Another Chapter.
Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own this, Type-moon and Hiro Mashima does
Vol.2 Chapter 1: Partnerships
"So it begins"
Lahar said as he and Doranbolt left the council chambers.
A few minutes ago, a confirmation alert on the presences of the new servant had reached their ears. With Caster's arrival, all seven of Servants were accounted for. However Lahar felt uneasiness about the recent news.
"Doranbolt, Are you sure that we couldn't get confirmation on Caster's master"
"Well, apparently our familiars where block off by the Servant as soon as he materialized into the mortal plane. Whoever is the master, clearly didn't want to be identify." Replied Doranbolt
Lahar stopped midway through the corridor, lost in thought. The whole war had been on his mind since it started but things have been strange lately.
"Hey, have you felt something been off these last few days"
"You mean with Jellal being a regular human or the unknown identity of Caster's master."
Lahar was hesitant at first to reply to Doranbolt, but since they were old friends he decided to explain his suspicions.
"It not just those two you mention but some of the other masters seem to have entered this war on special circumstances.
"Originally, Jude Heartfilia, head of the Heartfilia family, was suppose to have participated in the Grail Wars. He even summoned his Servant, Archer a few months ahead of time to secure a position. But he fell seriously ill two months ago which left him bedridden. Unable to fight in his conditions, Jude's Command Seals were transferred to his daughter, Lucy Heartfilia.
"Levy McGarden on the other hand, somehow manages to intercept a package containing the catalyst meant for her professor, Fred Justine. Beside the fact she manages to summon her Servant, it also happens that this particular catalyst was compatible with the last of the two classes."
"And last, Jellal Fernandes, a non-mage human who by chance summoned a Servant without a ritual or catalyst. Not only is that quite unbelievable, but the servant he summoned is possibly one of the strongest to date."
"It seems to me that in a normal circumstance, those particular three could never have become Master in the first place but by some certain circumstances, they all managed to have summoned a Servant in the end."
Doranbolt understood his friend's uneasiness, but this war had taken a toll on everyone and he felt that exhaustion had gotten the better of both of them.
"Come on Lahar, your just tired, it probably just coincidences that they got chosen. I mean ultimately it is the Grail who choice the Masters in each war, maybe it saw something in these people."
Lahar notices his friend trying to cheer him up from his gloom. He always did have a habit of over thinking things.
Maybe he was just tired after all.
It was late at night in Magnolia City.
Lucy had just finished her explanation to Jellal about magic and the Grail War. Jellal himself more or less had gotten the gist of her information but a more daunting question rose in his head.
"What am I going to do now?"
The question rang through his mind like a sledgehammer. He had to think about his situation as Master. How was he supposed to survive this war? Can he somehow reason with the other master? Will he have to kill someone? Can he kill someone if it comes to it?
Lucy noticed Jellal anguish as she glanced at his pale face.
"Anyway, given this odd circumstances we have, your best bet is to team up with us. Even if you have a very strong Servant, since you can't use magic you would be unable to support her and become a hindrance. So if we form a partnership of some kind, I can probably teach you a few magical spells that can help you, but in return your servant will have to fight along with Archer during the war."
Jellal looked up. He was happy about her helping him but there was still one problem with the plan.
"But I am your enemy; to win this war don't you need to kill me eventually "
Lucy frowned a bit but came up with an answer to Jellal's worries
"I don't need to kill you; I would simply have to defeat your servant to win. But the reason I decided to team up with you wasn't just out of pity that you gotten in to this mess because of me"
"But also I don't think I can win this by myself. You see, both of us need each other's strength to get through this. And don't worry, we will deal with that problem when the right times come."
Jellal felt reassured by her words. Though he did curse his current inability and uselessness, at least he wasn't alone now. He had Saber, Lucy, and even Archer helping him.
"Hm, those two are really late, I wonder what's taken them so long?" said Lucy
"If she was talking about that pastry shop about three blocks down, she probably be back by now."
Jellal then remember something he forgot to ask Lucy.
"Why did you decided to take part in this war"
Hearing his question, Lucy remembered a particularly fond memory. A memory she once had of her father, who was once a very kind man. The memory was emotional enough that she sat there silently, unable to answer.
"Lucy?"
Suddenly Jellal felt a searing pain from the strange marking on his hand. The Command Seal glowed in a radiant crimson light that covered the room. He looked up at Lucy, whose seal was also glowing. While she was also discomfort at the burning sensation, she calmly focuses the pain out of her mind.
The crimson light then burst through the air, and out came dozens of ancient symbols floating in Jellal's room. The archaic symbols came by the dozens fly through the tight space before settling on the ground and creating what looked like a magical circle beneath him and Lucy.
"What is this?" Jellal yelled in confusion
After the radiant light pulsated in the air for a minute, their circle disappeared and his room returns to normal.
As they catch their breath, Lucy replied with a huff.
"That was the activation of our Command Seals. You see, the Holy Grail Wars don't actually start until all seven of the Servants are summoned. So the Command Seal are dormant before that happens making it difficult to control our servants. But it looks like the last of them must have arrived already so the seal where awaken as a result"
"Why are these command seals so important?"
"Well, first of all it represents the Mage's absolute authority over the Servant. Without it, there's a good chance that the Servant might just kill you if he or she doesn't respect you enough."
Hearing her Word, Jellal shutter in fear for a few moments but then realize that Saber wasn't the type to kill without justification.
"Another function of the Command seal is that it can give out three Absolute Orders to your servant. If you look at your hand, you can see a number inscribed on the seal."
Jellal took a glance at the back of his hand; there he saw the number three beneath the elaborate seal.
"The seals allow you to take total control the Servant's actions using these Absolute Orders. They are extremely powerful. You can fully restrain a Servant entirely and suppress their magic if they disobey you. Or you can strengthen a Servant into accomplishing a certain task that would otherwise be impossible for them to do. But be warned, you can only use this three times and once the seal are undone, you no longer have command of your servant"
Jellal ponder his hand, realizing that this mark could have great potential use in the future.
"Master Jellal, are you are right"
He looked up and saw his servant haste through the door in a hurry.
"I just felt a surge of magic from your Command Seals; it looks like the battle will soon start."
As she rushes towards Jellal's side, the servant gave a cold glare towards Lucy. Taking a defensive stance, she put herself between the two masters and readies herself if she decided to attack them.
Jellal, immediately noticing his Servant's protective behavior of him, swiftly told her what had transpired.
"It ok Saber, I finally decided to team-up with her and form a partnership. She is our comrade now."
Saber hesitated at first. She clearly had distrust for Lucy and seems well aware of her true nature.
"Very well, since this is your will, Master, I will comply" she said as she loosens her stance.
Saber then gave a little smile on her face in anticipation of something important.
"Since we have forged an alliance between us, let us celebrate and eat the delicacy known as….."
"Strawberry cake"
Both master chuckle a bit. Apparently the Servant's fascination over the cake was apparently strong enough to erase her suspicions.
"Let me get some plates then." Jellal said as he got up and walk to his kitchen in the other room.
As Jellal left, Lucy, who was wondering about the whereabouts or her servant, was caught off guard by Saber's sudden words.
In a very harsh tone, Saber wasted no time to speak about her thoughts on Lucy.
"Even though we are working together, let me give you a warning. If you decide to betray us or if you lay a single finger or on my master or even hurt him, you will have to answer to me."
Lucy with a terrify expression on her face, try to reassure the Servant who had materialized a sword and pointed it right at her.
"I would never do such a thing"
Her words didn't faze Saber. She kept her sword up and spoke again.
"In this War, we will eventually have to fight each other. The longer this partnership goes, the harder it would be to break it. I see it in your eyes, you desires the Grail's godlike powers to fulfil your own wish and I can tell that you would do anything to meet your goals. You would stop at nothing until the Grail becomes yours and yours alone. "
Her words hit Lucy very hard; they shatter her resolve and moral like talons from an eagle. She sat on the floor speechless in the presence of the Servant. Saber may have been too harsh with her words but they had a chilling touch of some truth in them. She couldn't bear the weight of it.
Suddenly strange noise came from outside of Jellal's door. Sounds of chattering and footstep creep up to the doormat. Both Saber and Lucy jump up and ready themselves for a sudden attack.
The door swung open and a loud voice came roaring in.
"JELLAL, YOU GOT SOME NERVE FOR MISSING OUR DINNER THAT I SLAVED OVER TO COOK FOR YOU GUYS."
The angry voice belonged to one of Jellal friends and his neighbor, Millianna.
"I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE …FOR….THIS….."
Her yelling was stop short by the sight of the two beautiful girls in Jellal's apartment. Her shock left her in silence as Millianna stared wide eye at her friends "guest."
"Jellal has a girl over. No he has two girls over. He was so innocent when he was a kid but now."
Jellal who rush back into the room to calm Millianna down before she over react.
"Millianna wait I can explain this situation"
"JELLAL HAS BECOME A PLAYER."
"WHAT"
"It will start with one or two girls. Then he will have a new girl every week. Eventually he will have a harem and be surrounded by gorgeous girls in swimsuits"
Millianna quickly bolted out the door and left the apartment.
"Sorry for disturbing you guys I didn't see anything, just take care of him" she said as she rushes out to tell everyone else in the complex.
"Wally, Sho, Simon, Guess what there where girls In Jellal's room."
"What that impossible"
"I didn't know Jellal had so much dandiness in him"
"I didn't think he be interested in love or girls at all for that matter"
Jellal, who has never been this embarrassed in his life, drop to the floor and dazed over what had happen in a sea of grey.
"Jellal are you ok" yell Lucy as she tries to snap him from the recent trauma
Saber, who was oblivious as what just happen, responded.
"What a harem?"
Meanwhile Archer was experiencing sever motion sickness, when trying to swing on a nearby playground.
AN: I was hoping to add some fight scenes in this chapter, but i had so much i wanted to add that i t pretty much became a set up chapter
Anyway please review and comment and thank you for reading this crossover