"What game should we play with them today, Alice?" The white clad Alice said happily, as she and her Servant strolled around Saber and I. We looked at them, Saber's eyes on whom she thought was the Servant, my eyes on who I thought was the Master.
"I dunno, Alice, what do you think they want to play?" The black clad Alice asked, smiling at us.
Saber sighed, her crimson blade at her side. She told me countless times what it was called, but I couldn't, for the life of me, remember it. Whether she bored me to sleep while she explained the history of the sword, which could in itself be a book, or the fact that in war like this I couldn't rack my memory enough to find it. All I know is, it was Latin.
"I suggest that we play a little..."she started, clearing her throat, gripping the hilt of her blade. "...some more adult." She smirked.
"Something more adult?" Both Caster and her Master said, standing against each other, and thankfully, a good distance away.
Saber nodded, taking the girls' innocence to an advantage point. Luckily for me, Saber was the Servant, I would have waited for Caster to attack. In a sudden burst of speed and power, Saber pushed off the ground, using her momentum to unleash a powerful break attack. I smiled a bit, though it felt bittersweet.
Alice giggled. "Dragon Skillet!" She sang happily, doing a small, odd dance. Before Saber's attack could connect, a whirling inferno dropped onto Saber, stopping her in her tracks. Between the oddly matching colors of the fire and Saber's dress, I couldn't tell where she was, all I heard was her groan in pain. She tried to get up, only to find her legs wouldn't cooperate with her will, force my Servant to fall to her knees.
"It's not nice to cheat, Miss." The black-clad Alice said. She giggled again, playfully.
Saber growled and quickly got to her feet, gripping her blade. "You attacked me from above...you say that's not cheating?" Saber yelled. The two Alice's simply giggled it off.
"But you cheated first!" The white-clad Alice said.
There was a small pulse of energy that suddenly rang out from the Servant Alice. "White Queen's Enigma!" She sang, an aura glowing around her.
"...oh joy." Saber sighed. She used the opening to, as she always did, make herself appear fancy and flashy, and by that, I mean she woul-
"Fount of the Saint! Fount of the Healer!" Saber yelled as her own, red aura pulsed.
Yea...that. It's like she knew what I was thinking of, but then again we were supposed to be in tune.
"Ooooh! Miss wants to play still!" The white-clad Alice cheered happily. She began to dance again.
Saber's battle knowledge, which was extremely, extremely limited against Caster, kicked in and she threw up her guard.
"We're not playing hide-and-seek!" The Servant Alice said. She, like her Master, did a small dance, making two, small, heart-shaped familiars appearing in front of her. "Frenzied March Hare!" She sang, a whirlwind appearing around Saber.
"Hah! Like this an affect me!" She smirked, literally weathering the storm. My smile grew more, but it quickly changed. Saber was thrown off balance and the wind tore at her.
Saber fell to her knees once more, panting. I quickly activated my Heal Code Cast to give her back what stamina she lost.
Alice, the black dressed one, giggled and summoned a small ball of light in her hand. "Now, play nice Miss!" She said, hint of anger in her voice. That was the first time I heard her angry in any way, heck, any emotion other than joy and bliss. She hurled the ball at Saber, with oddly great force at that. Saber recoiled back as the ball hit her. She groaned in pain. How was a Caster's normal attacks so strong?
Saber bite her lip and rose to her feet slowly. She felt heavier, panting heavily at that.
"What...did you do to me?" She growled through her teeth. "Never mind, just let me cut off those arms of your so you can't use any more magic!" Saber rushed, or, thought she rushed. She was actually slowly walking, and when Saber noticed, it was a bit too late, another massive ball of light pelting her in the face. My servant tumbled over, using her blade to get back on her feet. Her panting got worse. In response, I did what I could, yet again: Heal Code Caster. Being a Master from the sidelines without any way to fight, man, I felt useless.
Saber growled, her energy returning, though she still looked weighed down. "That's it!" She yelled, her sword glowing. She held it above herself, holding it to the sky as it shattered into a cloud of feathers. She twirled around in them, chanting something.
"By the gods that circle above the land I lived upon, grant me the power of the orb of life that hangs above. Thrice-Setting Sun!"
She took her stance as her twirl was over, her sword reforming in her clasped palms. Funny thing, she looked pretty cute doing her twirl...jeez if Saber would have heard me say that I would have been yelled at for hours.
Saber smirked. "Now...care to fight?" She asked, twirling her blade and moving her bangs out of her face. I knew what she was doing.
"Veil of Petals!" I heard her yell as she rushed at the black-clad Caster.
"Where did the lady go, Alice?" The Master asked, looking around
"I...I don't know, Alice!" The Servant replied, looking around as well.
"Behind you." Saber calmly said, watching the black-clad Alice turn, only to find that she was tricked. "Children should not be on the battlefield..." Saber sighed as she slashed at Alice's back.
I heard the Servant scream in pain. Never once before have I felt my heart want to rip itself in half from it. I had to use every fiber of my being to not use a Command Seal to stop Saber. I just watched the battle from the sidelines.
"You understand why now, right?" Saber yelled, jamming her crimson blade into the ground. She grasped the hilt and spun around, using the momentum to throw a mighty kick to the rival Servant's side.
I need to ask her something: We NEVER train unless she wants to, she tells me to stay back and watch her fight, doing the SAME moves over, and over, and over...and NOW of all the times, she starts to get fancy! I would waver between applauding her skill, ripping my hair out, or simply toning her out: All of which would anger her even more. I couldn't win in a verbal argument with my Servant, but when it comes to the battlefield, I think I had the upper hand.
Saber laughed as she spun on her hilt, grabbing the blade as she landed and twirling it into a proper. "Fount of the Saint!" She yelled. Another thing I needed to talk to her about: her Prana consumption rate. She has no regard for how I feel afterwords.
The white-clad Alice panicked. I seen her hold her hands out to her Servant. "March of the Black Tea!" She said, an odd, tea-colored aura appearing around the Servant Alice.
"T-thank you Alice..." She said as she slowly stood up from Saber's relentless assault. If only she had acted quicker.
"Artillery Applause!" Saber yelled, saving her more powerful skill for the end of the battle. She shouldered Alice, knocking her off balance. "And...have fun fading away into nothing!" Saber yelled as she dragged her blade down across Caster's chest, then up at an angle.
I cringed as Caster let out a extremely painful scream. I felt so bad for her.
In another panic, I heard the Master call out. 'Dragon's Skillet!" The inferno engulfed Saber, but it was too late, the attack had finished.
Saber laughed as the swirling embers died down, walking back to me. Oddly...the wall did appear yet.
"March of the Black Tea!" The rival Master yelled, panicked still. She watched as Caster slowly rose to her feet.
"...pesky vermin." Saber sighed. She twirled her blade, not willing to waste anymore time. "Veil of Petals." She said, vanishing from sight with her speed. The only way I knew she returned was when the black-clad Alice yelled her final, pain filled scream. My Servant appeared next to me, the massive red wall appearing between us, declaring the fight to be over. I watched the Master hurried to her Servant.
"I'm so sorry Alice..." The Master said, keeling down and taking her Servant's hands. The Master started to grow black, like the data she was made of was being eaten alive. Her Servant, on the other hand, wasn't.
"Don't be sorry, Alice...we had fun, right?" Caster smiled.
I bit my lip. Three people, three innocent people...their blood was on my hands.
The Alice Master nodded. "We...we did." She smiled. "But...I want to play forever. I don't want to do anything else." She said. If Alice was crying, I couldn't see, but from her movement, she was sobbing.
Saber sighed, her blade against her side, arms crossed over her chest. She was unphased by this, then again, she seen war for much longer than I have, which was only three weeks.
The two girls kept talking, until ultimately, the white-clad Alice vanished, leaving her Servant. Alice looked at us.
"...thank you for playing with us, Mister. You made Alice and Alice, very happy." She smiled before she vanished from sight.
I found myself back at my private room after the battle. My stomach was in a knot, and neither Saber or myself could look at each other. She knew how I felt: I had aided in the death of three people, three innocent people. Yea, Shinji was annoying, but he didn't deserve to die.
"If you can't stomach this now, Master, I suggest you leave the War." Saber said as she took her seat at her homemade throne.
Leave? Give up? Despite what happened, I've come too far to give up. I need to keep fighting, no matter what the cost.