Author's Note: The last chapter was heavily criticized, especially by people who came here for the Artoria x Shirou pairing. I am not very proud of it, but wrote myself into a corner trying to explain how she could stay in the story rather than sleep for ten years. Shirou is eight and she's overly paranoid about his future. Making her a kid alongside the group would have been utterly hated. Making her motherly or smothering to Shirou like in this story would have limited Shirou's relevance later and also been creepy. Trying to parse it into a temporary condition that would ultimately make her more well-adjusted as we see in FGO or some of the post-5HGW material was the best I could come up with, especially since there are unseen developments this will cause in the future. Gray is not meant to replace Shirou, by the way. Mélusine and Waver will be more than enough official guardians for the girl in practice. Artoria will be an aunt though, and charging Artoria with her protection is also a justification by the British Royal Family to Artoria to the crown before the Clock Tower sticks their nose into things more. If there is a misconception people are defaulting to that I'm not grasping, something caused by a bad explanation somewhere, maybe I need to add it to an author's note in a previous chapter.
Also, something I should mention that may be influencing perceptions—not all the girls who show up will automatically be romantic interests. Some will, but by no means all.
That being said, some people have been overreacting to the point of profanity, accusation, and insult. It is also quite telling that a large proportion of the offenders were written from accounts that can't be Private Messaged back. To those of you who say you're not reading anymore or don't enjoy the story, you have that right. Those of you who were at least civil in your criticism or on the way out the door have my gratitude. The rest of you, please keep the reviews clean and your critique limited to specific issues. Those are more useful for actually improving the story and don't make this community look bad.
Some have also mentioned that Shirou hasn't been a focus of the story. I have noticed that with all of his protectors, he hasn't been as close to combat as the others. That will be resolved in future parts. We're in for a timeskip that will see him getting strong enough to more solidly participate in a Grail War...though collecting a certain teacher or two might happen first.
I do intend for about a dozen minor characters to start going off to do their own thing this chapter, as it has gotten rather large in scope and the end of the War is a solid opportunity. Some will rotate out and some will rotate in, but I need to manage that better. The logistics of the post-Grail War are important to clear up, though. This story was always going to have a large cast covering multiple arcs.
Okay, it turns out that I made an error in the time zones because Britannia and Germany use DST while Japan does not. I will correct them in the previous chapter. It threw off my calculations because they are in effect now at the time of writing(summer) but not at the time the fanfic is set(November).
Chapter 24: Complications and Departures
November 24, 1994
Fujimura Compound
Fuyuki City, Japan
5:51 AM
"..." The girl stared at the floating thing that entered her borrowed bedroom with wide blue eyes, frozen like she was a deer caught in headlights. This moment was used by Ruby to conduct a deeper scan of her beyond a mere Magic Circuit analysis. She was recovering from some sort of magical drain, the strain of which had probably opened the one circuit of twenty-seven that she had access to. She showed signs of intense stress, having nibbled on her thumb to the point of bleeding. It seemed that she had come down from an adrenaline rush earlier in the night and was now at a low point. But the most surprising thing was the potential the girl held across the various Worldlines. Tachie ended Ruby's line of thought when she let out a squeak of fear and abruptly pulled the sheets over her head in an effort to hide.
"Well that's kind of rude, Tachie," Ruby said, materializing her handle and starting to prod the human lump hiding under the blanket. "Hey, don't hide from destiny! You have a chance to be a magical girl! Doesn't every girl dream of waking up to the ability to cast spells?"
"...Magic killed my parents and destroyed my home last night. Magic almost killed me too. I wish it didn't exist..." Tachie said, fighting back tears.
Ruby paused as she heard this and realized that the girl wasn't really in a state to be played with too harshly. This was serious. Her wings drooped slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that...but don't you want the power to make sure it doesn't happen again to someone else?"
"W-why does it have to be me? Why can't it be some other girl?" Tachie asked in mounting fear and anger. "I found Taiga's hidden doujinshi stash when they lent me this room, you know! I don't want my life to be full of tentacle monsters and sleepless nights patrolling the city!"
"You don't have to worry," Ruby said in an effort to calm the girl. "I'm about 80% sure that someone else killed all the tentacle monsters in town already!" When Tachie moved her head out from under the blanket and gave Ruby a glare, the Kaleidostick realized that she was not being very reassuring. "...Okay, maybe closer to 85%. Minimum. I'm running with very little data. And the reason it has to be you is because magical energy is something people are either born with or they aren't. The extra-powerful people can shape the elements to their will and discover the secrets of the world. You? You're in the middle. A first-generation Magus who has 27 circuits of average quality. You normally wouldn't go very far without training or some specialization, but with me? You could do all kinds of things! All the other Magi who are supposed to be around here are gone and the magical sites in town are wrecked, so you might be the strongest Magus in Fuyuki left alive. I think we just finished an underground tournament arc that happens every sixty years or so."
This didn't reassure Tachie either. The idea of doing something to strengthen herself against a threat that she had no defense against did appeal, but she wasn't as impulsive as Taiga. "...I'm going back to sleep. If you're still here in the morning, I'll take you to the priests that live outside town. They know about magical things."
"Priests?! They'd just lock me away!" Ruby exclaimed, but the girl flopped down and pulled the covers over herself. Several minutes passed. She was being ignored. Magical Ruby was being ignored. This simply would not do.
Tachie attempted to sleep, but she soon felt herself being poked up and down her body. The handle of the stick poked through the covers. She tried to ignore it for a solid ten minutes in hopes that Ruby would give up and stop, but then the handle levered the blanket up off of her head and pushed against her cheek. And prodded...and kept prodding with increasing force. Tachie, finally angered to the point of action, lashed out with a scowl and grabbed the handle with her dominant hand as she sat up. She drew her arm back and aimed for the open closet in hopes of throwing the wand into it and hurriedly closing the door—just as the Mystic Code accepted a blood sample from her stress-chewed thumb.
BLOOD SAMPLE ACCEPTED.
KALEIDOSTICK HANDLE GRIP ACTIVATION VERIFIED.
MAGICAL RUBY BONDED TO TACHIE KYRIELIGHT.
ALTERNATE WORLDLINE VARIANT CHOSEN: F/SN "SHIELDER PROTOTYPE" 2004 VERSION.
PRIMARY COSTUME CHOSEN: "KALEIDO-RUBY"
TRANSFORMATION INITIATED.
ERROR—DEMI-SERVANT TRANSFORMATION AUTO-INSTALLED. COSTUME OVERRIDEN.
With a bright flash of light that flooded the room and surely showed through the window outside, Tachie felt pain as 26 Magic Circuits were suddenly forced open for the first time while the remaining one opened more normally. The energy felt like liquid fire as it poured down all 27 channels, straining them. Then came the transformation. The raven-haired girl found herself wearing a skimpy black armor with red highlights over top of a dark red-purple bodysuit. The armor shouldn't have functioned well in combat with how her cleavage, belly, and inner thighs were exposed. In one hand remained the Kaleidostick, and she held a massive dark-gray shield in the other. Tachie felt powerful—unnatural, numb, and wrong on some level, but powerful.
"W-What is this? You-" Tachie sputtered.
"Oh my...it seems that I am activated by both a blood sample and by gripping my handle. Biting your thumb is such a bad habit Tachie-chan~" Ruby teased. "Still, it's strange that the uniform choice got overridden. I was aiming for something else entirely."
Tachie couldn't respond before the heavy footfalls of running feet were heard in the hall and the sliding door was shoved open, revealing a certain panting kendoka who had only just gotten home. Behind her were a confused Reikan and Neko. "...T-Tachie?" The Tiger of Fuyuki asked as she looked over the borderline indecent outfit that her classmate was wearing and could only think to say one thing; "Hey, I know you've lost a lot tonight...but you should really ease into cosplay instead of jumping headlong into it like this! Bodysuits and cleavage window armor aren't for first-timers."
"I-It's not...this isn't me! It's this magic stick thing! It tricked me!" Tachie pled in embarrassment and horror as she gestured with the Kaleidostick in her hand. Reikan and Neko looked at Tachie with pity and concern in their eyes, but Taiga was different. Her eyes showed recognition, contemplation, and irritation.
"What? You got magical powers tonight? That's it! Next time I see that dragon girl, I'm asking to drink her blood too! I'm not getting left behind!" Taiga's words shocked everyone in the room.
"...Taiga...as a monk-in-training, I must advise against the drinking of blood under any circumstance. I think your cursed sword might be starting to possess you." Reikan worriedly spoke.
"Eh? You knew my sword was cursed and didn't tell me? I only found out tonight when—oh...I'm not supposed to talk about this stuff. Uh...Tachie, I know some people you need to meet later. But first..." Taiga drew Torashinai and focused...allowing the curse to manifest with conscious effort. A dark miasma started to flow into the visible spectrum and the distant sound of roaring tigers was carried on the wind, unnerving Reikan and Neko. The gleam in Taiga's eyes was like that of a cat's, made more evident in the darkness of the room. "That's a sentient magic wand like in some manga and doujinshi, right? And it tricked you into this? I know what to do. Hold it out in a kendo stance and I'll practice some forms on it!"
"W-wait, who are you and why do you have a cursed—*THWACK*—GAAAHHH!" Ruby exclaimed as Torashinai tried its luck against an entity designed to take Noble Phantasm attacks without damage. Apparently, pain still got through due to the nature of Torashinai's 'legend'.
"Let go of my friend, you hack!" Taiga shouted, while Reikan did his best to adapt to the chaos and started to chant Buddhist prayers. The stick was crying out in pain with each hit, confirming for the bystanders that this madness was real enough.
The yakuza guards who followed Taiga's cries of anger would see their heiress with an oppressive aura attacking a cosplayer with a screaming stick while her monk friend did chants. The leader of the group immediately came to a conclusion. "The honorable granddaughter and her classmate are possessed! Wake up the boss and get those weapons away from the kids!"
Neko simply watched in confusion and stood out of the way as the yakuza swarmed the room and worked to disarm her friends. She idly wondered if she could steal some alcohol from her father's bar and kill the brain cells storing her memories of the night.
November 24, 1994
Tohsaka Mansion
Texture 1986A—Unlimited World Works
6:00 AM
Shirou opened his eyes and realized it was six in the morning...exactly the time he got up every morning to prepare for school. He thought it strange that he felt well-rested, considering that he hadn't been asleep for too long in total. The child looked over the group that had moved to the Tohsaka Mansion within his Texture and fallen asleep for the night. Sakura had asked to resume the sleepover at her house 'with all the Rins', so they had obliged after Artoria and Gray had come back from Britannia.
On top of the blankets and pillows Shirou had made at everyone's request were two distinct cuddle piles. One had a sleeping and smiling Illya at its core, who had been clinging to Shirou on her left and was still clinging to Gray on her right. Artoria was resting next to Shirou, having reached out to gently hug him as well after falling asleep. Mélusine had taken a position next to Gray, hugging no one but taking comfort in the presence of her hatchlings. The other cuddle pile was very Sakura-centric, the girl asleep with Rin on one arm and Ereshkigal on the other. A sleeping Atalanta was helping Sakura cuddle Rin. Ishtar initially settled for resting next to Ereshkigal. Aoi had fallen asleep outside the pile nearby, but Sakura's shadow ribbons soon gently bound her mother and the whole cuddle pile together in one, big, gentle hug. Medusa and Hercules were awake, watching everyone as a silent guard.
Shirou tried to gently get free and managed to escape Illya's grip, but woke Artoria in the process. The girl was only groggy for the slightest of moments before letting Shirou go and quietly standing up with him. The pair went off to the kitchen area with the intention of talking quietly, Artoria giving Medusa and Hercules a nod of greeting as they left the room.
"Shirou, are you alright?" Artoria asked of the boy, concerned that he got up so early.
"I'm alright...I feel like I slept all night and woke up at the usual time like normal. Why is that?" Shirou asked.
"The usual time? You mean you usually wake up at six in the morning?" She asked to confirm, looking at her phone's time display.
"Almost always. That's a personal rule, you know? Any later and I worry about being late for school. I couldn't do that during the War, though." Shirou didn't understand what was going on, but a flash of realization crossed Artoria's face.
She started to explain her suspicions. "A personal rule...I think it's because we're in your Texture, Shirou. You go to bed, get a nice sleep, and wake up at six regularly. If your subconscious mind realized that 'you wake up well-rested at six" and accepted it as a fact, then reality itself will change here to oblige you."
"Wait. You're saying I could fall asleep at something like...five-fifty, wake up ten minutes later, and be good for the day?" Shirou inquired in surprise.
"Yes, but if you fall asleep just after six, you may find yourself asleep for almost twenty-four hours unless someone rouses you. It's a good thing we came here to rest when we did." Artoria was glad that she didn't need to sleep, being a Servant and all. It was that much more likely that the boy would be up all night doing things. "You might be able to manifest this 'rule' on yourself outside your Texture as well, like how you can pull swords from it or Iskandar can bring one soldier out of his Reality Marble. At least...if I understand all of this correctly. I'm not an expert. My older self did have experience using Avalon to 'reset' her sleep schedule when she had to accomplish something similar, but that knowledge feels incomplete. As if I have read it or seen it from an outsider's perspective."
"Can you remember the Fifth Grail War any better?" Shirou asked. He didn't like the idea of being forgotten, even if he had forgotten most of it himself. His instincts screamed at him that remembering it was important, and he only refrained because Artoria had told him not to.
"...those memories are improving a little," Artoria confessed. "I think I'm remembering the most important memories first, or maybe the ones that don't conflict as harshly with Lancer's. She never went through a version of the Fifth and ten of the missing years are identical, so I remember bits of the Fifth and a bit more about my earlier knights. Merlin set up a few hard blocks, but I think that is because my other self had such...anxiety."
Shirou understood. Even when Artoria didn't say anything, his Mystic Eyes revealed the truth once he understood what he was seeing. Artoria loved his future self but had come back too soon. She was torn between guiding him to remember everything or having him live a happy second childhood to guarantee his freedom of choice. She simply couldn't reconcile it, so Merlin had resorted to drastic measures. "She loved me," he observed. "Saber was scared of 'sabotaging' my new life with her love."
Artoria nodded. "My complete self didn't plan on staying after the War, but Merlin had other ideas. Now I'm here, remembering enough memories and second-hand knowledge to understand her on some level, but I'm not tearing myself apart after fifteen centuries of self-doubt. I...do feel something toward you though, Shirou. We'll just need to see how things go in the future." The young woman blushed a bit. Merlin hadn't removed the feelings as much as made them of a more stable sort by adjusting the feeling of responsibility she bore. An age gap of seven years wasn't unheard of in medieval society either, but it would certainly have to wait until the boy was older. There was also the fact that he would age while she wouldn't. It would be even more appropriate in a few years' time.
Shirou nodded in understanding, giving a smile and hugging the adolescent King-in-training before backing away with a smile. "Come on, let's get some breakfast started. Even if the others don't wake up, I can always count on you to eat something!"
"I'm not that bad, Shirou!" Artoria protested, her face turning redder in embarrassment.
Shirou's smile simply grew greater as he pointed toward the sink's dish drainer, where a certain thermally sealed box from the Lion Pop Scooter meant for storing a large amount of popsicles and ice cream had been drying. "I'm the one who washes your lunchbox, Saber. There's no fooling me. You don't need to worry about it though. I can make all the ingredients I need. I'll get you full eventually~"
And so a mortified, yet hungry, Artoria sat at the table waiting for her Master to cook her a large meal—a scene that only helped her recall similar events from the Fifth Holy Grail War. Peaceful moments of camaraderie and love that survived even the editing of her memories. Things she would treasure until the proper time.
November 23, 1994
Clock Tower
London, Britannia
9:21 PM Local Time (Greenwich Mean Time)
(6:21 AM Japan Standard Time)
Zelretch had a faraway look in his eyes and let out a chuckle that drew the attention of his allies. No one knew what had captured his amusement, and no one dared to ask. Night had fallen and they were only now getting back to the bus that had brought them here, though Doctor Albion and the Count of Saint Germain had to meet with Lord Animuspshere and Kayneth's next-of-kin for further conversation. Neither would be returning to Japan for a while. After verifying that the vehicle was bereft of hidden spells or familiars listening in, the Old Man of the Jewels gave a sigh of contentment at a job well done as the vehicle pulled away from the Clock Tower. He looked toward a seated Tokiomi Tohsaka and found a man who was surprisingly less than enthusiastic about his appointment as a Lord of the Clock Tower. "Concerns, Tokiomi?" The ancient Magician inquired.
"Master Zelretch," Tokiomi started before taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "...I had resolved to place my family above advancement or even pursuit of the Root. To reject being a traditional Magus. And yet, you've pushed me into this position where I must renounce that decision. Why?"
After saying something that would normally enrage and shock other Magi, Tokiomi half-expected Zelretch to berate him. Instead, the Second Magician retained his amused expression. "You've certainly become more interesting than your other selves, haven't you?" Tokiomi's surprised expression showed clearly enough, so Zelretch began to elaborate. "Oh, most of the other versions of you never reached this point. They usually believed in the 'pride and poise of the Magus' and played as a shallow caricature of one right until they were murdered right before the War's conclusion. A pitiful end that Rin typically looked likely to share until Shirou came along. Only after a change in mentality and with his help did she truly begin to shine and gain my notice." Zelretch looked to his follower's descendant with contemplative eyes before he decided to throw Tokiomi a bone for his accomplishment.
"Tell me. Why do you think I chose your ancestor, Nagato, as my follower instead of someone else?" Zelretch asked.
After a moment of thought, Tokiomi responded. "He showed you kindness by paying your bill and showing basic human decency to a stranger. Though many other Magi considered it a mere whim of fancy on your part, you chose him because he was not evil and his line would never stray from the right path. You even referred to such when advocating for my claiming the lordship."
Zelretch gave a slight nod as he looked out the window of the moving bus. "That's part of it. The rest of the truth is that the methods of reaching the Second Magic aren't fully compatible with the traditional Magus way of thinking. Swordspeople seem to have better luck with it. Why do you think that Okita Souji and Sasaki Kojirou's techniques touch upon my Magic's domain? For goodness sake, there's a female Miyamoto Musashi or two randomly crossing Parallel Worlds and exploring them with neither a measure of control nor care. When I encountered Nagato, who equally considered the study of Magecraft and the attainment of Mushin through Martial Arts as a path to the Root, I sensed that he and his descendants would not abuse such power. I chose to give them a chance. Being a 'traditional' Magus is a hindrance, Tokiomi, because True Magic is typically reached by extraordinary processes that depart from conventional thinking by default. I don't want you to return to blindly obeying tradition or to discard tradition completely. I want merely for you to open your mind and question what is accepted as true. Then make informed decisions before doing what you think is best. That is the true nature of a researcher. There is no contradiction between that and being a decent father and human being. Just find a healthy work-life balance."
Tokiomi did not recover from his stunned expression before Zelretch pulled out a book from inside his cape and handed it to him. It was The Book of the Five Rings, written by Miyamoto Musashi. "The warriors who have attained something touching on the Second Magic have done so through training in meditative states and adjusting their own perception to a degree sufficient to see various possibilities. Sasaki Kojiro pursued a concept of 'infinity' to tap into multiple possibilities and let several Worldlines bleed over into each other locally for a single moment. Miyamoto Musashi approached a concept of reducing those possibilities to 'one' and ultimately 'zero' which Nagato also knew of as 'Mu' and sought to reach through Mushin. Okita Souji's techniques are more about rearranging multiple consecutive events into a single one and also enter into the domain of the Second, albeit inferior to the other two. Her insight and cooperation with your family have brought you further in your research than your counterparts in other Worldlines as of this time, so I can at least provide you this much context so you know that Nagato's initial search for a path to the Root wasn't a flawed one." Almost everyone in the world thought that Jewel Magecraft alone was the way Zelretch had managed to initially get to the Root. This was to the point where some embraced Jewel Magecraft in a belief that it was intrinsically linked to the Second Magic and could bring them closer to it. Many of his abilities used gems in conjunction with the Second Magic and the disciplines synergized very well, but Jewel Magecraft was mainly used for energy transference and computation. It stabilized and refined the Magic, but had it really opened Zelretch's initial door to the Root? Tokiomi now had his doubts.
Tokiomi froze in realization and Zelretch studied the man's face carefully as he saw the man's eyes widen in worry. "Infinity and Zero represent the two opposing concepts of Imaginary Elements—'Imaginary Numbers', also known as 'Hollow' or 'Kyo'; and 'Nothingness', also known as 'Mu'. Sakura and Rin...they carry those respective Origins. Sakura's Mystic Eyes also allow her to see such things regarding Imaginary Number Space without altering her mental state while Rin's Attribute of Conversion makes her better at regulating energy flow. They're uniquely suited to cooperatively researching those techniques and studying the Second Magic—" The man was white as a sheet as he pondered the possibilities.
Zelretch grinned widely. "That right there. The sweat on your brow. The fear you have for the well-being of your children tempering your ambition. That was the final mark in Nagato's favor before I made my decision, and now it's a mark in yours."
The old man reclined in his seat with a smug grin. "Though I've told you enough to reveal how to go further, aspects of the Second Magic aren't as compatible with you as with your children anyway. The best way for you to use this knowledge is to lay the groundwork for the next generation like how the third-generation head of the Aozaki did for his grandchildren—minus the sibling rivalry and attempted murder. When your daughters start to show results, they will need as much weight to their names and as many allies in the Clock Tower as they can muster. If you and Waver Velvet can become fine role models for the next generation of students for what a Magus should be rather than the traditional type and ultimately help the girls build friendships and alliances, all the better. Try to create and cultivate an environment where they will be able to grow in more security once the time comes. It would be ideal if Shirou could also benefit from the same."
Tokiomi's expression regained its clarity as he realized what this was truly for. He wasn't abandoning his new beliefs. He was becoming a Lord of the Clock Tower to protect the children and subtly change what minds he could. The man was under no delusion that he'd transform the Clock Tower in his lifetime, but if it could be made survivable for Rin and Sakura, that would be worthwhile. "I understand, Master. I will accept this responsibility."
Further possible discussion was frozen when Irisviel's cell phone rang. This came as a slight surprise to her, but she remembered how to answer the bulky phone for herself this time. "Hello? Oh, Miss Fujimura! Hmm? Yes, that's right, the Second Owner is the person to contact if something magical happens in Fuyuki...yes, he's right here..." Irisviel handed the phone to Tokiomi, and he awkwardly took the odd device and held it to his head.
"Hello? Miss Fujimura, this is Tokiomi Tohsaka, the Second Owner of Fuyuki. Can you hear me?" Tokiomi asked, testing the unfamiliar contraption. The man's expression grew slightly irritated while Zelretch smiled knowingly. "Before I confirm that 'you didn't do it', I need you to convey to me exactly what has transpired." The man's irritation was gradually replaced with surprise and mild concern. "It claims to have come from the wreckage of my home? And this event was witnessed by multiple people in the household? Yes...yes, Miss Fujimura, this is exactly the sort of thing that it is my duty to resolve. Contacting me was the correct course of action. Please ensure that everyone aware of the situation stays in one place until I can get there to speak with them. It will be easier to resolve with all parties present...No, there shouldn't be any danger so long as it doesn't feel a true, inescapable need to protect itself or its contracted partner from harm. That particular item is more likely to cause embarrassment than injury. Very well. I will be there as soon as possible. I am returning the telephone to Ms. Einzbern."
Tokiomi handed the phone back to Irisviel and took note of Zelretch and Merlin's amusement. He dared not say anything in critique. Even as a Lord of the Clock Tower, these two were well above him. As Irisviel closed the call, Tokiomi spoke to the pair. "Ruby escaped containment and approached the orphaned Magus from last night. She was tricked into a contract while recovering at Miss Fujimura's home. A number of people saw the aftermath and I need to tend to it. Are you going to join me there, Master?"
Zelretch adjusted his cloak in preparation for departing once more. "I suppose I do carry a certain measure of responsibility for this. That and it will double as the poor girl's proper introduction into the magical world."
Risei gave a slight nod. "Kirei is the one who was forced to bring young Tachie into this hidden world and I assisted in providing her the initial context. I also know the Fujimura patriarch. We should probably attend as well."
Kariya stretched a bit, the sleeplessness of the night starting to catch up to him. "I'm not sure how useful I'd be. The yakuza might be uncomfortable with a freelance reporter like me popping up. It might be better if I go around to the destroyed areas of the Fuyuki and take pictures, maybe write an article or two that the Overseer can sign off on before sending it out. That has a time limit to it though, so I'd have to get on it. If Mélusine could come along and take some close-in aerial photographs while hidden by something with Presence Concealment, that would really help our version of the article stand out." Risei gave a nod of agreement. Having someone willingly writing articles to help cover up the War would be useful.
"If anyone asks how you got those shots, I suppose we can just say that you used my helicopter," Kiritsugu commented.
With that, the plan was made. On returning to Ahnenerbe's Fuyuki side, EMIYA made Kariya a copy of the latter's destroyed white 1987 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX with which to go photograph the damaged areas of the city, and Mélusine tagged along so as to provide aerial photographs under the cover of a copy of Carnwennan. Zelretch, Tokiomi, Kiritsugu, Irisviel, Risei, Kirei, Natalia, and EMIYA left for the Fujimura Compound in the copy of Leysritt's black 1993 Suzuki Carry that had initially delivered them to Ahnenerbe.
The sky had finally started to lighten from the long, final night of the Grail War. Sadly, that did not mean that things were well. The assets of the Mage's Association embedded within the Japanese Self-Defense Force, the United States Air Force, and Lord Animusphere's people aboard the RMS Galehut were doing what they could to manage the aftermath of Caster's rampage. Reports of a massive natural gas leak were being made to dissuade people from approaching the impacted area within the city, and rumors of volcanic activity at Mount Enzo were being floated around. They'd declare the 'volcano' inert after a few years. At least the kids were safe in the Tohsaka Mansion hidden in Shirou's Texture. It turned out that Shirou could physically go into the Texture, the manifestation of his own soul, so long as there was a connection to Ahnenerbe to serve as a method of return...something about that made Tokiomi's suspension of disbelief strain, but he wasn't the expert.
Tokiomi put away a report and held back a light sigh as he rode in the rather full vehicle. "I need a telephone, a car, and to see if a computer would be as useful to me as it is to Mister Emiya."
Kirei perked up slightly at this admission. "You told me at the dawn of the War that you considered such technology inferior to your Magecraft-derived devices."
The newly minted Lord of the Clock Tower remembered this conversation. "While I still believe it to be the case and would continue to employ Magecraft for more secure uses, there are no magical offerings that are as portable or swift to use. If I am to efficiently manage my duties, the new era requires that I adapt. It is clear from King Artoria's futuristic device that the future will move even further in that direction." There was also the fact that he realized a number of the lords and nobles at the meeting used vehicles to leave but had some servants driving them. Reaping the benefits but without dirtying their own hands with the new devices themselves by technicality. Lord Inorai Valualeta Atroholm was an exception who drove herself and boldly enjoyed modern conveniences without worry.
Kiritsugu spoke up. "Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald brought over some equipment that I took from him during the War. The Clock Tower counted it as my 'spoils' and there was a car mixed in. We can take a look at it later." There was no time to discuss this further as the van arrived, pulled up to the Fujimura Compound, and was subsequently guided to drive into a guest area. The group stepped out, greeted by a number of wary Yakuza. After brief introductions and making sure that the group temporarily surrendered any weapons, the group was brought into the main Fujimura Compound. They soon found themselves standing in front of an old man by the name of Raiga Fujimura. There was also a line of roughly a dozen Yakuza who had seen the event in question, Taiga, her two friends from school that EMIYA had met before, and a young woman in a skimpy suit of armor who was further wrapped in a blanket ostensibly for the sake of modesty. This last person was someone whom Risei and Kirei both recognized. One who gave off the feeling of a Servant.
Pushing down his surprise at seeing someone new whom his Grail-given Master senses classified as a Servant, Tokiomi gently cleared his throat and decided to speak carefully to the group. "I am Tokiomi Tohsaka, the one Miss Fujimura called for. One of my duties is to resolve situations such as these within the territory of Fuyuki City. This matter would normally be limited to me, the people involved, and perhaps the Fathers Kotomine given the situation; but I have associates from Germany and Britannia who happen to be here for another matter and are well-suited for assisting with this meeting. One of them happens to be my superior and is better versed in some of the more unusual details."
"Yes, the Grail War. A nasty business," Raiga said to the surprise of the newcomers and Taiga alike. "Oh don't be so shocked. Okita Souji couldn't use solely legal means to keep the Third under wraps, so she and Risei used our services to protect the populace as best we could. That was always her main priority. One of her grandchildren, my mother, had married the Fujimura head at the time and we accepted the request. She visited and asked me to do so again for this War, but most of us fell ill until we drank the military's water." Raiga found it odd that Tokiomi was ignorant of this. "Your grandfather should have been aware of that history, Tohsaka-san."
Tokiomi's eyes narrowed slightly. "A mandatory contract of secrecy was forced on the people of that time as part of a conspiracy. It restricted the ability of the people from the Third Grail War to the point where my grandfather couldn't even tell his own descendants everything. We only learned of it after the mountain exploded again. At the very least the threat is over and done with."
The old man sighed. "Yes, at least there's that. Anyway, you're here for three reasons. First, I would like to thank the dark-skinned 'Archer' for saving my granddaughter's life from that monster and the rest of you for doing what you could to see to her safety." The man gave a deep bow to the visiting party, as did all of the other Yakuza present. Taiga was the beloved granddaughter of the clan, after all.
"E-everyone..." Taiga said, touched by the unexpected gesture. The yakuza did not bow lightly, especially the head of the organization.
"It wasn't a problem. I'm glad I made it in time," EMIYA responded diplomatically. He may not have openly advocated being a Hero of Justice anymore, but the instincts were still there. That and he felt he owed Taiga for the years her future self so eagerly served as family to a broken and orphaned child.
"Indeed. Some people with our abilities are indeed amoral, but this group isn't interested in needless death." Tokiomi answered for the group.
Raiga raised his head, clearly thankful that these people were decent enough. "Thank you. That attitude has also made us willing to work with you and leads to the second reason you're here—to discuss coordination between recovery efforts in Fuyuki and your group's intentions. We're already doing what we can to help with the victims, but you might be needed to help streamline our efforts and help act as a bridge with the militaries. They hesitate to coordinate directly with the yakuza. We are also willing to see to your housing temporarily since Taiga mentioned that every asset within your collective ownership became a target."
Tokiomi noted this and gave a nod. He wasn't opposed to restarting the coordination between the Tohsaka and Fujimura families. The Holy Grail War his family hosted was no more 'legal' to the non-magical law enforcement than some of this family's yakuza enterprises, after all. "I would be more than willing to support those efforts, and they even fall under my duties as Second Owner due to the initial cause of the situation. Does anyone else in the group have other intentions?" Tokiomi inquired with the group that had been assembled. No one protested. "Very well, it seems we have a common interest to explore. As for housing, we may have available alternatives. Natalie here is a real estate broker, among other things, who purchased a number of Fuyuki properties for us throughout the early 1980s before the housing bubble. She sold most of them at the height of that bubble, but still retains a few we can use."
Irisviel smiled, choosing then to speak up. "I should mention that my grandfather was ordered to pay for the damages to Fuyuki and its people by the highest authority our people have. He has enough money to manage a small country, so make sure to account for every yen you spend so we can make him bleed that much more, okay?"
"You don't seem to be much of a fan of your family," Raiga said to the woman, wondering how much responsibility she bore for this mess if her grandfather was forced to pay compensation.
"They did send me here explicitly to die without telling me that it was all for a lie. Then they planned to do the same to my daughter when she was older." Irisviel responded.
"I have already said that they were an evil family. The only decent ones have already left Germany to come here." Zelretch contributed.
"Quite," Tokiomi responded in agreement.
"We'll make sure to provide records of our expenditures, then." Raiga was satisfied with this. If the man really sent his own granddaughter to die and intended such a thing toward his great-granddaughter as well, then they weren't accountable for his sins. "The third reason you're here is the maintenance of the Concealment of Mystery, as you people call it. We need to figure out what to do about Tachie, Taiga, and the witnesses." Raiga said this and a few of the younger men in the lineup tensed. Raiga noticed and shouted at them. "What's with the trembling?! Am I the sort of man to do heartless things to witnesses? To cast aside my men simply for rushing to protect my grandchild and her friends? Discard whatever notions of betrayal are in your heads! You'll all be fine!"
"It is true," Tokiomi explained to the assembled. "For those of you who wish to remember, we can have you sign a magically binding agreement preventing you from revealing what you've seen or divulging other sensitive information. This would be mainly so you could provide Miss Fujimura and her friends with your aid in the future or to otherwise coordinate with our hidden side of things as part of your duties. The exact text of such an agreement can be negotiated to a degree but is quite standard as we sometimes use mundane people for contract work. For those who don't want to carry that knowledge, we can employ the more common solution and wipe away your memories of the morning's events. There is ample precedent for these things." That helped calm the yakuza down. Their lack of Magic Circuits meant that any geas might have to be enforced with runes instead, but that was something that had already been long established and was not too difficult to employ. Half ultimately elected to forget while the remainder agreed to the contract so as to support the leader and grandchild in magical happenings. The room was soon secure enough to discuss other matters.
"Alright, now that that's finally over and done with..." Ruby said, her voice speaking out in irritation as she peeked out from inside the blanket Tachie had used to cover herself, "...where were you people? I didn't detect any other Magi in Fuyuki! I thought the War had wiped out all of them but Tachie!" The Kaleidostick was irritated at having to hide and wait to ask her questions until now, but she behaved ever so slightly since her creator was in the room.
Zelretch chose to respond to his creation's reasonable query. "They were at Ahnenerbe for their protection and impossible to detect on a basic scan. Others in town who are currently embedded in the military or serving as Lord Animusphere's assets are wearing magical energy concealment Mystic Codes that you would also fail to see on a basic scan. It could be harmful for a Servant to detect and hone in on them given how Servants can consume souls to sustain themselves. As for not sensing Gilgamesh or Enkidu, it's likely that something from his Gate of Babylon interfering with your sensors."
"I apologize for Ruby's conduct," Tokiomi said to the group as he gave a bow. "It was sealed away in my home long ago but escaped when the home was recently destroyed. I have not yet had the opportunity to return to the site to contain the artifacts there."
"I've done nothing wrong!" Ruby defended herself. "I found a Magical Girl with a tragic backstory and the capacity to become a Demi-Servant! I even found a Class Card-like thing on the way here that has a Noble Phantasm that can augment that of her Servant! How could I not take her as my partner?"
"A Class Card?" Zelretch's eyes turned serious for a moment. "We will discuss that later. For now, though, explain why can she become a Servant."
"Kekekekeke...well, it turns out that she dies in most timelines at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War and is brought back with Necromancy Magecraft. She fights in some versions of the Fifth as a vessel for the Shielder-class Servant. Having a corpse as a vessel helps with the energy costs. I just use Prism Trace to copy over the body, powers, and skills of that version of her and boom! Instant Demi-Servant!" Ruby said this with pride, but Tachie shuddered. Being reminded of how close she came to dying and her corpse being desecrated was hardly a pleasant thing. "There is also a lot of mental contamination in her counterpart, but the nature of the Prism Trace protects her from going crazy."
"I-I'm not even alive when I'm like this...Everything feels dulled and numb and I just want to go back to normal! Please help..." Tachie managed to convey, fighting back tears. Taiga and the others were horrified. The poor girl was an animated corpse in this form.
Zelretch looked somewhat irritated as he heard this. This was a man who was a Dead Apostle in some other Worldlines and could get an idea of what Tachie was feeling. He wouldn't want to be forced to go through living as his vampiric self, after all. "Ruby, you are crossing the line. Respect your partner or I'll transfer your contract over to Sapphire and put you back in the box. I'll see about tweaking your system so she can tap into that power without losing her pulse."
"Fiiine..." Ruby groaned out before Tachie was suddenly detransformed back into her borrowed nightwear. "Try to fix the costume selection system while you're at it, will you? That Shielder armor keeps overriding my choices. Kaleido-Ruby, Prisma-Tachie, Dangerous Beast, Trick or Treatment, none of them work."
"Those last two have no place being worn by a fourteen-year-old girl," Zelretch warned sternly. "Now let me see that Class Card you mentioned. Those shouldn't exist in this Worldline." Ruby floated out from Tachie's blanket and provided the man with the King of Hearts Playing Card, which he inspected...then activated, turning it into the Noble Phantasm Carnwennan. Zelretch gave a sigh of relief. "It's not a Class Card, but it is compatible with the system. This stores the entirety of a Noble Phantasm's data and is a copy of something Merlin made for King Artoria. No reduction in rank in exchange for needing to power it natively. Where did you find this?"
Ruby spoke proudly. "A wrecked Japanese house that had mercury and dead worms everywhere. It was on the floor of the living room. Not only is it from the same lore as Tachie's Servant form, but her defensive Noble Phantasm even launches a bunch of lances at her foes. Normalish ones, but they are so similar to Carnwennan in theme and design that Carnwennan can easily be swapped in to make her Noble Phantasm's attack power all the more deadly! She can also call on at least one Carnwennan at any time from inside her shield to fight with."
"Shirou must have dropped it when he used the shield and lost consciousness..." Irisviel uttered. There was no mistaking the described location. It was a good thing he could make another, not that she'd voice that.
"Well, finder's keepers. I'm using it to upgrade Tachie. It's that cursed training sword of Taiga's that you should focus on! It hurt!" Ruby stubbornly said.
"Shut up!' Taiga exclaimed in anger. "Don't make this about me just so you can weasel out of things!"
"Torashinai," EMIYA said, drawing attention. "A wooden training sword that was used to painfully beat so many people that its victims began to attribute mystical power to it. This belief started empowering the weapon in a similar manner to a Servant's Noble Phantasm, specifically in the form of a curse. A weapon that 'longs to shed blood, but is unable' and tries to resolve the paradox through brute force."
Tokiomi was more than a bit surprised. "Wait, we have an analogue for a Noble Phantasm forming in the modern day, even if a low-grade one? How is that possible?"
EMIYA shrugged. "Taiga's luck is extreme to the point of ridiculousness. I think the Grail might also have jump-started the sword's growth by empowering it further."
"That could be worth studying..." Tokiomi pondered before putting aside the thought for later. There was something else he should be doing right now. He looked to the magical orphan and took on a formal air. "Tachie Kyrielight. I, as the Second Owner of Fuyuki City and in the traditions of our society, recognize your residence in the territory under my magical administration. I will allow you the construction of a magical workshop within the city upon your proving a basic level of competency with Magecraft and safety protocols." After this traditional declaration of acceptance and welcome was made, Tokiomi kept going. "Also, the same people who are paying reparations to Fuyuki were further ordered to fund your care and education. There is a world-class magical school and research institution in London that they are ordered to pay for you to attend in a few years if you so choose—an opportunity that many children in your situation simply never obtain. Ms. Einzbern and I are going to be collectively teaching a group of children Magecraft, so it may be to your benefit to join those basic lessons over the next few years in parallel with your early high school education."
Zelretch nodded. "As the creator of Ruby, I will assist in providing you with some basic insight as to her operation. The power she grants you is based on imagination and willpower rather than the typical forms and formulas of Magecraft, so I think it should go more swiftly."
"I..." Tachie started, pondering the situation carefully before answering. "I want to learn it. It almost killed me, so I can't stay ignorant of Magecraft."
"Woo! You won't regret being a Magical Girl, Tachie! I will teach you everything I know!" Ruby said, making Tachie quickly adopt a look of regret and worry.
"Then we will consider that matter resolved for the moment and move on to another issue." Zelretch knew that Ruby would need more discipline, but that was a problem for tomorrow. Today, he needed to run a plan by the group while all the parties involved were here. "I have a few ideas about how to rebuild this city at minimal cost and labor while also ensuring that the Einzberns pay their due. It would require some front companies in construction," he said while glancing to Raiga, "some real estate management," Natalia met his glance next, "and the ability to remove the curses from this city while cheaply and efficiently restoring what was lost," EMIYA was regarded next, the tanned man scowling a bit at the prospect of essentially being cheap labor.
"What do you have in mind?" Natalia inquired, her question met with a wide, cocky grin from the Old Man of the Jewels.
Over the next few hours, the group came to the agreement that Natalia would buy up all of the damaged land and buildings she could at the predictably rock-bottom prices she initially intended. The Fujimura would use their construction companies as a cover to have EMIYA restore various buildings and infrastructure while he also cleansed the curses lingering in the city and its sewer system. It would greatly reduce the cost of resources and labor. The Einzberns would be stuck with the full bill and be none the wiser, ultimately paying for the costs of purchasing the land in question and much more. New development was even possible. Some repaired homes would be reserved for their original owners or next-of-kin where possible as part of a 'local charity program' that Natalia and the Fujimura would be the face of. The Fujimura would even get a few new buildings and businesses of their own that they had been hoping for on the cheap.
It was ultimately a productive meeting and would likely set the tone for the days to come.
November 24, 1994
Einzbern Castle, Germany
4:17 AM Local Time (Central European Time)
(12:17 PM Japan Standard Time)
Dark Irisviel and Byakuya were distracted from their imported game of Virtua Fighter when the door slammed. It wasn't a loud slam, but it was a telling sound for one as refined and married to self-control as Old Man Acht. The corrupted homunculus-turned-Servant knew that he wouldn't approve of her entertainment being in plain sight. She pressed the pause button on her Japanese Sega Saturn controller, levitated the two controllers back in place with the console, and closed the curtains that concealed an entire wall of her new game room. The computer, large television, and assorted game consoles vanished from sight as a result. She then rose and left the room to greet the man, Byakuya following her closely.
"How did things go, Grandfather?" Dark Irisviel inquired, knowing already that there had to be some sort of problem. Zouken Matou was also present but stayed silent for the moment.
"Horribly. The Masters of all three of the Founding Families were already there when I arrived, along with Zelretch, Doctor Albion, and the Overseer among others. The events of the War were explained, Zouken's true identity as Zolgen Makiri was exposed by labeling him as a Dead Apostle, the false nature of the Grail was revealed by the Overseer, and Zouken's alliance with Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald and Caster was also confirmed. They even brought Kayneth's corpse, stuffed full of poisoned Crest Worms, as irrefutable proof." Jubstacheit looked at Zouken Matou. "We have both been found in breach of contract with the Tohsaka. You have lost your position as head of the Matou family to Kariya Matou. In addition, Tokiomi Tohsaka has gotten his hands on the rights to your ancestral lands in Ukraine through an unrelated purchase. Using it as an alternate site for the next Greater Grail is not possible. Gilgamesh has also somehow resurrected his friend Enkidu and anchored them to the World through unknown means. Even if the Tohsaka were agreeable to the reconstruction of the next Greater Grail in Fuyuki, which is unlikely, that Servant would certainly not allow it."
Zouken's lip curled into a snarl... "He must have obtained the land through that Ambrose woman. She grabbed whatever lands she could get her hands on when the Soviet Union fell...except for Finland, of course. The Edelfelts dominated the land acquisition there." Zouken cared far less about the Matou name since it was a mere invention meant to conceal himself and the cattle that others called his descendants, but to know that the Tohsaka knew his true identity as Zolgen Makiri and obtained those assets clearly hurt his pride.
"Indeed, Natalie Ambrose was present and responsible. She also recommended the various forms of compensation. Unfortunately, it gets worse. The bearer of Rhongomyniad has been declared a Pendragon and made Grand Duchess of Scotland and Norway, complete with the full protection of the British Crown. The Clock Tower made several concessions to guarantee her safety so that she might attend there in the future. She is currently out of our reach. Also, with the support of Zelretch, Tokiomi Tohsaka has replaced Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald as the Lord of the Department of Mineralogy both as part of reparations and in exchange for the El-Melloi Crest." Jubstacheit's words made Zouken gawk briefly before an angry scowl replaced his surprised features.
"That upstart? A Lord? Zelretch must have taken advantage of the situation to elevate his student. But the El-Melloi Crest was burned beyond recovery. I inspected Kayneth myself." Zouken said, trying to make sense of this madness.
"It seems that the Tohsaka have gained the ability to copy Magic Crests, though they implied it to have been a temporary boon during the Grail War. That it is something assumed lost to the Age of Gods is also said to be the reason the Tohsaka Crest was successfully duplicated without a decrease in power, though we know better than to listen to such implications," Jubstacheit clarified while Zouken Matou's mind caught up.
"Either Zelretch pulled another version of the El-Melloi Crest over from another Worldline or...that boy...Saber's Master used her Noble Phantasms and healed Tokiomi with Caliburn," Zouken uttered in realization. "It restored the Crest as well? No...no, even a Noble Phantasm could not manage that. Not a man-made one from after the end of the Age of Gods, at least. Something else happened that night. Something they were able to replicate afterward."
Jubstacheit gave the most subtle of nods in agreement. "True, but I could not present any evidence or perspective you may have collected lest I be implicated as part of your forbidden alliance with Caster. Between that and the support of the Wizard Marshal, they controlled the narrative completely and heavily downplayed the role of the children. The boy's Magic Circuit count and Mystic Eyes were not touched upon. Sakura Matou's abilities were not even voiced. Even the tanned Servant wasn't focused on much considering his ability to deploy various Noble Phantasms and his Reality Marble. Simply planting enough doubt of my awareness of the depth of the Grail's corruption or of your vampirism to avoid further punishment was difficult enough."
"So it was a complete political disaster..." Byakuya Matou summarized though he flinched when Jubstacheit and Zouken glanced his way.
"Quite," Jubstacheit tersely replied. "The only reason you three are not openly being pursued is because they currently suspect you all to have perished. Some of them like Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia and Lord Barthomeloi might not be convinced though. The former was quite amused that you met the exact same fate at the end of the Fourth Grail War as you did during the Third, Zouken, but that also means that he knows you can survive that much with sufficient preparation. The only good thing for us to come out of that meeting is confirmation that the Yggdmillennia clan is still in possession of the Greater Grail. The Mage's Association will be watching that group quite closely from now on."
"What now, though?" Dark Irisviel inquired.
Jubstacheit contemplated the situation for a moment. "For now, we lay low and prepare as much wealth as we can while keeping you all from being noticed. The reparations and political damage both require that we throw massive amounts of money at the problem. Then we try to see what alliances have survived or even might yet be formed from this situation. We aren't without recourse, even if it will take time to get there." Indeed, it was fortunate that the Einzberns secretly held a cursed mountain of limitless treasure from the legend of Siegfried that was in and of itself worthy of being classified as a Noble Phantasm. The quest of regaining a lost True Magic rarely paid for itself, after all.
December 1, 1994
Construction Site
Fuyuki City, Japan
1:02 PM
"Hey, Nanashi! Take a break and leave some work for the rest of us! It's time for lunch!" a man in a foreman's outfit called out to a construction worker with tanned skin and white hair. EMIYA stopped using the borrowed First Magic and walked away from the latest of hundreds of successful building restorations that he had performed over the past six days. This was something that was only ignored by the masses due to the use of a perception-warping Bounded Field anchored to a big, weather protection tent to prevent the restoration from being seen. They would set up the tent, activate the Bounded Field, restore the building under the tent, drop the Bounded Field, pack up the tent, and move on to the next site. EMIYA would hide a Magic Circle printed on a piece of paper inside one of each building's walls that would keep the mental effects going for a few weeks until the paper ran out of power and spontaneously disintegrated. By then, any occupants would never again question the rapid restoration of the building. As for appearing to be rebuilding too fast to the outside world, that's what information control was for. It also helped that destruction was on page one of the newspaper while reconstruction was usually not newsworthy unless there was some sort of scandal holding it up.
Only the 'construction team', made up of some of the few people in the Fujimura camp who knew of Magecraft along with some of the Fourth War's veterans, were aware of what was going on.
The work group set up a series of collapsible tables and lawn chairs before starting lunch. The only two exceptions other than EMIYA were Iskandar, who looked strangely fitting for this line of work in a T-shirt and hardhat, and Waver's weak form that looked even less suited to this line of work than normal given that his hardhat-covered head was face-down on the table.
"No more..." Waver groaned after setting up a privacy ward.
Iskandar scoffed. "Boy, it's not like you're doing the work. The rest of us are moving the tent and Archer is doing the reconstruction under its cover. All you're doing is turning the tent on once it's set up, turning it off once we need to break it down, and walking with us to the next site. If you're so low on muscle that the act is a burden, then this workout can only be good for you."
Waver glared at Iskandar as best he could from his exhausted posturing. "Forget muscle! Do you really think it's that easy to turn a Bounded Field on and off hundreds of times? Simply having a Bounded Field that can be relocated from one place to another by binding it to something like a construction tent is crazy, and it still costs me energy to turn it on and off even if it uses El-Melloi's Magic Energy Reactor to stay up once cast. My Magic Circuits still feel like they're on fire."
EMIYA had only a small amount of sympathy. "Part of that is the price you pay for having their quality upgraded all at once. It'll feel better once you get used to using them again. Just be happy you skipped a few centuries of selective breeding and push through the pain. At least you have your cut of the Einzbern reconstruction fund to look forward to."
Waver groaned at the reminder. He had made the mistake of complaining about his lacking prana capacity in front of Shirou two days ago. What had the boy done? Since he couldn't increase the number of Waver's Magic Circuits readily without Einzbern homunculus arts or tinkering with the soul, Shirou 'simply' bumped the quality of Waver's existing Circuits straight to EX without considering pain management or other possible issues. Even the Velvet Magic Crest was modified. The first few hours were pure agony. It was one of the reasons that Shirou wasn't allowed to enhance living people until he had a greater understanding of biology. "That's easy to say if you've never felt it, 'Nanashi'."
The man, whose fake name meant 'nameless' in a certain alternate spelling of kanji, was completely unimpressed. "Did you forget that Kiritsugu messed up my training to the point where I spent years making nerve circuits whenever I wanted to use Magecraft? It felt like shoving a heated metal rod into my spine every single time." That shut Waver up. He slammed his head back down on the table with a groan, only weakly raising it again when he smelled the lunch that EMIYA had made and placed in front of him. "Eat, Waver. You need to restore your energy, and this has some natural painkillers in it. We're falling behind schedule."
"Ugh..." The mention of the schedule made him grumble, but he started to eat the food. "I just hope that I'm healed up by the time the substitute teacher at the Clock Tower is done in a couple of weeks. Lord Tohsaka wants me as a teaching assistant to the lower classes."
"You'll be living in London, then?" EMIYA asked.
Waver took a bite of his meal before answering. "I'll be living with Gray and Mélusine at Kirkwall Castle in Orkney, at least on paper. It was modernized back in the '70s and Zelretch is going to convert a room into a Magician's Box that connects to Ahnenerbe so we can commute to London, Fuyuki, or Mifune. Gray and Mélusine will be able to visit whenever they want or even stay the night. It will also let me work at the Clock Tower and help teach the kids the rest of the time...that and the Mackenzies might need someone nearby to help them out as they get older." Iskandar couldn't help but smile. The Mackenzies were an old couple from Australia that Waver had hypnotized into thinking he was their grandson so he had a place to stay for the war. After they snapped out of the spell, they kept the relationship up because they liked the boy and had little interaction with their real family. Waver seemed to feel the same toward them and they absolutely adored Gray.
Iskandar spoke next, clearly having something on his mind. "As far as what we are doing after the War, that is something I need to talk to you both about. I have decided to go to Macedon."
Waver's eyes widened slightly as he spoke. "R-Rider?" He looked at the giant man with uncertainty and confusion, only for a giant hand to come to rest on his shoulder.
"What, did you think we should all stay together forever? I am a conqueror, Master, while you are to be a teacher. Both destined to be leaders in our own ways, we each must establish ourselves in this World. You do recall what King Elizabeth said to us? About the state of my homeland?" Iskandar inquired of his Master.
Flashback
November 23, 1994
Buckingham Palace
London, Britannia
7:37 PM Local Time (Greenwich Mean Time)
(4:37 AM Japan Standard Time)
Gray's night's sleep had been previously interrupted, so it was of little surprise that she had tired herself out from playing with the corgis some hours ago. She now slept on a couch in the sitting room while Artoria kept vigil over her as she pets the occasional corgi.
Iskandar loudly spoke through the night about past battles and valor as well as Greek life, keeping King Elizabeth II and Prince Charles entertained. The Count of Saint Germain, having lived amongst Iskandar's people, provided clarification and further commented on other things such as the various royal courts he had been a part of throughout history. The remainder, who formed their audience, listened intently to the rare glimpses into ancient history.
"War elephants? I have seen elephants on my visits to Africa and India, but were they truly that effective in battle?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Have you not recreated them yourselves in the form of tanks?" Iskandar's point wasn't without merit when put into that particular context. "Fifteen of the beasts with their thick hides supplemented by armor, placed along the center of the enemy line to trample our forces, were enough to weaken the resolve of my men and compel me to make a sacrifice to the gods to ease their minds. We won the battle, but few enemies have given me as much of a challenge as Darius III. I had no better rival in life."
"But if memory serves, Darius III fled from you multiple times. Did he not show too much cowardice to be your rival?" Prince Charles asked while the King-Regent sipped from her tea.
"Not for a moment," Iskandar said with conviction, the group more than a bit surprised by the sheer certainty of the statement. "Darius stood against me boldly and retreated only to obtain more soldiers with which to fight. Though I won in the end, it was not because Darius was lacking in tenacity, personal strength, or intelligence. I ultimately won by culling the numbers of his men and claiming the goodwill of his people. Know this, were he summoned in a Grail War, any confusion about his worth would quickly be put to rest."
The sleeping Gray shifted her position in response to Iskandar's powerful voice even as he tried to keep it to a level appropriate for conversation. "Shhh! Rider, get a hold of yourself before you wake up Gray!" The young Magus half-whispered, having initially been unwilling to interrupt the conversation unless spoken to due to the station of his King—though he was slowly falling back into normal habits. He spoke to King Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, he gets excited easily. Thank you for letting Gray rest by the way. Between the attack, her interrupted sleep, losing Mordred, and learning she was officially royalty...I guess it was just too much for one day."
King Elizabeth II nodded as she put down her tea cup from having a sip. "That and the timeline difference, I am sure. Travel by Zelretch does have that impact. You need not worry about thanks. The child is our kin and we are charged by our ancestors with her protection. Granting her such status was meant to destroy her enemies and grant her the benefit of our aegis. As for waking, the words of my fellow King will not disturb her without intent. I cast a modified version of the typical privacy spell upon this table when she fell asleep."
"Yes, I wanted to cast it too but I felt it'd be misinterpreted—" Waver's eyes widened. "Wait, you're a Magus?"
The old woman smiled. "While it is true that most European royals did not historically learn formal Magecraft, most preferring to pump energy into their weapons of choice and carve a path of destruction rather than employ control, many of the royal families still interbred as much for the secret maintenance of their magical abilities as for political convenience. I, as a descendant of Morgan le Fay through her son Gawain, am not left without my means. I simply grew up in the care of a father who spoke of the Great War, a war whose conclusion only brought more problems and guaranteed a continuation within the span of my generation."
Iskandar's eyes hardened. "You learned these skills with the expectation of going to war."
The woman nodded gently as her eyes became trapped in memory. "I, as Prince of the Britons, stood upon the battlefields of Europe for six long years. With the less gifted masses mingling on the battlefield and photography and even video recordings existing to hint at our presence to the wider world, the use of Magecraft in battle was subtle. Limited weather manipulation to attack the enemy's forces with the elements. The softening of soil or breaking of road and rail to hinder enemy movements and logistics. Bounded Fields with electrical aspects to interfere with enemy transmissions. Using hypnotic suggestions to plant false intelligence in enemy forces. Healing people enough to survive, but not enough to indicate miraculous recovery...though after the appearance of Saint-King Artoria on the battlefield, there was enough religious fervor for me to justify being a bit heavier-handed in my Magecraft. People were quick to accept 'miracles' in those dark days. Know that I did not enjoy war and conquest as you do, King Iskandar. I fought to protect my people against conquest, murder, and evil."
Memories sealed as they were, these words still spoke to the very core of Artoria Pendragon's being. An instinctive part of her remembered the struggle and bloodshed she had gone through doing the same, even if innocence had been restored to her conscious mind. She felt echoes of the pain her other selves had carried in the Holy Grail Wars, even if tempered by not consciously remembering its cause. Before even realizing it, the young Knight had taken the aged woman's hand in support. "And you succeeded. The peace your people enjoy today is a direct consequence of your leadership. I'm sure that it's something that the older me could only dream of in her time."
Elizabeth was surprised by these words, but a small smile crossed the monarch's face before she patted the back of Artoria's hand with her own. "...Thank you, my King. That means a lot, especially coming from you."
Iskandar was silent for the moment, his respect for the old woman in front of him now immense. He knew of the World from the contributions of the Grail and his borrowed tomes from the library. A few conversations with Kiritsugu and Maiya answered his questions. The Second World War was the largest and most bloody conflict in human history. However, his studies had revealed more. Conflicts that were still going on in the world whose existence called for intervention even now. "To stand victorious in a war fought for the sake of one's people and to grow to old age leading them in the peaceful days afterward is a blessing many heroes never get to know. When you get to the Throne of Heroes, good King, you will see that for yourself."
"The Throne? You think a modern human can become a Servant without being a Counter Guardian?" Waver asked in mild surprise.
Iskandar scoffed at the question. "I do not accept the constraints that Magi apply to the world around them. They stubbornly stumble over their own misconceptions and forget that this world runs on belief, even if that belief is now in something other than them. What is a Hero but someone who has overcome adversity and received power from the reverence and lore of an awestruck people? No, a prince widely known for standing against a great evil condemned by humanity itself, especially one who later became a King known for decades of just and peaceful rule, will surely make it to the Throne. Besides, I suspect that those who became Counter Guardians might eventually have gotten to the Throne on their own merits and Alaya simply interfered to steal them from their rightful place. It certainly tried to do that in the case of Saber."
Before Waver could wipe the stunned look off of his face to ask further, a question left Iskandar's lips that changed the topic irrevocably. "How fares my homeland of Macedon? I understand that there is a war happening in the nations nearby. A war with shades of the same evil you fought."
The King and Prince both tensed ever so slightly. It was the Prince who answered. "Not well. With the collapse of the nation of Yugoslavia into multiple states three years ago, there is ethnic tension within most of them that either already has or will lead to war and insurrection. One of those created nations is the Republic of Macedonia. It is made of the northwestern third of old Macedonia and seeks to form a national identity linked back to the time of your rule. Greece, which includes the southern part of old Macedonia, is highly resistant because they consider themselves the sole heirs of your era's culture. It is causing political discord and Greece is using its international political power to interfere with their neighbor."
"Fools!" Iskandar growled. "My true legacy is one where all men were brought under the rule of one King and treated well! New ideas and cultures were to be embraced and added to the whole to enrich all! To reject each other and cause disunity because of their differences is the opposite of what I stood for!"
"Regrettably, there are ample examples of such sentiments," Elizabeth said tiredly. "Even now the Bosnian War is ongoing with the Serbs from Serbia and the Croats from Croatia seeking to carve up the nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for their own ethnic populations. Calls for 'Greater Serbia' and 'Greater Croatia' are ringing very similar to the calls for 'Greater Germany' back in the 1930s and 1940s. Naturally, this comes with the prerequisite ethnic cleansing and fleeing refugees. Macedonia is not that far away from the conflict, and I fully expect more problems with those nations."
"It sounds like what happened after I died and the vultures sought to dismantle my Empire for themselves. To think that my homeland has fallen so far..." Iskandar said with disgust. He was more quiet for the rest of the visit as he contemplated a great many things. He did not regret the past or any of his actions, and he still did not condone Artoria's desire to wipe herself from the pages of history, but he did understand the desire to improve the standing of his people.
But what could be done?
December 1, 1994
Construction Site
Fuyuki City, Japan
1:07 PM
Iskandar's expression was one of restrained kindness and he spoke with a tinge of sadness to his powerful voice. "My people are simply in need of me now. The people who are heir to my legacy fight over the meaning of my rule, using it to justify slandering and attacking each other while their neighboring nations burn with the fires of war fueled by racial and religious hatred. They have lost their way. You, meanwhile, have found a path that you must learn to walk with your own two feet. I have faith that you'll succeed without my looming over you."
"Such impudence," A bored voice rang out. They looked toward the tent to find that Gilgamesh had stepped out from inside it in contemporary casual wear, his manifestation from Spirit Form likely concealed by the Bounded Field. Waver and EMIYA both tensed, ready for a fight but not immediately acting out. "Are you unaware that the dead should not lead the living? It is the only reason I have not come to judge humanity for its failings. Would you bind the people to you as a god? Lead them as a corpse? This sounds much like the folly that Saber narrowly avoided."
"True," Iskandar conceded much to Waver's surprise, "but I seek not to change the past as much as to protect the here and now of my people. I also have faith that your cook will one day be able to forge for me a new living body or that I will win a Subcategory Holy Grail War for it, but I would not reclaim my mantle as King before such a day. In the meantime, I will lead purely by example as our legends already do. Those who claim to be heirs to my legacy and act in its name must be reminded of what that legacy means!"
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and waited two seconds before scoffing. "Hmmph. Those mongrels certainly are capable of twisting our teachings. Well, perhaps a reminder is justified. But know this. If you step too far before you draw true breath once more, I will punish you for breaking my law. It is only proper. Of course..." Gilgamesh gave a cruel smile, "this flexibility means it is well within my rights to enact a few 'corrections' of my own once I leave this city for the wider world." Before anyone could ask the King of Heroes what his intentions were, he turned away. He then walked into the tent and faded into spirit form.
"I don't like the sound of that," EMIYA admitted. True, it was to be expected that they would start splitting up to do their own things after the war—Doctor Albion and Sir Blackmore had already left, even though Mélusine visited regularly—but Gilgamesh out there with looser restrictions wasn't exactly a comforting thought.
Waver, for once, was shaken enough to all but ignore Gilgamesh. "Do you really have to go?"
Iskandar gave another smile and smacked Waver on the back once more, the boy managing to endure it far better than when the War had first started. "Yes, but you needn't worry. Though our paths diverge, they will one day recombine! And until that day comes, if you truly need me, I am still just a thought and a Command Seal away. So stop lamenting, stand on your own two feet, grow the extra height we both know you have hidden within you, and take this chance to make the name Waver Velvet something to remember!"
Iskandar's Charisma stat started to show its effects, easing Waver's mind and making him nod in newfound determination. "Y-yeah...you're right, Rider! I have a way to actually accomplish something now! I can't just mope around like this!"
The giant man then looked toward EMIYA with a glint in his eye. The ex-Counter Guardian preemptively said, "I am still not joining your army."
"I acknowledge that for the moment," Iskandar waved the concern away to EMIYA's surprise. "This conflict is far too close to the sort that Alaya forced you to endure. Tell me, though. Would you, with your borrowed access to the First Magic and knowledge of modern and future weaponry, consider contract work for a non-combat role in logistics? Or failing that, sabotage or even infrastructure repair? I already intend to ask Maiya about her availability as well..."
The possibilities crossed EMIYA's mind. In spite of his regrets, he still felt the urge to be a Hero of Justice and had somewhat come to terms with it in the Worldline where he and Shirou had fought. Doing so in a different way from the brutal methods Alaya had forced on him was tempting and might give him more closure. "...I'm listening," EMIYA finally said, causing a wide grin to cross Iskandar's face.
December 1, 1994
Fuyuki Public Library
Texture 1986A—Unlimited World Works
5:38 PM
After finishing the day's work ahead of schedule, Shirou and Artoria sat at a table in the library studying with each other. They were both preparing for their respective attempts to enter school. Shirou had no difficulties, but Artoria needed a bit more practice. Though the Grail added substantially to her knowledge and gave her a perfect understanding of language and an extensive knowledge of history and lore, she was still the victim of a medieval education in other ways. "Shirou, how do I do this? What is 'solving for x'?" Artoria asked, pointing out a basic Algebra problem.
"Oh, that's easy enough! Here, I'll show you!" Shirou said, working her through the problem in a manner similar to how he helped the kids back at the orphanage. The blonde Knight was appreciative and the knowledge settled into her head quite easily. Zelretch had said that people he liked could improve themselves more easily in various ways while inside his Texture, including making studying and training far more effective. It wasn't true initially but because Shirou believed the old man, it became true because this Texture still operated like a Reality Marble in one aspect—it was ruled by his own perception of reality rather than that of its occupants.
Gray sat nearby, preparing for first grade with the help of Mélusine while sitting in her lap. The girl had a rather lacking education of her own to the point where she started out holding her children's books upside down. Now she was starting to understand very basic Japanese, had markedly improved her British and Welsh, and was able to add and subtract numbers with some effort. She would either go to an International School or attend private classes in Britannia. Mélusine had also been inducted into the Order of Saint Artoria as a Knight to protect Gray, allowing her and Artoria to trade off 'shifts' protecting the girl...in theory. In practice, Mélusine rarely left the child's side as both her guardian and defender. Sella was reading educational material as well while Leysritt distracted herself with manga. Hercules was also present, carefully reading a book smaller than his hand.
"I can't believe how bad my own education was! It's not fair! I want to go to high school with Shirou and Saber! Shirou, you should just skip one grade so we can be together!" Illyasviel pouted, sitting next to her mother who was also studying. She had thought that maybe she could go to the same school as her brother but her knowledge of mundane subjects was sorely lacking. Though Kiritsugu made sure she was ahead of her peers in third grade as of 1994, the edited version of the next decade that was uploaded into her mind saw her receiving very little mundane education. She only gained the benefit of various languages that were relevant to Magecraft.
Kiritsugu stepped forward with Maiya and EMIYA, looking at the group that was now his family. He was careful not to let his voice carry far since Yu Mei-ren, who had claimed administration over the library, was tolerating their presence since she knew Shirou to be the true owner of the place. It helped that most of them weren't fully human and that Lady Yu could be distracted by reading any book Shirou or EMIYA had ever seen, read, or Reverse Grasped. Kiritsugu spoke quietly to his daughter. "It's not fair to Shirou to make him endure lessons he doesn't need. He will already be repeating enough since the Fifth Holy Grail War finished when he was about to start his final year. You'll have to be content with studying with your mother." Illya pouted, but she accepted this for the most part.
"We're actually here to make an announcement and ask for Shirou's help with something," Kiritsugu said. He then looked toward Maiya to let her take over speaking. She stepped forward, her expression formal as usual.
"Thank you, Kiritsugu. Everyone, I am going to the Balkans with Archer and Iskandar right after this." Irisviel's eyes widened and the kids were also surprised. "Iskandar has decided to intercede in various ways to protect the people of North Macedonia from the war in Bosnia while minimizing what damage he can to the local ethnic populations. Archer will provide equipment, both of us will provide training, and assorted missions will be conducted that suit our skills. I fully intended to retire after the Holy Grail War, but have received intelligence from Merlin that a child that was taken from me as a baby is in that part of the world. He is being trained to become a child soldier employing Magecraft as his primary weapon. I intend to resolve this...but that means leaving for a while."
"Aunt Maiya..." Illya said in worry, half-tempted to lend her Hercules so she'd be safe. Kiritsugu clearly felt the urge to leave and help her, but he had his own children to take care of.
"As I will be working with the Archer currently out in the World and it is more energy efficient for Servants to work in the field with a Master nearby, I would like to ask Shirou for one of his Command Seals," Maiya clarified while looking toward the boy. "That will allow me one emergency action as well as a telepathic and energy link with him. This would also allow me to indirectly communicate with you as well as Merlin through the Archer of this Texture. Should events stabilize and I find the situation ending without my using the Command Seal, I am more than willing to return it at that time."
Shirou nodded after recovering from the news. "Did Archer agree to this?"
EMIYA spoke up next. "It's more efficient this way. Even if we never use the Command Seal or have an emergency, telepathy isn't something to be underestimated in war. Iskandar might also make a secondary provisional contract with Maiya once she has the seal so he can enjoy the same benefits."
"That's fair, I suppose..." He wished that Maiya didn't have to leave, but he didn't have a right to tell her otherwise.
Maiya gave a small smile. "If it helps, Lady Artemis has already granted me the use of Phoebus Catastrophe. I just have to shoot two bullets into the air to rain death down from the sky. It seems that being 'a female warrior trying to protect the northern boundary of Greece' is worth her blessing." Irisviel gave a slight giggle as Shirou held Maiya's hand and transferred a Command Seal over with a glow of red light. Artemis had been handing out that blessing a fair bit. First to Archer for fighting Caster and making her excellent dango, then to Artoria in recognition of her actions against the White Titan and saving her life, then to Shirou a few days after the War ended for making a particularly delicious cake and indulging her when she asked to see his archery skills. The woman seemed happy to simply have a connection to the World again...though how she managed to manifest that power out into the World independent of Shirou was still a bit of a mystery. All they knew was that the woman favored Shirou and Artoria to a significant degree.
"Come back safe. If you need help, call me and I'll assist," Kiritsugu simply said, those words more than enough to convey his concerns and hopes.
"I as well," Artoria spoke up in agreement.
Maiya gave a slight nod and a smile. "Thanks, but you both don't have to worry. I didn't come back from the dead to die again that easily. Besides, Carnwennan is a modern mercenary's best friend. I'll be alright." With that, the woman left the library to walk her own path.
"...Archer," Irisviel said to her 'eldest' child. "Are you sure you want to walk this path again?"
EMIYA gave a slight nod. "I need closure. Alaya warped my actions and mind for so long that I need a wider conflict where my hands are under my own control. To separate the concept of 'a Hero of Justice' from being a 'Counter Guardian'. One that gives me allies and a clear goal might be the best I'm going to get. It doesn't mean that I'm jumping back into working myself into the ground to save every single life...it means doing what I can where I can. As a Servant, that just happens to be a lot." It was at times like this that the family was reminded that EMIYA was still a fundamentally distorted man even if it was tempered by his awareness. This was a look at what Shirou might have been.
In time, however, the conversation changed and the mood lightened a bit. The main question on Artoria's mind at the end of the day was whether or not to join the Kendo club when she started classes. Would Taiga have a problem with that? Would it even be a benefit?
December 1, 1994
Department of Astromancy, Head Office
Clock Tower
Westminster, London, Britannia
10:02 AM Local Time (Greenwich Mean Time)
(7:02 PM Japan Standard Time)
Marisbury Animusphere went through report after report from the Galehut as well as the forces embedded in the Japanese and American militaries. He considered the sensor data. He spoke at length with Doctor Albion. It appeared rather clear-cut. The Fuyuki Grail wasn't salvageable and shouldn't be salvaged even if it were. It had become the very threat to humanity that Chaldea existed to fight. The Counter Force had clearly acted to ensure its destruction.
"What will you do now, Lord Animusphere?" A curious voice drew his attention. Marisbury looked toward the speaker, a nineteen-year-old Lev Uvall from the Department of Archaeology. A brilliant researcher who had been attending the Clock Tower since he was barely a teenager, Lev was one of Chaldea's inner circle. He would likely achieve the rank of Fes by the time the next year was out.
"...Losing the Fuyuki Grail isn't as bad as it looks and we obtained good data. I don't need to reach the Root to have my wish granted, so winning a strong Subcategory Holy Grail War or two would likely suffice. One to secure funds, one to obtain a power source for CHALDEAS. Failing that, we might be able to use the Yggdmillennia and their Grail or seize Das Rheingold from the Einzberns somehow. I should probably use my connections with the Musik family. I know some of them have joined Darnic's ranks, so they might make suitable spies. Any intelligence on the matter would be useful," Marisbury said calmly. The lack of options would have made him discard his ambitions for the Grail in another Worldline, but that wasn't the case here.
"Spying? Don't you have decent relations with the Yggdmillennia clan behind closed doors?" Lev inquired with a smirk. The question was half-rhetorical. Everyone spied on everyone else at the Clock Tower. It was to be expected. Still, the boy clearly wanted details.
Marisbury did not fail to provide. "In addition to seeking the Root, he wants to replace the Mage's Association and become the new pinnacle of the magical world. This is partially in retribution for his long-lived family being deemed to have a doomed future, all in spite of his personal accomplishments. His lineage never truly recovered and ultimately started adopting outside talents of shallow generation much like the Norwich do. As long as I am a Lord—or even someone with solid political ties to the Clock Tower—I am a resource rather than an ally. We will be cordial, we will use each other for mutual benefit as appropriate, we might even reserve the possibility of resuming cooperation after everything is done and one side has emerged the victor—but we both now know that his betrayal is imminent." Marisbury pulled out a map of Europe that was crisscrossed with leylines. A transparent plastic sheet was placed over the map, showing a black dotted line and marked 'Estimated movements of German forces, September 8-15, 1939'. Another blank sheet of plastic was placed on top of that before Marisbury got out a red marker and started circling various points on the map.
"Locating the original Grail will be a key focus, whether to steal it or use its location to negotiate for a Subcategory Grail. The Grail was reported 'lost' to German command after the zeppelins carrying it had already flown into European airspace. Given the slowness of the airships hauling the heavy Grail and the Germans' preparedness for war at the time, I estimate that escaping with the Grail to another continent was highly unlikely without the German Luftwaffe having successfully intercepted them. Darnic would have been forced to hide the Grail in Europe within a certain maximum distance of the Grail's initial flight path, analyze its systems, develop what supporting infrastructure he could, and wait for the war there to end before taking the time to connect the Grail to any of the leylines. There is also the fact that airships had been largely obsolesced by the end of the Second World War and there was no simple replacement capable of efficiently moving the Grail outside of Europe at that point. There might not have been enough airships left in the whole of Europe to move the Grail again even if he tried." Marisbury smiled gently as he changed to an orange marker and started circling more possible sites. "It would also have to have been connected to a location that probably has at least as much magical potential as Fuyuki, hasn't fallen into Natalie Ambrose's hands since, is sufficiently far from the Einzberns' seat of power in Germany that they wouldn't readily detect the Grail, might be where the Musik family is sending their people regularly, and is a site where the leylines had seen regular use in the years immediately prior to or during the War in Europe."
Lev was a bit puzzled by this last piece of criteria. "What do you mean by that last requirement?"
Marisbury didn't look up from his task as he changed markers again to a yellow one and kept making marks. "The First Fuyuki Holy Grail War took place soon after the Grail's initial construction period concluded, rather than needing to wait sixty years for the Grail to charge. This is likely because the leylines had already naturally stored a large amount of energy that the Grail rapidly absorbed. Only after the leylines were bled dry did it take sixty-year intervals to charge the Grail. It is the leylines that are the bottleneck. Since Darnic's Grail is clearly on a long-term charging interval—otherwise he would have used it by now—the leylines in question must have been well-used immediately before the Grail was connected. Likely either an active ancestral land or a place used as a magical research base that he reappropriated from the Germans. Possibly both. Assuming a minimum charge time of 60 years and that he likely started charging it in late 1945 or early 1946, we should have until at least the middle of the next decade to find it. Maybe longer depending on if he chose a slightly weaker magical site that is less obvious."
"Not if they did as the Einzberns did and used a Subcategory Holy Grail as a prana battery to charge the Greater Grail more quickly. That's the only reason Fuyuki's Fourth Holy Grail War happened on schedule. Otherwise, it would still be fifteen years away." Lev contributed, drawing a look of contemplation from Marisbury.
"That is very true...but I don't think Darnic would resort to such a thing without need. The stability of the Grail is very important and throwing in mismatched prana from various places could have unforeseen effects. I'm certain that tuning it to a different set of leylines was, in and of itself, a herculean task. No, today is the first sign of danger that would compel Darnic to act with haste, but it also revealed that fiddling with a Greater Grail's charging system can lead to the introduction of instabilities as it did with the Fuyuki Grail. We should prepare for him to trigger an influx of Subcategory Holy Grail Wars though, to muddy the waters and make the location of the actual Grail harder to determine."
Marisbury then paused over a certain point on the map, looking at it in mild surprise before smirking. "Of course, there are two traits Darnic has that greatly simplify our search. Failings that even the most brilliant of Magi are vulnerable to. The Magus Killer has proven that often enough." The man changed markers one final time to a green one and circled that lone point.
"What would those traits be, Lord Animusphere?" Lev inquired.
Marisbury showed the point he circled. It was on the exact path the Germans took the Grail over in 1939, passing over Trifas, Romania—a place that had been the seat of the Prestone family's power for generations before they became part of the Yggdmillennia and the name became irrelevant in the eyes of the Clock Tower. He then answered Lev even as his mind pondered how best to verify and take advantage of this new knowledge.
"Arrogance and pride, Lev. Arrogance and pride."
"Indeed, mongrel," A voice called out, surprising the pair. A certain Golden King emerged in a shower of golden motes of light and looked upon the pair in derision. "Of course, that counts for filth such as yourselves as well. To think one claiming to stand for humanity would so eagerly teach the demon who would destroy it."
Lev started to tense and sweat, not even able to voice a denial before he was impaled by a half-dozen swords that emerged from a series of golden portals. One of them, a prototype Noble Phantasm, stabbed straight into his Magic Crest and an inhuman scream escaped from the puncture wound. A black mist started to stream out of Lev's body, the possession abating as the Magic Crest's core was destroyed. The bleeding man fell back, dead before he hit the ground.
"What...was that?" Marisbury inquired, his poise and control briefly leaving him. To his credit, he was less shocked by the death than he was by the oddity.
"Possession, you self-assured fool. He was controlled by one of the demons of Solomon by way of his Magic Crest and sought to destroy humanity with your own creations. I would have left humanity to fumble through that conflict themselves, but I will instead be merciful to this world and weed out these abominations from my garden. I do hope some are more entertaining than this one." He sent a glare Marisbury's way. "Of course, I will be watching you as well, Marisbury Animusphere. You should tread more carefully lest I trim you down like another weed."
Marisbury at least had the capacity not to rage or react with excess pride. That would have been a swift way to die. Assured that he had the final word, Gilgamesh vanished and left Marisbury Animusphere with one less enemy to deal with but feeling far less secure with the Servant's threat. Finding a way to replenish spent Command Seals just became a top priority for Chaldea.
Author's Notes: So yeah... a pre-Grail War cash-starved Chaldea exists and Lev joined it early, but Gilgamesh took care of a certain problem before it could manifest later. Whether being partially released from his self-imposed limits by Iskandar's reinterpretation of them is a good thing or not remains to be seen. The first half of Fate Grand Order is averted.
While the details are a bit sparse, the theme and design of Tachie's version of Lord Camelot seem to have been recycled for Fate Grand Order Lostbelt 6 if the artwork is anything to go by. The more gray Camelot and the multitude of lances it can launch at enemies are key design elements that they both share. The lances launched as part of Camelot's defenses are also somewhat similar visually to those used in LB6, but LB6 upgrades the lances into Lostbelt Morgan or Caster Artoria's respective signature weapons. With the 'class card' Carnwennan used in conjunction with Tachie's version of Lord Camelot, you essentially eliminate that final difference and have her Noble Phantasm take the final form of Lostbelt Britain's Camelot. I lack hard stats right now, but it is likely a solid balance between Caster Artoria's defense/buff-based Noble Phantasm and Lostbelt Morgan's offensive variant. This was not planned, but it turned out to fit together almost seamlessly.
Also, this chapter rotates a number of characters out of the story's focus. Doctor Albion, Dan Blackmore, Iskandar, and Maiya are now off doing something else in the background. The baddies in Germany are also going to be quiet for a while.
WEAPON DATA:
Name: Torashinai
Owner: Taiga Fujimura
Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: E (incapacitates mainly through pain rather than damage)
Range: 0-3
Maximum number of targets: 1 person
Torashinai is an odd existence among weapons in that it is a training blade that is incapable of cutting its enemy while still being a cursed sword. Taiga Fujimura's nigh-invincibility in competition and her brutality with the blade caused her classmates and opponents to label it a 'demonic sword craving blood' while at the same time never being able to shed any, a legend further propagated by the Fujimura family initially as a joke. This contradiction of 'wanting blood but never being able to obtain it' seems to result in the blade trying to solve the paradox by savagely beating its enemy and causing disproportionately high levels of pain to break an opponent's will. The blade's simple(and flawed) brute-force answer to this complex problem reflects its master's mindset.
The ease with which the weapon became empowered is due in part to the EX-rank luck of Taiga, the rumors of the training sword among the junior high school(grades 7-9) classes establishing a 'legend', and the magical nature of Fuyuki City's land. The presence of the Grail, which allowed for the weight of legends to manifest as increased power, also influenced the development of Torashinai. In addition to all of this, being taken into Shirou's Texture by Taiga Fujimura at the close of the Fourth Holy Grail War caused the cursed sword to take on ten years of added legend including Shirou's own subconscious personal experiences with the blade that had so readily beaten him in training bouts over the years. All of these things put together allowed the weapon to manifest as a modern-day Noble Phantasm, even if a weak one. There are plans by Lord Tokiomi Tohsaka to research the cursed blade's continued development in his future Spiritual Evocation classes at the Clock Tower.
The weapon is capable of causing only superficial welts or bruising at first glance(barring the use of Reinforcement to allow for crush damage), but it still has its purposes. Torashinai is most suitable as a means of incapacitating an enemy with relatively little harm or for enforcing discipline through swift punishments. It allows this by causing a large amount of pain disproportionate to its power and carrying an intimidation factor sufficient to falsely trigger an opponent's Instinct skill. This intimidation factor manifests as a black miasma and the sound of tiger roars upon the wind to induce a primal fear, while also causing the user's eyes to take on a cat-like gleam.
It is considered by some as an excellent training aid because it emulates the stresses of combat and motivates someone to instinctively dodge without placing them in mortal peril, but the psychological impact of Torashinai must be taken into consideration.