Artoria Pendragon, Servant Saber of the fifth Holy Grail War, couldn't help her gaze moving back to her Master once more as the first rays of sunlight began to peak over the horizon.
It had just barely been over 6 hours since her summoning, and despite her Master's kindness in setting up a spare bed for her, she'd barely been able to catch more than a couple winks of sleep. The woman truthfully was not actually tired due to having just been summoned, but also kept up by her paranoia as she could indeed feel the spiritual signature, the power of the Servant a few rooms down.
Luckily, said Servant hadn't tried to come into the room and had only passed by the door without pausing as they followed someone who she assumed to be her Master's sister. Yet it didn't do much to help her paranoia despite that.
Though, the hours that she'd been kept awake by it had given her a lot of time to think over her new Master and everything she knew of him so far. At the very least, she could tell that despite sharing the same last name, he wasn't the same in mannerisms. He seemed to be entirely truthful in everything he'd said up until now, and had been rather kind in the couple of minutes they'd interacted before he'd fallen asleep.
'Yet that vision…' The reminder of her shameful moment of mental weakness made her wince, but what her instincts had shown her was more telling than anything he had said or done before or after.
Her Master was strong. With an ability that reminded her far too much of that man for her liking, but clearly stemming from a different origin to the golden portals that he had utilized. And he clearly wasn't lacking in the physical department either, the phantom feeling of his hand denting her metal gauntlet causing her to flex her fingers idly.
Yet despite her relief at having a strong Master that could seemingly easily supply her with enough Mana to run at full strength, unlike Kiritsugu, it only filled her with confusion at the same time. Because quite frankly, she didn't even know that modern humans were still able to become so strong. She couldn't imagine it was a regular occurrence, even limiting the population down to only those who use and practice Thaumaturgy, but the fact it could happen at all had thrown her for a bit of a loop.
The sound of shifting from her master's bed dragged her attention back to the land of the living and out of her own head, seeing him sitting up and yawning lethargically while rubbing his left eye.
"Good morning, Master." Saber greeted dutifully, her brows furrowing only minutely at being on the opposite side of such an address for the first time.
"Morning Sa- ber." Shirou managed to correct himself, seeing the head of blonde hair and green eyes, though the woman was able to tell that he'd been preparing to say another name.
"You're up rather early, are you not?" The King of Knights spoke evenly, a raised eyebrow as she robotically gestured to the rays of sun that were still only just peaking over the horizon.
"Seems like my usual wake up time to me." He shrugged, making his way out of bed, almost able to feel his Servant's gaze glued to his form.
And in Artoria's case, she wasn't even aware she was doing it. Not only a supernatural feeling of familiarity, as if meeting with a long-lost friend, filling her, but also emotions she wasn't quite sure how to identify as she watched him fix his clothing and run a hand through his hair.
She wasn't quite sure what it was, it wasn't like she had never seen males considered attractive in various states of undress before, yet something about this situation, about this particular male, seemed to strike something deep inside her.
Artoria would learn much, much later that this was called having a type.
"Where are you going, Master?" she asked curiously, rising to her feet as Shirou did.
"The kitchen, I'll make breakfast for the both of us. And Illya and Archer if they want some too." Saber hummed as he spoke, finding herself rather hungry but not starving, her thoughts moving to the memories of her once, fake Master Irisviel von Einzbern.
She wondered how the woman's family was doing without her, mostly Illya who she'd only ever heard of from stories. As far as she was concerned, Kiritsugu didn't exist, and she refused to waste brain power thinking about the traitor's fate.
"Is Illya your sister?" She asked, trying to put up the air of being a regular servant, and not one who remembered things she never should be able to.
"She is, and I'm sure you can guess which Servant she summoned."
"Archer." Artoria confirmed with a nod, her mind going through the hundreds of legends imparted on her by the Grail.
"Yeah. I'd say his name, but I've gotten told off for my habit of blurting out Servants names in the last couple of weeks, so I'll leave it to him." Shirou rolled his singular open eye, making the woman blink curiously.
"You're able to figure out Servants' true names, Master?" She questioned as they walked into what she assumed was the communal living space of the household, turning her head to follow Shirou as he walked into the kitchen.
"I have my ways. I'm not quite normal."
"You say that so callously." Saber furrowed her brows at the way that Shirou talked about himself, watching him shrug while pulling some pans out.
"No use lying and saying I'm something that I'm not, did you not see my left eye last night?"
"No. I did…" The Servant confirmed, her memories going back to the golden eye with blue letters belonging to the fairies circled within.
And for a moment Shirou let the conversation die out, grabbing all manner of herbs, spices and ingredients. At least until Artoria managed to drag her attention away from the myriad of food being brought out before her.
"I believe now to be a proper time to tell me of the complexities of this war, Master." Saber spoke, her posture perfect and her voice even and steady, every bit the King that the legends had pointed her out.
And it was exactly because of all of those factors that Shirou knew it would be a pain in the ass to try and move the conversation away from the absolute clusterfuck that was the modern Holy Grail War. So, he didn't, beginning to talk as he started to whisk some eggs together.
"Might as well, before everyone else wakes up. What do you know about the Holy Grail War?" Shirou asked, remembering his parents' talk of the Servant standing behind him.
King Arthur was a prideful Servant, but also one with a wish that was so strong, so palpable, that she went through emotional hell in the fourth Holy Grail War and begged his father at the top of her lungs not to destroy the Grail so that she could get it. She was never going to take this well, no matter how he worded it, but he could at least lessen the impact.
"Seven Servants are summoned to their respective Masters. They are summoned in the seven classes-"
"Seven base classes." Shirou interrupted her, having seen his moment to strike, and took it with a precision that would have left Altrouge Brunestud herself proud.
Not that he wanted her pride, he'd rather gouge his lungs out.
"Excuse me?" Saber questioned, her face twisting at being interrupted so remorselessly.
"There's more than Seven Classes. They're just the base seven. The Einzberns actually summoned a Servant from an eighth class in the Third War." This threw Artoria for a loop, having no knowledge of an eighth class, or its supposed summoning in the war before last.
"Truly?"
"Yeah. The first of the Avenger class. Don't know much else about them. But the Servant that was summoned was freaky, to say the least."
"Does this have something to do with the abnormality of this war? Has this Avenger class somehow been summoned again?" Saber questioned, her mind churning through the possibility with a speed that would have left most people dizzy.
A new class container meant new strengths and weaknesses that were likely to be different from the rather basic strengths and weaknesses of the seven base classes. Likely more esoteric or combining parts or pieces of the other seven classes.
"No. When they died in the third war, they didn't sit in the Grail like usual, they infected it."
"… Excuse me?" There was a cold darkness in the woman's voice, one that made Shirou sigh and turn to look at her from the corner of his eye while continuing his preparations.
"The Grail has been infected, corrupted with All the World's Evil."
"You lie!" Saber snapped, slashing her hand to the side and creating a mild bang on a wooden support beam at her side.
"I have no reason to lie, Saber. The Grail doesn't summon just heroes anymore, and it doesn't grant wishes anymore, either." It was barely a tickle on the edge of Shirou's senses, but it caused the teen to whirl around, both of his eyes wide open as they narrowed on the hazy shape of what he recognized as a sword held in Saber's grip.
It was obscured by something, he could tell as much due to the human part of his perception, yet the fairy influence and the part of him that embodied 'Sword' refused to be blocked, allowing him to see a hazy outline of the blade within his Servant's grip. The blade that was within Artoria's grip.
It was right in front of him, he could feel its power, could feel the pure Mystery that seemed to make it up and emanated off of it like the steam off a newly quenched blade. But it was obscured. He needed to see it without the surrounding enchantment. He needed to see it in its full majes-
"Listen to me." Saber hissed, managing to snap him out of his downward spiral and making his eyes turn back up towards her.
"My apologies."
"You think an apology will make this right? You summon me, you get my hopes up, and you proceed to lie and trick me. You and Kiritsugu are exactly alike. So self-obsessed with your delusions, you can't see what others need." Artoria hissed, her composure well and truly out the window at this stage, the wind around her blade swirling slightly faster in response to the agitation of her Prana.
"…. What are you hoping to get out of this reaction?" Shirou asked blankly, giving an entirely unimpressed look at the seething Servant, able to see movement out of the corner of his eye behind Artoria.
"I. Want the truth." Shirou could feel the call of the blade in her hands, his pupils dilated as his body, his soul, acted on its own and surged his Od to structurally grasp the mythical blade of the Fa-
"No."
Shirou jerked back as he watched everything melt away for the briefest of moments, coming face to face with…. Morgan? Yet she held herself in a way foreign to the teen, her colouring was slightly different, and she gave off an energy that felt both foreign and intimately familiar in a way that only one thing ever had before.
'Vivian…' The name clicked inside his head, right as she leaned forward with a smile that could have convinced the Devil himself to give up sin.
"You are not permitted to wield that blade. There are forces that are terrified of you wielding that sword. Even if the idea of you understanding such a blade sounds mighty interesting."
Shirou opened his mouth to speak, to say anything, yet he could not move, he could not speak, though his intentions must have been made clear because the woman only straightened out and sighed in pseudo disappointment.
"I knew it would come to this, but the others still made me come here and attempt it, nonetheless. Please remember, my next actions come from their insistence and not my own feelings. And if you don't wish to feel it again, perhaps become stronger? O' Smith of "
And then the world reformed, no different from the moment that he had left in any sense of the world, as if time had frozen during his conversation with the Great Mother.
He could feel his Od creeping through his circuits, growing ever closer to his mismatched eyes. Then he felt something wet, the hard wood and metal of the house, and then the feeling of rushing wind. The alarmed shouts of both Saber and Archer reached his ears as he flew further and further from the Emiya estate.
'She threw me!?' He couldn't help but gripe as he flew further and further into the sky.
"Master! Master, are you okay!?" The voice of Saber, suddenly a lot more worried than angry, spoke in his head, getting an odd noise from the teen.
'Yes. I'm fine. Though I think I'm about to hit the apex of my flight.' Shirou deadpanned, starting to feel himself going momentarily weightless.
"What happened? Do you know who attacked you, Master? I can't sense anything."
'An old friend of yours. I'm not allowed to scan your blade, apparently.'
"You tried to scan Excalibur? How? Why? And what did you mean by an old friend?" Saber interrogated him, sounding like she was exerting quite a bit of effort doing whatever it was she was doing.
'I think I'm going to focus on a landing strategy before we continue this.' Shirou deadpanned, craning his neck to look down at the ground to try and see where he was about to hit the ground.
"Right. Do you see any landmarks, Ma- I see you!"
'Oh. I see you too. Hi Saber.' Shirou waved at the rapidly approaching woman, watching her launching herself through the streets of Fuyuki at a speed he was fairly certain the average human eye couldn't even follow.
"Please focus and stop waving, Master!" Saber cried, half exhausted admonishment and half hysterical scream.
'I am. I just wanted to say hello. If I can create a weapon long enough, I could create a swamp underneath myself.' Shirou muttered, not caring to try and end the telepathic conversation, which was probably a mistake.
"Don't be daft! I shall catch you, Master! Please try to orient yourself, so I can grab you easily."
'I've always wanted to play damsel.'
"PLEASE FOCUS!"
Shirou laughed a little to himself as he twisted himself around in the air, catching a glimpse of gold out of the corner of his eyes and rolling them as he realized Gilgamesh was probably laughing his ass off at his current predicament. Mostly because, thanks to Saber, he wasn't really in any actual danger.
A burst of prana from below drew his attention, looking down and seeing the rapidly approaching form of Saber and-
'Oh, wow, I'm closer to the ground than I thought.' He thought in idle surprise as the arms of his Servant suddenly wrapped underneath him.
"I have you, Master!" Artoria shouted over the whipping wind, her ascent having slowed his own descent when she grabbed him, allowing her to place her feet underneath her and tense.
The resulting impact of the two of them striking the ground was downright catastrophic, shooting dust into the air and making pins and needles shoot up Artoria's body, starting from her heels. Luckily, neither of them were actually injured, despite the absolute death glare that Saber was giving the teen in her arms.
"My saviour." The woman breathed in deeply and slowly tilted her arms to place him on his feet, even if the urge to drop him was strong.
And then once again she stamped down on those childish urges and impulses, rather disturbed at how easily this teen seemed to drag them out of her.
"Master. What- How did that happen?" The Servant asked, practically hissed, while he seemingly ignored her and looked around.
"What a landing zone…. Oh, right." Shirou turned back to face Artoria, seemingly unperturbed by her death glare. "The Lady of the Lake took offense to me trying to scan your blade. Or, well, she acted out on the offense of others."
"Vivian? You were thrown halfway across this city by Vivian of the Lake?" Artoria stressed, her gaze narrowing and her blade once more appearing in her grip.
"It's fine Saber. Other than the hole in the house and this crater, nothing was even damaged. Speaking of, remember our conversation before I was thrown? Anything about this area feel strange to you?" Saber was startled a little at the sudden return to the original topic of conversation, not knowing whether to continue following up on it or on the topic of Vivian.
But dutifully she looked around, seeing nothing but a rather nice park around them, at least past the crater that their landing had caused. And then, now that she wasn't so blinded by fury and shock, she could feel the malice in the air. Almost falling to a knee at the sheer potency of the curse that seemed to be inlaid in every part of the surrounding area.
"It's weakened…" Shirou muttered, making Artoria choke on air as she took two strong steps towards Shirou.
"The curse inlaid here? It's weakened? What…. What is this place, Master?"
"The small-scale version of what the Grail wants to do to the world. A land of cursed mud and black flames."
"The Grail can't have done this!" Saber still stubbornly argued, getting a sigh from the teen as he turned to properly face her, his mismatched eyes seeming to stare directly into her soul.
"Saber. This is the center of the land burned away by the Fuyuki Fire ten years ago, by the rupturing of the Lesser Grail. This? This curse woven land? This is what I'm trying to stop. And you may want your wish more than anything else in the world, whatever it may be, but I called to you in the Throne to help me protect those close to me from this. And you answered my call. There's a part of you that knows this is the truth, I know there is. And I know that same part wants to destroy this land with all its might."
Shirou paused in the middle of his speech, closing his eyes and breathing in slowly, his entire presence seeming to change in an instant when he opened them again.
"You are Servant Saber. A Legend with instincts second to none. Follow those instincts, allow us to show you the proof and help us stop the Grail. Because I will not allow the opposite to become true." Slowly, Shirou held a hand out to her, a sign of trust and of friendship, the same hand that held his Command Seals.
Artoria wanted to deny him, to deny everything around her as a lie, but she, like her Master apparently, knew that there was a part of her that could not be fooled. No matter how stubborn she was, everything pointed in one direction, in the fact that her dream couldn't come true. That her Kingdom would still fall, and that trying to chase its survival would doom the entire human race. And she couldn't do that, she couldn't lead an entire world to ruin just to bring her Kingdom back, she couldn't turn her back on humanity.
"I will require as much proof as you are physically capable of showing me." She spoke in a monotone voice, slowly raising her hand.
"You and a couple others." Shirou grinned almost tiredly.
'I see…. Master is the lynchpin.' Artoria realized, finally placing where the familiar quality to his new presence came from.
"Very well. I will agree to this alliance, and to you as my Master." She took his hand and clasped it, both of them squeezing tight and shaking firmly.
"Great, because now we need to convince my sister of that." Shirou's smile tightened, right as Artoria sensed the rapidly approaching signature of the Servant from her Master's house.
And then in a second, albeit smaller, crater the hulking form of Heracles snapped to a halt, Illya clung around his neck still in her pajamas and clearly still half-asleep.
"DON'T HURT ONII-CHAN HE HASN'T MADE HIS SWORD YET!"
"You have nothing to worry about, uh, sister of my Master. We have come to an….understanding." Saber spoke awkwardly, her personal feelings at the girl that looked so close to Irisviel clashing with her professionalism as King.
"You were threatening him." Archer growled, his displeasure flaring his Mana and making Artoria reflexively stack a half-step back from the Demi-God. "Do not think me blind, Saber."
"Archer, calm down. We've come to an agreement, like I said." Shirou stepped between him and Saber, seemingly unaffected by his furious presence.
"She was threatening you, Onii-chan!?"
"She was just overreacting to the news about the Grail. Weren't you Saber?" Shirou looked over, his left eye closed once more. Luckily for him, she had known Merlin long enough to play along with a cover story.
"Yes. It was just an overreaction… And for that, I do deeply apologize, Master." She added on truthfully at the end, bowing to her Master as shame burned in her gut.
"Hm? Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it." He waved off her shame and guilt as easily as breathing, turning back to Archer. "She's okay now, promise."
"She is to be your ally. Pointing a blade at you is unacceptable."
"And for that I have apologized, Archer. I will work to show my sincerity in those words once I have seen proof of the Grail's corruption for myself." Saber snapped back, mostly out of her wounded pride at being reminded so consistently and harshly about her reaction.
"You will wait to show the sincerity of your words?" Archer narrowed his eyes minutely.
"Archer!" The giant of a man turned to face his own Master, who was climbing down his chiseled body to the ground. "If Onii-chan says it's okay, then it's okay. After all, it's not like he's easy to kill."
"Thank you, Illya. That's exactly what needs to be said right now." Shirou deadpanned, getting a cheeky grin from the girl.
"If you say so, Master. Though I worry about what spawned that secondary comment."
"Fights!"
"Yes….clearly." Heracles deadpanned, watching his Master begin to reform the craters they had created and essentially erase the proof the four of them had ever been here.
XXXxxxXXX
Later that day, Homurahara Academy
"Craters!"
"Please stop."
"In the park!"
"Rin please."
"At 7am!"
Shirou just sighed, swaying back and forth as Rin's fists pounded on his chest while she vented her frustrations, happy that she hadn't actually decided to try fighting him. Because that would have led to much more painful punches than these love-taps.
"I have to say, Sherou. I'm somehow not very surprised to know that these types of events follow you even outside the Clock Tower." Luvia grinned demurely, her grin sharpening a little as Rin looked over at her with a small glare.
"Senpai is an important person, people are jealous of that." Sakura nodded gravely, as if she'd just spoken the secret to the universe while she ate.
"Well, I can't exactly disagree with you there, Miss Matou." Luvia admitted reluctantly, thinking about the sheer number of contracts they had been offered when it became known they'd be coming here for the Holy Grail War.
She hadn't accepted any of them, to the surprise of those that had offered. Their friendship was fairly well known amongst the Clock Tower, so she wasn't sure why they were as surprised as they were.
Whether Kristiina had accepted any behind her back was a different matter, however, and the reminder quickly made her clear her throat to bring everyone's attention back to her.
"So…Sherou. I feel it prudent to inform you that my Sister may have taken some of the contracts that had been offered to us before leaving…" She started awkwardly, getting a snort from the teen.
"Let me guess, my murder?"
"Amongst other things, yes."
"You're entirely too blasé with this topic, Shirou." Rin deadpanned at her boyfriend, looking over and seeing Sakura squinting her eyes into the distance.
"It's nothing new." The teen shrugged, eating some of his food.
"Yes, but this time they have a Servant. And Morgan Le Fay at that." Rin hissed, getting an unimpressed look from Luvia as she cleared her throat again.
"Reminder, miss gorilla, that I've summoned an aspect of that same Heroic Spirit."
"G-Gorilla!?"
"You were just hitting your boyfriend, my dear Sherou, with your fists like a gorilla, were you not?" Luvia grinned mockingly, getting tired sighs from both Shirou and Sakura.
"Grrr. How dare you!"
"Senpai." Shirou zoned out the resulting argument between the two heiresses and turned his attention to Sakura as she looked up at him. "I do agree that Kristiina and Morgan are more dangerous than a run-of-the-mill Magus. Without our Servants around, it might be better to be on guard?"
"They'll be back by the time we finish school." Shirou tried to calm her. "And besides, Rin still has her Servant and I have you three here with me." He smiled at her, getting a bright smile in return.
And then Luvia hugged his arm with a loud cry, smiling almost as brightly as Sakura.
"Oh, I couldn't have said it better myself, Sherou!"
"Oi! Quit grabbing him like that!"
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Forest outside Fuyuki
"I'm beginning to grow tired of the surprises brought about by this war." Saber spoke, her attention sliding between Rider, who was leaning against a tree casually, and Archer, who stood as still as a statue.
"One of the Casters will be here shortly." Archer announced, his gaze seeming to be following something moving throughout the trees.
"One of?" Saber asked suspiciously, almost able to feel a migraine coming on.
"Tohsaka said it had something to do with a Magecraft of the family their Masters come from." Rider spoke, her voice quiet yet clear and sharp, clearly wanting to speak as little as possible.
"This is the last unpleasant surprise we're aware of. Lancer is a rather nice woman."
"And Caster isn't?" Artoria questioned, suspicious of Heracles's words.
"To your perception, no." One of his fingers twitched, and the presence of another Servant filtered into Artoria's senses.
A presence that was burned into her memory, that she'd never forget. A presence that haunted her the moment she so much as thought about it.
"MORGAN!" In an instant, her blade was out and heading for the materialized Servant's neck, stopped only by the chain that wrapped around her arm and magical defense created by the woman herself.
"Hello… Artoria." Morgan smiled weakly, a guilt, a shameful self-hatred burning at her core as she watched the downright murderous glare on her sister as she ground her teeth together.
"The Grail truly is corrupted. To summon you of all people." Artoria snarled, getting a sardonic laugh from the Caster as she took a precautionary step back and dropped her hastily made shield.
"Yes… I did a great many evils. And for that, I apologize, so very deeply." Morgan spoke, bowing deeply at the waist, causing Artoria to nearly drop her blade in shock.
'What….. What's happening right now?'
Morgan doesn't bow. She doesn't apologize. Even when she was at the height of an act, she would never do such a thing, it was one of her greatest weaknesses as a manipulator. So who was this woman, who wore her face and her clothes? Who spoke with her voice and carried her presence yet….lighter, now that she took a moment to feel it over.
"You aren't Morgan." Saber accused, getting a small, knowing smile from the woman as she straightened herself out.
"No. Not in the sense you're thinking of sister. I'm the 'human' part of the figure 'Morgan Le Fay'. Or…well, the part of her that is 'Queen', rather than 'Fairy' or 'Witch'." Morgan tried to explain awkwardly, her gaze never leaving the cloaked blade of Excalibur, even with Rider's chain wrapped around Saber's arm.
"So, you can plot your schemes as a Human now instead of a Witch?" Saber growled, gritting her teeth at the nervously amused laugh that escaped her lips.
"Not quite. My Master summoned me, the 'Human' part of Morgan. Her sister summoned the Morgan you're more familiar with…"
"The Witch…" Saber growled, Rider tensing up to avoid Saber swiping out with her sword once more on pure reflex.
"Precisely. Once again, I deeply apologize for the actions of what I became. I, as in I, never wished anything like what on you or our people."
"They aren't your people!" Saber snapped, making Caster jolt on the spot. "You are not King! They're my people, not ours."
Heracles stepped forward, very firmly reminding Artoria that he, alongside Medusa, were there to stop any fights from breaking out.
"Oh sister…" Morgan shook her head slowly, as if disappointed. "A title doesn't make a ruler responsible for their people. Nor does a title stop one from caring."
Artoria could feel a vein in her temple pulse and throb at yet again being lectured on what it means to be King. And by Morgan Le Fay, nonetheless.
"Yet you tried to tear them down just to make me suffer. You cared not for my people as you tore down everything I had built!"
"THAT WASN'T ME!" Morgan snapped, her Prana flaring out of her body and flattening the grass beneath her feet.
"YOU ARE STILL PART OF HER! THE BLAME LIES AT YOUR FEET JUST AS MUCH AS THE PART THAT EMBODIES 'WITCH'!"
A wave of Mana washed over the four of them, barely getting the slightest thinning of Morgan's lips before they heard it.
"Hahahahaha!" All four figures in the clearing tensed up at the laughter that started to float through the air, a dark, cruel voice that was clearly heard even amongst the loud rustling of leaves.
"This would be the 'witch', I take it?" Archer grunted, his eyes scanning the treetops and his fingers flexing as Rider's chain unwrapped from Artoria's arm and came back to her.
"Oh, and Dear Archer is the one that gets it first. And here I thought that I'd be the first to the answer." Slowly, the woman revealed herself, one hand around Rider's neck and the other gripping her left wrist.
She looked identical to the Morgan already standing amongst the group, to the surprise of no one. But instead of the silver hair and blue eyes of Morgan Pendragon, instead was pale, platinum blonde hair and acidic green eyes hidden behind a thin black veil toppling from her rather ominous looking black and blue crown sat atop her head.
"Caster." Rider growled, slowly craning her head closer to the witch of Arthurian Legend.
"Ah, ah. None of that. Can't allow those scary eyes of yours near my form, even with this cute little blindfold on." Morgan Le Fay gripped the older, in a sense, woman's jaw and forced her to turn her head back towards Morgan Pendragon and Artoria.
Medusa could have easily ignored such an action, of course, Morgan had barely any strength to speak of, but understanding the situation she followed along with the woman's lead.
"Morgan." Saber glared, metal creaking as she tightened her grip on her blade.
"Oh Artoria. What a pleasant surprise to see you here. Alive and surrounded by allies once more, it seems. You have a habit of doing that." The witch's voice dropped an octave and shadows were cast over her acidic green eyes during her last sentence, her thoughts on the matter blatantly clear for everyone to see and hear.
"Let her go!" The King of Camelot snapped, getting a loud, cold, cackle out of the witch as she gripped Rider's wrist tighter.
"Still trying to order people around, I see. As if your Kingdom is still here. As if it never burnt down~"
"You've set up a barrier." Archer cut in, his weapon forming in his hand and making Morgan grip Rider tighter, getting a growl of annoyance from the Servant.
She may be trying to hide it, but the woman was nervous, she was clearly in over her head, and she knew it. Why would she do something as stupid as approaching a definite enemy and three potential enemies with only a half-baked hostage as her protection…?
With barely a twitch of his finger, both Heracles and Medusa struck as the witch opened her mouth once more to most likely gloat, a knife tearing from mid-thigh to just below her ribs and an arrow striking her opposing shoulder. Rider slamming her foot down and mangled the witches own foot as she launched herself away from the woman like a missile.
And then her form flickered and glitched, and suddenly there were no injuries on her person, getting a heavy sigh from the Morgan that stood with them and a loud growl, albeit in confusion, from Artoria.
"It's no use, it's an illusion. Or, more accurately, a reflection. We're inside a double layered Bound Field. One layer stops us from contacting our Masters, the other allows her to reflect herself in a physical form within the confines of the area." Morgan Pendragon explained to her tentative allies, getting a mocking clap from the witch in front of them.
"And I figured it out. Only took a minute." She grinned cruelly, getting a flat, unperturbed look in response.
"Believe what you wish, why are you here?"
"Ah. But I'm not here, remember? Evidently being human has ruined anything regarding your memory." Le Fay mocked her, blinking a little as her counterpart snapped her fingers and pointed at the witch.
"I figured it out. Thank you so dearly for buying me time. Farewell now~" And then, with an innocent grin, Caster snapped her fingers once more, the barriers surrounding them shattering with the phantom sound of smashing glass.
"Caster…." Saber took a breath to try and compose herself. "Where is….the Witch, going?"
"The Greater Grail."
"I refuse to allow her anywhere near such a compromised system."
"Oh, calm down, Arty-"
"Do not call me that. Human portion or not." Saber snapped dangerously.
"She won't be able to get close to it, in fact, right about now she should be able to sense the Bounded Field I erected the other night."
"She has all the same skills, does she not?" Heracles asked, pulling an arrow and slowly notching it back.
A witch was dangerous, a witch from any portion of the Age of Gods, twilight years or not, was an entirely different story. Heracles knew this well, and he also had basic knowledge on Morgan Le Fay through the heroic legends she was attached to. Bounded Field or not, both Casters had the same sorcery and very likely a similar or identical usage of said sorcery, so even a prepared defense was likely to be figured out in mere moments by the witch.
Heracles decided to simply not give her that time.
"You don't intend to strike her from here, do you?" Morgan asked in bemusement, only getting a grunt from the man.
"This is hardly a difficult shot. 6/7 of a δόλιχος in the direction of my arrow, correct?" The Archer asked the Caster, getting a short hum of amused confirmation in return.
"Archer! She's mine to take down!" Saber retorted, swiping her free hand to the side, already preparing to run after her mortal enemy.
"Saber. Now is hardly the time." And then the Demi-God of legend released his bowstring, creating a crack of wind as his arrow disappeared into the foliage and flora of the forest surrounding Fuyuki, drilling clean through any unfortunate tree trunk that happened to be in its way.
"Hardly the time?...Fine. You're correct." Saber had to fight to keep her face straight, not even getting a response this time as he turned to Morgan.
"Caster?"
"You expect me to know every injury my counterpart receives?" She challenged, crossing her arms under her impressive bust.
"I expected you to have a familiar in the location once you figured out her target, actually." He responded, well aware of the craftiness of sorcerers and witches from his own life.
"You'll have to wait a moment for that, actually. You have a keen intuition for a man of so much muscle, though." Caster grinned, getting a flat look down in return.
"I have no interest in one that shares a face with…her. And I'm looking for no engagements currently." Saber just huffed and restrained the urge to make a rude gesture at the man that was meant to be her ally, simply just taking off in the direction the man had fired, without any warning.
"Oh dear. That hasn't helped my case…" Caster sighed sadly.
Looking down at her, Heracles' eyes softened slightly. Memories of his life running through his mind as his hand twitched, slowly beginning to rise.
"Saber is stubborn. But if forgiveness is what you seek, then do not ever stop chasing it. It's worth it." The man spoke softly, placing a hand on her shoulder before starting to walk in the direction of his shot, with Morgan and Medusa following shortly behind.
"Hm. Wise beyond your years as well. Having you as an ally is a weight off my shoulders."
"It's a weight on mine." Rider deadpanned, getting a bark of laughter from Caster and the smallest snort from Archer.
"Oh, and Archer?"
"Yes, Caster?" He turned to look at her.
"You don't need to worry, you're not quite my type~"
"I'll keep that in mind." And then, reaching over and grabbing her faster than the woman could react, he launched himself forward, Medusa hot on his heels as Morgan fought not to scream like a little girl.
XXXxxxXXX
Five Minutes Later
"Archer. Where did the Witch escape to?" Saber interrogated the man, having calmed down from her earlier rage and now left in a state of deep, frozen anger.
"I'm a hunter, not an oracle, Saber." Heracles responded evenly, well aware that that wasn't the answer she was hoping to hear. "I can only track that which moves through the land. Not that which leaves the ground in its entirety."
Despite saying this, the man knelt beside the blood splatter and snapped arrow that had undoubtedly come from the Witch herself. His eyes scanned over the scene with intelligence that made even Saber herself feel lacking for a moment.
"For now, she would have given up, based on the amount of blood Archer's shot created, it was evidently a heavy hit." Caster mumbled, approaching the blood splatter herself.
"All of those fights we had, and a single arrow was all I needed to injure you?" Saber asked, getting a sad sigh from Caster.
"Once more, I am not the woman that hurt you, sister. But I apologize all the same. And when a shot like that is made, it's not exactly the first thing you prepare against. Speaking of, you'll never get another shot like that again, Archer."
"I'll never get another shot as easy as that again." Archer corrected, not arrogantly, but with a self-assured nature that only someone like Heracles could possibly have.
Off to the side, Rider hummed to herself, watching Saber scan over the environment while consciously regulating her breathing. Only able to imagine the swirl of difficult emotions running rampant through her.
"Caster. What are we looking at in terms of recovery time?" Saber managed to ask calmly, getting a thankful smile from the Queen at the lack of hostility for a change.
"Hmm, two days at least. Potentially shorter if she takes sacrifices to replenish lost Mana." Caster hummed, looking over the splashed blood.
"Which is likely." Saber retorted, some annoyance seeping into her tone.
"I'll keep an eye out for her, but how can we tell the difference between you two? Hair and eye colour is an easy thing to change with sorcery." Archer asked and reminded Caster in equal amounts, getting a curious hum from her.
"That's a good point… How about this?" She created a small, red mark on the palm of her hand and showed the four of them the symbol.
"Hmmm. Very well." Heracles relented, merely raising an eyebrow as she smiled thankfully and pat his extremely well-developed shoulder.
"It will do for now." Rider nodded, getting a grin from Morgan.
"Are you sure you can see it?"
"Very funny."
"I did think so, yes."
'This brings back strange memories…' Artoria deadpanned to herself mentally, remembering similar teasing as a chi-
Nope. Locking those up tight. They don't exist.
"If this is all, I'll be returning to my Master." Saber announced, raising a slender eyebrow as both Caster and Rider both started to walk over to her.
"Do you both need something?" She asked, somewhat warily, at their simultaneous actions.
"We're just heading in the same direction. Our Master's go to the same school as yours." Morgan answered pleasantly.
Which means she'd be forced to spend more time around Caster, great. Good. Just what she was hoping for.
Seeing her sister's discomfort, the Caster-class Servant tried to pat Artoria's shoulder to try and calm her down, frowning when her sister twisted out of the way after barely half a second of contact. Though she couldn't quite blame her, nor was it exactly unexpected.
"I see. Let us head off then?"
"Yes. I'd rather like to meet up with Assassin once more." Caster smiled politely, a facial expression that Artoria genuinely didn't know how to feel about coming off the woman.
"You've met them?"
"We both have. She was summoned a day before yourself."
"Caster enjoys her company because she's a dual type summon." Rider explained, getting a twitch of the blonde's eyebrow as they walked.
"I enjoy your company too, Rider. I'm quite interested in hearing of the spell craft from your day, actually." Caster smiled, clapping her hands together.
"Is there anything about this war that is usual?"
"Not in the slightest!" Morgan chirped, clearly teasing her.
Somehow that knowledge didn't make the King feel better.
So, she simply just took off ahead, getting a startled cry from her sister at the explosive take-off.
XXXxxxXXX
An Hour Later, Homurahara Academy
"Master, is there a reason we are getting so many stares?" Saber asked as she walked beside her Master, said teen holding a bag over the back of his shoulder and completely unperturbed by all the attention.
"Because they're teenagers, and they find you attractive." He deadpanned, getting an odd squeaking noise from the woman, but when his gaze flickered over to her, she looked as stoic as ever.
"I see… I can't say I'm used to such stares aimed at myself…" She muttered, looking around.
"Well, without your armour it's difficult to hide your gender, Saber." Sakura smiled from the other side of Shirou, getting a slight furrowing of the woman's eyebrows.
"I'm still wearing loose clothing and have been acting as is appropriate, though?"
Shirou very much did not point out the mild wind and the fact that people were watching her very closely. Since assumed gender or not, she was easily pretty enough to catch their attention in a vice grip.
"Not sure what to say there." Shirou shrugged, humming curiously as he felt Sakura tap on his shoulder.
"Senpai? Can you come with me? I want to finally complete my agreement with King Gilgamesh."
"Excuse me?" Shirou looked over at his Servant at the shock in her tone, furrowing his eyebrows at the expression on her face.
Not for the first time did he realize that his Servant wasn't quite usual, even amongst the craziness of the current War. On the subtler side were her reactions to names and people when she was too surprised to school her expressions.
On the less subtle side was her outright comparing him to Kiritsugu in a less than pleasant way.
And then there was the issue of her being unable to spiritualize, even though he knew that despite his unorthodox chant, he had completed the entire ritual properly.
Basically, everything about Artoria pointed towards her being a Servant not quite existing within the usual sphere. Similarly to Scáthach, but in a different way.
"King Gilgamesh? The first Hero of Humanity?" Sakura responded easily.
"So…. He's been summoned. Has he?" Saber managed to grind out.
"No. He incarnated after the fourth war." Shirou responded evenly, making Artoria freeze mid-step, slowly craning her head towards him.
"Incarnated…. So he's been here the entire time?"
"Since the fire, yeah." Shirou nodded, raising an eyebrow at her. "Do you happen to know him, Saber?"
At this, Sakura gave the woman an innocently inquisitive look, getting an awkwardly nervous shift of her eyes in response before she managed to smooth her expression out yet again.
"Not beyond reputation."
"I see… But are you able to, Senpai?"
"Of course I can, lead the way, Sakura." The girl nodded, beginning to walk with Shirou following behind.
"Master. If she's in league with Gilgamesh…. Surely you've heard the legends?"
Shirou smiled in amusement at the mental conversation with his Servant.
'Yeah, he used to be pretty rough around the edges. But he's gotten better.'
"You've….. You've met him before?"
'Frequently. He's been helping train us recently.'
"That's– Master, he's not-…" Saber didn't seem to know what to say, just getting a small huff of amusement from the teen.
'It's fine, Saber. If you met him in the Fourth War, I promise he's grown since then.'
Smartly, Artoria didn't respond to his comment about the fourth Holy Grail War, instead falling silent entirely as they followed after Sakura. Finally coming to a clearing marred in shallow craters with a golden throne situated in the middle.
And sat upon that throne, with one leg rested perpendicularly on the other and his cheek on his propped up fist, was Gilgamesh himself.
"King Gilgamesh." Sakura bowed, only bending 45 degrees at the waist.
"Hmmm, so you've come to me at last, Servant." Gilgamesh grinned, his eyes locked onto Sakura and only Sakura.
"I'm here too." Shirou deadpanned, completely unconvinced of the surprised act that Gilgamesh put on while looking over at him.
"Oh! So you are, Smith. And with your Servant as well." His grin curved ever so slightly and Artoria glared, taking a single step behind Shirou without even realizing.
"Gilgamesh." She responded evenly.
"I've waited so long for you to return, my love-" the man snapped a hand up and caught the dagger that had been thrown at his chest by Shirou.
"You're being a creep. Quit it." Shirou admonished, getting a roll of Gilgamesh's eyes as the knife in his hand disintegrated into motes of light.
"Fine, ruin my fun, Shirou." The King stood up, pressing his lips together tightly at the way that Saber tensed up in response. "And Saber, you can relax. I've grown beyond my old ways."
"A sentiment that's easy to say." She responded quickly.
"You're right. It's actions that truly count." He agreed with her, getting a surprised widening of her eyes. "And right now, there's an action that's required of me. Is that not correct, Servant?"
His red eyes slid back over to Sakura, who nodded resolutely.
"I wish for our deal to finally come to an end, King Gilgamesh."
"Of course. You've truly done well these past few years. It brings me joy to see the Servant of my Smith grow so far." He smiled and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, practically throwing Saber's entire world view for a good loop.
None of this made sense. This was Gilgamesh, she could tell as such just from his presence alone. Yet he didn't act like the Gilgamesh she knew. He'd….mellowed? Changed? Been altered? She had no idea what had happened to him, but somehow that arrogant, downright malicious man from ten years ago was no longer there.
Yet she wasn't quite so sure she was ready to face him, changes or not.
"Now. It is finally time for me to uphold my end of our agreement. Saber, Rider, Smith. Do not be alarmed, she will be okay in the end."
"What are you planning?" Shirou asked, squinting at him suspiciously as the King raised one hand high while the other stayed on Sakura's shoulder.
"Parasiticide."
And then thirteen rapiers, with blades matching the thinnest Shirou had ever seen, were skewering Sakura. The screams of both Artoria and Medusa filled his ears as he looked back and saw the faintest signs of golden portals in the distance.
Gilgamesh was systematically murdering every single worm that made Zouken Matou up, a brute force method to end all brute force methods. The King, having known this request would be coming and having spent the last three days searching for and cataloguing every. Single. Worm. That was connected to the decaying corpse of a man.
It was why he had been unable to make contact with any of the teens since Shirou's second girlfriend had summoned her own Servant. Though based on the reaction of Saber that was probably a smart option on his end. He wouldn't be surprised if she had reacted much more violently if she'd seen him earlier in the morning.
"GILGAMESH!" The clink of metal made him look over to see Saber giving a look that could melt metal with its intensity, and the rage on the now materialized Medusa's face was as clear as day.
"Silence. I told you she would be fine. No trust, honestly." The King of Sumer sighed in disappointment at their actions, grabbing a small stone bowl with a thick, green mixture inside it already.
"One of them was over her heart, Gil." Shirou spoke, walking up to him with a purpose that belied the rather calm way he was speaking.
To Rider and Saber, it may have sounded like an accusation of deceit on the King's part. To the King himself, he knew that it was merely an inquiry, having long since gained the trust of the teen.
"Medicine created by Asclepius himself, a wound to her heart as small as this won't even require more than a single finger's worth." Gilgamesh answered back, simply swiping his finger along the top of the mixture as the blades disappeared, and the girl hit the ground with a painful sounding thump.
"I can feel so much Od…" Sakura whispered, surprised at the feeling of being free of her grandfather's influence for the first time in over a decade.
Uncaring of the two wary Servants on either side of him, Gilgamesh dug his finger into each of her wounds, making sure to get medicine into each and every injury before cleaning his hand and placing the stone bowl back in his treasury.
And finally, the girl sat up, patting each of her wounds, which were now slowly closing holes, healing before everyone's eyes.
"Master you're….okay?" Rider asked hesitantly, feeling a little more hopeful after hearing who the maker of the medicine was.
After all, that man, when given some of her blood, was able to bring someone back from the dead. Gilgamesh truly hadn't been overstating the power of his medicines and remedies.
"I'm….. I'm free…." The girl's purple eyes began to grow shiny, tears pooling up in their corners.
"How does it feel, Sakura?" Shirou asked softly, caring in a way that struck a chord in both Rider and Saber.
"I'm finally free, Senpai~!" She cheered amidst tears, flinging herself forward and hugging him tightly.
A strange mixture of crying and joyous laughter left her lips as she hugged Shirou as tightly as he possibly could. She could never thank Gilgamesh enough for this, not in any sense of the word.
He'd gotten rid of Zouken! Every single shred of his decaying soul! And the cherry on top was that it wasn't a spectacle, it wasn't a grand affair and didn't catch the eyes of every being in a 200-kilometer radius. It was quiet, unassuming and unknown, slipping the corpse of a man into death with no fanfare or dramatizing in the slightest.
A death befitting the man, in Sakura's own, (incredibly morbid) opinion.
"You…. helped her?" Saber asked warily, getting a bark of laughter from the man.
"I did. Is that truly so surprising? A king helps his own, after all."
"Since when did you believe that?" She snapped back, only getting a strange look she couldn't decipher in return.
"Since I gained new people of my own." And then he turned back to Shirou, and the strange look was gone.
Instead, replaced by one that Saber knew much, much better. That being cruel satisfaction and amusement.
"Now. It's been a day, and you haven't even gone to the church officiate to sign up for the war, Smith. As your main teacher and benefactor, you're making me look quite bad."
"Your benefaction is dropping a gemstone on my anvil and telling me to make a blade." Shirou deadpanned, still hugging Sakura.
"The finest gemstones, do not forget."
"Uh huh. So, they finally picked another after Kirei, huh?" Shirou questioned, suddenly getting a bad feeling at the widening of the king's cruel grin.
"That's right, Smith! In fact, you're quite familiar with them already."
"… No."
"They come here every year."
"No."
"And they're quite respectful to your King, so they have my hard-to-earn favour." Gilgamesh puffed his chest out, clearly dramatizing the way he spoke to get a better reaction out of Shirou.
Luckily for him when it came to this particular figure it worked wonders.
"Sakura, we're going home."
"Y-Yes Senpai." She managed to get out between stifled giggles and slowly drying tears.
"Shall I send her to your house then, Smith?" Gilgamesh teased, pulling a blade out and blocking the blade that came at him much, much faster than earlier. "Or are you going to listen to my suggestion and go to the Church?"
"I'd rather rip my tongue off. But fine. Saber, we're going to the Church."
"I'll come w-with you, Senpai."
"Are you sure, Sakura? You seem a little unsteady."
"Not used to having so much energy, can I hold onto you?"
"… Of course. It'll probably help steady me once she starts talking." He snarked, getting a short giggle from her, as both Rider and Saber shared a confused look.
'Who is this officiate they're talking about?'
And meanwhile, despite the expression on Gilgamesh's face never changing an inch, the man's thoughts took a much, much more somber tone.
'I'm truly sorry, Smith and allies. I will not ruin this joyous moment. But your time of trials and tribulations approaches. I've done my part in preparation, now it is time for your own legend to truly unfurl.' Slowly, his ruby red eyes slid into the distance, the grin on his lips flattening ever so slightly.
'It's beginning…'
XXXxxxXXX
"No! NOOoooOO!" Zouken's form began to fall apart, inch by inch, worm by worm fell off his form as blades of all shapes and sizes tore him apart, his soul playing ping-pong between them all as his hosts continued to die in rapid succession.
He couldn't die like this! He couldn't! He wouldn't! There was too much to do! Too much to learn!
Too much to upkeep!
"The ffiieeEELDDDSss!" He was losing control of his Prana, his soul degrading piece by piece as it was thrown from worm to worm.
Yet even so he could feel it, he could feel his extensive and quite frankly ingenious Bounded Fields beginning to fall. Like a veil being lifted from the entire city, revealing it- his- secrets to the entire world. Each time his soul was ricocheted from one worm to another, he could feel another pillar of his Bounded Territory failing him, shattering.
Thirty.
Fifty-Three.
Ninety-Four.
One-Hundred-Forty-Two.
Three-Hundred-Sixty.
"YOU FO-" One last blade struck the final worm, freeing Zouken Matou's soul from the mortal coil after over 200 years of clinging to its surface.
And with it, a Bounded Field the likes of which were almost never seen in this day and age fell to pieces. Decades of work gone in an instant, leaving its purpose empty, and the city bereft of whatever benefit it gave.
And deep, deep within the caverns once belonging to a Dragon and now the resting place of the Greater Grail, a pulse of blackened mana was released.
XXXxxxXXX
Side Story: Shirou relaxes
"Master. What is Shirou doing with that….tv?" Heracles whispered to his master, materialized and kneeled behind her as they both peered around the corner into the lounge room.
"Shhhhh! Onii-chans playing a video game." Illya whispered in return.
In Shirou's hands was some strange handheld device made of plastic with a wire connecting it to yet another strange device. The true differences in their era's making itself abundantly clear to Heracles.
"Video…game?"
"Yeah yeah, it's a game but it shows itself on a screen and you use those controllers to make your character do things."
"I see…"
There was an explosion sound from the tv, making Heracles scrunch his eyebrows up at how unauthentic it sounded.
"Argh! Marines! Get out of the way! Stop running in front of my rockets!"
"Is….Shirou ok, Master?"
"Onii-chans fine! He's just annoyed at friendly fire."
There was another explosion and the controller in Shirou's hands started to make a creaking sound, his eye twitching.
XXXxxxXXX
Welcome one and all to the 24th chapter of HTTB where we have an exciting new announcement!
WE HAVE A TVTROPES NOW AFTER LIKE 2 YEARS
Thank you once again to my lovely discord that created it for me. Its pretty barebones at the moment so feel free to help them out cause I love going through it x3
What else, what else? Oh! I've been informed that an author credited this story as one of their inspirations for starting a fate fic so that's made me super excited as well!
Sadly I have to do another year of uni because of just two classes but oh well.
Also, to everyone saying what HTTB Artoria looks like, yeah pretty much MHXX, I just didn't make that comparison cause I'm only on like Orleans in FGO so I haven't met her at all yet. Not sure about MHXX's height in comparison to PHH Artoria's height but HTTB Artoria would be a little taller than PHH Artoria in addition.
Also for those complaining about no EMIYA in this fanfic, I get what you're all saying and it would certainly be funny to show him reacting to all the changes in the HTTB verse. I need to ask, other than comedy what purpose would he give the story? I've chosen the Servants for particular reasons and EMIYA just doesn't fit. If anything he and Shirou would get along famously because of the teens thoughts on becoming a Hero, so that sort of gets rid of that angle. But anyways, like I said, I get what you're all saying, I'm just not really interested in adding him to the fanfic as a Servant.
Discord code: plasmaassassin
AND NOW! ONTO THE REVIEW REPLIES:
NotSpecialDude: Morgan Pendragon is sort of me taking bits and pieces of a lot of characters and adding them together because there's like one mention of her 'Queen' portion cause of all the emphasis on Le Fay and Vivian. Also yes, Gil won't be a happy chappy. And whether it does or doesn't become an Apocrypha will be shown xP
Muzjun no kishi: I play dnd with two people from Britain, two people from separate parts of America and one person from Germany. Believe me, I'm aware of how much of a pain in the ass timezones are.
Fujin of shadows: I'll eventually expand on what went on in the two years between chapter 21 and the start of the HGW. But some of it may appear in side-stories, yes. Also, I'll show it off eventually.
ThisIsStorm101: Peeeeeeerhaps!
TalonScythe: I need you to know that the idea of Ishtar just like…falling into the HGW despite that not working in the slightest made me laugh quite hard. And thank you for saying you have such high expectations, I shall do my best to fulfill them!
Citrinequartz712: Don't worry, so did my server.
Simon334: As you could see in this chapter, he was a little busy being a responsible adult for once xP
AngelicWisdom: Iri is going to play matchmaker so hard she'll make cupid look like a lazy bum. And yeah, Artoria is taking the constant psychological blows not exactly amazingly.
AnimeFan13579: Now I'm just imagining Heracles slapping Shirou on the back and turning him into an improvised projectile.
Manga mondeluz 1945: I'm so happy you've been enjoying the fanfic and everything that I've been setting up! The fight between Altrouge and Gil had a couple differences in the first 'draft'. Especially with the buffs she got in the remake, but my main lore guy talked me into the current interation. And as for ORT vs RS I couldn't say for certain but I think that their everywhen nature makes RS take the lead, at least that's my opinion. And yes, I'm aware that Archer Heracles has God Hand and Alcides has King's Order. Trust me, it's been a constant battle correcting that issue with people -_- Regardless, thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy!
Zukafew119: Hello once again and thank you for the review as always! Now I really only have two things to say, yeah Shirou and Bazett have gotten much closer but I'm not planning on bringing her into the harem at all, sorry! And also I'll admit there's a tiny bit of rushing, but overall the scenes you suggested I add weren't necessary. I fully agree that they would add to the story and if I rewrote the chapter I'd definitely add them in, but they were also good points that I could sort of imply what will/did happen and let the readers fill in the blanks on their own. Once again thank you for the review and I can't wait to read your review for this chapter.
AND THAT'S ALL FOR THE REVIEW REPLIES!
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, take solace in the fact that chapter 25 is already completed and I'll see you all next month!