Chapter 25: New Experiment
New day back at Clock Tower, hopefully the events in Romania haven't changed how things will be for Luvia here.
Not sure what the day has in store for me, aside from a meeting at Clock Tower.
April 18, 2009
As the night dragged on Edward reclined back in the study of his estate. His wife, Lisa, long asleep as he sifted through the papers. There were so many more preparations to make, pieces on the board to move, and little time for distractions. Morgan joined him, leaning her chest against his back, pressing her breasts against the sides of his spine. "Such tedious activities, Edward. Why do you concern yourself with these matters at night?"
He smiled lightly as he felt her hand caress down on his chest. "I need to do these things, Morgan, so that we may have the edge. I can not spend all my days in frivolous delight. Especially now that we know for certain the Greater Grail is out there."
"But it is so pointless." the Caster sighed. Pulling him away from the desk, creating enough distance for her to rest herself on a sensitive area of his body. "We know how to acquire the grail; all we need is to move our children in the direction we require." That was not all that was on Morgan le Fay's mind. As he leaned her face closer, her eyes staring at him hungrily. What she wanted was simple, it was what she wanted every few nights. But her desires would be temporarily cast aside to help her master.
Leaning himself closer, feeling his own desires growing, Edward asked "What would you have me do, Morgan?"
"Indulge me." she whispered, "And I shall show you the way."
"As you wish." Without hesitation Edward pressed their lips together. Groping her voluptuous breast with his hand. Tearing at her clothes as he rested his mistress onto the desk.
"Much better." Morgan moaned as he sheathed himself between her legs. Caressing Edward's visage as they shared a smile. Kissing passionately as he proceeded to ravage her thoroughly.
They were equally repugnant and belonging together, as much as Lisa was.
As they embraced, Morgan's legs tightened around her master's waist. Digging her nails into his back.
"Huh…?" Elric awoke in his room, finding himself resting with Luvia at his side. Feeling as though something was amiss.
April 19, 2009
Luvia walked through the courtyard of Clock Tower with a sigh of boredom.
There was little to look forward to in her classes. It was the usual discussions of Thaumaturgical theory and lessons as well as the scrutiny of work typical of the instructors—who were still eagerly seeking new theories pertaining to the subject which a student may have uncovered for them to exploit.
It was all so banal. Droll in what she was forcing herself to endure, but she did so with a fake smile, as always.
Sashaying her way through, paying little heed to the other students, part of Luvia contemplated what life could have in store for herself and Elric in the back of her mind whilst the other part was concerned with what would happen if they failed—what life would be like should they fail to liberate themselves from Lord Rheon's control. Constantly moving to further that vile man's own agenda. There was also what life could be like for any children she may have with her betrothed. Although Trish made it clear it was difficult for Elric to conceive children there was still a possibility—after all, if it happened once such an occurrence could transpire again. Or so Luviagelita hoped.
"Luvia…?" she suddenly heard her name and the noblewoman was jarred from her thoughts and back to earth. Glancing over her left shoulder to see Rin Tohsaka standing alongside an adorable young woman with wavy brown hair in a wheelchair, who she knew as Fiore Forvedge. "Oh. Fiore. Tohsaka."
Soon she found herself joining them at a table.
"How was your visit to Romania, Luvia?" Fiore asked right out of the gate. "You seem different since you returned."
"What?"
"You look different," Fiore said, asking "Did something good happen in Romania?"
"Heh?" Luvia was at a loss for words as she blushed up. Remember everything she did with Elric at once, causing her to blush more.
"Your gait is different." she explained. "You seem more happy."
Luvia was reluctant to elucidate on the matter, both Trifas and all that happened. Tohsaka was more knowledgeable on the situation since she was as much under Rheon's thumb as she and Elric were, but Fiore was less so. Edelfelt was not even certain she wanted to involve her too much. Fiore had some knowledge of the situation, but it was only a small portion. As far as the young magus woman knew Luvia had been arranged to marry Elric, with Lord Rheon doing much to ensure it would eventually happen, and that Elric's father was making her aid him in gaining more influence; but that was the extent of Fiore's knowledge.
Ultimately, she would give a degree of explanation, though she left out the events of the congregation she attended with Elric and having to be rescued from the castle. The story made Fiore's infectious smile become more radiant as she blushed happily. Rin was less than thrilled by what she heard.
"How nauseating." Rin said.
"It's wonderful. Even romantic." Fiore said in contrast sweetly, "A noblewoman in love with a mercenary, it's like something out of a fairytale."
Luvia tried to suppress it but the look on Fiore's adorable face made her smile. Just like her twin back home would—on occasion—she had that effect on Edelfelt. In some ways Fiore was the antithesis of Rin in terms of how Luvia regarded her: seeing her genuinely as a friend and a surrogate little sister whereas she would regard Tohsaka as competition or a rival (even though she had now ceased feeling affection toward Emiya). She would kill or perhaps merely cause Somnus severe harm if he ever made Fiore shed a tear.
It was a shame in Luvia's eyes that her darling friend was not betrothed to someone more similar to Elric. Though debatable what she would think if she ended up with Elric as well. She would more than likely not be happy with the idea, though that was to a degree debatable.
"Yes it is, Fiore," Luvia said in amusement, before casting a glance toward Rin for a different sort of amusement. "And jealousy is such an ugly emotion, Tohsaka."
"Wha…?" Rin gasped. "What do I have to be jealous of? I have Shirou." Flustering much to Luvia's delight and Fiore's protestation.
"Luvia…"
Elric was led with Mordred not far behind as well as Gil and Enkidu in spirit form by Walter to a location within Clock Tower. Escorted to a Bounded Field in the courtyard.
He did not know what Edelfelt was up to, he did not have time to wonder what—for he was preoccupied with contemplating what this meeting could be about—, though in the back of his mind she occupied some of his thoughts.
'Do you know what this is about, Elric?' Mordred asked telepathically. To which Elric replied also telepathically 'No idea.'
Whatever Lord Rheon had intended for them Elric had been offered no true elucidation on the matter. He was merely told to arrive at Clock Tower and meet with Walter. That was the extent of his provided information—irritatingly vague and cryptic.
He seated himself and waited, as did Mordred, as Walter departed to meet with further Glaive duties for the day.
"You have been offered employment?"
Once she managed to prevent another feminine pissing match between Edelfelt and Tohsaka, Fiore had proceeded to inform Luvia of a proposition brought to her attention recently. Much to the Edelfelt heir's semi surprise. Much of Clock Tower offered prospective preoccupations and side jobs for the attendees to avail themselves with, thatt was how she was able to procure Shirou as an assistant for a time, but for Fiore to acquire one was something of intrigue for she only focused on her studies.
Pondering on it, for a moment, Luvia wondered, is this about her legs?
"Indeed." Fiore explained with some excitement. "They are opening a new department regarding ancient Magecraft and they requested me specifically to be among the assistants." Her adorable and infectious smile became even more brightening.
"As was I." Rin added, "But decided to decline. I don't trust that new staff member they put in charge."
That caused some intrigue and concern within Luvia, giving her ample reason to ask "Why?"
Rin Tohhsaka and she may not have always gotten along in the past, but Luvia knew that she could be a good judge of character at times and was more than willing to voice her displeasure (sometimes regardless of censure it may earn her). So for her to not be favorable toward someone must have meant something was amiss.
Rin was not sure where to begin. "I can't really describe it, Edelfelt. Something about her is off. She seems like the kind of person who relishes the idea of owning people—like a possessive control freak. She wanted us to be present early in the morning, dressed as if we were servants, and to never talk back. As if she had some right to control every aspect of our time with her."
"What is this woman's name?"
"Celenike."
Luvia was less than enthused.
"WHAT?!"
They waited. Waited within the bounded field, with Elric tinkering with Knall in his hand—checking the ammo, reassembling it as swiftly as he could, and toying with it as if the weapon was a toy—generally killing time as he and his servants awaited the arrival of Lord Rheon.
In time he heard a footfall from the grass outside of the field. Facing toward it, they were greeted by the sight of an approaching Edward who was carrying a cut of tea in his hands upon an elegant plate. Accompanied by Regis, Bedivere, and Morgan le Fay—who's smile was just as venomous as the one upon Lord Rheon who she stood intimately close to.
"Good day, James."
Before Elric could correct him, registering the presence of her mother, Mordred's eyes widened before narrowing in anger—unable to control her sudden impulse, she summoned Clarent into her hand and rested the blade on her shoulder; and Elric rested his hand on Knall's handle, prepared to back his partner as he always would.
"Is the posturing really necessary, Mordred?" Morgan asked, seeming more so disappointed with her daughter's actions. A disappointment which reminded Elric of his father—a fitting comparison given their similar disposition regarding their children—and one which Mordred chose to ignore. The Knight of Treachery cared little what her blackhearted mother thought of her, especially since the events of her life transpired the way they had so miserably because of the manipulative matriarch.
"You are long overdue to lose your head. For what you did to me—to Father—was beyond evil!" Mordred told her, pointing the index finger of her free hand accusingly. "You are worse than Agravaine and I ever could have dreamed to be in our worst nightmares." All with Elric's agreement who at last fully gripped his pistol.
'Go for it, Mor.'
Without hesitation, Mordred brought Claret away from her shoulder in a sideways slash—with the intent of decapitating her mother—but in the interim of the slash Morgan raised her hand and an invisible wall stopped the blade inches from her throat.
Regis' Heroic Spirit, Bedivere, stepped forward to intervene, raising his silver arm and resting his other hand upon the handle of his own blade, but Elric rose to his feet taking aim with his pistol. "Don't even think about it, Bedi." Only to have his bravado cut short as he felt the cold steel of Regis' dagger rest against his own throat.
"Must you always be a source of trouble?" Regis asked as he held the dagger close.
"Now, now." the King of Heroes said, opening one of his golden portals close to Regis' head as he and Enkidu emerged from their spirit form. "Let us not escalate this into a regrettable moment for the both of us." Having lances protrude from other portals—some of which were prepared to propel for Lord Rheon's direction and skewer him. "Unless, of course, you desire for me to terminate your Lord."
Elric looked to Regis in the corner of his eye, glancing briefly back to his father but always returning his focus to the Glaive. "Your move, Regis."
"Call off your Saber and I shall withdraw my blade."
Sighing with aggravation, Mordred sent away Clarent to vanish in a crimson light before Elric could even utter a word then stepped away from her mother without a further vocable though her face still bore an expression of anger. And, without a further word of disapproval, Regis pulled his dagger away from Elric's vulnerable throat.
"Very good." Edward said, gesturing his hand toward the chair. "Would you care to resume sitting, then?"
The freelancer did not want to. He would much rather turn the pistol on his sirer, put a bullet through his throat and watch the life drain from his eyes. But he forced himself to holster Knall beneath his arm and reclined back into the chair. "What do you want?"
"I have selected you—and a selection of others—to aid Icecolle in an experiment."
"What sorta experiment?" Elric cocked an eyebrow. "Why me?"
"Because I have chosen you." Rheon answered curtly. "As for the nature of the experiment—Icecolle has been…fairly vague on the details."
"Helpful, very helpful." Elric sighed with an air of sarcasm, bordering on condescension. "Who will be joining me in this little venture? Assuming, of course, you do not intend for me and my Heroic Spirits to do this alone."
"You shall be accompanied by a Icecolle's new assistant as well as Emiya."
"Shirou?"
"The very same."
That was enough to give Elric some suspicion toward the nobleman's plan for the day. This was his father after all. A man who was constantly working an angle and wondered what his gain was in all this, and the presence of Shirou caused him to be all the more reluctant to oblige it. Compounded by his disdain for his sirer he was all the more tempted to decline, but then reminded himself of what would happen should he do so: ramifications for Trish, Allen, the Necromancer, and others.
He sighed bitterly. "Very well."
They were then led away, with Elric asking Mordred telepathically 'You good, partner?'
'Not really.'
Luvia was positively fuming as she followed behind Fiore with Rin to the office Celenike had been provided. Beyond outraged by what she had been fully told by the two women: that Shirou and they were to aid in an experiment. Rin had attempted to back out but was coerced with Rheon's typical threats, thus forcing her to comply. This infuriated her because she knew it was all Icecolle's doing and Lord Rheon was the enabler.
It was all ulcer inducing.
By the time they arrived at the door they saw Elric and Mordred waiting in a stationary position not far from the entrance—or at least Elric was, Mordred was pacing around impatiently with a annoyed look—with the other two Servants, the King of heroes and Chain of Heaven, out of sight—(presumably in spirit form)—and Shirou in their company.
"Luvia, Tohsaka." he greeted them.
He prepared to address Fiore, but she beat him to the punch. "Good day, Mr. Belmont."
"To you as well."
Luvia was quick to the point. "Where is Icecolle?"
"Inside, why…?"
"I want to have a chat with her." Luvia told him, seethingly. "Now."
She was beyond obvious in her expression. And knowing trying to talk her down would succeed in little more than suffering a taste of her wrath Elric opened the door. Watching with Shirou and the others as she barged into the room, interrupted her conversation with Lord Rheon, and entered into a shouting match with Celenike. Beginning with "What on this earth gives you the right?" It was an impressive display, even for Elric's betrothed.
Elric wasn't sure what had Edelfelt so incensed but as the argument progressed, he garnered more and more inklings of a bigger picture of what it was.
"It is not as though I am demanding absolute control." Celenike explained, "I merely wish for complete control when I am in charge." sounding as if that would make things better. Instead, it had the opposite effect—succeeding only in furthering Luvia's growing ire.
"Enough!" Lord Rheon barked. "Edelfelt, whilst conducting these experiments on behalf of Clock Tower Celenike will be provided the absolute control she desires and you will not be permitted to hinder these experiments."
"Which are?"
Rheon was reluctant to speak. By then they had at last been offered some elucidation upon the subject, but Rheon did not desire to be the one to offer her the same curtesy.
Elric on the other hand "They're experimenting on another Alagaddan artifact." possessed no such reluctance.
Lord Rheon shot him a look, but Elric really could not have been bothered to care. They could coerce him into participating in the experiment, less so when it came to leaving his fiancée in the figurative dark. If they tried anything he would just deal with the fallout.
Luvia was more than flabbergasted by the admission. Having a look of are they insane on her face. "What?" Primed to give Lord Rheon and Icecolle another earful. "After everything the keystone did back in Romania, why would they believe it to be a reasonable notion to tinker with another?"
"This will be different." Celenike assured her. "I have taken precautions this time to ensure only a selected few will be affected."
"A few?"
"That's why me and Emiya are here." Elric explained. "She wished for us to deal with any problems to arise while they perform the experiment."
"This is beyond asinine." Rin told them.
"Yeah, well I don't really have much of a choice, here, Tohsaka." Elric informed her.
"No you do not, darling." Celenike smirked arrogantly.
That caused Shirou, Rin, and Fiore to ask simultaneously "Darling?"
"I'll explain later." Luvia told them before realigning her attention toward Celenike. "And just what is this artifact you will be experimenting with?"
"This." Celenike gestured her hand to the desk in the room, to a small orb on a pedestal. "We call it Arioch's Apple."
The artifact was mesmerizing. It was a bronzish-goldish orb bearing markings which made it resemble the map from Treasure Planet. Something about it was enthralling, causing Edelfelt to feel as though it was calling out to her—to Elric, Shirou, Rin, Fiore, and everyone within the room—to touch it. But they all managed to retain control of themselves.
"What does it do?"
"According to our findings," Lord Rheon spoke up again "Gives you your heart's desire. It could help us to find the other map fragments."
Luvia groaned in frustration.
The artifact was brought to a laboratory. There Celenike and her assistants proceeded to tinker with the orb. Elric believed something would go amiss, but he didn't say much. He just kept quiet and watched with Luvia on one side and Mordred on the other. As long as they were at his side, or so he believed, nothing would go wrong.
After what happened with the keystone he should have known better, but he chose to go along with this, and he soon was to regret it. In the midst of their actions there was a flash, and the next thing Elric knew he was sitting, leaning against a tree in an idyllic countryside.
Not far from him, he could see Fiore laying among the grass not far from him. As he begins to pick herself up, she, almost unaware of what she is doing, stands on her feet. Much to her and Elric's shock.
"I can walk?" Fiore gasped, looking at Elric ecstatic. "I can walk!"
