"Hey guys, Slim prime and the crew bring to you another chapter! Traveling chapter but we have a few encounters and as you all know by now. By the time I finished this, it was Thanksgiving Day so happy thanksgiving from the past!"
"Now a few of you might be wondering about the whole Garret and Rider thing. I am not planning on putting them together. It is just that, in the words of my second mate, "Rider has big sister energy!" so she is more of a big sister for Garret. Really the only way I was going to put them together was if you guys started demanding I do. Now that may also lead some of you to question "Why then the shower scene?" well in my experience. When someone gets that bad in terms of not washing themselves someone else needs to wash them because clean for them is not clean for us. To sum it up, I really don't have any pairings planned for Rider really. Garret might get someone down the line but I'm not too sure. I'm sure most of you really don't care about Garret anyways."
Let's get to those guest reviews. To all statements/encouraging reviews thank you for your continued support!
Guest man (reply by Slim): I hear yea, my writing style tends to drift away from the main plot as I do not like rewriting canon stories with just one character tossed in. Also, the first book of PJ is a little difficult to slide into without following the original plot, so I have time to get the main cast together before I really start getting the Greek side of things. I am happy you like Brian, being the Keeper of The Great Book of Exposition does not often make such characters popular.
Now the story!
Garret stood at an entrance to an alleyway. He was leaning on the wall looking across the street at an apartment building. One of the window's curtains was drawn back allowing him to see into the house. There sitting in the living room at a round table was his biological father playing a game of poker with his less-than-savory friend. He wasn't much to look at but given the lifestyle he chose, Garret wasn't surprised his biological father turned out like that. If the records were to believe, his biological father was married to a woman who had a son. He supposed that would mean he had a brother-in-law. Of course, he had reported his wife missing blaming the son who now had a warrant for his arrest. Garret, however, wasn't worried about that given that the only reason he had this little stop was to see his biological father. The only reason Garrett's last name matched his was that his mother had nothing to pass on to him. She reasoned that when that, "Bald Headed turd gets what's coming to him you might get something off him".
To see him now, Garret could only assume that he was only going to get enemies and debts once his father died. Hell, almost everything Garret owned was off the bodies of the monsters he'd killed. What was not of any use to him he could just pawn off to buy weapons and ammo. Of course, those were the monsters who pretended to live a human's life. The Greek monsters were not so much known for that, the things they left behind were often un-pawnable. In truth, all he really wanted was to see what his biological father was like.
"I wasn't running away if that's what you were wondering," Garret said to the woman/monster that was creeping up behind him. Rider walked up beside him, stopping to look at what he was looking at. Garret answered the question that was coming up. "Biological father, I heard that he lived here now. Just wanted to put a face to the person. Can't say I'm surprised but I guess some part of me was hoping for something better."
Rider looked to Garret's father and then back to the man himself. "I suppose you take after your mother's side of the family."
"Yeah, I could only guess someone on my mother's side was a Grimm. She isn't one if you're wondering. My biological father is a lowlife with a wife that I really don't see why she is even with him."
"I see." Rider answered before changing the subject. "I met an old acquaintance. He needs help dealing with a problem. I volunteered your help. I hope you don't mind."
"Heh, sure, I was getting tired of this city anyways," Garret replied, pushing himself off the wall and heading back into the alley, Rider following him soon after. "Where are we headed?"
"A druid enclave in Wichita, Kansas."
"Druids? Never met one, so I guess it will be an experience. So who is our baddy today?"
"Fairies."
"Fairies? You mean those little pixy-looking guys?" Garret asked not having met such a creature before.
"No, they are human-sized and tend to be powerful. They enjoy placing curses on people."
"Right. I guess I will double up on the charms then."
The two made their way back to Garret's car. Both Shirou and Brian were waiting for them by the car. Both parties, aside for Rider, sized each other up before exchanging pleasantries.
"Garret Ugliano, Grimm." Garret greeted offering his hand. "I shall be your driver for today."
"Shirou Donovan, Magus." Shirou replied taking his hand and shaking it. "I'll be in your care."
"Call me Brian, I'm a druid." Brain greeted, Garret waving in response as he was on the other side of the car. "It's been a long time since I came across a Grimm."
"You know of us?"
"Aye, lad. It's been a long time but I know of the Grimm and what they do. Thanks for keeping the troublemakers' numbers down by the way."
"I'm not too far into this life, it's only been a few years."
"No teacher?"
"Nope, I kinda fell into it with only the most basic of information. Everything else has been instinct."
"Kinda sounds like someone I know," Brian commented taking a short look at Shirou.
"Well, I'm eager to get out of this city," Garret added. "I'll be out of gas money if we stay here any longer."
The four began to mount up, Garret driving, Rider in the passenger seat, with Shirou and Brian in the back. Garret pulled out of the parking lot and pulled into traffic. Thus, beginning their drive to Kansas. Once the group finally got out of the city progress began to pick up, as the traffic of the city was left behind with it. The conversations were mostly dominated by topics concerning Shirou's childhood and Rider's activities since they parted ways after what was referred to as "The War" by Shirou and Rider.
"After that, we stopped eating out." Shirou finished his tale as to how he once again became the cook of the Donovan household.
"I suppose some things never change, no matter where you go." Rider mused.
"Having tasted Shirou's cooking firsthand I understand completely." Brian mused humorously. "Gods I would put money on you against a cooking god."
"Let's hope that something like that never happens." Shirou countered causing Brian to chuckle.
"Hate to break up the wholesome conversation but I think we are being followed," Garret spoke, one eye looking into the rearview mirror. "Two cars back, lane to the right, gray SUV."
Shirou and Brian looked back and quickly spotted the vehicle in question, the road was not very crowded. The windows were tinted and even with Shirou's reinforced eyesight, he could not see past it. Brian murmured something then narrowed his eyes.
"I don't sense anything like it's not ever there," Brian informed the rest of the group. "But I don't think it's fairies."
"Greek forces?" Shirou asked having just met them.
"No, I would have detected the Mist's influence," Brian answered. "Only a few organizations come to mind but none of them work out of North America."
"Want me to lose them?" Garret asked gripping the steering wheel in anticipation.
"Hmm, not yet. It looks like we are just being watched. It looks like they are not trying to stop us from getting to the enclave. They either want to know where we are going or there is a trap around here and they are just there to make sure we drive into it." Brian answered but even he seemed to doubt his own answer.
"Why would they be making themselves completely invisible to our senses?" Shirou wondered aloud. "With a road this empty they should have known we would have detected the discrepancy."
"Maybe because they are not hiding from us." Rider suggested. "They are invisible to our senses, yet this road is too empty for them to hide in plain sight. It is possible they are hiding from a greater power that is watching us."
"It's possible, Zeus said we were on Olympus' radar now. One of their gods could be watching us." Shirou added.
Brian nodded in agreement. "The gods love new things, and I would say our resident redhead is quite new."
"So, what am I doing?" Garret asked.
"Keep driving normally, if they start to get closer then try to discreetly lose them," Brian ordered to which Garret nodded.
The ride continued, albeit far quieter than before. Everyone was busy watching their followers. They kept their distance going as far as to fall back some more before drifting back to where they were beforehand. This continued before Garret announced that they were running low on petrol, forcing them to pull off the freeway when the next exit signs indicated a gas station was present. The SUV did not follow them off the highway. Once they stopped Garret set to pumping the gas while Brian and Rider went into the station to grab some food. Shirou stayed with Garret and struck up a conversation as the Grimm went about his task.
"So how did you meet Rider?" Shirou asked while scanning the area around the gas station for any sign of moonlit creatures.
"Thought she was a monster that was turning people to stone, tried to kill her, didn't turn out too well," Garret answered simply.
'Fighting a servant tends to do that.' Shirou thought before speaking aloud. "She didn't kill you through."
"Yeah, basically came down to her being bored and that I was interesting."
"Why haven't you tried to escape?"
"Well, she didn't kill me for starters and cleaned me up and gave me some decent clothes to wear. I suppose now that you're here she wouldn't really mind if I ran off after I got you guys to your enclave. Being around some people that are not trying to kill me, run away, and know that the world is still filled with monsters is something I didn't know I wanted." Garret relented. "How did you come into this life anyways?"
"Discovered my magical talents when I was young," Shirou answered with a half-truth, leaning up against the car. "After some trial and error, I began to learn how to use my more unique skills with magecraft. After my run-in with Rider I kept training myself by killing the monsters wandering around the city. Which led to my run-in with a Greek god and the events I find myself in now. How about you?"
"Started for me around twelve. I'm a stripper's kid so when I was doing simple jobs in the back I would catch glimpses of the private dances from time to time." Garret paused for a moment. "Sometimes when the customer was really getting into it, they would show their true forms, a monster hiding in human skin. One of those things saw me, screamed, and ran out of the club faster than I thought possible."
"And the dancer didn't react to her customer turning into a monster?" Shirou asked a little amused.
"No, sometimes these types of monsters show their real nature, but normal humans can't see it. I can, however, whether they like it or not. Time went on and as my luck would have it one of the strippers turned out to be a spider-like monster."
Shirou resisted the urge to place his hand on the Grimm's shoulder knowing full well what it was like to have poor luck.
"I was seventeen, when she tried to attack me, I uh… had to beat her with a wrench. Turns out that Grimm are a lot stronger than humans even as kids, a few well-placed hits to the head, and her skull caved in. Mom sent me out not wanting me to get in trouble with the manager. Soon enough the cops came looking for me and I was lucky that one of them was knowledgeable about the real world. Was able to twist the story enough that I was clear of charges on a self-defense plea, and he pointed me to an apothecary who knew about Grimm and showed me the basics. After that, I started wandering the states looking for monsters that needed sorting out." Garret finished pumping the gas and placed the nozzle back into its holder.
As Garret was coming around a blue station wagon pulled in. A man was driving with a woman and two kids in the back who seemed to be fighting over something. A Family, perfectly normal, or so Shirou had thought. The father got out to pump the gas. As the father did that, the mother turned back and disciplined her children for being too loud with their argument. The children looked down with sheepish expressions. Garret sharply turned away from the family desperately trying to hide his face.
"What's wrong?" Shirou asked surprised by Garret's reaction to the family.
"Monsters," Garret whispered passing by Shirou.
Shirou's eyes shot over to the family scanning them for any sign. Yet he found none. No matter how hard he looked he could not tell that they were monsters. Even his nose was only giving him a wooden smell. Seeing Shirou looking over the family.
"Don't worry about them," Garret whispered keeping his back towards the family. "They are a type of Beaver mon…" he paused trying to come up with another word. "mythical creature, harmless, one sign of danger and they'll run."
Hearing his Shirou relaxed. Though he was still interested, he never came across a mythical creature that was related to a beaver. Rin would have jumped at the chance to categorize a phantasmal beast that had never been categorized before. It was also a nice change of pace to come across some creatures that were non-threatening toward humans.
"So why are you hiding from them?"
"When I see them show their true selves to me somehow they know that I know what they are. The harmless ones tend to scream and run or beg for their life… it causes a scene." Garret answered.
Shirou nodded. That would be a problem if something like that happened to him whenever he came across a monster or harmless phantasmal beast. Though it did raise another question. If the mere sight of a Grimm caused a monster to attack or beg for their life, just what did the Grimm do to earn that kind of reputation? Shirou decided to bring the question to Garret.
"Why are they so afraid of you?"
"Not me specifically." Garret began breathing a sigh of relief when the family pulled out of the gas station. "They fear what I am. From what little I know about the Grimms, I'm the Boogie Man to them. I'm the monster they tell their kids about, so they behave."
"The monster to the monsters, it's almost poetic." Shirou observed.
"Sure, If you want to see it like that," Garret replied just in time for Rider and Brian to join them.
Rider looked on edge, and Brian had a serious look on his face.
"Well, It would seem that our stalkers were hiding from the Greeks after all," Brian commented putting a plastic bag in the backseat. "As it turns out Apollo works a side job here and he just so happend to be in the area."
"Apollo, what's he doing here?" Garret asked.
"We'll talk more on the move, let's go," Brian ordered getting into the car.
The rest of them mounted up. Garret pulled out of the gas station and soon enough they were back on the highway now without an SUV tailing them.
"Apollo has informed us that the Greek gods are in a sort of cold war." Rider informed the two youngest of the group. "Zeus' master bolt has been stolen, and he believes that his brother Poseidon stole it. If it is not returned by the summer solstice there will be war. A war that will most likely put the mortal world in the crossfire."
Shirou sighed, he had a feeling his luck was responsible for this never-ending stream of problems he was having to deal with.
"However, a group of demigods was sent to find the master bolt. According to the prophecy, they are supposed to succeed." Brian added.
"What's he want with us?" Shirou asked.
"He wanted to formally introduce himself." Rider added. "The information on the state of the Greek god was not the main reason he came here. As it turns out he was interested in seeing if Shirou was one of his sons."
"…"
"What?" Shirou asked bewildered.
"Apparently word has begun to spread of a magus whose archery skills are a match for the great twin god archers," Brian informed the redhead. "If it helps Apollo didn't seem angry about the comparison, he seemed more interested."
"He did warn us that his sister will most likely not share his views." Rider added.
"Is she looking for me?"
"He didn't say," Brian answered causing Shirou to sigh, he knew his luck would have him running into the goddess sooner or later.
"Does this change our plans?" Garret asked.
"No, in fact." He traced a rune into the air that faded out soon after it was completed. "You don't have to worry about being pulled over for speeding now."
"Alright right then."
The engine roared to life.
"You can come out now, Aphrodite," Apollo called out as the last mortal left the gas station.
A door behind the registrar opened revealing the beautiful goddess in a dress that did not fit inside a gas station. Apollo turned, leaning up against the counter, and crossed his arms.
"Here I thought I was the only one taking a peek," Apollo commented.
"How could I resist?" Aphrodite shrugged cutely. "I wanted to see what Hecate was interested in, and I must say I find myself wanting to try him out myself."
The love goddess then sighed as if she had found something she wanted yet had found she was unable to have it. She looked longingly out the window towards the horizon.
"Yet I cannot have him, he belongs to someone else." Aphrodite went on leaning down on the counter showing off her figure to the sun god.
"Come again?" Apollo quickly asked snapped out of his… observations.
Aphrodite was not one to just let a mortal she fancied go. Such reasons why we're among the gods who had the most demigod offspring. To hear her letting someone go was shocking and a bit worrying, to say the least. It would be like him saying he was getting tired of archery, someone would begin to question Apollo's mental health.
"Yes, it would seem this magus is destined for another." Aphrodite sounded almost happy. She looked at Apollo, seeing his confusion. "A destined love, like fate itself is pulling him to another. It's been a long time since I have had the honor of witnessing such a pair. It makes me both happy and jealous to witness it."
"Linked in love by fate uh?" Apollo summarized being the god of prophecy he had experience with fate. "I never knew the Fates were known for romance. Their first attempt did not work out too well."
"Hm, yes as the goddess of love it broke my heart to see the three try to find love and fail. Yet, Fate Breakers are impossible to pin down." Aphrodite added remembering the event well. "But this is not a bond forged by fate, no this is a bond forged by chance and perhaps a bit of luck woven into the fabric of reality. Its very existence defies fate itself."
Apollo rose an eyebrow. "When you put it like that it sounds like someone would have tried to change that."
"Oh, have no doubt dear Apollo many have tried and many more will continue to try," Aphrodite informed her fellow god. "Tell me Apollo what did you sense from the mortal?"
"Nothing, or at least something that is being hidden like a powerful light trying to shine through a thick blanket. Almost like a fate breaker."
The goddess nodded. "As I am not blessed with the ability to understand fate and prophecy, yet I do understand the power of love. Love conquers all Apollo; it can even overcome fate. What I sensed was a love that changed the course of fate or destiny whichever you like. A love stopping a spiteful and regretful soul from being born and allowing a caged heart to feel once again. Ooh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it!" Aphrodite squeaked warping her arms around herself lifting her breasts slightly and rubbing her legs together.
Apollo took a nervous step backward, as he was starting to get uncomfortable.
"Although I would like nothing more than to let this magus shove a demigod inside of me. I want to see just how much this love can do, I want to see those who would stop it try and fail. I want to see it all." Aphrodite started to breathe heavily.
Apollo turned and started to leave only to be stopped when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"If I could have a moment of your time Apollo. Ares is off doing one of his little plans and I find myself in need of a man." Aphrodite whispered into the god's ear causing him to pale.
"Mommy."
"Oh, I can be your mommy~"
Shirou sat on the roof of the motel they would be resting in for the night. Garret and Shirou would be sharing one room while Rider and Brian would share the other. Apparently, Rider wanted to speak to Brian about some topics that she did not go into detail about. Garret had already gone to bed, Shirou on the other hand had yet to feel the need to sleep. Instead, his thoughts had drifted to his father, he worried for his safety.
Like any good son, Shirou loved his father. Admittedly his father had not had the same impact on him that Kiritsugu had. Yet Mike had done his best to raise a good boy. Sure, it was easier for him once Shirou became aware of himself yet there were times when his young mind would act before his wisdom could stop it. Shirou smiled as he remembered some fond memories he had with his father. A baseball game, playing catch and watching his father attempt to cook at a higher level of skill. It was true, Mike was no Kiritsugu but he was still his father and Shirou protected those who mattered to him.
As much as Shirou wanted to storm the fairies' fortress, raining noble phantasms down on them, he knew doing so would draw too much attention. Just using a few in England had attracted the attention of The Morrigan. Who would come looking around if thousands of legendary weapons began raining from the sky? There was also the fact that he was a demigod now, even if his godly side had been sealed and was only now being awakened. There was now a supernatural political element he had to deal with, especially now with the Greek Pantheon being aware of him. If Brian was correct and he was a Celtic demigod, then his actions could spawn an incident between the Greeks and the Celts. At least the rune around his neck would keep his identity down for a bit longer.
The breeze passed by the motel gently rattling the trees and blowing cool wind into Shirou's face. Shirou's ears twitched and his head perked up. There was something off about this wind, as he had suddenly felt the urge to walk into the forest. Narrowing his eyes Shirou stood from the roof and jumped down and began to head toward the forest. If this was some kind of dangerous monster who had a method of tracking prey, it would be better if he deals with it now.
Shirou was soon brought to a small lake, the water was murky, and the shore around it was muddy. Shirou began to scan his surroundings yet his reinforced eyes nor his senses told him anything was out of the ordinary. Something had drawn him here and he had a feeling whatever it was bidding its time until it would strike.
"Peace warrior I mean you no harm." A feminine voice echoed throughout the area.
Shirou narrowed his eyes; his senses were now detecting something. A freshwater smell, along with the smell of a fairy. Why approach him now, was this an attempt at making him surrender himself or something else?
"Forgive me if I remain on edge, fairy," Shirou replied still looking for any sign of the speaker. "I know we've not been on good terms for a while now."
"Indeed my apologies for the queen's zeal, she is still young and doesn't know how to converse with humans well enough." The voice answered. "Allow me to show myself, all I ask is that you allow me to speak. I bring news of your father."
"That's acceptable."
As soon as Shirou finished speaking mist began to generate from the lake and the once murky water had become clear. A woman began to emerge from the water, she was beautiful but that was to be expected. Her hair was long and blond, her eyes deep green, and she wore a white dress that seemed to glow slightly. Once she fully emerged from the water she stood upon its surface. She gave the redhead a smile which he returned out of politeness.
"Greetings Shirou Donovan, I am Viviane, but most would identify me by my title as The Lady of The Lake."
Shirou's eyebrows went up in surprise. The Lady of The Lake had come to visit him. He supposed his connection to Avalon was beginning to make its way through the fairies' ranks. Yet that did not quite explain why the keeper of Excalibur would make her appearance to him. From what he knew about the powerful fairy, she supposedly raised and trained Lancelot, provided Excalibur to Merlin who in turn gave it to Artoria then got the weapon back when she died, and finally escorted Artoria's body to Avalon after she died. She also supposedly had a relationship with Merlin and had him imprisoned for all eternity.
'Probably shouldn't bring that up.' Shirou thought to himself.
"You said you had news about my father," Shirou stated prompting the fairy to begin.
"Yes, you will be pleased to know that your father has been released from the queen's custody to your mother's care." Once more Shirou's eyes widen. She could only mean his godly mother of this world. "We had a lovely chat about you, she is most pleased with how you turned out. Though, regrettably, it is not yet safe for you two to meet, nor am I at liberty to speak of her to you other than what has already been said."
Shirou mentally shook himself out of his shock. "How can I be sure you are being honest with me?"
"Indeed, my people have given you little reason to trust our kind, but nor did I ask you to simply take my word for it." A scroll emerged from the water near Shirou, the scroll rose into the air and stopped just in front of Shirou. "Before you is the official writ penned by the queen ordering the release of your father to your mother's custody, of course as your mother's name has been redacted. If you doubt the writ's validity, merely show it to your Druid mentor, who will be able to authenticate it for you."
The magus stared at the scroll for a moment before taking it and opening it. It was written in a language he couldn't understand, most likely the fairy's written language. Shirou closed the scroll and looked back to Viviane.
"So your no longer going to come after me?" Shirou asked causing the fairy's smile to fall.
"Unfortunately, it is not that simple. You see we fairies take the subject of Avalon very seriously. You somehow hold a connection to it or have an artifact that does. I'm afraid I will have to ask for clarification on the nature of his artifact."
"And if I refuse?"
"I'm afraid then the fairies will continue to see you as a threat to Avalon and continue to come after you. I of course shall not attack you should you decide to refuse my offer. I will only be forced to act if your connection poses some threat to Avalon but I doubt that will be the case. However, you will find I am far more reasonable than my kin. If you describe to me the connection you have to Avalon I can significantly lessen the outcry to bring you in."
Shirou thought it over. With his father safe again, if this write was real that is, he will have no reason to go after the fairies any longer. He was also not in the middle of a fairy base, meaning the likelihood he could come out of this in one piece was far more likely. So explaining his connection to Avalon would get some fairies off his back. All in all, it was a good deal.
"Alright, I'll explain it," Shirou replied causing Viviane's smile to return.
"Wonderful, please whenever you are ready."
Of course, the challenge became how to explain it in a way that would not out himself as someone reborn from another world while also making it believable.
"Tell me Lady Viviane, what do you know of the scabbard Avalon?" Shirou asked the now confused-looking fairy.
"I am unaware of any scabbard that bears the name Avalon."
'Well, at least I will not have to contend with another Avalon existing in this world.' Shirou thought.
"Allow me to explain then. Avalon was a scabbard used by Ar- Arthur to sheath Excalibur. It was said that the scabbard was the embodiment of the utopia Arthur sought. The scabbard was said to provide a few powerful abilities to Arthur, those being able to heal from just about any wound as well as a limited degree of immortality. The scabbard was stolen from Arthur before the Battle of Camlann and was lost until it was found by Richard where it was stored in a box as Avalon's abilities would only truly work on Arthur. It was not until a family of magus had used it in an attempt to summon a spiritual recreation of Arthur to assist in a war." Viviane's eyes narrowed at that.
"What became of this attempt?"
"It was a success and Arthur's spirit assisted those who summoned him in this war. Yet the war's true outcome became known to the man who Arthur was bound to. However, the man was unable to convince Arthur of the true outcome of this war. The man was forced to use the magical spell that granted him the authority of Arthur for a short time. He forced the king to destroy an important artifact in which the war was fought over. Yet there was an unseen consequence because of the artifact's destruction."
The events of the Forth Holly Grail changed Shirou's life. It was there in that fire had he died and was reborn. Reforged as it were. Of course, he had only learned what really happen well after his adoptive father's death.
Shirou went on. "A magical fire destroyed everything around it killing thousands. The fire destroyed Arthur's spiritual body breaking the summoning. Horrified about what he had done the man began to search for any survivors. I was the only one he found. Yet I was close to dying myself. To save me the man placed the scabbard in my soul, with Arthur's energy still lingering Avalon was able to heal me. There it remained until I learned of its existence and used a type of… magic to return it to Arthur, across time."
"Even with it back where it belongs, Avalon's time in my soul has changed me. I have been told I am selfless to a fault, a product that has been attributed to Avalon's time with me. Its energy and thus its connection to the location of Avalon will always remain with me. It's this same energy that you have been detecting."
"That is quite the tale if it is true," Viviane commented on Shirou's story.
"The events of that war were covered very well. I don't expect you to find any trace of it." It was true after all, given that the war happens in another universe.
"So I am to believe that your connection to Avalon was formed from a scabbard called Avalon that sheathed Excalibur. You held this artifact within your soul for some time before you returned it to Arthur across time." Viviane summarized. "You must see this is difficult to believe without some form of proof."
"You're in luck, my magecraft will assist us." Shirou replied as he murmured "trace on" to himself.
Avalon began to take shape before Viviane, whose eyes widen as far as they could. The sheath of Artoria came to rest in Shirou's hands after it had been projected. The Lady of The Lake approached Shirou, her eyes locked on the artifact as if in a trance. When she was close enough the fairy reached out to take it, but Shirou did not stop her. It was after all a cheap copy of the real thing. Viviane took Avalon in her hands and studied the sheath, running her hands up in down its length, completely mesmerized.
"This… this is irrefutable," Viviane murmured before looking back up at Shirou. "How do you still have it? You claimed to have returned this to Arthur."
"What you're seeing now is just a copy, it's not the real thing."
"You say that, yet I cannot detect any sign of forgery. If I did not know better, I would say this was a real artifact belonging to King Arthur." Viviane countered. "You must also know that I have bore witness to king Arthur's adventures. He never possessed something like this. Yet, I cannot deny its connection to Avalon."
"You said you wanted to know how I was exposed to the energies of Avalon. This is the proof." Shirou explained backing up and letting the Sheath return to his reality marble. Viviane stepped back in surprise as the traced Avalon shattered and faded. "I have upheld my end of the deal."
Viviane stared at Shirou for a moment. "You have. Very well I will explain your connection to Avalon to the council and the queen. This may silence a few voices demanding your capture, but others may still wish to come after you. I, however, and those who follow me shall not bother you. I do not see your connection to Avalon as a threat."
"I'm happy to hear that," Shirou answered smiling.
"Far well Shirou," Viviane replied as she descended back into the water.
With the fairy gone Shirou looked at the writ in his hand. Viviane claimed that Brian would be able to authenticate its legitimacy. Shirou would talk to Brian about it tomorrow, right now he was starting to feel tired. Returning to the motel Shirou entered his room, Garret was snoring away fast asleep. Getting into his own bed the red-haired magus closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him back to the lonely hill of swords.
The following day Shirou gave the group an explanation of what happened last night. Brian took the writ and confirmed its legitimacy. He claimed that this particular type of writ was impossible to lie on as magic was used to write it. He explained that when casted this magic would record an event taking place with empirical accuracy, to the point where it even recorded the body language. According to the writ, Mike was handed over to a woman whose name was censored. The fairies in charge were not happy about it but they had no choice but to comply. The woman on the other hand was happy to have Mike safe but other things were on her mind. Even though Viviane smoothed things over with some of the royal fairies, getting to the enclave remained a priority. Once they had breakfast, which came down to stopping at a fast-food joint, they were on the road again.
With Brian's magic in place, they were making excellent time as Garret did not mind keeping the car going over a hundred miles per hour. Before long they had passed the sign welcoming travelers to Kansas. A few more hours later saw them arriving in Wichita. It was a good-sized city not unlike Fuyuki, with no tall buildings like New York but there were a few buildings with at least twenty-five floors. Brian had switched with Rider for the passenger seat so he could direct the Grimm to the right location. Shirou was happy to finally arrive being cooped up in a car for so long was getting tiresome.
Brian directed Garret to a woodworking shop where he went in and then exited ten minutes later. The druid then directed Garret out of the city and into some woods nearby. Once they were within the forest Brian directed Garret to a dead end. Before the Grimm could voice his complaints Brian made a gesture to the trees before them. In an instant, the trees began to move to reveal a path behind them. The road changed to a type of gravel parking lot with more than a few cars of different makes and models parked around the lot.
Just beyond the parking lot was a town with a wooden path leading up a hill with houses on either side of the path. Further up the hill was a larger log cabin that looked like a type of town hall or an equivalent thereof. The sun was starting to set over the trees and as such the town was lit by a lantern hanging from a wooden pole and what appeared to be fireflies flying around. Once Garret parked the group all got out of the car.
Brian led them to the top of the hill where he knocked on the door of the town hall-looking building. A boy about seven opened the door, a blond with green eyes who looked surprised to see them.
"Hello there lad," Brian greeted the boy. "I believe we are expected."
The boy ran back into the house before an older man around thirty came back. The most notable feature he had was the three large claw-like scars running down his neck, his white shirt hiding much of the scarring. His hair was brown and his eyes blue. He looked over the group before setting his eyes back on Brian.
"Deepwood, I'm in charge of this little enclave." The now-named Deepwood greeted offering his hand to Brian who accepted it. "Not too often we get someone from across The Lagoon."
"Can't say it was planned," Brian answered before introducing the rest of the group. "This is Archer, Rider, and a Grimm."
"A Grimm?" Deepwood repeated surprised before looking at Garret a tad bit nervous. "I guess so, thank you for your service." Garret not used to being thanked for being a Grimm managed a nod. "So, I'm told you are looking to officially declare a pupil."
"Yeah, Archer, though I don't think he is going to be a druid."
"I get it, it's a dying practice." Deepwood shrugged. "Too much iron going around these days. Well, I can give you guys a place to stay while we get that paperwork filled out."
The group was shown some rooms they had set aside for guests. Brian went off with Deepwood to begin the paperwork leaving Garret, Rider, and Shirou to themselves. Before long Garret approached Shirou with a request when Rider wandered off, apparently the druids had an extensive book collection.
"You want me to train you?" Shirou repeated.
"Yeah, I've been fighting on nothing but instinct, and if my fight with Medusa was any indication."
'You fought a reborn servant, your lucky to be in one piece.' Shirou mussed. "Why don't you ask Rider?"
"I mainly use swords and guns; I can't say I will find myself using a "chain whip dagger" weapon anytime soon. She also seems too hesitant to fight you so I thought you'd be somewhere on her level." Garret reasoned.
Shirou considered it, his thoughts drifting to when he asked Artoria to train him or when he begged his father to train him. He wanted to give Garret the same excuse that Kiritsugu gave him, "To be a magus is to walk with death". Yet from what Garret explained what being a Grimm entailed, it sounded like he didn't have a choice. Garret was born to walk with death.
"Alright, but I warn you. I will train you as my own teacher did." Shirou answered standing from the bed he was sitting on.
"So, what, you going to beat the stuffing out of me and call it training?"
"Something like that."
Now we come to the end. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! No outtake this time sadly so Slim A Lou Prime we're done here.
God bless and see you next year!
