"Here is my assessment," Berserker lays out the book between our collected band of misfits. Thee pages are blank – apparently the scab wasn't enough this last go' round. I reach down to sit but glance up to awkwardly see both Archer and Lancer standing, arms folded, still as reluctant as hell to bother with this guy. So I stand unenthusiastically at my place beside Archer.
Berserker doesn't notice.
"The only vary this journal allows the world access to its contents is thorough exposure to its original proprietor's blood. Unfortunately, we are restricted to a somewhat similar karyotype, and it only allows exposure to the pages for a brief lapse."
"We know that already," Lancer notes dully, eyes on me (and my cheeks ravishingly red, thanks to his dashing/passive-aggressive looks). Berserker rubs his chin and adjusts his glasses. "Ah, well, yes, indeed you do. But have you prior knowledge on the incantation?" Berserker's keen blue-green eyes fall on me. "The incantation by your brother was nearly perfect, but still royally flawed in the same context as the parameter of the moleskin."
I don't quite follow, and Berserker notices this immediately.
"I was intending to, in every honesty, hopefully derive a way that we could handle this situation without involving you. I apologize," He turns to the other Servants "But I cannot find a way to prevail without the continued involvement of her young presence."
"Wait, you're trying to get rid of me?" I'm not shocked really, but embarrassed and somewhat pissed. Why am I so mad right now? It's totally justified…
"The Caster of this madness sent two to kill you. We can't abandon you back on your doorstep and expect you to live," Lancer reasons, sharp, jasper eyes still on Takao's journal, "But is we can prevent you from entering the battle field, that would be ideal."
"What, you think I can't defend myself?"
"Idiot girl, you can't defend yourself." Archer's sharp tongue lashes out, his eyes closed as he grips his biceps tightly. "You would do nothing but hold us back, which, apparently, we're stuck with because your idiot brother-"
"Don't you dare insult Takao!" I shout furiously, surprising myself. "He did more than his fair share of trying to solve all of this, you-!"
"Enough." Lancer rubs his brow, tired and frustrated by our head-butting. "Continue, Berserker."
Dr. Jekyll nods, proud of Lancer's trust in him for evasion of the awkwardness. I step away from Archer, steam blowing out my ears.
"In the same sense, the incantation is a parody of the original summoning for the Holy Grail War. Since he devised the incantation, he was able to embed his personal mana into it. Putting it into words is difficult, but only those carrying his genotype are capable of accurately casting the spell. An imprint, forsay, to prevent the incantation from falling into the wrong hands. So, if I were to repeat it verbatim, nothing will occur."
Since no one has any questions, he continues.
"Now, our present mistress is plausibly capable of casting the incantation, but alas it itself is imperfect. The one responsible for this mayhem has, in a metaphoric sense, placed a lock on the Grail itself. Now, as we are all Servants, byproducts of the Grail, the incantation registered within us, as we are materialized here not by individual Masters, but by the energy stimulated by the Grail. In all likelihood, the tie the binds you to the Grail is also what is allowing us all to know your location."
"So, if I'm getting this right," I kneel beside him and inspect the blank pages. "Takao's spell didn't shut down or… counteract the Grail… instead it… it impacted every Servant that was summoned?"
"Yes – not entirely, but accurately." He smiles fondly, a teacher proud of his student. "It must have had a particular effect on the caster of this madness, but alas I cannot simply ask them what it is. However, it is easy to assume you impacted that person greatly."
"Actually, now that I think about it," they all look expectantly at me. "Right after I said it, I could almost… I don't know… I could almost feel someone else inside my head." They all nod as if being violated on such a personal level is normal.
"Now, if this all is the case – heed me, this is but my speculations – then a pathway between yourself and the other is linked. That is how they can still tell where you are, roughly so, but with my being present, they cannot pinpoint your exactly location."
"How does that work exactly? Is it your Noble Phantasm?" Archer asks/accuses (that dick, so sure of himself).
Lancer looks patiently at me, almost as a father would. "A noble phantasm is a particularly powerful tool each of us has." He explains. I give an ohhhhh and look at Berserker for his response. Of all the things, he chuckles despite himself.
"The, well, in truth it is not, but a radiating ability as a sort of side-effect of my noble phantasm. Some of my fellow men will argue that what is present is not thy true self, but alas, visions are but subject to the poet's mind's eye." He scratches his chin again, a cheeky smile on his lips. "This negative aura prevents my present location from being detected, masking me as a bystander instead of a Servant, and those within my space are inadvertently deemed invaluables as well."
"That is an illusive characteristic of the Assassins class," Lancer muses. Dr. Jekyll shrugs. "Indeed, but I am no assassin." He runs a thin finger across the blank pages. "Now, as you are the only one who can trigger the novella to reveal itself, and you are the only one that currently holds the key closest to the original shape.
The incantation was originated through what would appear to be a blood-bond; your brother was a practical fellow, with all of these gene-related locks."
"He didn't want anyone to cheat and steal his notes."
"Ah, yes, the university life is a treacherous one. Well, the spell unfortunately will only work by your word."
"So all she needs to do is repeat it, again?"
"No – the Grail itself is still under lock and key of the mastermind behind this darkened day. All you will likely do is strengthen the pseudo-physical bond between yourself and our foe." He hands me some broken glass, and I instinctively reach to cut my fingertip. Once a fat drop silently falls to the open page, Takao's research slowly appears. "Now, I have revised your brother's incantation, but there is a catch." Berserker raises his head up to look at the other Servants. "While I do not know how to perfect it, I found a way to establish a blood-driven reaction between her, the Grail, and the enemy." He pauses and pushes the journal closer to me. "If you say the incantation with my annotations, your physical contact to the enemy will render the Holy Grail and its manifestation null and void."
"NO," Its Archer, cold as ever. "This isn't good enough. We can't let her near whoever is behind this."
"I apologize, but alas 'tis all I can do." Berserker clearly feels taken back, but he isn't about to take shit from Archer after working so hard to be an equal on this team. A silence falls on our little circle.
Now what?
"Well, something's better than nothing" I try weakly. "All I have to do is repeat your version and touch the big bad? Sounds good to me."
"Yes well, there is a catch, as I noted before."
Lancer kneels down, a hand on his knotted brow. "This mess is far more trouble than I initially expected," he peers up and focuses on the group's only real mage. "If what you said wasn't the catch, it is safe to assume this may be out of our current capabilities. What is it?"
"The incantation is a summoning. In order to prepare her body circuits and her natural reserve of mana, she must do this variation; this variation, however, is a summoning. Now," He perks up before Archer can open his mouth. "We needn't summon the Servant we believe to be behind it all. Any servant will do… beyond those she has already come into physical contact with."
"This is pointless," Archer snaps. "We have a greater chance ambushing them and taking down the mastermind alone. We don't need to attempt and involve this girl." I boil from my place on the ground; I can feel my cheeks burning up. Lancer frowns aggressively at Archer, a brow raised. "While I respect your ambition, nameless man, I respectfully disagree with you. How can the three of us take them on, without any back up? There is no doubt they have already secured some sort of stronghold for a base, and it is highly unlikely that we alone could take down Caster, if it is, indeed, Caster. I myself am no mage. They have a shadow-manipulating Assassin which I cannot name, and the most honorable and noble class, Saber, is a honorless demon clad in war intentions. I am confident in my ability, as I am a soldier unparalleled, but I am not one who can take them all down alone. Neither are you, from what I can tell, and since you refuse to tell us about yourself."
"Telling you who I am would be nothing but a waste of time."
"How are we to win a war without knowing our weapons?" Lancer barks, finally on his breaking point with this jackass. His orange eyes narrow. "Do you have a better plan?""
Archer glares at us all. "There is no way we can get this idiot to touch the Caster, let alone expect to keep her safe from another Servant. And how can we trust this so-called resource?"
"Again, do you have a better plan?" Lancer stands back up, throwing his face inches from Archer's.
Shit, its an explosive – no, it's a radioactive – battle of wits here.
"We front-force an attack on every servant that opposes us."
"Surviving that is easier said than done," Lancer reminds Archer. "We lack any Master capable of providing medical mana to us. Besides, you barely got away from Saber on your own." His head is cocked to the side, a brow raised.
"I was testing Saber."
"Set your pride aside, unnamed man, and face the facts. No matter the plan we agree upon, it will be a treacherous one." Argument aside, our circle falls silent.
"The servants were looking for me, right?" I venture, taking my time to look each person in the eye. "IF that's the case, chances are I'm of some value to the mastermind here. But… just as a quick question, me being normal and all… haven't I met all you Servants so far? We could summon the nightmare lady or Saber and ambush them."
"Not before they kill you; besides, a Servant must answer the summoning to appear."
"And you, if I am correct, have yet to meet but one."
Everyone faces Berserker. "It is safe to assume Caster is associated heavily with all of this, but what of the Rider-class Servant?"
Everyone's eyes fall deep into thought. Lancer seems considerate of the idea, head cocked and brows raised; maybe he's thinking this could actually work.
"How much time do we have to decide on this? Can any of you guys… I dunno, sense when Caster will strike next?"
"I think the biggest element of time we have to work against is our own permeability."
"Sorry?" It was Lancer that spoke last, his hand still cupping his chin, eyes lost in thought. He blinks, only partly focused on answering my question. "Servants can only last so long without Masters to supply us with prana. I have been here nearly a full day already – I can only imagine that I will retain this form for another twenty-four hours or so."
I gulp; we have, what, a day to solve all of this? There's no way the world can be saved in one afternoon.
I look up. The sky has reached a new level of darkness. But if we don't act fast, then who knows what'll happen to these guys? To me? They'll be gone and I'll be fighting this by myself? Maybe I should step out now… let someone else take over…
"You guys would just disappear?"
No one seems to hear me – I guess it's supposed to be common knowledge or something.
"In the Holy Grail War I was in, the Rider class Servant was a royal buffoon; a good man make no mistake, but a few nodes short of reasonable. Evenso," Lancer meets my eyes. "Alliancing ourselves with him would be more than beneficial."
"There is no guarantee it is the same man summoned now," Archer argues. (I'm starting to get the impression that all Archer's good for is playing Devil's Advocate). "That would be convenient, but the Rider in my Holy War was a nuisance of a woman. She died before she formed any alliances, but she was a poor choice for a Heroic Spirit."
Berserker's head is down as he muses. "If I am correct, the Grail War I partake in actually… has yet to occur."
"How the hell does that happen?"
"The Grail exists between time and relative dimensions in space. Time and various realities are all… well, relative terms."
"Then you don't know you're Rider?"
"No… not really. Sorry." He smiles boyishly.
Again, silence.
I sigh and trace the books blank pages. "Why not?" I can feel their eyes bleed into me. "If we don't try this, it's a missed opportunity. If we do try it, there is the potential of me being killed, but that's an option anywhere you look. And this can really help in the long run if all I have to do is punch the big bad at the end of the day. Rider doesn't, as far as we know, have any association with those guys. If we fight, we fight. But it looks like a Rider-class Servant could help us out. My vote's for us going forward with this."
"Agreed," Lancer stands up and leans on his Gae Buidhe. "It is the most logical decision."
Berserker smiles. "I am pleased to hear you accept my thinking. I will put myself on the line for this – if we succeed, we will save this time and place for me to win a day in the future."
We all look at our resident sourpuss. "Well, Archer?"
He pouts and turns away. Finally, he drops his arms to his sides. "Fine. But I am not letting this good-for-nothing girl out of my sight."
"Fine, dick." I'm so tired of him, I don't even care anymore. Still, he insulted Takao. "Just keep your dirty mouth to yourself."
"What does that mean?"
"You know what I mean," Boldly, I stand and face him unflinching. "You have no right to speak so disrespectfully of my brother. You do it again and I'll-"
"You'll what? Slap my wrists? Kill me?" I hesitate, almost taking a step back.
.
Almost.
.
"I'll kill myself." I assert aggressively without thinking. Even he is taken back by the suggestion. Several mouths open but nothing registers with me. I take a step closer to Archer. "You don't control me. Besides, you're hardly even real right now, let alone valuable in today's world. It doesn't matter who you are, you have no right to speak of my brother like that." I jam a thumb in my chest. "And if your bitchy existence here is all about controlling me, I'm the only one with the key to that. I'll kill myself and your goal will be done for. Stop acting all high and mighty, you son of a bitch."
.
.
.
He smiles.
He turns to Berserker. "What do we need for this to work."
.
.
.
Actual update, as promised.