CHAPTER 10:
THE WITCH, THE WIZARD, AND THE WORM
Medea of Colchis found herself sympathising with Sakura Matou, formerly Sakura Tohsaka. She certainly found her more lovable than Rin. Then again, maybe that was because Rin grew up in privilege, somewhat bratty. Plus, Rin and Medea were both women with strong egos, so said egos clashing was to be expected.
Sakura, though, was more quiet and demure. She reminded Medea of herself when she was about the same age, though Sakura was, well, broken. Medea hadn't been broken, not truly, until Jason turned on her. Everything else, her fratricide, the suspicion and contempt of most of the Argonauts, she could have borne.
The Fujimura woman was interesting, if annoying. Medea knew that her sanitised version of her legend had brought some favour from the energetic teacher. Though the woman's insinuations that Medea may be a 'cougar' were immensely irritating: the Grail gave her some knowledge of the idioms of this time period, after all.
Anyway, once the Tiger had been fed and slunk off home, Medea went to work, analysing Sakura's body while Harry and Shirou looked on. What she found there was appalling, to say the least. Zouken Matou had instantly shot to the top of her shitlist (Jason and Aphrodite being excluded on account of being dead, though if Jason was summoned as a Servant, she would not be held responsible for her actions) for what he did to his adopted granddaughter. She swore quietly in ancient Greek, even as she took a sample of blood for more detailed analysis.
And then, she saw things that complicated matters. Finishing the scan, she sat back, and muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I need some strong drink. The good news is, given time, I can convert the Crest Worms into a benign Magic Crest. The bad news is that there's more than Crest Worms inside you, Sakura, and while I can deal with one of the issues, there's an unknown factor."
"What is it, Caster?" Sakura asked.
Medea gently poked Sakura in the sternum, between her breasts. "You have a Crest Worm right next to your heart. That would be bad enough, if it weren't for the fact that it has a phylactery inside it."
"A what?" Shirou asked.
"A soul receptacle," Medea said. "I'd be willing to bet that that foul canker of a soul fragment I found in my analysis is that of Zouken Matou. But that could be an opportunity. If I modified the ritual accordingly, not only could I purge his soul from your body, Sakura, but indeed purge it entirely from existence, send it to the Root where it belongs. That being said…there's something else within your body. Something that seems very like whatever tainted the park. Though how it came to be inside you…I'm not sure I can purge it from your body, not without triggering it coming to life."
"A soul fragment?" Harry muttered. "He really is like Voldemort. Caster, can you at least prevent whatever that taint is from taking Sakura over?"
"I can try," Medea said. "Suppression rather than removal seems like the safer option. I'm sorry I can't help you in any other way, Sakura."
"Thank you anyway, Caster," Sakura said with a sad smile, filled with pain.
"I appreciate the gratitude, but it was your brother who persuaded me to help you," Medea said.
"All the same, thank you, Caster," Shirou said. "I don't want Sakura to suffer any more."
"Life is suffering, boy," Medea retorted. "There is needless suffering, like that Sakura or yourself have gone through, as well as myself and my Master, but life is suffering even without the needless pain. You cannot relieve it all."
"You'd have a hard time persuading Shirou of that," Harry remarked. "He wants to be a Hero of Justice. Saving everybody he can."
Medea had heard about it from Harry before, but seeing the earnest, determined expression on Shirou's face, she could certainly believe it. She couldn't help but laugh scornfully. Hero of Justice? How absurd. On seeing Shirou's bemused look, she shook her head. "My apologies, but I've had bad experiences with so-called heroes. I tolerate Harry because he trusts me in spite of my past."
"You were hurt?" Shirou asked.
"I fell in love with a so-called hero, and he tore my heart from my chest, Shirou Emiya," Medea said, glaring at the boy. "What I told your guardian was not far from the truth about my life. Do not misunderstand me, your earnest nature in helping Sakura is heartening. If anything, I am jealous that she had someone to save her…when I did not. But heroism and villainy are far from absolute values. A hero to one may be a villain to another."
"Remember your father, Shirou," Harry said. Shirou had learned the truth about his father during Zelretch's time in Fuyuki. "To you, he was the best father you could have. To most who knew of him, he was feared as the Magus Killer."
"I know, but…" Shirou began, only for Medea to interrupt him.
"Quiet, and listen, boy," she said quietly. "I am told you know of Harry's past. Use him as an example of the pitfalls and perils of being a hero. Use your own father's life as an example of what not to do. And with the Holy Grail War coming, you may see other heroes. Just remember something, Shirou Emiya: there are never any happily ever afters for heroes. And justice…it is as subjective as heroism. There was never any justice for me in my life. Just scorn and contempt and hatred. And think about your friends before you hare off and get yourself killed for some cause. Think about how they'd feel about your death." Her eyes looked pointedly at Sakura when she said that.
"Caster's right. Don't get me wrong, sacrificing yourself is noble, but it should be a last resort, not a first resort," Harry said. "I know you place little value on your own life, Shirou…but others place more than you do. Besides…remember what I said about sending you to be Primate Murder's plaything if you break Sakura's heart."
Shirou nodded hastily, but added, "I'll prove you wrong, Caster. I will show you that heroes can exist, like the one who should have been there for you instead of the one who broke your heart…"
"He's a fool, but a passionate one," Medea remarked as they walked home, escorting Sakura. "I believe you are both blessed and cursed to have one such as him as a boyfriend."
"Shirou is Shirou," Sakura said with a sad smile.
"At least he's better than most Magi," Harry said.
"I'll grant you that if nothing else. Though if the Grail decides to rope him in, he'll probably get himself killed defending his own Servant. Still, at least his mana flow should be adequate for most Servants. I presume that he is off the 'kill list', correct?"
"If he ends up as a Master, yes," Harry said firmly. "Speaking of killings, did you see those reports? Someone killing people with a blade or a spear? I'd bet it's Lancer's doing. Sakura, if you see a blue-haired man wielding a big red spear, run. Or better yet…where would you rather have a Portkey to? Matou Manor, or our place?"
"I…with you," she said.
"Right." Harry fumbled in his pockets for an object he could enchant, and used the charm on it, before handing it to Sakura, who pocketed it. "When you need to, infuse a bit of your magic into it, and say, in English, 'No Place Like Home'. It'll feel unpleasant, but frankly, I know your threshold for that would be pretty high."
"Thank you. But…I don't know whether that's possible," she said.
By this point, they had reached the Matou Manor. And this time, for the first time, Zouken Matou had not only left the manor, but was waiting at the gate. For the first time, Harry saw Zouken properly. And he knew that this man didn't deserve to be in this world for any longer.
On first impression, he just seemed like an ancient, decrepit man, his wrinkled skin grey and hairless. However, his eyes were sinister white dots on a black void, peering out at the three in a calculating manner. His voice was an ancient rasp, though polite enough. "Good evening, Mr Potter," Zouken rasped. "A pleasure to finally meet you."
"You must be Zouken Matou," Harry said, as civilly as he could manage.
"Indeed. I'd offer you hospitality if you wish, even at this late hour. I am curious about the young man who seems to have taken up residence with Miss Tohsaka. I even heard that you claim distant relations to my family through our Russian ancestors. Genealogy is a fascinating subject. And this is…?"
"Megissa," Medea said, trying hard not to show her displeasure at being so close to him.
"I see," Zouken said. "Go inside, Sakura, dear."
The term of endearment was blatantly false, but Sakura hurried inside, shooting them anxious looks as she did so. After she entered, Zouken, while still maintaining a friendly and polite demeanour, seemed to take off a mask. "Those potions Zelretch gave her are quite something, aren't they? I'll admit, Sakura has improved in great leaps and bounds since she learned under the Wizard Marshall, so much so that I haven't trained her personally lately, beyond having her study. I'm actually inclined to forgive your meddling in family affairs."
"She is family to me," Harry said, snarling at Zouken in contempt, who merely laughed jeeringly.
"Not anymore, not since that fool Tokiomi sold her to me. How does it feel, to know your father was a callous piece of work?"
"Let's put it this way…if he had survived the previous Grail War, I may have killed him myself," Harry said grimly. "But he didn't know about what you did to her, did he?"
"Of course he didn't. He was a trusting fool." He cocked his head questioningly. "You seriously don't think you can save her, can you? I've only let this farce go on long enough because it is futile, and she will break no matter what you do. Even with a Servant by your side…Caster, I am sure, you cannot win. Though there is something you could do. I will give you the same offer I gave Kariya. Win the Grail for me, and I will let Sakura leave."
"Oh, really?" Medea asked, raising an eyebrow. "And why would you be so altruistic?"
"It's not the place of ghosts whose time has passed to question the living, Servant," Zouken sneered.
"Funny. I could say the same thing about you," Medea retorted.
Harry gently held up a hand. "I'll consider it, Zouken Matou. Come on, Caster. The atmosphere of hospitality here is overwhelming…"
As they left, Medea sent through their link, "You cannot possibly be considering his offer."
"Of course not. Zouken just thought we've taken the bait," Harry sent back. "He thinks I will turn on Rin. Still, he hasn't thrown her into that worm pit since she finished with Zelretch. He's biding his time for the potions to finish and her body ready to accept more Crest Worms. But why allow her to continue?"
"He wants to break her. He said it himself. I think it's related to that signature I found within Sakura, the one like the park…oh no. Oh no, no, no!"
"What's wrong, Medea?"
"We need to hurry. Let's get back to your home and get Rin…"
Rin, who had been working on some gems in her Workshop, hadn't been amused when she had been dragged to Harry and Medea's shared Workshop. She had been even less amused when Harry relayed what happened in their conversation. "You're not accepting that offer, are you?" she asked.
"Of course not," Harry said, as Medea bustled around in what looked like a near-panic, rechecking her soil samples, working on the blood sample she took from Sakura, and conjuring a scroll out of the air. "We can't trust Zouken. And we've nearly got that ritual ready. The problem is, if a Master is always selected from the Matous, it's going to be either him or Sakura. Maybe even both. He knows she's a Caster."
"Yeah, speaking of which, isn't it past time that you told me who she is?" Rin said. "Look, if I do get chosen as a Master…we'll sign a geas. We can work it out that we won't take any action against each other until the final stages of the Grail War. Quite frankly, I could do with someone I trust to watch my back. I may not trust Caster, beyond her helping Sakura, but I trust you, Harry."
"It's wise not to trust me, Rin," Medea said as she conjured another scroll. "Especially given my reputation. Besides, we Caster Servants have to fight dirty. We are the weakest of the Servants, physically, after all. Now, quiet a moment…"
"What's actually wrong?" Harry demanded.
Medea merely peered at the two scrolls, before allowing them to shimmer back into non-existence. "No, no, no…" she muttered. "This complicates matters."
"What complicates matters?" Rin demanded.
Medea fixed Rin with a steely look. "It's not enough that that decrepit old worm infested your sister with those foul things masquerading as familiars, or that he's breaking her psychologically. He's done something…well, I hope I'm wrong. I sincerely hope I am wrong. Analysing her blood is still ongoing."
"Caster," Harry said. "What's the matter?"
Medea shook her head. "I hope I'm wrong, I truly do…but…remember how I said that the signature within her felt somewhat like the park?"
"Yeah, what about it? You said there was a taint or something."
"More than a taint." She gestured at the blood sample, and another scroll appeared, floating in the air. "I need more time to do an in-depth analysis, but already, I'm coming to some disturbing conclusions. There's material that may have come from some sort of Homunculus in there, along with something that, if I didn't know any better, matches the signature of the Grail."
Rin caught on more quickly than Harry, and her face morphed into an expression of absolute horror. "Please tell me you're joking. Please tell me this is some sick, twisted joke."
"What is it?" Harry demanded.
"Remember what you learned about the Grail War, Harry," Rin said. "The von Einzberns always provide the Lesser Grail, a vessel that is filled with the essences of the slain Heroic Spirits. The Lesser Grail proper is a spiritual object, only Servants can interact with it, but maybe after it was destroyed in the previous Grail War, the remnants were able to be salvaged. But what Caster is saying…"
Medea nodded, before she made a pronouncement like a solemn declaration of doom. "Yes, I know. Zouken Matou may be trying to turn Sakura into his version of the Lesser Grail."
CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:
Oh shit. That can't be good.
Incidentally, sorry for the delay in posting, but the review system was playing up. Again. So I couldn't read the latest reviews to figure out which ones needed answering. That being said, up to Chapter 16 is finished.
Also, the latest chapters to my Overlord crossovers are up. That's my Potterverse crossover Yield to the Darkness, and my Red vs Blue crossover Xenagogy for Belligerent AIs and Dungeon Denizens.
Review-answering time! Okay, I'll be honest. I'm more than a little annoyed at a couple of reviewers thinking that I should write the story the way they want to. Newsflash: you ain't the writer of this story. I am. Keep this in mind, please.
Wrath of the Sun God: I presume it's Gilgamesh.
Sillvog: True, but Medea's problem was mostly with Aphrodite. In Gorgon and Thanatos, where Harry is paired with Medusa, he rails against Athena as well. Harry even says earlier that the goddesses were either spiteful, baby factories, or both (and Athena certainly fills the first category).
NecrorexSparda Juubi-n-Kishin: I both pity Angra Mainyu, given his background, and despise what he puts the various characters through.
Gabriel Herrol: Oh, they're going to sleep together sooner rather than later. While Medea seduces Harry for pragmatic reasons (they do the deed the day before Rin summons Archer, just in case they have a hostile Servant, so Medea has extra reserves of mana to fight them), and their coupling is more lust than love, Harry and Medea are honest enough about their feelings that there's something more beginning.
Jostanos: No, though Medea of the Potterverse, in my mind, was similar to the Nasuverse Medea.
No numbered annotations this time.