By the Bonfire: Punishment (Part I)

Verndari sat down at the table, crossing her arms and staring at the other two sitting opposite her with a raised eyebrow "I still find your need to do this rather-"

"You should probably get used to it." Gareth chided her from the side, giving the taller Servant a half smile "They're only trying to make amends." The Lancer paused, allowing herself a moment to take a bite of her food before resuming speaking once she had finished swallowing "That and you can't deny that eating with company without having to hide your face is nice, right?"

Verndari's lips drew themselves into thin lines before she released a weary sigh, raising her hand she massaged the bridge of her nose "It…is not something I am familiar with, if I am to speak plainly."

"Why not?" Marie frowned, lowering her tea cup and giving the Shielder a saddened look "Surely you ate meals with friends and family?"

"Family? Yes." Verndari replied, lowering her hand and resting her arms on the table "Friends?" she paused for a moment "Not after I became a squire…" she looked away for a moment "To keep up the…act." she said the word with no small degree of shame, earning a frown from Marie and a flinch from Gareth.

"I see." d'Eon nodded their head, they leaned forwards and took one of the biscuits off the tray before nibbling on it "Indeed, it would be difficult to eat and maintain the illusion, not impossible but difficult."

"I could manage at most times." Verndari replied with a wave of the hand "Most others in the mess hall would come in with dirt upon their faces or other such grime from a day of training or mucking out the stables." the woman shivered slightly. "The smell was rather…grim."

Gareth nodded her head "I sometimes mucked out horse stables too."

Verndari sent her a puzzled look for a moment "Horses? I mean the Wyrm stables."

Marie stopped mid sip, lowering her teacup once again and giving the knight an astonished expression "Wyrms? You rode dragons into battle?"

"Wingless dragons." Verndari explained "And not my personally. Only the mounted royal guard of the Dragon Riders would do so. I was not one of their number, despite being a knight of the court." she remained silent for a moment "...I was always curious as to what it would be like to ride one."

Gareth pursed her lips, giving a thoughtful expression "Would it be more difficult than riding a horse?" she paused for a moment. "Actually, big brother Gawain had Gringolet, they were a sort of Fae horse."

"Gringolet was a Fae?" d'Eon asked with naked surprise, tilting their head and looking at the Lancer curiously before humming to themselves "That does not surprise me, now that I recall much of the stories surrounding Arthurian legend. The Kingdom had many interactions with the phantasmal world, did it not?"

Gareth nodded her head "Giants, dragons, fae and all sorts." she explained as she rested her arm on the table and then used it to prop her chin up "It makes me a little curious…" she looked at Verndari "From the sounds of it, Drangleic wasn't all that different when it came to the wildlife."

"From what you describe, it does not seem so." Verndair agreed with a nod of the head, the woman turning towards Marie and d'Eon, furrowing her brows "Unlike your Kingdom which had little in the way of exotic species, why is that?"

Gareth made a noise "Merlin used to say something about the Reverse side of the world being the place where all the magic stuff would go." the girl explained before she scratched her cheek, giving a nervous smile "That's really all I can tell you though."

"Understandable." Verndari didn't appear disappointed by the lack of an explanation, resting her own arms on the table "Sir Velstadt would say much the same, how the Gods had departed the land and left behind the humans." she paused for a moment, thinning her lips "I wonder if the two departures are similar?"

d'Eon shrugged their shoulders "The mysteries of the Gods and other beings are not within my knowledge. I am rather unaffiliated with such things."

"As am I." Verndari admitted with a sigh "The court mage would be better suited to explaining it…" she trailed off, her face showing sudden hesitance before she looked away "But I would be loath to ever ask him for an education on the subject."

"Really?" Gareth asked as she consumed a shortbread in a single bite, wiping the crumbs away from her mouth "Why?"

"The King's brother was…" Verndari replied before she snapped her jaw shut "No. To speak ill of him would be wrong." she decided with a shake of the head. Everyone else could recognise the hesitance in Verndari's voice for what it was.

Fear.

Fear of invoking the name of a man even after he had died.

Gareth gave the Shielder a slightly worried look as she studied the expression on the taller Servant "...Was he that bad?"

"...Lord Aldia was…regarded as a genius in the art of spellcraft." Verndari replied slowly, finding some middleground to speak on the subject "It is said sorcerers would come from far and wide to his private manor." there was a beat "None would ever leave. Why? I know not but it was dire that the King forbade any of us from approaching it and made it clear - in no uncertain terms - that Lord Aldia was not to leave his manor."

d'Eon frowned slightly, picking up their teacup and having a quick sip "Banishment." they surmised, Verndari nodded her head.

"His…crimes are not known to me but even then he still held some influence in the court." She paused for a moment, wetting her lips before drumming her hands on the desk "It is…from him that I received my shield."

"Oh? The one with the mirror on it?" Gareth asked, tilting her head and nodding in remembrance, she then paused and frowned "Why?"

"...I do not know." Verndari replied with an honest shrug "It was taken to the court with the express orders that it would be wielded by me and me alone. His motives were never elaborated upon and…that was merely the end of the topic. The shield was awarded to me and I have used it ever since."

"Does your shield do anything special?" d'Eon asked, raising an eyebrow at Verndari and giving them an intrigued look.

Verndari slowly nodded her head "The shield acts as a passage…a door between worlds. I can use it to call upon spirits from across time to enter the world for a brief period."

"Hey!" Gareth gaped at him "That's just like Ga-I mean, Mash's shield!" she waved her hands excitedly "With the whole summoning thing and-" she then cut herself off before thinning her lips, looking more mystified than before "But then…?"

"Why did he give such a tool to me?" Verndari muttered, rubbing her hands together "That is the true question that was never answered. I never once spoke to Lord Aldia and saw him only in passing…Yet he crafted such a gift and bestowed it upon me with nary an explanation as to why?"

A silence fell over the table for a few moments before Marie broke it.

"How do you feel about these shortbreads?" The Queen asked with a giddy expression as she slid the tray of the biscuits over to Verndari "I think Siegward did a wonderful job on them!" she exclaimed before a saddened look flickered across her features "A shame he can't taste the fruit of his labour though…"

"He does not seem concerned by it." d'Eon replied with a slightly less troubled look "However, I confess that I as well finding it unfortunate that he cannot truly partake in the food he himself makes."

"The Knight's of Catarina are regarded as the greatest of optimists in all the land." Verndari chuckled with a shake of the head "There was a joke that even in the darkest of caves, a Knight of Catarina could stumble across the sun."

Marie let out a light giggle "That does sound like Siegward." she paused, cupping her chin and giving a thoughtful hum "I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile on his face." she muttered before shaking her head and looking at the mirror knightess again "But anyway! Biscuits, try them!"

Verndari's shoulders slumped slightly, reaching out and taking one of the biscuits into her hand before biting off a small section of it. After a few moments of chewing, she swallowed it and then stared at the confectionary. "...I did not partake in the luxuries of the court." she replied after a few seconds of silence "My diet consisted of meats, oats and vegetables."

"Same." Gareth nodded her head, then looked at the tea "...Also we didn't have this when I was around."

"Shame." Marie replied for a moment before a smile came to her face "Then you have the opportunity to try it now!"

Verndari remained silent for a moment before she tilted her head to the side and gave Marie a puzzled look "If I might be bold enough to ask a question-" her eyes darted towards Gareth as the girl took a sip of the tea and made an odd face afterwards, earning a brief twitch of the lips from Verndari before she shook her head and returned her attention to Marie "-why are we here?"

Marie blinked at her once "For tea time." she replied as if the answer had been obvious from the very beginning, bringing the cup to her lips and taking a quiet sip of the tea, all while maintaining eye contact with Verndari "Why else?"

The knightess opened her mouth to reply before she closed it again, making an off noise as she gave the Queen a strained look "I meant…why are myself and Gareth here?"

"Because tea always tastes better when you have someone to drink it with, that's why." Marie's simple explanation continued, although from the looks of things d'Eon could understand the position they were coming from if their expression was any indication.

"Your majesty." d'Eon wiped their face with a napkin and looked to the Queen "I believe the confusion is why would you invite a pair of knights to your table."

Marie made an odd face "Why wouldn't I?" she asked, turning to d'Eon "I invite you, don't I?"

The knight of the Lily gave the Queen a patient smile "Yes…" they nodded their head, then gestured to the pair sitting opposite "However, they are not accustomed to such encounters, I would assume…" d'Eon looked back to see Gareth squinting at the tea, hesitantly going back for another sip while Verndari broke a shortbread in half and blinked at it.

"Ah, right." Marie nodded her head in understanding, then looked to the pair of knights in front of her "I invited you here because that's what I do with friends!"

Verndari's head snapped towards her and Gareth choked on her tea.

"We are friends?" The looking glass knightess asked with a dumbfounded tone of voice and an expression to match, Gareth looking red in the face and still coughing, leaning over to the side to make sure not to get anything on the table.

Marie watched their reactions with a sense of concern "We-well of course! Aren't we?" her voice dropped into a quiet - slightly vulnerable - tone as she stared between them "I mean…we went out for tea and we sometimes eat together, isn't that what friends do?"

"W-wha-well…I…" Verndari swallowed, looking to Gareth for support and finding that the girl looked just as caught off-guard as she was "I don't think myself and Sir Gareth are…appropriate company for you." The knightess explained quickly, "We are not of your station."

"So?"

"W-would that not bother you?"

"Why should it?" Marie tilted her head, frowning "I don't see why something like station should stop you being friends."

"Well there is…appearance and personal reputation to consider!"

d'Eon tilted their head "Those concerns are not as pressing as they once were, considering her Majesty no longer needs to concern herself with the affairs of the court or the gossip of the aristocracy."

Verndair and Gareth looked at each other once again before looking back at the French in front of them.

"...Would you even want us as friends?" Gareth asked honestly, waving her hands "Not that I'm saying no but…erm…what would we talk about?"

"...Amusing stories from court?" Marie replied with an honest shrug "The general goings on in Chaldea…maybe our homes!" she excitedly replied, clapping her hands together "That's always fun, right?"

"Amusing stories from court…" Verndari muttered to herself, furrowing her brows and looking upwards "I…do not believe I have many of those. No wait…" she cut herself off "I believe there was one occasion where Ser Raime challenged Sir Velstdat to a race. That was one story that managed to attract a good deal of amusement." she explained "There was a rather large gambling ring circling about it as well."

"Who won?"

Verndari furrowed her brows "It…I do not know. Calling it a tie would have been generous but they both finished the race."

Gareth blinked at them "Huh?"

"Well…the bards who had come to entertain the guests ended up in an argument with a rival troupe just before the race began." Verndari explained "The argument eventually boiled over into a fight which caused a rather loud disturbance." there was a pause "Somewhat musical as well." she shook her head "Moving on from that, the race was about midway through when Ser Raime and Sir Velstadt noticed the commotion and moved in to help the guards who were trying to deal with it."

"Where were you at the time?" Marie asked with a puzzled look.

"In a fist fight with the drummer of the troupe." Verndari explained "As it turned out, he had once been a Knight of Forossa who had joined a travelling circus. It was rather disconcerting to see a man armed with nothing but wooden sticks best several guards." She rested her hands on the table "Moving on from that, when the King's arms got involved, the fighting was quickly put to rest and both groups spent several weeks in the dungeons for disrupting the peace. As for the race itself…It resumed but by the time they both finished the race, they were exhausted from having to deal with the musicians."

"Ah, did they ever get around to trying again?" Gareth asked, Verndari blinked before shaking her head.

"Oddly enough, they did not." Verndari replied with a shake of the head before they turned to Gareth "What of you, if our purpose here is to swap stories of the court?"

Gareth put on a thoughtful expression for a few moments before she eventually decided on something "Well…There was that time with the vorpal bunny."

Verndari blinked once "...The vorpal what?"

Ritsuka blinked at the new Servant standing on the summoning pad, then looked at Mash to judge her expression. To his surprise, the girl had a mild scowl on her face for a brief instance before it vanished away just as quickly, leaving him unsure if it had ever existed to begin with.

Shaking his head, Ritsuka turned to the Servant and smiled at them as best he could "Welcome to Chaldea!" he spread his arms wide "I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka and this is Mash-" he gestured to the girl at his side before pointing towards the Servant "I don't suppose you could tell us your name?" he inquired with a tilt of the head "It's alright if you don't want to though."

"Aaaaaaa…" The black swirling cloud released a warbled growl, the red light shining through what Ritsuka could only assume was the visor to a helmet brightened as the growl went on before the Servant fell back into a silence. Ritsuka's smile dimmed ever so slightly.

"Ah." He released a noise of understanding, then cupping his chin and tilted his head "You're…a Berserker, aren't you?" he guessed.

"Baaa…" The growl was his only reply, Ritsuka turning around and looking at Romani on the other side of the screen. The doctor simply shrugged at him in response.

"Don't look at me." The doctor's voice buzzed through the intercom "Must be something to do with that weird black cloud circling them because the parameter reader isn't working. It's sort of glitching right now so we don't know…anything about them."

"Oh." Ritsuka muttered, scratching the back of his neck and turning back to the Berserker "Don't suppose you could…em…get rid of the cloud?"

Berserker stared at him in silence, only the swirling of the black fog around the Servant could be heard in the room.

"...Guess that's a no then." Ritsuka whispered to himself before shaking his head and bringing his smile back "Well, erm…let's give you the tour of Chaldea, if you're alright with that."

"Huuuuuu…" Berserker released a guttural hiss in his direction, the noise had Ritsuka lean back slightly with a moderately uncomfortable expression on his face.

"...Okay then."

"Are you sure about this, Fujimaru-kun?" Romani's voice came through the intercom once again with a note of concern in it "The point of a Berserker class is to be difficult, I would say you're sort of lucky with Kiyohime and Tamamo as they are…at least reasonable most of the time but this one looks like a traditional Berserker, or how one should be at any rate."

"It'll be fine." Ritsuka waved his hand at the doctor, giving him a half smile before gesturing to his right "I have Mash as well, if anything happens I trust her."

Mash beamed at the praise, leaving Romani rather hesitant to press the matter further considering just how happy the young girl looked. Eventually he released a sigh and and shook his head, giving a conceding wave of the hand in their direction through the glass "Alright then, do as you wish…just make sure you're careful, alright? I don't want to have to explain to the Director any sort of problems."

"Speaking of, where is she anyway?" Ritsuka asked, turning to face Romani and tilting his head to the side.

"In her office." Romani explained then threw up his hands at the surprised look Ritsuka sent him "What were you expecting? You brought Scathach of all people here! The Director uses Runes, Fujimaru-kun!"

"Ahhh…" Ritsuka nodded his head "So she wants training?"

"She wants the opposite!" Romani squawked "Ash walked into my medical office earlier with a hole the size of my fist punched straight through his gut!"

Ritsuka blanched "Oh…From Scathach?"

"Yes from Scathach!" Romani vehemently nodded his head before he slumped into his seat, shaking his head and leaning forwards "Honestly…in his current condition he shouldn't be this reckless."

"Current condition?" Ritsuka asked in confusion "What's wrong with his current condition?"

Romani snapped his eyes to him and widened then, then stared down at the monitor in front of him and realised he hadn't taken his hand off the intercom. The man made a strangled noise before he sputtered through an explanation "I-I mean his condition as an undead! He's much too reckless!" he hastily explained "What if he gets seriously hurt and doesn't notice it?"

Ritsuka stared at him with a puzzled look for a moment before slowly nodding his head "That does make sense." he admitted, missing Romani's sigh of relief "I should probably tell him not to be so reckless." the Master then paused and sighed "On the other hand, he'd probably ignore me or just say that it doesn't matter. It's like arguing with a brick wall at times and…well…he's supposed to be getting better at fighting, isn't he?"

Romani nodded his head.

"I guess…" Ritsuka sucked air through his teeth. "As long as it's nothing too dangerous, its fine I suppose." shaking his head, he made his way towards the door "I'll be sure to tell Scathach to be careful though." he called back as he walked into the hallway, the shadowed Berserker and Mash following behind him.

When the doors closed, Romani exhaled and shook his head. "That was a close one." he muttered to himself, reaching up and massaging the bridge of his nose.

Verndari walked through the halls, Gareth walking in step besides her as they did so. The Knightess once again in her full body armour with her helm over her head, covering her features and hiding her voice from the world.

"That was a rather…odd turn of events." Verndari spoke after a few moments, looking down at Gareth out of the corner of their eye and then turning their helm to stare at the door they had exited from. The room being Marie's that she had offered to them for their 'tea time' or so she called it.

Gareth hummed in response, looking equally perturbed by the experience. Or more accurately, dumbfounded that she had even participated in such a thing. "It was…strange?" she voiced back, sounding unsure of herself "Bizarre? A little out of my comfort zone."

"Considerably more so out of mine." Verndari agreed with a nod of the head "As I said my experience in dining consisted of a trip to the mess hall and the occasional feast at a tournament."

"Same." Gareth agreed "We had big feasts or when I did eat with my friends, it was as a big group nothing so…" she paused, searching for the right words "...Intimate?" she voiced hesitantly.

"...Yes." Verndari nodded in agreement "Intimate. There would be at least a dozen others in the room with you while you ate and their conversations were ongoing around the same time as you began your own. Making it rather loud and chaotic."

"Yeah." Gareth smiled wistfully "Then occasionally you'd shout to get them to repeat what they had said, but when you did that the room would suddenly fall quiet."

"Leaving you with the eyes of a dozen people upon you and a sense of being exposed." Verndari chortled, Gareth laughing boisterously at her side as they did so, walking further along through the hallways. "Quite so…it was quiet in there."

"I know." Gareth sighed, shaking her head "Maybe it's one of those things that you have to get used to?" she suggested with a tilt of the head and a raised eyebrow "Like how people learn how to ride horses or swing a sword."

"You believe she was trained for it…" The Mirror Knightess released a hum of acceptance "Yes, that does indeed make sense. Her form was rather…dignified, as expected of a Monarch, but there was never a moment where her posture slipped."

"You noticed that as well?" Gareth asked, sighing in relief and pressing a hand over her heart "I was worried that I was looking a bit silly, I kept trying to straighten myself out whenever she looked at me because it felt like the right thing to do."

"Perhaps it is because she is a monarch and we have both been drilled to act respectfully towards them." Verndari supposed "Our Liege is different as he has no sense of aristocracy to him and is but a common man. So it is…there is less scrutiny involved with him. Unlike the Sorcerer Animusphere."

Gareth paused as she considered the words, then slowly nodded her head in response "That does make sense. She seems a lot more…used to a hierarchy than Master does." the Lancer pointed out "I think it has something to do with the magus society or something."

Verndari shrugged her shoulders as she walked "Perhaps, but for the moment I doubt it means much." There was a pause before she folded her arms across her chest "I am now debating whether or not it would be appropriate for our Liege to undergo similar training to act as though he commands forces…perhaps akin to a general?"

"Really?" Gareth made a face at the suggestion before she shook her head "I don't think they have it in them." she replied honestly, Verndari remained silent for a moment before she similarly nodded her head.

"Yes, I suppose they do not have the correct mentality to think like a general. Or at least, not the kind I am aware of." She admitted quietly "There is a marked difference between his style of commanding and Ser Raime's. It is more…dependent on personality." she elaborated "He seems to care a great deal about those under his command."

Gareth raised an eyebrow at them.

"That is not how I meant it." Verndari hastily added, "As a leader, you should ensure the men you command survive but at the same time there should be no true effort to…make friends with them. You are there to command them without a conflict of interest."

This time the Lancer made a noise of understanding "Yeah, I get what you mean." she nodded her head before she gave the Knight a faint smile "But I feel like we're…well…it just isn't what this place is about is all. Servants also…I don't think very many of us are used to being small-time soldiers either."

Verndari paused for a moment. Servants - by definition - had ascended to the Throne of Heroes as legends. There might be soldiers upon the Throne, but they had all achieved something that had enshrined them in the minds of humanity for all time. Verndari herself would be hesitant to be merely dismissed as a footsoldier. She did not have the experience of either Ser Raime or Sir Velstadt, but she had seen many combat situations before and had fought in the War against the Giants so it would be somewhat grating on her nerves.

She supposed the same logic applied elsewhere to the other Servants as well.

"Yes…yes, I see your point." Verndari muttered in response, raising her hand and cupping her helmet chin. She then paused and inclined her head behind her at the sound of what she thought was rushing wind. Clearly Gareth heard it as well as the Lancer paused and put on a similar expression of confusion before turning around and looking down the corridor.

The pair listened to the growing sound of footsteps and distant voices growing louder and louder.

"-nd we've already got several dozen Servants already in Chaldea right now." Ritsuka rounded the corner, looking behind himself and explaining something as he did so, his expression seemed calm but there was a tension in his posture of clear unease "So sometimes we have a few spars to train…" the Master paused "I feel like this should be considered a common rule of thumb but please don't kill anyone."

"Baaaaa…" Verndari blinked behind her helmet as a metallic growl was the response, then watched as - following after Ritsuka and Mash from around the corridor - a large black cloud of swirling smoke ventured around them. Sitting in the top of the cloud in a subtle 'V' shape, there was a glowing red light which reminded Verndari very much of a visor.

Ritsuka turned back around and brightened his expression when he saw the pair ahead of them "Here are some of Chaldea's residents!" he exclaimed, gesturing towards them before waving as he approached.

Verndari stood to attention and bowed her head slightly "My Liege, is this a new Servant?"

"Yeah." Ritsuka nodded his head in response as he got closer "They're Berserker…they haven't been able to introduce themselves yet but its fine." he chuckled then looked over his shoulder "Isn't it Berser-" he cut himself off when he noticed the Servant hadn't moved from the spot where they rounded the corner.

Staring ahead of them and rooted to the ground, the smoke around them suddenly shifted violent "Gaaa…." the voice called out in an almost broken tone, the cloud shifted and stepped backwards "Gaaarrr…"

Ritsuka blinked, then gave a concerned frown "Berserker? It's fine." he gestured at Verndari "He doesn't mean any trouble. A lot of Servants are here and we're all allies-"

"Wait…" Gareth's voice called out, sounding confused and a little hopeful, the Lancer stepped forwards with her hand outstretched and her expression in subtle puzzlement "You…have we met?" she called out to the cloud as it stared down the hallway at them.

"Naa…" The cloud shifted, the crimson visor suddenly flashed as the body stumbled backwards, smoke whirling violently until it was akin to a hurricane "NAAAAAAAAAA!" Berserker let loose a horrific scream like grinding metal as they staggered away, their dark plated arms moved to grasp at the helm on their head "GAAARRRREEE!"

Berserker turned on his heel, scrambling to get as far away from them as possible and tearing down the hallway with as much speed as they could.

Gareth was stood rooted on the spot, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape with her hand still outstretched towards them.

"Oh no!" Ritsuka cursed to himself, then turned to Verndari and pointed at her "Try and get a message to Da Vinci and Romani, tell them to alert the Servants and the staff to steer clear of Berserker until we can get him." he nodded to Mash "Come on Mash!" he called out to her, sprinting down the hallway as fast as he could and rounding the corner.

Mash hesitated for a moment, then turned to Gareth, her own expression seemingly just as troubled as the Lancers for reasons she could not explain before she too shook her head and took off after Ritsuka, chasing down the runaway Berserker.

"That seemed troublesome." Verndari replied before she turned around "Come, let us spread the word before the Berserker causes undue harm."

"...R-right…" Gareth shakily nodded her head, jogging backwards with her eyes still fixed on the corridor where Berserker had vanished off to "...Sir Lancelot?" she whispered to herself in a hurt tone of voice so quietly that no one could hear her.

Or at least, no normal person could.

For a split second, Verndari's posture tensed before she resumed her sprint down the corridor towards the elevator.

"So you managed to lose Berserker for ten minutes?" Olga demanded an answer as she slammed her hand on the desk, glaring at Ritsuka "How did you manage that?"

Ritsuka could do nothing but give a helpless shrug "I don't know…one minute he's just quietly following me the next he's just screaming at the top of his lungs and running away as fast as he can." he reached up, scratching the back of his neck "I just…don't have an answer for you."

Olga frowned heavily "If this is the sort of Servant that can simply become uncontrollable at the drop of a hat or a change of the wind then-"

"Wait, Director…" Mash held up her hand, turning to Ritsuka and giving him a curious expression "Didn't Gareth-san say something?"

Ritsuka blinked at her once before he widened his eyes in understanding and snapped his fingers "She did, didn't she?" he turned to the Director who was looking more puzzled by the latest development "She asked if they had met before."

The woman frowned, then thinned her lips "And he was perfectly rational…" she paused, sighing "As rational as a Berserker can be, until he entered the hallway with Sir Gareth?"

The pair nodded their heads.

"In that case, we have confirmed the general time period of this Servant." The Director announced with a confident smile as she leaned back and gave a smug grin "They are clearly from the era of King Arthur, given the rather visceral reaction to a member of the Round Table. Perhaps an old enemy?"

Ritsuka furrowed his brow before he shook his head "I don't think so…Gareth sounded more…" he made spinning motions with his right hand as he tried to think of the words "Hurt?" he turned to Mash, who nodded her head "Yeah, hurt. Sad?"

The Director sighed to herself "However she sounds is unimportant, with whatever that cloud is hiding away their true identity we have no way of discerning who they really are. Not to mention their lack of functioning vocal cords." the woman ran a hand down the front of her face before she pointed at Ritsuka "You. Go to Sir Gareth and ask them if she does recognise this Servant." she then pointed at Mash "Kyrielight, where is Berserker now?"

Mash thinned her lips "He…um…went to the Simulator and hasn't come back out."

Olga raised an eyebrow "Very well then, have Romani in the command room monitor him for any signs of a break and then report back to me with your findings."

"Yes, Director." The pair nodded their heads and made for the door, Ritsuka looking to the large suit of armour in the corner and giving it a wave "Hey, Stahl."

Stahl released a deep rumbling groan in response.

"Incidentally, Fujimaru." Olga called out as the boy was halfway through the door, the Master turned around and levelled a curious glance at her "I understand that Ash has recently resumed his training with Scathach, has he made progress?"

She didn't understand why Fujimaru suddenly gave her an amused smile and she suddenly wanted to punch him for it. Her irritation must have shown itself because the smile quickly vanished.

"I-I think so, yeah." Ritsuka nodded his head "He hasn't complained about it so far and given Scathach's legend…you know…"

Olga thinned her lips. She knew all too well the legend of Scathach, trainer of heroes. One did not study a basic understanding of Runes without ever hearing of the Celtic witch, the Director considered it imperative that the woman never find out about her own ability to use runes.

Was it an opportunity to learn? Yes, it was.

Did that mean she was going to volunteer for it? No, it didn't. She had read the after action report of the Fuyuki scouting mission as well as heard passing remarks from the Lancer. Having Scathach as a teacher was not something you wanted and she was already trying her best to avoid that spartan halfwit from dragging her out to the gym as was already.

"Good." She gave a nod of the head to the Master as she looked back down at her desk "Perhaps he might make a decent servant yet."

"Snrk."

Her head snapped up so fast she almost gave herself whiplash, her eyes narrowed themselves into slits. "Did you say something, Master Candidate Forty-eight?" she hissed at him. Ritsuka's face blanched and he rapidly shook his head "That's what I thought." The Master quickly nodded his head then walked out of the room.

Ritsuka exhaled as the door closed behind him, shaking his head and seeing Mash giving him a slightly scolding look "You shouldn't try and tease the Director, Senpai."

"Probably." He admitted with a wry smile before his expression softened "She seems a bit less tense than when I first met her." he remarked to himself before shaking his head and turning to Mash "Now then…probably got to find Gareth and see if she knows anything."

"Yes, Senpai." Mash nodded her head, the pair walking down the hallway in the general direction of the control room. They assumed Gareth would still be there.

Verndari was silent as she walked through the hallway, her mind left utterly blank by what she supposed might have been a revelation.

Sir Lancelot. The man who trained Sir Gareth from a squire into a knight.

And killed her as well.

If Gareth was correct in her assumption, then the knight wreathed in shadow they had encountered earlier was the man who had both raised her as a knight and slain her in a fit of blind rage, not even glancing at her twice as he killed her.

Killed her as she was unarmed as well, alongside her brothers Gaheris and Agravain.

Verndari came to a halt in front of the door, turning to the sight and looking at the armoured figure standing just next to it.

The man in dark steel armour with two wings jutting from the top inclined his head towards her.

"The simulator is already housing one Servant." He informed her in a curt voice "What is your business here."

"I need only confirm something." Verndari replied in a blank voice "What of you?"

"My Lord has decreed the Berserker is to be watched for the time being. I have been assigned that task."

"Will you bar my passage?"

"Will you cause a ruckus?"

"That will depend upon the mood of the conversation." Verndari snapped back at the knight with a light growl, turning to face them fully. The dark knight barely had a few centimetres of height on her, it was only the twin spokes that made them slightly taller.

Arkon remained silent before he stood aside, looking at the mirror knightess "Should you make any attempt to instigate trouble, then I will make no effort to aid you. It will be on your head alone."

"Good." Verndari nodded her head in response, turning her head towards the door as it opened up "That is my desire as well." she walked through the door into the simulator, Arkon watched as the door closed before his head turned back to face the hallway.

Berserker wasn't difficult to spot, already midway through cutting down an illusion of a sword taken from one of the simulated skeletons. The beast collapsed to the ground as the knight sheared through the body and removed the head. Trickles of light flew from the 'corpse' as it returned to the digital realm.

Berserker paused, then slowly shifted the glowing red visor to stare at Verndari.

"You would not know me." Verndari began "I am Sir Verndari of Drangleic, Knight of the court of King Vendrick."

Berserker remained silent, content to simply stare at her.

"I understand the class of Berserker is robbed of their sanity, but if enough of your mind lingers within that helm of yours, then I would have your ear, Sir."

"Aaa." Berserker answered in a clipped grunt.

Verndari took that as a sign for her to continue on, the Knightess marching forwards as she did so "Your reaction earlier with my ally was noted and I…have reason to suspect your true identity." the woman continued on as she walked forwards, Berserker twitched ever so slightly at the mention of the ally "She whispered a name to herself, clearly not intending for others to hear but I could not help myself but listen."

Berserker continued to remain silent, however the visor started to brighten slightly.

"Should the name be mistaken, then you will have my apologies and I will depart." Verndari continued on "Is that acceptable to you…Sir Lancelot?"

"Grrrrrraaaaa!" Lancelot released a growl much louder than before, this one sounding more angered and certainly on the verge of lashing out. Despite all of that, Verndari made no attempt to retreat from them.

"I shall take that as confirmation." Verndari nodded her head "...In which case, I shall simply ask a question." she looked back up, glaring at Lancelot from behind her helmet "...Why did you escape justice?"

Lancelot's body trembled.

"The deaths of your fellow knights…The death of Gareth whom you trained." She accused, stamping forwards "How did you escape punishment? What…" she growled at him "Where was the justice for her death? Justice for all their deaths?"

"Arrrrr…." Lancelot hunched his body forwards, howling and clenching his hands into fists.

"In all the tales and legends I read, you escaped your rightful punishment." Verndari accused, stepping backwards and clenching her own hands into fists "I can barely excuse the dishonourable we have in Chaldea already. They were slain in punishment for their sins, but you? Where was the punishment for your sins…dying of what…old age? Retiring to live as a monk as the Kingdom of Camelot collapsed to infighting!"

Lancelot growled louder, stomping forwards and coming to a halt right before Verndari, red visor menacingly glaring down at her.

Verndari glared back without losing any sense of composure, instead she seemed more incensed.

"You…where is your punishment, Sir Lancelot?" She growled, then reached up and shoved the knight away from her. Lancelot took two steps backwards then stopped, his armour creaking and shuddering "Where?"

"Aaarrr….tttthhhuuurrr…."

"King Arthur is not here and Sir Gareth…" Verndari did a sharp intake of breath "...She still holds you in high regard. Seemingly holding no ill will towards you." she released a bark of ugly laughter "I am sure her trust in you made it all the easier to slay her."

"Aaaaaarrrr!" Lancelot reached up, clasping at his helmet and hunching his body forwards while the shuddering only served to increase.

"My Liege says that we are to work alongside those summoned…" Verndari's voice dropped into a dangerous whisper "Yet…the knowledge of you being here and going unpunished for your crimes is one I…I cannot accept." they declared "I fully expect to be punished for this and yet…perhaps it is my own memory of seeing injustice done while I remained silent that is driving me to do this…or perhaps the knowledge that you managed to escape justice for my friend's death."

She shrugged to herself "I myself cannot decide which it is…but it has drawn me here. To you." she reached down to her side, clasping at the sword on her hip and slowly drawing it free.

Lancelot paused at the movement, staring at the sword slowly being drawn out before looking at Verndari.

"I demand you draw your sword, Sir Lancelot." Verndari growled at him "I will wait…As I am not craven enough to slay the unarmed without due warning."

Lancelot's helm echoed out a reverberating growl as they straightened up, their right hand falling to their side and opening up. The cloud of smoke around them dissipated into nothing, revealing pitch black armour that covered every inch of the Servant with a dark blue plume extending from the top of the helm.

The hand clenched inwards, grasping tightly around the hilt of a longsword which formed in their hands. Verndari watched as the weapon - which could only be described as a greatsword - formed in Lancelot's hands. Strange writing could be seen down the centre of the weapon before the Mirror knightess returned her attention to the Berserker.

She held out her left hand, her shield forming in her palm and tightening her grip around it, assuming the stance that had been drilled into her by Sir Raime.

She was under no illusions about her chances here, but that didn't matter.

She could never forgive herself if she allowed something like this to occur a second time without raising her voice.

AN: Ah Verndari…

Caring too much about your friend and walking headfirst into a problem.

Well, we all know how its going to turn out though.