7th Day – part 3 – Dialogue

How did things turn out that way? Shirou was still trying to understand exactly what had happened. At first, he was sure he was trying to somehow save Rider from Lancer. If he remembered correctly he was running and shouting like crazy, when he was almost run over by a jeep. Because it avoided running him over, the car crashed into one of the bridge's pillars. From then on he wasn't too sure of things anymore.

Almost at the same moment that Shirou was almost run over, Lancer turned around and activated his Noble Phantasm. Despite being unhurt, he seemed to have been knocked back for quite a distance. After that, the freight-train known as Berserker turned its attention the crashed jeep, from which climbed out a small girl. Seeing his master well seemed to calm him somehow.

That white-haired girl was quite unforgettable. Despite the situation she was smiling as if she was having just too much fun. Without the slightest hint of hesitation she walked, skipped really, to Shirou and spoke in her usual cheerful manner. "You saved me, didn't you? Onii-chan."

Huh? How did it turn that way? Was what he might have thought, but he was still too confused at that point to properly process what she was saying. Therefore, he just gave her a confused look.

Meanwhile, despite putting herself in a sitting position, Rider still had the look of someone who was in a profound despair and has simply given up on life. Lancer was walking back, none too pleased with the result of Berserker's charge. Two more people started to come out of the crashed jeep.

Ilyasviel was taking a look around. "Wow, isn't that your servant, Onii-chan?" She pointed directly at Rider. "That's terrible, you're doomed if you stick with her. You know what, you should just ditch her and become my Servant, I will protect you." It was from that point on that Shirou started to little by little grasp the situation.

The first one to protest Ilyasviel's remarks was the one who moments earlier was about to end Rider's existence. "Nonsense, little girl, she would be a fine Servant, if only her Master would provide her with a suitable amount of energy!" Somehow, there was anger in Lancer's tone of voice.

Ilyasviel was taken aback by the way Lancer talked to her. "Huh? So you think this is Onii-chan's fault?" She seemed genuinely surprised at that affirmation.

"Well, he is right, you know." The woman who had just dragged herself from the jeep's wreckage made a ridiculous image, being smug while completely dirty. That did not keep her from continuing. "His connection with Rider was too badly formed for him to really transfer energy to her in the usual manner." She leaned on the now destroyed car.

Lancer snapped at her. "Who the hell cares about that, woman? We have a much bigger problem right now." Weren't you the first to bring that up? Must have been a reply at least one person thought up, however, he didn't give anyone the opportunity of saying it. "Right now, we don't really have two clearly defined sides. That makes fighting a very complicated proposition." He talked of it as if it was an unsolvable problem.

Archer had already stepped in front of his Master. "I can't say I disagree with you. So, what is your proposed solution?" He was cautious.

Lancer puffed his chest as if he was about to propose the perfect solution. "Under my authority as the mightiest among us, I say we engage in a diplomatic dialogue." He then started laughing heartily.

This is not good. The thought kept repeating inside Assassin's mind. Even if he was marginally faster than Saber, the difference was actually inexistent as he was carrying two people as opposed to only one. As the situation was, he found himself unable to lose Saber.

Be that as it may, at least he wasn't losing any ground, so with that in mind, he resolved to simply hurry back to Caster's Lair. Once there he expected that Caster's defenses would do something about their troublesome pursuer.

Everything seemed to be going well, and then, as they approached the bridge, Assassin felt something that chilled him to the bone. "Huh? What happened, Assassin? You're looking scary." Assassin mentally scolded himself, as he has made Shinji worry. Still, there was a chance that they could pass unhindered.

He tried reassuring his Master. "Don't worry, it might be nothing." He fervently prayed that it would be so. Thinking that it would give him a better chance, he climbed the upper part of the bridge, hoping to avoid what he was sure would be a huge obstacle. Everything seemed to be going well when…

"Hey there, it's Assassin, isn't it?" Lancer had just leaped a short distance in front of Assassin, obviously intending to obstruct him. "We're about to have a very important conversation, don't you think it would be quite rude of you to just walk away?" His smile was quite menacing.

Assassin let out a sigh and looked back. Saber had also stopped, possibly also unsure of the situation. He looked at Shinji, who just shrugged. It looked like they didn't have an option. "Why not? As long as you can guarantee my Master's safety, we will gladly talk." At the very least , this was going to get Saber off his back, somehow. "You also agree, don't you, King of Knights? I'd think that talking things out would suit you more." To his satisfaction, Saber's reaction was pretty much drop her jaw.

As they made their way to the ground, Assassin thought he heard someone mutter something. "Not that stupid thing again." It sounded like that.

They were all forming a circle, five pairs of Master and Summoner, a lone Servant and an unconscious girl that was with a pair. From Lancer's right: Shinji and Assassin, Carmen and Archer, Ilyasviel and Berserker, Shirou and Rider, Rin and Saber then back to Lancer. Almost everything single Servant of the War was together in a single place, there was a certain feeling of awe permeating the whole thing.

It took a lot of trouble from Lancer's part, but for a moment they were all quiet. Despite that, tensions were palpable as Shirou and Rin glared in Carmen's and Shinji's direction. As for Ilyasviel, she seemed to be fascinated by Shirou, while Carmen looked bored, ready to provoke anyone and Shinji looked nervous. Even if Berserker was back to human form, everyone, except for Ilyasviel seemed to have some attention reserved for him.

Lancer struck the ground with his lance's butt and boldly declared. "Now! Under my authority I declare open the first Dialogue of the Grail!"

"Uh, actually…" Saber looked uncomfortable.

"What is it, Saber, you wish to say something before we officially start this?"

She sighed and put a hand on her forehead, as if having a headache. "Never mind. Just tell us how you intend us to discuss things."

Lancer nodded. "Yes, it is worthy of me." He took a deep breath and then spoke in a loud, authoritative voice. "Starting with me and then to my left, I'd like every pair of Master and Servant to talk about their Grievances, what they intend to do with the Grail and declare anything that they feel the other Masters and Servants should know. No replies, leave that for after everyone has had their say. Is that agreeable?" He looked around, waiting for confirmation from the others.

Everyone nodded silently. What else could they do? It was quite the sensitive situation and the wrong move meant that many of them would not get through the night. At least for the moment, it seemed to be a better idea to talk things out.

Lancer's Declaration.

As all of you know, I am the Lancer Servant. I believe I do not boast that among those in this war, I have overall the best offense and defense. If any of you disagree, I guarantee that by the end of this war I will show the truth to any that bother duel me in a straight and fair manner.

Speaking of fairness, I will explain the absence of my Master. Right as I was summoned, it seems that my Master was attacked by some traitorous scum. While that attack was somehow stopped, it was enough that my master lost the hand containing the Command Spells and fell into a deep coma.

However, don't think of this as a handicap to me. Even with a diminished energy source, I am still mighty. Also, don't think getting rid of me through disposing her. I only fight better against that kind of coward.

Every night, from tomorrow on, from midnight to one in the morning I will take on any opponent, one-on-one at the entrance of the forest.

I have no ambitions to be realized by this so-called wish fulfilling device. I merely wish to prove through fact that even among the mighty, I am the mightiest. No king, no knight, no god, none shall defeat me, this I swear.

Rin's and Saber's.

I am Tohsaka Rin, Master of Saber. Normally I'd just say that since I have no business with any of you, I'd refuse to speak. However, the honesty of Lancer makes such an action problematic. At the very least, it feels like I would lose some of my pride as a Magus.

That would be quite important to me, as Matou Shinji, who is among us can attest to after attacking it so much. I will not let the slander that he has directed towards Tohsaka to stand! This is a warning to the others: Any who dares to hurt my family's pride will not get off lightly.

/

Even if my Master wishes for victory for its own sake, I have my own reasons for fighting this war. I am not keen to talk of them, however do not think that they are without weight. I will not tolerate anything or anyone who stand between me and the Grail. That is all.

Shirou's and Rider's.

I am Emiya Shirou. This is kind of awkward, since I can think of so many different things that I want to say, but I just can't decide where to start. First of all, I will talk about my objective, I guess.

Personally, I have no desire for the Grail, but for Rider, who has agreed to help me, I will fight for it. Even then, what I want the most is that this War cause as little harm as possible to those who are not directly involved. Know this, those who would harm people are my targets. This is directly tied to the second thing I want to say.

Shinji! You bastard. How much more must you provoke me to be satisfied? I don't know why you are going after Sakura, but know that right now I have no intention of letting you leave this place with her. And if she gets hurt somehow, don't think that you will escape unscathed.

Also, Archer's Master, don't think that I've forgotten about you. You claim to have quite the extensive knowledge of this War. Once we've all had our say, don't I don't have enough questions for you. And I will want clear answers.

I'd rather we just finish this by talking, but I am not naïve enough to think it can actually happen, so at least I'd like to be clear about everyone's intentions. If they are harmful to anyone in this city, don't think things will go well for you, this I swear.

/

…

Ilyasviel's and Berserker's.

Hi! I'm Ilyasviel von Einzbern, right now I'm playing along with this because it seems kind of fun, but if I wanted I could have Berserker crush all of you. Oh, except for Onii-chan here, I'd show him that I'm the best Master and protect him.

I'm not really after the Grail myself, but since Grandpa told I should have it, then I will just eventually crush everyone, but not tonight, since it'd just be no fun.

/

(Growl)

Carmen's and Archer's.

What can I say? I'm in this war pretty much for the heck of it. While I won't claim my life to have been a complete bore before all this. I have not met any person as interesting as any of you.

I must confess that fighting for the Grail with all of you is a pleasure. You see, the intrigue, the manipulation, the plans, and the wager of life, all of that is just so exhilarating to me.

Which is why I have absolutely no intention of letting my Servant get defeated any time soon, although I wonder myself what feelings await me if I manage to triumph over something as impressive as a hero. Therefore, I'm sorry for those who consider this as a "serious" War. Having fun, to me is serious business.

/

And that's it, I guess, my friends. If I were to be honest, I'm not yet quite sure of what I wish of the Grail, but it does sound like an interesting object to possess, no?

So meanwhile, I will just accompany my Master's whims, as I'm quite sure that it will lead me to the Grail.

Shinji's and Assassin's.

Wow this really feels like some sort of therapy session. Oh no comments of that nature yet? Sorry I guess. Fine, I will tell you all a little bit about me and a bonus story to boot, aren't I great?

Hello all, I am Matou Shinji, as shitty a Magus as one can be. You see, my family has been decaying for quite a while now. Every generation people had fewer and fewer Magic Circuits, to the point where we could barely use magic anymore.

It was in such an environment that a moderately talented Magus was born. Of course, I am not talking about myself, since I have absolutely no talent. Anyway…

This man's name was Kariya, my uncle. Now, you see, Kariya hated that decaying family, not without reason. You see, over the years, as their desperation grew, my family started using more and more absurd methods to have a useful heir, me being just the latest example, but I will get on that later. So you see, that coupled with the Matou already disgusting magic which involves insects… Wait can I really call those insects? Whatever.

So eventually, he just decided to refuse his position as heir and left the family, he would live a mildly fulfilling life at least, or so he hoped. But things just don't go that easy, right?

It's the pathetic Matou house we are talking about, right? So you see, the patriarch had the guts to go up to a fool with two talented daughters and asked if he could spare a talented heir. I don't even need to say what happened, right? It's that kind of story.

Life became hell for the girl. She was forced to endure all kinds of horrors to conform to what the Matou wanted and needed. This is where we come back to Kariya.

Ah, the prodigal son returns home! Apparently, the man who abandoned his family cared for the little girl. So he agreed to become a tool, if only his success would bring freedom to the little girl. However, he failed, even if in a spectacular fashion. After all, he was merely a moderately talented Magus, what could he have hoped to accomplish? Not much, really.

And this is where I come in! In his misguided attempts to preserve my sister as a tool for a future War, I was made to have implanted in me artificial Magic Circuits. Now, I do admit that these hurt as hell, but damn do they work.

Now, I do admit that I through a phase of believing that my family was something special. Yes, I did hurt my little sister out of belief that she was stealing my place as the heir. But that is all over now. This here, look at me putting my thumb and index finger together, do you know what this symbolizes? The number of fucks I give about my family.

I fight for myself right now. And promise, I will beat everyone single one of you just to spite my grandfather. When the family finally achieves glory, it will be by someone who rejects it completely, ironic, no? Also, for you, Emiya, I am better than you at everything, I will show you that.

/

I have nothing to add to what my Master has said. My wishes and hopes are insignificant. If he has listened to even one half of the wisdom I tried to pass on to him, I will be satisfied.

Lancer was smiling satisfied. "Ha! So you all can talk like civilized people after all. It's a pity that Caster wasn't present though, it would have made this complete." The awkward silence that followed signified the disagreement on the point. "Anyway." He looked at the person who was still glaring. "Is there something you wish to say, Emiya Shirou?"

Shirou opened his mouth, but Shinji started speaking before him. "I think I have the right of first reply, as I was the last one to speak, is that alright with you, Lancer?" He had abandoned his mocking tone, it seemed like he was serious about something.

Lancer nodded. "Of course, that would be only right, wouldn't it, Emiya Shirou?" Shirou remained silent, which Lancer took as approval. "Speak your mind, Matou Shinji."

"Of course, you oppose my taking back Sakura. However, there are quite a few holes in the logic that leads you to do so." His tone was explanatory.

"Oh, is that so?" Shirou was defiant.

Lancer was opposed to interruptions "Silence!"

Shinji, however, didn't seem to mind it. "Oh there's no need for that, I rather prefer to do a debate, it allows me to more thoroughly destroy his arguments." He had returned to his condescending demeanor.

Ilyasviel was not satisfied. "I don't like this, if you're going to just attack Onii-chan, I won't have any mercy." Berserker started growling menacingly.

Carmen intervened. "Now, now, isn't it fine? They both have the same opportunity of speaking. Although you did state you believe that Berserker can take all other Servants by himself, I wonder that is the truth? We might find this out if you start fighting because of stupid things like that."

"Oh, you're saying that defending Onii-chan is stupid?" The mood grew tenser by the second. "Ah, Onii-chan?"

It was all disarmed by a pat on the head. Shirou was still unsure about that girl with white hair, but deep inside he just could not think of her as evil or anything. "Don't worry, I will listen to what he has to say. Also, I did say my name, why don't you call me by it?"

The little girl beamed. "Okay, Shirou!" It was strange, how wildly her mood could swing.

He turned to Shinji, who seemed to be waiting for a battle to resume. "Convince me, why should I let you take Sakura? Considering all that you've done up until now." He wasn't in a mood to believe anything that Shinji said, but in that situation he had no choice but to listen.

Shinji was back to a serious demeanor. "Listen closely. We both know that Sakura has a problem. I have a lead to solve it, you do not. Besides, I am her brother, what are you to her? A Senpai in her school? I think everyone here knows with whom lies the responsibility to help her."

Shirou was in shock. "What? Now you are going to use the prerogative of a brother?" After what he had done?

Lancer was listening intently. "He does have a good argument, Emiya Shirou. I'm sorry, but I can't condone you taking his sister, unless you were something like husband and wife."

"What?"

"That's what I thought. I stand by my decision, after this is over, Matou Shinji has the right to leave untouched with his sister."

Ilyasviel was acting disinterested. "I don't see why Shirou has to help that girl…"

Carmen seemed to be having fun with Shirou's reactions. "I find Lancer's reasoning to be good, I guess I might as well lend my force to his decision." She smiled. "Besides, with things turning out like this, you won't have business with me anymore, right? Please, just look for me when you need me for yourself."

Rin was completely mute, Saber was following her Master.

"Damn it! Fine, I will leave things like this for now. But I still don't trust you."

Shinji replied Shirou's hateful stare with a smile. "I don't expect you to ever do that"

After that, they all silently started to disperse in the night. Almost miraculously, no great battle of multiple powerful beings occurred then.