"What is so important that I've been called here on such short notice?" Lorelei Barthomeloi, leader of the Chelon Canticle Brigade, asked as she walked into what was effectively the planning room of the Brigade.
As usual, her poise was immaculate, and her attention narrowed to a razor's edge as she looked around at the three members currently in attendance, looking over maps and papers, at least until she had entered the room. Currently, they were saluting her, as was expected of Magi whom she had personally hand-picked and aided in training.
But she had asked a question, and they knew better than to keep her waiting or to deny answering her. She was a Barthomeloi after all, perfection was not only natural to them but also expected.
"Intense mana readings out of Fuyuki, Japan, Ma'am!" The Vice-Director of the Clock Tower allowed none of her thoughts to show as she walked over to the table and picked up a completely random paper, seeing it was the middle of what seemed to be a deluge of information on that exact topic.
To get a full grasp on the situation she would need to wait for all of this information to be compiled into a proper report, she couldn't fault them or lay blame for that, but what she did manage to get was not only worrying but infuriating.
"These kinds of readings are only meant to be coming out of select locations worldwide. Fuyuki has neither been cleared as such an area nor were we given any reason as to why or how." Lorelei spoke, the warning clear in her voice as she looked down at one of the maps on the table, saying nothing as one of her Brigade slid it towards her to give her a better view.
"We're aware, ma'am. We have had no correspondence from any Magi living within the city, nor from the Second Owner. However, we don't believe anyone currently in the city to be at fault." Lorelei's eyes snapped towards the Brigade member.
"Explain."
"After the initial readings of the intensity of the Mana were recorded, scans were done to attempt to reveal the rough class of Thaumaturgy that it resided within. It was overwhelmingly two equally matched signatures intertwined."
"Those being?" She picked up another paper, her eyes scanning through its details even as they continued to inform her of the situation.
"Curse, and the Third Magic." Lorelei breathed in deeply, placing the paper back down on the table, and breathed out.
"You said intertwined? Surely, I hope you chose your words carefully." Her gaze narrowed, but the man did little more than nod his head.
"Yes, Ma'am. Whatever the curse is, or its effects, it is on a level matching True Magic."
"Or it's being boosted by it." The retort was quiet, from the newest member of her Brigade, a fairly young woman recruited from the Caesarmund bloodline with an especially fine-tuned usage of their family specialization.
"If you have something to say, you inform me of that fact, or you wait until I call on you to speak, am I understood?"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" The girl squeaked, shaking a little as he held her salute tense enough to shatter glass.
"Now. Explain your comment."
"Well, it's more of a theory." The woman started, fairly nervous at being under her superior's direct stare. "But the only known subject in Fuyuki capable of accessing the Third Magic is the Holy Grail. If the curse has latched onto it, it could be using the Third Magic, or its inherent Mystery, to be boosting itself and its capabilities."
"I see. Not a completely unfounded theory, it has merit. Going forward in your investigations, keep both theories in mind." She aimed this at all three of them, getting stern nods in return. "Furthermore, I want to know exactly why this outburst of mana was caused, and if necessary, why it was not detected sooner."
"Understood Ma'am!" All three Chelon Canticle's spoke at once, getting a satisfied nod from her as she turned and strode out of the room, her mind running a mile a minute.
'Was Muramasa aware of this? Did he cause the outburst somehow? His family, particularly its progenitor, was well known for his cursed blades. It's simply a theory, but a curse of the land certainly would have had time to take root in the Holy Grail. It's too difficult to say for certain, more than just his family has made that city their home and two of them were directly a part of creating the Grail. Additionally, the Einzbern were the third family involved in the creation of the Grail; they may have information that they've failed to share. There are too many variables to simply decide on one and go down that branch. More information is required, and until then all options have to be treated as true.'
Because quite simply, whatever was happening with the Grail, whatever was happening in Fuyuki wasn't normal, wasn't sanctioned, and sure as hell wasn't something that could be allowed to go forgotten.
XXXxxxXXX
Fuyuki, Shirou, and co.
"I truly hate coming here." Shirou muttered, staring up at the Church that had once been the home of Kirei Kotomine.
That man was the biggest hassle in Fuyuki short of Gilgamesh himself. Honestly, when Rin had heard that Kirei had been killed by Scathach, the teen was pretty certain she'd actually gotten angry that she wasn't the one to do him in.
On second thought, his replacement probably felt the same way.
"Master, are we not going to go in?" Saber asked, looking between the Church and the teen, who seemed pretty content to stay right where he was.
"Senpai, she's looking out the window." Sakura informed him helpfully, looking at the yellow eyes of the young woman that seemed to practically glow in the light of the setting sun from within the Church.
"Let her watch." Shirou deadpanned, sighing a little when he felt three stares from the women around him. "Fine, fine."
With a petulant grumble, Shirou walked up to the doors of the Church and swung them open, seeing Caren Hortensia waiting for him. Her hands folded in front of her and a crucifix dangling from her fingers, decked out in full church attire.
Honestly, Artoria couldn't understand her Master's hesitance and straight-up refusal to come to see this girl. Sure, she seemed a little…odd, but otherwise, she looked fairly harmless. Looking over to her side subtly, she could see that, evidently, Rider agreed with her assessment based on the confused thinning of her lips.
With a smile that practically radiated the innocence of an angel, the white-haired girl lifted her hands into the air towards the four of them, the crucifix flashing in the light of the setting sun.
"Burn as God judges your sins and finds you abundant." Caren spoke, her voice was as sweet and innocent as a child asking someone for a piece of chocolate.
In response, Shirou only sighed as Sakura gave a perfectly blank look in response and both Servants suddenly regarded the girl in a much, much harsher light. Because try as some people might, such casually cruel remarks without showing a shred of maliciousness wasn't a commonly found trait of humanity, no matter the era.
"Hortensia. You know why I'm here." Shirou drawled, beginning to walk closer to the girl that Saber suddenly wasn't so sure it was safe for him to be around.
"Finally decided to repent for your sins?" Caren retorted, as quick as ever with her snapbacks.
"If I listened to you, simply breathing would be a sin."
"If a brute like you were to do so much as blink, I'm certain there's a nefarious scheme behind it."
"Hortensia-san. Always a pleasure." Sakura greeted, sliding smoothly into the conversation to draw her attention, at least momentarily, off of her Senpai.
"Hm. Yes, the girl drenched in just as much darkness as your Master." Caren regarded Sakura coolly, her gaze sliding between her and Shirou. "Though I still doubt any being comes close to you, Muramasa."
Caren motioned the hand holding a crucifix in the shape of a cross and muttered a prayer to herself, seemingly unaware of the mild animosity growing in Rider at her casual put-down of Sakura.
"If you've had your fun, sign us up for the war." Shirou spoke, surprising Saber with just how commanding he could be. She didn't expect it, especially considering all her experiences with him on the last day.
"Willingly joining a war? Truly, only God's radiant light could wash away such a soul-deep corruption."
"You'd know, wouldn't you?"
"Master! You need to have more decorum." Saber admonished her Master mentally.
'Trust me, when it comes to this girl, decorum means nothing.' Shirou responded mentally, only raising an eyebrow as the Sister of the church smiled thinly and clapped her hands.
"Well done, I suppose you can teach an old dog new tricks."
"Sign us up now, we can't be spending all night here." Shirou spoke right after, only getting a sad frown in return before it turned back to its regular, so-fake-it-hurt church smile.
"Very well, if you're so hellbent on fighting like the brute that you are, then I shall sign you both up to the War, and that Tohsaka girl as well, correct?"
"Yes, you are correct." Sakura answered, ever the perfect attendant to Shirou.
"Then it shall be done, through the grace of the God you both reject." Shirou huffed, beginning to turn around.
Sakura and both Servants made to follow, the four of them getting to the doors of the church before the sister spoke up once more, her voice dripping with a strange mixture of glee and anger that Shirou knew was reserved for her father, and only him.
"Oh, and if you find who, or what, took the corpse of my father. Do let me know. I wish to perform the proper burial rites, to forgive him for his poor Christian-ship all these years."
Shirou's hand cracked the large, thick, door of the church.
"Digging up someone's body?" Saber muttered, her expression showing her clear distaste for the idea.
"I'll keep an eye out." Shirou responded coolly, letting go of the cracked and dented door and letting the few loose shards fall to the floor.
Behind him, Sakura nipped her thumb, creating a small bead of blood that she wiped on the damaged door, repairing it in an instant as she followed behind Shirou. Her expression was perfectly blank, yet Rider was perfectly able to feel the broiling negative emotions beneath her Master's skin. The woman de-materialized as she silently followed the two teens and Saber as they began to make their way back to the Emiya Estate.
"Are you not going to question her further, Master?" Saber asked, trying to act as the voice of reason even though it seemed that both teens just wanted to ignore the issue, at least from her point of view.
"She has nothing else to add, what she told us is what she knows. Otherwise, she would have spoken it. Caren is incredibly caustic, but one of the things I've noticed is that she takes anything related to the Church very seriously. Even if you'd never guess that based on her personality." Shirou sassed at the end, getting a small giggle from Sakura as she lightly patted his arm.
"Of course, her comment about Burial Rites." Saber realized, humming in thought as her brows furrowed ever so slightly.
"Exactly. Though what someone or something could want with that man's body is beyond me." Shirou muttered, trying to think of any reason that wasn't just 'random graverobber took a jacked corpse'.
"Didn't Kiritsugu-san once tell us that he'd shot the man through the heart? Perhaps his resurrection and its possible connection to the Grail?" Sakura suggested, getting a thoughtful hum from the teen as he walked, completely missing the brief widening of Saber's eyes.
"Yeah, that's probably a good lead to go on." Shirou nodded, unable to think of anything else.
"Senpai, may I stay the night?" Sakura asked, leaning against his arm as they both walked, getting a hum from the teen.
"I'd like to say yes…But, Saber, are you fine with Rider being around?"
"You're... asking me?" Artoria gave him a briefly bewildered look before sobering up as she looked straight ahead. "I am merely your Servant, Master. If you choose to have an ally stay the night in your house, I have no right to refuse, save the obvious."
"Master stays in the same room as Shirou, Saber." Rider materialized for just long enough to say before disappearing into the wind again, getting a curious hum from the woman.
"Do you have a second spare bed, Master? Or shall I give up mine?" She asked, turning her head to look at him and seeing one flat look, courtesy of her Master, and one innocently amused smile, courtesy of Sakura.
"That won't be an issue, Saber." Shirou responded calmly, wondering if she would get it without him having to spell it out more.
"Ah, so you do have a second spare bed, understood."
Yes, yes he would have.
"I actually share a bed with Senpai, Saber." Sakura responded, dutifully aiding him as she had for years.
"Of course. Sharing a be-" Both teens, and the de-materialized Rider could see the exact moment that the meaning behind their words dawned on the woman.
It was fairly easy to see because her entire head turned as red as a tomato, and steam practically poured out the top as she bowed it and continued to walk, unable to look at either of them.
"I-I can't leave Master unprotected…."
"Saber. It's not like we're going to do it right next to you. Or make you watch." Shirou deadpanned at his Servant, only deadpanning harder when she failed to respond.
"I mean…" Shirou turned his stare to Sakura, who was giving him an innocent look that didn't fool him for a moment.
"It is a very effective way to increase comradery and morale." Rider piped up helpfully, once again materializing just to seemingly watch Saber squirm.
'Why did I expect anything different? She's Greek. I should have expected this from the moment she was summoned.' Shirou thought to himself, sighing both mentally and physically.
"Saber, relax, it's not happening. Sakura, it's not happening. Rider, not helping."
"V-Very well Master…"
"If you say so, Senpai."
"I was just pointing out a helpful fact."
That last comment got the Queen of the Gorgons an annoyed glare, merely making her raise her hands in a surrender motion as she faded away into motes of prana.
'These two are going to be the death of me…'
XXXxxxXXX
"Where…am I?" Artoria muttered to herself, looking at the land around her with a scrupulous gaze.
The land around her was unfamiliar in its entirety, setting alarms off in her head that refused to go away as she looked around, catching sight of three figures.
One, a small girl about fourteen years old, standing to the side with an expression of cruelty that the King would have expected from Morgan, not this girl, whoever she was.
The second, Shirou himself, though he looked different, younger, and oddly enough he had two regular eyes.
The third-
Artoria felt her legs tremble and her fingers clench, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek and her eyes dilated.
"This is a dream. It's a dream." Artoria muttered to herself, sliding into a combat stance without even realizing it as she watched the creature toying with Shirou.
She recognized the signs of memory-sharing from the singular time that it had happened to her in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but this….this was different. One, she was not only conscious during the memory itself, but that creature was setting off every instinct she had cultivated all at once.
She watched as the creature grabbed Shirou with a sickly powerful hand, tearing into his clothes and side before throwing him along the torn and cratered ground, the boy responding well by flinging himself even further across the ground to avoid the follow-up slam of the beast's hand.
And then the beast disappeared, its form revealed to be behind Shirou as he rose back to his feet from his chaotic tumbling and rolling.
"Master!" The shout left her lips before she could stop herself, yet as expected it did nothing.
Artoria could do nothing as she watched her younger Master get thrown back in the direction he'd come from, barely managing to defend himself by…creating a blade?
Shirou's retaliatory strike was dodged and punished, the creature's tail slamming into him and throwing him across the clearing once more, the beast clearly aggravated by the boy's attempted strike.
"Oh, Caaaaaath!" The girl off to the side called out playfully, waving her hand towards the creature, its gaze sliding past Artoria as it turned to look at the girl and making the warrior leap back a good five meters on instinct alone. "I think our new business partner will need a bit more of a push. You can't kill him but I'll let you mutilate one part of him, ok?"
Artoria was able to see everything happening as if it was swimming through tar, no, the actual memory itself had slowed down, likely matching her Master's perspective of this part of the events. She was forced to watch as the creature caught up to her retreating Master in an instant and swiped out at his face with malicious intent. She watched as her Master tried to defend his eyes by creating yet another blade between them and the creatures' claws, but was just a moment too late to save one of them.
And then blood flew into the air, joined by a series of viscera that clearly denoted the loss of an eye as the boy fell to the ground, clutching his missing eye with his free hand.
The girl's mocking words and innocent actions completely washed over Artoria's mind entirely, her gaze focused on nothing except the writhing, panting, clearly agonized form of her master. The rest of the world bleeding away, and the King was unable to look away at such a raw expression of agony as he clutched the remnants of his eye.
And then everything snapped back into perspective as one of the last voices she'd ever expect to hear reverberated throughout the memory.
"I can help you."
Artoria's blood turned cold, and her entire body tensed up.
"No…. Master… Did Master also…?" She muttered to herself, missing Shirou's slurred words.
"I can help you. Shirou Emiya. I can give you power and heal you."
"So that's what it offered him…" She thought, her mind flashing back to her current Master's strange fairy eye.
"That's correct. I can offer you power, enough to be able to beat her. Altrouge Brunestud."
"Did he accept the deal for revenge?..." She asked herself, focused intently on the boy's answer.
"H-hd enough deal fr tda." The boy mumbled, his speech slurred almost beyond the realm of being able to be understood.
And then Artoria watched him take his hand off his eye, clenching his teeth so tight she swore she heard a small crack, and moving it into his top, seemingly searching for an item. And evidently, he found it because he pulled out….a blood vial?
"You wish to gamble on the Mystic Code? I can guarantee your survival, Shirou. I can give you the strength to never have to rely on another deal ever again."
A glowing blue light suddenly flashed into existence above Shirou's form as he held the vial of blood up towards it, snaking tendrils of pure energy beginning to leave the ball and head towards the boy.
From the sidelines, Saber sighed, knowing how things were going to play out now. Sadly, Shirou was in no place to deny the world, it looks like that was one thing they sha-
"Srry." Her green eyes snapped up towards the boy with an intensity that could have melted steel, watching his fingers clench.
And as expected the vial burst like a popped grape, covering the boy in even more blood, the dream beginning to break down as evidently the memory was coming to an end. Yet there was one thing that the woman noticed, something that she would be unable to mistake even if blind and deaf.
"Avalon…?"
XXXxxxXXX
Shirou groaned as he was woken up by the shaking of his shoulder, looking over and seeing the deadly serious expression of his Servant.
"Master. We need to speak."
Shirou looked between her and Sakura, who was still asleep with her head resting on his shoulder.
"Yeah ok. What about?"
"Not…here. Do you have somewhere private we can have this discussion?" Saber asked, getting a sigh from the teen as he slowly started to slide out of bed, moving Sakura off him with what seemed to be a practiced ease.
"The kitchen is the best you're getting this early."
"Then the kitchen it is." Saber nodded, letting the teen put on some basic clothes before following him out into the Emiya Estate kitchen.
He was very clearly tired, which would be useful in getting the truth from him, but even then he moved with a strange kind of grace. Not that of a dancer, nor that of any kind of athlete, but that of a warrior. Unbidden, an image of his blade creation appeared in the Servant's mind, but she quickly wiped it away in favour of the most important aspect of the memory.
Leaning his hip against the kitchen counter, the teen looked up at Artoria and nodded, letting her silently know that he was ready for her to start speaking. An unneeded gesture, but a welcome one, nonetheless.
"I saw one of your memories." Saber started, getting an understanding hum from Shirou as he slowly nodded his head.
"Which one?"
"That….beast. Cath, I believe the girl called it." Saber answered, shivering a little just at the memory of the terrifying creature, though strangely Shirou just appeared mildly annoyed at the mention of it.
"Yeah, Cath Palug, otherwise known as Primate Murder. That was a bad day." Shirou muttered, blowing a lock of hair out of his eyes.
"Avalon saved you." Artoria finally revealed, blinking in surprise when he nodded without even a hint of hesitation.
"Oh yeah, without it, I would have been a goner."
"You- Why did you hide the fact that you had Avalon from me?... Master." She tacked on awkwardly at the end, the hint of betrayal in her tone completely missed by the teen as he scratched the back of his head.
"I…sort of wasn't? I always meant to talk to you about it, but I only summoned you a day ago and…" At this, he leant to the side, looking at a clock that Artoria had spied on the wall on her way in. "-Yesterday was a complete mess. Putting too many surprises on your shoulders wouldn't have helped anyone. Also, I forgot."
That final sentence, admitted without a hint of shame or hesitation, was what finally broke the King's calm exterior, making her raise her eyebrows into her hairline and her jaw loosen for the briefest of moments. Of course, it was fixed right afterward, but she still berated herself heavily for the slip-up.
"I….see." She didn't know what to say now.
If he had tried to lie to her, she'd been prepared for that. If he'd tried to skirt around the issue, she'd been prepared for that. If he'd tried to beg or plea for some kind of forgiveness, she was even prepared for that. Yet such a logical argument, coupled with his free admission of fault, was something that she hadn't been expecting.
Something she was starting to notice was a trend with her Master.
"Would you like it back?"
"Excuse me?" Artoria gave him a freely shocked look now, doing a double-take at him as he gave her a completely serious, and innocent, expression.
A shocked look, which got a tilted head from her Master, as if he couldn't understand her shock or what it stemmed from.
"Avalon, do you want it back?"
"That's- You're- Avalon is the highest level of safeguard, and you're just willing to give it away?"
"To a random person, of course not, but it's your sheath, and you clearly seem passionate. So, I just assumed you want it back?" Shirou raised his hand, clearly intent on pulling the sheath out of himself.
And now Artoria was left at a crossroads, where was she meant to go from here? Sure, from a purely battle-minded perspective, having Avalon would make her nigh-impossible to kill. Yet at the same time, also from a battle-minded perspective, it was always smarter to go for the Master instead of the Servant. And if Shirou continued to hold onto Avalon, then he would be able to heal from anything, save his head being taken off his shoulders.
Yet losing Avalon had been one of her greatest failures in life. Having it back would help to mend that wound that had been caused when Morgan-
Morgan.
No, the witch knew how to separate Artoria and Avalon from each other. She'd done it once, and she had no doubts that the witch would figure out a way to do it again. At least having it within her Master not only kept him safe but also cut down on the chances that Morgan would separate them like she'd done so many centuries ago.
It hurts to not have her precious sheath, but so long as it was nearby, in her Master, then she could bear it.
"No, master. Keep it. I got ahead of myself upon learning you had it, I apologize." Saber spoke, bowing at the waist to emphasize her words.
"Oh, uh. Great?" Shirou was clearly confused, a single eyebrow quirked and a small uptilt of his lips showing as such.
"Yes. I apologize for waking you this early for such a matter."
"It was important to you, I get it." Shirou waved off her apology, getting a smolder of childish anger in the woman once more.
"Yes, however as your Servant I shouldn't let such things get in the way of your health."
"I've gone with less sleep before, I'll be fine."
"I cannot allow you to forgo your health with the war beginning, Master, you'll need every advantage you can get." Artoria implored, her expression stern and her stance unwavering.
She would not lose this time.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Saber. I'll head back to bed." Shirou relented, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Good." Saber nodded her head, crossing her arms for extra emphasis.
Finally! She'd finally won an argument with her Master!
XXXxxxXXX
A few hours later, Shirou's room
"Senppaaiii, don't gooooo." Sakura moaned, clinging to his torso as he tried to move.
It was one thing that both Rin and her shared. Regardless of how they were normally, when they were sleepy and comfortable, they were nightmare cuddlers that refused to let go.
It also meant that in her sleepiness, Sakura sounded probably one smidgen too lewd, in addition to her rather showy nightwear. A combination that led to Artoria, standing in the corner of Shirou's room, blushing as brightly as Sir Tristan's hair. Unable to look away due to her obligation to protect her Master and her belief in how a Servant should act, yet so desperately wished that she could because this was mortifying.
It turns out, even when she got her first victory, Artoria still somehow lost.
XXXxxxXXX
That afternoon, Fuyuki
Shirou huffed, resting his elbow on the long table so that he could prop his head up, his other hand resting on the very well-made and polished wood and tapping idly with his pointer finger.
"Master, don't position yourself like that." Saber admonished him in their mental link, standing silently behind the chair that he was seated in, getting a mental grumble from him as he straightened back out.
To his right, Sakura merely smiled pleasantly at the actions of the blacksmith, while to his left, Rin let out a huff of laughter, likely having guessed what would happen.
To Rin's left sat Bazett, the Enforcer looking around the room curiously from her seat. To Sakura's right sat Luvia, giving Shirou a look that he could only describe, vaguely, as smug. And then seated at the other end of the table, with quite a few places between Bazett, Luvia, and her was Illya. The girl was humming pleasantly as she had her eyes closed and based on her small movements, was likely kicking her legs under the table.
'Saber. This meeting is important.'
"Yes, Master."
'And I get that. But if you happen to know. Why is it taking place in my house?'
"I….could not answer that, Master." Saber responded truthfully, able to hear her Master's exasperation through the telepathic link.
"Alright, I'll go first. Why my house?" Shirou spoke, his lone eye sliding over the other five Masters.
"It's spacious and well-placed in the city." Bazett responded simply, getting a huff from the teen.
"Right. Well I can't be the only one with a Servant materialized." His comment got a couple of varied responses from the girls, most notably a cackle from Illya.
"Archer, come on out and say hi." Illya spoke, high-pitched and innocent.
And then Heracles materialized, his head nearly touching the ceiling as he towered over the seat of his master. The nearest light was directly behind him, practically outlining his muscular physique while hiding any humanizing features in shadow.
"… Fine, if you want to be that way. Lancer."
And in response to the Enforcer's call, the woman herself appeared, standing much like Saber, silently behind her Master's seat. Though she did seem to be eyeing Heracles' intimidation tactic with an amused raise of an eyebrow.
"I'll go next. Rider?" Dutifully the woman appeared beside Sakura's seat, as still as stone, and her blindfold gave everyone the distinct feeling that she was staring at all of them, individually.
Evidently, good intimidation came naturally to the Greeks.
Slowly, everyone turned to look at Rin and Luvia, the last two to show their Servants. They were staring directly at each other, as if challenging the other to show their Servant first.
Though on second thought, Shirou knew that that's exactly what they were doing.
"Both of you summon your Servants at the same time, ok?" He finally spoke up, twitching when he realized that somehow he'd been weaseled into being the mediator of this strategy meeting.
"Very well, Sherou. Miss Gorilla?"
"Ok Shirou-" Whatever Rin was going to say next was cut off by her growl at Luvia's taunting nickname.
"Servants." Shirou deadpanned, getting both of them to straighten themselves out and avoid looking at each other, as if they didn't equally share the blame.
"Caster."
"…. Semiramis."
Rin's call, not of the class name but of the Servant themselves, got a few surprised looks and raised eyebrows. Though the moment that Semiramis revealed herself, they were quickly changed into understanding looks.
"Queen Semiramis of Assyria! All of you show your respects!" The woman spoke, her grin wide and confident, and her arms outstretched.
"Greetings, Queen Semiramis." Shirou acquiesced easily, well-used to the oddities and demands of Gilgamesh.
"It's an honour to have you here." Saber added in right afterward, bowing shallowly.
"Such a shallow bow, Saber. Were you never taught how to interact with royalty?" Semiramis spoke, getting a couple of flat looks from the servants around her, though Illya appeared to be enjoying the tension if nothing else.
"I was. You are merely one of many members of royalty here. Showing deference would sour reputations." Saber answered diplomatically, not thrown off by the woman's attitude in the slightest.
"Yes, yes. So much royalty in the room and, yet we're made to stand? It seems as if your Master can't even be a gracious host, let alone to one such as myself." The Servant placed a hand over her chest, grinning mockingly at the red-haired teen.
Only to blink in shock at the complete lack of effect her words had on him. He didn't get angry or rush to defend himself, or even rush to acquiesce to her demands. Instead, he merely seemed thoughtful, nodding once to himself.
"The table has the room…. If any Servant want seats, let me know."
"Seats? I am a Queen. A throne is what I require, and your position at the head of the table is one that should not be held by anyone other than royalty, as they are present." Semiramis growled, her eyes narrowed at the teen.
Now, Semiramis was a skilled politician, famously known for her abilities as Queen in almost every aspect. She knew, of course, that such demands were undoubtedly damaging to her own reputation, and had this been someone she saw as important, or anywhere near an equal, she wouldn't have spoken in such a manner.
But she needed to know who she'd be working with, and if necessary, who she had to get rid of to make sure that things went as smoothly as possible. Whether it be Servant or Master, she had no qualms about making anyone around her disappear, but whether they did or didn't, would depend on how they reacted to her tests.
And currently, the Master of Saber was on the chopping block. The Queen was already making plans to get rid of him should he fail. Though admittedly, the way that he'd taken control of the situation earlier had given him some points in her favour, but not enough to outright save him.
"Semiramis! You can't say that!" Rin screeched in horror, her expression paling.
"You're overstepping, Semiramis." Saber spoke, taking a threatening step forward.
"Now, now. I believe the master of the house has something to say." Morgan cut in, clapping once sharply and smoothly to pause the hostilities in their tracks.
She did not lessen or diminish them in any way, instead, she merely made them stop in their tracks, leaving the decision of whether to backtrack or push forward entirely up to them. And entirely up to the response of Shirou.
The teen himself merely closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.
And then, a moment later, he opened both of them. His mismatched eyes seemed to stare directly into Semiramis's own eyes, the corners of his mouth briefly tilted up.
"Trace on."
The jolt of Prana from beside her made Semiramis jolt, turning nothing but her head to see what the teen had done. In doing so, however, she completely missed the looks of surprise from the Servants, and Bazett, as they had seen what he had done in real-time.
Sat beside Rin's seat, perfectly polished and gleaming, sat a chair truly fit for nobility. Made of thick, sturdy wood and capped with various shining metals shaped and attached to the furniture with the proficiency of someone who had been doing it for their entire lifetime.
Semiramis could feel the prana in it, however, how it made up its entire being and how it had stabilized itself into the structure. She knew that it was not the work of moving something already made, but instead the work of creating a facsimile of that which should.
"Projection? You truly think such a pathetic spellis worthy of a Queen like myself?"
"Do you not notice it, Queen Semiramis?" Caster hummed curiously, getting an inquisitive expression from the Assyrian Queen.
"Notice what exactly?"
"This isn't a standard Projection Magecraft." Caster hummed, flicking her finger against it, and created a small crack of wind.
Yet the golden plate that she had struck had only dented and cracked, when Semiramis knew that even such a small strike should have shattered any Projection.
"Hm, I see. So you can create something like this so easily… Regardless, I won't take a damaged product as my seat." In response, Rin merely rolled her eyes and mended the construct, getting a side-eye from the Queen at ruining her second to last test.
"Thanks, Rin. And as for sitting at the head of the table, sorry. But it's just not happening."
"And why not?"
"Because there are rules." Scathach finally spoke up dryly, clearly unamused by the 'show' that Semiramis had been putting on. "As Queen, you should know that. I would have hoped not to have to teach such a simple lesson, but the head of a household sits at the head of the table. Of course, there's the opposite end but not only has a family member seated themselves there already, but you were also the last to arrive."
"Hm….heh. Hhehehee! Very well, very well." Semiramis laughed, clapping her hands and sitting down on the chair that had been created for her.
In response to this, Shirou merely sighed and closed his Fairy Eye once more, not even bothering to deign her with a response.
"Alright, I believe we're ready to begin now!" Illya crowed excitedly, bouncing in her seat and acting every bit the age she looked.
"I'll start first. With our united goal to stop the Holy Grail War from happening, we have a hindrance in the form of my sister. Kristiina Edelfelt. She summoned the other half of Morgan, the witch that terrorized not only the Knights of the Round Table, but also the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne." Luvia started, disappointment simmering inside herself at the idea of her sister being one of the enemies.
What her sister did and didn't do was out of her control, she knew that and accepted it. Yet her family was touted as being cunning and currently, her sister was showing none of that with her total disregard for any kind of facts that didn't come from 'an established family'.
"We had a run-in with her yesterday." Heracles rumbled, crossing his arms seemingly on instinct as he stood behind his master.
"Indeed. She appeared before us and attempted to use me as a hostage. Though it turns out, she only sent a form of illusion in her place while she went after the Greater Grail." Rider added on, getting a few worried expressions.
"Why go after any of you in that case?" Everyone turned to Shirou at his question, though the attention didn't seem to throw him off in the slightest. "Morgan le Fay was said to have been a manipulator from the shadows, right? Why show herself now?"
"Indeed, it's not her style to so blatantly threaten a group of fighters. Especially given the retaliatory strike of Archer." Saber added in, her brows furrowed and her fingers on her chin.
"I have a theory." Caster spoke up, getting a few interested looks. "I believe that it was simply down to a matter of luck. The location that we were all at was too close to the location of the Greater Grail. Had we been any further away, I do not believe she would have acted at all."
"You're using a lot of maybes there, Caster." Bazett pointed out, her mind eating up the information being handed to her by the Servants.
"It's the principle of the matter. I would not be who I am if I understood her thought process. We share a body and a history, but we are two separate entities. I know her thought processes of the past, but I do not, cannot, understand them."
"So, what happened to Le Fay?" Luvia asked, ever the diplomatic mercenary.
"I struck her with an arrow. Based on the amount of blood left behind it was a serious blow, but not lethal for a Servant. Caster reckoned the recovery time would be two days at a minimum, discounting sacrifices for Mana." Archer answered simply, getting a nod from Morgan to corroborate his words.
"So we have Morgan le Fay to look out for, but not right this second. Worrying, but not as terrible as it could be." Bazett muttered to herself, since the others were all already aware of Morgan le Fay's existence.
"And then we have the missing Servant." Rin spoke, getting a round of hums.
"Unsurprisingly, it has to be a Berserker." Semiramis cut in, letting everyone know what her class was, even if a few of them had already figured it out.
"I'd put money down that it's the Einzbern's Servant." Illya responded with a sure nod.
"A child shouldn't be gambling." Scathach said sternly, though it got mostly overshadowed.
"You're sure of this, Illya?"
"Absolutely certain. Neither kaa-chan nor I are the Lesser Grails for this war, and Sakura's hasn't activated. The only family capable of creating one is the Einzbern. And even if grandfather still believes I'll come back to the family eventually, he won't hesitate to double down by making the Lesser Grail Homunculi capable of maintaining a Servant."
"So the Einzbern, who have access to the Holy Grail's rules and have twisted them in the past, have a Berserker and an unknown Master?" Rin summarized, sighing tiredly at the affirmative nod from the ex-Einzbern heiress.
"Clearly, the most important concern is to learn exactly who we're dealing with." Morgan tapped her finger on the table, creating a 1/3 drawn in skeleton map of Fuyuki laid out across the surface. "Trying to deal with both Berserker and the Witch without even knowing Berserker's identity is going to be far more difficult. So, the smartest play is to discover the identity of Berserker as quickly as possible."
"Morgan- I mean, Le Fay-" Saber corrected after a quick double-look at her…sister. "-Can't be trusted to be left alone that entire time. If we stop looking for her entirely, she'll slip away completely and concoct a no doubt dangerous scheme."
"Saber's right, leaving a dangerous enemy like that on our doorstep with absolutely no oversight can't be allowed." Lancer spoke, leaning against Bazett's chair and leaning forward to look over the map.
"Why not split into teams? One team focuses on the Einzbern until they can figure out Berserker's identity. And one team focuses on Morgan le Fay?" Sakura suggested, clapping her hands and smiling at all of them.
"The issue is figuring out who goes into which team." Semiramis answered, to everyone's surprise. "Do we want to create teams focused on the potential weaknesses of the Caster and Berserker class? Or do we want to create teams focused on best weathering an onslaught against their strengths? Obviously, Caster and I have to be in separate teams due to both of us being capable of creating familiars for reconnaissance. But where the other four of you go will depend."
And for a moment, nothing but silence followed the Queen's rather tactically minded speech. But it was quickly broken.
"I'll place myself on the Berserker team. I cannot trust myself with the Witch." Saber spoke up, her façade perfect, even amongst a room of royalty.
"I'll place myself on the team handling Le Fay." Archer decided.
"I can't quite say where I'm going to be most needed. So, for now, I'll place myself on team Berserker." Scathach answered, all attention moving to Medusa.
"Team Witch it is, then."
"Of course, until we figure out where Morgan is and who Berserker is, the 'teams' can't really do anything. So, Morgan and Semiramis are going to be on lookout duty, essentially."
"Way to boil it down, Onii-chan." Illya snickered, getting the teen to roll his lone eye.
"Senpai, about what Caren spoke of…" Sakura whispered to him after leaning over, getting a hum in return.
"Oh right. So when we signed up for the war last night, Hortensia told us all something interesting. Kotomine's body has been stolen."
"WHAT!?" Rin stood up and slammed her hands on the table, her expression furious.
"Desecrating the dead. Abysmal." Lancer scowled, crossing her arms and squeezing them tightly to avoid reacting in some other way.
"I have to agree with you, Lancer. It's not a practice that I can truthfully condone, either." Semiramis hummed calmly, though her expression showed a different matter entirely.
"Do you have any leads?" Luvia asked Shirou, only to frown when he shook his head.
"Not one. But given everything that is happening, I can't make heads or tails if it's related."
"Best to bring it up, and it be irrelevant, than hold onto the information." Bazett commented, her fingers intertwined and resting in front of her mouth.
Shirou hummed a little before he felt a strange sensation to his right. Looking at the source, he saw Sakura, who didn't look nor acted any differently. Yet he knew this sensation by now, he knew it was tied to her, and he knew that no one except him could feel it.
Yet even so, he could feel annoyance smoldering inside him at being unable to figure out why, since even the girl herself was unaware of them. What was so different about- wait.
Unbidden, memories from over half a decade ago came to the forefront of his mind. Words that he had all but forgotten in wake of the event that had preceded it, in wake of the event that Artoria had spoken to him about this morning, bringing it back into his mind.
It had to be it; Shirou couldn't think of anything else.
'Sakura is…..developing a Reality Marble?'
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Trhvmn's Castle
"My lord, you appear troubled?"
"Not troubled…interested." Trhvmn responded, standing on the balcony of his bedroom with a very expensive glass of wine in one hand.
"Interested in what, if I may ask, My Lord?" The butler, a Nightmare, asked with a curious hum and blank expression.
"I've recently come to a conclusion about the 18th Idea Blood."
"Oh?"
"Enhance was a rowdy child, unruly and rebellious in the most aggravating of ways. So the place of his death was unknown, as was the one that finished him. Unknown to all…except one."
"Someone knows where the 18th Idea Blood is?" The butler parroted in shock.
"Indeed, that little upstart Brunestud. But what I find most interesting is the fact that she won't tell us. If she had claimed it for herself she would have been quite proud in showing it off, the same is the case if whoever had claimed it had joined her faction. Yet she hasn't."
"Which means that she doesn't have the Idea Blood or its user in her possession."
"Precisely, Trimvose." Thrvmn turned to face the butler, taking a sip of his morning wine.
"And if that's the case, yet she refuses to tell anyone where it is or what happened to it, I've come to only one conclusion."
"I'm positively bursting with curiosity, My Lord." Trimvose said, his face utterly emotionless.
"Whoever has collected it, whether Human or Dead Apostle, is someone that she doesn't want us to know exists. Someone that she's worried if they were brought into our culture, would side against her, or she wants to murder them, and deprive them of potential allies in us."
"How despicable."
"Precisely! So, Trimvose, if the little Princess is trying to hide them from me so badly, that only means that whoever holds the 18th Idea Blood is important to her for one reason or another. And you know how she is, getting those bodyguards and pets of hers to do all of her work for her. Why don't you go fetch some parchment and ink and prepare a letter for Fourteen and Fifteen? I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to get a potential crack at Eight."
"As you wish, My Lord."
XXXxxxXXX
Side Story: Shirou meets the Chelon Canticle Brigade
"Are- Is anyone going to ask about the kid that's been walking around?" One of the newer members asked, his eyes following the bored, meandering movements of Shirou as he walked around the meeting room he had just entered.
"He has the password to get in. Lord Barthomeloi must have given him permission, right?" A woman in her early thirties asked, tensing a little as Shirou walked right up to her, his singular open eye looking her up and down before resting on the hilt of the rapier at her side.
The woman opened her mouth to say something before a yelp came out of it, the blade now held in the sixteen year olds hands instead of safely inside her scabbard where it should have been. The action was so quick that she hadn't been able to stop him with so little distance and warning.
"H-Hey! That is my property!" she exclaimed, leering down at Shirou as he gave her a blank side eye with a raised eyebrow.
"I'd hope not. This thing is not only terribly made but terribly maintained. Have you ever even heard the word whetstone before?" Shirou flicked the side of the blade, making a dull metallic ting fill the room.
"Terribly- That was made by one of the best blacksmiths in the Clock Tower!" She glared down at Shirou, multiple other members of the Brigade beginning to prepare for a fight should one break out.
"Disappointing." Shirou yawned, throwing the blade back at her with a limp underhand that got a startled noise from her as she grabbed it from the air.
"You- How dare-"
"I trust you're behaving yourself, Muramasa?" In an instant all the aggression left every member of the Brigade as they snapped to a salute with the entrance of Lorelei Barthomeloi.
Unfortunately for their state of minds, Shirou wasn't a member of said Brigade.
"Haven't done anything wrong. Half of their current weaponry isn't half bad but nothing I'd call great." Shirou sighed, waving a hand dismissively, almost as if unaware of the animosity aimed at him by the saluting Brigade members.
"Hm. All of you. This is Shirou Muramasa. As an agreement between him and I, he will be creating new weaponry for all of you. However, this agreement goes only so far as creation and not maintenance, that job will be entirely up to you. Muramasa, I trust that you've gleamed enough to create at least a blade or two before you leave the Clock Tower?" Lorelei looked down at Shirou, getting a short hum from the teen as he bobbed his head this way and that.
"A couple. All I know is that one needs to make sure she takes care of the weapon I craft her." Shirou pointed at the woman who's rapier he had stolen before, getting an annoyed twitch of the eye hidden from Lorelei by the bridge of her nose.
"I will not take undue insults towards my Brigade, Muramasa." Lorelei warned lowly.
"Its only undue if there's no reason for it. The edge for her blade was warped and she'd bent the blade somehow. Speaking of, I fixed that for you. That's the only maintenance you'll be getting unless you pay me yourself." Shirou told the woman dryly, before turning back to Lorelei.
"If they have any requests send them through to me. I'll send any back that aren't possible and use the rest as either reference or the blade's base ability." He gave a wave before starting to walk out, the Brigade almost physically gawking at the gall he had to walk away from Lorelei Barthomeloi.
"I didn't give you permission to leave." And it seemed like even Lorelei knew that, not that Shirou seemed to care as he grabbed the door.
"If you want two blades before I leave I have to start right away. Sorry but the clocks ticking." And then with that last remark, Shirou shut the door behind him.
Lorelei stared at the door for a moment before turning back to face the members of her Brigade.
"That, as you heard before, is Shirou Muramasa. The greatest blacksmith in the Clock Tower, and the second most aggravating, losing only to Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. Furthermore, a person I wish to bring him into the Aristocratic Faction. So, I expect you all to treat him with the respect due for his smithing skill, understood?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
XXXxxxXXX
Hola, Tis I, the man who listened to Nyan Cat for five straight hours today.
No, that's not a lie or exaggeration. Yes, I need help.
How'd you guys enjoy the chap? I'm sorry that things seemed to have hit the brakes the moment that we got the Holy Grail War but there's so much to set up that has to be done at this point in time that I have to do this now. Next chapter starts to heat up though, and chapter 27 seems to be where we finally start to see some real action.
My beta's have been joking about how long I can get into this arc without having Shirou fight just to build up anticipation for his skills to be revealed. My answer is technically till the end of the war altogether but I'm not going to do that because I really want to show off his skills.
Also, if you guys have noticed a bit of a loss of lore accuracy in the recent chaps theres a reason for that. My man lore guy has been busy the last three months tracking down a drug/arms dealer. No, I'm not joking. Though that's coming to a close so hopefully they can get back on it soon.
Also as of this chapter we're over 200K in purely story alone and we're over 4.5K follows and 3.7K favs. Honestly thank you all so much and I hope that you can all continue to enjoy the fic going forward!
Discord code: plasmaassassin
REVIEW REPLIES:
Rider126: Spoilers my good man!
Bosterflaming: Chaldea will not appear in this story unfortunately, the timeline shenanigans needed simply don't allow it to. And no he does not, that is purely an Alcides ability
NotSpecialDude: Gaia's clutching that DRM even as she chokes to death on the poison smog made by my car. And yes, unfortunately she missed the frame perfect insult and stopped moving too late leading to just a regular injury instead of a kill shot, perhaps next time someone will dethrone Sasaki.
Wackuhdoodle: Nah, playing League of Legends is still perfectly legal unfortunately.
SentinalSlice: Perhaps. Perhaps not. You'll simply have to read.
TalonScythe: I don't mind if you bring up characters from FGO, my server talks about it too much for me not to hear names occasionally, I just don't know all the characters by name or appearance. I know right? Its rather unique and I quite like it. Fate Strange Fake, How I love yet hate thee for continuing my curse. And thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy!
Gabedanebasham: Its not a HGW unless one way too confident Master summons a Servant they really shouldn't have and loses all control over them.
Beta117: That's why I gave him character development
Randomguy0110100100110: I like harems when there's actual development and not just mindless smut. And I'm…..sorry to hear that?
NasuKing18(Guest): It's been an ongoing thing for a while. They just rub each other the wrong way ever since they first met and it's only gotten worse with age.
Zukafew119: Hello once more! Don't worry, you'd be joining the small army that's basically demanding Scathach get together with Shirou. Seriously I've had more people ask/demand for her than almost any other woman in the entire series. And yes, killing Zouken without fanfare seems pretty fucking difficult to do but I managed to pull it off. And I only had to leverage the strongest fucking servant to do so. And Artoria's reactions and exasperation at everything towards this war so far has been an absolutely gem to write so I'm glad you enjoyed them as well! Also of course I'd notice the work, it's like 2K+ words and I look forward to reading them each time you review. See you next time!
TyrTheTaur: Ah, the feeling of binging a long fic, isn't it the greatest? I mean I think in this day and age 200K isn't really considered long anymore but tomato potato. But I'm glad to see you're so excited! And I'm glad you've enjoyed my servant choice.