Interlude 17: Why did she save me?

'BAM!' I slammed open the doors in front of me. I noticed rows and rows of seats before me. There were even some near the top of the roof. Well, that was a given, since this building is a theater. However, not a movie theater. Instead, it was a theater meant for showcasing plays. Another word for this building would be an opera house.

"Looks like you arrived in time. Hurry up! the show is going to start soon!" A woman yelled to me from several meters away. Even from this distance, I could recognize her black hair and her expensive as hell clothing. It was none other than Caster.

"What is the meaning of this?" I muttered.

"Huh? I can't hear you. You're going to have to speak loud-" Caster spoke but I interrupted her before she could finish.

"I SAID, 'WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!'" I shouted at the top of my lungs. If I could look at myself in the mirror right now, I know that without a doubt, veins would be bulging from my forehead.

"I don't understand, explain! But before that, come sit next to me!" Caster shouted back with what I know is a smirk on her face.

'That bitch!' I thought internally as I clenched my fists tightly.

"Fine. Follow Lancer. Make sure she doesn't pull anything." I muttered.

"Gotcha, young lady." Lancer replied as he was currently unmaterialized though he is still able to move and speak with me. In a way, a Servant being unmaterialized is similar to wearing an invisibility cloak. Though the only caveat is that he can't protect me unless he materializes into a physical form. But since Lancer can do so in a second, it's not that bad of a tradeoff.

"Now what have I done that could have in any way wronged you? Enlighten me." Caster spoke as I sat next to her. I noticed that she was holding a crystal ball for some reason. Though that didn't matter in the slightest to me. Especially since she-

"First, why the hell didn't you tell me about the chance of that asshat attacking the school?!" I spoke.

"If by 'asshat' you mean Rider, then it would have spoiled that big twist. I couldn't just tell you t-" Caster replied but I cut her off again.

"Cut the bullshit! Tell me the real reason! NOW!" I demanded as I slammed my fist on the armrest.

"Sure! The real reason is…" Caster spoke but paused for dramatic effect and-

"…I had no clue that Rider was going to attack the very next day." Caster admitted.

"S-Seriously?!" I shouted.

"What do you expect from me? I'm a great and powerful magician but even I can't see the future." Caster explained.

"I guess that makes sense." I replied.

'Wait a second…' I thought internally when-

'I know everything that happens in the present. It's one of the many gifts that I have acquired. That's why I can say with certainty that Ayaka, Saber, and Rider have made a truce to stop you.'

"Liar." I muttered.

"Eh? Like I said earlier, speak up, or I'll never hear y-" Caster spoke but I interrupted her once more.

"USODA! THAT'S A LIE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs into Caster's eardrums.

"O-O-O-O-Ow! W-What the hell was that f-" Caster spoke but I cut her off again.

"Stop playing dumb! You told me that you could see everything that happens in the present! This means that you knew that Rider was going to set his plan into motion! Admit it, Caster!" I accused Caster while pointing at her.

"Pfft! Fine. I admit it. I knew that Rider was going to attack the school." Caster admitted.

"The why didn't you tell m-" I spoke only to be interrupted.

"However, I couldn't alert you in time. You see, Rider's decision wasn't pre-planned. He had two reasons to do so. First, he wanted to have Ayaka kill someone before the school would be empty before winter break. And the second reason…" Caster spoke but stopped for dramatic effect.

"Out with it already!" I demanded.

"Jeez. Haven't you heard about 'dramatic effect?' Anyway, you." Caster finished.

"…Huh?" I muttered.

"Did I stutter? I just said the second reason why he performed that oh-so-horrific tragedy! It was you." Caster replied.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? You were dead set on dueling Ayaka as much as she was. But she was never going to prevail against you. You knew that. Even Rider knew this so he had no choice but to stop you himself so that Ayaka would live." Caster explained.

"Then what about all the students and teachers?!" I asked.

"Oh, that. That was because he thought that was what Ayaka herself wanted. Though he was wrong in the end and met a pathetic defeat at the hands of Arthur. What a dumbass! Hahaha!" Caster laughed.

"I see." I muttered.

"Then are you satisfied with that explanation?" Caster asked.

"Not yet. There's one more thing that I need to know." I asked.

"Shoot." Caster replied with a hand motion telling me to 'go on.'

"Why did you have the skeletons intervene?" I asked.

"That's obvious. If the skeletons were helping you then Ayaka would have deduced that there was a third party helping you. And since no mage can perform a mass summoning of skeletons with a drop of a hat it would have been crystal clear to her that it was the 'Caster Servant.' In other words…" Caster explained but paused for dramatic effect.

"…She would have found out about our temporary ceasefire." Caster finished.

"So what?" I replied.

"So what?! Are you joking!? If she knew about it, then that would have made her reconsider Rider's proposal! Hell, she could have tried to form a partnership with one of the other servants like Archer for example! She would have been killed on the spot! And then poof! Ayaka's dead and that means Arthur would be gone too! We would both lose our chance for revenge!" Caster explained.

"You're wrong." I muttered.

"Eh? About Ayaka wanting to team up with Archer? No, I can assure you she would have been kill-" Caster spoke but was interrupted.

"NO! Not that! I mean about her accepting Rider's proposal! She wouldn't have done that even if she knew about our ceasefire." I replied.

"And how would you know that?" Caster asked.

"Because I…" I spoke and paused as I remembered what Ayaka said.

'IT'S WRONG TO KILL PEOPLE!'

"…She said it was wrong to kill people. She would have never joined Rider because before that he told her that he was the one who killed everyone in the school." I explained.

"Ha. Hahaha!" Caster laughed hysterically.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You really are gullible you know that?" Caster spoke.

"W-What are you-" I spoke but was cut off.

"Don't you remember? Ayaka killed your mother. You saw her standing over her corpse with the eyes of a 'killer.' You aren't fighting in the grail war to save yourself. Revenge. That's your sole reason for fighting." Caster explained as she stared into my eyes.

'Mommy what was t-a-ah-AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

'I couldn't deny her words. All I ever wanted until now was to kill Ayaka. However, all my life I've been given chances to do so. Whenever we dueled for example would have been the perfect opportunity. But I waited for eight years. Why?' I thought to myself internally about it.

'One more thing, just know that the only reason I'm letting you go is …because this is so much fun.'

'…Was that my reason for waiting so long? Or did I want a fair fight between the two of us? I-I don't know anymore. All of my emotions are a jumbled mess right now! And it's all because she-

"…Saved me." I muttered.

"Excuse me?" Caster asked.

"Aya-ah." I gasped as the lights became much brighter all of a sudden. I looked at the red curtains several meters away and noticed that they were revealing a stage.

'What's going on?' I internally thought to myself.

"Oh boy! No more talking! It's about to begin!" Caster whispered.

"What's about to begin?" I asked.

"Everything you've ever wanted to see and more." Caster replied.

'W-who's that?!' I thought to myself as I noticed a person standing in the center of the stage. A man. He had dark, black hair with bangs that almost covered his eyes. He also wore glasses and a tacky-looking suit that was out of style by over a century at least. But there was something off about h-

"Good evening!" The man shouted which broke my thought process.

"My name is Erik. Tonight, you are about to witness the story of how I met my wonderful and beautiful Christine. That is all!" Erik spoke as he bowed toward the audience as the entire room became pitch-black.

"W-Who turned off the lights?!" I shouted.

"Shh! It's starting." Caster whispered. A few seconds later, the lights turned back on. The stage was visible again and I noticed some girl in a dress that looked hideous! How could she wear something t-

'Hold on! Is that…Ayaka?!' I thought internally as things have taken another unexpected turn. And not even I could predict what was about to happen next.