Xander Quest Chapter 275: This All Feels Fairy Familiar 1, a private fanfic

You did want to continue that talk with Akasha about the pre-apocalyptic state of the European Moonlit World, and you have a couple of other subjects you'd like to broach with the Dark Lady besides. However, after everything else that's happened today, you're not really in the best frame of mind for an extended discussion about potential world-endage. Nor are you terribly keen on delving into such a weighty topic before bedtime.

You're a growing boy; you need your sleep. Preferably with as few bad dreams as possible.

Besides, Akasha has a whole castle's worth of post-party cleanup to oversee at the moment, which may or may not include a shakedown of the security system and/or the interrogation of those captured intruders - you suppose it depends on what Issa and Gyokuro are doing. Best all around if you postpone your talk with her until tomorrow, when you'll both be in better shape for it.

Before you head for your room, you do make a point of asking Akasha if she could set aside some time to chat tomorrow. She agrees to this easily enough, saying that she'll be free to speak with you at any time, and inquiring if you have a preference about when to meet.

Checking with Lu-sensei - who looks curious but does not directly ask what you're up to - you learn that he was planning to depart after lunch, probably around 1:30 or 2:00 in the afternoon. An additional inquiry of Ambrose - who looks even more curious than your teacher, and also outright asks you what you're plotting - reveals that the Drakes had the same departure time in mind, leaving you a fair bit of time in which to chat with the wizard - and since you're scheduling stuff now, you might as well pick out a time for your spar with Moka.

"I prefer the term 'scheming,' thank you," you tell Ambrose calmly. "And it's nothing major. I was just considering what to put on my next sandwich."

Everyone else still in the room gives you the oddest looks at that, but your attention is on the wizard.

Ambrose holds your gaze for a moment, then shrugs. "Strange, but as long as you're not trying to take over the world..."

You answer that with all the dignity it deserves: "Narf."

"Zort," Ambrose returns, without missing a beat.

"Poit," Briar chimes in.

The remaining stares intensify.

"What." Akasha and Moka state in flat unison. Their expressions are of mutual incomprehension, and really highlight the resemblance between mother and daughter.

"Maybe it's a magic thing?" Kahlua offers, appearing only slightly less puzzled.

"It's not," Lu-sensei sighs, rubbing his eyes as if suddenly overcome by weariness. Or a headache. "It's really not."

You, Briar, and Ambrose trade glances.

As one, you grin.

Not the outcome you had in mind, but you'll take it.

Gained Trolling D (Plus) (Plus)

Despite her confusion at your... most recent performance... Akasha has no objection to meeting with you after breakfast. And perhaps BECAUSE of your mutual confounding of everyone else in the room, Ambrose is perfectly happy to leave a spot on his busy, busy schedule for you after you've finished talking with Lady Bloodriver.

Moka is less accepting of your offer to spar with her before lunch. Whether that's because she wanted to face you at a different time or is still trying to make sense of the sudden outbreak of Pinky-isms is hard to say. But Kahlua accepts the offer on her behalf, at which point the silver-haired girl's indignant attention transfers from you to her older sister.

You decide to take this opportunity to slip away and call it a night. Bowing to Miss Akasha and nodding politely to Ambrose, you withdraw, Briar sitting on your shoulder and a muttering Lu-sensei trailing in your wake.

You're not sure what he's grumbling about. He liked Pinky and the Brain even more than you did - he got more of the jokes.

Bidding your mumbling master good-night, you enter your rooms, change out of your formal wear and into your pajamas, and give your spidersilk suit another magical cleaning and straightening-out before you fold it up and tuck it back into your luggage. Then you hit the bathroom.

Checking the time, you find that it's about twenty after eight - late-ish, but not entirely past your parentally-approved bedtime. Since you don't have to be up early tomorrow, you figure you can get away with taking an hour or so to meditate before calling it a night.

As you sit on your bed and settle in, you spare some time to study the state of your reserves and the recovering injury to your soul. The former you envision as two differently-colored spheres, floating in mid-air next to one another. The orb representing your ki is pale white, expanding and contracting in a slow, steady rhythm that matches to your breathing: growing when you inhale; shrinking as you exhale; and then repeating. Aside from this action, the orb's surface is perfectly still, which is something you can't say for its rainbow-hued companion. Shimmering waves ripple along this prismatic sphere in multiple directions, some of them diminishing as they collide and expend their momentum against one another, others merging to create stronger disturbances, and more just breaking apart into multiple smaller waves. It's chaos, but even so, you can see that it's diminishing steadily.

Everything seems to be as it should here. Moving on, then.

When you turn to consider the greater shape and condition of your soul, you find your mind drifting back to the image from your most recent dream, that of a small tree growing on the edge of a desert, a single gash standing out on its trunk. That wound has been reduced to nothing but a faint scar, a thin line of bark that is lighter and smoother than the area around it - no doubt the result of that Spell of Restoration you cast - and there's no sign that today's events have disturbed your dream-borne symbolically arboreal self in any way.

As far as you can tell, this is also as it should be. Given the trouble you've already gone to getting your soul's recovery to this point, you decide to leave it be.

You're about to dismiss these visualizations and clear your mind for the meditation proper when you feel it again - that foreign presence from your dream, like a shadow on your mind. You can almost see it out of the corner of your mind's eye, a twisted, curving silhouette rising against the bloody red horizon of a desert evening, beckoning...

This is the second time you've encountered this shadowy presence lurking on the edges of your awareness, both times having been here in Castle Shuzen, and you still don't know a thing about it.

You're tempted to change that in the most direct manner possible, by mentally "turning" and "marching off" to confront whatever it is, but instead, you end your meditation early and return to full consciousness.

Before you go chasing mental and spiritual phantoms, you'd like to get a second opinion. A third, even.

And lucky you, you have a fairy you can ask about such things.

Twice lucky, Briar hasn't gone to bed yet. When you rap lightly on the glass-doored second-floor balcony of her little house, the response comes from somewhere near - but not quite IN - the scaled-down bathroom.

"Yeah, Alex?"

"Problem, Briar."

There's a tiny sigh that you almost don't catch through the various walls. Then Briar walks into view, wearing a doll-sized housecoat and with her hair wrapped up in a tiny towel. "What now?"

You fill her in.

"...I see."

"Any ideas?"

"Well, if it were only a general sense of shadow and menace, I'd think you were just having a reaction to the atmosphere of this place. But if it's a specific PRESENCE showing up on your subconscious radar, an INDIVIDUAL rather than just an environmental aura..." She thinks for a moment. "You said you didn't notice this whatsit last night, right? Only when you were under the influence of the Spell of Nap Stacking the night before, and again now, when you were thinking back to that dream?"

You confirm that.

"Hmmm." Again, Briar falls thoughtfully silent. And then she shrugs. "Yeah, I've got nothing."

Well, that's less than helpful.

"I think maybe we should ask somebody about this," Briar continues.

"I was already considering that, actually," you admit, before explaining your intention of invoking Nayru's guidance in the matter.

Briar has no objection to this plan, as long as you keep the magic "down to a dull roar."

You proceed to ritually-cast a few spells, a mix of Augmentation and Enchantment aimed at honing your thought processes, particularly with regards to your memory and intuition. You're about to ask the Goddess of Wisdom for guidance in what could be a rather important matter, and you want to be sure that you word it right and don't miss any details, whether in the problem you're describing or the divine answer you hope to receive. You make a point of dedicating some extra effort to suppressing the spell's mana signature, but you're not sure if this has any meaningful effect: the slow ritual method of spellcasting is fairly "quiet" compared to your quick-and-dirty combat-ready method; and the spells you're casting in this instance are rather low-end to begin with.

Preparations complete, you bow you head.

"Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom," you intone, "I seek your guidance."

You then cast the Spell to Know The Enemy. Already a ritual in form and a divine magic on top of it, there's no way for you to use ritual casting to conveniently "hide" this spell or feed it ambient mana. On the other hand, even with the extra power you have to pour into it to cast a spell typically reserved to priests and their ilk, it only works out to a third-circle spell. That's just outside the upper edges of your ability to conceal, and when you make the effort to do so, you think it works. Mostly.

There's no time to consider your success in the field of mana concealment, however, because your spell appears to have worked: soft blue light fills the air; and for a moment, you hear the faint, distant sound of a harp-like instrument being skillfully played. Then a wave of other sounds rushes forward, accompanied by a flurry of images that pass before your mind's eye, drowning out the aura of Wisdom.

You see a creature. Vast, dark, and terrible, its form a confusing mix of features that belong to entirely separate monsters: here, exoskeletal armor; there, fleshy tentacles; a collection of wings, some bearing feathers, others membranous and leathery, more shining and insectile; a profusion of claws and teeth and talons jutting out seemingly at random. You see no eyes, or at least, none that are open, suggesting that the gigantic, alien thing is asleep or even dead. Yet despite that, it radiates an aura of youki as vast, heavy, and vile as an ocean of blood.

You see a man, or at least, a monster in humanoid form. Tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome in the manner of vampires, clad in a rich, formal style of centuries past, he is every inch the image of a great and noble lord, yet he gives off the same atrocious presence as the abominable beast.

You see a castle atop a menacing crag of black rock. Behind and above high walls rise even higher towers, their turrets like jutting spears or claws underneath the light of a full moon, the face of which is partially obscured by clouds - some dark with the promise of storms, others alive with the fluttering of dark wings. For an instant, you could mistake it for Castle Shuzen, but one of the towers houses a gigantic clock, giving the structure a distinctive appearance, and a closer inspection reveals that the layout and architectural style of the place are different. Again, you sense that dark, evil aura, seemingly radiating from the stones of the fortress itself.

For the second time, you see the man - but this time, it's a painting of him.

One you've seen before.

One that has a name attached to it.

And yet, even as you think that name, something about the results of your spell strikes you as... off. The name, the visions, all of it. There's a feeling of, of emptiness, as if the information you've been shown is entirely true, but at the same time, is not the ENTIRE truth.

Coming out of the vision, you find the room around you back to normal, Briar watching from her small balcony.

"What did Nayru have to say?" she asks.

"Dracula," you answer.

There's a moment of silence.

"Dracula," Briar finally repeats.

"Yeah."

"You're telling me that NAYRU just showed you that this mysterious presence you've been picking up is actually the King of the Vampires."

"Apparently."

There's another pause.

"You're like catnip for these Dark Lord types, aren't you, Alex?" Briar finally says.

"I'm starting to feel that way," you admit.

Omake: The Sealed Evil in a Can Support Group

I wonder where Dracula falls on this chart? We're D-Rank or C-Rank (If we use maximum power) ATM. Probably as an adult we'd be C-Rank / B-Rank...
So if we beat Dracula, (assuming he's B/A Rank...) I wonder if that'd be our quest to earn the Triforce of Power? After all, it's Traditional to get a big reward / powerup after beating the Dark Lord. (And/or we give him a speech of friendship and/or tell him everything was a plot by the evil lawyer company (if it was a plot by them and we figure it out between now and then) and thus convince him stop rampaging and stuff.

Anyway bet Dracula either wants to trick us to let him out... or he senses Ganondwarf and want's to have a big of a sealed evil in a can friendship/discussion meeting.

"So, first time being sealed evil in a can, um sempai can you tell me how this whole thing works?"
"Well first you set up your revenge scheme and start getting pawns to do your work while inside the seal."
"Check~"
"Then you wait and build up power and continue revenge scheming until you either break free from time, or your pawns bust you out."
"Alright."
"And then THIS TIME you succeed in your goals, and defeat the swordsman in a green tunic wielding evil's bane."
"...and if I don't have to worry about that?"
"Life's not fair."

"So, what now?" Briar asks.

You consider it. After the day you've had, there's a definite temptation to just go to bed and deal with this latest discovery tomorrow. You're already scheduled to talk to Akasha, you could easily bring it up then.

However, this is Dracula you're talking about. The King of the Vampires. An actual EVIL Dark Lord. In every story or movie you've heard of where monsters of any kind are involved, a big part of the reason why they're able to cause as much damage as they do is because people foolishly ignore clear signs of danger and fail to share important information with their allies until after half the cast has been eaten. And when the monster is a vampire, or the Count himself, the usual consequences of stupidity just get compounded.

"I wasn't ready to go to bed anyway," you mutter, before swinging your legs over the side of your bed and standing up. You give the bell-pull a firm yank, summoning a servant, then grab your housecoat and make for the door of the guest apartment. You're halfway across the front room with your coat just belted shut when there is a polite knock.

You open the door, and are not too surprised to find Miss Mio standing there once more.

"Hello again, Mister Harris," the maid greets you with a polite curtsey. "How may I be of assistance this evening?"

"Something has come up that I need to talk to Lady Bloodriver about," you answer. "Preferably immediately, unless there is something she absolutely can't be distracted from."

The maid blinks in open astonishment. "Ah... well, I'll be sure to pass your message along, of course, Mister Harris, but her ladyship is in a meeting with the senior staff regarding the clean-up. I would expect her to be occupied for another half an hour or so, perhaps longer."

You frown.

"That will be fine," you tell the maid. "Please let Lady Bloodriver know I would like to see her as soon as possible."

That's about as insistent as you feel comfortable getting in the current situation. Yes, a heads-up about possible movements by a Dark Lord acknowledged as an enemy of the family is important, but when your only evidence of this claim is a couple of semi-conscious visions... well, let's just say that you'd feel more confident pressing the urgency of the matter if you had something more solid, like another enemy minion or something.

...not that you're saying you WANT unfriendly monsters to start invading Castle Shuzen, you silently add.

Not having noticed your internal monologue, Mio bows and goes on her way, vanishing down the stairs.

You head across the hall and knock on Lu-sensei's door.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Sensei," you call out. "We've got a problem."

"Can it wait until morning?"

"I just asked a maid to tell Miss Akasha I urgently needed to speak with her about it, so no, probably not."

There is a pause, possibly a sighed, "Of course not," and then the door opens to reveal your master. Like yourself, he's traded in his formalwear for a more casual outfit, though it's just another robe. A less fancy, more visibly worn one, but still.

"Define 'problem' for me," Lu-sensei asks, as he ushers you into his chambers.

"In a word? Dracula."

"...use a few more words."

You do so, going over your dream, your meditative vision, and the results of your prayer-aided invocation of Nayru's guidance. At the end of your explanation, Lu-sensei is once again pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You know, Alex, this business of associating with Dark Lords seems to be becoming a habit."

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so," Briar notes.

"You said you've sent one of the staff to warn Lady Bloodriver about this?" your teacher continues.

"Yes. Well, sort of. I asked for a meeting with Miss Akasha and I said it was urgent, but I didn't think it would be such a great idea to start throwing Dracula's name around when my only proof was a couple of bad dreams."

Lu-sensei considers that, and nods. "Fair point. But that said, how do you plan to convince Akasha - and the rest of the Shuzens, for that matter - that you weren't just dreaming?"

"I was thinking magic," you admit easily. "A Spell of Illusion would be the quickest, least problematic way to show other people what I saw."

"They could just assume you'd imagined whatever you were showing them," Lu-sensei points out, playing devil's advocate.

"That's true," you admit, "although I thought the giant demon was pretty convincing, myself."

You consider your fallback options.

Enchantment is a possibility, and you think that transfering your memory of the Nayru-sent vision - particularly the emotional elements - would be quite an efficient means of convincing Akasha and any other interested parties that you were telling the truth. But that said, you'd rather not resort to mind-magic if you can help it. The school has a rather poor reputation in many circles, thanks to the ease with which it can be abused, and that reputation tends to stain even the most benign known practitioners of the art.

It's rather like Necromancy in that regard, really. Reanimate a corpse or read someone else's mind even once, and you're marked forever in the court of public opinion. Best to avoid being tarred with that particular brush as long as possible.

So that leaves...

"If they don't buy that or the image of the castle," you muse, "I suppose I could try using a Spell of Divination to invoke the vision again. Let anyone who's interested see what I saw for themselves, and draw their own conclusions."

"No truth spells?" Lu-sensei inquires.

"Most of those are Enchantment," you say, before explaining your misgivings about casual use of mind-affecting magic.

"Ah. Well then, I suppose Illusion is a good place to start, at least."

At this point, it's been about ten minutes since you rang Mio and asked her to carry your message to Akasha. There's no indication that Lady Bloodriver is on approach, but there's also no evidence that she's not. You did tell Mio that you'd be waiting in your teacher's quarters for Akasha's answer, but waiting around doing nothing kind of grates.

As you appear to have a few minutes to spare, you decide you might as well use them for something productive.

The first thing that comes to mind is bringing your teacher up to speed on the mechanics of your Power Ball technique. Really, the fundamentals of the skill aren't that different from those you use in your more conventional ki-based projectile attacks. It's just that instead of "pure" ki, you're mixing in mana as well, in a way that not only blends the two distinct mystical energies but uses the divine traces in your soul to catalyze them, producing a highly energetic hybrid. While it's relatively simple for you, the process requires a level of multitasking and control the tradtional ki techniques you know don't need.

Lu-sensei doesn't have much trouble following the basic mechanics of the Power Ball. He's MUCH more interested in figuring out how Kahlua was able to turn it back on you like she did. There ARE techniques that can do it - "parrying" a ki blast with your own, redirecting a projectile without setting it off, "splitting" a wave so that it passes AROUND you rather than (potentially) THROUGH, that kind of thing - but all the ones Lu-sensei knows of are for straightforward ki-vs-ki fights. He's been around long enough to hear of spells that can similarly deflect or reflect other spells, but he isn't sure how well any of these various skills would interact with a ki/mana hybrid attack like your Power Ball. He's also pretty sure Kahlua wasn't using ANY of those abilities, which leaves the question of how in the world she managed to play a round of atomic tennis with you today.

You already know the answer to that question, of course. How much of it do you share with your teacher?

Regardless, what Lu-sensei has to say about ki deflections and their interaction with ki attacks gives you some ideas for how to refine most of your non-spell energy-manipulating projectiles, and a couple other techniques besides.

Gained Ki Armor E (Plus)
Gained Ki Blast D
Gained Ki Shot F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Power Ball E
Gained Power Fist F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Spirit Blast F (Plus)
Gained Spirit Shot F (Plus)
Gained Sword Beam E (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Wind Palm F (Plus)

Talking about the Power Ball almost invariably leads you to talking about Maximum Power, and that, in turn, reminds you of something.

"So, Sensei," you ask. "When I turned on Maximum Power during the match, you seemed like you'd noticed something about it. Do you mind telling me what that was?"

"Your technique was causing some interesting effects that I hadn't seen from it before," Lu-sensei answers. "The way it interacted with the ambient aura of the castle, and Miss Kahlua's aura in particular, was rather remarkable. Gave me some things to think about - me and everyone else who could actually see what was going on, and understood what they were looking at."

"And didn't faint halfway through Alex throwing the switch," Briar adds.

"Yes, and that," Lu-sensei agrees.

You're almost afraid to ask.

You decide to go into some depth with your explanation of how and why Kahlua was able to bat your Power Ball back at you. Not complete detail - that would involve talking about Ganondorf, which you are wary of doing under the current circumstances. You do trust the Shuzens up to a point, much as you'd trust any other people you've known of for a few months, and known in person for just a few days, and who've been generally polite, hospitable, and non-hostile towards you in that time - but "trusted up to a point" is not "trusted completely." And even if it was, you've had evidence that your hosts' security systems aren't infalliable, as well as a hint that a big bad Dark Lord - one of the biggest, in fact - may be involved in some form.

To sum up, there are some secrets you're just not comfortable letting out like this.

But the magical theory that describes how a set of gauntlets made out of Hyrulian steel and re-forged by your magic could deflect an energy ball of your creation? And also how you could use ANOTHER manifestation of your power, in the form of your aura, to perform the same feat? That's something you don't mind discussing with your master. It's not like any of the underlying technical details are a SECRET, exactly. They're more like... hmmm... advanced math. Algebra, calculus, and stuff like that. In theory, anybody can learn it, but in practice, many don't.

You do make a point of leaving names out of your explanation, however. You'd rather that knowledge of Hyrule not extend too far beyond your immediate circle of acquaintances.

Lu-sensei seems to follow your dissertation on magical theory well enough.

"You're saying that, as long as you don't use magic to make any more pieces of armor or weapons out of that particular alloy, nobody else but Kahlua should be able to send your attacks back at you," he sums it up.

"Basically, yes."

Gained Teaching D (Plus) (Plus)

Oh, boy.

"I'm almost afraid to ask," you admit, "but I suppose I'd better. What kind of things did you notice Lu-sensei?"

And what did the room full of monsters notice, you think, but don't add aloud.

"Once you began glowing gold, your aura started neutralizing the vampiric youki," Lu-sensei says.

...what?

"Actually, it was more than that," he adds. "'Neutralizing' suggests a mutual decline in power, if not an equal one, and that's not what I was seeing. Your aura's strength stayed more or less the same, but the youki was being steadily diminished."

...what.

"It was most noticeable with the residual youki that filled the front hall," your master continues, a note of martial academic interest clear in his voice. "All the years the Shuzens have been in residence in this castle, coming and going through that room, gave it a relatively strong aura. Not thick, but deeply-rooted, sunk into the floor tiles, the walls, and the foundation beneath. But wherever your own energy passed, that leftover vampiric power just... burned away."

WHAT.

"Miss Kahlua's aura was much more resilient, of course, no doubt because she's alive and was actually GENERATING youki, rather than just holding a charge, as it were, but even then, whenever the two of you crossed fists, as it were, her aura noticably 'flinched,' for lack of a better term."

You are sorely, strongly, seriously tempted to freak out about this. Not so much over the fact that your aura has anti-vampire properties - you've received enough hints of that before now to have a fair if not entirely confirmed suspicion of it - but rather, that this trait was evident enough to be apparent to anyone with (at most) a master's level of aura perception.

And also that you revealed this in front of a room full of vampires and other high-class monsters.

If you hadn't been on their radar before this, you ABSOLUTELY are now.

As tempting as it is to freak out over this, you force yourself to take a deep breath, count to ten, and remain calm. Panic will not help the situation. What's done is done; the knowledge of your aura's interesting effects on vampiric youki is already out there, but so is the knowledge of everything else you've done in public today.

There's quite a difference between an underage magic-user with an interesting and potentially useful trick, and a fighting sorcerer able to go toe-to-toe with the Shuzen heiress and win AND create magical barriers that can tank a hit from a Dark Lady. That's not even getting into the names that are in your network of personal contacts.

"Alex?" Lu-sensei inquires. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Sensei, I'm... just taking a moment to, uh, figure out the implications of what you're saying, and then decide what to do next."

He gives you a keen look. "Trying not to freak out, huh?"

"I have a strong urge to shout, 'WHAT?!' and panic," you admit. "That, or hit myself over the head for agreeing to spar in front of a couple hundred monsters, instead of in private, later."

"If I'd suspected your technique had this kind of ability beforehand, I would have recommended not using it here at all," Lu-sensei agrees. "But as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty."

You try not to wince.

"So how do you propose to deal with this matter?" your master inquires.

"Well, for starters, I was wondering if you'd object to sharing your memory of the event, so I could see what Maximum Power looks like from somebody else's perspective."

Lu-sensei blinks. "Eh?"

"Not here," you add quickly. "But later, once we're back in Sunnydale."

Lu-sensei doesn't appear terribly enthused about this idea.

"You could just ask me, you know," Briar points out.

You and your master both turn towards the fairy.

You decide not to call attention to the fact that you had prior evidence that your Power-based techniques were, at the very least, interacting strangely with the youki of living vampires. After all, one previous Maximum Power-ed fight with Kahlua does not a good statistical sample make - especially considering how much your abilities have evolved since then - and there is a signfiicant difference between the effects you observed facing Kahlua at the Tournament and what Lu-sensei saw during today's match.

Leveling the playing field between you and a superhuman opponent is one thing. Leveling the playing field while also eroding the opponent's power is something else again.

Your silence on the topic passes unremarked by either Lu-sensei or Briar.

Gained Acting C (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

"I could," you admit in response to Briar, "and if you're offering-"

"I am."

"-then I accept, and thank you. But I'd still like to get Lu-sensei's take on what happened, too." Turning to your master, you explain. "Briar can show me the magic side of things, Sensei, but she doesn't have your ki sense. On the other hand..."

"I don't have magic, but can show you what your aura looked like under ki sight," he finishes with a nod. "I understand the logic well enough, Alex. It's simply... well, don't take this the wrong way, but the idea of another person poking through my head is more than a bit disturbing to me."

"Would it make you feel better if I explained how the spell I had in mind works?" you offer.

"Probably not. It's not really the method of mind-reading that troubles me; it's the whole concept."

"I understand, sir."

And you let the matter drop.

At least, for now.

You're about to execute a change of topic and ask Lu-sensei what sort of fallout you can look forward to, once news of your ability to nullify vampiric youki makes the rounds, when you're interrupted by a knock at the door.

In the span of a few seconds, you and your teacher trade glances and several unspoken gestures, trying to work out who should answer. Ultimately, it's Lu-sensei's room, and he ends up calling out, "Yes?"

"Pardon the disturbance, Master Lu," Mio's voice comes through the door, "but Lady Bloodriver has agreed to meet with Mister Harris."

After another quick round of looks and wordless gestures, you go and open the door. "Thanks, Miss Mio. Did she say when and where?"

"Milady apologizes for the delay, Master Harris, but she believes she'll be another ten or fifteen minutes. In the meantime, I'm to show you to one of the sitting rooms."

You turn to Lu-sensei. "Shall we?"

"We shall," he replies, turning towards his room. "Just give me a minute to get changed into something more appropriate." Lu-sensei pauses and looks over his shoulder. "Alex, you should get changed as well."

You look down at your nightwear. "I guess a housecoat and pajamas aren't really appropriate attire for meeting a Dark Lady, huh?"

"...no," Lu-sensei admits, with a look of amusement.

You nod. "Alright, I got this."

Gathering your mana, you cast a Spell of Transformation. It's a minor thing, just first-circle, so you have no trouble suppressing the mana signature.

As the magic takes effect, your nightclothes turn into a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and hoodie. You're a bit annoyed to see that the color scheme still reflects a Gerudo influence - the pants and hoodie are black with orange trim, while the shirt is an almost rusty shade of off-brown - but on the positive side, there are no mystical symbols of any sort that you can see, and the hood is the only part of the entire outfit that looks remotely like it might be a sorcerous robe.

Lu-sensei looks you over, and shakes his head.

"Would you like me to-?" you offer.

"I can still change my own clothes just fine, thank you, Alex," the old man answers dryly, as he retreats to his room.

Your teacher takes a little longer to get changed than you did, but not much - you're tempted to say he used ki-enhanced speed - and once he returns, Mio leads your little group back down to the ground floor. The room she shows you to is not one you've seen before, a modestly-sized sitting room about as big as your family living room, with several comfortable chairs and small tables arranged in a semi-circle. Bookcases run the length of one wall, while a large painting hangs on the opposite side of the room.

"Lady Bloodriver will be along shortly," Mio says. "Can I get you anything while you wait?"

Lu-sensei asks for a glass of water.

Briar passes.

And you...

You thank Mio for the offer, but decline anything to drink. If you end up talking so much in the near future that you get a dry throat, you can ask then. Or just use magic to soothe the irritation.

You take a seat and settle in to wait for Akasha to make her appearance.

A minute of silence passes, and you find your attention drifting towards the long bookcase on the right-hand wall. It's not exactly packed to the point of overflowing, but at a quick estimate, you'd say there's upwards of fifty books there. Most of them are hardcovers, with perhaps a dozen paperbacks mixed in for character.

You can make out some of the titles:

Tobin's Spirit Guide.

Vampiricus Conquestus.

Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead.

Vampyr.

Bram Stoker's Dracula.

...you're noticing a trend, here, and you have to wonder if this is somebody's idea of a joke.

You're tempted. By Din, are you EVER tempted to pull that copy of Stoker's book off the shelf, just so you can use it as a prop for your upcoming meeting with Miss Akasha.

'What's the problem, Alex?' she'll ask, and you'll say, 'In a word?' and then close the book and tap the title.

Or maybe she'll say, 'Why are you reading that, Alex?' and you'll answer, 'I wanted to compare the fictional version against the genuine article.'

Or you could just hold the book, looking all bemused, and when Akasha inquires 'What's wrong, Alex?' you'll respond, 'I was just wondering... does Dracula get royalties for this book? Or the whole... franchise, thing?'

So many possibilities present themselves.

In the end, however, you decide to leave the book where it rests, and do the same for its neighbors. You don't expect to be waiting long enough to read more than a chapter or so, at least not without resorting to magic, which you'd rather not do right now.

"Something caught your eye, Alex?" Lu-sensei inquires.

"Just taking note of someone's taste in books, Sensei," you answer with an emphatic nod towards the shelf.

Your master looks at the books.

He blinks.

And for a moment, words actually seem to fail him.

"Well," Lu-sensei finally says. "I see someone was trying to be funny."

"Or to get one over on their guests," Briar adds. "Odds that these books are fiction, talking about the other kinds of vampires, or just flat-out wrong, anybody?"

"No bet," you and Lu-sensei say in unison.

The sitting room's door opens then, forestalling any further commentary and allowing Akasha to enter. She seems rather harried compared to earlier.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she says briskly, "but the only thing more involved than getting ready for a party like we had today is cleaning up after one. And that's not even taking the unplanned incidents into account - haaah." Akasha sighs and makes a waving gesture with both hands, as if pushing everything aside for the moment. "So, Alex. Mio said you had something urgent you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, ma'am," you begin. "I was meditating before bed, and, well..."

You proceed to recount your experience. Akasha frowns at your mention of a 'looming dark shape' in your mindscape, but your read of her is puzzlement. The REAL reaction comes when you bring up the images you saw through the divination spell, as Akasha's eyes sort of... sharpen. That's the only word that comes to mind. Her patient gaze FOCUSES on you in a most unsettling manner, which is only emphasized by the way her pupils shift from roundness to not-quite slits. The flickering red in her otherwise green irises is impossible to miss, and proximity gives you a sense of sudden tension in the air - an aura that's been there since the moment the Dark Lady of the Orient entered the room, but which was nigh-perfectly suppressed until now, becoming just the slightest bit noticeable.

"Do you have enough magic left to show me what you saw?"

You nod quickly. "Yes, ma'am."

"Please do."

You're a little spooked by the normally cheerful woman's terse tone and abrupt manner. You were planning to offer her a choice between an Illusion-based recreation of what you saw and a total re-casting of the original Divination, but maybe you shouldn't delay...?

Akasha really doesn't seem like she wants to spend the next minute standing around waiting on you to cast the Spell of Divination you used to query Nayru earlier. That sense of... impatience... makes Illusion your go-to method pretty much by default.

Before you conjure up the images you saw in that vision, however, you spend a little extra mana and some mental energy besides to hone your memory. You're hoping that this will make the images as clear and accurate as possible. It's not that the half-hour which has passed since you had the vision will have eroded your recollection; you just want to be... thorough.

Your preferred Illusion for this job is a scaled-up Spell of Silent Image. The basic form of the spell only produces the image of a single creature, object, or force, and there was a bit more to Nayru's message than that.

Akasha's control of her aura slips when you show her the giant demonic monster, filling the room with an oppressive weight and the faint coppery reek of blood.

Your control of your spell thankfully does not falter, and you quickly proceed to the next image.

As eldritch horror is replaced by a darkly regal visage, Akasha lets out a hissing breath.

In comparison, the image of the menacing castle atop its jagged promontory barely draws comment. The painting is just an afterthought.

You let the images fade, and glance at Akasha. You're a bit surprised: you were expecting her to look angry, but for the most part, she just seems deeply frustrated - and a bit sad?

"And that's everything you saw?" she asks, looking at you.

It's impossible to miss that her pupils have shifted to full predatory slits.

"That's everything I SAW, ma'am," you say with deliberate emphasis. "But there was an emotional element to the vision as well."

"And that was?"

"There were two things that really stood out. One was an aura, that felt like..." You pause, searching for the words to describe that hideous, crushing presence. In the end, you have to with the 'ocean of blood' metaphor.

From her faint but sympathetic smile, Akasha understands your difficulty. "I'm sorry you had to experience that, Alex. But what was the other detail?"

"It felt... empty."

The Dark Lady blinks. "'Empty.'"

You nod. "It was like everything I was seeing was true, but at the same time, it was only images. No substance." You have to shake your head. "I don't know how to explain it."

"...would make sense," Akasha says under her breath.

You're not sure she was addressing you.

Do you inquire what she meant?

"What would make sense?" you inquire.

"What?" Akasha replies, blinking. "I'm sorry, Alex, what was that?"

"When I described what my vision felt like, you said, 'that would make sense,'" you note.

Akasha's expression at this point is best described as 'chagrined.' If you didn't already suspect that she hadn't intended for you to hear that remark, this would have suggested as much - as it is, you take it as confirmation of your suspicion.

"I don't mean to pry," you begin, before trailing off and shaking your head. "Actually, no, that's not true; I DO mean to pry, but it's only because I've been having visions of Dracula since I got here, which is new and frankly disturbing territory for me."

"I can understand that, Alex," Akasha says. "However, you're right on the edge of stumbling into a rather significant matter of the family, and-"

She pauses and looks over her shoulder at the door. You glance in the same direction as the door opens to reveal the other two adult vampires, both of whom look decidedly unkempt and unimpressed about something. Issa is missing his coat and the top three buttons on his shirt, and Gyokuro is wearing a hastily thrown-on housecoat.

"Alright," Gyokuro says shortly. "What's happened NOW?"

From Lu-sensei's direction, there is the sound of a sigh and a facepalm.

"I thought you two had retired for the evening," Akasha says lightly.

"So did we," Gyokuro returns sharply. "And then SOMEONE decided to let their youki slip - I have TOLD you how distracting that is, woman, especially when I'm in the middle of-"

"Little ears, Gyo!" Akasha bursts out.

Gyokuro pauses and leans to one side, looking past Akasha to see you. Issa, whose height gives him a slightly better vantage point, merely cranes his neck.

You have a faint urge to wave.

"Of. Course." The woman sighs and presses her hands over her face as she takes a deep breath; when she lowers them a moment later, her previous expression of flat exasperation has been replaced by a bright, obviously fake smile. "Master Lu. Mister Harris. Miss Briar. Dare I ask what you've been discussing with Akasha?"

Without completely taking your eyes off of Gyokuro - because there is something in that scary smile of hers that puts you in mind of a bomb about to go off - you glance at Lu-sensei, wordlessly gesturing with one hand for him to take over.

His response is to point at himself with one finger and make a face. 'Me?'

You nod, once at Lu-sensei, then at Gyokuro. 'She asked you first.'

The old man stares at you, waggling his fingers and then making a pushing-away motion. 'You're the one having the creepy visions, you handle it.'

You make a face. 'She's scaring me!'

Lu-sensei makes it right back. 'She's scaring me, too!'

You give him a quick visual once-over, head-to-toe. 'You're the adult!'

What Lu-sensei's sour expression says he thinks about THAT argument probably shouldn't be translated.

Gained Sign Language E (Plus) (Plus)

But, with only one brief sigh of protest, your teacher steps forward.

"My student experienced a rather unsettling visitation during his evening meditation. He turned to his magic to investigate the cause, and his spellcasting turned up a name, which he felt was significant enough to bring to Lady Bloodriver's attention, as well as my own."

With false patience, Gyokuro asks, "And that name is...?"

"Dracula."

The vampire woman's smile freezes. Slowly, she turns to face Akasha, repeating the name, "Dracula."

Behind her, Issa looks sharply at the Dark Lady. "Dracula?!"

Akasha offers a weak smile, then sighs. "Dracula," she admits.

"Dracula?" two familiar voices inquire from the hall.

"Mrs. Arisawa, Master Ambrose," Issa says, turning towards the new arrivals. "Pardon my bluntness, but this is a private conversation-"

"Not so private when it apparently starts out with a Dark Lady losing her cool enough for the entire castle to notice," Akkiko replies, her tone unexpectedly sharp and serious. Issa steps back, looking slightly startled, as the smaller woman pushes past him and strides into the room. "And if it involves that giant freakshow corpse you had stashed in the basement-"

The vampiric youki in the air abruptly spikes as all three Shuzens start in surprise.

"How do you know about that?!" Akasha chokes out.

"Guest or no, there are some places in our home-" Issa snaps.

Gyokuro just snarls and looks like she wants to claw Akkiko's eyes out.

The atmosphere is charged. The vampires are clearly NOT happy with Akkiko's latest statement, and she, in turn, doesn't appear at all inclined to apologize for knowing what she knows. In the hall behind her, Ambrose's lips are pursed and his eyes narrowed in thought; he has his staff in hand, and though it isn't radiating in the normal visible spectrum, you can sense its power thrumming in a state of readiness. Lu-sensei's posture is relaxed in a way that isn't, prepared to move - or strike - at the slightest provocation. Briar, meanwhile, has zipped over to your shoulder.

You have something you want to say, in the hopes of averting the impending violence you can sense hovering in the air, but with all the raised voices, it's unlikely you'd be heard.

You wrack your brain for a polite way to get the grown-ups' attention. Unfortunately, because of your age, nothing comes to mind. When adults talk, kids are supposed to be quiet and listen. When adults get into arguments like this... actually, you're not sure if there is a specific protocol for this, but under the circumstances, you suspect that most kids your age would be hiding behind the furniture or the nearest friendly adult, waiting for the angry noise and scary faces to go away. Assuming they weren't ushered somewhere less frightening.

On a side note, considering that there are three vampires, a part-oni, and a wizard occupying the space on both sides of the room's only door, you completely understand why Lu-sensei hasn't tried to smuggle you out of here.

Anyway, there doesn't seem to be a respectful way to get their attention.

Fine then. Rude it is.

Not wanting to make an already-tense situation worse by breaking out more supernatural mojo, you opt for a far more traditional approach for a child seeking attention:

Noise.

In this case, you turn to the bookcase, take down the largest volume you can reach, open it up-

Lu-sensei and Briar are giving you the exact same look: 'Are you nuts?'

You try to school your face into a calm, confident mask. 'Trust me. I know what I'm doing.'

...they don't appear reassured. On the other hand, they don't move to stop you, so, win?

-and then slam the covers together as hard as you can.

WHOOM!

It's hardly the cannonblast that Issa ended your match against Kahlua with, but it serves to get everyone's attention. There are some abrupt starts, followed by sharp looks, but perhaps because of the complete lack of ki, youki, mana, or other empowering energy, the purely physical action doesn't provoke any of the assembled supernatural adults to a rash action.

"Ladies," you say. "Gentlemen. I apologize for the interruption, but if I might make an observation? Unless we want to draw the attention of the other guests, wouldn't it be better if everyone now aware of this discussion calmed down and continued it inside, and not in the hallway?"

The adults stare at you. You see disbelief, annoyance, some embarrassment-

"There's that confidence again," Akkiko muses.

-at least one total LACK of embarrassment-

"My student has a point, however... directly... he's chosen to express it."

-oh, and of course, there's Lu-sensei. Who has just put his hand on your shoulder... and is squeezing just a little harder than is comfortable.

"If we are going to continue this discussion," Lu-sensei goes on, "perhaps we could take his suggestion and conduct ourselves like reasonable people?"

"Or we could just stand back and let the ladies have a go at each other," Ambrose suggests, waggling his eyebrows.

The ensuing glares roll off him like water off a duck's back.

Trying to salvage the scant progress gained so far, you say, "Ambrose? With the permission of our hosts, would you mind warding the room for privacy? If this involves family secrets, ensuring it doesn't go any further is kind of important."

Looks are exchanged, and the idea of shutting Ambrose up by making him do something constructive appears to enjoy a lot of popularity.

"And while we're on the subject of family secrets, Mrs. Arisawa-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Akkiko cuts you off, one finger raised. "Before you or anyone else says anything more on that subject, boyo, in my defense, I did not, in fact, go anywhere I wasn't supposed to or invoke any magic that would violate the accepted bounds of hospitality."

"Then how did you know of it?" Issa inquires. "The Dark Lord was defeated, sealed, bound, sealed again, buried and had a tomb raised around him, sealed yet again - and THEN we built the Castle over his remains and had Mikogami raise a barrier around it!"

Akkiko turns to face him. "Two reasons, Lord Shuzen. One is that - meaning no disrespect to your clan, the Honored Exorcist, or whoever else was involved - no seal is perfect. Especially not where something like Dracula is involved. I'm guessing this one was a touch weaker on the spiritual side than it should have been, or else it wore down over time, because your castle's reflection in the Spirit Plane feels far darker than its physical counterpart. And the spirits around here are more than willing to show the reason WHY it's like that to anybody who can look and listen the right way, and manages to get inside your castle's walls."

Your eyes narrow at this. Is that why Dracula was showing up in your meditation and magically-enabled dream? But then, why not your normal dreams, or while you're awake? You have a fair level of spiritual awareness, if you do say so yourself, so why aren't you picking up spirits?

"Noted," Issa says succinctly. "And the other reason?"

"Eyewitness testimony."

At this, the Lord of the Castle blinks. "What?"

"Dracula wasn't exactly inconspicuous, even before he turned into that nightmare agglomeration of parts," Akkiko says. "The in-the-know side of the human government were aware he was in Japan before then, and they were keeping tabs on his movements as best they could. When he lost it and started eating everything that didn't run fast enough, a team was sent to subdue him. Onmyouji, miko, taijiya, samurai, ninja, more than one hanyou or more distant youkai descendant - the heaviest hitters the paper-pushers could get their hands on at short notice."

"Not nearly heavy enough," Akasha says, in a sad, somewhat distant tone.

Akkiko winces. "Yeah, they pretty much got their shit wrecked. But they didn't all die, and one of the survivors was an Arisawa, who left an account of the clusterfuck in our family's records."

"And you just happen to have read this convenient account," Gyokuro drawls.

"'Just happen,' my fantastic rack," Akkiko says flatly. "When my girl came home from the Tournament and dropped your girl's family name, I went and looked up everything to do with you people I could get my hands on. Although I didn't know you'd actually been crazy enough to build your HOUSE on TOP of the old monster - because if I HAD, I would have gladly skipped the four-day visit and just brought Tatsuki for today's dog and pony show. Buddha and Christ, I don't know how any of you manage to SLEEP with all the racket coming from the Astral Side around here - I've had to drink myself unconscious TWICE now just to get a few hours in! Do you KNOW how much booze it takes to knock me out?!"

"Offhand, no. But I'm sure the head butler could provide me a figure."

Oh, boy. A quick look around reveals clear signs that the simmering tensions are about to boil over again.

The current argument doesn't have the number of participants or sheer volume of the previous one, so you don't think slamming the book shut is called for. Instead, you steal a march from Akkiko, and raise your hand, index finger extended, to get attention.

"Excuse me," you interrupt. "Can we move on to the fact that, despite being sealed, Dracula appears to be aware enough to intrude on people's mindscapes? Because I'm kind of worried that the necromancer was targeting the seal and managed to get something done before he was detected."

"A reasonable concern, young Harris," Issa says. "However, it's misplaced."

You frown.

"How do you mean?" Lu-sensei inquires.

The three vampires trade glances. All appear reluctant to speak.

"Do you want me to tell them?" Akkiko offers.

"NO." Gyokuro says shortly.

"The seal isn't protecting anything anymore," Akasha sighs. "Dracula's body is... gone."

There is a moment of silence.

"'Gone,'" Ambrose repeats.

Akasha nods.

"How did that happen? If I may ask," the wizard adds.

"Does the term 'Heaven's Feel' mean anything to you?" Gyokuro asks.

What.

"Oh, dear," Ambrose murmurs. "Are you saying-"

"Some monumental moron of a magus decided to summon Dracula for the fourth iteration of that damned Grail War," the Shuzen family head says sourly. "As an added bonus, they performed the summoning ritual on the site of the Demon Castle, to boost their so-called Servant's power."

WHAT.

"But unlike every other Servant ever summoned," Issa chimes in, "Dracula wasn't truly DEAD. His soul was here, instead of at the Throne of Heroes, so the Grail's power came here to spawn its spiritual copy." Lord Shuzen scowls. "Our wards are very good, Master Ambrose, and the seals on the Dark Lord were, if anything, even better. But as long as Dracula remained inside them, they didn't care what else came or went."

Ambrose winces. "So suddenly there was a SECOND Prince of Darkness in the world."

WHAT?!

"More like two iterations of the one, from different periods in his existence," Akasha says. "At least, that's how Mikogami described it. One Servant, based on Dracula's original, mortal incarnation, and one mostly-dead monster. If it had stayed that way, there wouldn't have been any further problems." She sighs. "But the Servant had the same potential as the original to go from man to monster, and he did. And yes, at that point, there was one Dark Lord too many for the world to tolerate."

"Paradox," Ambrose summarizes.

"The seals couldn't stand up to it," Issa says plainly. "The Servant, conscious, aware of the danger, and at that point wielding Dracula's full power, was able to endure, however briefly. The comatose body here, was not. It simply... vanished. And at that point, the paradox was resolved."

"Leaving you with an empty crypt, and Dracula loose in Fuyuki, right on top of the Grail," Akkiko notes. "So how the hell did we not have an apocalypse at that point?"

You'd kind of like to know the answer to that yourself.

"The other Servants and Masters realized the threat and allied against him," Gyokuro says. "It didn't hurt that one of the Masters was a Belmont, who'd summoned his ancestor Simon as a Servant, Vampire Killer and all."

Belmont? Vampire Killer? What's this, now?

Omake: Stunning Sorcerer Speaks Surprising Statements

As curious as you are about these names you manage to put it aside in favor of dealing with the far more serious matter of Archer's warning. Because if the Holy Grail War is actually happening right now then there are serious problems going on.

"Um. Sorry to interrupt again but you do know there is an Evil God, I think it's name was Angry Man Juice or something like that, corrupting the Holy Grail right? Because I don't like the sound of Dracula getting involved with an Evil God."

For the first time since Akiko arrived the room is filled with perfect silence. You can't even hear the adults breathing.

Unsurprisingly Ambrose is the first one to break the silence. What scares you though is how for the very first time since you met the mad wizard Ambrose seems deadly serious. "Alex, are you telling me that Angra Mainyu is inside the Holy Grail?" A swift nod from your has Ambrose break off from the rest of the group and begin furiously pacing and muttering to himself. Probably not a good sign.

While that's going on Akiko asks the other question that is almost certainly on everyone's mind. "How exactly do you know that?"

While part of you is leery about revealing anything to Akiko the seriousness of the situation means you have to give the adults, other then Lu-sensei of course, some reason to believe your warning. So you answer her.

"The Heroic Spirit I summoned for advice on forging Kahlua's gauntlets told me."

Once again a rather eerie silence falls upon the room. Although this time it feels a lot different. Probably has something to do with Briar's facepalm and Lu-sensei's muttering.

This time it's Issa who is the first to speak. "You summoned a Heroic Spirit for advice on creating Kahlua's gift?" While his voice sounds rather normal you can't help but notice that one of his eyebrows seems to have developed a tic.

Still you elect to answer honestly and straightforwardly, there are more important issues to discuss anyway, "Yeah? I wanted my very first birthday present to her special."

Going by the way his eyebrow tic seems to have gone into overdrive that may have not been the wisest of answers.

Omake End

You don't want to interrupt the illuminating dialogue going on among the adults. You keep your ears open and your mouth firmly shut.

"Should those names mean something to me?" Akkiko asks.

"The Belmont Clan are a family of monsters hunters that have been active in and around Europe for the last thousand years," Issa explains. "They also have a long-standing grudge against the Dark Lord. For centuries, each time Dracula resurrected, a Belmont descendant would appear and destroy him, using a cursed whip known as the Vampire Killer."

Akkiko smirks. "A whip? Seriously?"

"A weapon imbued with the power to slay any vampire, to destroy a vampire's power in any form it takes, to overcome any creature under the dominion of a vampire," Akasha says firmly. "It looks like a plain leather whip, and in the hands of a Belmont, it could tear through the stones of this castle like they were paper, shatter our wards, and END everyone who bears or answers to the name Shuzen."

"...even you?"

Akasha straightens. "Even me."

Akkiko lets out a breath. "So, serious badasses, then. And this Simon person?"

"One of two Belmonts on record as having faced the Dark Lord in single combat twice," Issa answers. "Also the only one of those two to actually slay him on both occasions - the second time, after spending half a decade wrestling with the effects of the Dark Lord's own death curse."

"...well. With credentials like that, I can see how killing Dracula for a third time wouldn't be such a big deal, then."

Gained Local Knowledge (Moonlit World) C

There is a pause. Seeing that none of the adults appear to have anything to add at the moment, you decide to speak up.

"This was five years ago?"

"Closer to five and a half, now," Akasha replies. "The summoning was performed in advance of the commencement of the Grail War, and the Master and Servant went underground immediately afterwards. We spent months tracking false leads all over the planet, and then they turned up practically in our backyard..."

You nod. That date tallies with the timeline Archer laid out for you. The mention of Dracula as a Servant is one HELL of a twist, but then, Archer's information was focused on the Fifth War; he only mentioned the Fourth in passing. Speaking of which...

"Right. So, this would probably be a good time to mention that the Heroic Spirit I summoned for help with Kahlua's present said the Fifth War was going to start ten years after the Fourth. Right, Sensei?"

Once again, EVERYONE is staring at you.

"..."

"...wow, Alex," Briar notes. "I think you broke them."

"She's not wrong," Ambrose murmurs, as he brings his free right hand up to rub at his temple. "Did I hear you correctly, Alexander? You summoned a Heroic Spirit, one of the warriors of legend, for the purpose of creating a birthday present? And it WORKED?"

"Well, it's not like I'd intended to summon a Heroic Spirit," you explain. "I just set up a summons for a smith, and the one who answered was Archer. And honestly, he was just as surprised at being summoned for his crafting skills instead of for battle as you are at hearing about this."

Ambrose's stare intensifies. "You summoned a Heroic Spirit WITHOUT MEANING TO?"

"...yes?"

For a moment, you wonder if the wizard is going to explode, or just have a seizure. Then, with a great sigh, he seems to deflate.

"Fuck it, I'm out," Ambrose declares. "Akkiko, do you still have that bottle of rice wine with you?"

Blinking, the Arisawa matriarch slowly nods.

"May I borrow- thank you, dear," Ambrose adds, as Akkiko pulls the gourd out from nowhere and hands it to him. Ambrose raises the bottle and looks around. "If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go get very drunk and try to pretend this didn't happen. Don't let the boy unintentionally violate any more of the established laws of magic while I'm out, or my wrath shall be most terrible and involve Frenchmen. Cheers!"

And with that ominous warning hanging in the air, Ambrose turns and walks off.

Um.

"Wait, Ambrose!" you call out, dodging ladies as you head for the door. "There's more!"

"Don't care!" he calls back over his shoulder.

"Even if I say the spirit gave me a doomsday prophecy?"

That gives the wizard pause. Literally, even; he stops in his tracks and bows his head, possibly muttering to himself.

"'A doomsday prophecy,'" Issa repeats, looking down at you.

"Yessir," you reply, noting that the man of the house is quite a bit closer to you now than a minute ago. "It's one of the things I was hoping to talk to Miss Akasha about tomorrow morning."

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Ambrose uncork Akkiko's borrowed clay jug and proceed to take a long drink.

"...while I am glad to hear that," Issa admits, "why didn't you mention this earlier?"

You consider it. "Two reasons, mainly. One, while the warning is important, it's not URGENT - there's another four years or so before anything I was told about starts happening, and more like five years before it all goes down."

The wizard has turned around and is stalking back towards you.

Issa considers that, and nods. "And the other reason?"

You shrug. "I didn't want to spoil Kahlua's party."

"Right," Ambrose announces, having come close enough for you to make out a slight ruddiness to his features that wasn't there before. "I believe I am sufficiently-fortified to handle this latest... revelation. So let's have it, boy."

You go back inside the sitting room, take a chair, and proceed to describe your meeting with Archer. You don't go into deep detail just yet, instead hitting the highlights of what he told you about the Fifth Fuyuki Grail War. The multiple branching timelines, the bizarre importance of one clueless kid, the fact that you know the identities of the seven Masters and Servants-

"Ten," Ambrose interjects.

You pause. "What was that?"

"The Grail War was originally supposed to have seven Masters and Servants, but the last two Wars have had ten of each instead," the wizard explains, longingly eying the clay jug, which has been making the rounds among the adults and is currently in Gyokuro's possession.

"How did that happen?" Briar wonders.

"The Einzberns got impatient and tried to cheat the system during the Third War," Ambrose says easily. "Something about summoning an illegal Servant. The Grail turned around and called up three additional Servants, the first of which was of the Ruler Class. He acted as a sort of a referee, to make sure there were no further violations of the established rules. Not that it actually stopped anyone from trying to cheat," he adds, "at least not until after Ruler caught the first batch of 'law-breakers' and made examples of them."

"What sort of examples?" Akkiko wonders.

"The accounts I read didn't go into specifics. On the other hand, they claimed that Ruler was Hammurabi, so I expect his punishments were... rather harsh."

Gained Grail Lore E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

"Right," you say. "Well. That part, I didn't know. And Archer did ask me to contact him again if I came across any new information about the local Grail War-"

"If it's all the same to you, young man," Gyokuro interrupts, "I would really rather not have the spirit of an ancient human hero summoned into my home."

You look around. Akasha and Issa seem to share Gyokuro's opinion, while Akkiko and Lu-sensei are neutral on the subject. As for Ambrose, he's... taking another drink from the jug. He's not even using the clay bowls Akkiko produced for everyone else, he's just gulping it down. Akkiko seems to approve of his style. Everyone else... not so much.

Seeing that your hosts are firmly united against the idea of summoning Archer on their property, you table that idea for the time being, and consider what to say in light of Ambrose's latest revelation. You already knew that your timeline was significantly different from most of the ones Archer was familiar with, but the knowledge that there are nearly half again as many Servants involved in this world's Grail Wars is still very unexpected. If the timelines have diverged THAT much, how useful is your information really going to be?

How much should you tell the adults?

A trollish impulse tells you to time your next statement for when Ambrose is about to take a drink. However, he's just finished... quaffing, is it?... well, taking a long pull from the jug, and you're concerned if you wait around for him to drink again, someone will take control of the conversation from you.

So it is with some regret that you speak up. "Okay, so, since I didn't even know how many Servants were involved, I think it's safe to say that the information I got from Archer is more than a little inaccurate."

"A safe assumption," Ambrose notes - and to your delight, he raises the jug.

"Still," you continue, trying to gauge your words, "leaving aside all the specific details that may or may not still matter, the REAL problem Archer was concerned about was that an evil spirit was possessing the Grail."

Ambrose... does not do a spit-take. His eyes bug out, and he cuts his current chug short, but that's as far as it goes.

"Say that again?" he demands. "An evil spirit? Possessing the Fuyuki Grail?"

"Archer called it Angra Mainyu."

Ambrose blanches.

"I don't recognize the name," Akkiko admits.

"Neither do I," Akasha says. She looks to Gyokuro and Issa, but both of them appear equally mystified.

"Bad news," the wizard rasps, before taking another drink. "Really bad news," he says, after lowering the jug once more.

He proceeds to explain that Angra Mainyu is a Persian God of Darkness, the embodiment of all the evils of the world - or perhaps "just" all the evils of mankind, the difference being academic as far as most humans and part-humans would be concerned. Pretty much what Archer told you, minus the bit about how the evil deity in question is trying to manifest itself through the Grail - which you make sure to mention, along with Archer's estimate of the worst-case scenario if the thing succeeds in realizing itself.

Lu-sensei and Briar vouch for the truth of your words, having witnessed Archer's testimony themselves.

At that point, every other adult in the room pretty much insists on getting a complete copy of EVERYTHING the Heroic Spirit told you.

Good thing you were prepared to offer exactly that. Issa summons a servant and sends him off to fetch pen and paper - lots of paper - and Ambrose gives you a crash-course in the spell he used to commit information from his head to paper. It's a fairly simple bit of Transformation, but Ambrose cautions you to go slowly; being able to commit entire pages of information to paper in one go is the result of extensive practice on his part, and you shouldn't expect it to work too much faster than mundane writing or typing, at least not to begin with.

After Ambrose is satisfied with your proficiency in using the spell, Gyokuro suggests they set you up in a side-room to work privately, while the rest of them speak with Lu-sensei about the topic at hand, and what can and should be done about it.

Omake: The Youngest Pair

You are still not entirely sure how you go roped into fighting a war over a wish granting device you know to be housing all of humanities curses and primed to wipe out most life on Earth.

Actually no that pretty much explains why you're doing this. All of Akasha and Gyokuro's attempts at finding and dismantling the Grail failed and even working with Ambrose, or perhaps because he was working with Ambrose, Issa was unable to convince the Einzbern, Matou, or Tohsaka to aid in the Grail's destruction. So all that's left is the hope that you can somehow win the war and destroy the Grail when it manifests.

Fortunately you do have the assistance of the Shuzen clan, Akiko's various contacts, and Ambrose himself so the war won't be as lopsided as it would be if you were facing adult magi alone. Of course they can't help out too directly or obviously less the Church Supervisor, a rather creepy man by the name of Kotomine, decide you've broken the rules and focus the other Masters against you.

Still their aid is the reason why you are performing the summoning with a perfectly crafted circle, Akiko's devil friend is apparently quite good at rituals, in the rumpus room of the quite spacious house the Shuzen's purchased as your base, compared to the hundreds of thousands spent on private jets for Kahlua's birthday a couple million for saving the world is nothing, while under some of the most powerful wards you've ever encountered, you really have to get Ambrose to teach you them someday.

The ritual itself is pretty straightforward; chant some random words in Japanese and pour mana into the circle. Apparently you can use a catalyst to almost guarantee you'll get a particular Heroic Spirit as your Servant but while you received multiple offers and suggestions from your allies you decided to go without.

Your goal after all isn't the wish offered by the Grail but to prevent the destruction that the corrupted Holy Grail represents. So rather then drawing in some legendary figure with a false promise of a wish and risk them turning against you, you decided instead to summon the Heroic Spirit most compatible with you. That way your guaranteed to have someone who would be willing to set aside their wish if necessary.

The ritual goes off without a hitch. Unsurprising considering how much time and effort you put into mastering a ritual designed such that even the most incompetent of mages could perform it.

However just because the ritual went well does not mean the summoning was flawless. For instead of the expected hero of legend, part of you was expecting Link of all people to be summoned, you instead find yourself staring at someone just as familiar to this life as Link was to your previous lives.

"Altria!?"
"Alex!?"

Yes the Servant you summoned was your old friend Altria. It makes a kind of sense given her, probable, status as King Arthur's reincarnation and the precedent for living people being summoned was already, kinda, set by Dracula's summoning in the prior war.

All this logic however is drowned out by the dawning realization that Altria is wearing just a nightgown, having almost certainly being summoned from her bed given the time difference between Fuyuki and England.

Having long sense learned that good manners and gentlemanly behavior is the best way out of almost any awkward social situation you quickly turn away. Before Altria can really begin to acknowledge her state of dress you summon up a set of clothes more appropriate to the current time of day and telekinetically float them towards her with a simple apology, "Sorry about that."

Fortunately for you Altria has at least some knowledge of what is going on, likely thanks to the Grail downloading the information into her brain, since the first thing she says is; "Dad is going to kill you for getting me involved in this."

Unfortunately she is absolutely right. Even if you are trying to save the world there is no chance of Arthur Drake ever forgiving you for getting Altria mixed up in fighting Heroic Spirits.

There really is only one response in this situation. "At least this time I'll die saving the world." Somehow you can make out the sound of Briar facepalming over the sound of you and Altria laughing wildly.

End Omake

"If it's all the same to you," you tell the adults, "I'd prefer to stay involved in the discussion, or at least stay in the room in case something comes up that needs clarification, beyond what Lu-sensei can provide off the top of his head. I DID employ memory-enhancing magic when I was taking in what Archer had to say."

"He did," Briar agrees, prompting the other adults to look at her, and then at your master.

Lu-sensei nods.

"Besides," you go on, "while I won't be doing it on Shuzen property, I do plan on summoning Archer again in the near future, so I can bring him up to speed on the latest developments like I promised him I would. The more I know about what's in the works, the more likely it is that Archer will be able to provide relevant information for me to pass on."

"Boyo has a point," Akkiko notes.

"He does at that," Issa admits.

"Alright, Alex," Akasha says, after a look around. "You can stay. But I expect you to be prompt in reporting your conversation with this Archer to us. Understand?"

You nod. "I'd be surprised if you said differently, ma'am. Oh," you add, "before I forget, I don't want to interrupt discussion on the current topic, but I haven't forgetten about Dracula popping up in my mindscape, even though he's not here anymore. I really would appreciate knowing how and why that's happening."

Akasha grimaces. "That's something I'd like to know, myself."

"Not that big a mystery," Akkiko announces. "Remember what I said about the astral side being noisy around here? Boyo's just sensitive enough to pick up on the Dracula-shaped impression the not dead but dreaming giant body left in the spirit plane."

"You're sure about that?" you, Akasha, and Briar all say more or less in unison.

Akkiko looks you square in the eye. "You said you were seeing Dracula in your mindscape. I take it you meant in dreams?"

"One dream, and once while I was meditating."

"Did he DO anything?"

"...no, he was just this twisted shape on the edge of my awareness. There, and dangerous, but... not really acting."

Akkiko nods. "There you go. It's a safe bet that if the Dark Lord were still hanging around, and somebody made mental contact with him, he wouldn't have let the opportunity slip past."

Why doesn't that statement make you feel any better?

The servant dispatched to fetch writing materials returns then, and you're quickly ensconced in one of the chairs, using Ambrose's spell to gradually commit the contents of your meeting with Archer to paper. It takes a certain amount of concentration to attend to the task, which could get in the way of your attempt to follow the conversation - and vice-versa.

"Um, not to be contradictory, Mrs. Arisawa," you say, "but there's a problem with your assessment."

"And that would be?" the woman asks.

You explain how the Divination spell you used to investigate the "shadow" in your mindscape only functions correctly if you cast it within a day of having met the creature you're trying to acquire information on. If Dracula really isn't in the castle, your spell should have failed.

Akkiko looks troubled by your words, and she's not the only one; when you mention needing to have "met" the intended subject of the spell, Akasha winces.

"Are you alright, Lady Bloodriver?" Lu-sensei inquires mildly.

"Ah... yes. I just... I believe I know why Alex's spell worked. Even if Dracula isn't here in person... part of him is. Not in any way that could be harmful, just... very awkward."

"And somewhere Alex would have encountered... it?" Lu-sensei guesses.

"Yes. I would really rather not discuss it beyond that."

Your teacher looks from the uncomfortable Dark Lady to you, and lifts an eyebrow inquiringly. He's asking if you're okay with accepting this admittedly lacklustre assurance that things are okay.

You decide to divide your attention equally between your assigned task and the adults' conversation. You make a point of invoking some Augmentation and Enchantment spells, for greater focus, improved recollection, and all-around improved mental ability; not only will it help you bring up the fine details of your talk with Archer and commit them to paper, it'll help you follow the discussion better, too.

The adults start out by making sure they're all on the same page about the Fuyuki Grail and the recurring battles that surround it. Akkiko appears to know the least, but Lu-sensei's information isn't much better. The Shuzens know more, if only on account of regional proximity to the Grail Wars, but even their information is curtailed in some respects. They are vampires, after all, and the Grail War is not only the result of the work of human magic-users, but it also overseen by the Roman Catholic Church. Neither group is on friendly terms with vampires of any sort, let alone a family as powerful as the Shuzens.

As a result, it's Ambrose who has the most complete information about the Grail Wars - and even HERE, there are gaps, as he admits he only became aware of the ritual due to some of the long-term fallout of the Third Holy Grail War. It was never more than a passing fancy, and between that, the time that has passed since the First War, and the secrecy surrounding the event, Ambrose isn't privy to the motives of the founders, much less the methods they used.

Seeing as how this line of inquiry is causing Akasha some distress, you obligingly let it drop, and signal for Briar and Lu-sensei to do likewise.

"They were trying to reach Akasha," you note offhandedly, as you will words to form on the page before you.

"...should I be flattered, or worried?" the lady in question says.

"Huh?" You look up from your work, and find the adults looking at you again - except for Ambrose, who is bent over in his seat, sniggering quietly. "Oh! Uh, not YOU, Miss Akasha. It's the name Archer gave me for something called the Origin, or the Root of the World. One of those 'source of ultimate knowledge and power' deals."

"You might also be familiar with the term 'the Akashic Record,'" Ambrose manages to get out. "The ethereal, eternal record of all things that exist in the present, have existed in the past, or will exist in the future."

Akasha makes a silent "Ooooh," of comprehension.

Gyokuro frowns. "I thought that was just something from silly New Age spiritualism."

"The Mage's Association would have a collective fit if they ever realized just how many people actually know the name, let alone what they actually think of it." Ambrose grins. "I'm rather looking forward to the day that happens, myself. But, no, the use of the name 'Akasha' as a cosmological principle goes back several thousand years. It's Sanskrit, and originally referred to open space, or the sky. It later became the name for an ethereal fluid that was imagined to pervade the entire cosmos, and it's a short step from omnipresence to omniscience, and another to omnipotence." He leans back in his chair, giving you a thoughtful look. "So that's what they were after, hm?"

"That's what Archer said. Something about calling the Servants from the Throne of Heroes, and when they return to it, using the power of the Grail to follow them."

"Clever," Ambrose admits. "Though I wonder how they planned to deal with the Counter Force...? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?" Akkiko asks.

"'Counter Force?'" Issa repeats.

"A spiritual phenomenon that acts as a kind of immune system for the planet," Ambrose replies to Issa. "It identifies threats to the world and intercedes to prevent unnatural disasters - or at least minimize the fallout. A corrupt Holy Grail reaching completion certainly qualifies as an unnatural disaster in the making to my mind, and our meeting like this is exactly the kind of thing the Counter Force would try to set up to thwart it. Minimal investment for maximum result."

Gained Spiritual Knowledge D

The wizard then turns to Akkiko. "And I said it doesn't matter, because to the best of my knowledge, nobody's ever made a wish on the Fuyuki Grail, let alone tried to reach the Root with it."

You nod in agreement. "Yeah, Archer mentioned that, too. The First War was just a failed ritual, the Second War ended with the deaths of all the participants, and the Third War couldn't be completed because the Grail was destroyed before it could properly manifest. Archer's version of the Fourth War ended with a huge fire, but that didn't happen here."

"Nor am I aware of any magi suddenly being catapulted to the status of world-shaking sorcerer five years ago," Ambrose notes. "And believe me, if it had happened, I WOULD have heard about. Magi are terrible braggarts."

For a moment, nobody in the room makes a sound.

A couple of potential responses to Ambrose's remark come to mind, but in the end, you choose to remain silent. Mostly because, based on prior experience, you're pretty sure the wizard has a zinger or two ready and waiting for whomever takes the bait he's left dangling.

Sure enough...

Ambrose looks around, frowning. "Oh, come on. I hand out a line like that, and nobody grabs it?"

Looks are exchange, but still, nobody speaks.

The old mage snorts. "You people are no fun."

He doesn't really appear disappointed, mind you. Or maybe the alcohol is helping him to cope.

"Getting back on topic," Issa says lightly, "is there any way for us to verify the accuracy of young Harris's information regarding the state of the Grail?"

"The quickest approach would be to directly examine the Grail System," Ambrose says. "However, I suspect that the only way to do that without running the risk of bringing the entire Mage's Association and possibly the Church down on our necks would be to have one of the members of the three founding families do the inspection. Those are Einzbern, Makiri, and Tohsaka, by the way."

The three vampires trade looks. "Next option," Gyokuro says.

Ambrose scratches an ear. "I suppose I could try to get in touch with Zelretch-"

"NEXT OPTION!"

You aren't the only one who raises an eyebrow at the outburst, which comes in stereo from Akasha, Gyokuro, and Issa.

Ambrose grins for a moment, before turning semi-serious again. "Getting access to records of the ambient mana levels in and around Fuyuki would be a place to start," he says. "Past, present, and future. That much would at least give us an idea of the Grail's current level of activity, and how it compares to past Grail Wars. Of course, that information is a bit hard to come by, unless you're a long-term, magically-inclined resident of Fuyuki, or have a certain level of clout with the Association or the Church."

"Do you have the necessary influence?" Akasha asks.

"Eh." Ambrose waggles one hand back and forth. "It's more like I know some people who know some people. I probably CAN get the information, but it's going to take time and some favors. More so to convince everybody involved to keep quiet about it. I can't see it taking less than six months. Maybe as much as a year."

"There's nothing faster?" Akkiko inquires.

"Unfortunately, no. The only seers I know of that might be able to pierce the Grail's protections are shady as hell, have asking prices I doubt any of us would feel comfortable paying, or else are just unavailable for the near future. Oracles are right out - I don't trust anything those meddlesome Powers have to say unless I get it in writing, in triplicate, and with signatory witnesses. Even then, I'd prefer a second opinion."

"Alright," Akasha says. "But assuming for the moment that we are able to confirm that the Fifth Grail War is coming ahead of schedule, what action can we take?"

"Preferably without alerting the magi or the priests," Gyokuro adds.

Ambrose falls silent, brow furrowed in thought.

"I have a suggestion," you announce.

"To the surprise of no one, I'm sure," Ambrose snarks.

Akasha gives him a mildly disapproving look - but it's only mild, and everyone else in the room seems to share the wizard's opinion to some extent anyway.

"Very well, lad. Let's hear it."

"We could try Divination."

Ambrose doesn't appear impressed. "You did just hear me rule out consulting the seers, right? The people who specialize in that field of magic?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't thinking about bringing in outside help," you answer. "I was suggesting we do it ourselves and see what we can find. I mean, you're doubtlessly more skilled at the school than I am-"

"Don't think flattery will make me forgive you for breaking the laws of magic, boy."

"-but I can seek divine guidance in a way you might find... awkward," you continue.

That admission draws some looks of interest.

"Point," Ambrose admits with a thoughtful expression.

"Didn't you just get through saying you don't trust the Powers?" Akasha asks.

"I did," the wizard admits. "However, young Alexander is in the interesting situation of having the attention of a divine trinity that doesn't fall under the aegis of the local celestial bureaucracy."

"How did that happen?" Gyokuro inquires.

"And how non-local are we talking, here?" Issa asks mildly.

You abruptly recall Kahlua's description of her parents' attitudes towards beings from other worlds. The phrase 'crushed without mercy' has a way of lingering in memory.

...maybe you shouldn't have mentioned the Goddesses?

"They're the goddesses Briar and her mother are associated with," you explain. "If a Great Fairy of a... reasonably benevolent nature approves of them, that's good enough for me. I certainly wasn't going to start calling on the kind of Powers that typically look to sponsor sorcerers in Sunnydale."

It's not the whole truth, and it's significantly less of the truth than you told Ambrose. In your defense, the wizard doesn't have a known standing policy of significant unfriendliness towards beings of extra-dimensional and/or extra-planetary origins.

"Still sore about Mom making you run the gauntlet, huh?" Briar notes.

"Can you blame me?"

"Not in the least. You might want to be careful about how you talk about her, though. You know, just in case she's listening."

"We're in a warded castle in a separate demiplane!"

"Yeah, so?"

...she has a point there.

The Shuzens, meanwhile, appear to be considering what you said.

"While I'm glad to hear you aren't involved with the usual sort of worship found on the Hellmouth, Alex," Akasha says, "I'm not sure what to make of you being associated with... fey deities? I wasn't even aware that was possible, to be honest. Unless you're referring to one of the Lords of the Courts?"

Um, what? There appears to be a misunderstanding here, and you probably should clear it up, before it sets in or Ambrose attempts to be helpful - he's busy looking amused by Akasha's error right now, but give him a minute to get over it, and he'll likely speak, if only to stir the pot.

"Uh, no, Miss Akasha," you say slowly. "The Goddesses aren't fae." You pause. "Although now that I think about it, there ARE an awful lot of pointy-eared people on Hyrule..."

Briar snorts. "Trust me, Alex, the ears alone don't make someone fae."

"Not even with all the magic?"

"Not even then." Briar hesitates. "Okay, yeah, I'll grant you there are some similarities. Especially with Farore being the Goddess of the Forest and all - the deeper parts of the Lost Woods are as close to Faerie as any mortal world gets, especially with the whole, 'eerie but mostly safe by day, chattering Stalchildren lurching around at night' dichotomy - but Hyrule is still a mortal world."

"Excuse me," Akasha interrupts, "but... 'Hyrule?'"

"And 'Farore?'" Gyokuro adds.

You and Briar trade looks.

"Do you want to...?" the fairy asks.

"Might as well," you say, setting your papers aside and facing the adults.

Gained Farore's Favor D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

You proceed to tell the Hyrule Creation Myth, as you did for Ambrose-

"What, no magical lightshow?" the wizard inquires.

You frown at him. "It's been a long day, Ambrose. I'm trying to conserve power."

That, and you haven't forgotten the unintended appearance of the Triforce at the end of the illusionary display you wove for him back in Sunnydale. You'd prefer to avoid that happening again.

"Ah, well then. Allow me."

...what.

"I believe it went like so..."

And with a brief bob-and-glow from the head of his staff, the shadows in the room grow longer, leaving the chamber dark, even as everyone in it remains perfectly visible to one another.

"Ambrose," Akasha asks levelly, "what are you doing?"

"Shhh," the wizard shushes her. "It's story time." He turns to you. "Go on, lad."

Oh, for the love of-

For the sake of preventing the old meddler from being any more 'helpful' than he already has, you get on with the tale. Ambrose seems to have a solid memory, because he recreates the images you used more or less perfectly, timing the appearances of the lights of the three Goddesses, the creation of the aspects of the land of Hyrule, and the departure of the deities to your words without incident.

You watch the final part of the playback with a sense of resignation, fully expecting to see the Triforce symbol flare in the darkness.

You get a reprieve. When the soaring figures of the Golden Goddesses come together to leave the newly-created world, there IS a flash of golden light, but no Triforce symbol appears. Whether that means Ambrose didn't see it the first time, forgot about it, didn't think it was important, or is keeping it under wraps for some reason... well, who knows? Certainly not you.

"Nice story," Akkiko says, as the lights come back up. "I especially like the part where it's three women who create the world, with not a man in sight. Feels very true to life."

Gyokuro looks like she might be tempted to laugh at that remark, if Akkiko wasn't the one making it.

"Be nice, Akkiko," Akasha chides, even though she, too, is smiling.

"So, they're not fae," Issa says, ignoring the comments of the ladies with a practiced smoothness. "Instead, they're a trinity of creator deities. That's simultaneously reassuring, impressive, and unsettling. And you say you can consult with them, Alexander?"

"I can," you say simply, deciding to omit the technical details.

Once again, the Shuzens trade speaking looks.

"It's an opportunity," Gyokuro says.

"It's also a risk," Issa counters.

"It would be interesting to have a god's advice backing us up for once," Akasha notes, with a bemused expression.

The other two vampires regard her for a moment. Then Gyokuro laughs, once.

"It would, wouldn't it?"

The matter apparently decided, they turn back to you, and Akasha asks, "Would it be possible for you to... consult with these goddesses before you leave, Alex?"

Yeah, there's really no point in trying to reassure Issa. The Golden Goddesses are capable of creating worlds. It's only a good idea to treat them with a certain amount of respectful caution.

"It would," you reply slowly, "although I think I'll need some time to prepare and some assistance."

"What sort of assistance?"

You pause, considering how to put this.

"I can call on the Goddesses pretty quickly when I'm asking for myself," you say. "There's a pre-established connection there, and they don't appear to take offense. However, in a situation like this, where I'm not just contacting them for myself, I think they might appreciate a little more..."

"Opportunity to show off?" Ambrose guesses.

You frown at him. "I was going to say 'formality.'"

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to," the wizard responds with a shrug, and another quaff of the jug.

Akkiko reaches out and slaps him across the back of the head, leaving Ambrose coughing, sputtering, and with a booze-soaked beard.

"What the hell, woman?"

"Boyo's offering to call up some divine heavyweights to lend us a hand," Akkiko retorts. "The least you can do is TRY not to piss them off before he even gets started."

Ambrose glowers at her, but - tellingly - doesn't attempt to defend his actions.

"By formality, I'm assuming you mean a ritual offering of some kind, Alex?" Akasha inquires.

You nod. "The spell I have in mind technically only requires me to meditate for about ten minutes, while burning incense, sprinkling certain amounts of holy water-"

The vampires pull faces at that.

"-and being in a relatively undisturbed natural area," you continue. "After that, I'd be allowed to ask questions - no more than ten at the very most, and they'd have to be asked quickly, as the spell only lasts about a minute. The answers wouldn't be terribly detailed, either. Usually just one word, or a short sentence. That said, if Ambrose is willing to help, I think I can build on the basic ritual in a way that would increase the odds of the Goddesses offering us more time, more details, or more questions. But for that to work, they would expect some kind of offering."

"What sort of offerings, exactly?" Gyokuro asks.

"I was thinking Mrs. Arisawa could find a place outside the demiplane that would be suitable for me to construct and consecrate a temporary shrine," you say. "As for yourselves, Mrs. Shuzen..."

"Covering the cost of the ritual reagents ought to do for a start," you say. "I'll work with Ambrose to keep that cost down. I would recommend extra offerings in line with the Goddesses' domains, though."

"And those would be?"

You take a couple minutes to go over the portfolios of the three sisters. Din's role as the Goddess of Power seems to strike a chord with the Shuzens, while Nayru's affinity for Water has precisely the opposite effect. Farore seems to end up somewhere in the middle.

"Does the cost of the offerings matter?" Gyokuro asks.

"The material value and the personal value of the offerings can have an impact on the spell, but at the same time, you can't BUY divine favor."

"Not unless you're dealing with a kami of wealth or business," Akkiko adds.

She may have a point there.

"And even then, it's got to be done carefully," she goes on. "Offer too much, relative to your actual faith and whatever blessing you're asking for, and the kami may decide you don't trust him to uphold his end of the deal without the added incentive. Which tends to tick them off. Offer too little, though, and you're either a cheapskate or a poor businessman - either way, someone who isn't worth dealing with."

"It's really up to you to decide what you're comfortable with," you say.

"Something to think on tonight, then," Issa says.

"Speaking of which," Akasha continues, "it's getting late. Unless we need to do this tonight...?" She pauses and looks at you and Briar.

You shake your head. You COULD do the ritual tonight, but there's nothing saying you absolutely HAVE to.

"...then perhaps we should put our planning on hold until tomorrow, and try to rest up? Some of us could use our sleep."

You're about a thousand percent certain that Akasha is referring to you with that line. She's got that "momma bear with a kid up past his bedtime in view" air about her.

It's only... okay, it's past nine-thirty, and if you're going to get up to speak with Akasha before breakfast, you probably should be hitting the sack soonest.

"Or a chance to dry out," Akkiko notes, with a glance at Ambrose.

"Yes, that too," Lady Bloodriver admits.

You look around. Nobody seems to particularly object to Akasha's suggestion.

One thing should be settled before you call it a night, though: when are you going to attempt to contact the Goddesses?

You figure mid-morning is a good time to do the ritual: it'll provide everyone the time they need to finish waking up, without leaving the ritual hanging over your heads the entire morning; it won't get in the way of the meetings you already had scheduled; and it'll leave the adults plenty of time to discuss what the Goddesses have to say, and how that information might affect any plans they care to make, before half the participants of this little apocalypse prevention group are due to depart.

Your suggested time slot for the ritual meets with no particular objections.

Your subsequent request to stay up long enough to finish writing down Archer's information runs into Akasha's disapproval, but there's enough support from the other adults to earn you a half-hour grace period.

With all of that settled, the group begins breaking up. Gyokuro and Issa are the first to depart, mostly because Ambrose has Akkiko's magic jug of booze and seems reluctant to give it up, while the Arisawa matriarch appears equally reluctant to just take the drink away from someone who's so obviously enjoying its company. In the end, Akkiko proposes that they go find Lucia and see if she's interested in joining them for a round. Ambrose considers it a capital notion, and the two of them leave the room arm-in-arm.

Lu-sensei spares a moment to make sure you know to be in bed by ten, whether you're finished with the notes or not, before excusing himself. This leaves you with Akasha's maternally-disapproving presence for several minutes, before a servant shows up to advise her of an issue that urgently needs her presence to resolve.

Sighing, Akasha asks Briar to make sure you don't stay up too late, tells you directly that she'll be back to check on you when she can, and then departs.

Moms. Yeesh.

In any case, it's a moot point: with all the adult distractions removed, it takes you only another twenty minutes or so to finish up. You even have ten minutes left before the maternally-imposed deadline.

As you head back to your room, papers in hand, you wonder if you should ring up Miss Mio to pass them along to Akasha, or just keep them in your pocket until you get a chance to hand them over in person tomorrow morning.

With that taken care of, you hang up your housecoat, climb into bed... and pause.

You've dreamed of Dracula once before already, and even if you know now that he isn't REALLY here anymore, you're also aware that his long presence under Castle Shuzen left a shadow of sorts behind.

Are there any particular precautions you want to take to keep Dracula's lingering aura from troubling your rest again? Or would you perhaps prefer to take this opportunity to investigate the "echo" of the Dark Lord?

In light of everything else that's gone wrong today, despite the best efforts of the Shuzens and their security staff, you decide that it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. As such, you stash the notes in your dimensional pocket before calling it a night.

After all, it's only paranoia when they aren't trying to feed you to the garden statuary.

Now that you know what's up with the odd dreams and visions you've been having, you would just as soon not leave any unguarded openings into your subconscious for the lingering taint of Dracula's power to seep into. You have enough problems dealing with one impermanently dead Dark Lord's influence and a side order of general supernatural corruption to worry about; you DON'T need to provide a second party with a means to turn you into his minion and/or steal your body for himself.

Even if the idea of Dracula and Ganondorf throwing down to decide who is the bigger, badder Dark Lord IS kind of amusing, in a grimly apocalyptic sort of way, it's the kind of grudge match you'd prefer to read about in a history book, or observe from at least a world away - not have going on in your own soul.

With that concern in mind, you spare a couple of minutes to ritually-cast a Spell of Abjuration. It's more or less a Spell of Protection From Evil, but modified to focus on warding off psychic and spiritual influences rather than tangible physical ones. And of course, the duration is enhanced significantly to make sure it lasts all night. This has the unfortunate side-effect of pushing the spell's mana consumption just beyond the bounds of what you're able to conceal, but you give it your best effort nonetheless, hoping that the combination of your skill and the drawn-out casting method will keep the "noise" of the spell down.

Then you wait up for a few minutes.

When nobody comes knocking, you decide that either Gyokuro didn't sense your spellwork this time, or she's given up on getting you to stop.

Gained Mana Concealment C (Plus) (Plus)

With that done, you bid Briar good-night, lie back, and settle into the meditation-like state that you use when you intend to dreamwalk.

Your dreams that night are not entirely untroubled by the image of the evening desert and the looming, twisted shadow on the horizon, but an image is all it is - the sense of menace you picked up before is entirely absent, and when you turn your back on the representation of Dracula's lingering taint, it vanishes from your dreamscape. This tells you that, rather than the actual spiritual echo of the Dark Lord making itself known once again, you were just having an ordinary, honest dream, born out of the day's memories and the emotions attached to them.

That settled, you pass a few hours poking around your private playground, checking on the defenses, your recovering mana, ki, and associated energies, and in general just making sure that everything is as it should be. Eventually, you let the dreamwalk end and slip into the darkness of true sleep.

The next time you open your eyes, it's morning. A quick check of the clock puts the time at half past six, and your internal reserves back at full strength. Your Spell of Protection is still active, and from the look of things, has a couple more hours of useful activity left in it.

You wonder what, if anything, you should do about the spell.

Getting up, you find that Briar is still asleep. Leaving her for the time being, you visit the bathroom and begin making yourself ready to face the day.

Assuming nothing else happened while you were asleep, the first item on your schedule for the day is breakfast, followed by a meeting with Miss Akasha.

Aside from handing over the written copy of Archer's account of the Fifth Holy Grail War, is there anything else you want to do?

You decide to end the protective spell. It's served its purpose, and there's no need to leave it lingering, to potentially offend your hosts with the implication that you don't entirely trust them to keep you safe while you're here.

No matter HOW much supporting evidence there is for that claim, some things just aren't done in polite company.

Just as you're about to drop the Spell of Protection From (Spiritual) Evil, however, you get an idea, and take a moment to bring your various enhanced senses up, one after the other. Magically, mentally, spiritually, and as a martial artist, you observe how your aura interacts with the youki-charged atmosphere of the Shuzens' home while under the protective buffer of the spell. And then, once you've got the details firmly in mind, you give the Abjuration spell a mental nudge, deactivating it and letting the energies that permeate the castle flow in unhindered, so you can observe all over again.

Magically, you don't sense any difference at all - at least not after you've taken the mana signature of an active spell into account when comparing your before-and-after mental snapshots - and you quickly drop those sensory skills.

Your psychic awareness tells you that the atmosphere of the demiplane is noticeably spookier without the spell up to take the edge off. The difference, however, is small enough that you wouldn't even notice it under normal circumstances; it's only because you're going to this extra effort and actually LOOKING for this sort of detail that it's registered now. You don't perceive any meaningful influence on your mind at all, beyond the slightly heightened caution that comes with that subtly stronger sense of eeriness.

Gained Mental Sense D (Plus)
Gained Mental Sight E (Plus)

Spiritually, things are more interesting. You can sense the residual vampiric energies that have built up in Castle Shuzen over the decades since its construction, and while there is - so far as you can determine - no way to confirm how much of that power originated with the castle's masters, and how much from its former prisoner, the very fact that it still carries a distinctly vampiric edge rather than a more... "generic" monstrous feel is telling.

As for how it interacts with your own aura, at first blush, you don't feel any different. When you look closely at the outermost edge of your personal sphere of existence, however, you see something. Your aura control, while excellent for your age and training, is hardly perfect, and there are very faint wisps of your fundamental essence escaping your being at all times. As these vapor-like streamers of spiritual energy slip beyond the threshold of your control, they should gradually diffuse into the environment until they become completely indisinguishable.

That process IS happening, but only up to a certain point. When the spiritual threads hit that point, instead of continuing to steadily fade, they're immediately absorbed by the ambient vampiric youki - almost like it's EATING them.

It's really kind of creepy.

Gained Spiritual Sight C (Plus)

Switching over to your ki senses, you see the same phenomenon, though with greater breadth and more detail. Interestingly enough, from what you can tell, the physical elements of your ki are far less affected by exposure to vampiric youki than the spiritual ones. Mental energy appears to fall somewhere in between the two, but you could be misreading that: your ki sight isn't optimized for examining one of its three component eleements; and your purely mental senses aren't advanced enough to make up the difference.

Still, it's informative.

And also creepy.

You thought that before, but you feel it bears repeating.

You shower and dress quickly, going for a semi-formal look: dress shirt rather than t-shirt or sweatshirt; pants rather than jeans or shorts; that sort of thing. As you do so, you consider running a magical scan of Briar's dollhouse, but since you were planning on asking Akasha for permission to do that anyway, you let the idea slide for now.

Briar is already awake and going through her own morning preparations, and once she's finished, the two of you head down to breakfast.

The meal passes quickly enough. All the residents and the remaining guests are present for once, even Sokka and Katara's parents, and nobody who was present at last night's emergency apocalypse meeting appears too sleep-deprived or hungover as a result of it.

Kahlua inquires if you had plans for after breakfast, to which you reply you were planning to talk to Miss Akasha and then Ambrose about various matters, which will probably keep you busy for most of the morning. She's a bit disappointed by this, and Sokka gives you a look that says, 'Why are you leaving ME with all the girls?' but you manfully resist Kahlua's overly-done sad eyes and Sokka's unspoken desperate terror manly plea for help dismay, and stick to your plans.

Following breakfast, Miss Hayashi takes charge of the other kids, while Akasha leads you and Briar to yet another sitting room. This one has a window, offering a certain amount of light and letting the room breathe more than the one you were in last night.

"So, Alex," Akasha says after you're all seated. "What would you like to discuss?"

"Before anything else," you say, as you pull the papers from you dimensional pocket, "I thought I should hand these over."

Akasha accepts the sheets, and quickly leafs through them. "This is everything that the Heroic Spirit you call 'Archer' told you?"

"In order, and with notes about what I was able to find out on my own," you answer with a nod. "It... gets a little confusing when you get to the part where he's talking about multiple timelines. I thought about trying to re-arrange it to be easier to follow, but I was worried I might have left something important out."

"I see. Well, thank you very much for this, Alex."

So saying, Akasha sets the notes to one side on a handy end table.

"You're welcome, ma'am. Now, as to what I was hoping to talk about, before this, uh, 'Dracula business' came up... when we were talking at the party yesterday, you mentioned that there was a potential major apocalypse coming up in Europe this August. I was hoping to get more details about that. What, when, where, that kind of thing."

Akasha's expression turns guarded. "Why do you want to know about that Alex?"

You've been pretty open with others about your plan to to form a proper familiar bond with Briar. You see no reason to deceive Akasha about it, and so, you don't.

"I've been planning to perform a familiar binding ritual with Briar for a while now, and the solar eclipse that's coming up for Europe this August would be a really good mystical event to tie into the ritual. I was hoping to make use of it, but..."

"...but then I mentioned that there was an apocalypse brewing in Europe this summer," Akasha finishes for you.

You nod. "It seemed like it'd be a good idea to get more specifics, so that I didn't walk into anything."

The vampire matron's previous wariness has been replaced by approval. "That is a sensible course of action, Alex." Then she sighs. "As it happens, though, I think I might still have to discourage you from the idea."

You blink at that.

Briar sucks air through her teeth. "It's that bad?"

"It could be," Akasha admits. "You mentioned, ah, 'Dracula business' earlier, Alex..."

You can't help it. You groan. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Akasha manages a small smile, even as she shakes her head.

The Dark Lady explains that there's a major prophecy - attributed to Nostradamus, no less - foretelling Dracula's revival this year. The Shuzens have been getting ready for it for centuries, and while there was some hope that the paradox-induced destruction of the Dark Lord's previous body five years ago might have invalidated the prophecy, all the signs and portents have shown that the event is still on track. The total solar eclipse is part of it, and will apparently reach its maximum somewhere over the nation of Romania.

Night overtaking the day on that scale, in that part of the world, couldn't help but be a source of power for the avowed Prince of Darkness, let alone when it's happening almost LITERALLY in his backyard.

You honestly aren't sure how to take this news.

On the one hand, you've been building up to the familiar ritual for months, now. You CHOSE the eclipse as the date to work this act of magic, and that choice has some mystical significance. Not a huge amount, certainly nowhere near enough to carry significant consequences if you decide to back out and try to perform the ritual at a later date - it's not like you swore an oath or accepted a geas to do the ritual on that particular day - but just because they won't be immense doesn't mean there won't be any consequences at all for not standing by your decision.

On the other hand, who's to say those consequences would be entirely bad? From the sound of things, this particular eclipse is going to have a sympathetic link to the darkest of the Dark Lords currently kicking around the planet. Even if your intended destination in southern Wales is... well, however many hundreds of miles away from wherever Dracula is supposed to pop up, certainly far enough to dull that connection, it's STILL not the kind of affinity for Darkness you were hoping to add to the ritual!

Does this new information change your plans?

When in doubt, turn to the fairy.

"Tell me what you think of this idea, Briar," you say as an opener.

"Okay..."

"We stick with performing the ritual, as planned. We use the eclipse to stand in for a Time reagent, get other reagents to represent Darkness and Shadow, and as a precaution, we ring the whole area with a powered-up Magic Circle Against Evil, to keep out the Dracula-related influence."

Briar bows her head in thought.

You remain silent, letting her take her time.

When Akasha looks like she's going to say something, you gesture quickly - albeit as politely as you can manage - for her not to interrupt the fairy.

Looking bemused, the Dark Lady heeds your, ah, "request."

Finally, Briar speaks. "As long as you agree to make that circle as powerful as you can, and to cleanse and purify the heck out of the ritual area beforehand, I think that should be good."

You have absolutely no objections to those requests.

Looks like the familiar ritual is still on!

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Briar," Akasha says then.

...or it will be, if you can convince Akasha not to make a fuss.

"I don't mean to cast aspersions on your skills, Alex, and I know this is a personal, somewhat private matter between the two of you, but it would be irresponsible of me - as your host, as a parent, and as a Dark Lord - not to speak against this plan of yours." Akasha is very serious as she speaks. "You simply shouldn't be mixed up with anything involving Dracula, even something at removes, like the upcoming eclipse. If your heart is set on using AN eclipse for your ritual, there will be others in the future. Can I convince you to use one of them, instead?"

You try to think of a way to express yourself that will convince Akasha to let this matter go.

"Honestly, ma'am, letting this Hellmouth bond stay intact for too long is probably just as risky for me as performing a ritual that uses a reagent with a tentative connection to Dracula." You sigh. "Besides, living where I do? It's unlikely to be the worst corruptive influence I've ever had to deal with."

Akasha winces at that.

"On top of that," you continue, "Briar and I have been planning on using the eclipse as part of the familiar ritual long enough that backing out on it now would have effects on any future attempt to perform the ritual. It could end up weakening any bond we tried to form." Not hugely, probably not even significantly, but you leave that part out, hoping that Akasha's knowledge of magic is vague enough that she won't realize you're being a little conservative with the truth.

From the lack of interruption on her part, you think you're doing okay.

"Now, if Briar and I do our ritual before his, using an aspect of the eclipse that isn't directly tied up in Dracula's power, while a huge distance away from wherever he's supposed to be, and with several protections up, we should be safe. In fact, I could make the ritual area another temporary shrine to the Goddesses, like I'm planning on doing here, and pray to them for some added protection while Briar and I bond. Their direct assistance would probably beat everything else combined."

Gained Japanese D++
Gained King of Women B
Gained Young King C+++

"...I hadn't considered that you might be able to invoke divine support for this," Akasha admits, looking thoughtful. She actually worries her lower lip with her teeth for a moment. "I suppose... that probably would be enough. I still don't LIKE the idea," she adds, "but if you're both set on this...?"

"I know I am," you answer, with a glance at Briar.

"I'm with him," she replies.

Akasha sighs. "Very well, then. Just... be careful."

You will.

"Maybe we should mention this to Ambrose," you muse, as an idea suddenly hits you.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Well, it occurs to me that dozens or even hundreds of people are probably going to be doing rituals of their own during the eclipse," you explain. "If Dracula-related corruption is a risk worth all these precautions for the two of us, it could be bad if all those other people don't know about it and aren't taking precautions. Ambrose could help get the word out, and maybe do something to stop it from being an issue."

"You can certainly mention it to him if you like," Akasha says, "but I expect most practitioners with the ability to perform rituals on that level are old enough to know the risks, and to make their own decisions. You're... exceptional, in quite a lot of ways. Not all of them good," she adds.

You're not entirely sure how to take that.

Thinking on it, you feel an odd sort of pride at Akasha's remark. Being exceptional may not always be a good thing, but it beats the alternative. If nothing else, it keeps life interesting.

You don't say this aloud, however.

You briefly consider pressing the point about making sure that knowledge of the prophecy regarding Dracula's rebirth is well-known. After all, you're in a house of vampires, who until fairly recently had the Dark Lord's mostly-dead body locked up in their basement; it's entirely possible - and even pretty likely - that a less personally-involved group of people might not be as up-to-date on Dracula-related matters as the Shuzens are.

In the end, you decide not to bring this up, either. At least, not right now.

"Right, then," you say. "Um... do you mind if we move on from that topic?"

"No, not at all."

"Okay. So, one of the other things I was hoping to ask you about, is... well, I met a young lady named Amelia Reinhart at the party yesterday."

Akasha winces.

"...I see you recognize the name," you say politely.

"Yes, I do. By any chance, was Moka present at the time?"

"She was off extending an invitation to dance with Kokoa on my behalf when Amelia and I were introducing ourselves, but the girls showed up partway through our discussion."

"And Moka and Amelia proceeded to get along about as well as oil and water," Akasha concludes with a sigh.

"More or less," you admit. "I asked Amelia about it, but she said it was family history that she preferred not to talk about. She also suggested that I ask you for details, when Issa and Moka weren't around."

"Yes, that wouldn't have gone over terribly well," the Dark Lady says, more to herself than to you. You're half-expecting her to do as Amelia did and label this a private affair, but she keeps talking. "It's not particularly complicated. Amelia's grandfather and I have been acquainted since we were children. There was a time when I wouldn't have minded marrying him, if he'd asked. But he never did, and we fell out of touch for a very long time. By the time we met again, I'd already fallen in love with Issa and had Moka - and Adrian, of course, was long since married, and a father and grandfather besides. That should have been the end of it, but there were... extenuating circumstances."

Akasha pauses in her explanation, apparently lost in memory - not entirely happy ones, to judge by the way her expression shifts.

As this topic appears to be something of a sensitive one for Akasha, you hold your tongue and wait for her to continue - which, after shaking her head, she does.

"Without getting into the details," Akasha tells you, "Adrian doesn't get along well with most vampires. I know his reasons and I understand and accept them, but very few others outside his immediate family ever have. That includes the Shuzens, which has led to quite a lot of hard feelings on both sides over the years. Under normal circumstances, Issa never would allow Adrian to set foot on the grounds without a fight, but he's willing to make an exception for me. Sometimes."

She doesn't say anything else, and you get the feeling she's not inclined to.

There's only one other thing you really wanted to speak with Akasha about, and that's the dollhouse-turned-fairy residence. You were hoping to get permission to magically copy the structure so that you could go about reproducing it at home.

Akasha surprises you by saying you can take the house with you when you leave.

"We were always planning on making it a gift to you," she says. "Although it's really just as much of one for Kokoa - she'll be positively over the moon if she knows a real live fairy is living in a house that it was HER idea to have built."

Briar's delighted squeal and mid-air dance says she's at least as happy about this as the littlest vampire would be.

Gained Fairy House

Akasha's apparent reluctance to speak further on this matter is neither a great surprise nor a great disappointment to you. Considering that Amelia described this entire topic as "family business" yesterday, you were prepared for Akasha to demurr in a similar manner, and not say anything at all. That she's told you as much as she has is an unexpected windfall. Why get greedy and risk offending your hostess when she's been so generous already?

Besides, your curiosity in this matter has largely been appeased. Akasha's husband doesn't get along with her male childhood friend-slash-potential love interest, and vice versa. You've seen similar plot threads on TV and in movies often enough to grasp the problem. Hopefully, this story is more of a romantic comedy or drama with a happy ending, rather than one of the tearjerkers.

Then again, they are monsters - and vampires, at that. Unless modern media has completely lied to you - and from what you've seen in person over the last few days, you don't think it has - drama is kind of a given. As are violence and horror, at least by human standards.

A few possible questions you could ask to extend this conversation come to mind, but none of them strike you as really urgent enough to bring up. Idle curiosities, at best. And you really should be getting on to your appointment with Ambrose.

As such, you spend a few minutes making polite chit-chat with Akasha, before thanking her for her time and excusing yourself to go hunt down the wizard.

It's easy enough; as has become your practice during your stay, you just ask the servants, and they point you in the right direction.

You have to admit, you're going to miss having all these helpful people around when you go home.

As it happens, the directions you receive from the staff lead out of the castle and off the Shuzen estate entirely. It seems that Ambrose has opted to spend the morning following Akkiko, who appears to have taken your suggestion of seeking a good site to set up a temporary shrine with complete seriousness.

You're pleased to see the Arisawa matron contributing to the planned ritual to speak with the Goddesses. You're not so happy about Ambrose's choice to go with her. On the one hand, it DOES make sense for the wizard to tag along and get the mystical lay of the land; it'll help him figure out how he can best contribute to the ritual. On the other hand, Ambrose has a meeting scheduled, and it's more than a little inconsiderate of him to absent himself like this.

And on the other, other hand, it's Ambrose. What were you expecting?

It took a car moving as fast as it would in a residential area about ten minutes to cross the grounds. That's a bit too far to walk without wasting a lot of time, but you could run the distance easily enough, or fly. Or perhaps you should ask for a lift to the border?

Standing outside the gates of Castle Shuzen, back straight and head held high, you do not see the unfriendly slope before you, or the road that winds through what Sokka succinctly described as "vampire country," or even the dark sun in the blood-red sky that stretches from fake horizon to fake horizon.

No. What you see here, is an opportunity.

"Would you like me to call you a car, Mister Harris?" one of the guards manning the gatehouse asks.

"No, thank you. I could use the exercise."

Mindful of your sparring match with Moka and the fact that you'll have several other spells to cast after this, you take ten minutes to "warm up" before your run, ritually casting three spells as you do so.

The first is one of Augmentation and is based upon the simple Spell of Jumping, which at your current level of skill, almost lets you get airborne as long as you combine it with a good running start. The only improvement you make to it is one of duration, which gets you an hour and a half of use out of the spell. With a little luck, you shouldn't need to re-cast it.

Next is a Transformation magic, the Spell of Ape Walking, which lets you climb most surfaces as quickly as you could walk or run across a similar distance. You make no changes to that one, and while you try to conceal its signature, you suspect you aren't entirely successful at the act. Still, the practice is good for you.

Thirdly, you call upon the element of Wind and cast a Spell of Flight, extended to match the first two spells. This one, you fail to conceal at all - fourth-circle magic is just too strong for you to hide right now.

Casting complete, you cycle your ki, enhancing your body while channeling a certain extra amount to your feet to activate your Ki Step skill.

Gained Ki Enhancement C++
Gained Ki Step F+++

Your preparations made, you glance around with Mage Sight, but fails to spot any traces of Akkiko and Ambrose's passage. Given that it takes the use of a seventh-circle or greater spell to leave a magical signature that lasts longer than a few minutes, you're not very surprised.

Turning to the guards, you ask, "Did you happen to see which way Ambrose and Mrs. Arisawa went when they left?"

"It was pretty hard to miss," the guard answers. "The lady came out here looking like a full-blown priestess, following this ball of light around the castle. Then it turned and shot over the edge of the cliff, in that direction" - he gestures, off away from the road - "and she went right over the side after it, fancy dress and all. The wizard flew after her."

You nod. "Thank you."

Stepping forward, you go from a walk to a jog to a run in the space of a few strides-

"Hey, kid, wait-!"

-before jumping over the concrete barrier that rings the little plateau upon which the castle stands.

The slope is fairly steep - at a guess, you'd venture it had an elevation of fifty degrees off from the ground - and even if it was a gentler incline, your showy little flip over the barricade has given you enough momentum that you doubt you'd be able to stop yourself from tumbling down. Fortunately, the magic in your hands and the ki passing from your feet and through your shoes - or attempting to, at least - are up to the challenge, and so instead of rolling down the side of the hill, you slide, scramble, take a few actual steps, and generally control your descent.

You spare a moment to cast a glance back up. Sure enough, the helpful guard is leaning over the edge, looking down at you. His face shifts from alarmed to annoyed to resigned before he shakes his head once and disappears back beyond the rim.

As you near the bottom of the hill, you kick off against the slope, launching yourself towards a tree, which you grasp and spin yourself halfway around before letting go and dropping neatly to the ground. Then you're off at a run, heading in the direction the guard indicated. For the next few minutes, you're moving through the trees like a hyperactive monkey, jumping over what you can and climbing over or through what you must in a fair display of supernaturally-enhanced amateur parkour.

Gained Parkour F

You were planning to use your Body Flicker to shave some time off this cross-country endeavor, but the forested area is too dense for that to be safe - you'd slam into a tree before you'd taken more than two superspeed steps. Fortunately, this grove isn't too large; you can see a cleared area just up ahead which you ought to be able to take at a-

There is a sudden snarl, and something leaps at you from a deep patch of leafy shadow just ahead, about two feet above you and as many to your right.

Your heightened senses and watchful nature have bought you enough time to act before the incoming creature - catlike, with red eyes, and a set of large and very sharp-looking claws that lead its leaping charge - collides with you.

You don't have time for this.

Channeling more ki, you kick off from the ground at Body Flicker speeds, launching yourself more or less straight up as you aim for a relatively open spot in the canopy. Between your natural physical prowess, your twice-over ki boost, your Spell of Jumping, and your built-up momentum, you take off like a pint-sized rocket.

Gained Agility D

A few outlying leaves and branch-tips ripped away from their parent trees by your passage as you ascend, in the blink of an eye, to a height of some twenty feet. You don't QUITE clear the entire canopy, but that's fine; you have a Spell of Flight, after all.

Gained Flight (Magical) D

From below, you hear a feline yowl of surprise. Looking down, you find your would-be attacker has - with traditional cat-like reflexes - managed to avoid executing a faceplant or anything so graceless. Instead, it's standing where you were, looking around wildly with its ears and the fur along its back standing up, alarmed and confounded by your sudden disappearance.

Then - perhaps alerted by the rustle of the foliage disturbed by your passage - the cat looks up at you.

It blinks.

It STARES.

It MAY even go so far as to let its jaw drop. Or maybe it's just showing its fangs?

And then again, from the way it subsequently shrinks back and lets out a plaintive, harmless, "Nyan," maybe not.

"Yeah, nice try, Felix," Briar mutters from your shoulder. "We're not dumb enough to buy that act, right, Alex?"

"...no. Absolutely not."

"You hesitated," Briar notes at once.

"...that means nothing," you reply.

"You did it again."

"Anyway," you say, making an effort to ignore your suspicious fairy partner and the cat-creature - which has flopped down on its right side and sort of half-rolled and twisted itself around so that it's laying on its back with its paws in the air, belly exposed, and purring-!

...where were you, again? Oh, right.

"Time to move on," you say, turning your back and putting fiendishly adorable felines out of your mind as you fly on in pursuit of Akkiko and Ambrose.

"Humans and cats, I swear," Briar mutters to herself.

Once you're clear of the trees - and allowing for a generous distance in case there are any more ambush predators lurking therein - you descend and resume your landbound approach. You're actually faster on foot - at least once you account for the Body Flicker - than you are with a standard flight spell.

Gained Body Flicker B

Taking a hint from your brief run-in with the cat, the next time you come across a patch of trees, you detour over them rather than cutting through. Whatever time this costs you is easily made up for by your Body Flicker-bursts across open ground, and your parkouring through the rougher, less level areas.

Gained Ki Step E
Gained Parkour F+

After another five minutes, you pick up a fading aura of elemental magic, and adjust your course to follow it. Perhaps two minutes after that, the world around you shifts: the bloody sky turns blue; the dark clouds become white and fluffy; the sun is once again a source of radiance and warmth rather than a spot of blackness; and the terrain is gentler and less wild than it was just a few strides ago. Most tellingly is the sudden change in the atmosphere, the complete lack of that faint sense of danger that's been hanging over you since you first crossed into the Shuzen estate.

You have to take a moment to stop and adjust.

A few minutes of freerunning later, you finally catch sight of your targets. As the guard said, Akkiko is dressed in a surprisingly formal outfit similar to what you saw the Hakuba priests wearing a few days ago, with strings of heavy beads about her neck and wrists and one of those paper-trailing sticks in one hand. She's standing in a small grove of perhaps a dozen trees, which collectively form a loose circle about her. There are several large stones emerging from the earth at seemingly irregular points in and around the grove, and a small stream runs through it, feeding a pool of water which is... not quite at the center, but fairly close. Akkiko also has her Six Demon Bag out and on the ground, the mouth wide open to allow the contents to exit - the "demons" are drifting about the area, radiating some pretty powerful elemental magic.

At a guess, they're performing a ritual, but you have no idea what the purpose is.

Seated on a fallen tree at a safe distance from the aura of power radiating from the Arisawa matron and her familiars is Ambrose, who is observing the process with an air of casual curiosity. He looks up at your approach, blinks once, and then waves you over to him, making signs for you to keep quiet and not disturb the lady working what seems to be seventh-circle magic.

"I wasn't expecting to see you out here quite this soon, lad," the wizard says quietly. "Let alone just you and the little lady. Did you miss me that much?"

You ignore that remark as you decide what to say first.

You proceed to bring Ambrose up to speed on your discussion of "Dracula business" with Miss Akasha. While doing so, you're careful to keep Akkiko in your line of sight, Mage Sight running, as you try and puzzle out what she and her demons are doing.

Although you have no trouble carrying on a conversation while monitoring the magical ritual going on not twenty feet away, you find yourself having a hard time making sense of the magic Akkiko is weaving. It's clear to you that she's performing a Spell of Abjuration, but she's doing it by harnessing raw elemental energy and a measure of spiritual power. Of the different primal physical forces, Earth is the only one whose movements and purpose you can grasp - Akkiko's skill at manipulating the other elements is just too far ahead of yours in too many fields for what you're seeing of the interwoven threads of power to make sense. As for the spiritual side of things... well, you can SEE what she's doing clearly enough, once you bring your ethereal senses up, but you can't begin to say WHY.

Even so, it's fascinating to watch.

And informative.

Gained Mana Control B
Gained Scholar's Soul D+
Gained Spiritual Sense C++

"Akasha wasn't wrong about the magical community," Ambrose notes, bringing a bit more of your attention onto himself. "The overwhelming majority of the people who have both the ability to harness the power of a solar eclipse for their spellwork and the resources to control a proper ritual site are perfectly capable of accounting for the sort of interference a Dark Lord's resurrection would throw out, even if they didn't know about it. And I wouldn't bet against most of them knowing," he adds. "It's not exactly a state secret, you just have to know who to ask to get the details - which, again, most of them do."

He sounds truly unconcerned by this.

Bowing to the experience and wisdom of your elders, you let your concerns about eclipse-related ritual safety rest.

"So, what IS Akkiko doing?" you ask instead, while trying to refine your senses for a clearer read on the forces the woman in question is manipulating.

It doesn't help much. You keep trying, regardless.

"According to her little friends," Ambrose says with a nod towards the six demons, currently floating around their mistress like multicolored mystical electrons around an atom, "that location is the most elementally-balanced within about ten miles of Castle Shuzen. Earth, Water, and Air, of course, plus a quantity of ferromagnetic material in those rocks giving a decent potential for lightning, and thus, Fire." He raises one bony index finger. "Note the tree stumps, if you will."

You do. There are three, four- five dead trees scattered about the little grove. Two are just shattered stumps, one appears to have been split lengthwise almost down to its roots, and the last two are mouldering logs resting next to the lower... quarter or so of their trunks. None of the trees were all THAT large, but the number of them is mute testament to just how often this area has been struck by lightning.

"Akkiko communed with the spirit of the place before you arrived, explaining what we'd like to use the site for, and it asked a favor in exchange," Ambrose goes on. "In short: she cleans out the youki that's leaked out of the Shuzen estate over the centuries; and the spirit gives us its blessing to raise a shrine for an hour or so."

...huh.

Well, alright then.

"On an entirely unrelated but tangentially-connected topic," you say then, "would you happen to know of a suitable location to perform a familiar binding ritual, in the path of the upcoming solar eclipse, that isn't already spoken for?"

"I may be aware of such a location, yes," Ambrose says easily.

You wait.

The wizard doesn't say anything more, he just gives you an innocent look.

"May we know what it is?" you ask.

"...maaaaybe. What's in it for me?"

"I was thinking about calling in that favor you said you owed me," you answer. "You know, for the whole helping you get out of Hell thing?"

"Didn't I already provide you with an upgraded ritual circle?" Ambrose counters. "Two of them, in fact."

He did.

"I could argue that neither of us said anything about the favor then" - you let that opening hang for a moment, before admitting - "but you do have a point. Would an exchange of information work, instead? Or maybe services? Reasonable ones," you add, knowing better than to leave an offer like that unquantified when you're dealing with another supernatural being.

"Define 'reasonable,'" Ambrose presses, an almost fey light in his eyes.

"Something on the level of running an errand or two, maybe? It would depend on the amount of time and effort involved. Also, please keep in mind that I am only eight years old, Briar accompanies me wherever I go, and I also know the Drakes' phone number."

"So by 'reasonable,'" Ambrose says, "you basically mean, 'boringly safe and mundane?'"

You hesitate.

"I'm kind of toeing the line of being in trouble with Lu-sensei and the folks as it is," you admit. "I really don't need to add anything more to the list of things they can get upset with me over."

"My word." Ambrose gives you a disbelieving look. "Is that the voice of reason I hear?"

"More like the voice of not wanting to get grounded for life," Briar notes.

"So, pretty much the same thing," the wizard says.

"Pretty much," the fairy agrees.

There is a sudden high-level pulse of magic from Akkiko and her familiars, which forces you to squint slightly against the supernatural "glare." As it clears, the woman crouches to pick up her Six Demon Bag and begin ushering the demons in question back inside. A couple of them enter easily; others appear more reluctant.

"Hey, boyo," Akkiko greets you. "Found you a good spot to get your prayer on."

"Thank you, Miss Arisawa," you say formally, adding a bow for emphasis.

"Ah, cut that out," she returns, waving you off. "You're going to make me feel old." Akkiko pauses and shoots a hard look over her shoulder at her red-hued familiar spirit, which had drifted behind one of the trees. "I see you back there. Quit stalling and get in the bag, already."

The ball-shaped elemental spirit bobs in the air in a manner that makes you think of a despairing sigh.

The sight tweaks your curiosity.

Although you are seriously tempted to ask Akkiko just what the deal is with these "demons" of hers, you decide to leave the question for later. After all, the woman's gone to all the trouble of tracking down and cleaning up a site for you to set up a shrine to the Golden Goddesses, expending no less than a seventh-circle spell in the process. You really should treat the results of such effort with the respect and attention they're due.

"We'll talk later," you say to Ambrose.

"Of course." The wizard waves you off. "Go build your pagan shrine, already."

Already three steps away, you stop and glance back over your shoulder at the old man. You're not sure if you care for the use of that term.

Shaking it off for now, you turn your attention to the grove.

The first order of business in constructing this shrine is going to be placement. Opening your senses, you reach out and examine the flow of energies within and around the area, taking note of concentrations of the different types of power. Leaving your shoulder, Briar does likewise, flitting about from tree to rock to blasted stump, then briefly hovering over the surface of the small pool, before moving to a point near the relative center.

The locations your fairy friend has indicated are the ones that your senses tell you are where the elemental energies of this site are strongest: the tallest tree is a mix of Air and Wood; the large stone is Earth, with hints of Lightning; the stump is Fire, again touched by Lightning and Thunder; the pool is naturally Water; and the last spot is where the elements are closest to being completely balanced.

The fifth spot is arguably the "best" one, since it won't favor any element - or the Goddess affiliated with that element - over the rest. On the other hand, you DO favor Din over her sisters... and even leaving that aside, you COULD exploit one of the more unbalanced sites to increase your favor with one of the Goddesses you're not on quite as good terms with.

You slowly walk the perimeter of the grove, getting a better feel for the layout of the place, the shapes and forces within and around it, and how those energies flow through the overall "structure," such as it is.

"So, Alex," Briar asks, as she comes back to your shoulder. "How are you going to do this?"

"I'm thinking I should set up the heart of the shrine at the center of the grove," you reply. "This is my first attempt at creating an actual place of worship for the Goddesses, so it's probably for the best to keep things balanced as much as possible."

"Sounds like a good start," Briar agrees.

"As for the structure," you continue, "I was thinking three pillars at the points of an equilateral triangle: one of stone, with fire burning around the base; one of living wood, surrounded by blowing wind; and one of ice, ringed by water." You point at the boulder, the tree, and the pool in turn, indicating your intended building materials, before gesturing overhead. "Then a light roof, made from the remnants of that stump."

"Ooookaaay..." Briar drawls, as she looks between the three points. "You'd either have to bring the rock and the tree farther in from where they are to make that work, or else move the pond outwards and the rock... about a foot to the right. Either way, it'd change the balance of power here, a lot more so than just reshaping things where they stand."

You'd suspected that might be a problem.

"What if I left the tree alone and grew a plant?"

The fairy considers that. "Yeah, that'd work much better. Adding one new feature would be far less disturbing to the established energy flows than moving a few of them. Put this plant of yours-" Briar leaves your shoulder again, and flies off to a point several feet to the right of the tree "-right about here, I'd say."

Gained Knowledge (Architecture) F+

"And the roof?"

"Well, you COULD use the stump, but there's a lot of dead wood laying around that isn't as integral to the balance of this place," Briar notes, gesturing to the fallen trees. "It's a toss-up between better-quality material and better-preserved energies."

Which do you want to go with?

"Anything else aside from that?" Briar inquires.

"The usual decorations," you say. "Elemental symbols, repeating triangles, lots of spells of personal mental and inspirational enhancement to ensure I do the best possible job I can." You lower your voice before adding, "And I was thinking of putting my sword in the middle of the shrine."

"...seriously?"

"Well, it'd be appropriate, wouldn't it? One divinely-crafted blade as symbolic link to the OTHER one?"

"That's... true," Briar admits slowly. "But Alex, doesn't that strike you as a bit... immodest? I mean, the guys who built the Temple of Time KNEW they weren't the ones who were going to wield the Master Sword. But this is YOUR sword, and YOU'RE the one building this shrine."

You decide to take Briar's advice and leave the tree stump untouched. It'd make sense to use the best available materials if you were planning on making this a permanent shrine - but then again, if you WERE making a permanent shrine, you'd ALSO want to leave the local energies undisturbed as much as possible, and would probably end up hunting down something else to use as roofing material anyway.

Besides, there's also the local spirit to think about. It'd most likely be happier if you didn't muck around with the metaphysical side of its home any more than you absolutely had to.

Right, no sword, then. You take a minute to adjust your mental image of the shrine accordingly.

That done, you turn back to Ambrose and Akkiko - who have been watching you and Briar in uncharacteristic quiet - and give them an outline of what you intend to build, and how.

"That sounds like quite an ambitious project, Alex," Ambrose notes. "Are you sure you have enough mana to cover it?"

"I was planning to cast as many of the spells ritually as possible," you reply.

"Trading time for energy. I see." Ambrose considers it. "Are you sure you have enough TIME to cover that? We are on a bit of a schedule."

You ponder the wizard's words. At a quick estimate, the spells you intend to cast will take up an hour and a half, and that not including the ten minutes you'll need to properly commune with the Goddesses, or any subsequent discussion of the answers they choose to provide - or not to provide. And THEN there's the travel time back to the castle.

All told, your current plan is testing the limits of your timetable, and you may well end up running late if you stick to it.

Is that okay with you?

Ambrose has a fair point about the time constraints. And since you're as close to full magical power right now as you get, you figure you can spare a third or so of your mana as a "sacrifice" to the Golden Goddesses, especially since it won't critically impair your ability to spar with Moka, or to be prepared for any other events that crop up later today or tomorrow.

Neither the wizard nor the priestess have much else to say about your plan, so you decide to get on with it.

First, you cast a series of Spells of Augmentation, Divination, Enchantment, and Transformation, all geared towards boosting your mental and physical aptitude for the arts of construction. Once the magic has settled in, you review the image in your mind's eye a final time, looking for shortcomings of design and failings of imagination, and making corrections or improvements as needed.

"Nayru," you murmur, "guide my hand. Din, strengthen my arm. Farore... please don't let me screw up."

Then you reach out to the elements.

Chanting in time with movements that are half-dance, you call upon the Earth and Fire that are Din's, preserving the unyielding essence of stone and the flickers of lightning you can sense within the boulder, even as you alter its overall form into a tall, sturdy pillar. Whirling emblems that recall tongues of dancing flame and jagged lines that echo upthrust mountains take shape, as do the silhouetted images of a Goron and a Gerudo.

Stilling your footsteps, you turn to the pool of water and extend your hands, plucking at the air as if pulling at the strings of a harp while you call upon the Water and Ice that are Nayru's, preserving the flowing, shifting essence of the small pool, even as you call upon a portion of its substance to rise up in a waterspout as tall as the stone pillar. With a sweeping gesture that you half-fancy is accompanied by a singing fall of notes, you command the spout to freeze, its glittering white surface forming the classic shapes of waves and rain in pale blue and frosty silver, alongside stylized representations of a Zora and a Hylian lady.

Turning a third time, you raise your hands to one side of your mouth, fingers flickering through a spell as you call upon the Wind and Wood that are Farore's, preserving the purity of the air and the essence of life, even as you urge a fraction of that essence to condense, and solidify, and grow. Imagining the whistle of a flute or ocarina, you watch as slender stalks of wood rise from the soil, entwining about each other as they form a third pillar, equidistant from the first two. Across its surface - half-hidden by leaves and the warp of the bark - are symbols of the blowing wind, and rough pictures of a Kokiri and a soaring, surprisingly bright red bird.

Compared to your efforts in raising the three corners of the shrine, your telekinetic collection and elemental reshaping of the bits of lightning-blasted wood from the grove into a light roof is almost anti-climactic. Even the addition of a tesellating series of Triforce emblems only adds so much to the overhang.

Then again, you're not yet finished.

Another call to Fire, and flame that burns without consuming flickers into being around the stone pillar. A similar call to Water raises a glowing cloud-like orb about the ice pillar, and a third call to Wind sends glowing streamers of air circling the living wooden pillar.

Your next spell is one of Conjuration, and it provokes a response from Ambrose.

"Bloody hell, boy! I thought we talked about the problems with just magicking up precious metals!"

"Is that... silver?" Akkiko asks, looking at the modest pile of glittering grey powder your magic has deposited at your feet.

"Yes, it is," Ambrose says sourly. "And I, for one, would very much like to know why the hell it's here!"

"I need it as a reagent for a couple of the spells I need to finish consecrating the shrine," you answer honestly.

Ambrose is silent for a moment. "You aren't worried about the use of conjured material throwing off those spells?"

"I wouldn't want to rely on this stuff in a ritual, or for creating a permanent magic item," you admit, "but it ought to work just fine for temporary purposes."

The wizard eyes you suspiciously. After a moment, he shrugs. "Well, it's your magic, and they're your deities. Just don't complain to me if they smite you as a cheapskate."

Ambrose is just complaining for the sake of having something to gripe about. The Goddesses wouldn't blast you for using magic to get around your lack of several pounds of silver.

...well, DIN wouldn't blast you. And you're sure she'd stop her sisters from doing anything in that vein.

...pretty sure, anyway.

Feeling a touch more nervous than you were a minute ago, you ask Akkiko if you could borrow some of her sake bowls. Or more like all of them. After confirming that you ONLY need the bowls, she hands them over, allowing you to scoop about two pints' worth of water from the pool. You then perform the Ritual to Bless Water, drawing a diagram of powdered silver around the bowls, and then sprinkling handfuls of the sparkling metal in and around them. At some point, the silver discorporates in a pulse of light, leaving the bowls to glow for a moment.

"Oh, perfect," Gyokuro's voice notes sourly. "We got here JUST in time."

You look up from your work to find the three adult vampires standing about ten feet away, all of them eyeing the contents of your borrowed bowls with open wariness. Some distance behind them are two of the off-road vehicles the security people used to pick you and the other kids up from your adventure in the hills two days ago, with a quartet of guards standing ready nearby and as many more spreading out.

Oh, and Lu-sensei is with them. Giving you a meaningful look. And also holding the Enlightenment Stick in one hand, while making menacing gestures towards you with it.

Oh, boy.

"Ah, Alex?" Akasha asks then. "We aren't going to have to do anything with those bowls, are we?"

"Oh, no, Miss Akasha. Those are for another spell I'm going to cast, not for any of us." You turn back to your magic, then pause and half-turn back to the Shuzens. "Um, speaking of which, you might want to not come any closer for this next part. Or maybe back up a bit."

Akasha, Gyokuro, and Issa regard you with near-identical blank looks.

Then, moving almost as one, they back up. Several steps.

Akkiko snickers. "It really sucks to be a vampire sometimes, huh?"

By any sane estimate, Gyokuro's answering glare should set her on FIRE.

Doing your best to ignore the crowd, you use a simple cantrip to telekinetically scatter the remaining silver into another ritual diagram, one that more or less outlines the "floor" of your makeshift shrine. Then you pick up one of the bowls.

"I consecrate this shrine to Din, Goddess of Power," you say simply, as you splash the contents towards the stone pillar.

Taking up another bowl, you announce, "I consecrate this shrine to Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom," while scattering the holy water towards the pillar of ice.

Exchanging the empty bowl for another refill, you give the liquid an extra-hard toss towards the wooden pillar, while declaring, "I consecrate this shrine to Farore, Goddess of Courage."

Finally, you take up the fourth of Akkiko's donated bowls, and splash the center of the shrine. "I consecrate this shrine to the Golden Goddesses of Hyrule."

As the last drops of blessed water hit the grassy floor, you feel the mark on the back of your hand warm.

And in the same instant, the emblem of the Triforce blazes with golden light on the ground before you, as a divine chorus sings in the distance.

Gained Augmentation C++
Gained Din's Favor C++
Gained Elementalism C+
Gained Enchantment C
Gained Ice Elementalism F++
Gained Knowledge (Architecture) F++
Gained Light Affinity E+
Gained Nayru's Favor C
Gained Stoneworking F
Gained Wood Elementalism F+++
Gained Woodworking F++

As the divine light fades, you blink, suddenly feeling rather weary. Not in the physical sense, but rather, the spiritual one. You were trying to pour as much spiritual power as you could spare into your work, and by the feel of things, you're sitting at about fifty percent. You don't think you've ever spent that much of your spiritual energy before - not ANYWHERE near it, really - and the unaccustomed drain, drawn-out as it may have been, is taking a bit of a toll.

Nothing you can't deal with, of course, but something to keep in mind all the same.

While you're taking stock, you check on your other reserves. Your magic is at sixty percent almost exactly, thanks to a combination of rituals and expedient casting, while your ki is around eighty-five percent - suggesting that you've been "resting," or at least not calling upon your life-energy, for most of an hour.

Has it really been that long since you started casting?

Thinking back... it might be.

Didn't seem like it.

Well, anyway. On to business. You have your shrine, and you have your adults. Hopefully, they have the questions. All that's left is for you to perform the Ritual of Communion, and get in touch with the Goddesses. Before that, however, you turn to the adults, and ask an important question:

"Our most urgent concern at this stage is confirming whether or not the Fuyuki Grail is indeed corrupted," Issa states. "If it is not, then there's little point in proceeding further. If it IS, though, the next step would be to make sure that the source of the corruption is the same in this world as it was in the other worlds this 'Archer' spirit described - and then to see if the Fifth Grail War is going to happen in five years' time, or fifty."

"We also need to find out if there's actually a Servant hanging around in the wake of the Fourth War," Gyokuro notes. "Or more than one, for that matter."

There's an unpleasant thought. The former Servant Archer, Gilgamesh, always turned up in Archer's accounts, and there were other details - the whole Caster summoning a False Assassin thing, and then a real Assassin showing up afterwards in certain routes - showing that "extra" Servants weren't an impossibility. Let alone in this world, which according to Ambrose has had its Grail Wars running three Servants heavy since the Third War.

"Those were the critical ones," Akasha continues. "We had some trouble deciding what else we should, or even could ask. It would be nice if we could confirm just how much of Archer's account applied to our world, but we haven't been able to come up with a question - or even a series of questions - that would get us that information within the terms of your spell."

You consider that, and have to admit that it's a daunting prospect. Although the Ritual of Communion puts you in contact with your deities, there are some pretty tight constraints on what each side is allowed to say. The petitioner can only ask a certain number of questions, which usually reflects their current standing with their god or goddess. The deity in turn can only respond to those questions in the briefest and simplest terms - "yes" or "no" answers are the most common, with similar single-word replies second, and short phrases a distant third.

Working under limitations like that, and with less than two hours to go over the notes you handed to Akasha earlier, you can see why the Shuzens weren't able to come up with questions that could verify Archer's information.

As you think on it, one word occurs to you: "Routes."

Akasha blinks. "What was that, Alex?"

"When I was talking to Archer, he used the term 'routes' to describe sequences of events that played out more or less the same in multiple iterations of the Grail War," you explain. "Some of the specifics changed from world to world, depending on the choices people made, but ultimately, the majority of the Wars Archer saw followed one of half a dozen routes."

"Would your goddesses tell you if one of those routes was going to happen in our world?" Gyokuro inquires.

"They might, but I have my doubts that they'd be able to say WHICH one," you reply, after a moment's thought.

"Of course they would," Gyokuro snorts. "It would be too easy, otherwise."

"Hey," Akkiko cuts in. "Show a little respect for the divine, Gyokuro. They aren't here to solve our problems for us."

The priestess's serious tone draws a VERY odd look from the vampire. Then - somewhat surprisingly - Gyokuro nods her head in a not-quite-bow of apology.

"Sooo," Briar says, in a tone that tells you she's almost as weirded out by that little by-play as you are, "that gives us, what? Five questions? 'Is the Grail cursed?' 'Is Angra Mainyu the cause?' 'Is the Fifth Grail War going to happen within the next... ten years?' Just to be safe," she adds.

There are some murmurs of agreement.

"'Are any Servants from the Fourth War still active?'" Briar goes on. "And if so, 'What are their names?' That... should be okay to ask, right, Alex?"

"It should be. Even if there are ten Servants in each of this world's Grail Wars, the Grail still needs the energy of at least five to grant a wish. I can't see anybody willing to enter the Grail War in the first place being willing to stop fighting before that point."

There are MORE murmurs.

Well, that's five questions, half of what you can expect to ask and receive a reply to under optimal conditions.

Are there any others you want to suggest adding?

Several possible questions present themselves:

Is anyone outside of your current group aware of your plans to interfere with this War? And if so, will they try to stop you? And who are they?

Could you, perhaps, seek aid from the founding families of the Grail War? And trust them to provide that help?

Is anyone other than your group planning to interfere with the War? And if so, who are they?

...hm. That's one question too many, and that's assuming you can get your full allotment of questions asked and answered in a timely manner.

You voice your thoughts to the adults.

The first one meets with general approval. The Shuzens have had enough security problems over the last few days that it isn't entirely unthinkable that someone might be spying on them - and you - even now. Better to spend a question to confirm how secure your plans are, and potentially a couple more to identify the culprit, than to leave such a weakness uninvestigated.

When you suggest asking about seeking help from the founding families, Ambrose shakes his head.

"No chance," he says bluntly. "The Einzberns are downright obsessed with winning the Grail War. Odds are they'd deny or just ignore any suggestion that the ritual was corrupted. Not to mention that they don't like the Shuzens, or myself, or people of Asian ancestry in general, so they'd be that much less likely to listen to a thing any of us had to say."

"And the other two families?" Akkiko inquires.

"The Makiri have an exceptionally unpleasant reputation, even by magus standards," Ambrose says. "And their current clan-head, Zouken, was one of the creators of the Fuyuki Grail. He's just as obsessed with it as the Einzberns. That leaves the Tohsaka." The wizard scratches his chin thoughtfully. "The previous Tohsaka head died during the Fourth War, and the only current magically-capable member of the family is his daughter, who if I remember correctly is a few years older than Alexander, here. I'm not familiar with her abilities or reputation beyond that, but even if she were inclined to aid us, I can't see her having the personal ability or political pull to contribute much."

Well, if nothing else, that's one question eliminated from your list.

Your last suggestion, of seeking other groups intending to interfere with the War, sounds like a reasonable wrap-up to the adults.

With that settled, you go about setting up for the Ritual of Communion.

Akasha signals the guards, two of whom unload a middlingly-large trunk from one of the jeeps and bring it forward. When opened, the trunk is revealed to hold a fancy bronze brazier, several packages - some with see-through material, containing the incense sticks you've seen and purchased before, others opaque - and a bag of wood chips and another of charcoal for more conventional fuel.

"You mentioned incense last night," Gyokuro notes, as you pick up one of the packages, which proves to contain a single solid block. "We weren't sure if the type mattered, so we ordered a bit from several reputable brands."

You partly unwrap the block in your hands and take a moment to examine the contents. Magically, it's clean and pure. Spiritually, it's even more so. Pinching one corner of the stuff between thumb and forefinger, you apply a little force - it snaps off readily. Easy to separate into the desired quantity, then.

"This will do nicely," you say, bowing to the Shuzens. "Thank you."

With help from the guards, you set the brazier up in the center of the shrine, and then light it by scooping up a bit of the Continual Flame burning around Din's pillar and tossing it into the bowl. At a certain point, you add some of the incense and wait for its sweet scent to join the more familiar wood-and-char odor of the fire.

"Alright," you announce at length. "Everyone who I will be asking the questions on behalf, please step forward into the consecrated area. Everyone else, please step back."

The guards withdraw, while Ambrose, Akkiko, and Lu-sensei come forward readily enough. The Shuzens... hesitate, glancing cautiously at the grass that was glowing with divine energy just a few minutes ago. Then Akasha murmurs something that sounds like, "Together," loops one arm through Issa's, the other through Gyokuro's, and - after what you will SWEAR is a count of three - draws them across the "boundary."

If Gyokuro looks like she expects to get smote, well, you're not going to be so crass as to mention it.

You'll leave that to Akkiko.

Once the adults are in place, you begin working your magic. This ritual is more an extended prayer and meditation than a spell, albeit a meditation directed outwards at your deities than inward upon your own being. Every so often, you add more incense to the fire, and interspersed with that are splashes of the remaining bowls of holy water.

And then you feel it.

A pulse in your hand that is not your heartbeat.

A light from above that is not the sun.

A whisper in your ears that is not the wind.

Gained Divination B
Gained Farore's Favor C

"Is the Grail cursed?" you ask.

In response, you once again hear the divine chorus. "Yes."

Behind you, someone shifts.

"Is Angra Mainyu the cause?"

Again, the singing. "Yes."

This time, the shifting is accompanied by the beginnings of a statement - a question? - but it's immediately cut off by someone else hissing urgently for quiet.

You continue. "Is the Fifth Grail War going to happen within the next ten years?"

"Yes."

It's going well so far. Or that's what you would say, if the answers weren't all BAD.

"Are any Servants from the Fourth War still active?" you inquire.

"Yes."

"What are their names?"

There is a pause, and for a moment, you wonder if you've overreached the limits of the spell.

"Gilgamesh," says a voice of fire and thunder.

Okay, you were expecting-

"Ramesses," says a voice of music and order.

-wait, what?

"Medusa," says a voice of wind and laughter.

More?!

"Dracula," all three answer together.

Oh, what the HELL?!

Fighting down the urge to have an - entirely understandable but completely unproductive - emotional outburst at this Really Bad News, you force yourself to move on to your next question.

"Is anyone outside of the group present here aware of our plans to interfere with the Grail War?"

The divine chorus sings out again, but now its notes are in conflict with other sounds, a discordance made up of seemingly random noises at wildly varying pitches and volume. When the voice that's been answering most of these questions speaks next - is it Nayru? You think it is; it certainly makes sense that Divination ritual would consult the Goddess of Wisdom - her words are choppy, almost like interference over a radio.

You still make out her response, though: "Not among mortals."

...oh, boy. Given that specific wording, and the fact that something is suddenly futzing up a previously crystal-clear connection to your divine patrons, it seems that one or more IMMORTAL parties are aware of your intentions.

Licking your lips, you ask the next question: "Will those who are aware try to stop us?"

Again, the holy music clashes with that chaotic furor - and this time, you hear snarling, shouting, and a voice that you're absolutely certain is Din's, raised in anger against who- or whatever is intruding.

Nayru's answer this time is a succinct, "Some."

That's seven questions. You had two more planned, but one of those was to ask if anyone besides your group was planning to interfere with the Fifth Grail War. If there are unfriendly gods in opposition to your goals, it seems self-evident that there WILL be agents working their will on the ground to thwart you.

The question now is, do you dare press on? Do you risk asking Nayru to drop some divine names, or would you prefer to inquire after the mortal agencies that may be planning to take a hand behind the scenes in Fuyuki? Or should you forego any further questions?

As incomplete as your knowledge of religious matters is, you don't believe for a second that meddling with another deity's contact with their followers is the kind of thing that would go over well with ANY god. That makes you more than a little curious about who or what would have the stones to make such a nuisance of themselves in Din's face like this, let alone in front of all three of the Goddesses at once.

But you refrain from asking after the identity of the celestial party - or parties - interfering with your communion. For the time being, at least, it seems wiser to leave divine matters in the hands of the divinities, and focus your own efforts on the mortal plane.

With that in mind, you hurry to ask your remaining questions.

"Will any mortals other than our group try to interfere with the Grail War?"

The divine chorus sings again, but is almost drowned out by the increasing disharmony.

Even so, you manage to make out a word: "Yes."

"What are their names?" you inquire.

Once again, there is a pause - and this time, it appears that your luck has run out, because the music of the Goddesses is cut off entirely, leaving only the shrieking clangour of whichever immortals have chosen to interfere.

A new voice speaks then, a deep, guttural one that you've never heard before. It speaks in a language you don't recognize, but which doesn't sound like it could possibly have come from the throat of anything remotely human - just hearing it gives you a headache.

In response to these indecipherable but unmistakeably hostile words, a black, red-tinted flame blazes into existence at the heart of the shrine. It sheds no light, and its presence offers no heat - quite the contrary, you feel decidedly chilled by its presence. You can feel the sacred energies you imbued into the shrine reacting violently to the presence of this dark fire, sense the two powers trying to cancel one another out.

From this alone, you're certain beyond words that who- or whatever owns that voice, they're no god. They're not any kind of being that anyone with a soul should be mixed up with.

And yet, deep in your own soul, you feel the lingering, deep-rooted corruption of the Hellmouth resonate with this unholy energy.

You force that feeling down, HARD.

Gained Corruption Resistance D

Then a firm hand comes down on your shoulder and hauls you away from the demon-tainted heart of your little monument to the Goddesses.

"Back!" Akkiko snaps, shaking open the mouth of her Six Demon Bag as she pulls you clear of the shrine. "Everybody, back away from the evil badness, right the hell now!"

Orbs of light swirl and shine as Akkiko's elemental demon familiars spread out, surrounding the center of the shrine. Akkiko begins chanting - praying - and you sense a power that isn't precisely magic rising up to counter the twisted energy that's somehow co-opted your spell.

Lu-sensei appears beside you, Enlightenment Stick raised towards the darkness in a manner you've never seen him hold it, as if he means to truly ATTACK.

"Are you alright, Alex?" your master asks, not taking his attention away from the building unholy presence.

"I've been better," you admit, looking around.

Despite the priestess's efforts, the chaotic noise, the vile voice, and the unholy flame all grow in intensity rapidly, and you can feel your Spell of Consecration unraveling at the seams under the strain. Ambrose appears to be working his own Spell of Divination, maybe to identify whatever is causing this, while the Shuzens are spreading out, giving each other room to maneuver if it comes to a fight. Most of their guards are also moving into position, although one has fallen back to the cars and appears to be using a radio.

Briar, incidentally, is cursing up a storm on your shoulder. Should she really be using language like that where you can hear it?

And then there is an actinic flash of lightning, and a new, distinctly male voice utters a single word with calm, controlled fury:

"ENOUGH."

The otherworldly discordance, the demonic voice, and the black fire vanish in an instant.

For a moment, all is still and quiet - save for the thunder that rumbles in the distance.

"Well," you say, letting out a breath. "That was... eventful."

You make a mental note to offer a prayer of gratitude to all three of the Goddesses, both in thanks for the aid they provided and in apology for the trouble you appear to have caused them.

Not HERE, mind you, and not NOW. Better to give them some time to deal with the celestial - and infernal - hornets' nest you appear to have stirred up, so your thanks aren't distracting them at a critical moment.

It has nothing to do with the fact that you're worried Din's temper may be a little... indiscriminately volatile... at the moment.

Nothing whatsoever.

...

You ALSO figure that it would be an EXTREMELY good idea to trade notes with Akkiko about how to set up a shrine that can't be interfered with in the manner you just witnessed, or which is at least more resistant to that kind of... hijacking. Learning how to fight back against unholy presences like the one that just appeared before you wouldn't be remiss, either, but all of that's probably going to have to wait for a bit. Akkiko seems very, very preoccupied with the prayer and magic she's invoking right now. From the look of things, it's Abjuration... and that's about all you can tell directly. The woman is NOT pulling her punches.

Not that you can blame her.

"Indeed," Issa replies dryly. "Out of curiosity, are divine contacts supposed to be so... exciting?"

You shake your head. "Not remotely. I think what happened was, some of the questions I asked started poking into the territory of other Powers that REALLY would have preferred to keep the information secret, or at least didn't approve of the Goddesses answering me so directly."

"What DID they say, anyway?" Gyokuro interrupts.

You blink at her. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Your deities," she says. "What did they tell you?"

You blink again, honestly surprised. "Um... you didn't hear them?"

"I heard singing," Akasha offers. "But not words. At least, not any that I could recognize."

"Likewise," Lu-sensei notes.

The other adults - except the occupied Akkiko - all return similar responses.

"I heard them just fine," Briar says.

"So did I," you say, rubbing your head and wondering why your companions were deaf to the Goddesses' replies. Spells like this usually allow the participants to hear answers the caster is seeking on their behalf, don't they?

...and is it just your imagination, or does the tip of your ear feel a bit... pointier... under your passing hand than normal?

...

Oh, hell.

You take a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing yourself to remain calm. You can worry about the potentially-pointy state of your ears later. Right now, you have divine guidance to repeat for a bunch of adults.

Gained Cool C+++

"Alright," you begin. "So, you might want to make sure Ambrose doesn't have any booze on him for this part..."

The wizard gives you a wounded look, which you ignore as you proceed to recount your questions and the Goddesses' answers.

Confirmation that the Grail is cursed by the spirit of Angra Mainyu, and that the Fifth Grail War will be happening half a century ahead of schedule, goes over about as well as can be expected. At the very least, nobody freaks out.

They save THAT for when they learn that there are no less than FOUR Servants still walking the Earth after the previous War.

Gilgamesh is bad news, but at least Archer's account had warned everybody that he might be still around. Ramesses and Medusa kind of came out of nowhere. And then, of course, there is Dracula.

Akasha goes unnaturally still when you speak the Dark Lord's name. Her aura, on the other hand, is giving off the kind of tension you'd expect to see in a bomb that's about to go off. Issa moves to put an arm around her, only to be brushed off.

Gyokuro takes a more direct approach. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, the answer is no."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Akasha. The last time you fought your old master, you had Touhou Fuhai, Mikogami, and a couple of armies on your side - and you managed a DRAW. In case it's slipped your notice, you don't have an army, and the other two Dark Lords are OLD MEN." Gyokuro gives Akasha a fierce glare. "And I am NOT letting you drag Issa off with you on a suicide mission."

Lady Bloodriver glares right back at her... what is the correct term for the relationship between these two, anyway? Wife-in-law? Co-wife? There was a Gerudo term...

"Much as some of us would enjoy a catfight," Ambrose cuts in, promptly landing himself on the receiving end of two female vampiric death-glares, "might I suggest that we ALL hold off on making battle plans until Alexander finishes relaying what his divine patrons had to say?"

The ladies grimace in unison.

"He's not wrong," Gyokuro admits sourly.

"Unfortunately," Akasha sighs in agreement. She turns to you. "Our apologies for the... interruption, Alex. You were saying?"

Uh... yeah. You were. Doing your best not to appear too distracted by or interested in the unplanned diversion, you quickly resume your account.

"When I asked if anyone outside of our group was aware of our plans to interfere with the Grail War, the answer I received was 'Not among mortals.' I'm not sure if any of you heard it," you note, looking around, "but it was when I asked that question that something started interfering with my link to the Goddesses."

"That racket like the middle of a battlefield?" Lu-sensei asks. "Yes, I definitely heard that part."

The other adults nod their agreement.

...huh. Now that you think about it, that's a pretty good description of the discordance you heard. It certainly matches up to some of the memories you've dreamed of from Ganondorf's lifetime. It makes you wonder, though: what battlefields has Lu-sensei been on?

Leaving that question for now, you go on with your narrative, recounting Nayru's statement that "some" of the "not among mortals" who are aware of your little conspiracy will try to interfere with it, as well as your decision not to press your luck by asking for the names of these potentially divine, profane, or otherwise greater and more terrible than you entities.

Even Ambrose admits this was a wise course of action.

Being told that other mortals will try to interfere with the Grail War does not particularly surprise your audience, and the lack of information on the identities of these parties is greeted with a round of muted disappointment.

"And that's when that demon, or whatever it actually was, severed the connection and started casting back along it," you conclude. "At least until that voice of thunder cut it off. I'm guessing that was Lord Raiden?"

"It may have been," Issa admits. "I've only met him twice, and in passing at that, but it did sound like his customary voice."

You nod. You may have to do something nice for the God of Thunder in return for his intercession - but like your prayer of thanks and apology to the Goddesses, it'd be best to wait on that for a bit. Just in case.

"So, Ambrose," you say then, turning to the wizard. "What would you want in trade for some notes on defensive warding or for maybe an actual tome? I ask because, in light of THAT" - you gesture at the profaned center of your little shrine, which is feeling less and less defiled as Akkiko works on it - "I think it might be best if I upgrade the wards on my home."

"Gee, you think?" Ambrose replies snidely. Then he shakes his head. "Truth be told, lad, I think I may have to swing back past Sunnydale and touch your home defenses up myself. The wards I saw the last time I was there didn't look at all sufficient, if you're going to be butting heads with major demons."

...you weren't actually planning on going up against demons of any caliber in the near future - not deliberately, at least - but any objection kind of gets left by the wayside in light of what Ambrose just said.

"Well, it's not like I'm PLANNING to butt heads with any more demons, but taking into account past and... recent events..." - you pause, eyeing the heart of your shrine - "I have to admit that no matter what plans I make, sooner or later, it's going to happen again. And even without that," you go on, "having some extra security around my family would only be sensible, considering where we live."

You try not to sound TOO eager as you speak. Ambrose's offhanded remark about "touching up" your home security represents one HELL of an offer, and it's likely that everybody in earshot is well aware of it, but there's decorum to think about.

Ambrose just nods.

"Gyokuro," Akkiko says then, drawing all eyes, "would you mind looking the area over? I THINK I burned out all the demonic energy, but better safe than sorry."

It's perhaps a measure of how serious the two women take this incident that not only does Akkiko not make any shots at her host, but Gyokuro does as requested without a moment's delay. You can feel her youki expand outwards in a controlled pulse, not entirely unlike your own Power Sense - but far, far more practiced and efficient.

"We're clear," she announces after a moment.

A tension goes out of the group.

"So where does that leave us?" Akasha asks.

"Perhaps we should withdraw under wards before continuing that discussion?" Ambrose suggests.

"...fair point," Lady Bloodriver admits. She signals the guards, who begin falling back to the vehicles.

You give the shrine a once-over. Its physical structure is undisturbed, but the magical and spiritual aspects of the site feel somehow LESS than they were even before you started raising the site of worship. You only intended for it to be temporary, but even so...

Is there anything else you'd like to do here?

Even though you haven't personally seen or communicated with it, you feel bad for the spirit of the grove. It gave you permission to set up your shrine and work all kinds of magic, and what does it get for being helpful? High-order demonic contamination, angry divine intervention, and a thorough spiritual cleansing. Even if Akkiko's cleanup of the area was essential for keeping the corruption from getting any worse than it already was, it's still basically the equivalent of being scrubbed down with a rough cloth - or maybe a wire brush.

You know you'd hate that kind of experience, even if you were aware of and accepted the necessity of the act. Why would a spirit like it any more than you?

"Alex?" Lu-sensei calls back.

"Just a minute, Sensei. I'd like to do one last thing before we go."

"And that would be...?" your teacher asks cautiously.

"I think I owe the spirit of this place an apology," you admit. "And maybe a repayment for the trouble."

Your master regards you in silence for a moment, and glances at Briar and Akkiko - both of whom nod.

"Alright, then. But try to keep it brief?"

Bowing in acknowledgement and gratitude, you turn your attention to the land beneath and around the shrine and offer up something that is not quite a prayer.

"Spirit, it was not my intention to repay your consideration with the corruption of your home. I can only offer my deepest and most sincere apologies, and a measure of my own power towards repairing the harm I have brought upon you."

With that, you cast a Spell of Necromancy, a ward designed to passively draw in, cleanse, and retain ambient spiritual power. A minor adjustment to the ward has it steadily releasing the purified spiritual energy back into the environment, rather than building up a reservoir for use by the caster or any other parties that might happen upon it.

Gained Necromancy C

To get things off to a good start, you channel a portion of your remaining spiritual power into the ward. It can only hold so much, and that amount works out to a mere tenth of the power you originally poured into your creation of the shrine, let alone whatever the demonic interference consumed or contaminated badly enough that Akkiko had to burn it out. Still, it's something.

Gained Spiritual Power D++

As you channel a fraction of your soul's strength into the ward, you become briefly aware of the Boar - and for once, it doesn't seem enraged. Instead, you get an impression of the great beast stepping lightly on the consecrated, descrated, and purified earth, pausing now and then to nuzzle almost gently at the rock, the water, the tree, and the heart of the shrine.

And though you don't see it, something responds. A breath of air, a whisper in the ether, a sigh heard more with the soul than the ears.

Gained King of Spirits F
Gained Spirit Affinity F
Gained Totemic Knowledge D

You'll tentatively label that apology as "accepted."

With a final bow, you turn and join the adults, taking a seat in one of the vehicles and heading back to Castle Shuzen. During the drive, you take a moment to surreptitiously investigate the condition of your ears, running your hands across the tips as if merely shifting a few annoying hairs. It isn't enough for you to say one way or the other if they've actually changed shape now that you've directly heard the voices of the Goddesses, and you aren't positioned to take advantage of the rear-view mirrors.

Looks like you're going to have to wait on confirming that little matter.

You can't help but notice that it takes the off-road machines longer to cross the distance between the ritual site and the Shuzen residence than it took you to complete the outbound trip. Two, three minutes at least. Then again, they ARE taking the long way around, the drivers steering wide of clusters of trees, rocks, and other rough terrain that you simply parkoured through or flew over.

As you leave the vehicle and follow the Shuzens back inside, you're hoping to continue the discussion begun at the shrine, now that you're back under the household wards.

Alas, your hopes are dashed.

"Oh, good, you're back!" Kahlua says. "Sorry to interrupt, everyone, but Alex has an appointment to keep."

Oh, right. Time to spar with Moka.

Your apologies to the adults and departure are a blur, thanks in part to Kahlua's insistence on grabbing your arm and all but dragging you off to the West Hall

"Am I that late?" you ask her as you trail along.

"No, but we were all starting to wonder what was keeping you, and Moka was getting... impatient."

The elder sister packs all kinds of meaning into that last word.

As Kahlua leads you through the halls of Castle Shuzen, you once again try to investigate the state of your ears. Unfortunately, you don't pass any conveniently-placed mirrors, and the pace set by the vampire princess prevents you from making use of a well-polished suit of armor or other martial relic as a stand-in.

"Is something wrong, Alex?" Briar asks.

"Huh?"

"You've been fidgeting since we left the grove," she explains.

When you reach the room, you find the other kids assembled, with the Drakes and Sokka and Katara's parents all in attendance.

"Ah, there we are," Lucia says, on seeing you enter the room. "Where did you find him, Kahlua?"

"In the front hall, coming back from..." She pauses, frowns, and turns to look at you. "What were you doing with my parents and all the other adults, anyway?"

You promptly give the lie to this statement by tapping your lips with the raised index finger of your free hand, indicating to Briar that she should be quiet on this subject for the time being.

The fairy gives you a suspicious glance, but bows to your request.

Gained Sign Language E+++

Perhaps because her attention is elsewhere, or because Briar was sitting on your shoulder and not speaking very loudly, Kahlua doesn't appear to notice any of this by-play. Which is fine by you.

Your answer is greeted by a round of groans - and at the edge of your hearing, a sigh from Altria that sounds suspiciously like, "Ambrose."

Gained Trolling D+++

"I walked into that one, didn't I?" Kahlua muses under her breath.

"You kind of did," you reply.

"Do I dare to ask what kind of magic?"

You consider that.

You stare at Kahlua, straightening up to your full height and leaning forward slightly as you ask, in a grim tone, "Do you, Kahlua? Do you REALLY dare?"

She leans backwards, and seems to be having second thoughts. "Um... maybe?"

After a pause, you shrug. "Honestly? I was praying."

"...really?"

"Really. Well, to be technical I was ritualistically seeking divine guidance, but it was aimed at actual deities, so it totally counts as prayer." Guessing where she's going to go next, you add, "If you want to know more, you should probably ask your parents, so they can decide what to tell you. Or not to tell you."

Kahlua appears properly confused by all of this. Or maybe it's just the manner in which you went from looming eerily to perfectly conversational. When you cap it all off by telling her to talk to her parents, her expression turns a bit pouty and stubborn.

You've seen that look before. Heck, you've worn your own variations on it.

Having to ask adults for permission about anything is one of the things you really dislike about being a kid - all the more so because of Ganondorf's memories, thanks to which you sort of know what it's like to be an adult, beholden to no parental authority, nor any authority at all that you didn't care to bow your head to.

...and you're getting distracted.

Sparring. With Moka. That's why you're here, and you should probably get started on your preparations before she gets impatient.

Speaking of which...

"Would you prefer if I fought you with magic, or without?" you inquire of the silver-haired girl.

Moka considers it, and honestly seems to be torn between the two options. Finally, she says, "Without. At least for a start."

You nod, wondering idly at the reasoning behind Moka's choice as you loosen up your shoulders. Fortunately, your day clothes and current footwear are more flexible than the formal suit and old man shoes you were wearing when you fought Kahlua yesterday, so you don't need to make any mystical adjustments to them.

As you take your stance on one side of the room, you examine your opponent. Moka's own opening stance... well, it isn't one, really. Whether that's due to a lack of training, confidence in her own abilities, or her being good enough to fake it, remains to be seen. Still, you do get a good measure of her youki. Her aura is neither as large nor as well-controlled as Kahlua's, but it feels denser, somehow. You're not sure what that means.

VAMPIRE HEROINE: AKASHIYA MOKA

How do you intend to start this match?

The measured approach to combat has served you well thus far, and when Ms. Hayashi allows the match to commence, you once again let your mind, body, and spirit settle into that equal mix of offense and defense.

Moka, in comparison, comes right at you.

Ki surging in a reflex-triggered enhancement, you evade her opening strike - a kick, as it happens - and counter, forcing the smaller girl to block.

On the up side, she definitely feels the hit.

On the down side, she only had to use one arm to absorb the blow.

Several rapid exchanges later, you're starting to get a feel for Moka's style and abilities. Taking the differences in size and age into account, Moka seems to be a bit stronger pound-for-pound than Kahlua - not quite enough to match your combination of physical power and ki-enhancement, but still enough to be noteworthy. Her speed is a good match to her sister's as well, but again, you retain the edge.

It's in terms of pure martial skill where Moka falls short. She's good for her age, but Kahlua has at least a year of practice and experience over her, maybe two, and the difference shows. You're able to read and subsequently evade most of her attacks, redirecting a handful, and blocking a couple for the sake of getting in a good hit of your own.

Gained Battle Awareness D+
Gained Endurance C+
Gained Hand-to-Hand (Five Elements Style) D+
Gained Speed C+

As for that curious weight to Moka's youki, it doesn't appear to be affecting her abilities at all, unless it's the source of her minor proportionate strength advantage over her sister.

Whatever she's lacking in skill, Moka is still able to read the flow of the fight well enough to understand that she is not winning, nor even really matching you.

The sight of her scowl leaves you wondering what you should do in response.

You're tempted to draw the fight out longer and turn it into a more actively educational experience for Moka, by matching her level of fighting skill and pointing out ways she could improve her technique.

Instead, you take the offensive and begin pushing the girl harder and harder, letting her know of the weaknesses in her style by exploiting them as fully as you can. Mostly, this translates into repeated head and body shots to force her to guard, before striking at her legs - Moka's demonstrated preference for attacking via kicks means that disabling her legs is even more of a hindrance for her than it would be for an opponent who favored punches.

Loss of mobility is a killer no matter what style you use, but at least someone like a boxer would still be able to attack and defend with their arms. Moka has the defense part down, but isn't as good at using her upper body to attack - she simply doesn't have the mass or the reach for it to be as effective. Maybe that's why she likes kicks so much?

Regardless, one good shot at Moka's right knee has her down and on the proverbial ropes.

Then she surprises you by completely dropping her guard on her right side, so she can reach inside the collar of her blouse and yank on the chain of a small, low-hanging necklace you hadn't realized she was wearing.

A cross-shaped necklace, you note, as the force of Moka's pull tears the pendant out into plain sight, just as part of the chain appears to give way.

Knowing what comes next, you harden your ki against the flood of youki released by the seal and take a swing at Moka's head, trying to land a knockout blow before she can finish powering up.

She catches your fist with her palm and stops it - not quite cold or with casual ease, but firmly enough to make it clear that you just lost your strength advantage.

Moka may be stronger than you now, but you know well that strength isn't everything in a fight. Reach, skill, experience - these things matter, and you still hold the advantage in all of them over your opponent. Her new advantage in raw power isn't great enough to render your lead in other fields inconsequential.

It DOES mean you'll have to be a bit more careful about how you fight Moka, however, at least until you get a better idea of the new limits of her strength, as well as how her power-up has affected her speed, reflexes, and recovery rate.

With that in mind, you pull your extended fist back hard, yanking it clear of Moka's hand before she has a chance to turn her palm-block into a grab, and shift your stance to something better-suited for evasion.

Moka takes in your adjusted posture, smirks, and then presses the attack, showing no difficulty at all in standing on the leg you disabled just a moment ago.

Bloody vampires.

You'd be less upset about their ridiculous healing factor if you could figure out how their youki augments it, and in turn start reverse-engineering a similar ability for your own use, but you're having no luck in that regard. Your attack on Moka's leg was more painful than truly damaging - it's a spar, after all, not a duel to the death - and "injuries" like that require very little in the way of natural healing to overcome. The amount of ki or youki needed to complete the process is similarly minor, especially for a vampire, whose healing ranks among the most powerful of all monsters. The density of Moka's individual aura only complicates matters further; even compared to Kahlua's unleashed youki, using your ki sight on this bloody haze is like trying to peer through fog.

To add insult to injury, Moka's heavy youki makes it harder for you to read her movements. Not so much that you're suddenly blinded or anything, but combined with her speed - which has increased, if only fractionally beyond your own - the comfortable lead you had in anticipating your opponent has just been shaved down to a narrow gap.

Further worsening the problem, Moka herself appears to have NO trouble whatsoever in following YOUR movements. For the next several passes, she presses you hard, exploiting her newfound advantages for all they're worth.

You sidestep one of those powerful kicks.

She's stronger than you.

You narrowly deflect a punch.

She's just a touch faster than you.

You score a blow to the stomach that doesn't seem to slow the smaller girl down in the least.

She's DEFINITELY healing faster than you.

But even so-

Moka kicks at you again, aiming for your head. This time, instead of dodging, you reach up with both hands, catch and seize her leg, and then spin yourself around, adding the momentum of your movement to Moka's attack, yanking her clear off her other foot and sending her flying across the room.

-you still have the lead in this fight.

If only just.

Gained Evasion D+++
Gained Reflexes D+++
Gained Strength C+

Airborne and with her face towards the ground, Moka reaches out with both hands as if to push herself off the floor - and with a surge of youki, she spins upwards in mid-air, not quite breaking her fall but certainly taking control of it.

However, in doing so, she's left her back to you.

You have an opening. Do you care to take it?

Your aura surges as you enter a Body Flicker, flashing across the room to catch up with Moka. As you rush forwards, you turn your upper body, readying your right arm to deliver a strong punch; at the same time, you study Moka's position and review what you know of vampire physiology, trying to pin down a spot that is vulnerable to attack, but not TOO vulnerable.

Considering the attack you have in mind, strikes to the lower back are out of the question - and hitting the back of the head or the spine would be even less acceptable.

A shoulder, then? No, not enough impact.

Back of the leg it is, then. You'll try to immobilize Moka again - hamstringing her, as it were, but without the cutting and tearing of flesh and tendons that term generally brings to mind.

Suppressing your ki as best you can, you cycle it around your readied right arm, preparing a Strike Flicker. You're not sure what the result of mixing such an attack with Body Flicker-produced velocity will be, so you err on the side of caution when it comes to reinforcing your arm, favoring self-protection over striking power.

Falling in what appears to you to be slow-motion, Moka begins to tense up, apparently having registered your approach. It pleases you to think that she's just now reacting to the flare of ki that comes with triggering a Body Flicker, but you will admit there's a non-zero chance she's sensing your physical proximity.

Not that it'll help her much this time.

Gained Sneak Attack E
Gained Strike Flicker F++

You strike, channeling all the momentum of your fast-moving body up through your torso, down through your arm, and out into the back of Moka's leg.

She lets out a yell of pained surprise as the force of your blow spins her around in mid-air-

-and a moment later, the vampire girl's flailing legs come back around and hit you over the head and shoulder. There's no real force behind the impact, but this doesn't lessen your sheer astonishment at having hit Moka hard enough to essentially hit YOURSELF.

This HAS to violate some kind of law, you're sure of it. Maybe physics, maybe probability, maybe just common sense, but SOMETHING.

Staggering backwards from the bizarre collision, you manage to keep your feet and get clear as Moka lands in a clumsy, facedown sprawl on the floor. She gets her hands beneath her at once and immediately tries to rise, only to stop short as her right leg unexpectedly refuses to carry its own weight.

Sensing an opportunity, you focus your energies and activate your Power Sense.

Gained Power Sense E

As the golden wave of energy radiates outwards, you see it reacting strongly with Moka's unsealed youki, almost literally carving a path through the air. Moka recoils from the expression of your Power and pushes herself over onto her back to regard you with shock, but your attention is reserved for her right leg, and what your technique has to show you of how the vampire girl's aura is interacting with her natural healing process.

...

It's less insightful than you were hoping, but the effort is not completely without benefit. You are at least able to get a vague sense of how Moka's youki moves within her body, though this is only in a general sense. With the concealing haze of her unleashed aura forced aside, it's sort of like looking at an outline of the circulatory system... and then your technique lapses, Moka's energy surges back into the gaps it forced, and you're once again left looking at a dark scarlet cloud.

Still, progress!

"What was THAT?" Moka asks in clear astonishment.

"Well, actually..." you begin, before pausing abruptly. "Wait, what were you asking about, specifically? My crossing the room at high speed, my hitting you at even higher speed, or that burst of golden energy?"

"...mostly the latter," Moka answers as she sits up. "Although now that you've mentioned the others..."

"Ah. Okay, then, in order: the fast movement was the Body Flicker, a ki technique I picked up from watching the fights back at the World Tournament; the attack was something I call the Strike Flicker, which I adapted from the Body Flicker; and the last part was me trying to figure out how you heal so quickly, using a high-intensity scanning technique."

Moka takes all that in. "I see. I'm familiar with the Body Flicker, and this... 'Strike Flicker'... I'm guessing you sped up one of your punches?"

You nod. "Good guess."

"As for that sensory skill," she goes on, with a deepening frown, "is it supposed to feel so unpleasant for the person being scanned?"

"Are you two going to talk, or are you going to fight?" Sokka calls down from the sitting area.

Moka gives him a quick, flatly unimpressed glance, but then turns to you and answers the question posed by the Water Tribe boy.

"My leg is still rather unsteady from that last hit and the... side-effects of that scanning technique of yours, Alexander," she admits. "Unless you have an objection, I believe I will concede the match."

You consider that.

"I mean, I knew that technique could be startling," you explain, with emphasis on the last word. "I used it on ninja at the tournament a couple of times, and they tended to react with surprise. One of them described it as 'loud,' and it shook a few of them out of that 'walking around unnoticed' thing they do, but I didn't get the impression it was actually causing them pain."

"It's... not painful, exactly," Moka admits. "But describing it as 'loud' and 'startling' certainly works. Add in how it interferes with youki..."

You nod. "Yeah, THAT part I was kind of expecting, at least after seeing how my other skills interfered with Kahlua's youki. I just thought it'd make the scanning aspect of the skill more effective - and it did. I wasn't expecting or intending it to be a finishing move, though."

Moka snorts. "I wouldn't go so far as to call it THAT."

Yeah, this fight's pretty much over, and the unexpected manner in which it ended has sapped your enthusiasm for a possible continuation.

"That's fine by me," you tell Moka. "Do you need a hand up?"

"Thank you, but no. I believe I have recovered."

So saying, she brings her "disabled" leg down with deliberate force, and then - slowly, cautiously, but without faltering - rises to her feet once again.

No lasting damage done, then.

After your match with Moka, none of the other kids seems especially eager for another round in the proverbial ring - or at least, not another round with YOU. Seeing as how you've beaten half of them and managed to get yourself hurt in one match with another person present, it's not entirely unexpected. A bit disappointing, maybe, but not unexpected. And to be fair, you don't feel much like issuing a challenge or something of that sort.

Maybe you've just gotten a bit burned out on daily sparring matches with superhuman opponents?

...

Nah. What a silly idea.

You end up sitting around for ten minutes or so, fending off inquiries about what you were up to with most of the adults earlier, before Kahlua finally suggests you all adjourn to the dining hall for an early start on lunch. The motion passes to general acclaim, and you make your way through the halls, arriving to find that the Shuzens' servants are on the ball, and have places already set and a selection of sandwiches and other light, quickly-prepared foodstuffs ready and waiting.

This makes the absence of your hosts, Lu-sensei, Akkiko, and Ambrose all the more noticable, especially when a good twenty minutes have passed since your arrival with none of them appearing. Kahlua steps in to fill her parents' role, and doesn't do too bad a job, but as time wears on, it becomes clear that she's really starting to wonder what's keeping them.

Finally, a servant enters the dining hall and confers briefly with the young lady, who blinks in clear amazement at whatever is said, and then apologizes to all the guests, explaining that an issue has come up that her parents and Miss Akasha felt was important enough to confer about. They send their apologies, and basically nothing by way of an explanation.

"Oh, and Alex, Miss Briar?" Kahlua adds. "As soon as you've finished eating, they'd like to see you both in Father's study."

Her expression is a picture of polite hospitality, warring with the kind of intense curiosity that only a young girl can muster. It's matched by every other female at the table, regardless of age, and the menfolk are wearing interested looks of their own.

If you weren't planning to talk to those people before, you certainly are NOW.

The attention doesn't quite spoil your appetite, but it does result in you leaving the table a bit sooner than you might have preferred. After checking with Kahlua, you take a plate of fruit salad with you when you go, following one of the staff to Issa's study. The room proves to be located on the third floor, behind an imposing set of double-doors, which your guide knocks on firmly.

"Enter," Issa's voice comes from within.

The servant opens the door, and you step forward.

You weren't sure what to expect from the private quarters of a vampire, but Lord Shuzen's study looks a lot like the getaways of noblemen you recall Ganondorf seeing, or the equivalent rooms you've seen rich and legacied individuals use on television. Thick carpeting, solid wooden furniture, and a collection of books compete for space with medieval trophies - two swords are crossed below a shield on one wall, while a full suit of dark armor stands across the room from them - and more modern accoutrements - namely, the computer on the desk and a sound system in a half-open cabinet that looks like it can be closed up and tucked neatly away.

The room feels a bit crowded with all the adults and the chairs that have been brought in to accomodate them, and it doesn't get any less so when you enter. Given the plates and glasses scattered about - some balanced in rather precarious places - you suddenly feel a lot better about bringing your dessert along with you.

"Ah, Alexander," Issa says from the great chair behind the desk. He is flanked by Gyokuro and Akasha, both of them with much smaller seats that don't match the decor - brought in from other rooms, maybe? "Take a seat. That will be all for now, Peters."

The servant, Peters, bows and closes the door behind you.

For your part, you look around and consider your seating options.

Handing your fruit salad off to Lu-sensei for a moment, you pick up the unused footstool and reposition it near your teacher, who then returns your dessert, not having stolen so much as a single grape.

Issa graciously waits until you're seated before continuing.

"We've spent the last hour going over the information you received from the Archer Spirit, as well as the answers you obtained this morning, and seeing how they affected what tentative plans we had," the vampire lord explains, while tapping one hand to a collection of papers strewn across his desk. Your transcription of Archer's account, you'd wager.

"Ultimately, this morning's" - Issa hesitates - "communication... held more in the way of confirmation that there was a problem, than truly actionable intelligence. True, knowing that there are four Servants still wandering the world, and that we have other agencies, both mortal and immortal, to contend with, is something it's far, FAR better to know going into this mess, than to find out after the fact-"

You can only nod in agreement at that.

"-but the question was raised, several times, as to whether or not we could seek further information regarding the Grail War. Ambrose is in favor of it, though he admits his own sources are likely to be more limited than contacting a deity. Akkiko, on the other hand, is against the idea, and not just because of how your divine contact this morning ended."

"There's a limit to how much any divine spirit can reveal to mortals in matters like this," Akkiko says. "Some of it's just that they don't know the answers we'd like, but there's also the question of balance. The more a benevolent deity intercedes in the world, the more the malevolent powers are allowed to get away with, in order to 'even the scales.'" She doesn't sound at all pleased with her own words. "And we already had a pretty serious intervention today. Asking for anything more than we already have would be seriously testing our luck."

"But as I said before," Ambrose notes, "the lad's three patrons aren't local, and not necessarily subject to the usual celestial bureaucracy. It's an angle that we should explore a bit further before we cast it aside entirely."

Akkiko looks like she wants to say something to the wizard - something more than a little angry, at that - but she holds her tongue.

"Which brings us back to the two of you," Issa concludes, looking from you to Briar. "What are your opinions on the matter?"

You look at Briar.

"I'm with the priestess on this one," she admits. "You really, REALLY don't need any more personal attention from a high-level demon in your life, Alex. Neither do I, for that matter."

She's not wrong. Still...

When in doubt about the wisdom of calling upon divine guidance, it only makes sense to turn to the experts.

Akkiko may not be familiar with the Golden Goddesses, but as a practicing priestess native to Earth, she HAS to know how the local celestial bureaucracy works, at least when it comes to the rules governing human-divine interaction. If she thinks it's a bad idea for you to test your luck by communing with the Goddesses again, you're inclined to agree.

Similarly, there's Briar. Your fairy companion knows at least as much about the three sisters as you do, and while she's never revealed much insight into Earth's celestial politics - have you ever really asked her about it before now? Sure, it's possible that Briar is just as clueless about the mores and customs of local divinity as you are, but by the same token, it's possible that she's NOT. She did spend several decades kicking around the planet, after all; even if she never met a human that could properly see her before you, who knows what she gleaned from fairy gossip?

More than that, though, Briar is supposed to be your guide and guardian in mystical business. If she says a certain course of action would be dangerous - at least, BEFORE you've committed to it - then you're inclined to listen to her. More so when her warning tallies with an expert opinion, like Akkiko's.

You summarize your position for Issa, who nods.

"I suspected that you'd decide along those lines, and I cannot fault your reasoning. That said, there is one other potential source of further information, or additional support - the Archer." Issa regards you. "Could you summon HIM again, without interference?"

You ponder that. Would calling Archer back into the world count as divine interference? You don't believe so; he isn't a god, and he didn't mention being the agent of one, so the only things he really ought to be beholden to are himself and the Throne of Heroes - and the latter isn't conscious, as far as you know.

That's the operative phrase, though. 'As far as you know.' You're not exactly an expert on Heroic Spirits, or the summoning of them. Then again, who is? Even Ambrose has admitted that his knowledge of the Grail War and things related to it is fairly limited.

You see no reason why you couldn't re-summon Archer. The last time was an accident, enabled by the open nature of your summoning spell; now that you've met Archer in person, you can easily fine-tune the ritual to summon him, and ONLY him. And the whole process is one hundred percent pure sorcery, with no divine intercession sought, and no infernal meddling permitted as a result.

"I could," you tell Issa, with full confidence in your abilities. "Though I'm not sure how much he'd be able to tell us that he hadn't already mentioned," you add, with a nod at the papers strewn across the vampire's desk. "It's pretty clear by this point that our timeline isn't one of the ones Archer's used to dealing with, so his information is... less than entirely accurate."

"But it would be worth calling him, to see if there was anything he could reveal about Ramesses or Dracula," Gyokuro notes.

She's not wrong.

"And as there are four Servants still walking the earth," she goes on, "having one in our corner would be a comfort."

You wince. "I should probably mention that the last time I summoned Archer, he made a point of letting me know he wasn't as strong as he'd have been if he were summoned for a Grail War."

"I'd be tempted to get drunk again if you'd claimed otherwise," Ambrose says.

"How much weaker?" Gyokuro inquires, ignoring the wizard.

"He didn't say, exactly," you reply, while thinking back. Archer described himself as 'quite a bit weaker' when you summoned him. That could be anything from three-quarters to as little as a tenth of his actual power as a properly-summoned Servant.

You don't feel comfortable about speculating how powerful your summoned version of Archer is compared to an actual Servant. You called him all of one time, and you have exactly ZERO other experience with Heroic Spirits; there's simply too many unknowns.

On the other hand...

"I could always summon him and ask," you offer.

"Please do," Gyokuro asks. "Just... not here."

You nod, and make a mental note to call Archer when you get back to Sunnydale.

"Well, then," Issa says. "Pending further developments on that front, we're largely back to where we were last night. Somewhat better-informed, especially with regards to the presence of-" he glances sidelong at Akasha "-unexpected Servants... but ultimately, our plans haven't been greatly altered. We still need to gather information on Fuyuki and those parties linked to the Grail War, past, present, and future. We just need to take additional precautions not to draw attention."

"While we're on the subject of information," Ambrose interrupts, "if this little saving-the-world conspiracy of ours is going to work, we need to stay in contact. Which brings up the question of how, exactly, we should do that. Five will get you ten that what we learn or decide on is going to include details that we're not going to want to commit to writing, or discuss outside of a secured environment."

"We have reliable messengers," Gyokuro says.

"So do I," Ambrose replies. "But none that I'd bet on coming out ahead if a demon lord decided to send agents after them."

That remark appears to concern the vampires.

It also makes you think of the Postman, who in life braved and survived the perils of a Hyrule overrun by the forces of darkness, and has, if anything, only gotten more capable now that he's a celestial being. In addition to that, he's an agent of the Goddesses; interfering with him in the pursuit of his duties could be taken as interfering with THEM.

You decide that, since it's to help prevent a potential end-of-the-world scenario, you can at least let the adults know you have access to a divine messenger who might be willing to help you all out.

"I may be able to help with the communication issue," you say. You proceed to explain how you've been calling upon a celestial spirit associated with the Goddesses to deliver most of your correspondence, and how you've used Spells of Undetectable Alignment to help him stay under the radar.

Akkiko stares at you. "Did I hear that right? You've been calling on a minor kami to serve as your private messenger?"

"...yes?" you reply. "I mean, he was a mailman in life, and the whole 'Messenger of the Goddesses' thing is really just an extension of that. And he's very good at what he does."

"I have met the spirit in question myself," Lu-sensei admits. "He's... extremely dedicated to his work."

That's a polite way of putting it.

"...I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the part where Boyo has a divine being delivering his mail."

"Ambrose uses fairies," you point out.

Akkiko blinks slowly and turns to the wizard.

"Relax, and have a drink," Ambrose advises. "It won't help things make sense, but it'll at least numb the confusion."

"...think I may just do that," Akkiko replies, pulling out her jug.

"How likely do you think it is that this messenger would agree to work with us, Alex?" Akasha inquires.

"He'll probably want to renegotiate the terms of the agreement I have with him," you admit. "I only arranged to carry letters to a small group of my friends one every month or two. We might need the Postman to be available a lot more often than that, or at least with a lot less warning. And while he was willing to work in trade with me, his preferred method of payment was gold."

Well, actually, it was Rupees, but you don't believe the jewels actually exist in this world - and if they do, you don't know what their Earth name is, or how to go about finding them. Best just to leave them out.

"Gold we can do," Gyokuro says. "As long as he's not too picky about the provenance."

"I don't think he is. He mentioned working on multiple worlds in the past."

Really, the Postman is FAR more likely to be concerned about the prospect of working directly with a group of vampires than he is about the origins of the coins he's being paid in. Thinking on it, you decide you probably should mention that.

"He's kind of... nervous... about vampires, though."

"How 'nervous?'" Issa asks.

"He, uh, squeaked when Alex mentioned writing to Kahlua," Briar snickers.

"And then fell on his knees in a prayer of thanksgiving when I said I'd probably stick with letting her bat carry my replies," you add.

"...I see," Issa says. "It... may be a bit problematic for us to employ a messenger who's liable to panic at meeting half of the people he's supposed to be delivering messages for."

"Just a bit," Gyokuro agrees.

"I'll talk to him about it," you say. "Maybe if I offer to cast a Spell of Courage or Calm Emotions for him..."

"Please do," Issa tells you. "And let us know how it works out. Or... doesn't." He glances around at the room. "As it stands, we appear to have reached the limits of what we can do for now. Unless anyone has anything else relevant to suggest...?"

You look around. Ambrose is pondering something, Lu-sensei appears to simply be waiting for the meeting to end, and Akkiko is taking Ambrose's suggestion and drinking.

You can't think of anything more than can be done about this matter, at least not until everyone involved has had a chance to do some private investigation - or in your case, to conduct a few summoning rituals.

And speaking of rituals...

When Lu-sensei makes to usher you out of the room and back to the more familiar areas of the castle ahead of him, you hold up a hand and nod meaningfully in Ambrose's direction. Your teacher gives you one of those looks - "Really? There's more?" - but allows you to lag behind and wait for the wizard, while he goes off by himself.

"Something on your mind, Alex?" Ambrose inquires as he exits Issa's study.

"A couple of things. I'm still hoping to get an answer from you about a good location to perform that familiar ritual-"

Ambrose snaps his fingers. "We WERE talking about that earlier, weren't we? Slipped my mind in all the excitement."

You can actually almost believe that.

"-but something else occurred to me while we were discussing ways of staying in contact."

"Oh?"

You proceed to describe your... interesting issues with teleportation, and how every time you cast a long-range teleport spell, you and everyone with you seem to take a side-route through some kind of green-tinted other place.

"Are you teleporting on the Hellmouth?" Ambrose says intently. "Whether incoming or outgoing?"

"Oh, no. I've been making a point to avoid that." Particularly since your first teleportation away from the outskirts of Sunnydale, where you caught a glimpse of what the town and the Hellmouth beneath it look like from the other side.

Ambrose looks honestly relieved by your admission - but also a bit puzzled.

"At first, I didn't think my grasp of Summoning Magic was advanced enough to use safely on the Hellmouth," you explain. "And by the time it reached a point where it might have been stable, I'd found out about... whatever this problem is."

The wizard nods, looking thoughtful and intrigued.

"Well, lad, to be honest, I'm not sure what your problem is, but you've caught my attention. I'll do some checking and bring some extra equipment along, and have a look into it when I swing by Sunnydale, alright?"

Is that okay with you?

You're willing to wait a bit longer to have Ambrose take a look at your method of teleportation. With the exception of the one time you teleported away from the Hellmouth without a Spell of Protection From Evil up, your brief trips into that green-glowing other space haven't done you any harm.

Okay, it kind of freaked out Cordelia, but that was just as much due to Lu-sensei's blue-shifting, and she's all better now anyway.

The point is, there's no urgency to your desire to get to the bottom of this... quirk. Curiosity, yes, but not worry.

Having gotten an answer regarding your newest concern, you turn to look for Akkiko, in the hopes of asking her how to create a proper, hopefully demon-proof shrine-

"As for the subject of potential ritual sites," Ambrose continues.

-and your attention immediately comes back to the wizard. "Yes?"

"I can think of a dozen sites off the top of my head that would be viable for a familiar bonding ritual, particularly with a fairy," he says. "But a fair number of those are sufficiently well-known that SOMEBODY is probably going to have staked a claim to them during the eclipse. Now, since I AM providing you this information on commission, as it were, I thought I should ask which you'd prefer: a list of all the useful ritual sites, for you to explore on your own time; a trimmed-down list of locations, removing all those that are spoken for; or my claiming a single site on your behalf."

Ambrose regards you intently as you consider his offer.

Which DO you prefer?

You really don't need to know the locations of a bunch of magically-significant sites in Britain. It'd be different if Ambrose were offering to point out potential ritual sites in California, or if you had other rituals in mind, but as it stands, knowledge of one good location is all you need, and all you really ought to be negotiating for.

Just as you're about to say as much, however, it occurs to you that since Ambrose IS working for hire, as it were, you might want to know how much each possible option would cost you in exchange, before making your ultimate selection.

So you ask him.

"Well, bearing in mind your earlier request to keep things 'reasonable,'" Ambrose says, making air quotes around the last word, "and also that I don't currently have any tasks on my plate that could stand to be farmed out, just handing over my current list of ritual sites would only require a very minor favor. Say, half an hour of your time, in a secure location. On the other hand, I would expect the modified list to be worth quite a bit more. Make it an hour of your time, involving a task somewhere no more dangerous than an ordinary city street.." He pauses. "Actually, check that: that an ordinary city street anywhere OTHER than Sunnydale or a war zone."

You nod, appreciating the clarification.

"As for the last option," the wizard goes on, "if I were to go to all the time and trouble of identifying and securing the best available location for your use, I'd expect a rather significant favor in kind. Several hours of potentially hazardous work."

"I say we go with the short list," Briar murmurs from your shoulder. "It feels like the best option of the three. Plus, if WE take the time and effort to select a site from several options, it could count as another reagent. Just going with Ambrose's choice probably won't."

You'd previously settled on the last option, yourself, but Briar raises some good points.

"I think I'll take the short list, and owe you the moderate but not-life-threatening favor," you tell Ambrose.

"A wise decision," the wizard responds. "I'll get that list to you before you depart."

You nod, and are about to walk off in search of Akkiko when something occurs to you.

"By the way, Ambrose..."

"Yes?"

"How does someone 'claim' a ritual site, anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, probably a great deal less mystically than you're thinking," he says. "For example, individuals graced with a certain eminence in the appropriate magical community can just show up and, as you Americans put it, 'call dibs.'"

"Individuals like yourself?"

He grins. "My name does carry weight in certain circles, yes."

"And for someone not so... well-known?" you prompt.

"Then it's more a matter of first-come, first-served. Or perhaps smash-and-grab is the better analogy. It really depends on who and what claims to hold the territory in question, how tolerating they are of outsiders, what bribes have been made, what favors are owed..." He trails off. "I'll be sure to make the necessary notes in the list."

"...right," you say slowly. "Um... thanks?"

"You're welcome." He pauses, and then his smile broadens. "Though for reference, if you find yourself having difficulty negotiating for use of a site, I would be happy to weigh in on your behalf."

"For a price, of course."

"Of course."

"I'll be sure to keep your... generous... offer in mind, Ambrose," you say. "Though I hope you understand that I'd like to at least TRY to stand on my own merits first."

The wizard nods. "Of course, of course. The most effective way to learn not to make a mistake is by making it yourself. The sting of failure gives you a real reason to want to avoid it in the future."

Oh, come on. Did he have to put it like that?

Actually, you're quite certain that Ambrose's answer would be a resounding, "Yes!"

Consequently, you don't voice your objection aloud, and you make every effort to avoid letting what you're feeling show on your face.

"In any event," Ambrose continues, "I believe I've taken up enough of your time for the time being. Toodles~!"

And with that, the wizard shuffles off down the hall.

You let him go, more interested in catching up with Akkiko and inquiring about spiritual matters. The Arisawa matriarch is nowhere in sight, doubtlessly having slipped past you while you were talking with Ambrose.

Once again, you turn to the servants for directions-

"Ah, there you are, Mister Harris," the man you've approached says.

-only to find that they, apparently, have been looking for you.

"If your business with the Master and Mistresses is concluded, sir, Miss Kahlua requests your presence in the garden."

You have been summoned.

You thank the servant and head for the garden.

About halfway there, an idea occurs to you. It's an awful, terrible idea, and it makes you smirk.

"Alex," Briar says slowly. "What are you thinking?"

You tell her.

Briar blinks, and sighs.

And then she, too, begins to smirk. "Ah, what the heck. Let's do it."

Having received adult-ish approval, you cast a minor Spell of Silence on your person - something that will muffle any sounds you make while moving around, as long as you don't make too much noise - and then follow it up with a Spell of Invisibility. Then, suppressing your aura as tightly as you can, you resume your approach to the garden.

As you re-enter the ballroom where most of the main events of Kahlua's party were held yesterday, you spare a moment to note how big and empty it feels now, compared to then.

Pushing that impression aside, you stalk across the hall to the large glass door that connects to the porch. Here, you pause again, checking to see if anyone is out there, and if exiting the castle through this door will ruin your surprise or not.

Fate - or some other power - is with you. The deck is clear. You can see several of your peers and at least two adults over by the gazebo, doing... something or other. Regardless, they're far enough away that you're able to open the door and slip outside unnoticed. From there, it's a simple matter of sneaking invisibly across the yard, gathering mana slowly as you softly murmur the words of a spell, which you deliberately don't allow to finish.

Holding the magic in a state of near-completion, you move within easy sight and earshot of the gazebo.

Gained Ki Concealment D++
Gained Stealth C

No one's noticed your approach. Katara and her mother are both seated on the edge of the nearby pond, letting their feet rest in the water. The rest of the kids are scattered about, all of them busy with a surprisingly ordinary game of "I spy," in which Altria has apparently spotted something white which is not the gazebo, the flowers, or anyone's clothing.

Satisifed, you straighten up and release your Spell of Pyrotechnics, causing a flash, a bang, and a burst of colorful but utterly harmless smoke to rise around you.

"WHO SUMMONS ME?" you boom from amidst the display, as you fade back into view.

Sokka yelps, leaps a good three feet into the air, and slips on landing, ending up on his butt. At the same time, there are splashes from his mother and sister.

"SONNOVA-!" Tatsuki yells, as she whirls around, halfway into a guard stance.

The Shuzen girls are less vocal in their response, but otherwise react in much the same way.

As for Altria, she starts, and then claps one hand over her eyes, with a groan of, "Alex."

In her place on your shoulder, Briar falls over, giggling.

Gained Pranking F
Gained Shadow Affinity F++

"Alex!" Kahlua bursts out. "What was THAT for?"

You shrug. "I just got out of a serious discussion with your parents and my teacher. I felt like doing something silly and childish to make up for it."

And maybe to let off some of the lingering stress from the various Bad Things that have happened over the course of your visit, though you don't mention that aloud.

"Mission accomplished," Tatsuki growls, as she tries to relax.

You smile at her, and then clap your hands together. "So. The servant that found me said you'd requested my presence, Kahlua. Was it just to make sure I knew where to find the rest of you, or was there something in particular you wanted?"

"A bit of both, actually." Kahlua regards you with frank curiosity. "What exactly have you and my parents been up to all day, Alex?"

Should you tell her?

Omake: Eh, why not?

You thought about your answer for a bit. On one hand no one actually suggested keeping the whole deal a secret, on the other hand mixing doomsday prophecies and small children sounds like a terrible idea. Then again Link did save Hyrule as a small child several times...

Eh, why not? What's the worst that could happen?

Decision made you figure there is no point in stalling any longer. "We were just discussing how the Holy Grail in Fuyuki City contains an ancient god of evil waiting to be unleashed upon the world and bring about the Apocalypse."

The reactions are unsurprisingly quite mixed. Sokka, Katara, and their mother all seem to have turned a deathly shade of white which is really quite understandable given the news. It's everyone else's reactions that are odd.

For some reason Tatsuki find your statement so hilarious that she burst into uncontrollable laughter and is currently attempting to use one of the Gazebo pullers to support herself and avoid falling over. Altria just facepalmed and started muttering something that sounded like "Why did it have to be the Holy Grain again?" to your ears. The Shuzen sisters however take the cake for the bizarrest reaction of the lot; they all gained this starry look in their eyes and are positively vibrating with excitement.

Just as you finish processing the sight before you, you are struck with a rather fatalistic, but also somewhat realistic given your luck so far; all of you are going to end up getting involved in the Fifth Holy Grail War somehow.

You're just glad that odds are you'll be the one stopping the world ending disaster this time rather then being the world ending disaster.

Omake End

What have you been up to?

"Something that I'm pretty sure would get me in trouble with your folks and my teacher if I discuss it in public without their permission." You shrug. "Sorry."

And you are apologetic, but better to be sorry than REALLY sorry.

After all, the prospect of having three adult vampires - one of them a Dark Lord - and Lu-sensei all angry at you?

Do. Not. Want.

Kahlua dons a pouty expression. "You can't even say a little bit?" she presses.

"Nnnnot about what I was discussing with your parents," you say reluctantly, struggling manfully to ignore the feelings of guilt that well up at the sight of that quavering lip and those sad eyes. "I mean, I did spend some time AFTER that trying to get Ambrose to help Briar and I out with our familiar binding ritual, but I'm fairly sure you're not interested in that..."

Suddenly, a wild Kokoa appears, grabs the front of your shirt, and pulls you down so you're looking her square in the... downright STARRY eye.

"You can have fairies as familiars?!" the littlest vampire exclaims in delight.

"Er... yes?"

She squeals. "TEACH ME HOW!"

Um.

"There's one problem with that, Kokoa," you say cautiously. It's kind of awkward talking to somebody who: a) is smaller than you; b) has the front of your shirt in a death-grip; and c) possesses any level of superhuman strength, but you like to think you manage to retain your dignity.

"And that is?"

"You need to have mastered a certain amount of magic to be able to successfully bind a fairy as a familiar," you explain.

"I can do that!" she insists.

Rather than reply with words, you activate your Mage Sight and give the youngest Shuzen a once-over. Hm. As far as you can see, she has no real talent for magic, or at least no more than the average human being. Given years of training in your style, or a suitable patron and practice in one of Earth's native styles, she could probably reach a level of mastery sufficient to bind her desired familiar.

But, do you really want to tell her that?

Although you did have a mischievous impulse just a moment ago to offer to teach Kokoa magic, now that you've taken a minute to think seriously on the subject, you're forced to admit that it would be more than a little problematic. The Shuzen adults have already demonstrated a reluctance to get their daughters too mixed-up with the Hellmouth, so if you were going to seriously train Kokoa, you'd have to teleport to her on a regular basis. Weekly, at the very least, for there to be any chance of real progress. It would take up a lot of time, which is a resource you don't have in particular abundance, and it's a committment that you'd have to stick to once you'd made it.

Plus, there's the reaction of all the other kids gathered here to think about, and not just Kokoa's older sisters. What kid DOESN'T want to learn magic?

Still... do you really want to disappoint a cute little girl?

"You probably could learn magic," you admit slowly. "If you stuck to it."

Kokoa beams, and you sigh internally, knowing that this next part is probably going to disappoint her.

"But anything else, you should talk to your parents about."

As expected, Kokoa's bright smile turns wooden. Asking parental permission: the BANE of all small children.

Then she scowls and dons an expression of determination that would be fierce if she weren't so small and cute. It's kind of like being glared at by a kitten.

"Fine, then," Kokoa says resolutely. "I'll do that."

And she lets go of you, turns, and marches towards the castle, all but radiating determination.

"Kokoa?" Kahlua calls after her.

"I need to go talk to Mother and Father," the littlest sister calls back, not slowing her pace in the least.

Kahlua blinks and turns to give you a look of confused curiosity. You can hear the words, 'what did you tell her?' as clearly as if she'd spoken them aloud.

"I was trying to let her down gently about the whole fairy thing," you reply in bemusement. "Instead, I think I ended up encouraging her to get what she wants."

"Oh dear," Kahlua sighs.

Evidently your skills with younger kids still need some work - or maybe it's just your skill at dealing with Kokoa. On the up side, you didn't make any promises - otherwise, you get the feeling Kokoa would be holding you to them.

Is there anything else in particular you want to do at Castle Shuzen?

You spend half an hour or so hanging out with the other kids, playing a few rounds of "I Spy" - and later, Hide and Seek - but it's mostly for form's sake. You have something else you'd like to attend to, but you don't want to appear rude, and so while you take part in the games, your heart really isn't in it.

On a side note, Sokka is REALLY good at the "seeking" part of Hide and Seek. He's not too shabby at the "hiding" aspect, either, but he can't escape your heightened perception even when you AREN'T using supernatural enhancement. When the tables are turned, though, you have almost as hard a time not being found by him.

You manage it, but it's close.

Making your apologies, you bow out and go looking for Akkiko. Once again, and probably for the last time, you turn to the servants to guide you to your intended destination-

"Excuse me, Master Harris," one of the maids says.

-and once again, it seems somebody has pre-empted you. "Yes?"

"Master Lu wanted to remind you that you'll be leaving within the hour, and that you should be packed and ready to depart."

You look around for a clock, and find one nearby, reading... huh, is it quarter to two already? You keep losing track of time in this place - you have to wonder if that's because of all the distractions, or if it's a natural quality of Castle Shuzen or the demiplane in which it stands.

Leaving that aside, you consider your situation. You didn't bring that much stuff with you, and it shouldn't take that long to pack it back up. On the other hand, you ARE planning to bring Briar's new house back to Sunnydale with you. Getting all the little odds and ends in that thing either tied down or removed and packed away could occupy you for a while, even WITH magic.