AN: Right, a couple of things to address here. First off, sorry it's taken so long, but I have been so out of ideas recently that it's not funny. Secondly, a certain BladeofHell56 has started writing a 'reading of' Fate's Gamble, read by the Round Two characters. There's not much up yet, but I'm looking forward to reading it! Thirdly, a big thank you to Lonewolf685 for coming up with the aspect names in this chapter, and just to note, Ruinous Aegis' physical appearance is mostly based off Yurine from the Karas anime, if you needed a reference. Fourthly... do I have a fourth thing to say? I think I'm forgetting something here. Oh well, I'm sure it wasn't too important, and if it was, I'll find some way to mention it next chapter. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Beta'd by: NIX'S WARDEN
Chapter 16 – First Conflict
Kiritsugu couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with this war. To start with, at least two of the Servants did not seem to be taking it at all seriously, and two more seemed to not understand that victory was to be achieved by any means necessary.
Rider and Avenger seemed far too laid back to be considered true participants, and even now one of them was arguing with Lancer's master, while the other one was sharing popcorn with Kiritsugu's own wife, while watching the scene in front of him!
Kiritsugu despised people like Arturia and Diarmuid, and he believed that legend's like theirs, ones that glorified war and fighting, were some of the most sickening things the human race had ever produced. There was no glory in war, there was no joy, and no reason to take pride in it. War was nothing more than a means for humanity to limit their own population growth, and a foolish thing altogether.
The fact the two of them wished to fight 'honourably' set his teeth on edge. While Kiritsugu did believe that both Arturia and Diarmuid would fight fair – to a certain extent at least, the Lancer's trick against Avenger when he dropped his other spear did count against him – did either of them truly believe that he or Kayneth would not act to ensure their victory over the other?
Kiritsugu's attention was caught by movement from below, and not from the argument going on between Rider and Lancer's master. He froze completely as he saw that the movement he'd noticed was Avenger tilting his head to 'look' directly at Kiritsugu and grin.
xxxxx
'Is it wise to antagonise the Magus Killer so? He truly is the most dangerous participant in this war, and I include the Servants in that.' Serial Phantasm mentally asked Harry.
'Don't worry about me.' Harry replied. 'True, his origin bullets could rip apart my magic circuits just like they could anyone else's, but I've got a divine barrier set up around myself specifically designed to stop his bullets, and while his bullets can cut magecraft, the same is not true of divinity.'
Harry listened in as Helel chatted with Irisviel, and used the distraction to have a thin tentacle emerge from his back unnoticed, and slip across to Irisviel, where it cast a localised numbing charm on her, before cutting her skin and collecting a blood sample from the homunculus woman.
'Dream, is this enough blood for you to use as a base for a lesser grail?' Harry asked his aspect of curiosity.
'It should be, but a little more wouldn't go amiss.' DoD replied.
The tentacle gathered some more blood, before healing Irisviel's wound and removing the charm. It then released the blood sample into a vial, which immediately dissolved into shadows, only to reappear inside his Soul World in Dream or Destruction's hand.
The tentacle, it's job done, sank back into Harry's skin.
'There, now we can create a lesser grail to replace Irisviel with, taking care of any Servants that die in this war. If only fixing her body could be as subtle.' Harry mentally sighed.
'We're probably going to have to kidnap her for that.' Serial Phantasm commented. 'If nothing else, such an action will help move this war along.'
'Yeah, without Caster to summon his tentacle monster, only Rider is the type to really make waves in this war.' Shadow of the Heart snorted. 'Gilgamesh is happy with Enkidu, Kiritsugu is the stealthy sort, having Diarmuid beaten down like this will make Kayneth go to ground, Kariya doesn't have the strength for a prolonged assault, and Jack is killing off all of the assassins with ease.'
Harry didn't reply to that, fully aware that without anything to draw the Servants out into the open, the war would turn into a game of cat and mouse, and only Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine really had the appropriate skills necessary to track their opposition down.
Harry tilted his head to Irisviel, who was munching happily on popcorn, and asked her. "So, I'm guessing your husband is really Saber's master?"
She jumped in surprise, turning to the currently four-armed Servant. Harry raised an eyebrow above his cloth blindfold and indicated the back of both of her hands, neither of which had command seals on them. He then nodded his head towards where Kiritsugu was hiding, showing her he knew exactly what was going on.
"Would you believe me if I said no?" Irisviel countered.
Harry laughed lightly. "Fair point. Still, isn't it a bit risky having you out in the open like this? You can't use a command seal to summon Saber if you're in trouble, and no offence, but you're really not capable of defending yourself from a Servant. Saber can't protect you completely, even doing so reduces her combat ability, and it only takes one sneaky Servant to take you out while she's otherwise occupied."
"I suppose so." Irisviel admitted. "But being the grail vessel means no one will attack me, because that would mean the entire war would be pointless, as it can't go on without me."
"That only works if everyone knows that fact though." Harry countered. "The only ones really guaranteed to know that are the representatives of the three main families, Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Makiri. Even then, it's possible to make another into a lesser grail using your corpse."
Irisviel silently pondered that for a few moments. She didn't wonder if it was possible – almost anything, literally, was possible with magic, and magecraft often bent or broke certain rules, but plausible was another matter. She contemplated how difficult such a thing would be, and she realised the answer was 'not very'. She was already the lesser grail, and she recalled how Avalon had been placed inside of her. Could someone transfer the lesser grail status as easily as Avalon could be moved?
She cut that line of thought off as she looked once more at the Servant sat next to her. Strangely, she felt no aggression coming from him, or at least none directed at her. In fact, he seemed to be pointing out things that could happen to her... in order to keep her safe?
Was Avenger trying to protect her for some reason?
"You're a strange Servant, aren't you?" Irisviel suddenly piped up, her eyes looking at Avenger's extra arms. "Servant's are heroes, and heroes are normally human."
Harry chuckled at that. "Of course they are, humans do have a rather developed sense of self importance, don't they? It can be said that humans shaped the past and the present, even when they were the pawns of higher powers. Gods, after all, were shaped by human thoughts."
Irisviel was about to reply, but the sound of clashing weapons interrupted her.
Harry didn't even twitch at the sudden noise, having not taken his attention away from the events in front of them. Rider and Lancer were now fighting, the latter's master having gotten fed up arguing with Rider, and had ordered his Servant to take him out.
Unlike Harry, Irisviel didn't have nigh-omniscient senses, and so the sudden battle did take her by surprise.
She jumped a little once again as one of Harry's four hands lashed out and caught her by the shoulder, stopping her from falling out of her chair in surprise. She gave Harry a small smile of thanks for that, and once again took her seat. Hell, it was probably the safest place for her.
Harry sighed as he got to his feet, feeling the approach of Kariya and Lancelot. With a flick of his wrist, Harry raised several wards around Helel and Irisviel, one specifically designed to activate if it collapsed as a counter to Kiritsugu's origin bullets.
The sudden yet subtle glow from the hemisphere of the wards that could be seen, before it faded into invisibility, went unnoticed for the most part, at least by those that were fighting or at least observing it. Irisviel noticed it, and realising it was likely some form of protective magic, gave Harry a 'thank you', before he walked out of there and prepared to fight Lancelot.
Hey, Rider was fighting Lancer, Saber and Mordred were back to wailing on each other, and Harry didn't have an opponent right then. He could do far worse than a berserk member of the Knights of the Round Table!
Harry let most of his weapons fade away as his four arms merged once more into two. He readied Tyrant's blade in his gri-... Wait a moment, wasn't Tyrant raring to go for a fight just now? If so, and Harry had summoned her weapon to use himself...
Okay, he was going to need something to placate Tyrant when next he saw her – and wasn't that an odd thing to think about one's own soul?
"Raaarg-" Berserker's mad roar, as he suddenly appeared, was cut off as Harry slammed the flat of Tyrants blade into him.
"Surprised?" Harry asked, as casual as can be. "Don't be, you're no assassin, and you're definitely not subtle.
Lancelot grabbed a nearby bollard, tearing it out of the ground, and attempted to use it as a crude club against Harry. It was sliced in half with ease. A lamppost was next, and that too was cut through, as was the next object Berserker tried to hit him with.
Harry was... disappointed.
Lancelot was a legendary knight, with fighting prowess many times greater than Arturia. Mad Enhancement grants him additional strength, though unlike others who fall under this, Lancelot retains his skill, due to his Eternal Arms Mastership. With that, one would think he would provide more of a challenge than Lancer had.
However, Knight of Honour simply couldn't make any random object stand up to something as powerful as Tyrant's blade. Add to that he wasn't even focused on Harry, but getting past him to attack Arturia, it was pitifully easy to knock him down every time he got back up.
This had to be playing merry hell with Kariya's body too.
Harry let out a sigh of boredom. Perhaps when Gilgamesh turned up, things might be a little more entertaining. He could sense the golden king and Enkidu in a movie theatre a bit more than a mile away. He had also 'hacked' into the link between Tokiomi and his Servant, and so knew that Gilgamesh had been 'ordered' to the docks by his master.
xxxxx
Irisviel didn't know what to think as she watched the three separate fights that were raging in front of her. Perhaps the most intense one was the fight between Arturia and Mordred, the two were utterly vicious in their attempts to maim and kill each other, and just one slip up might spell the end of one of them. Though, Irisviel noted, it seemed Arturia was on the defensive more than she was attacking, and that worried her.
The fight between Iskander and Diarmuid was a different story. Having the secret of his spears known put the Servant of the lance at a disadvantage. Knowing not to let the yellow spear even scratch him, Rider was deflecting every strike with either his own blade or with his bracers. Gae Dearg wasn't working either, there being no magecraft to 'cut' through, it was no better than an ordinary spear in their fight.
However, Irisviel's eyes were repeatedly drawn to the third fight, between Avenger and what could only be Berserker. Unlike the other two fights going on, it wasn't all that impressive, and no great skill was being shown. Instead, a now bored looking Avenger was batting Berserker around like a misbehaving child.
However, it wasn't the fight that interested Irisviel, but the Servant Avenger himself. Having spoken with him only a little, she could still tell he was a somewhat odd man, simultaneously charismatic and cynical, a helpful person who simply radiated malice, and someone she simply couldn't properly grasp.
She tried to work out what hero he was, and that shouldn't be so difficult. After all, how many heroes from ages past had four arms, or some sort of cursed heart, possessed powerful magic, and possibly had something wrong with his eyes, unless that was a Noble Phantasm of his. On top of that, he had shown the ability to summon several different weapons, and the skill to wield them too.
With all of that information, it should be easy to narrow down who he was, but she simply couldn't think of anyone that fit. She turned to Avenger's master, who she had yet to hear the name of, and asked her if she knew who her Servant was. Helel graced her with an amused grin and a soft chuckle.
"Yes, I know who he is." She replied. "That doesn't mean that I'm going to tell you though, and I doubt you knowing his name will make a difference regardless."
"Oh." Irisviel pouted, rather like a small child would. "I just can't work it out though. He seems quite distinctive, but he's just so odd that he doesn't match up with any legend I know of."
"Aye, I'll agree that he's an odd one." Helel grinned, her amusement obvious in her voice. "He's predictable only so far as he's unpredictable. However, if he gives his word to you, he'll hold himself to it. He's kind of honourable like that, yet his methods could easily be classed as dishonourable, like an assassin with a code of ethics."
"Really?" Irisviel asked, digging for information.
"Really." Helel confirmed.
xxxxx
If Kiritsugu were any less of a professional, he would be grinding his teeth together right then. Here were six Servants, six, and all he could do was sit there and watch. Avenger, obviously, could easily deal with Berserker, yet he seemed to be toying with the mad Servant instead of just killing him off. Rider and Lancer were fairly evenly matched for now, but both of their masters were out in the open.
Saber... she seemed to be struggling against her opponent.
If only those assassins weren't there! Without them so close, he could have put a bullet into Kayneth Archibald's head by now, and possibly one for Rider's master too while the Servant of the mount was distracted fighting Lancer. If Avenger would just hurry up and kill Berserker, then he could put a bullet in the odd Servant's master, who was just sitting there!
Kiritsugu was confident his origin bullets would be able to penetrate whatever magical shield Avenger had conjured up around Irisviel and his own master. That would just leave the red Saber to deal with, and if his own Saber was enhanced with a command seal, or even used her Noble Phantasm, then the red Saber shouldn't survive the fight.
That would just leave Archer to deal with, and Kiritsugu believed he could kill the Servant's master, Tokiomi Tohsaka, with little difficulty. The man was a proud magus after all, and thus a rather predictable opponent, especially as it was well known the Tohsakas specialised in Jewel Magecraft, and that Tokiomi himself had a preference and an affinity for fire as well.
At least he was getting some information on the different Servant's and masters. Rider's personality was too grandiose to really hide, so tracking him down and killing his master should be fairly simple. He knew where Lancer and his master were currently staying, blowing up one hotel wasn't going to be a problem. Berserker was likely the Servant of the Matou master, Kariya Matou, and the man was half-dead already. Assassin could apparently split itself into multiple bodies, which made killing Kirei Kotomine a priority, and as he'd taken sanctuary at the church, his location was a known factor.
The red Saber was someone that his own Servant knew in life, so she would know of her opponent's strengths and weaknesses. It was a shame King Arthur was so damn honourable, otherwise she would take advantage of the weaknesses she knew, because Kiritsugu couldn't see Mordred's master anywhere.
What had Kiritsugu most concerned was Avenger. True, his master had quite distinctive eyes, but a pair of sunglasses or contact lenses would make her stand out less, though as she was a Caucasian, she at least stood out from the average Japanese citizen. He didn't have a name for her though, and that would slow down any searches he attempted.
As for Avenger himself, he seemed to be a candidate for most dangerous Servant of the war, alongside Archer. Both had shown multiple weapons, though Avenger had actually used them rather than simply rained them down on his opponent as Archer had done. Avenger seemed to be physically powerful and fast, quick enough to match Lancer at least and strong enough to punt Berserker around the docks.
On top of that, his ability to completely negate Lancer's cursed spear was a problem. He had taken a lethal blow straight through the heart from a weapon that stopped wounds healing, and Avenger had laughed it off. Not only had the curse not taken hold properly, but the black heart had reformed without any visible side effects.
Avenger was also aware enough of his surroundings to notice Kiritsugu, and the casual way he'd treated him made the Magus Killer believe that Avenger had dismissed him as a threat, even with the Grail granting him the knowledge of what the gun in his hands was capable of. Maybe Avenger thought his magical barrier that he'd made around his master would stop the bullets.
xxxxx
'Hey, Mordred, are you about finished with Arturia? Lancelot's getting annoying, he won't bloody fight me!' Harry mentally called out to his own Saber Servant.
Mordred snorted in disgust. 'Even after all the shit we went through in life, he's still fucking obsessed with his oh so perfect king.' She sighed. 'Yeah, toss him over. Making my 'father' mad is proving less appealing than I thought it would be, even if it is rather cathartic.'
"Is this really your best, father?" Mordred asked Arturia. "Is this what you're reduced to? What would you even do with a wish from the grail? What do you want to get out of this?"
"I wish to redo the choosing of the king. I led my country to its downfall! I was not worthy of the throne." Arturia growled out lowly. "And what of you, my knight of betrayal, what accursed desires have you fighting for your prize?"
Mordred barked out a laugh. "Ironically, the same as you. I wish to prove myself capable of being king."
"You wish to take the throne from me?!" Arturia spat. "You're an even worse choice than I was."
"I do NOT wish to be king!" Mordred roared in anger, her blade and Arturia's flashing between them both. "I wish for the chance to prove I can be king! I wish not to simply be placed on a fancy chair with a crown on my head, but to prove I am the right choice for king!"
"You will never be king!" Arturia shouted at her, charging her with her sword held high.
Mordred, rather than simply blocking, swung her own blade upwards, knocking Excalibur even further up. She lifted her leg and kicked out, catching Arturia in her stomach and throwing her into a shipping container which crumpled and collapsed when she hit it.
"You are not worth the effort, father." Mordred spat. "I leave you to wallow in your self pity, may it eat away at your soul forever more."
With that, Mordred astralised and left.
Arturia, shaking with fury, tightened her grip around the hilt of her sword and got to her feet, pulling herself out of the shipping container she'd been embedded in. Once up, she took a moment to look around the 'battlefield'. Lancer and Rider were still going at each other, and it was difficult to say who was winning. Undoubtedly, Iskander had a trump card he had yet to use, and he seemed to be rather enjoying the fight he was having, but Diarmuid was still a very skilled opponent.
Avenger and Berserker's fight was noteworthy only in how one-sided it was. Berserker didn't even seem to be trying to fight Avenger, but get past him, possibly to get at Irisviel and Avenger's master, though why the odd Servant didn't just kill Berserker, seemingly preferring to humiliate him, was beyond her.
"You done, Saber?" Avenger called out, apparently seeing that she was alone. "Here then, an old friend of yours seems to want to say hello."
Before she could wonder what Avenger meant by that, he'd rammed his shoulder into Berserker's chest, before twisting around. His sword vanished into shadows as he grabbed Berserker's right shoulder and left hip, before finishing the motion, throwing Berserker, literally, at Saber.
Observers took note of this, as the move showed that Avenger was familiar with some form of martial arts, though which one exactly wasn't immediately apparent.
Berserker, now that he was finally in front of Saber, began to fight in earnest. Harry, for his own amusement, used Marble Phantasm to create a small rain cloud over his own head when he saw Saber get the fight that he had wanted from Berserker.
With barely a flicker, he disappeared and reappeared seated next to Kiritsugu.
"So, how are things looking from up here?" He asked.
xxxxx
Kiritsugu froze in place.
There was a Servant next to him.
There was an enemy Servant next to him.
There was an enemy Servant barely two feet away from him.
"I am forced to say that the situation is unfavourable." Kiritsugu replied.
At least the Servant didn't seem to have any intention of attacking him, even if doing so would take Saber out of the war. The best solution that Kiritsugu could think of was to simply speak with the strange Servant, and if it did show signs of aggression, then summon Saber and hope to hell that he made it out of this alive.
"That makes sense, I guess." Harry agreed. "But what do you expect from a Grail War? Just about anyone from myth or legend can be summoned, and there are those with some rather unusual and esoteric abilities."
"Like Assassin?" Kiritsugu prodded.
"Ah, yes, the 'hundred faced' Hassan." Harry grinned. "Nothing particularly special about him, at least nothing that can really threaten a Servant. He has the ability to split into exactly eighty bodies of various types, young and old, male and female, though all of them possess that mask. Each body is weaker than the original, but all possess the same rank in Presence Concealment."
Kiritsugu filed away the information regarding Assassin. It was useful, and not something he had expected to hear.
"Who would you say is the greatest threat in this war?" Kiritsugu asked.
"Hmm, let's see." Harry pondered that for a moment. "Well, Saber and Lancer are both too honourable to use underhanded methods themselves, though their masters are another matter." Kiritsugu accepted the mirth in Avenger's voice directed at him, he agreed with that after all. "Rider is a greater threat than those two, partially due to his rather potent Noble Phantasm, but also because his master is rarely more than a few feet away from him. Assassin can easily be taken care of, but you've got to be sure to get all of them, and they have no problem sacrificing a dozen bodies to take out a master, making them quite a significant threat if they were utilised properly."
Harry paused then, grinning. "Of course, Kirei Kotomine is such an empty man that he's doing nothing more than following Tokiomi Tohsaka's every order, and while Tokiomi is considered a 'good' magus, he doesn't know how to command troops very well. Kariya Matou can't produce too much mana, so if you can drag out any fight involving Berserker for a while, he will be forced to retreat or Kariya will die. The greatest 'threats' in this war are myself and Archer."
"I don't suppose you have any insight into Archer's identity?" Kiritsugu queried.
"He's Gilgamesh, King of Heroes." Avenger answered with a casual shrug. "And he's damn proud, so pissing him off is a pretty bad idea. Also, if he's serious, he could wipe out any Servant aside from Arturia with an activated Avalon, but he rarely uses his full might, deeming others not 'worthy' of it."
"So Tokiomi is the more viable target." Kiritsugu mused, though internally he was somewhat confused by the easy-going nature of this strange Servant, and simultaneously scared of how easily he'd fallen into conversation with him.
"Tokiomi spends most of his time in his cellar, receiving reports from Kirei through a two-way communication mystic code, and Kirei gets his reports from his Assassins, or what's left of them anyway." Harry added that bit on the end as he felt Jack kill two more of said Servant's bodies.
Once again, Kiritsugu filed the information away. Perhaps it would be advantageous to ally with this Servant. It was obviously powerful, and spending more time with it might lead to Kiritsugu finding a weakness he could exploit.
Of course, if all else failed, he could simply use Saber to distract him while he sniped Avenger's master.
Avenger's smile widened, and a slight aura of malice rose up from him.
Kiritsugu wondered if one of Avenger's abilities was reading minds, and immediately tried to blank out his own.
The malice faded, and Avenger looked over to the left, as if he was seeing through several buildings and shipping containers that were in the way.
"Kariya's prana is running low, he should be calling Berserker back any moment now." He muttered, before turning to the fight going on between Iskander and Diarmuid. "Now, what to do about that I wonder..."
Once again, Avenger vanished.
xxxxx
Harry reappeared a dozen feet from Rider and Lancer. Waver, who was the first to notice him, fell on his backside in shock and scrambled backwards to get away from him.
Harry grinned slightly as he disappeared, only to reappear seated next to Waver.
"Quite the sight, isn't it, seeing two Servants fight?" Harry spoke casually, like he was discussing the weather. "To think, a Servant is only a shadow of a true Heroic Spirit. Can you imagine just how powerful such beings would be? Those with the ability to destroy mountains as Servants would tear apart the very earth as Heroic Spirits. Those who can lift a lorry with one hand would be able to toss a house. Scary, ne?"
Waver, wide-eyed, didn't answer. He couldn't. When he'd thought to steal his teacher's relic and summon a Servant, he'd thought he'd known what he was getting into, he'd even known what physical feats they'd be capable of. However, simply knowing something was one thing. Seeing it, and knowing that even more was possible... it was terrifying, truly it was.
"Though this fight is a little unfavourable, isn't it?" Harry wondered aloud, his voice carrying to all of the observers. "No matter who wins, Lancer or Rider, both myself and Saber are still here. It wouldn't be too difficult to finish off an exhausted Servant, would it?"
Saber baulked merely at the thought of attacking an exhausted opponent, her honour would not allow it! A true knight she was, and she would do battle as all should, by facing each other in honourable single combat! If she had voiced that aloud, though, Harry would point out that such a style of fighting would favour her and those like her, rather than being truly 'equal', but hey, that was just his opinion on the matter.
xxxxx
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald glared down at Waver Velvet and the Servant sat next to him. Why couldn't it simply do everyone a favour and kill the damn brat! Rider was currently engaged with Lancer, and holding his own far better than Kayneth had thought he would, so why didn't Avenger attack!
It was almost like Avenger didn't care about winning the Grail War! So far, it had been within range to eliminate a number of masters and Servants, and had displayed the ability to fight well enough to kill them, but he had yet to strike a lethal blow. Why was that?!
Now Kayneth was in the uncomfortable position of being forced to retreat. He knew it, Avenger knew it, and after Avenger's words even an idiot would know it. Kayneth had nothing to gain from Lancer continuing his fight with Rider. Even if he did win, he would then face either Saber or Avenger, the latter having displayed something of an immunity to Lancer's Noble Phantasm.
Perhaps an alliance was in order, but with who? He'd managed to severely piss Rider off, and even without that, there was no way he'd be subservient to the man, the 'King' of Conquerors. The Matou master was an option, as was the Tohsaka master, both from respectable families, and both may have an ace squirrelled away that could take out Avenger, or if that proved difficult, keep him occupied while they confronted Avenger's master.
"Let us retreat, Lancer, there's no reason for us to fight any longer this night." Kayneth said, though it pained him so.
Avenger would pay for humiliating him so, as would Waver Velvet for stealing his Servant, and Rider for denying him.
xxxxx
Rider bid them farewell after Lancer had left too, though he was far more exuberant than anyone else, and he took his master with him, back to where they were staying.
Harry vanished almost immediately after Rider and Waver did, staying only long enough to bid Saber, Irisviel, Kiritsugu, and Maiya farewell. With the last one, in return for the look she sent his way, he charmed her hair pink and added a second prank spell on her so that when they returned to the Einzbern castle, she would serenade Irisviel in front of Kiritsugu.
When Harry and Helel returned to their current 'base of operations', which was just a random abandoned building that Harry had magicked into a veritable mansion – from the inside at least – he was met with Illya crossing her arms, tapping her foot, and giving Harry a rather strange look he didn't immediately recognise.
Illyasviel indicated a mirror on the wall that Harry had conjured up and enchanted to show the docks.
"I saw everything, Harry, and I just have to ask." She paused for a moment, wetting her lips. "Were you flirting with my mother out there?"
"What?" Harry had not been expecting that question.
"Were you flirting with my mother, or at least an alternate reality version of her?" Illyasviel asked again. "Come on, look at how friendly you acted with her, look at how gentle you were, and how you smiled at her. You didn't even act like that with this world's Lily Potter, so answer me, were you flirting with my mother?"
"No, I wasn't." Harry protested. "I was friendly, not... not flirty!"
"Uh-huh." Illya continued, in a tone that spoke of disbelief. "Sure you were."
"I... I'm going to my Soul World now." Harry stammered, before vanishing off to do just that.
Helel smirked at Illya. "You are evil, you know that, right?"
Illya just grinned impishly back at her.
xxxxx
Harry sighed, bracing himself against a tree. After a moment's rest though, he straightened up and looked around. When he saw his reflection in a nearby pond, he frowned, not entirely happy with the current form he was wearing.
He shrank as he took years off, going from early twenties to roughly thirteen. His ragged, white hair neatened up, turned purple, and extended to his ankles. The black markings on his body retreated back to his exposed heart. His skin regained its silvery-pale colouring. His ears regained their slight points. The mark on his forehead reappeared. His clothing returned to its usual state of a shirt, pants, boots, and trench coat. The cloth blindfold was replaced with his own Breaker Gorgon.
"Much better." Harry sighed as all of his magical markings made themselves known again, from the command seals on his left forearm, to the crests and arrays on his back, the runes etched into his body, bones, muscles, and organs, all of it. Despite being a true shape-shifter, he felt most comfortable like this.
"Back again, Harry?" A voice asked, and when Harry raised his head, he smiled at Holly.
"Yes, I'm back again." He then looked her up and down, making her blush. "It seems you've been doing well with your transformation, you're barely an inch and a half shorter than when I first met you."
Holly huffed, crossing her arms and pouting. "Yeah, well, not all of us have your insane learning rate, Black Wing." She then gave Harry a look. "Besides, I was a little distracted exploring this 'Soul World' of yours. Every time I turn around, I see something that violates all the rules of reality and magic as I originally knew them."
At that point, a massive, glowing ribbon of light shot by through the sky above them.
"For example, what the heck is that?!" Holly pointed after it.
Harry chuckled. "Oh, just an angel."
"An angel." Holly gave him a flat look, which became even more pronounced when he simply nodded in reply.
"Yep, now let's get going. I'm supposed to be meeting with two more fragments of my soul right now, and I have no idea how things are going to go." Harry then began to walk towards where he could feel Serial Phantasm was, the almost full-sized Holly wandered at his side.
Holly grinned down at Harry, and she meant that in a literal sense. Harry's 'natural' form was rather tiny. In fact, due to his feminine looks, he could easily be called petite, or cute, adorable, and so much more. For this reason, Holly felt no hesitation in picking Harry up and cuddling him close to her bosom.
She knew he could have avoided her if he truly wanted to, and she felt him sigh against her skin, but the fact he'd put up no more than a token protest made her grin stretch wider across her face. She laughed as she spun Harry around, before depositing him at her side once again.
"Was that really necessary?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Holly replied mischievously.
Harry sighed. "Fine, if you say so."
They continued walking towards Serial Phantasm, or Harry walked at least, Holly preferred to skip along while she whistled a tune to herself.
When they came across Serial Phantasm, they found her in a small clearing amongst the trees, laying on her back and looking up at the sky. Her hair was splayed out, and her arms laid on her stomach with her fingers interlaced together. When Harry and Holly entered the clearing with her, she tilted her head towards them, yet her expression remained unchanged.
"Hello, Seri." Holly cheerfully greeted Harry's apathy.
"Greetings to you, Holly, Harry." Serial replied. "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to meet my two newest aspects and felt you near where I entered my Soul World, so I decided to say hi." Harry was the one to answer her. "Also, I wouldn't mind knowing anything you do about who I'm supposed to be meeting."
"Very well." Serial got to her feet, brushing her clothing down. "There are two of them, as you know, affection and protectiveness. Both of them have taken female form, and they apparently have very different attitudes. I have yet to meet them myself, but from Twisted Whisper's words, your affection seems to be a rather cheerful individual, and your protectiveness is rather stoic. What names they go by are unknown to me."
"Thanks." Harry smiled at Seri. "It's more than I knew when I met you, or the others come to think of it."
Harry tilted his head to the side, casting his senses outwards in his Soul World – which now had roughly the same surface area as the moon – in search of his two newest aspects. He found them almost immediately, and from what he could tell, both had noticed him brush up against them.
"Right, time to go. I know where they are and I know something about them, so it's time to actually meet with them. See you later, you two." Harry bid farewell to Serial Phantasm and Holly, who both replied in kind. Before he flickered out of sight.
xxxxx
The first of Harry's newest aspects was found amongst mountainous terrain. Specifically, she was stood on a spire of rock, high off the ground, staring off towards the border between the forest area and the salt water area. She appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen physically, with long hair, some of which trailed down her back and legs, but there were two bunches as well. Her hair, it seemed, glowed a light blue colour.
She wore a dark jacket with an oversized zipper on the front, and a pleated yellow skirt. Under her skirt, she wore thick, opaque tights and a pair of boots with platform soles. On her head, acting like a hair band, was a large pair of tinted goggles, and on her left forearm was a small round shield, about the size of a buckler.
"You are the origin." She spoke, her voice a monotone.
"I am." Harry replied. "And you are my protectiveness."
"I am." She confirmed. "My name is Ruinous Aegis, the unbreakable shield that destroys your enemies."
"I see." Harry murmured. "Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked.
Ruinous Aegis, or Ruin for short, turned to fully face him, her amber coloured eyes flashing in the light. She silently examined Harry for a moment, before looking back the way she had been before. Once again, her eyes returned to Harry.
"Let me fulfil my purpose." She told him. "Let me protect those precious to you."
"And what if you are precious to me?" Harry queried, curious as to how she would reply.
There was an odd flicker that crossed her face at his question, but nothing that he could pin down.
"Then you are a narcissist." Ruin blandly replied.
Harry chuckled, before hopping up to the same spire of rock she was stood on. He picked her up in a hug, span her round, before putting her back down.
"Then a narcissist I am then." Harry agreed. "Because every shield needs to be well taken care of if it is to properly protect someone. If you ever need someone to pamper you, don't be afraid to ask."
Ruin turned her head his way, facing him even if her body remained static.
"I will remember." She said.
"Be sure that you do." Harry finished the conversation, seeing that she clearly wasn't one of many words, and that she wasn't inclined to waste any more on their introduction.
He left to go and see his 'affection'.
xxxxx
"ORIGIN!"
Harry was unprepared for the body that slammed into him with all the force of colliding planets. He was knocked off his feet, with whoever it was that had called out to him so laid on top of him. At a guess, he would say that this was his affection, if not for the enthusiastic greeting, then perhaps for the crushing hug she was now giving him.
And this definitely was a she.
Harry wriggled about until he could get a look at the one who had pinned his arms to his side, while she was also straddling him, to get a good look at her. The first thing he saw was a blinding smile.
When he could see properly, the first thing he took note of was her eyes. Her irises and pupils were, quite literally, heart-shaped and pink. The next thing to draw his attention was her bright pink hair, followed by the style it was in, long twintails.
His affection appeared to be in her late teens physically, and possessed a rather large chest. She wore pink and black stripy leg warmers up to above her knees, dark pumps for footwear, a black miniskirt, and a tight, cerise t-shirt with a pink heart on it.
Harry managed to focus on her long enough to realise she was chattering away at him about... something. Honestly, he wasn't too sure what she was talking about, just that she was talking, and doing a lot of it at a very fast speed. She seemed to notice his confused expression though.
She jumped off him, grabbed his arm, and hauled him to his feet. She then brushed herself down, before grinning widely at Harry.
"Hi!" She greeted him. "Sorry for nattering your ear off, but I'm just so exited to meet you! I mean, you're the origin, you're what we're all created from, and you're just so totally awesome! Would it be weird if I said I wanted your babies?"
"Uh..." Harry had to pull himself together after that. "Um, well... I don't know?" He said unsurely, still more than a little off balance. "I think... I think that would definitely be narcissism, and... is that even possible?"
"Possible?" His aspect asked, blinking. "Hello, this is us we're talking about, or you at least... but I am you, or at least a piece of you, and that would make you me... a bit, so that is us! Yes, us, so, yeah, the laws of reality? Fuck 'em, right? Or not, or fuck me? Please?"
"Look, I don't even know your name, a-" Harry started.
"Warped Caress." His affection interrupted him. "That's my name, now can we move onto the next bit?"
"-and I don't even know you that well yet." He finished.
"Ah, damn, really?" Warped Caress whined. "We have to go through this stage of things and not go straight to the fun stuff?"
"Yes, yes we do." Harry told her, privately wondering if he shouldn't just say 'fuck this' and scarper out of there. This aspect of himself was weird, even for him.
"Right then, let's get to know each other then." She threw herself at him once more, and once again Harry found himself flat on his back with a fragment of his soul straddling him. Unlike last time though, she had both of his hands pinned above his head with her own.
"Let's get to know each other intimately~" She purred.