?" he asked.
"I think I did. Something big" she replied excitedly as she brushed away more dirt. What she found was a layer of metal. They both continued to get rid of dirt from the surroundings, seeing just how far the metal plate grew.
"Why didn't the scan tell us this was here? It should have detected it" Abigaile commented to Shiro as they got rid of the rest of the dirt on top of it. It was as large as her entire plot.
"I dunno" Shiro replied as they looked, and others came running over to see what they found, including Eagorn.
"What did you find?" he asked.
"You tell me. It's a plate of some sort. I think… it could be a room around the sphere" Abigaile reported. She looked up at Eagorn as he stared at the plate.
"There was no record of a wall to protect it…" he whispered to himself.
"What? What wall?" Abigaile asked confused.
"N-nothing! Nothing at all. Um, let's find the edges of it. Expand the plot as much as you need" he told her as other expedition members helped dig, even expanding into nearby plots a few feet in all directions. The entire metal "box" was an extra four feet in all directions around the sphere, which was ten feet in all directions, so no odd curvature. They started to dig down the sides for the rest of the day, and noticed the walls were completely untouched by age or any scratches, one hundred percent smooth with a soft shine to them. Therein laid the problem for Abigaile as she watched the others dig.
"Shiro… there's no door or opening…" she whispered to him.
"What? You sure?" he asked.
"Do you see the cracks or telltale lines that say there is a way inside? I sure don't" she replied as they both walked around and met on the other side.
"You're right. So… wonder how the sphere is inside there…" he said as he brought his hand up to his chin in thought.
"Maybe it's…" she started to say, but noticed everyone else was still nearby. She brought her voice down to a soft whisper at his ear as Saber leaned in.
"Maybe it's magic, with the sphere placed inside? Would you know if that's possible?" she asked.
"No, I wouldn't, but Rin might. We should ask tonight. Have you seen or studied anything similar to this before Gaile?" he asked.
"Not once. There's no information on anything even remotely similar to this. Well… there was one slightly similar…" she said as she looked at Saber.
"The Holy Grail?" Saber asked.
"Not exactly. The casing for it, as most paintings show. A large coffin like object carrying the Grail. Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden away, though no one knew that one of them was… well…" Abigaile told them as she looked around to see if anyone was looking at them "-an Elder Scroll."
"So the sphere could be an Elder Scroll?" Shiro asked astonished, his eyes wide in amazement.
"Could be, I'm not completely sure. The scans we took though, I noticed something. On the computer screen, not the print outs, the fluctuations in size scaling and curvature of the sphere fluxing… I've never seen anything like that" she told them.
"I didn't see anything like that Gaile, are you sure?" Shiro asked.
"Of course I'm sure! What do you mean you didn't see that? Here, let's go check the computers again, I'll prove it" she said as she lead them to a trailer and started up the computer. They swapped to a backlog file and opened it with the scan of her plot inside. As it played, she pointed to the movement of the sphere.
"Gaile, I hate to say it, but it isn't doing anything" he told her.
"What? It's plain as day! I'm seeing it right now. Saber?" Abigaile asked as she looked at the screen.
"I am not seeing it either Gaile. It seems to only be you who sees the changes the sphere creates over its shell" Saber replied. Abigaile looked at the screen again, watching the undulating movement of the ultrasound scan of the sphere.
"That's… odd…" she said confused. They closed the file and left the computer in a sleep state, and then left the trailer as Eagorn stood near the metal box sitting beneath him. A makeshift dirt staircase was made heading down to the bottom.
"Incredible… absolutely incredible…" he whispered as he watched the other expedition members dig.
"Sir, it's getting close to the end of the day; maybe we should finish tomorrow?" one member said.
"But we're so close…" Eagorn replied with his eyes never leaving the box.
"I doubt anyone would try and steal a building" Abigaile joked as she walked up next to him.
"True… there's got to be some volunteers that could finish the digging though. It's just a few more feet…" he said as Shiro and Saber walked up. Hercules was picking up boulders in the dirt and moving them without any help.
"Shiro" Eagorn suddenly said.
"Uh, yes Professor Eagorn?" he said, snapping to.
"Would you be interested in helping us complete the final few feet around this incredible find? You don't have to agree, but it would help us immensely. I'm sure other volunteers would stay and help as well. What do you say?" he asked.
Abigaile mouthed "Shit" to no one in general as she looked away from Eagorn. She wanted to get back to the house and talk to Rin about why she was able to see the sphere moving and others couldn't.
"Well…" Shiro started to say.
"I'll make it up to you after, I promise" Eagorn pleaded to him.
"Alright, I guess" the red head told him, scratching the back of his head.
"Great! Ah, Abigaile, since you are staying at his home, would you by chance be able to help him? I mean, you could lead them in my stead" he asked.
"Wait, what? You aren't staying? I thought you wanted this thing out of the ground?" she asked.
"I have to relay the paperwork to the university tonight. Don't worry, I'll be here bright and early tomorrow. It's not like you are staying the whole night, just until the last few feet are dug around the box. What do you say? Please? After all, it was your find" He said. Abigaile ground her teeth together.
"Fine" she grumbled out annoyance, again being played.
"Thank you! Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. I'll go check with the other volunteers" he said excitedly as he ran off to other people and talk to them.
"Why… oh why…" she whispered as she picked up her hand shovel and put it in a loop on her harness and her hand pickaxe in another.
[Three Hours Later]
"I've made it to the floor over here" Shiro said as he walked around the corner and headed to where Abigaile was. The place was dark, and Christmas lights were set up nearby along with a few spotlights the security group brought with them. Abigaile was mumbling and grumbling as she dug in her position, as the only people who volunteered were her, Shiro and Saber. Ilya wanted to go home and eat, and Hercules went with her. He would have been invaluable in the effort to move two more boulders found near the rear right corner. Shiro had to help Abigaile tie some rope around ithem while Saber tied the rope to the car, and they pulled out, creating a long trench going up and out.
"Ok, so… we're at the bottom. Done. Let's go home" Abigaile said as she clapped her hands together to get rid of dirt.
"Sure. Let's just grab the tools and clean up and then we can go" Shiro said and she nodded in agreement. They walked around the box and picked up brushes and other shovels, putting them away or tying them up and placing them in external lockers. Guards were watching them as they moved about, which irked Saber.
As Abigaile picked up one of her brushes near the corner of the box, she noticed there was a faint glow coming from under the corner where Shiro had dug. It was only two inches, but it was just enough to tell her that something was happening on the bottom rather than on the sides.
"Hey… Shiro! Saber! Over here!" Abigaile yelled out. They both ran over and looked.
"What's up?" Shiro asked as he looked at where she was pointing.
"Oh come on! You don't see that? The glow?" she asked as she looked up at his face as she pointed. They both shook their heads in a negative.
"Great" she said in a frustrated tone as she looked back at the corner and touched the underside lightly. It was somewhat warm to the touch, but not uncomfortable. She took out her hand shovel and started to dig more around the corner, and told Shiro to grab a larger shovel again. Two minutes later, he was helping dig out a large enough foxhole under the corner for Abigaile to look under. What she saw wasn't any glow. It was coming from inscriptions running the entire floor… and they were moving. Her eyes went wide in fascination as she watched, and the inscriptions started to form scenes that happened in the past. She could almost hear sounds of battles, of contruction of buildings, of people.
"Abigaile!" Saber yelled out as she suddenly disappeared. Abigaile looked around her and noticed she wasn't outside anymore.
"Saber? Shiro?" she asked out loud, looking around as she noticed the walls.
"Oh shit…." She whispered and tried to push against the walls and floor. They wouldn't budge.
"Oh god oh god…" she whispered faster as she started to worry. She felt trapped, and hated being confined. She wasn't claustrophobic, but she didn't like the idea that she couldn't leave of her own free will.
"Saber? Shiro? Hello?" She yelled out.
"Abigaile? Can you hear us?" Shiro yelled back. There was no response on either side.
"Oh fuck… oh god no… damn it!" she screamed as she looked around behind her. She saw the sphere sitting in the middle, floating in mid-air with nothing holding it up. Other inscriptions were flowing over it, glowing, but many of them weren't of the same color, and seemed to clash against each other like different types of energy.
"Button, button, there's gotta be a button…" she whispered quickly as she looked over the sphere. Every time she went to another side of the sphere, the same symbols moved with her, almost as if it was not even three dimensional. She had played old video games that had two dimensional sprites in them, like the first person shooter Doom, and the same movement of the sprites rotating on a single point made her think that the sphere was not in fact in their dimension completely. She tried looking at it from below, and again the view shifted to keep with her angle of visual approach.
"What is it that you don't want me to see…" she mumbled out, a thought pushing itself to the front of her mind. The symbols and energy slowly sifted about, clashing with each other. She tried touching the sphere, wondering if it would do something like she had seen in so many movies. She hoped against hope that it wouldn't cause the sphere to open and some alien to jump out and try and eat her brain, or cause it to disintegrate her body. Nothing happened. Touch was not the sense it reacted to.
"Shit…" she whispered. She ignored the sphere for a few minutes as she looked at the other walls. The sphere provided enough light to see the corners of the box she was contained in.
"Damn it Abigaile, you got yourself into one hell of a mess didn't you?" she snapped at herself. The air around her was crisp but not cold, and she could tell there was quite a bit of energy flowing everywhere. She decided to do a test and touched the zipper on her sweatshirt. She immediately got a massive static shock that nearly numbed her hand.
"OW!" she yelped. The power flowing throughout the area was almost tangible, and very capable of hurting her if she wasn't careful. Oddly enough, the metal the box and the sphere were made out of did not react in the same way that her zipper did.
"Ok ok Abigaile, think" she whispered as she brought her hands up and brushed her fingers through her hair. She sat down and tried to think, but her eyes kept wandering over the sphere. As she started to stare at the sphere more and more, it became harder and harder for her to pull her attention away. She stared for what seemed like hours, as the symbols moved amongst each other in unexplainable dance. She heard voices soon, as well as the same construction sounds and clashing of battle. An image in the back of her head, the same dream she had of the bubbles, arose, the pulsating glow growing strong, and suddenly electrifying. The sphere slowly melted as a runic circle erupted around Abigaile. It was huge, and multiplied four times, some of the rings hanging in thin air around her, and others rotating at odd angles, like an electron in a modulating orbit around a nucleus.
"What the-" she started to say as the circle rotated around her as the Sphere started to melt… and so did the box.
"Abigaile?" Shiro yelled, and she could hear his voice.
"Shiro? Something is happening! I know that's a grasp at the obvious, but I mean there is a shit ton of stuff happening in a very small space!" she yelled out as the corners of the box melted away and she could see the darkness of the sky.
"What do you s- is that a summoning circle?" Shiro interrupted himself as he noticed the glow and the reflection of the runes emanating on the top of the box as it melted in all directions, not just down. No, it wasn't melting, it was disintegrating into thin air. Abigaile stood perfectly still as the circle rotated around her, glowing brighter and brighter. She heard Shiro outside.
"Rin? Yes, this is Shiro! Get to the dig site now! Something that I think might be a summoning circle has Abigaile in the middle of it! Yes I know it's dinner time! No we aren't at my house! Get here now! She needs help!" He yelled into his phone. Saber had enough of waiting, and leapt over what remained of the box wall and landed near Abigaile.
"Saber! Do not touch the circle! It could kill her if it fails!" Shiro yelled out. Saber looked at Abigaile as she looked back in fright. She had no experience in what was happening around her.
"Help" Abigaile squeaked out, scared out of her mind. Saber had a sympathetic look in her eyes as she was intent on getting her to safety. The circle reached its peak just as Rin's car turned onto the road to the dig site. A blinding light enveloped around Abigaile. Both Saber and the archaeologist shielded their eyes, though Abigaile couldn't do it well enough… because her amulet was glowing as well around her neck. When she no longer saw balls of light in her sight and she had blinked sufficiently, Saber was by her side trying to help her up. Apparently she had fallen to her knees and would have fallen onto her back had the King of Knights not rushed quickly behind her.
"What happened?" Abigailed whispered weakly. She felt odd, like something was fully awake inside her.
"I don't know. That wasn't a normal summoning circle however. I do not see a servant anywhere else Gaile" Saber said softly to her. The walls had completely disintegrated, and the sphere had turned into a liquid metal bowl. There was something sitting in the middle of it. Abigaile looked down at her golden amulet. It was no longer glowing, but she was sure the symbols had rearranged themselves to new locations. Some she could even read, though how she had no idea.
"Hey" Shiro said as he walked up to them, as they both sat on the compacted dirt beneath them. Abigaile looked at the floating bowl nearby them as Shiro looked her over, checking for wounds.
"I'm fine, I think I'm fine at least" she replied as she noticed her glasses were lying on the ground. Saber picked them up and handed them to her, and she thanked the blonde haired woman. She pushed them onto her nose and got up, her feet moving her to the bowl. Sitting inside was a scroll. It was white with what looked like bronze ornate rollers. Abigaile could hear a slight hum coming from it, which somehow made her feel at peace.
"An Elder Scroll…" she whispered as she reached carefully for it.
"Hold on there!" she heard yelled from the top of the dig area. Multiple guards ran down the side and got nearby them.
"So they did find it, as expected" a man said as he wheeled himself up in a powered scooter. He was wearing a suit that easily cost as much as Abigaile's car did back in Seattle. Multiple other men in suits were beside him.
"Who the hell are you?" Abigaile asked.
"I am the man who funded the entire operation for your Professor here, with high expectations" he said smiling. She didn't like the smile. It made him look malicious.
"What are you-" she stopped speaking as Eagorn walked up sheepishly.
"Professor? I thought you were sending paperwork off to the university?" she asked.
"He's been working on finding an Elder Scroll for some time now. He works for us, and we pay him well for his endeavors. We could make sure you are well paid as well if you cooperate and not speak of this event in the future" the man in the scooter said.
"Abigaile, just do what he says, this could make your career take off and you'll be paid handsomely! Just let him take the scroll" Eagorn pleaded down to her.
"What? This has to be studied! We aren't in the business of selling relics to private collectors Professor!" she snapped, annoyed he would even ask her to agree to his request.
"It is in your best interest to agree Ms. Henderson. The opposite wouldn't work out so well for you and your friends" the man in the scooter told her, still smiling. She looked at Eagorn, who couldn't meet her gaze.
"You bastard… this was all about making a quick buck, not history…" she snapped at him as her hand hovered over the scroll.
"Please please, no need for name calling here Ms. Henderson. Just bring the scroll up to me, and you can all walk away free as birds. I am a man of my word. You can leave well paid for all of your work, as long as you also agree to not speak of this find" the man in the scooter told her.
"Bastard…" Shiro repeated what Abigaile said as the guards tried to put their hands on Shiro and Saber to hold them in place. Saber elbowed one armed guard and flipped another, grabbing his rifle. They aimed at her.
"Saber!" Shiro yelled, worried she would be shot. Her armor formed immediately as she reconstituted her sword and leapt.
[Music: Fate/Stay Night Anime OST – Unmei No Yoru]
"Oh! What do we have here? A servant?" the man in the scooter said, interested in the development of the situation.
"Ground her please" he continued as another man in a cloak behind him suddenly removed the large cloth covering his body. The man was not what any of them expected as Saber cut down multiple guards with ease, their normal bullets pinging off her armor. She was a heroic spirit after all, and human weapons were nothing to her. The only thing that might even make her flinch would be a tank.
The man standing behind the scooter wore what looked like a jester's outfit, with a large sack tied around his neck and hanging down his back. He wore white makeup with lots of eyeliner, and a black line that looked like a scar down his right eye.
"Trickster, if you please, make it quick, I am losing men" the man in the scooter said.
"Sure sure. OH SABER! WHAT DID THE KING SAY TO THE MIRROR?" he screamed as he leapt after Saber. She got into a defensive position as he came at her. He held two metal crosses with blades on each end, and used them quite quickly. Saber blocked each strike, but it looked like he was playing with her.
"COME ON COME ANSWER THE QUESTION! WHAT DID THE KING SAY TO THE MIRROR?" he yelled laughing. He reminded Abigaile of the Joker from Batman movies.
"I don't know and I don't care!" Saber snapped back, trying to bring her sword in an upper slash towards his chest. He blocked and held her sword, keeping her from breaking away.
"I COMMAND YOU! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!" he laughed out. Suddenly, out of nowhere, strings of gossamer web shot out from the ends of the crosses and wrapped around Saber's arms and legs and neck.
"Ack! What the-" she started to say as she tried to back away. He flexed his body and slid down the blade of her sword and wrapped his legs around her chest and arms, keeping her near him.
"Oh we can't have you leave until I say so!" he laughed as the threads were fully in place.
"SABER!" Shiro screamed as Abigaile watched in horror. He wasn't fighting her; he was containing her in some form from what she could see. After a few seconds, she stopped struggling, like a fly caught in a spider's web and being completely encased. The threads seemed to disappear, and the Trickster let go of her. She stood motionless for a few moments, and then brought her sword up.
"Good she's ok" Shiro sighed in relief.
"Don't be so sure about that!" Trickster laughed out as she suddenly turned towards the both of them.
"Saber? What's wrong?" Shiro yelled out, worried that she was acting oddly.
"Damn you! Let go!" she grimaced, seemingly trying to break away from some controlling entity.
"But why? We're having so much FUN!" Trickster laughed as he kicked her in the stomach. She winced from the strike, but she couldn't protect against it.
"Saber! Leave her alone!" Shiro yelled as he ran forward, constructing his blades and trying to attack Trickster. What happened next took Shiro completely by surprise. Saber blocked his attacks.
"Saber? What? Why?" he asked, confused.
"Shiro! Run! I don't have control over my body!" she said between breaths. Shiro backed up as Saber tried to strike at him, albeit clumsily.
"Ah, so that's how she works hehe!" Trickster laughed out as he started to move his hands like a composer as Saber took more strikes at Shiro. He tripped over a rock and fell on the ground. Saber was ready to drive her sword through his chest as Shiro looked at her in disbelief. Saber had a look of horror on her face as she was prepared to strike.
"Don't!" Abigaile screamed. Saber held her blade.
"Give me the scroll then" the man in the scooter said.
"Mr. Thompson, please… let them go… I can go down and get the scroll…" Eagorn told him.
"No, I think I want her to give it to me. There could be a trap installed in that scroll as a last ditch defense. Considering she opened that contraption, I want it out of that area" Mr. Thompson replied. The smile never left his face.
"Alright! Alright I'll do it! Just, don't make her hurt him!" Abigaile yelled out, her heart racing. Saber looked at Abigaile, concern on her face. She didn't want to attack her boyfriend, but she wasn't being given a choice in the matter.
"Oh, just a few snips here and there! He won't miss some parts of his body!" Trickster cackled out. Saber suddenly drove her sword into the dirt, slicing a wound across Shiro's shoulder. He screamed in pain.
"Shiro!" Saber yelled as they locked eyes, as she knew her own body had just landed the strike.
"It's ok Saber; it's ok. I know it's not you doing it" he replied. She was struggling so hard, as she seemed to shake softly as she tried to break away from the strings controlling her.
"Enough! Ms. Henderson, if you would please" Mr. Thompson said as he held out his hand. Abigaile looked up at Shiro and Saber as she turned around. She lightly touched the scroll, hoping it didn't have the trap that they thought was there. Nothing happened. She picked it up, and again, nothing happened. It felt quite light despite the rollers. She turned around and took a deep breath. Abigaile walked slowly up the side of the dug out plot and stood in front of Mr. Thompson. He waited for her to place the scroll in his hand. She reached out and held the scroll in one hand for him to take.
"You made a very wise choice" he said, and grabbed at the scroll slowly. Suddenly, a blade shot out of nowhere and slammed through one of his guards, impaling him and smashing into another guard, killing them both. More blades were being shot from seemingly nowhere, and two struck Saber's sword, knocking her back.
"Who the hell? We're under attack!" the guards yelled as they started to take cover. The Trickster tried to make Saber attack Shiro, but more swords, not bullets, were fired at her to keep her off balance.
"Abigaile! Run!" a woman's voice yelled out as Abigaile backed up, with Mr. Thompson backing up his scooter and rolling away with Eagorn. Rin was heading towards her firing her Gandr shots at guards to keep them from returning fire.
"Shiro get up! Run!" Rin yelled out as he did as he was told. He looked back and saw Saber wasn't following.
"Saber! We can't leave! We have to save her!" he yelled out.
"I don't know how to break those control threads! He's a Trickster class! He can manipulate other people into doing his work!" Rin snapped at him.
"A Trickster class? What? I thought there were only seven classes of Servants?" Shiro asked.
"Seven NORMAL classes Shiro! The others aren't always brought into our realm! They're unorthodox and aren't usually combat viable for the Holy Grail Wars!" Rin replied as she kept up her barrage.
"But I thought the Wars were over!" Abigaile asked in astonishment as a few bullets flew by.
"They are! I don't know why they are summoning other servants! Someone has something planned to go through this trouble!" Rin answered.
"We can't just leave her!" Shiro yelled at her.
"Do you have a better idea? If we try and free her, they could kill us all! SHE could kill us all! We don't have a choice!" Rin told him. He looked back at Saber.
"Run Shiro! I will be fine! Trust me!" Saber yelled back as she tried to rush them, but another two swords were fired. Archer was somewhere laying cover fire with some very high powered weaponry. They shared one last look as Saber nodded ever so slightly to him given her body wasn't under her control, a slight smile appearing on her face as she tried again to come at them, but another sword flew and she blocked the strike. Archer wasn't trying to hurt her, he was actually trying to keep her from hurting others. The strikes against her were not prana charged.
"Rin if you don't leave now, I'm going to run out of prana. Move!"
"Alright! Abigaile! Shiro! Let's go!" Rin yelled as she backed off, the guards shooting back. From the trees a good distance away from the dig site, a pair of eyes watched from a black face covered in tattoos under a hood…
Rin jumped in her car and Abigaile did the same, with Shiro literally jumping through the window and falling into the backseat.
"Drive!" Shiro yelled as Rin put it in reverse and backed up, with guards coming towards them. She flipped the car around and tore off out of the parking lot, with multiple tactical vehicles coming after them.
"Get me that scroll! The whole schedule could be thrown off! And the others won't like that…" Mr. Thompson yelled as he was lead to a waiting limousine. Rin gunned the engine, her foot slammed down on the gas pedal. She skidded around a corner, the wheels trying to find traction as they made it onto a main road heading towards Fuyuki City. The dig site was a good deal away from the city itself, though the commute was easy for everyone.
Multiple Light Tactical Vehicles came after them, with their fifty cals opening up. Shiro and Rin both brought up small shields to keep the large caliber rounds from tearing through the car and killing them. It was a civilian vehicle with no armor to speak of.
"Ah!" Abigaile screamed as she ducked her head low, the rounds breaking the rear window.
"Hang on!" Rin said as Shiro took a twelve pack of sodas that Rin had in the backseat and looked at it.
"Hey! Hey hey hey! How do I do that thing again? The thing you just taught me?" Shiro asked.
"What thing? That super catalyst spell? Changing the chemical nature of something on the fly is not a good idea right now Shiro! It's at best useful for Alchemy!" Rin yelled as she kept driving.
"Just tell me the last word damn it! I got an idea!" he snapped.
"die Zerstorung!" she told him as she swerved around a curve of the road, the tactical vehicles simply going over the land and coming down hard with all-wheel drive and large tires. They weren't gaining as quickly as she thought due to their armor and weapons, but they were gaining nonetheless with their off road capabilities.
Shiro said his incantation, and each can of soda started to glow.
"Shiro? What are you-" Abigaile started to say just as he chucked out a soda can. It fell just below the tires of one of the tactical vehicles and promptly exploded in fire. The vehicle didn't explode or flip over, but the variable multi axles under the carriage disintegrated and the whole cab collapsed to the ground. The cans were acting like grenades against the support structure of the transports.
"Nice!" Abigaile commented as more .50 caliber rounds flew at them. Shiro threw more soda cans out of the now destroyed back window. One of the tactical vehicles pulled up next to the car, and tried to fire down at Rin. She was ready for it as she fired a Gandr shot at the right tire. It melted and the vehicle lost control, slowing down behind them.
"Saber is back!" Abigaile yelled as she stared out of her passenger window. Saber was running along incredibly quickly through fields nearby, trying to catch up to them.
"Is she under her own control or is she still being used as a puppet though?" Rin asked. Her answer was quick, as the Trickster came into view behind her.
"Damn it" Shiro grimaced. He hated to see the girl he loved fighting against them, and she probably hated it even more than he did. She was acting against her own wishes, something even a Magus had difficulty with their own command seals.
Saber was almost upon them just as Archer appeared, riding on the roof of the car with his blades ready.
"Right on time Archer!" Shiro yelled. Saber tried to strike at the wheels of the car, but Archer blocked her attacks easily. He was rolling around the car as she tried to get a good angle, or it was the trickster making her do it. She was still fighting against the threads, that much was clear as she was trembling at times, her face in a constant grimace. She did not like attacking her friends.
"Hey! Why isn't Trickster trying to control Archer as well?" Abigaile asked.
"He probably can only control one servant at a time! I don't know how many normal people he can keep under his threads however" Rin replied as she swerved, Archer balancing carefully and swaying to the change in movement. Saber had jumped onto the trunk of the car, and both of them were fighting above them. Rin didn't even stop. The tactical vehicles were still firing on them, not even caring if they hit Saber either. She was still the enemy, and expendable.
One .50 caliber round struck Saber in the back and pinged off, but the impact force made her lose a bit of her balance, allowing Archer to try and push her arms down. Her sword slammed through the top of the roof and right into the car storage box between the front two seats. Abigaile's eyes went wide as Archer struggled with Saber above. They all heard a loud POP! come from one of the tires, and Rin suddenly lost control of the car. She skidded it left and hit a guard rail. They all screamed as Archer and Saber were thrown off the top and smashed through a nearby tree.
Abigaile looked around as she tried to get her bearings, her head swirling. She pushed her door open as Rin did the same. Shiro wasn't as lucky, as he didn't have a seatbelt on. They carried him out as he winced.
"My leg… ah…" he grunted as Abigaile looked at it.
"Oh crap, it can't be broken, not now!" she yelled as she looked back and saw the tactical vehicles coming towards them. Suddenly, shadowy creatures were seen running through the bushes, and slammed into the vehicles, some starting to crawl along the sides and pulled at the guards manning the pintle weapons. Whoever was controlling them, they weren't friendly to them either.
"Ah, damn it!" Shiro winced as they tried to move him.
"My my, look at the predicament you all are in. You know, they do have signs saying don't speed" Trickster said as he walked towards them.
"Fuck…" Abigaile said under her breath as she looked at the scroll tucked into her sweatshirt pocket.
"Oh I'll get that, from your corpse. Hahahaha! I hope your obituary is written in it! Hahahahah!" he said as he came towards them. Saber walked over, and stood next to him. Archer stood between Abigaile and Saber. Archer's face had blood running down from a wound on his head. Apparently he took the brunt of the fall, and the threads didn't break from the range.
"My dear puppet, won't you do me the favor of finishing this act for me?" Trickster said as he brought a finger under Saber's chin and rolled the tip away. She was angry with him as her eyes stared daggers in his direction.
"Damn it…" Abigaile swore. Archer held his ground. Saber rushed him, striking hard and fast as he parried and dodged, but he had to keep himself between her strikes and Abigaile.
"Run! Stay out of the way of her attacks!" Archer yelled as Abigaile and Rin picked up Shiro and carried him as fast as they could. Saber kept moving to attack Archer as well as the others, and he was taking hits just to keep them from striking the girls.
"Oh please, this chapter is wearing thin. Can we end it and bring in someone with a fresh face? Someone who isn't such an annoyance" Trickster snickered. Archer was maneuvering near Saber as she attacked. Just as she swung, he parried and kicked, not at her chest, but at her feet. She struggled to keep her balance, but during that time Archer decided to rush Trickster. Just as he reached Trickster and was about to hit him, Saber came up behind him and tackled him from behind, as they both rolled along the ground to Trickster's feet.
"You're dull" Trickster said, as more threads came out of his crosses.
"No way! He can control two servants?" Shiro said in astonishment.
"No, look! He's not controlling Archer, he's containing him like a Spider! He won't be able to fight or anything!" Rin said as they watched Archer be enveloped. As Archer lay struggling against his binds, Saber got up and looked at the others.
"Oh crap, this can't be happening!" Abigaile said in horror. Saber walked slowly towards them, her sword raised. Rin tried to fire some Gandr rounds at her, but Saber easily parried them. Rin was clearly no match for a servant. Abigaile could softly hear other sounds in the distance as her senses were blurring from the adrenaline rush she had. The rounds from the guns, the shadow fiends attacking, the men screaming, and Saber's armor clinking as she came towards them… no, not her armor… spurs… they were faint, and still in the distance, but they were there, at least she thought they were there.
A loud CRACK! Was heard of metal against metal as Saber blocked a spike thrown at her. Someone was in the nearby trees trying to fight her.
"Rider!" Rin yelled out as Rider landed with a graceful leap, her hands on the ground as she took a stance on all fours, looking more feral than anything. Her hair fell around her gracefully as she prepared for a fight.
"Ah, another actor makes her way onto the stage. I wonder, however, of whom is her nemesis?" Trickster cackled.
"Hello… Medusa" a sultry voice like honey was heard from all angles. A slight fog started to seep into the surroundings. Rider seemed on edge. No one called her by that name.
"It couldn't be…" Rider whispered.
"Who was that…" Abigaile said as she looked around.
"Show yourself… Athena" Rider yelled out, her own voice still seductive. A woman walked forward next to Trickster, wearing a helmet and armor as well as a spear and shield.
"No way… a goddess?" Abigaile asked.
"She is no goddess. Gods back then gain prana from worshippers through rituals. It was how they produced their feats to onlookers. She is simply a very powerful caster, a battle magus" Rin explained.
"Hold your tongue worm!" Athena snapped. Rin suddenly couldn't speak anymore, as she reached for her throat.
"Rin!" Shiro yelped as she sat next to him.
"Hercules and Ilya are coming" Rider said back to them.
"Hopefully we can hold out until then…" Shiro said. Rin didn't say anything as she looked up at them with pleading eyes. It wasn't that she was having difficulty breathing; she simply couldn't get a word to come out of her mouth.
"She can't speak" Shiro said.
"She must have made it so that her vocal cords don't work as intended. I highly doubt she has the ability to remove that knowledge from someone's mind… does she?" Abigaile said, turning her statement into a question.
"Athena was known for knowledge" Rider commented as she brought her chain and nails up, ready to defend them. The spurs were coming closer. Abigaile gasped as she felt something rifle through her sweatshirt pocket She looked down and saw a small shadow fiend grab the scroll and bolt.
"Hey!" she yelled out as it dashed off into the darkness. She knew there was no way she would see it in the dark, or catch it at the speed it was going. It was small and easy to get through bushes and crawl up trees.
"You're outnumbered little Gorgon. Are you going to take all three of us on? Such poor odds. The curtain draws to a close for you so quickly. So sad really" Trickster giggled. Saber and Athena brought their weapons to bare. Rider was going to protect them with her life.
"God damn it!" Abigaile snapped as Athena thrust, with Rider dodging deftly and flipping her legs to try and knock Athena's feet out from under her. Saber tried to bring her sword down to cleave her legs off, but Rider was quick to throw her nail at her to make her block. Trickster came at her as she backed off. She was fast, but she couldn't handle three attackers at the same time. His blade crosses slashed at her arms, blood gushing from the wounds. She flipped and twisted on one hand in a helicopter kick to make them back off as she regained her stance, blood falling from her wounds.
"Rider!" Abigaile screamed as she was rushed. She was losing ground. Saber attacked again as Rider threw her nail at her sword, trying to keep it chained up. Trickster came up on her side trying to strike, but she used her legs to pin his hands together between her thighs. She rolled and threw Trickster into Saber as she used her chain as a whip towards their legs, making all three of them back away. All three attacked her quickly, and she was hard pressed to keep them at bay by herself. At one point she had all three of them contained with her weapon, her legs and arms, as she kept them from attacking. She was losing strength as they fought her hold however.
"Oh behave" he giggled as Athena broke her hold and shield bashed her, now with an open defense, and knocked her to the ground. Rider was dazed from the strike as Athena brought her spear straight down at her. Time seemed to slow down as the spearhead crept towards Rider's chest. There was nothing Abigaile could do as the spear would kill the purple haired woman trying to protect her.
"STOP IT!" Abigaile screamed. Her voice echoed.
A loud CRACK! was heard, a gunshot, but so powerful it split sound in all directions like thunder. Athena's spearhead broke clean off as the entire spear shattered from a round that Isaac Newton would be proud of, with the round continuing on and impacting a tactical vehicle, blowing a meter large hole in it. The vehicle looked similar to a crushed beer can after as it was lifted onto its side from the force of the strike. The spurs were louder now as they were coming towards them.
[Music: James Parks – Theme From Deadwood]
Another CRACK! was heard as another round flew out and shattered Athena's Shield, the fragments of the once mighty shield flying in all directions as she didn't even have time to back away. She was thrown easily aside from the impact force as some shards embedded themselves around Rider's head as she lay on the ground, mere inches from impaling her skull. A form moved towards them from the fog as Abigaile sat in awe. The form took shape as it fired another round from something that turned into a pistol, a revolver… a Colt .45 now visible. The man who walked forward was wearing a long tan duster with a cowboy hat, and a waxed brown long mustache. Gleaming even in the darkness, sitting right on his chest, was a U.S. Marshall star badge. There was a golden chain hanging from one of his pockets, a pocket watch from what Abigaile could guess. He was tall, easily six feet, and built well. Slung over his back was a Winchester rifle in a back holster, and another .45 Colt at his hip.
"Sorry I'm late. It was a hard ride getting here" the man said as he stepped towards the attackers. Rider kip-uped and backflipped with her nails in hand, back into her feral stance next to him.
"Another comes onto the stage. My my, we have a very large cast don't we? And who might you be?" Trickster asked.
"Not for me to tell, nor is it worth explainin. It won't bury itself through your thick skull like my rounds will." The man looked his revolver over as if admiring it.
"We seem to have a problem here that you are the cause of, which means I am in a very bad mood all things considered, as you seem to like making ladies do things they don't wanna. I hate when people do things like that, cause I either arrest them, or put a bullet in their head. It matters little which one you want done" he said, and spit to his side. He wasn't chewing any tobacco, but his facial hair was a bit grizzled.
"Oh my god… I can't believe… wow…" Abigaile said as he stood in front of them with Rider to his side.
"Who is he?" Shiro asked.
"You don't know American history very well of course" Abigaile said.
"Yeah, I guess I don't. What's his name?" Shiro asked.
"Yes, what is your name?" Trickster asked.
"I don't feel much like talking right now, but Uncle Winchester and Brother Colt can speak in my name if you wish it, and their voices will be heard even after your dead" he replied frankly and put his other hand on his second pistol. Athena was completely unarmed, so the only thing she could do was use spells. Saber attacked first, but what happened next was incredible. His shots were quicker than anything they had seen, with six rounds flying with the sound of one. He was a Gunslinger true and through, and though Abigaile knew his reflexes when he was alive were astonishing, now that he was a heroic spirit he simply moved so fast she couldn't register his actions. The rounds nearly deafened everyone as they didn't hit Saber, but behind her. Trickster's cross blades were obliterated… and so was one of his hands.
"AHHHHHHH!" he let out a blood curdling scream as he backed up, the metal fragments embedded in his forearm. The rest of the rounds sliced across the threads lying invisible over Saber's body as well as Archer's, cutting them. Saber and Archer were both free. Athena brought up a magical shield to protect both Trickster and herself as they retreated, now outnumbered. The shield only survived two rounds from the Gunslinger's pistol before shattering, as both struck in the exact same spot each time, and each strike forced her back hard regardless. From what Rin could see, the bullets could be dulled down in strength along their trajectory, as to not harm friends and take up that unused energy and apply it at the end, amplifying the strike damage. She could only imagine what could happen if the servant actually used prana in his attacks…
"Lead is my voice, and it will be heard."
Abigaile swore she heard his voice in her mind. Athena and Trickster both retreated, vanishing away into the fog.
"Thank you very much" Shiro said as Rin could now speak again, holding her neck.
"Glad I got here in time" he replied as he tipped his hat to them and looked at Rider with a nod. She stood up as she looked at him twirl his revolvers around his fingers and into his holsters like a true Gunslinger.
"He's a servant, but whose?" Rin asked.
"Well that should be obvious ma'am; hers" he replied as he pointed to Abigaile.
"Mine? What? I'm not a Magus" she said as she pointed to herself.
"You might be Gaile. You couldn't have summoned him if you weren't" Rin told her.
"Am I?" Abigaile asked the Gunslinger.
"Don't know much about that Gaile. I just shoot things and keep things from shooting you. Gunslinger at your service" he said as he took his hat off and gave her a small bow before checking his pocket watch and putting it back.
"A wild west Gunslinger like in those stories" Shiro said as he hopped on one leg.
"He is THEE gunslinger Shiro; the one all those stories and movies are made about" Abigaile told them.
"Gaile, I don't right think it's wise to say my name out here in the dark. Ears everywhere" Gunslinger told her sternly before surveying the surroundings. She could only guess how acute his sense of sight was as he looked around. For all she knew, that shadow fiend was still in the bushes with the scroll, listening for its master.
"Oh! Right! Yeah! Good idea, um… we should find a ride…" Abigaile said as she looked around. Gunslinger walked past Rider and looked at the road. Rin looked down the road a few meters at her car. It was torn up with bullet holes and a shredded tire. She sighed as she knew it was a lost cause.
"One of those might do nicely" he commented as he nodded towards one of the tactical vehicles. The guards were either dead or jumped out of the vehicles to escape the shadow fiends. Someone was out there that wasn't their friend either, but were they still hostile towards their group? That was one of the biggest questions they had at the moment.
They spent the next ten minutes sorting through the vehicles, trying to choose one that didn't have a dead body mangled inside of it. The shadow fiends had disappeared, to where they had no idea. Whoever was controlling them was also gone. Once they found one that only had one guard that was whole, Gunslinger and Archer pulled the body out while Saber and Rider kept watch. Shiro was put in the back quickly and had a Kevlar vest wrapped around his leg due to the increase in rigidity it provided as Abigaile grabbed a medical kit attached where the glove compartment was and administered first aid to Rider's arm as well as Shiro's. Neither of them really needed it, as Shiro would eventually heal from the Sheath Avalon, and Rider due to her nature as a heroic spirit. Ilya's SUV pulled up right as they got inside, and they both drove to their house, which seemed awkward with the tactical vehicle. Abigaile sat wondering what was going on the entire time, with almost no answers for anything.
As they reached the house, with the humans exhausted and the servants watching over them, Abigaile looked up at Gunslinger standing there staring at her while Rider took the armored truck and it stashed behind the storage area at the house. Shiro was sat down on the couch as Rin checked his leg.
"Ok, so, we're safe for now. Can I say your name?" Abigaile asked. Everyone looked at him.
"If you feel you need to. Just remember saying one of our names gives more power and like to others" he replied.
"Yes, but I don't think one of your kind has ever been summoned in any of the Holy Grail Wars. I mean that, never" Abigaile said. She looked at Rin for confirmation.
"That's correct. Not once was a Gunslinger ever called on. Had it been known your… skills were this strong straight out of the gate, I might have attempted to bring you out myself during the 5th War" Rin replied.
"Holding us for the right moment Gaile, and we don't come without a purpose. We don't answer for petty wars. We don't start them. We end them" he replied as he looked at Abigaile first, and then gave a hard glare towards Rin. Rin looked at Abigaile, and she mouthed "lawman" to her.
"We? There are MORE of you?" Abigaile looked at him wide eyed. He smiled and winked. She looked around at everyone else. There were other Gunslingers, maybe waiting or already summoned, she had no idea. What she knew was that his shots were like rail guns slamming into defenses designed for swords. She had information involving Saber's Excalibur Noble Phantasm during the 5th and 4th Holy Grail Wars, and figured even that strike wouldn't stand up against anything he brought to bear as a noble phantasm. Those rounds were his standard attack. It was hard to believe he was needed against other servants that from what she saw weren't even in the same grade as he was. The only thing that came to mind was that he wasn't there to handle the friends around her, but for something far stronger… or fight while outnumbered…
"O.K. Corale…" Abigaile whispered. He didn't respond.
"What?" Shiro asked.
"His name. He's a legend back where I come from, just like King Arthur would be, or Hercules. Fastest Draw known, and he has never once been hurt in any gunfight known. He died of old age, not from bullet wounds" Abigaile told them. They looked at Gunslinger as he took his hat off and brought it to his chest, his hair somewhat glistening as he pushed it back. It was a mess, as all hat hair usually was. He cracked a warm smile as he tried to make himself look a little more dignified with his hair and twisted the tip of the right side of his mustache. He looked to be somewhere in his forties now that there was decent light around them.
"His name is Wyatt Earp, U.S. Marshall."
(Author's Note: So new classes join the fight. Gunslinger, Trickster, and who is the tattooed black man hiding in the shadows? Athena is a very powerful caster it seems, she just doesn't show it here. Poor Rider, she got bitch slapped by Athena. Well, the line clearly works for Rider though. "Pay back is a bitch." Considering everything Athena has done to her in the past, she's pretty much due.)