Well, not as much hate as I expected. Just a little FYI, I'll be working on this until my poll tells me otherwise.
Darkness and Light, Into the Chaos!
Trifas, day before the battle at the Castle.
"So what next, Jack?" Reika asked, walking into the piano room. Jack and Asiko followed behind, the Servant in her white dress and the latter in a blue t-shirt and jeans.
"We were going to try the Yggdmillennia castle." Jack replied.
"It's where the Grail is, so it only makes sense that's where we go." Asiko added.
"Do you think you'll run into those two Servants from a few days ago." Reika asked, her voice laced with worry.
"With all the fighting that will be happening, we'll slip by without being noticed." the pair assured.
"Mom, do you think you could play some piano for us?" Jack asked. Reika smiled and nodded as she turned toward the instrument. Asiko pulled out the bench as the older woman sat down and turned a few pages on the sheet music before playing the piece she stopped on.
As the melody began, Asiko watched Jack sit next to her "Mom" and smile happily. Simply beautiful. the Magus thought. Jack looked his way and smiled and began humming as Reika continued. After a few minutes, the melody ended and both women stood. "Miss Reika, I was gonna head out for a while, anything you needed while I was out?"
Reika shook her head with a smile. "No, we have everything for dinner tonight."
Jack turned to her mother. "Mom, can we go with Asiko?"
"Do you promise to be a good girl?" Reika replied. Jack nodded enthusiastically and the older woman nodded. "Alright."
"Yay!" Jack cheered, running over to Asiko and wrapping her arms around his left one, causing the boy to turn red. "Come on Asiko!"
"H-hey, quit pulling!" Asiko protested as the Servant dragged him out the door. Reika smiled at her "daughter's" antics as the pair disappeared out the door.
...
"Jack, quit pulling!" Asiko whined, looking at the purplette pulling him down the street.
Jack slowed down and looked at her companion sheepishly. "Sorry, we guess we got carried away in our excitement." she replied. Asiko noticed Jack hadn't let go of his arm, and that he didn't mind it one bit. "So where are we going?"
"I figured we should find one of the Yggdmillennia guards to get some details about the security of the castle. Just keep your eyes peeled for any magic circuits in the area." Asiko replied. Jack nodded with a quick "okay" and they began their search, not finding much.
...
"Pl-please stop! I know it all!" the guard screamed as Jack inserted another knife.
"We're listening." Jack said with a sadistic smirk. The guard told the pair what they wanted to know, and Jack shoved a blade through his head, killing him.
"Was that necessary?" Asiko asked coldly.
"Neither of us can do memory seals and we can't just let him go. He'd raise an alarm." Jack replied. Asiko nodded his consent to the girl's reasoning and turned for the door, motioning Jack to follow.
...The next day...
Asiko deflected another homunculus' spear before Jack stuck her knife in it's back, killing it. "This is getting ridiculous." the Magus complained.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, we'll never get to the castle if we keep getting stopped like this." A loud ring came from Jack's pocket, startling both kids. Jack fumbled around until she pulled out the small device and opened it. "Um, this one?" she wondered, pointing at the "ENTER" button. Asiko nodded and Jack pressed the button. "Hello?"
"Jack." Reika's voice came through.
"Oh, Mom!" Jack said happily. "We were thinking of coming home early."
"Oh, can you and Asiko not get in?"
"Yeah, we'll see you soon." Jack replied before hitting the "END" button. Turning to Asiko, she said, "Let's go home." Asiko nodded and both started off for town.
...
"Are you sure?" Reika asked the next morning.
"Yeah, my familiars confirmed it. The Red Faction has the Grail in the Hanging Gardens." Asiko replied, clearly annoyed.
"How can we get there? Should we try a plane?" Jack asked, taking a bite of her lasagna.
"Against Atalanta? She'd shoot us out of the sky before we knew what hit us." Asiko "tsked" before turning to the window. "Much as I hate to say it, I don't think we'll be able to do this unless Yggdmillennia is willing to help."
"Or we could go in and kill everyone, taking the castle for ourselves." Jack suggested, taking another bite. "This is really good, Mom."
"Thank you, dear." Reika replied before turning back to Asiko.
"No. We have no idea how many of the forces in the castle are left, how many are in fighting condition, how many Servants are lying in wait. There are too many variables. I don't think we should risk it."
"What if you sent your crow to offer an alliance to put the Hanging Gardens on the ground?" Reika suggested.
Asiko tipped his head back and crossed his arms, thinking the situation out. After a few minutes, he nodded. "That's our best bet. If the three of us showed up, especially after what we did with that guard, there's no telling what they would do to us." The Magus quickly wrote a note and summoned one of his crow familiars before sending it off.
Well, how will the note be received? Will Yggdmillennia respond to the note well or ignore it to mount an attack? Find out next time.