FateBleached Apocrypha part 1 Factions

by TransG1fan

The Holy Grail & Hogyoku: both of these devices created for the purpose of granting wishes. So what happens when the worlds that created them collide? Aizen decides to watch as the Grail war in Trifas unfolds except he's decided to make some modifications: instead of 2 factions how about 6? And Ruler gets help from a certain substitute soul reaper and midget soul reaper.

4. Chapter 4 Ceasefire and Grail talks

Fate/Bleached Apocrypha

Part 1 Factions

Quick announcement! I have put up a poll on my account page. The poll is about the soul reapers that are currently partaking in the round table discussions and whether they should be regulars in the story or save them for the end of the part 2 in the story where the Bleach side of things will be more at the forefront anyway. So, check that out if you are interested.

With any luck this will be the longest chapter of this story. Mostly due to the round table discussions with the Servants. But they have the most Servants to talk about this time. Still there will be indicators where the heavy dialogue begins and ends. Hopefully this will help.

Also, a guest review brought up the need to not use shorthand regarding writing as a whole and especially when doing characterization and know that I will endeavor to correct this habit of mine going forward with the exception of Np for noble phantasm as since this one and at least a few others will be discussing Servants and their capabilities and saying noble phantasm repeatedly in quick succession will get tedious. The only exception here is Byakuya saying it properly due to his noble upbringing.

Next, for those of you who aren't aware. I have been updating and making changes to the previous chapter based on the feedback that non-guest reviews have been leaving. So, if you want to have changes, save for chapter length as a whole I'm sticking to my guns on that one, made to chapters either previously or going forward please do it as a username review so that I can pm with you to discuss the feedback you have and so that I can give proper credit for corrections or additions I make for the chapter based on feedback. Guest reviewers will not get this sadly other than a small shout-out where I can give it. Once again thank you for taking the time to leave reviews all the same. Now a few shout outs to non-guest reviews from the last chapter.

fabianemmanuel15: Thank you for the review and just to let you know that I did make changes in Chapter 3 concerning Arash's np based on your feedback.

lalnivarhranngul001: Thank you for the review as well and just wanted to let you know that I did make changes in chapter 3 regarding the differences between magical and spirit energy based on your feedback.

Finally, I don't own anything from Bleach or the Fate franchises and please support the official releases of both. Now onto the next installment!

Personal thoughts, Servant/Master (also Jeanne and Laeticia internal) communication,Zanpakuto speaking, Inner Hollow/regular Hollow speaking.

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Chapter 4: Ceasefire and Communing with the Grail

===Soul Society – Seireitei – Ukitake's office – 4pm (Tokyo time)

Ukitake sat at his desk going over the reports but while he was looking at the papers in front of him, his mind was elsewhere. I suppose it's better we had this meeting about what's happening in Romania this morning rather than at night or I would have the first of many sleepless nights last night. Although given that we'll be having a few more of these meetings, I'll probably still be in for quite a few sleepless nights anyway.

Suddenly a kaleidoscope tear appeared in front of his desk, catching him off guard. Ukitake's eyes widened in shock as he got to his feet. Then a figure stepped out of the tear which closed behind them. Now his eyes widened in recognition. "Zelretch?!" he exclaimed. The figure revealed to in fact be the Wizard Marshal Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

"Jushiro Ukitake. Wonderful to see you again. The last time we saw each other was the night before your graduation from Soul Reaper Academy. That was what, 700 years ago?" he asked with a cheeky smile.

"And yet you-" Ukitake began still in a shake of shock.

"Haven't aged a day since then? Well, when you're immortal you find that not aging comes with the territory. And you also have a lot of time on your hands." he said cheerily. Then he took in Jushiro's appearance. "Well, well. I see you've gone quite far in your career. A Captain now. See, I told you that you had nothing to worry about when I took you and Shunsui out to celebrate your graduation the night before the ceremony." he added. Jushiro, who had still been sporting a shocked look, now frowned deeply.

"You got both myself and Shunsui so black out drunk that night that we almost missed our graduation ceremony the next day. Yamamoto was so furious how we both just slipped in as our names were being called that I'm surprised that he didn't activate his Bankai on us." he said deadpanned. Zelretch merely chuckled.

"Ah, that would've been a sight to see. But enough of strolling down memory lane. I'm actually here on business." said the Wizard Marshal. He then adopted a more serious expression as he pulled out a series of manila folders and handed them to Jushiro who was now sporting a curious expression as he took them.

"What are these?" asked Jushiro.

"Profiles for every one of the Masters that are participating in the War in Romania." answered Zelretch simply. This startled Jushiro.

"Shhh! You could've given me time to set up a privacy barrier. That sort of thing is to be kept under wraps and besides how do you even know about it?" Jushiro asked demanding to know. Zelretch was once again smiling cheerfully and gestured to Jushiro. Exasperated Jushiro simply sighed and snapped his fingers and a Hako barrier appeared outlining the room. "Now please answer my question." Jushiro demanded.

"Gladly. I'll be brief and give you the Spark notes version of things with me." he said cheerily. From there, he proceeded to reveal that he was a True Magician, his True Magic, the Kaleidoscope and how it worked, and his position in the Mage world as Wizard Marshal. By the time he was done Jushiro felt overwhelmed as he put a hand on the front of his face and slid it down as he pondered over this new information.

"So how is it that you can get here?" he asked Zelretch who still smiled cheerfully.

"The same way I'm able to view the multiverse and travel from physical place to place within this timeline. Kalaidoscope. Though I can't time travel. When I first became a True Magician, I experimented with my new abilities which is how I found out about the Soul Society. Since I'm the Zelretch of this timeline, crossing dimensions within this timeline is within my abilities though it does tire me out after just a few crossings and since I have to get through the Dangai first then get to here, no doubt I'll be out of commission for at least the next few weeks when I leave and return to the World of the Living. Though it won't be nearly as taxing as the last time I used a substantial amount of my abilities." Zelretch answered.

"I'm not even going to ask what you were doing when you did that." Jushiro sighed. "So, you know about the Holy Grail War in Romania." he said. It wasn't a question.

"Indeed. Several timelines of the multiverse show a Great Grail War occurring within Romania and many of the things that kick it off have been happening in this timeline. So, I at least know a few things about it. Though I must emphasize that there are several things different about this War. Namely the inclusion of Soul Reapers and Hollows. In almost all other timelines either contact was never made between our worlds, or you all just don't exist. So, this is an exciting new wild card to throw into the mix and I want to see where this will lead to. And thanks to my kaleidoscope I'll be able to watch as events unfold in the present in this timeline." he said excitedly.

"Can your abilities allow you to see into the future?" asked Jushiro. Zelretch grew thoughtful.

"Only possibilities. Are you familiar with the butterfly effect?" Zelretch asked. Jushiro nodded. "Well, the one time I directly intervened in this timeline with someone caused them to become participants in this Grail War. Granted that's what I wanted to have happen, but who's to say that the next time I directly intervene, an outcome I don't want will occur? Even by giving you these profiles of all the participating Masters in the War, who knows what that will cause down the line. So, I figured that by simply remaining a third-party observer and only minimally interfering, it might increase the chances of getting a favorable outcome. Perhaps not for everyone, but for the majority. And besides whether we like it or not this event will cause our two worlds to collide, and they will never be the same afterwards." Zelretch pointed out.

"On that we can agree. Were you by any chance able to see Aizen with that kaleidoscope ability of yours?" asked Jushiro. Zelretch merely shook his head no.

"Either he is in hiding, not participating at all, or due to my abilities being tied to Magecraft, I simply can't see him. Now only a few things to let you know about. The gold Faction is made up of the Einzberns. One of the founding families of the Grail War. This family is made up entirely of homunculi, think of them as artificial humans but created through Magecraft rather than science. This includes the Head of the Einzberns Jubstacheit von Einzbern or Old man Acht. Though no one would ever call him that to his face." said Zelretch with a slight snicker.

"So, like Gikon." said Jushiro. He briefly elaborated on this concept to Zelretch who nodded intrigued but stayed on task.

"The white Faction only has one Master named Manaka Sajyou though how she's able to maintain that many I'm not sure even with how skilled her profile has her at. Then there are about 7 children and 2 priests participating as Masters. The latter two I had to call in a favor from the Catholic Church to get my hands on those. And the children ones will no doubt be scarce on details due to their ages and the unwillingness of their families to disclose that information." warned Zelretch.

"Children and priests are participating?" asked Jushiro shocked. "I knew that one was with a relative who was a Master-" he started.

"Ah that would be Sakura Matou. And yes, she's one of the children participating as a Master." said Zelretch.

"But she's only 11 years old!" Jushiro exclaimed.

"The Grail's not picky when it comes to the participants as long as it can fill up the slots in the end." Zelretch noticed Jushiro looked saddened by this revelation, but he pressed onwards. Now one final thing, I left my contact info with those folders so everyone you trust can have me on speed dial." said Zelretch.

"You know how to use a cell phone?" Jushiro asked curiously.

"Oh yes. I'm probably one of the few Mages who not only has the knowledge but actively encourages the use of technology. But that's rare amongst Mages as a whole. Now we need to come up with a cover story so that it won't look too suspicious for you to suddenly have these profiles. And I would prefer to keep my involvement in all this a secret, at least for now. Otherwise, if the wrong people find out before we want them to, it could lead to unexpected problems that we're not ready for down the line. I'm sure that you understand that Jushiro." Zelretch pointed out. Jushiro reluctantly agreed. Then the two cobbled together a cover story. Jushiro would call his colleagues in Romania that he had an old contact that he in hindsight suspected was a Mage and would see if he could convince them to get him files on anyone who left for Romania within the last year. Then act like he snuck over to pick them up and hand them over to whoever would be meeting up with the Romanian group next. Then if asked, he would say that the person in question would answer their questions but only if they called him using the contact info otherwise Jushiro had agreed to keep quiet about this contact's identity in exchange for the information. "Well now that that's over with, I must be off. Apologies for not keeping in touch with you, Jushiro but when something catches my interest, I latch onto it until I get bored or it's over. And then move onto the next thing that catches my interest." said Zelretch with a small smile.

"At least it explains why you went from visiting me regularly during my time in the academy to disappearing for 7 centuries after I graduated. And not a single communication after that. Still, it was nice to see you again, old friend. Incidentally, why did you decide to help with this whole thing even if only in small ways?" asked Jushiro curiously. Zelretch's smile turned cheeky.

"Simple. Entertainment and boredom." he answered simply. Jushiro looked flummoxed by this and with that the kaleidoscopic tear appeared again and Zelretch stepped through it. It closed behind him. It was like he was never there. Only the manila folders on his desk were the only proof of his visitor. Jushiro sighed and dismissed the barrier before he put the folders in his desk drawer and got back to the Soul reaper reports. He needed to wait before handing those folders off to whichever member of the 4th division they'd send to Romania to sell the cover story. Well, I guess I'll be in for a long night here. He thought picking up the pen to put his signature on another report.

===Romania – outskirts of Trifas – Emiya base of operations – same time (9:30 am)

Kiritsugu woke up to find himself alone in bed. Confused, he checked the electronic clock on the nightstand to see it read 9:30 am. Deciding he had enough sleep he got out of bed and freshened up. 20 minutes later he got himself dressed in a gray yukata and black obi securing it at his waist. With that he headed out of the room and headed towards the kitchen. Along the way he picked up the distinct scent of bacon cooking and it caused his mouth to water. He reached the kitchen to see most of the Silver Faction's Servant's sitting around either watching Illya being instructed by her mother in magecraft or in the case of Saber of Silver and Shirou E. doing the cooking for everyone present. However, Kiritsugu noticed that one member wasn't present. "Where's Berserker?" he asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Nice to see you awake, Darling." said Iri sweetly.

"Berserker is outside standing guard around the two houses. Along with Rider's big kitties." said Illya.

"They're called Sphinxes, little mage." said Rider with a small smile. Illya looked confused.

"But they look like cats with fancy headdresses and have starry fur though they don't have any faces which makes them a little scary." Illya argued. Rider laughed, looking highly amused.

"Ah but that makes them all the more terrifying to anyone who dares to trespass here without explicit permission." Rider reminded her. While those two were having their discussion Kiritsugu sat at the dinner table and watched as his son and Servant served him a hearty Western style breakfast. It consisted of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and sausages. After a quick prayer of thanks, he dug into the food savoring the taste as it was delicious, and he said as much.

"I must say that I didn't know that the King of Knights was a good cook as well." Kiritsugu commented.

"Before I became King, I was squire to my adopted brother Kay and adopted father Ector. Since they were knights and I was a squire, it was considered natural that I be the one to learn how to cook as my rank of nobility was lower than theirs in society. Grand destiny of Kingship notwithstanding. While doing so, I found that I enjoyed cooking so much that even after I became King and had access to all the greatest cooks in the Kingdom, whenever I didn't have to partake in a banquet or even just had a private dinner with my wife Guinevere, I would cook either for both of us or just myself a meal on days I'd eat alone. It was a way for me to relax and a way that guaranteed that the food wouldn't be poisoned." said Arthur with a wry smile. Lancer, who was finishing up eating something out of a bowl at the same table, chuckled.

"Ah so there was a practical reason to your hobby." Lancer of Silver commented on. By now Shiro E. and Saber had packed up and put away all the food. Archer and Lancer, who finished eating were now collecting all the plates and bowls, save for Kiritsugu's, and headed over to the sink and began washing the dishes.

"Dad? I heard from Lancer that the arbiter or referee of this war declared a ceasefire for the next 3 days. Is that true?" asked Shirou E. Kiritsugu stopped eating for a second before he nodded and continued eating. "Then is it alright if we head out into the city?" Shirou E. asked. That question caught Kiritsugu off guard.

"What?" Kiritsugu asked in surprise.

"Well, its daytime so there's little to no chance of the other factions starting a fight with so many witnesses around. And since the referee forbid fighting for the next 3 days the chance of fighting is even more unlikely. And we can use exploring the city as a chance to try and scout out the other factions." Shirou E argued. Kiritsugu gave a small smile.

"You just want to go out and explore the city, don't you?" Kiritsugu pointed out with a chuckle. Shirou E. flushed in embarrassment at being called out for his true motives. "Well, I was hoping to set up defenses, magical and mundane, for our base." he said as he finished eating.

"Well Caster and Rider have already established their territory and had begun to set up magical defenses while we all slept. And Berserker is acting as sentry for our base. So, all that's left is to set up the mundane defenses which you specialize in, dear." Iri pointed out.

"And we can take our other Servants with us. We can even shop for clothes for them." suggested Illya excitedly. Kiritsugu gave a defeated sigh.

"I know a lost cause when I see one. Plus, if we do this at the start rather than near the end, we lessen the chances of encountering conflict with other factions as everyone else will either be in the bases shoring up their defenses or out and about right now gathering information." Kiritsugu reasoned. "Alright. Let me get dressed into something more appropriate for our outing. Since all of us Masters will be going which Servants are coming?" he asked as he finished up breakfast and handed off the dirtied plate to Arash.

"Obviously, I shall be going, advisor. As pharaoh, it is necessary that I see who my future subjects will be. Besides, I'm curious to see who we'll run into and see what this era has to offer." declared Rider.

"Jackie's coming, too. We need to especially get her clothes so she's not in that raggedy cloak and indecent Servant attire." Iri declared. Jackie cheered with happiness that she was going on a trip with her new family.

"Can we pick out our new clothes, Mommy?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course. But we want to make sure what we get you will be something we all like, okay?" asked Iri. Jackie cheered happily again. Everyone older than the children smiled fondly at the scene before them.

"Berserker said he'll stay behind and guard the houses while we're gone." said Illya.

"I think I'll head with you as well, Master, I mean Lady Iri." said Caster. "Then once we get back, I'll start shoring up the magical defenses here."

"And since Berserker is staying I'll come as well to guard miss Illya." said Archer with a smile.

"Since I'm the only Servant for you, Master I will come along, too." declared Saber to Kiritsugu.

"Allow me to accompany Master Shirou as well, Lord Kiritsugu?" asked Lancer.

"So basically everyone but Berserker is going. Alright give me ten minutes to get changed and then we'll head into town." said Kiritsugu as he headed back to the bedroom.

"How are we going to get there? By car? I don't think the Servants can all fit in the car with us." Illya pointed out.

"We can easily take my ship as it can go through the air." suggested Rider.

"That might cause too much unwanted attention and my family and I wish to keep a low profile pharaoh." Kiritsugu hastily pointed out.

"Perhaps it might be better to just go to spirit form and materialize outside city limits while the Masters drive their vehicle to town, pharaoh." Archer pointed out. Rider seemed a bit put out by this but sighed.

"I suppose that could work as well. But once the fighting starts properly, I shall be using it with merry abandon." he said with a challenging smile. With that Kiritsugu headed to the bedroom to change clothes for their outing.

===Romania – Yggdmillenia fortress – Einzberns quarters – living room – same time

Darnic and old man Acht sat at a coffee table once again and were playing yet another game of chess with the grail and Servant pieces of red and Black. Darnic played black and old man Acht played red once again. They were roughly about halfway through their game.

"Have you been informed of the recent developments?" Darnic asked.

"I have." old man Acht answered simply.

"Any thoughts?" asked Darnic. Old man Acht captured one of his pawns. Old man Acht looked at him.

"Elaborate." he replied. Darnic kept eye contact with him as he carefully chose his next words.

"Do you wonder what could've caused the excessive number of Servants to be summoned?" Darnic asked cautiously.

"You want to ask if our tampering with the Grail caused the high number of Servants summoned." stated old man Acht. It wasn't a suggestion or a question. For a few moments nothing else was said as the two true leaders of this rebel force stared each other down. Tension seemed to be mounting. Then as quickly as it seemed to build, it vanished as old man Acht looked back down at the game and moved one of his Servant pieces. "An understandable and logical question." he said. This caught Darnic off guard as he'd been expecting old man Acht to get defensive about this accusation. "I wondered that myself when I heard the number of Servants summoned. 6 factions worth if my memory serves, right?" old man Acht asked. By now Darnic snapped out of his shock and proceeded to continue the game.

"Yes." Darnic answered.

"I had Merlin check the Grail to see what might've caused it and the answer I got was surprising." old man Acht said. At Darnic's interested look old man Acht continued. "He found that it was tampering with the grail that caused it. But not ours." he said.

"What?" asked Darnic shocked. Their game effectively forgotten.

"The Grail, it turns out, was tampered with but in the sense that someone had it rigged up to some kind of power source that is providing it with more energy than it can contain. So, with nowhere to go with all that excess energy it did the only thing that it could do. Summon more Servants to absorb the excess energy. Which thanks to the fact that none of the founding families ever put a cap on the number of factions that could exist should the back-up system be activated, this means that 6 factions worth of Servants was the required amount to absorb the excess energy." explained old man Acht actually sporting a grin. Darnic looked shocked.

"Required? As in it had that much excess energy that it needed 43 Servants summoned just to not have become a magical bomb?" Darnic asked in disbelief.

"Yes. And that's not all. Essentially the grail and its power source are providing most of the upkeep for all the Servants summoned and is supplemented by the Masters. This isn't new but in a typical Holy Grail War with just 7 Servants the grail provides about 60% of the upkeep needed for the Servants while the other 40% is split between the ley lines of the area and the Master's own magical reserves though that split varies depending on the Master in question and their magic circuit count. By contrast, for this Great Holy Grail War the grail is taking up 80% of the upkeep for over 40 Servants but without even tapping into the ley lines of this area. Instead, the remaining 20% is all coming from the Masters. Meaning that whatever power source the grail is hooked up to is allowing Mages to only minimally support their Servants while leaving them otherwise free to use their Magecraft and tapping into the ley lines of the area without draining them dry. But that's just the upkeep. Noble Phantasms, however, are still unknown and with this current ceasefire we won't find out until it ends." old man Acht explained. Darnic grew thoughtful at this point.

"True but with the Black and gold factions tied to our homunculi the free use of their noble phantasms should be fine." Darnic then eyed old man Acht. "I take it that due to how much we benefit from this discovery and how well it goes with our already existing plans, you don't wish to terminate it?" he asked. Old man Acht sported a serious look again.

"Make no mistake. I will have Merlin continuing to look into this matter. However, until we discover who or what this power source is and whether we can have the one who rigged it up as our tool or ally, I believe that this should remain between us. I personally don't care if we have to end up severing this connection with this power source and the grail as long as it won't damage the latter. We can always rely heavily on our homunculi to take care of the upkeep of our Servants. Something our enemies don't have the luxury of." old man Acht pointed out.

"I see. So, until the ceasefire ends, we'll let it be and see where it goes and hopefully once the fighting begins in earnest, we'll be able to track down this source and use it for our own ends." stated Darnic now giving an arrogant smile. "Then I see nothing wrong with this course of action or keeping our allies in the dark for the time being until we have more information." he added.

"Good. I'm glad we were able to come to an understanding. Now I believe it's your turn, Lord Darnic." said old man Acht with a sinister smile. With that the two resumed their game of chess.

===Romania – inside mountain/cave system – White Faction's base of operations – same time (10 am)

Manaka had just finished up her meat heavy breakfast. Rider of white was just behind her. She got up from the table and headed over to her scrying mirror once again. Rider, if you'd be so kind, dispose of my plate as I'll make a new one when it's time for lunch. She said over their connection. As you wish, Master. Was his reply. With that she allowed his presence to fade to the back of her mind as she arrived at her destination. She then reclined on the sofa in front of the mirror and with a wave of her hands, she caused the mirror to fog slightly before it became clear once again. This time the image was that of the town of Trifas itself. Since it was daytime, she saw people selling their wares, others buying, children playing and overall people just going about their lives. Manaka looked a bit bored by it all.

"These people have no idea just what is actually about to happen in their little town. I almost feel sorry for them. Almost." she said smiling slightly at the end of that comment.

Then her eyes widened as she saw something that caught her eye. With a wave of her hand, she caused the mirror's image to move to where she saw something that had caught her attention. It turned out to be the long pink braided hair of an androgynous individual. They were dressed in civilian clothes that consisted of a knee-length blue jean skirt and jacket combo and pink tennis shoes, but she couldn't see anything else including their face as their back was to their mirror's image. Next to them was another brightly colored haired individual this one clearly a girl and sporting a black goth Lolita outfit and a simple gold necklace on her. Her hair covered her eyes though Manaka could see her eyes peeking out every so often. Then there was the last individual of this trio, this one was clearly a boy, and he was wearing a white and gold military uniform and was sporting glasses. His normal brown hair and blue eyes made him the most normal looking of the bunch even with the uniform and seemed uneasy and constantly looking around.

"Well judging from the wild colored hair, I'm going to say that two out of three are Servants while the normal looking one is the Master. But of which faction, I wonder." Manaka thought allowed. Then she adopted a playful smile. Why wonder when I can just find out. She thought.

Archer. Assassin. She called over the link. Yes, Master? Both asked simultaneously. Whatever you're doing, put it on hold. I have a little assignment for you. Manaka responded. What is it, Master? asked Archer of White. I want the both of you to head into Trifas and survey the area and if you spot anyone that looks like a Servant try to follow them and see if they reveal their True Name. I'll be observing things via my scrying mirror and help in tracking the movements of those that I find or suspect. Manaka ordered over the link. Understood, Master. Came the simultaneous reply. With that Manaka looked to her mirror once again. Sadly, this scrying mirror has no sound so even if I watch them, I can't hear anything that can be said. But that's what the Servant-Master Sensory Link is for. Manaka thought, looking disappointed. Oh well I may as well continue to observe them. Afterall the ceasefire said no actual fighting. It does not mean that I can't gather information to figure out who my opponents will potentially be. She thought, keeping the image fixed on the trio.

===Romania – forests outside Trifas – Tohsaka's base of operation – living room – same time

Kariya, Sakura, and their Servants were in the living room of their b&b home and were doing their own thing. Kariya was typing something on a laptop while glancing over to see how the others were doing. His Servant was quietly reading a book, Sakura was practicing her Kido incantations and trying to memorize them while her Servant was watching everything with a keen eye. Kariya smiled a bit at the scene before returning to his laptop. Suddenly his iPhone rang. This caught the others' attention. He quickly checked to see who was calling. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the caller ID. He immediately accepted the call.

"Teacher?" he asked hesitantly. Sakura got excited and stopped what she was doing and came over to Kariya's side smiling.

"Kariya! So good to talk to you. It's been a while." said Urahara on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah. It has. I think the last time I called was when I told you we were leaving and heading out of the country to participate in the Holy Grail War." said Kariya.

"Yes. Heading to Romania if I recall correctly." said Urahara slyly. Kariya gave a fond smile.

"Yes. Sorry I didn't call sooner but Tokiomi had us perform the summoning ceremony maybe a day ago and we've been just getting used to our Servants and we're also getting over the jet lag from traveling." he informed Urahara. "Do you want to say hello to Sakura? She's right here." he asked as he looked at Sakura.

"Of course! I want to say hello to my favorite adopted niece." replied Urahara enthusiastically. Kariya smiled fondly and handed the phone over to Sakura who took it excitedly.

"Hi, Uncle Kisuke!" she greeted happily.

"Hi, little Sakura! How have you been?" asked Urahara sweetly.

"We've been great. I summoned a Servant all on my own!" said Sakura happily. Mistress. Are you certain that this uncle can be trusted? Asked Medusa over their link. It's fine Medusa. Uncle Kisuke is the one that taught me the kido spells that I've been practicing. And he's not a mage so I know I can trust him. Sakura assured her Servant.

"Mind if I ask what class your Servants are? Asked Kisuke getting her attention back to the phone.

"I summoned Rider and Uncle Kariya summoned Berserker." said Sakura.

"Sakura. Hold on. Before we go any further why don't you try setting up a barrier first." Kariya suggested. Sakura's eyes widened and handed the phone over to Kariya. Then she closed her eyes and lifted both her arms to the ceiling. Kariya sat down on the floor close to her with the phone still in hand as he watched.

"Bakudo #2 Kame no kōra no shōheki." she chanted and then a translucent dome appeared over the pair though their Servants remained outside of it leaving things a little cramped for the two of them. Master, is everything alright? Asked Jekyll to Kariya over their connection. Everything is fine, Jekyll. I trust my teacher completely. The barrier is just so Tokiomi doesn't hear what we say to my teacher. Kariya assured him. Very well. I'll trust your judgement, Master. Said Jekyll. Kariya spoke into the phone again.

"Okay. The barrier is set up so we can talk freely now." he said. From there Kariya and Sakura revealed the True Names of their Servants and explained their family and the Tohsakas made up the Blue Faction and gave the Class names for each Master of Blue.

"So, Cu Chulainn was Ayaka Tohsaka's Servant then as she's the Master of Lancer of Blue." concluded Kisuke. This shocked Kariya and Sakura.

"How do you know that? We only gave you Class names for the rest of our faction outside our Servants." asked Kariya, surprised. Kisuke brought them up to speed on Ruler, her plight, the arrangement that was made with him, and their current strategy and what they've learned up to this point. Though he only stated that Rukia was the on duty soul reaper posing as Ruler's Servant. While Ichigo, his godson, was providing support. At first Kariya was shocked to hear that part with Ichigo only for Urahara to remind him of Ichigo being nearly 17 which was older than Sakura was and she was an actual Master. Then he stated that Rukia and Ichigo would only be acting as Ruler's bodyguards and nothing else. Kariya's face looked determined though he wasn't happy by the situation. "So, you called us for more than just to check in on us." he concluded.

"While that was the main reason for the call, the other is I need you, Kariya, at least to do me a favor. I need you to gather as much information as you can on finding out the other Masters of this War." stated Kisuke.

"Not the Servants?" asked Kariya, confused.

"Ruler's already got that covered and she needs visual contact to be made in order for her True Name discernment Skill to work. But the Masters are the true wild cards and right now you're the only one that I trust to get us that information if you can." said Kisuke firmly.

"I can help, too." said Sakura volunteering herself. "I have an idea to help ensure that Ruler can see the Servants even if she can't meet them directly."

"No Sakura. I already don't like the idea of an 11-year-old child participating in a death match War, much less putting themselves at further risk spying on adults to gather information. Use your Servant if you must but don't put yourself at any further risk than that. Same with you Kariya. Aside from using your Servant to gather information, don't do anything reckless. If you think that it's too risky then don't bother. Yoruichi and I will find another way to get the information. Now that being said. What can you tell us about the Masters of your faction?" he asked that last bit a little more cheerily. Sakura and Kariya exchanged a nod and started informing Kisuke everything they knew about the Masters of Blue. But Sakura insisted that Kisuke at least hear out her idea.

Meanwhile in another part of the house, the study specifically, Tokiomi set up his mage workshop and was currently discussing strategies with Kirei. "It's a shame that neither of our Servants were present to see Ruler or her Servants as then I could've at least gotten an idea as to what these Saber, Caster and Mad Hatter Servants looked like. Honestly who willingly calls themself Mad Hatter?" Tokiomi thought aloud.

"If I recall correctly, Berserker stated that Mad Hatter called himself that specifically because he otherwise equally qualified for Assassin, Caster, and Saber Servant Classes. The latter two are already filled by her other two Servants. So perhaps he's an Assassin class Servant." suggested Kirei.

"An Assassin that wields a sword? Don't be ridiculous. No, I think Mad Hatter must be a Skill that hides information about him including his True Name." Tokiomi said confidently.

"Should we really be obsessing too much over Ruler's Servants? Since she's meant to be the Arbiter of the War, then her Servants are not meant to have any role other than enforcing her will should her command seals for the other participating Servants not be enough." Kirei pointed out.

"You are correct, my student. But it's best to have contingency plans ready so that if the unthinkable should happen, you have something to fall back on. Still the quickest way to end the war is to simply grab the Grail and get it back to Fuyuki as quickly as possible. So, the question becomes how we are to make that work for us." Tokiomi thought aloud. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. It opened to reveal Aoi. Tokiomi smiled warmly at her. "Aoi. I take it you slept well?" he asked.

"Yes, I think we're all over the jet lag finally. But we forgot to get groceries before we summoned our Servants and now that we've all woken up there's no food." Aoi pointed out sheepishly. No sooner had she said that all three of the adults' stomachs growled quite loudly.

"I think a grocery run sounds perfect. But be sure to take your Servant with you for protection." said Tokiomi. Aoi nodded.

"I'll get the girls and we'll all head out to shop for food. I'll buy enough to feed all of us for the next few days." said Aoi firmly.

"Very well and Kirei will stay with myself as we further discuss strategy." said Tokiomi.

"Perhaps you should also ask Kariya to accompany you and the girls to the market." Kirei suggested. This surprised the couple.

"Why would you suggest such a thing, Kirei?" Asked Tokiomi cautiously. Kirei looked at Tokiomi passively as he replied.

"You've assessed that of all our Servants, Kariya's is the most expendable due to his lackluster parameters and unimpressive skills and abilities. So would it not be better to have him be useful as a bodyguard and a sacrificial lamb should the girls run into any threats. Besides this way, our more valuable assets will still be available to us and if we lose Berserker, well we've already felt he was dead weight anyway and we'll be rid of it. Your thoughts, teacher?" He asked. Aoi looked troubled by how little Kariya's contribution was being looked at and how dismissive the men were to her presence, but she remained quiet as she wanted to know how her husband would respond.

"You do make good points. Kariya Matou has kept his word to keep his interactions with Aoi to an absolute minimum. And retaining that here in such a small house would be impractical. And we do need his continued cooperation until Berserker is gone. Very Well. Aoi you may inform Kariya that due to circumstances that I shall be more lenient about his interactions with you and the girls but should he take things too far or take advantage of my leniency, member of our faction or not, I will end him. Be sure he understands this." Tokiomi ordered with a severe expression. Aoi kept a neutral one.

"I understand and I will inform him of this." She said. Tokiomi nodded.

"Then I give permission for him to accompany you and the girls to go shopping as you'll need all the help you can get." Tokiomi said with a cocky smile. Aoi bowed meekly at this.

"Alright. Goodbye see you when we get back." she said, turning around and waving goodbye to the pair as she closed the door as she left. Tokiomi returned it as his smile became more genuine.

"So do you have any idea where the Grail would be located?" asked Kirei and with that both men got back to strategizing.

===Romania – Urahara's vacation home (Ruler's base of operation) Ruler's bedroom – same time (10:30 am)

Jeanne finally woke herself up after a very late night and feeling very jet lagged. This was one of several sensations of having a real body that she didn't miss. The extreme tiredness. She looked over to her nightstand and saw the time. She decided to get up and freshen up. After she got done, she changed into her day clothes. These consisted of a knee length sleeveless blue dress, blue flats, and a white blazer. Once dressed she headed out of her room. The smell of food wafted in the air. She followed it to the kitchen where she saw all her allies either making food or sitting at the table watching. This included the plushie forms of Noba and Ririn. Yoruichi (still in cat form) looked over at her as she entered the room.

"Ah Jeanne. Glad to see you finally up. Care for some breakfast?" she asked. Jeanne smiled and nodded.

"Sure. So, what are we having?" Jeanne asked.

"Thought maybe you'd like a western breakfast for our first morning here." said Ichigo as he was frying some eggs.

"When did you get groceries? We didn't get any last night." Jeanne pointed out curiously.

"Yoruichi, Ririn, Noba, and I went grocery shopping as soon as the market opened up and once we finished making our purchases and headed outside city limits, I had Ririn cast an illusion on us so no one spiritually aware would notice us and then I had Noba teleport us about half a mile and then we flashstepped the rest of the way." said Urahara. Rukia looked at him in concern.

"Did you sleep at all last night? I know that it was about 3 am when we went to bed, and you were still up." Rukia pointed out.

"I'm used to pulling all-nighters and I had a few projects I wanted to get started on." said Urahara.

"I'll make sure he rests later today." Yoruichi reassured her. Jeanne nodded, feeling better. She looked at Rukia then about to ask her something then when Ichigo spoke up.

"The last time I remember, Noba could only teleport something about two meters in his plushie form. And I know that we didn't bring a gigai for him. So how did he go from two meters to half mile range in Plushie form?" asked Ichigo as he cracked a few more eggs on the skillet.

"Simple. I made improvements and adjustments to the range on Noba's teleporting ability in plushie form over the last 3 months. I figured that now was the perfect time to test out his abilities and see if the improvements had helped. But the best he can do is half a mile or somewhere in that radius. That thankfully goes away once he's in either a body or gigai and his range increases significantly." said Urahara.

"And Ririn?" asked Jeanne curiously.

"Ririn specializes in illusions and she and Noba can combine their powers together if need be. But she herself doesn't have much to improve on with her abilities as her imagination is the limit." Urahara replied. This satisfied Jeanne as she looked at Ichigo as he finished cooking.

"Did you guys already eat then? And I'm the last one? Do you need help?" asked Jeanne.

"No. Rukia and I got up about a half an hour ago. And she set the table while I cooked. I'm almost done, and we can eat together." said Ichigo. He finished putting some eggs on a series of plates. "You can help me hand out the plates though." he added, holding a plate out to Jeanne who quickly took it along with two other plates of food. Once all the food was handed out, she sat down with everyone. She was shocked by how tasty it was.

"This is delicious. I didn't know you could cook Ichigo." she said delightedly.

"My younger sister Yuzu took it upon herself to do the cooking and cleaning in our house when our mom died. But there would be days when she would get sick. Karin felt she couldn't do anything except soccer and our dad would burn water if he was even given a chance to cook. So, I learned how to cook from Yuzu. That way we wouldn't starve on the days she got sick. It's not as good as her cooking but it's at least edible." he admitted slightly embarrassed.

"You sell yourself short, Ichigo. It's delicious. I think you should do all the cooking while we're here." suggested Rukia with a sweet smile.

"Actually, I could help. I helped my mother cook in our household all the time." Jeanne offered. Ichigo smiled a little at that.

"Thanks, Jeanne. I appreciate that and might take you up on that offer later on." he said. For several minutes everyone ate quietly simply enjoying the meal. With only the Plushies not participating.

"Since we couldn't be with you guys last night and we both were unpacking your things while you were at your meeting, I wanted to ask what the plan is for today?" asked Ririn.

"Were the both of you not brought up to speed on the situation?" asked Jeanne.

"Mr. Urahara and Mrs. Yoruichi told us everything that took place last night. We saw the notebooks to see what kind of Servants we're potentially up against." said Noba. Jeanne nodded.

"In that case I want to head to the town of Trifas and see if I can locate the Black Faction. I'm almost certain that it's that fortress that Saber of Black's master mentioned during our brief encounter." said Jeanne. At everyone's surprised looks she elaborated. "My connection with the Grail tells me that its vessel is located there. And I need to commune with the Grail to see if it will be able to help me figure out what could've happened to cause so many Servants to be summoned in the first place. Before going to bed last night, I felt for Ley lines in the area." She quickly explained how ley lines were essentially magic circuits for the planet that produced mana in the area and Servants would often go to places where these ley lines were to absorb the energy there as a way to restore themselves of energy in the event their Masters couldn't or wouldn't. But the energy provided by these ley lines was finite. Using the Holy grail War of Fuyuki as example she pointed out that the ley lines there consisted of 1,000 units and it still took 60 years for the mana lost between wars to rebuild back up to its original capacity.

"Ah yes I do recall some of the tomes Kariya gave me talking about such subjects." Kisuke said as he put his hand on his chin.

"Does Karakura have ley lines then?" asked Ichigo curious.

"That's what I thought too, but when I went to your house to spend the night, I tried to sense ley lines in the area but came up with nothing. The fact that your hometown is so dense in energy and yet no ley lines exist, is honestly quite baffling." Jeanne pointed out. Kisuke corroborated this pointing out how mages would come into Karakura sensing such dense concentration of energy yet find no ley lines. He further hypothesized that there was a correlation between mage's magic circuits and the ley lines though what that was he had yet to figure out. Since he was certain that mana and reishi were the same energy for different cultures and mages just weren't spiritually aware of the true status of the energy levels of the world due to the magic circuits suppressing the ability to be spiritually aware.

"Could it be because of Karakura being the current Jūreichi that even mages could sense the dense energy?" asked Rukia. At Jeanne's confused face, Rukia elaborated on the term stating that it was an area of dense spirit energy that ensured all inhabitants of the area were some levels of spiritual awareness even if only as a 6th sense for keeping them out of threatening situations. While not unheard of for populated areas to become a Jūreichi, Karakura was the first area with a major population to become it.

"I'll admit that this is all interesting, but we do need to get back to the subject at hand. You said that you tried to locate the ley lines in our current area, Jeanne? What did you find?" asked Yoruichi as everyone looked embarrassed as they started going on a tangent. Jeanne cleared her throat.

"Yes. I was able to locate where the ley lines are at here. They are centered where the fortress is located outside of the town of Trifas. But the strange thing is that despite the number of Servants summoned the ley lines appear to be showing no sign of drainage of energy." Jeanne revealed. This put everyone in deep thought.

"You said in Fuyuki it takes 60 years to generate enough energy to sustain a Holy Grail War. How long does it last normally?" asked Kisuke.

"About two weeks. But you have to think of it as a grand ritual being performed over that period of time with the Grail doing most of the work of sustaining Servants which is connected to the area's ley lines." explained Jeanne.

"How long do you think the war would last with this many Servants if it was running normal?" asked Ichigo.

"You wouldn't be able to summon more than 8 to 9 Servants at most before the ley lines would be at their limit. And this is taking into account that this Grail War is taking place 10 years later than normal and in an area that is more remote than Fuyuki so there's significantly more energy to work with." explained Jeanne.

"So, in other words, the only way this many Servants could be summoned and not tap out the ley lines of energy is only if something else that's extremely powerful is connected to the Grail and feeding it the energy it needs to do the job." Rukia reasoned.

"And you think that by somehow communing with the Grail, you'll hopefully find the answers you're looking for. Any guarantees that the Black Faction will let you do this?" asked Yoruichi suspiciously.

"With mages, there's no guarantee. But with the new developments, my wanting to get answers, and my command seals, I'm almost positive that I can get us an audience and air my concerns. Beyond that, I don't know." Jeanne admitted sadly.

"Odds are that word has already spread about Gordes and Saber of Black being unable to see Ichigo and Rukia in their soul reaper forms, so we'll have to have a cover story to go along with our current one about the both of them and me being your Servants." said Kisuke brainstorming.

"Why not just tell them the truth? Or at least part of it? Not the part of us being Soul Reapers obviously but give them details about our abilities that are true?" Ichigo suggested.

"Hmmm. That could work. You could say that when you don your Servant attire a skill activates that causes only Servants tied to Masters who've experienced death or witnessed it to see them." Jeanne said as she started thinking about it.

"And if they show up in their current forms how is that going to be explained?" Yoruichi pointed out. This drained the excitement out of the room as this new conundrum was brought forth.

"I think I got an idea. But it means that Yoruichi and I will have to ditch the code names altogether along with the misinformation of us posing as Servants as well." said Urahara. From there he layed out the cover story that they would use for the time being.

The story would be that upon realizing the sheer number of Servants being summoned, Jeanne panicked and decided to summon her own Servant for protection. Her ritual was interrupted when she was attacked by a hollow. This would give them the excuse to explain Hollows to the Black Faction. She completed the summoning ritual but was wounded in the process and summoned two Servants Ichigo and Rukia. Urahara stated that due to lack of understanding technology, the odds of finding any information on either of them would be slim to none so giving their real names should be fine.

After summoning, they disposed of the Hollow and Urahara who had been tracking the Hollow in order to exorcise it stumbled upon the summoning. Then reveal he's a member of the Soul Society. A global military organization of spiritualists that is dedicated to hunting down and exorcising Hollows. Explain that they possess no magic circuits but can perform a magic known as kido and have developed devices like gigais and gikons. Briefly explain what those are and have Rukia and Ichigo demonstrate them using Ririn's gikon for the demonstration. The cover story would continue saying his presence at the summoning influenced the Servants chosen as both were former members who had passed away 150 years ago. The two of them can claim that both were counter guardians accidentally summoned as Servants due to Urahara's presence so it's very unlikely that very much information will be found out about them. Jeanne saw no issue with that part of the explanation as while not common, it's not unheard of, especially when compatibility is the crux of the summoning rather than a catalyst. And Counter guardians in general aren't very well known even between Servants as they are often desperate people or those who had no impact on history as a whole anyway so Servants having no knowledge even with their True Names revealed will not be unheard of either.

As to why the latter two devices were created. Kisuke just made them as experiments: Gigais to see if it was possible to transfer living souls into new false bodies and was successful to find no deterioration of the soul and the body remained stable for long periods of time. His own current body was a gigai hence why Gordes could see him, and he'd been using that one for 50 years and the body hadn't broken down or showed signs of aging at all. It was designed to look and feel younger, and it has been. Throw in the fact that Kisuke had already been living in his original body for 80 years prior to that just to mess with the mages.

The soul society liked them and had him make enough gigais for all members. As a result, members could enter and exit gigais without too much issue and could then remain on the current plain of existence by using their false bodies as an anchor similar to a Master/Servant Contract but with the individual being both. The only downside was that if the gigais didn't have a soul inhabiting them for longer than 24 hours than it would start to break down. Hence the creation of gikons.

These artificial souls would temporarily inhabit the gigais for however long the actual owner was away along with keeping the gigai safe and intact for that same duration and then once the original owner returned, they would use devices like special badges or gloves to eject the gikon out of their gigais upon direct contact with the gigai and then reinhabit them. As for the pill form of the gikon, it is just for easy portability purposes.

While Jeanne recovered from the attack, Kisuke experimented on her Servants and found some interesting data: upon being put in the gigais and giving them gikons to utilize they came across something unexpected- the gigais became the anchoring point as expected but due to gigais also designed to absorb the ambient energy around them to keep the souls in them from deteriorating this also meant that the Master no longer had to provide energy for them. Essentially, they stumbled across the ability to artificially reincarnate Servants.

Basically, the gigais and gikons remove the symbiotic nature of the Master/Servant contract by being the anchor and energy source for the Servant and keeping it safe and intact when the Servant needs to exit the gigai for whatever reason, so the only thing keeping the contract intact is the command seals and the good repour that exist between the Master and Servant. Kisuke, eager to see the long-term effects of this experiment, decided to accompany Jeanne and her Servants as, one, he wanted to actually witness a Holy Grail War firsthand and two, he wanted to see if the Servants could survive past a Holy Grail War without their Master if they still used the gigai and gikon.

Beyond that, everything else would be treated like a Servant skill or in the case of zanpakutos, their noble phantasms but no Bankais for now. Only when it becomes necessary will the truth about soul reapers be made known.

"You've got to be kidding me, Hat n' Clogs. I feel bad enough lying by omission but straight up lying, too." Ichigo said making his discomfort known.

"While I'm not fond of this idea myself, Mr. Urahara's idea of spreading misinformation does have merits. After all, by the time the truth comes out we will hopefully be in a position of power be it lesser Servants overall or Masters that will want extra command seals, so they know to play nice until I no longer have seals for them. And hopefully we will have other failsafes ready by the time the ruse is discovered. What I don't understand, Mr. Urahara is why paint such a big target on your back with this cover story? And for the ditching of the original code names and cover story for you and Yoruichi what am I suppose to tell them when you gave the 'Mad Hatter' spiel? And what of Yoruichi's role?" asked Jeanne, confused. Kisuke gave a sly smile.

"Actually I can just chalk the whole 'Mad Hatter' bit as nothing more than him just trolling people because he gets a kick out of making people look like idiots. That's actually not a lie at all. He does that kind of stuff all the time cause he finds it funny." said Ichigo deadpanned.

"Of course. How else am I to get my entertainment?" asked Urahara cheerily hiding his face behind his fan.

"As for myself, my role as information gatherer won't change. I can shapeshift between this form and my true form. Only a few participating Masters know of my shapeshifting ability, and they have been sworn to secrecy. To everyone else I'm either just a regular cat or if I speak in this form, they'll think I'm a very highly advanced familiar. I'll just claim that I'm the familiar of Kisuke Urahara as that's the ruse that we did last time, and it worked perfectly. We even went as far as having others believe that Urahara named his familiar after his wife Yoruichi so addressing me by my real name won't look out of place. And then when I reveal my true form and name, I'll do so separately so they won't know of my shapeshifting ability." said Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded except she paused as she realized something.

"I wondered why you were being addressed as she but sounded male in your cat form all this time. So, your true form is female then?" asked Jeanne in astonishment.

"Oh, that's right you haven't seen my true form. Well, come tonight before the meeting, I'll show you. But yes. My real name is Yoruichi Shihoin. Wife of Kisuke Urahara. Sorry for not introducing myself properly before now." said Yoruichi chuckling. "But let's address your first question then. Kisuke?" she asked looking at Urahara.

"Right. The reasoning for putting the target on my back is four-fold. First the claim of Ichigo and Rukia being counter guardians as stated earlier. Second the appearance of Hollows means an unexpected monkey wrench that most if not all mages and Servants won't know how to deal with. So, by knowing that Ruler's 'Servants' are especially equipped to handle such a situation and that it's made clear that they won't interfere with the War outside of dealing with Hollows, ensuring Ruler's safety and carrying out her orders then it's likely that most will leave things as is since it will mean less problems for them to deal with. Thirdly, I want them to focus all their attention on me concerning all non Grail War related concerns because if any are stupid enough to try and come after me or Yoruichi, well the both of us spent about half of our collective nearly 300 years either being a part of or leading the Stealth force. Throw in our raw power and both mine and Yoruichi's no scruples policy when it comes to fighting and outside of using their Servants as attack dogs any mages can expect to be bodied in 4 moves. Finally, I want to try a carrot and stick approach with the Masters and Servants respectively with the devices of gigais and gikons." Urahara explained.

"This is the only part of the cover story that I'm not sure on. Even if myself and Ichigo do a convincing job of demonstrating these devices using Ririn, there might be unintended consequences. Like Servants or Masters or both that want to take up this artificial reincarnation being presented." said Rukia.

"Ah but that's the point, Rukia." said Yoruichi. At everyone's confused looks Yoruichi elaborated. "The two of us have had the most interactions with mages so we have a pretty good idea of how their minds work. Those with the hunger for knowledge, hate when something they've thought as gospel truth is disproven and then horde new information like a magpie does shiny objects and most tend to be absolutely paranoid. That is exactly the kind of reaction we want to generate with these 'revelations' if you will. The carrot will be the Servants who might see these as devices that will get them out of being forced to serve someone that treats them horribly and the stick will be the Masters as this will hopefully trigger their paranoia and suddenly want to keep their Servants on a tight leash and make them concerned enough to worry about rebelling. All these combined with Kisuke's earlier arguments will hopefully play to our advantage and make them more focused on finishing the war as quickly as possible rather than worry about you and Ichigo, Rukia." she said.

"And if we have to cough up the goods we alluded to?" asked Ichigo still not liking this.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. So, with all that out of the way any other complaints or modifications to the plan today?" asked Kisuke.

"Two modifications to add. As Ririn is the only one who will openly demonstrate her abilities, Noba should come along in his plushie form, but we will not tell anyone as I think that if things go pear shaped, he'll be our secret getaway. I'll also be going as well to explore the fortress and if anything goes wrong I want Rukia to flare her spiritual pressure and I'll be there to help with the escape if necessary. By the way, Jeanne. If you are able to get in touch with the Grail, could you ask it where the bases of the other factions are located?" asked Yoruichi.

"I could but I'm not sure if I'll get an answer or one that will be favorable for us." warned Jeanne. Yoruichi nodded.

"That's fine. Worst case scenario is we get nothing, and I'll just have to find them the old-fashioned way." said Yoruichi as she waved off the problem.

"Okay. I guess the only other thing to figure out is how we are going to get to Trifas. Are we going to go there in our Soul reaper forms? Hitchhike there again?" asked Ichigo.

"Actually there's a motorcycle and sidecar out in the little attached garage. I figured Ichigo could drive it while the girls and Noba rode in the sidecar. Said sidecar has been equipped with a little pocket dimension that guarantees that no matter how many people sit in it there will be enough room for everyone to fit comfortably. I just need to check everything both spiritual and mundane to make sure everything is in working order and then you all can get going." explained Kisuke.

"Yeah. One problem. I don't have a license or a learner's permit for a motorcycle yet and never got around to getting one beforehand as I was occupied by other things." Ichigo pointed out.

"Have you at least driven one before?" asked Noba curiously. Ichigo shook his head.

"Actually, I can drive it. While Ruler is the class that I would normally be summoned under I qualify for both the Saber and Lancer Classes due to my Nps. Both of which are Knight Classes which is often given the Riding Skill due to Knights needing to learn how to ride as part of their training. As for myself, I also learned to ride a horse as I needed to be seen by the people and my soldiers and being on horseback helped. Due to not being a proper knight it's only ranked C, but I can still utilize it to drive mundane vehicles with ease including motorcycles." Jeanne said.

"Alright then. I think we've got a plan of action then let's get to it." said Yoruichi eagerly.

===Romania – in the town of Trifas – marketplace – 11 am

How did I end up in this position? Caules thought to himself as he sighed in frustration. In less than 20 minutes of strolling through town he was either purchasing goods that weren't essential or was using copious amounts of hypnosis to convince people to forget they saw anything unusual. Not even half an hour and already I've spent more money in that time than I had spent in the last month and that had been on essential items. Honestly, just what are Servants going to do with all this stuff? Most of it is just useless knick-knacks. Caules bemoaned as he carried two heavy bags of things that Rider and Berserker of Black had him purchase. Suddenly He felt one of the bags being taken away and he was about to shout when he saw that it was Berserker of Black that took it leaving Caules at a loss for words temporarily. She was now dressed in a black and green goth Lolita dress and was wearing a simple pendant necklace courtesy of Caster of Black. As far as the rest of the population knew she was just another young girl in a goth outfit. No one else saw her horn or plug-like pieces on the sides of her head. Still she looks kind of cute. He thought. He quickly snapped out of it though. "Oh thanks, Berserker. You really didn't have to do that though." Caules said trying to shove his own issues aside for the time being. Berserker grunted quietly in response. His thoughts began to drift elsewhere. In particular, about his own Servant. To think that she was the creation of a mad genius and yet he regarded her as a monster. She's not at all what I was expecting compared to her portrayals in movies and books. Not even close.

"Hey Caules!" Said another voice. He looked to see a more effeminate figure a bit shorter than him approach. This individual was dressed in a blue jean skirt and jacket combo with a plain white t-shirt underneath the jacket. On their feet were a simple pair of purple and white tennis shoes with their long pink and white hair braided and festooned with black ribbons. Hard to believe that this person is a guy. At first glance one could be forgiven for thinking that Rider was a girl. Still Caules straightened up as Rider of Black came face to face with him taking note of the fact that Rider was sporting a rather depressed look on his face.

"What is it, Rider?" Asked Caules patiently.

"My Master just called and said she wants me back at the fortress asap. So I guess I'm done exploring the town for today." Answered Rider looking all mopey.

"You don't have to sound so depressed about it." said Caules.

"You've seen Celenike, right?" said Rider. Caules and Berserker nodded. "Then you understand why I'm not too enthused about going back to the fortress." he said depressed. He then perked up. "But she didn't give me a time for when I had to get back so why don't we just take our jolly old time. So, let's grab something to eat and head back after." Rider of Black suggested. Caules on the other hand panicked.

"I don't want to be on the receiving end of Celenike's sadism!" he said louder than intended. Realizing he got more attention than intended he quickly coughed and composed himself. "Let's just grab a snack and we'll head back, okay? Sound fair?" Caules suggested. After a few moments Rider reluctantly nodded.

"Alright. Let's go." he said disappointed. With that the two headed back towards the fortress. Almost immediately Rider of Black perked back up after Caules bought the three of them Gogoși. Rider's was stuffed with chocolate, Berserker's was stuffed with strawberry, while Caules didn't get one for himself as he was still carrying the two bags since Berserker gave it back to him while she ate her Gogoși. "Say Caules. I wanted to ask about yours and Berserker's wishes." said Rider of Black, catching the other two off guard.

"What?" asked Caules, not sure he heard right.

"Exactly what I asked. I've been going around asking everyone what their wish is, and I've gotten several different results. The gold Faction I haven't been able to locate the Servants, so I have had no luck on getting their wishes. As for the gold Faction Masters, the only thing I got from them is that they are following their clan head's lead of wanting to obtain the true Magic that they lost. Then there's Assassin and their Master. Miss Angelica wants to regain the Magic that her family lost as well though what that magic was, she was tight lipped about. As for Assassin, apparently, they suffered from multiple personality disorder in life and now that they're a Servant they just want to be whole once again. Then there's my Master and myself. The funny thing is that neither of us have any desire for the Grail to grant. It's probably the only thing that both of us have in common." Rider chatted on.

"Wait, really!?" asked Caules, surprised. Berserker cocked her head to the side in curiosity.

"Yeah. She apparently just wanted to summon me specifically for herself and since she got what she wanted her wish has already been granted." said Rider offhandedly. Caules couldn't help but look concerned and even with sympathy at Rider. Knowing Celenike, that's probably just the first step to what she wants to do with you, Rider. You have my deepest sympathies. Caules thought privately to himself. "As for myself, I just want to use this opportunity to enjoy my new life for as long as possible and just be me. I suppose if I was really lucky and by some miracle won the Grail War, I would probably like to travel the world and help people where I can in my own way." he said with a laugh. "Then there's Lancer and his Master. Lancer wants to erase the existence of, we'll just call it the novel, yeah that sounds neutral enough. Anyway, he wants to destroy the novel that actually is the basis for his worldwide fame because he hates that it's tied to him in any way. Then if he wins the War just wants to rule over his territory as now, he doesn't have to worry about his homeland being invaded anymore and he can just be a proper lord that he was denied in life." Rider of Black pointed out.

"That's true. The last technical invaders were the Communists and they pulled out about 20years ago or more. And after that no one else has tried to invade it since. So he's got a pretty good shot at getting that wish granted." Caules commented as he thought out loud. Berserker looked at him with a cocked head showing that she was curious about his comment. Caules just gave her a shrug.

"Then there's Caster and her Master. As far as I can tell Caster admitted to just wanting to live a life on her terms in this current era without the gods present. And since her Master is a 13-year-old child, I'll chalk up his age to him not really having a wish since when I asked, he really didn't give me an answer. I guess he never considered that as an option before." said Rider.

"Well, Darnic and Roche are both mages, so it's likely that both have the default mage wish of reaching the Root, but knowing Roche he would just want to continue to make better golems and any true wish would most likely be tied to that if he had any." Caules reasoned. Rider and Berserker nodded in agreement.

"That's true. So, the only ones left are Saber, Archer, and You and Berserker." said Rider.

"You haven't asked them yet?" asked Caules.

"Oh, I have asked the former two. You two are the last ones I have yet to ask of our Faction So what is your wish for the Grail." Rider asked curious. Caules thought about it then spoke.

"I want to know what the other two pairs' responses were before I answer." Caules said firmly. Berserker grunted in agreement and nodded. Rider shrugged.

"Sure. No problem here for me. Okay. So, I first asked Saber and his Master though I had to get the former alone as his Master was adamant that he not talk to anyone unless he had to. When I asked his Master, he got really defensive, but I did get an answer out of him in the end. Basically, he just wants to see his family name to once again rise to the prominence that it once had. As for Saber the most I got out of him for an answer was two-fold. On the one hand he does have a wish but it's one he wants to grant with his own power. Though he did admit later that if there was something he wanted that only the Grail could grant, he admitted that it would be able to reunite with his beloved wife." said Rider, the last part dreamily.

"Wait! Saber of Black was married!?" asked Caules shocked. Rider nodded.

"I know, right? It was a shock to me too. But apparently he was, and he would like to be reunited with her again so he can apologize for causing her so much pain and grief when he died. But that's all I got from him otherwise." Rider confessed.

"And Archer and his Master?" Asked Caules.

"They were the most specific wishes I was able to get. Archer wants to regain the immortality that he lost in life." Rider said.

"But don't you guys gain a form of immortality upon becoming Servants? I mean technically you guys don't age or get sick." Caules pointed out.

"That's what I said to him. And while he agreed he stated that he wanted specifically the immortality that he got from his parents. When I asked why, he said that he wanted that bond that connected him to them." Said Rider.

"But given who he is, there's no love lost between the three of them. Why would he want a connection to the people who wanted nothing to do with him?" Asked Caules.

"According to Archer it's because he knows that even the grail won't be able to give him back his wife as Saber's wife, according to Archer, at least can qualify for the throne due to having a legend in her own right. By contrast, Archer's wife was just folded into his legend so he's certain that he'll never see her again. But he wants to still have that familial bond so he's decided to settle with the bond to his parents as it's all he can regain as a Servant. Personally, I think he should try to make a new family for himself here in the present, but I have no right to judge him." Rider admitted.

"You mean like found family?" asked Caules curious. Rider of Black nodded with a small smile. "And his Master?" he asked.

"Well apparently shortly after getting your family crest, there was an unfortunate side effect where her body didn't fully reject it, but it caused her to become lame in her legs." Rider began.

"WHAT!? I thought that her lameness had been due to the activation of her circuits." Caules exclaimed only to once again silence himself remembering he was out amongst people who weren't mages. Rider looked at him with sympathy.

"So, you had no idea." said Rider. Caules shook his head no. "Well anyway her wish is to have the grail fix her legs without giving up her magic circuits. That way she can still be a mage but can walk on her own two feet under her own power." he finished. Caules smiled fondly.

"Yeah, that would be her wish. And I certainly hope she gets it." Caules said. Suddenly Berserker got up in his face and was staring at him. It took a few seconds for him to realize what she was trying to do. "Oh. You also want to know about my wish, don't you?" he asked. Berserker grunted in affirmation. "Well, the truth is I don't have one." he admitted. This seemed to not satisfy the two Servants of Black. "I'm sorry but that's the truth. I mean all I want is to make sure that my sister survives the war. I suppose that if my sister died during the war then I'd use the Grail to bring her back to life but beyond that, I don't have anything that I want the grail to grant." he admitted shyly. This seemed to satisfy the Servants and Rider turned his attention to Berserker.

"So, what about you, Berserker? What's your wish?" Rider asked with a smile. Berserker frowned and grunted before she pointed to Caules and started walking towards the sidewalk that was next to one of the main roads leading out of town. Rider looked disappointed but turned his attention back to Caules. "Do you know what her wish is?" he asked.

"Given who she is, her wish is to have a mate of like type. But when I asked her about the homunculi, she outright rejected them. So I have no idea what she sees as her ideal mate." said Caules with a shrug. By now they had caught up to Berserker of Black only to realize that she had stopped walking altogether when Rider made a move to go forward, she silently held out her hand in front of him while the other one simply pointed ahead causing the two men to look at what she was staring at ahead. What Caules saw caused his eyes to widen in a panic, but he found himself frozen in fear.

On either side of the road on the sidewalks were two groups of people. The first group was a trio consisting of a man, woman, and a little girl. The latter two had shades of purple hair and the man and girl were carrying bags of what he assumed to be groceries. On the other side of the road was a larger group of people. This one consisted of 9 people. 4 males, 2 woman, and 3 kids that looked to be about Roche's age or younger. One boy and 2 girls. Everyone was dressed in casual clothes so that aside from their exotic features they could easily be mistaken for tourists. But Caules understood that these were most likely Masters and Servants, though for which faction he wasn't sure yet. The two groups were talking to each other seemingly cordially, but Caules couldn't hear anything that was being talked about. They were far enough away that his command seals weren't burning so they didn't know the three of them were there either. Suddenly three more figures appeared out of nowhere and looked at the larger group as if in a stand-off. It didn't take long for Caules to come to the conclusion that the three newcomers were Servants, most likely reinforcements for the smaller group.

Berserker, Rider, they don't seem to have noticed us yet. Let's keep it that way and head back another route back to the fortress. Caules said over the link, so grateful that due to being a faction, Masters of the same faction could communicate with the other Servants of their faction to better coordinate strategy with each other. The downside was that they couldn't do so with Masters of the same faction, but Caules wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, we double back and go another way? Asked Rider over the link. Yes. We're still under a ceasefire so it'd be better if we do not start anything. Caules replied quickly. But if we're under a ceasefire then that means we can just go and talk to them as long as we don't show any aggressive behavior, right? Rider asked over the link curiously. Suddenly Caules' command seals started to burn indicating that either a Master or Servant not from their faction was nearby his location. And it wasn't due to the two groups he had been watching as they were over 100 meters from his location. Which meant that someone else was within the 100-meter radius of his location.

Caules got ready to step back when he felt cold steel suddenly pressed to his throat. Caules froze instantly but yelped in surprise. This got the two groups' attention and they focused on him along with the two Black Faction Servants and Berserker started to growl dangerously looking at who was holding him hostage. "Hey what are you doing? We're under a ceasefire which means you don't have to hold him hostage like that." Rider of Black exclaimed.

"True but no one in your group made your presence known. And as a Servant, I'm merely fulfilling my duty to protect my Master. No hard feelings." said the individual still holding the knife to Caules' throat.

"Berserker!" shouted the man from the smaller group. Funnily enough Berserker of Black and the man holding Caules hostage both reacted to their name being called. The man seemed to realize his mistake and clarified. "Berserker of Blue. Let him go. Let's not start something we might not be able to finish." said the man.

"As you wish, Master." said the now identified Berserker of Blue as he put his blade away. Caules recognized it as a scalpel. Berserker of Blue then walked up to the smaller group and took his place with them. Rider of Black then followed along with Berserker of Black leaving Caules little choice but to follow them. They now stood on the same side as the now IDed Blue Faction though still about 10 meters away from them. He looked at the group across the road and recognized two of the girls as being homunculi with their red eyes, white hair, and pale skin. His eyes widened in surprise.

"You're homunculi." he stated in surprise. The man in a black suit and trench coat glared at him causing Caules to shrink under his gaze.

"I'd appreciate it if you do not insult my wife and daughter." the man said sternly. That surprised Caules immensely.

"Kiritsugu. It's alright he was startled. So, there's no need to be too hostile with him." said the woman with a gentle smile. If Caules was surprised before now, he was terrified. OH SHIT! KIRITSUGU AS IN KIRITSUGU EMIYA!? AS IN THE MAGE KILLER!? THE MAGE KILLER IS HERE IN ROMANIA!? Caules thought in a panic. His panic attack seemed to amuse the other members of the now named mage killer's faction as he heard another voice pipe up.

"Oh my, Advisor. I do believe that your reputation precedes you. The boy looks like he's about to pass out from fear. It seems that your Master's very name is able to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, Saber." said one of the other men in their group. This one was the tallest and had the darkest skin tone, but it seemed to hold a golden radiance to him. By now Caules just realized what had just been said as his panic level was shooting up the longer he processed what he was hearing. THE MAGE KILLER IS COMPETING AS A MASTER IN THIS HOLY GRAIL WAR AND HE'S THE MASTER OF SABER!? OH SHIT! Suddenly a hand snapped their fingers in front of him and snapped him out of his panic induced trance. He looked to see that the one who did this was Rider of Black.

"Hey are you alright, Caules?" asked Rider of Black looking concerned. "You looked like you were going to faint."

"So that must make you Caules Forvedge Yggdmillenia. The younger sibling of the Forvedge children. Older sister is the chosen successor of the Yggdmillenia clan." said Kiritsugu as he eyed him with scrutiny. Suddenly, Berserker of Black stepped in front of him growling slightly like a dog. This caught the groups off guard for a moment. Then Rider of Black put a hand on Berserker of Black's shoulder to stop her.

"Hold on Berserker of Black. We're still under a ceasefire so let's not pick any fights." he said gently. Then Rider of Black stepped forward and gave a bright smile. "Nice to meet all of you. I'm Astolfo. One of the 12 Paladins of Charlamagne. And I'm the Rider of Black. Nice to meet ya." he said happily. Everyone looked at him stunned that he did that. Then they heard someone laugh boisterously. It turned out to be the tallest male with the dark skin with the gold undertone.

"Ah a Servant who's either the most foolish or the bravest." He said with a challenging grin. Rider returned with a smile of his own.

"I claim to be neither. But I can confirm that I am the most handsome of the Paladins." he said cheekily.

"Well then allow me to respond in kind. I am also a Rider. The Rider of Silver. My True Name is Ozymandias, King of Kings." said the now named Rider of Silver. Caules once again was panicking. THIS GUY IS RAMESES II?! AND HE'S A SERVANT IN THE SILVER FACTION?! He thought wondering if their faction actually had a chance of winning against such a monster of a Servant and he was just one of 4 factions that either weren't their allies or were their enemies.

Kiritsugu then coughed politely. "Respectfully, pharaoh, are you sure it's a good idea to reveal your true name to supposed enemies?" he asked.

"I can't possibly allow someone like my fellow rider to show me up in his willingness to challenge others by revealing his True Name. So, I shall respond in kind." answered the now named Ozymandias.

"Still, I must advise that no one else in our faction reveal their True Names." said Kiritsugu.

"Well Master I think I already know the Saber of Blue's True Name and they vise versa know mine." said Saber of Silver. Kiritsugu looked at his Servant than at the three Servants that arrived before Caules and his group. They 2nd trio consisted of two men and one androgynous figure dressed in a black business suit. The latter got Kiritsugu's attention as they were staring at his Servant. By now the rest of their little crowd was looking back and forth between the two Sabers. A young man with green hair and an ever-present smile, though it was pleasant, from the Blue Faction spoke up.

"Oh my. The two of you could easily be mistaken for twins. Is it safe to assume that you are the male counterpart to our Saber, Saber of Silver?" The man asked. Saber of Silver looked at Kiritsugu for permission. Kiritsugu sighed but nodded.

"That would be a safe assumption. Since it seems we are introducing ourselves at least partially to one another we may as well finish. As you all have figured out, I'm the Saber of Silver. You already know our Rider and his True Name. So that just leaves the other Silver Servants." Said Saber of Silver. From there he introduced the others as Archer, Lancer, Caster, and Assassin of Silver. Kariya decided to introduce his Faction. He introduced Rider, Berserker, Saber, Archer, and Lancer of Blue. Astolfo followed up with introducing Berserker of Black though she growled at him for doing that.

Suddenly they all heard the sound of an engine heading towards them from outside of town. All looked towards the road and saw what looked to be a motorcycle with a sidecar attached to it approaching their location. As it got closer, they saw that it was carrying three people. Two on the motorcycle itself and one riding in the sidecar. Eventually Kiritsugu was even able to identify the make and model of the motorcycle as an Italian Ducati Monster and sidecar and it looked to be from the 90s. It was black with red pinstripes. Eventually the bike and sidecar slowed down and came to a stop between the factions. Now the people on the motorcycle and side car were able to be seen. The driver was a young European woman with lilac eyes wearing a jean dress with a white jacket and blue flats and her long blonde hair was done up in a braid. On her head was a black helmet that left her face exposed. In fact, all three wore these helmets. Behind her was a young man with brown eyes and was of Asian descent though he was the tallest of the three even sitting down. His hair was short enough to be covered by the helmet making it difficult to see what color it was. He wore a dark green shirt, Black jean jacket, black boots, and skintight tan jeans. Finally, the person in the sidecar was a young woman also of Asian descent and while her hair was also completely covered by her helmet, a strand of black hair that was between her amethyst eyes indicated her hair color. Since she was sitting in the sidecar it was difficult to see what she was wearing but many speculated that even if she were standing, she would be the shortest of the trio. Ruler turned off the engine of the vehicle. Then Archer of Silver spoke up.

"Hey Ruler. Nice to see you and your Servants again and in the daylight this time." he said cheerfully. The female driver looked at him and smiled.

"It's good to see you again as well, Archer of Silver." said Ruler. She looked around taking in all the new Servants. Her gaze lingered on Rider of Silver and widened slightly before tearing it away to look at the others.

"May I ask why several Servants from three different factions are lingering in the same location in broad daylight? In case word didn't reach you, I declared a three-day ceasefire starting at dawn today." said Ruler firmly.

"Your declaration was received by us, mediator." said the declared Ozymandias. "And we have been abiding by it."

"Indeed. I can't speak for the other two factions present, but we only came because our Masters wanted to go on a family outing and felt that this was the time to do so without the risk of casualties by either civilians or themselves." said Saber of Silver.

"We're only here for a grocery run and our companions took another route home in case we might be watched." said Kariya his gaze fixed on the male 'Servant'. So that's Kisuke's godson Ichigo as a teenager. He really has changed from the brief encounter from 5 or so years ago. Still how can he possibly compete against Servants even if he and this Rukia girl are just to be Ruler's bodyguards? Godson or not, even if Kisuke trained him like he did me and Sakura or in some other spiritual techniques he doesn't stand a chance against them. Then again, their class names are Saber and Caster. According to Kisuke, soul reapers all carry swords so if Rukia is a soul reaper, then she must be Saber and Ichigo must be Caster.

"And our Masters sent us as back-up in case this escalated into a fight." said Lancer of Blue offhandedly.

"And I just wanted to take Berserker of Black to explore the town today since we have time thanks to the ceasefire, and she only agreed if her Master came with us." Astolfo added with a cheery smile.

"Then if this meeting was just coincidental then I must insist that you all depart peacefully and go about your business." said Ruler firmly.

"I would like to ask one question. Does the name Kisuke Urahara mean anything to the three of you?" asked Kariya looking at Ruler and her 'Servants'. Ruler eyed him warily as did her 'Servants'.

"He assisted me greatly before accompanying me to Trifas as he wished to observe the Holy Grail War. In fact, the home I'm staying at is his vacation home here in Romania and will serve as a safe house to all Masters who've lost their Servants for the duration of the War." Ruler answered. This seemed to satisfy Kariya.

"Very well then." Kariya said. He then took Sakura's hand. "Let's go, Sakura. We don't need the others to worry about us any longer." He nodded to the trio and left along with all the other Servants of Blue. Once they were outside city limits, Ruler turned her attention to the Silver Faction.

"Will you also be departing town?" Ruler asked.

"Actually, we're going to go get lunch at a cafe in town. Care to join us?" asked the Caster of Silver. Ruler shook her head no.

"I'm afraid that I must continue with my investigations so I sadly must decline your offer. My sincerest apologies." said Ruler politely but firmly. The Silver Faction all shrugged and headed back into town. All that was left were the three members of the Black Faction. Caules wondering what he should do next.

"Hey, you guys need a ride?" Asked a male voice bringing Caules out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Said Caules as he looked at the trio on the motorcycle. The only male in the group spoke again.

"I asked if you guys want a ride. Anywhere you need to be?" He asked.

"Actually, we're heading back to Millennium fortress. I have to report back to my master and look over my purchases." Said Astolfo.

"That's perfect. I need to head over to your fortress anyway. I'd like to request an audience with your faction." Said Ruler. This surprised the Black faction members. By now the other member of Ruler's group got out of the sidecar revealing that she was wearing a lilac purple shirt that had a princess waistline with a purple ribbon tied at the front, the hem was down to her mid thigh and the sleeves were flared at the cuffs. Its neckline was modest enough that only her collarbone was exposed. The shirt was paired with a pair of light blue three quarter jeans and on her feet were a pair of white flats. Finally on her shoulder was a large bag which had a turtle plushie sticking out of it, at least it's head. Overall, she looked quite stylish and looked like she and Astolfo had similar taste in fashion.

"You all can hop in with me in the sidecar and we'll take you to the fortress." Said the other woman. Caules looked at the sidecar with skepticism.

"That's going to fit all of us and our bags into that sidecar?" He asked in disbelief.

"Urahara told me that he rigged up a Kido that distorts an area to have it actually be larger than it appears. So, there should be no problem with all of you sitting in the sidecar with your things and having enough room to be comfortable." Jeanne reassured the trio.

"Kido?" asked Caules.

"If you would like to find out what that is, then let us take you back to your headquarters and pass along a message from that I would like to request an audience with the Black Faction." said Jeanne with a small smile. While still skeptical Caules did as he was asked and got in along with the Servants. To their shock all of them and their things fit nicely together and didn't feel squashed in.

"You guys comfortable?" asked the male 'Servant' bringing Caules out of his surprise.

"Uh. Yeah. We're fine." he said hesitantly. This caused the male 'Servant' to give a slight smile. "Then let's go." said the female 'Servant.' With that the motorcycle engine started up again. And they turned around and headed out of town with Caules directing them where to go to get to the fortress.

Unbeknownst to them a figure came into view as he pulled off his green hood as he stood on the rooftop. "Did ya catch that, Master?" he spoke aloud. Suddenly he flinched and put his hand to his ear. "Geez. She finds her 'Prince Charming' and now she won't stop gushing about it." he sighed and tried again. "Master. Did ya hear anything about the conversation I just overheard?" he asked. What do you mean, Robin? She asked over the link sounding perplexed. Robin relayed everything that he overheard. "You already sent Archer of White to spy on the Silver Faction, and we already know the names of one of their Servants other than Saber of Silver. So, what do you want me to do in the meantime? Or do you want me to look into this Kisuke Urahara?" he asked aloud. I want you to see if you can track and follow the Blue Faction to their base. I want to know about that Saber of Blue and why she bears a striking resemblance to 'My Prince.' I almost was mistaken that they were fraternal twins. When you get there, try to figure out their defenses. And keep in touch with me. Then I'll figure out about getting information on Kisuke Urahara. "Understood, Master. I'll get right on it." said Robin. After a pause he sighed. "Sheesh for only being a kid, she's a real slave driver. But at least she ain't giving me shit for how I do the job." Robin grumbled. With that he pulled his hood up and disappeared once again.

===Romania – Millenium fortress – basement – same time

How long have I been here? Where am I? These thoughts had been circling in his head for a while now as he opened and closed his eyes over time. The first thing he saw was the green fluid and that he felt like he was floating. He also realized that despite the liquid he was breathing just fine. Images flittered through his mind. A few of a couple of men one gesturing wildly. A woman in a hood standing next to a child. "So, which one do you want for your next ritual, teacher?" asked the boy.

"I'll need three." said the hooded woman. The boy straightened up.

"I'll send a request to the Einzberns about using the battery homunculi, teacher." said the boy.

The next thing he could recall clearly was seeing others like him and he saw as some were tossed into a corner. In a pile. Lifeless. His eyes widened in shock and horror as he came to a cold realization. I'll be discarded once I outlive my usefulness. I'll die shortly after being born. No! I don't want this! I don't want to die! I want to live! Frantically he reached for the glass until he made contact. He balled his hands into fists and banged on the glass but to no avail. It's no use. I can't break it with his body. But if I stay, I die. Move! Move! I have to move! "Straße Gehen!" he said without thinking.

Then the glass cracked and shattered. This allowed the liquid and himself to be ejected. He fell to the ground. It was made of stone, and it was cold as was the air around him. He shivered as he lay on the ground instinctively curling up to keep warm. No. I can't stay here. I have to get out of here. With that thought he slowly and painfully got to his feet. Then he took his first unsteady step and nearly fell over. He stood still and took deep breaths before he took his next step. Then another. And Another. Slowly he made his way to where he saw a set of stairs that led up to a door that he hoped would lead him out of this place. All this lit up by the green liquid of the other pods containing other members of his kind. Have to get out of here. He continued with that thought spurring him on.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – courtyard – 11:30 am

By now the motorcycle and sidecar with all its passengers arrived at the courtyard of Millennium Fortress. "I don't believe it. We actually were all able to get here just riding in this old vehicle and it was comfortable despite the number of us all in the sidecar." said Caules in astonishment as he and everyone disembarked. Several homunculi in white uniforms for men and women and carrying halberds approached the group. Caules handed over the two bags over to them. "Please make sure to take these to Lord Astolfo's room." he ordered.

"Of course, Lord Caules." replied the male homunculus wearing a beret on his head along with his white uniform.

"Also do you know where my uncle Darnic is?" asked Caules curiously.

"Lord Darnic is currently with other members of the Secession in the throne room." said the girl homunculus. Caules nodded. The homunculi carrying the bags departed and headed into the fortress. Caules turned to the trio that weren't part of the Black Faction. By now everyone had removed their helmets and Caules finally saw the male's hair color which reminded Caules of an orange. Not to mention that without the helmet the male 'Servant' looked to be a little older than him. Maybe early 20's at most. As did Ruler. The shorter female 'Servant' looked closer to his or his sister's age. The female Servant handed the bag she had over to Ruler, who took it and slung it over her shoulder. He approached them.

"Thank you for the ride. I'll deliver your message to the others but I'm not sure how long it will take to get an audience. So, you'll have to wait here for the time being." said Caules formally. Ruler nodded.

"We'll wait here for a response." she said firmly.

"The homunculi will stay with you and escort you in should you be granted an audience." said Caules. With that he turned and also headed into the fortress. Once he was gone Ruler turned to her two bodyguards.

"I guess we should get comfortable. I'm not sure how long it will take before we'll be allowed in, it we even will be allowed in." she said with a sheepish smile. Ichigo and Rukia shrugged.

"Can't be helped." said Rukia. Ichigo noticed that the homunculi staring at them intently.

"Uh. . . have we done something offensive?" he asked curiously. While the homunculi's stoic expression didn't change a female one answered.

"No, you haven't done anything that I have been taught to see as offensive. Why do you ask?" she asked.

"Cause you're looking at us very intently." he answered.

"We have been instructed to watch all who come to the fortress and report back our observations to our masters." said one of the male homunculi.

"So, you're not Servants like us?" asked Rukia. As they were talking Yoruichi, in cat form, slinked onto the seat of the sidecar. Using a few gestures with her paw she activated a kido that turned her invisible. Then she hopped out of the vehicle and stood before one of the homunculi guards and waved her paw in front of them to test if they could see her. There was no response. Satisfied, she turned towards the entrance of the fortress proper and heard Ichigo's question of 'What exactly are homunculi?' before she took off into the fortress using flashstep.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – basement – same time

Homunculi were cleaning up the mess of the broken supply pod with Caster of Black, her hood down revealing her light blue hair, blue eyes, pretty face, and slightly pointed ears and her Master overseeing things. Roche picked up one of the large pieces of broken glass as he examined it. "To think that one of the homunculi escaped from the supply pod of its own will." he stated nonchalantly.

"Stranger things have happened, my dear student. It's just the reality of the world. We must accept all possibilities no matter how impossible it may seem." said Medea with a small smile as she observed the wet footprints that were leading out of the basement.

"But Teacher, if he had escaped outside the fortress, wouldn't the barrier that you and the Caster of Gold constructed have responded and notified us?" asked Roche as he continued to look at the glass shard that he was still holding.

"Astute observation, my dear student. The fact that we've not received any notification from the barrier of someone leaving, means that the homunculus is still somewhere within the fortress." said Medea as she started heading towards the door. "Let's get going. With any luck we might be able to locate him before someone else does." she said. Roche followed behind her dutifully. Suddenly they halted at the foot of the stairs as they heard Darnic over the Faction Link. All Masters of Black are to report to the throne room immediately. Ruler has decided to pay us a visit. A few members of the Gold Faction will be with us as well. This isn't a request.

"I guess we head to the throne room, instead." said Roche surprised and confused. He looked at his teacher who seemed to be a bit annoyed at the announcement. "Don't worry teacher, I'll send the other homunculi to look for the missing one. I'm sure they'll find him before too long." he said trying to reassure her. Suddenly the air became heavier and what was worse it felt like a knife was being held to their throats. It was becoming incredibly difficult for everyone in their immediate vicinity to breathe as well as the two of them.

/

Similar effects were happening throughout the fortress. From the throne room where Darnic, old man Acht, their Servants, Caules and his Servant were at, to where the other Masters of Black as they exited their chambers with their Servants were as they all felt the same heavy air, the constricted breathing, and the feeling of a blade to their throats. Even the those in the Einzbern wing felt it along with the Servants in the Grail Chamber but it was to a far lesser extent than the others. Still, it was enough to grab their attention. And it made everyone wonder the same thing: Just who or what was responsible for these sensations. But just as quickly as it started, it vanished, and everything returned to normal. Except it left everyone shaken by the experience.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – throne room – minutes later

"What was that just now?" asked Caules, now feeling shocked and more than a little disturbed by what he'd just experienced.

"Calm yourself, Caules. We'll ask the homunculi if they saw anything. And when Caster of Black arrives, we'll have her scry around the area to see if she finds anything." said Darnic calmly though it was clear to anyone looking at him that he was shaken by the experience as well.

"I will also have Merlin use his clairvoyance to see if he finds anything in the meantime." said old man acht as he looked to one of his Casters of Gold next to him and nodded to him. Merlin nodded in response before he stood tall and closed his eyes. While you're doing that, Caster, contact the other Servants of Gold. Tell them to send up one of the Sabers in case things go awry. Said old man acht over their link. Of course, Master. Which Saber do you want to reveal to Ruler and her Servants? he asked in response. It's daylight and it's almost noon so Gawain should be at his peak strength soon. Hopefully his presence will act as a deterrent for things to get out of hand. Said old man acht. And what if Ruler should ask to see the Grail? asked Merlin curiously. They are to remain out of sight but are not to leave the chamber. We can't have Ruler finding out yet about how badly we tampered with the summoning of our faction. Understood? Asked old man acht with a firm frown on his face and a warning in his tone. Understood, Master. I'll get right on it. Merlin replied.

By now a female homunculus entered the room. "My lord mages. Apologies for the bother but Caster of Black wanted to send word that one of the battery homunculi escaped from the supply pod of its own will." said the female homunculus. By now the rest of the Black Servants and Masters had entered the room. Darnic pinched his nose as he felt a headache coming on.

"Is a search for it already being conducted?" he asked annoyed. The homunculus nodded promptly. "Good. Continue to do so. Do not let Ruler know of this development. While I'm sure that she'll not interfere with this as a private matter of our faction, I don't want to take any chances." By this point Gawain appeared into existence. This satisfied Darnic as he addressed the reporting homunculus again. "Alright. Here are your orders. Head down to the courtyard and inform Ruler that her audience has been granted. Then have the two homunculi that were standing guard over her and her Servants to escort them to the doors here. Then only the homunculi are to enter and report anything they saw so that we might have a lead on what led to that disturbance. After their report then Ruler and her servants may enter. As for you, once you deliver these orders then you and the other homunculi not on guard duty or attending essential services are to comb the fortress and find that escaped homunculi. The barrier hasn't been responded to anything leaving yet without authorization so it's still somewhere in the fortress. Have I made these orders clear?" asked Darnic with a severe look on his face.

"Crystal clear, Lord Darnic." said the female homunculus. With that she turned around and sprinted out of the throne room to carry out her orders.

===Romania – millennium fortress – hallway some distance from the basement and throne room – same time

Yoruichi, still in cat form and cloaked in a kido spell, slinked around the area as she took in her surroundings. Not bad. A bit too opulent for my tastes but it's definitely nicer than some bases I've infiltrated before. She thought, giving a small smile in cat form. But then her smile turned to a frown as she looked behind her in concern. But still that spiritual pressure just now. I hope Ichigo hasn't done anything rash. It seems that even with the cloak, if he gets emotionally compromised his spirit energy will rage out of control if angered. But now that he's reigned in his temper the cloak has once again covered up most of his spirit energy and I can barely sense him from here. She sighed in exasperation as she continued on down the hallway. I'll scold him when we all get back to the safehouse. Then she saw something unexpected. A young nearly naked boy on the floor in nothing but white undershorts. He was struggling desperately to crawl on the floor. Yoruichi looked in surprise at him and approached him curious how this would play out. "Now just what exactly are you doing? You're not going to get very far going like that." she said aloud.

/

The boy was caught off guard and was looking straight ahead where he heard the male voice, but he couldn't see anything. "Whose there?" he asked fearfully.

"Just someone whose curious as to what you're doing." replied the male voice.

"I don't want to die but they'll kill me if they find me. I'll be discarded before I even have a chance to live." he said.

"Whose they?" asked the male voice.

"Help me . . .. please . . ." he asked desperately as he was starting to lose consciousness. He heard a sigh.

"Now there's no way I can turn you away after hearing that. Alright, I'll help you." said the voice. Then he saw a bright light and a figure of some kind standing before him, but he then blacked out.

/

Yoruichi, now in her naked human form, looked down at the boy on the floor now unconscious. She quickly stooped down and picked him up. She put him in a fireman's carry and then used a few hand gestures before she disappeared from view once again along with the homunculus she was carrying.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – throne room – minutes later

The female homunculus gave her report about what she saw outside. What she reported shocked all present. "Let me get this straight. You mean to tell us that the cause of that disturbance was Ruler's Saber class Servant!?" asked Gordes incredulously.

"That is correct, Lord Gordes. Apparently, the reason for why he became angered was when we explained to him what homunculi are, specifically in how mages see us." replied the female homunculus.

"Ridiculous! Homunculi are tools to be made and be disposed of when they have outlived their usefulness. Servants are tools as well, so he has no right to judge us, his betters." said old man acht.

"It's best not to underestimate Ruler's Servants, especially not after that disturbance." Darnic cautioned. He turned to the female homunculus. "Send in Ruler and her Servants." he ordered. The female homunculus nodded and went to the door and allowed Ruler and her Servants into the room.

/

Jeanne looked at every one of the Masters and Servants of Black her True Name discernment skill going crazy. When she looked to the throne, she was surprised to see two Servants from the Gold Faction. So that makes all of the Black Faction, most of the Blue and Silver Factions, and we now have some members of the gold faction. Still, they, along with the white and red factions, only have 2 members for each that we've encountered. But not bad for a first day of reconnaissance and ceasefire. Jeanne thought. She approached the throne where Lancer of Black sat and the man next to him, who she assumed was his Master, followed by Ichigo and Rukia. "Lancer of Black and Master of Lancer I presume?" she asked. Both men nodded. She then looked to the two gold Servants and Master. "Is it also safe to assume that the Gold and Black Factions are in an alliance?" she asked Rukia and Ichigo looked surprised at his.

"Yes, that is correct." answered the one she identified as the Master of Gold.

"Is that even allowed?" asked Rukia. Jeanne gave a small smile and answered.

"Master-Servant pairs often form alliances with others temporarily in times that they feel is necessary. Though the reason for alliances varies from one to another. The same holds true for factions though the number of allies you gain does increase in this kind of situation." Jeanne explained to Ichigo and Rukia.

"So, these are your Servants, Ruler?" asked Lancer of Black eyeing both Rukia and Ichigo with interest. Jeanne nodded. "Not what I had been expecting."

"Since all of the Black Faction has allowed me to see your Servants and the gold faction has at least allowed me a glimpse of theirs, then as Ruler, it's only right that I and my Servants respond in kind." Jeanne straightened her posture as did Rukia and Ichigo. "Servant class Ruler. My True Name is Jeanne D'Arc." she said in a firm and commanding tone. She turned to Rukia and Ichigo and nodded to them.

"Servant Class Caster. My True Name is Rukia Kuchiki." said Rukia copying Jeanne's tone.

"Servant Class Saber. My True name is Ichigo Kurosaki." said Ichigo copying the girls.

"So, you're the saber that caused the disturbance that we all felt earlier?" asked Angelica with a neutral expression. Ichigo blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'll try not to make a habit of that." said Ichigo with a sigh. Then Gordes spoke up.

"So, you're the Saber class Servant that engaged with Berserker of White? Then how come I didn't see you or Caster last night and what about the Servant who called himself 'Mad Hatter'?" asked Gordes, letting his discontent be known as he pointed his finger at Ichigo in accusation.

"Actually, I can explain that." From there they launched into the cover story that Urahara had set up for them. Throughout the whole explanation Jeanne noted how Ichigo was eyeing Darnic with interest but so far said nothing about it and did speak when he was spoken to by the other Masters or Servants. Since it wasn't causing any harm she decided to let it be until they returned to the safe house. As they relayed the cover story, Jeanne noticed that the reactions were exactly like Urahara and Yoruichi had predicted. There were a few unexpected surprises. When Rukia asked for her sketchpad in the bag and then showed her drawings to help in her explanations of Hollows, the reactions varied. The Masters were mixed in that some seemed highly amused, some seemed annoyed at the art style, while some seemed neutral about the whole thing. Most of the Servants, herself included, didn't comment on her style of drawing though they were highly amused. The outliers being Astolfo and Berserker of Black as both thought they were cute. This delighted Rukia to no end.

"See. At least a few people here can appreciate art." she said with a happy smile looking at Ichigo.

"They look like a 5-year-old drew them, not a grown ass woman." Ichigo retorted. This earned him a kick to the shins which had him groaning in pain. "Vicious little midget." he seethed. A quick cough from Jeanne, looking highly amused at their antics, brought the two of them back to the present and they continued with the explanations and the gigai and gikon demonstrations.

Finally, all that was left was the kido demonstration. "I'll need a target to practice on." said Rukia now that she and Ichigo were back in their respective gigai and body and Ririn was safely pocketed in Ichigo's pants' pocket.

"You can use the homunculi." said old man acht dismissively.

"I'd like to request one of the Servants with low magic resistance as well." said Rukia neutrally.

"Why?" asked Celenike suspiciously.

"Because most Hado spells are extremely dangerous. Only Hado #1 is the only non-lethal spell in the entire line-up. So in order to demonstrate the two lowest level spells in both Hado and Bakudo, I need a Servant with low magic resistance." Rukia explained. This seemed to placate everyone as Astolfo was ordered to be the guinea pig. He stood beside the female homunculus looking a bit nervous. "Alright. Rider of Black, I shall now demonstrate Hado." she declared loudly. She then pointed at Astolfo with her index finger. "Hadō #1. Shō!" she chanted. Then a small amount of energy was dispelled from the tip of her index finger with enough force to thrust a considerable amount of kinetic force at Astolfo, which pushed him back a few feet from Rukia and causing him to land on his butt. He yelled in surprise and pain.

"Ouch. And that's the only non-lethal spell you have?" asked Astolfo curiously.

"For Hado. Bakudo is meant for defense, restraint, and support so most of them are non-lethal." explained Rukia.

"Just out of curiosity, how destructive are these Hado spells?" asked Celenike with a gleam in her eye that neither Ichigo nor Rukia liked. But Rukia answered her anyway.

"It depends on the level of spell and how much power is put into it. For example, A Hado#91 spell technically is meant to be single target, but it does cause collateral damage. A skilled practitioner can reduce that damage down to a city block at most. But one who overpowers it and cares little for the destruction it causes could potentially wipe out an entire city like Bucharest with just that one spell. And keep in mind that's just Hado#91 not Hado#99." Rukia pointed out. By this point everyone was looking at her with wide eyes and even some looking a little pale.

"And this can be taught to anyone?" asked Roche in awe.

"Theoretically speaking. It be like taking the worst performing Master here, train them up in Kido and suddenly, they are able to compete with peers who probably have larger pedigrees than him. And if he's strategically minded, he could even beat those peers." suggested Rukia.

"Preposterous. As if anything can compete with magecraft let alone surpass it." said Gordes dismissively.

She then looked at the female homunculus. "Would you please get into a battle stance?" she asked. The homunculus did so. Rukia pointed her index and middle fingers at the female homunculus. "Bakudō # 1. Sai!" she chanted. This caused the homunculus' arms to lock behind their back. She struggled and attempted to break free, but it proved useless, and she lost her balance and fell forward, and her face hit the floor since she couldn't catch herself. With a simple silent hand gesture Rukia released the kido and allowed the homunculus to get to her feet. Though she was now sporting a bloody nose.

"And this spell is meant to be used on a single target?" asked Caster of Black curiously.

"Actually, a skilled Kido user can make the spell be usable on a single target or a significantly large group of people. I just had this aimed at one for the demonstration." said Rukia. She then had her hands start to glow a lime green color as she approached the female homunculus. Everyone watched intently as her hands hovered over the homunculus' face for several minutes. Then the glow stopped, and Rukia stepped back. "Is that better?" she asked. The homunculus wiped the blood from her nose to reveal it wasn't bleeding anymore. This surprised everyone.

"I heard no spoken incantations that time." observed Fiore.

"That's because Kaido, the healing branch of Kido, doesn't have them. They don't have names, numbers, or incantations. But it does require understanding of how the body works and manipulating my spirit energy with intent to heal." explained Rukia.

"Spirit energy?" asked Darnic quirking and eyebrow.

"Mana and Prana are the same as our terms for spirit energy and spiritual pressure. Same phenomena just different names from two different cultures." Ichigo added helpfully. Everyone seemed to understand this and nodded in acceptance.

"So, whose considered a Kido practioner?" asked Roche. "Like how many magic circuits does one need to use them?"

"That's the big difference between magecraft and Kido. The latter doesn't require magic circuits to use." said Rukia calmly.

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"No seriously. You don't need magic circuits to use Kido. In fact, it's actually a detriment if you have too many. So, mages who have too many magic circuits wouldn't be able to use any but the lowest level of Kido and even then, they might not be able to use it effectively." said Ichigo.

"Essentially both non mages who are spiritually aware or Mages who don't have a lot of magic circuits due to dying lineages or to new ones would be able to use Kido quite effectively. Possibly even be able to compete with their peers that come from longer lineages." suggested Rukia.

"Really?!" asked Caules in shock.

"But that's antithetical to all of mage culture!" Roche exclaimed.

"Not to mention ridiculous." said Gordes dismissively.

"You just saw Rukia perform all three branches of kido and keep in mind she's not a mage. She doesn't have any magic circuits in her at all." Ichigo pointed out.

"He does pose a good point." said Angelica. On this no one argued.

Jeanne then stepped forward. "Now that I've brought this all to your attention, I would like to request a chance to commune with the Greater Grail in exchange." she said.

"Before I answer that Ruler, I wish to ask why not join us? We are of the same faith, you and I, and your Servants pasts as Counter Guardians and their unknown potential and their abilities, especially since they've accomplished what many Servants want: reincarnation and they can with assistance enter and exit those forms at will and they can't be seen by even other Servants whose Masters haven't seen or experienced death makes all of you all very formidable. Even more so since your Saber took on Berserker of White and survived. The gold Faction has already allied with the Black Faction so why not join our ranks as well?" asked Lancer of Black.

Suddenly an incessant beeping noise was heard, and everyone saw where it was coming from. Ichigo and Rukia. Immediately both whipped out devices that looked very much like cell phones and in Ichigo's case an iPhone, staring at the screens. "It looks like a Hollow is heading towards Trifas. Ichigo, you're faster than me, why don't you head out and deal with it. I'll stay with Ruler." Rukia suggested. Ichigo nodded.

"Right. I'll head back here as soon as I can. And let you know if I need any help." said Ichigo. Then he swallowed Ririn's gikon and swapped places with her while he donned his soul reaper form. Ririn looked at him expectantly. "Stay here with Ruler and Rukia. We'll switch back when I get back." he ordered. Ririn nodded. Then those who could still see him in his reaper form watched as he grabbed the tang of his blade, turned to the windows on his left and then blinked out of existence. Everyone who saw that widened their eyes in shock.

"What . . . did . . .What just happened!?" Caules squawked in shock.

"In order to be a proper spiritualist, you have to be trained in the 4 disciplines that are taught: hakuda, which is hand to hand combat, zanjutsu, which is swordsmanship, kido, which is the equivalent to magecraft, and finally flashstep, or fast movement." said Rukia with a small smile. "And for those of you who could see him you saw just how fast we can move in spirit form. I imagine that unless something truly unforeseen happens Ichigo will be back in under 20 minutes." she added.

"Even with one being able to get to and from here to Trifas by foot it's still a 10-minute walk going both ways. You're saying he'll be able to slay the hollow in question in the remaining 10 minutes?" asked Angelica. Rukia giggled.

"No. Ichigo is already at Trifas now. He's incredibly skilled with Flashstep that he can cover a distance of several miles with just a few steps." said Rukia.

"HUH?!" said everyone in surprise.

===Romania – Trifas – cafe – 12:30 pm

Kiritsugu, his family, and their Servants were enjoying a meal at an outdoor cafe. All three of the children, including Assassin, were currently eating their desserts, Papanași, or fried cheese doughnuts. All topped with chocolate glaze. "Kiritsugu." He heard his wife say his name and he looked up at her.

"What is it, Iri?" he asked curiously. His wife smiled fondly at him.

"I asked if you wanted to try this cozonaci with me?" she asked, holding out a slice of sweet bread to him. With a shrug Kiritsugu indulged and took a bite out of the offered slice.

"Tell me, Advisor, what shall be our next course of action for the day?" asked Ozymandias as he too was eating a slice of sweet bread. The other Servants were also eating either of these same desserts as well.

"We're going clothes shopping." Illya said excitedly.

/

Shirou E. tried to follow his sister's antics as she prattled on about what kind of clothes she wanted to buy, but he found that something was constantly distracting him. He couldn't quite say what it was, but it was definitely causing him to get anxious. My lord? What troubles you? He heard Lancer ask him over their link. Lancer, do you get the feeling that something bad is going to happen? He asked his Servant privately. After a pause he heard Lancer's reply. I do feel like there is a presence nearby that feels unpleasant. Though that could be either a familiar or another Servant from another faction. Lancer suggested. No. This doesn't feel like either of those. It feels different. I'm not sure but it feels vaguely familiar, but I also know that this presence is bad, and we have to get everyone out of here. Said Shirou E. feeling his sense of anxiety grow with each passing second. "Okay I'm done. Let's get going." he said trying to not come off as scared. But judging by the confused and concerned looks he hadn't been successful.

"Shirou? What's wrong?" asked Illya. Still he tried to act carefree.

"Nothing, sis. I just want to get started on the shopping." he said quickly. His mother frowned at him.

"Shirou what's wrong? And don't lie to us." she said firmly. Shirou E. felt a little bit ashamed at lying to his family, but he wasn't sure if his family would believe him. He opened his mouth to start talking.

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard not too far from their location. People were screaming. Pieces of building came tumbling down. Stone and pavement was sent flying. The Emiya's got to their feet along with their Servants as they looked around in a panic. Shirou felt Lancer grab him and pull him to safety. "What's going on?!" screamed Illya scared. Shirou looked in her direction only to freeze on the spot as he heard an unearthly howl. His eyes widened in terror. He knew this howl. He'd heard it before. Vague memories of the last thing he remembered before he woke up in that hospital all those years ago surfaced. He felt a large thump not too far from himself on the left as a cloud of dust was kicked up. Still stricken by terror, Shirou E. looked over to his left and saw some kind of monster that someone had created from their worst nightmares. It was all black. But its shape was humanoid. It looked like a cross between a frog and human. It was crawling on all fours. But the most disturbing aspect of it was its face. It had a white bone face that looked like a mask. But what was disturbing about the face was that its neck was twisted several times like a coil and its face was rotated 180 degrees from where it was supposed to be. Despite looking at the world upside down, it didn't seem to hinder its ability to move or attack as it spotted Shirou E. and lunged for him. Shirou E. didn't even have time to scream let alone move as it closed in on him. Its hand reaching out to grab him. What are you waiting for, boy? MOVE! Or you'll die! Said an unknown male voice. Suddenly a gold blade stabbed the creature's hand causing it to let out another howl as it's other hand held it's wounded one cradling it. Shirou E. snapped out of his terror-induced trance. He looked to see it was his Lancer Servant standing before him. His golden spear covered in black blood. His gaze never left the creature as he got into a battle stance ready to engage once again.

"Are you alright, my lord?" asked Lancer of Silver calmly not looking at Shirou E.

"Yeah. I'm okay." said Shirou E. as he got to his feet. By now Assassin of Silver was jumping around and scoring several hits on the creature. It continued to howl now in pain. Saber of Silver was now in full armor as he charged at the creature his invisible blade drawn. Yet it didn't seem to do anything as no matter how many times they hit the creature it seemed to heal up from its wounds.

Shirou E. found himself being grabbed. He turned to see his father being the one who grabbed him, and they both ran to where the girls, Archer, Caster, and Rider of Silver were located. The latter three were poised and ready to intercept an attack but made no move to do so. "Why aren't you guys attacking the creature? It's right over there." said Kiritsugu as they got to their location pointing at the creature.

"I don't see it and I don't want to loose a shot not knowing where it's going to land." said Archer of Silver in concern. This only confused Shirou E.

"What do you mean?" he asked. They can't see the Hollows, Shirou. Aside from your father, yours and his Servants, no one else in your family or faction can see them. Said a male voice that he didn't recognize. Huh?! Thought Shirou E. caught off guard by the voice. Suddenly, fast movement caught his attention. He flinched and looked up into the sky. He saw what he could only describe as an oversized kitchen knife come zooming at his location. Shirou E. screamed and ducked to the ground closing his eyes and covering his ears.

"What are you doing, boy?" asked Ozymandias confused by Shirou E. and his actions.

/

Kiritsugu watched his son and looked to the sky and also saw the same oversized kitchen knife, but his trained eye was able to calculate the trajectory and saw that it would overshoot them. He tracked it and watched as it flew straight at the creature. The blade impacted on the creatures' face at the chin causing it to crack. The sudden attack caused the Servants who were attacking the creature to pause in surprise.

Then a tall figure in black robes blinked into existence. The only other distinct feature of the figure was his short, spiky, orange hair. He quickly grabbed the cloth wrapped hilt of the blade and pulled it down splitting the mask in half. This caused the creature to wail and howl a final time before it evaporated out of existence. The figure then sheathed his blade by having the cloth on the hilt to extend and wrap around the blade making a makeshift sheath. He turned around and found that the figure was none other than one of Ruler's Servant.

"Saber?" asked Lancer of Silver. While Ruler's Servant was giving a neutral frown, his expression soured at his class name.

"Considering the number of Saber's that are already participating and the fact that I'm working with the mediator, I'll give you my real name. It's Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Then in that case, you have our sincerest thanks for assisting us, Ichigo." said Saber of Silver bowing to him.

"Ichigo? Who's Ichigo?" asked Caster of Silver. This caught many of the Silver Faction off guard.

"What do you mean, Caster? This is Ichigo. He just said so." said Assassin of Silver pointing to Ichigo. Iri, Illya, and their respective Servants were looking where Assassin of Silver was pointing. But judging from their searching gazes, Ichigo could tell they couldn't see him, and he told the rest as such. At the curious looks from the ones who could see him he sighed. He pulled out an iPhone and fiddled with it for a few seconds then put it to his ear. A few seconds later he spoke to someone on the other end of the line.

"Hey Rukia. It's me. Yeah, I took care of the Hollow, but I need to talk to some other Masters who need a crash course over what they just saw. Yeah, some of them can see me so they could see the Hollow as well. I'll be back as soon as possible. Alright. Later." said Ichigo hanging up the phone. He looked at the Silver Faction all looking confused though for various reasons. "Is there someplace we can talk in private?" he asked. Kiritsugu nodded and lead everyone to an alleyway then had Iri put up a barrier so no one would see them or hear them. While confused, she did so.

"Alright. Mind telling us what exactly happened just now?" Kiritsugu asked. Ichigo nodded and then gave the Silver Faction that could see him, a crash course in Hollows as well as spiritual awareness. He also stated how it would be his and neutral Caster's job to both guard Ruler but also take care of these Hollows but did tell them their weak points were their white masks. If those were destroyed, then it would kill the Hollows. He explained that this was information they needed to know on the off chance that either he or neutral Caster couldn't get to them in time. It would also be the responsibility of the spiritually aware to guide the hands of those who weren't so when facing off with Hollows so they wouldn't get bitten or worse as that could lead to them becoming Hollows themselves be they Masters or Servants. Needless to say, that left the group that was spiritually aware a bit horrified at this influx of new information.

"Alright. I gotta head back to the fortress where the Black faction is at so Ruler can conclude her business there and then we'll probably head home to the safe house." said Ichigo as he turned around and was getting ready to head out of the alleyway.

"The address you gave our Lancer, right? That's the safehouse?" asked Kiritsugu. Ichigo looked back.

"Yeah. If you guys need a place to stay that will be safe, that's where you need to head. We'll protect you." said Ichigo firmly. Then he faced forward and blinked out of existence causing those that could see him to widen their eyes in surprise.

"Kiritsugu, what's going on?" asked Iri.

"Shirou, Daddy, who were you talking to?" asked Illya.

"I find myself wondering the same thing, Advisor." said Ozymandias looking interested.

"Wait. None of you heard any of that?" asked Shirou E. in surprise. His mother, sister and their Servants all shook their heads no.

"Iri. Drop the barrier and let's head to the clothes shop. I'll explain on the way what we learned." said Kiritsugu. Though confused, Iri did as asked, and the group headed out of the alleyway and to the clothes store.

/

Atalanta watched as the family continued to walk down the street towards a clothing store not too far from their current location. She was intrigued by the information about the creature that had attacked the town just now. So that creature was a fallen human soul. And anything it touches, especially other souls will become corrupted, and either be consumed by these wretched creatures, or they'll turn into them themselves. And according to what I'm hearing, the fact that I could see and hear those creatures, these Hollows, was due to my Master being spiritually aware. I wonder if this had something to do with my Master nearly dying before she came to this world. Atalanta shook her head in pity but decided to contact her Master.

Master, did you hear all of this? She asked Manaka. I did, Atalanta. I have to say it's quite intriguing. Caster was listening in on this as well. He's curious to see if we can capture one of these Hollows and study them. Atalanta's blood ran cold upon hearing this. And what are your thoughts on this, Master? Atalanta asked cautiously. After a pause Manaka gave her answer. I haven't decided yet. Their extremely volatile and contagious and if not controlled could lead to disaster. On the other hand, if we could get them controlled then they would be very useful to us to bolster our forces and could even help us destroy those who would separate me from 'My Prince'. said Manaka getting a little dreamy in her tone. Atalanta felt a drop of sweat roll down her brow as she sighed in exasperation. For now, though, we'll leave things as is. I think you should return to base Atalanta. There's not much else to do. I'll use my scrying mirror to track their movements, so I'll know where their base of operations is. There's no need to put yourself in any further danger. Besides, Robin has gone to observe the Blue Faction. So why don't you go and hunt something in these woods. I'm getting hungry again. Suggested Manaka over the link. Very well, Master. I'll get started immediately. With that the link disconnected leaving Atalanta alone with her thoughts.

She didn't like where this was going. Not in the least. So far, including her own Master she counted as many as five children acting as Masters. For someone whose wish was to create a world where all children are loved and given affection by their parents, and saw herself as a protector of children, the very thought of having to possibly kill children to achieve her wish was antithetical to everything she stood for. Could I do such a thing? If my Master ordered it, would I follow through with such a command given she's technically a child herself, or would I refuse and run the risk of losing my shot at achieving my wish? Would the price be worth it, or would it leave me driven to madness and with only innocent blood on my hands? She pondered all these questions for a short while before she sighed in defeat. Well, I won't get any answers to my questions just standing here. The War was put on hold for another two days and when the fighting begins who knows what will happen. So, for now I'll let it be and see what happens. With this in mind, she turned towards the forests on the outskirts of Trifas and disappeared into spirit form in a flash of blue particles.

===Romania – inside mountain/cave system – White Faction's base of operations – same time (1 pm)

Manaka continued to watch her scrying mirror but while she watched as the Silver Faction Servants were putting on a fashion show for their Masters, she found herself troubled.

"Are you still troubled by this new information about these Hollows, Master?" asked Caster of White standing behind her recliner.

"It's not just that. I will admit that the fact that only Master's who've seen death or experienced it and Servants contracted to them can see these Hollows is fascinating. My own near-death experience is probably why all Servants of the white Faction can see these Hollows. Not to mention what they really are is interesting. But there's something else. Seeing Ruler's companion call others with a phone rather than the Master-Servant link proves that he and the other two that traveled with Ruler last night were in fact not Servants at all." said Manaka as she turned away from her mirror and looked directly at Caster of White.

"And yet all three of them were able to fight both Lancer and Berserker evenly. And if I may be so bold to point out that neither looked to be going all out during their respective bouts. And Karna did suffer damage during the fight, and they were using spells not any trump cards yet." Caster of White pointed out. Manaka nodded in agreement.

"That's true but both members of our faction were holding back as well. Berserker and Lancer stuck to melee combat and neither had used their noble phantasms to their fullest extent yet. So really, we've yet to see their full capabilities." said Manaka.

"So, what do you want to do, Master?" asked Caster of White. Manaka thought about it for a few minutes before turning back to her mirror.

"We'll do nothing for now. These Hollows are a complete unknown to us, and we have no idea how to combat them. By contrast, Ruler's companions seemed to know exactly how to deal with them. Therefore, if their only goals are to assist Ruler in mediating the war and dealing with these Hollows then we will not interfere. Our goal is to help me reunite with 'my prince'. So as these goals don't interfere with one another then there's no reason to not just let things remain as they are. That's my order for the time being." said Manaka with finality. Caster of White's mask his expression as he listened to her reasoning, but he did reply.

"As you wish, Master. In that case I will continue the construction of my own noble phantasm. If you have any need of me, I will be in my workshop." he said. Manaka nodded with a soft smile on her face as she watched the scene unfolding before her. Caster of white merely reverted to spirit form disappearing in a display of blue particles.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – throne room – same time

Ichigo made it back to the fortress and quickly got back to the throne room where he swapped places with Ririn. He then pocketed Ririn's Gikon. Once he reoriented himself, he noticed that all the homunculus guards were gone. At his curious look, Ruler informed him of the barriers surrounding the fortress went off about 5 minutes after he departed. As to what caused it, apparently something that was in the fortress escaped and they had sent others to go recapture it. But that was the extent of the knowledge that was shared. Ruler agreed not to press the issue as long as whatever escaped didn't cause harm to any civilians outside of the other factions. On this everyone assured her it wouldn't come to that, so she let the matter drop for the time being. He then relayed what happened on his end including that about half the Masters of the Silver Faction seemed to be spiritually aware. This caused Old Man Acht to have a deep frown on his face. Ruler noted this but didn't press the issue. She turned facing Lancer of Black and his Master and the leader of the Gold Faction once again.

"Now I must ask you once again to allow me to commune with the Grail directly. It is imperative that I try to find any leads that are causing all of these strange anomalies and I'm hoping the Grail will help me with that. If you wish, you can monitor me to ensure that I don't tamper with it or do something to it that you don't approve of." said Ruler firmly.

"And you'll not join forces with us Ruler?" asked Lancer of Black. Ruler shook her head no. Lancer of Black sighed in disappointment. "Very well. But your Servants are to remain here in the throne room and my Master will escort you to the Grail chamber. There you'll be monitored to make sure that nothing is tampered with. These are our terms. Take them or leave them." said Lancer of Black firmly.

"Very well. I accept your terms." replied Ruler in an equally firm tone. She adjusted her bag with Noba's plushie in it. She then felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see it was Rukia.

"You sure that you'll be okay?" Rukia asked in concern. Jeanne gave her a smile of reassurance.

"Don't worry. If this turns out to be a problem, I'm confident that I'll be able to handle it and if not, I have my failsafe to get back to you." Jeanne said reassuringly. This seemed to satisfy the two disguised Reapers as they stepped back and watched as she left with Darnic who escorted her down a hall near the throne.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" asked Ichigo, feeling a little lost. Suddenly Astolfo came up to them.

"Could you show me some more of those drawings again? Those looked so cute. PLEASE! PLEASE!" pleaded Astolfo getting excited with stars in his eyes as he got up in their faces. Ichigo gave a slightly disturbed look before he looked around.

"Has he been introduced to any sugar or caffeine, yet?" asked Ichigo.

"No, I don't think so." said Fiore, unsure.

"Good. Keep it that way. I don't think your fortress would be left standing if he ever gets introduced to either." said Ichigo deadpanned. This caused several of the servants and even a few Masters to chuckle or smile. Only Celenike and Gordes remained unamused.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – enroute to the Grail chamber – same time (1:30 pm)

Darnic led Ruler down the hallway. While neither said anything aloud, both were lost in their own little worlds. So, if the information in Caules' report is true, then in addition to ourselves, the Einzberns, and the Mage's Association participating in the Grail War as the Black, Gold and Red Factions respectively, we now know that the Mage Killer and their wayward homunculi are participating as the Silver Faction. So, the only Factions left to identify are the White and Blue Factions and judging from the description of the Masters of Blue Caules provided in his report we can safely say that Kariya Matou is participating in the Grail War as well. So, he's part of the Blue Faction. The question becomes did the Matous and Tohsakas form up a single Faction in the Blue Faction or do they separately make up both the Blue and White Faction. We'll have to have Angelica's Assassin's investigate this further. After they keep Gil de Reis occupied with finding a use to bolster our forces using the defective homunculi. I had hoped that we could recruit Ruler to our cause and then have her keep that particular Caster in check. That's the whole reason that I allowed her to see all the Servants of Black and even glimpse some members of the Gold Faction. Now we just need to keep them separated for as long as possible until we can dispose of that Caster as his insanity and his loyalty to Jeanne D'arc could be a problem with our plans. But we'll worry about that when the time comes. I just hope that Lord Einzbern did his part and kept the other members of the Gold Faction in hiding while I take Ruler to the Grail. Darnic faced forward as he continued on down the hallway with Ruler behind him.

Meanwhile Ruler was sorting out her own thoughts. So far everything has been going pretty well. No one seems to suspect anything amiss in our cover stories then again, the Soul Reapers, or spiritualists, and Hollows being a new unknown entity they'll be more inclined to believe anything that we tell them. Especially with my credibility. But sooner or later the truth will come out and we need to prepare for when that happens. But as of right now, the only factions that still need to be informed of Hollows are the Red, White, and possibly the Blue Factions but one of the members of the Blue was Kisuke's old student so he might already have informed them. White I know next to nothing about aside from two Servants, and then for Red I think I felt their presence back in Bucharest, but I wasn't sure. Hopefully when my connection to the Grail is strengthened perhaps, I'll be able to sense out the locations of the Masters of all the Factions. Still today wasn't a waste. By the end of tonight we'll have all of the Servants of Black, most of Silver and Blue, and finally a few members of Gold. She was jolted out of her thoughts when she saw Darnic approach a door. He turned to face her.

"Beyond this door is the Grail Chamber. I will be next to you and watching you to ensure nothing is tampered with." Darnic reminded her.

"Understood. I'll do my best to not cause any problems for you." she said firmly. He nodded. Then he turned back to the door and opened it. There suspended in the air by unknown means, in the chamber behind the door, was the vessel of the Greater Grail. It was huge. A large ball of what appeared to be earth with its center showing a large rough six-sided star opening. Within that opening looked to be many partially carved golden figures of a naked woman with long flowing hair and all appeared to be asleep. And at the center of all that was a small light green light that reminded Ruler of Rukia when she used Kaido.

"Behold the Greater Grail." said darnic as he looked at it with a sense of awe and satisfaction. Ruler approached it slowly and cautiously. Suddenly the light at the center intensified. Then 4 pairs of wings unfurled in their full extension before gently wrapping Ruler up in their embrace. Ruler, not sensing any hostile intent, simply closed her eyes and accepted the embrace. Darnic had to shield his eyes from the bright light that had made itself known. But he watched in amazement and concern, wondering what was going to happen.

Inside the grail . . .

Jeanne found herself still in Laeticia's body and civilian clothes with her bag and Noba still inside it though he was looking around in astonishment along with her. "Where are we?" he asked.

"We're inside the vessel of the Greater Grail." answered Jeanne as she took in the scenery of a flower field with a few rock outcroppings here and there. Then a woman looking almost identical to the Lady Master of Silver wearing a dress of white, gold, and red with a crown materialized before the pair.

"That is correct. Welcome Ruler Servant. True name Jeanne D'arc. And welcome as well creation of Soul Reapers." said the woman. The pair gasped in shock and Jeanne grew concerned. The woman smiled mildly. "There is no need to worry. Aside from those already in the know, no one else knows the truth, at least for now." She then stood tall and with more elegance in her stance. "Now allow me to introduce myself. I am the core of the Greater Grail vessel. Justeze von Einzbern. And I know why you're here and who your companions truly are. Rest assured I have no intention of revealing this information to anyone besides you. If your ruse is discovered, it will be due to your own slip-ups or others digging further into matters than you give them credit for, not because I said or mentioned anything. Besides it would be counterproductive of me to out the very people I need help from." she said. Jeanne quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Jeanne.

"Are you aware of what our original intentions were for the Ritual that became the Holy Grail War?" asked Justeze. Jeanne shook her head no. "We wanted to gain access to the Root and create a new world order. A utopia for humanity. But for me personally, as I got to know the Servant that I summoned and for the first time received a companion that was in an even worse predicament than I was, my wish changed ever so slightly. I still wanted a utopia for humanity, but I wanted to create a world where humans and Servants could live side-by-side and be happy existing together. No fighting. No betrayals. Just peaceful coexistence. Companionship. A second chance for the Servants to live lives with those who would be their partners, not Masters. All in memory of the Servant who became my friend. My first real friend. When I merged with the Greater Grail and watched as 200 years flit by my wish changed ever so slightly again. I watched as mages happily spilt blood with smiles on their faces. As they forced Servants who fought, bled, sacrificed, and protected them to then have the Masters betray them and sacrifice them for the sake of often a small selfish wish. Now my wish was to grant the Servants summoned a true second life. It's why upon winning the Grail War, I automatically allow for the Servants to be incarnated if they aren't sacrificed by their Masters. However, after 200 years I was only able to do so once for one Servant, but I'm forbidden from saying his True Name." Justeze explained.

"Why are you forbidden from doing so?" asked Jeanne.

"It was part of the agreement when I was linked up to the one known as the Hogyoku. Aside from that tidbit of information that was allowed to reveal, I must omit a few other details of information from you, then I would have enough energy to summon many Servants and a being would be brought in to grant my wish. That being is Ichigo Kurosaki. His very existence is what would allow all of the Servants to be granted a True Second Life. And best of all, he could achieve it with no fighting at all." said Justeze getting excited, but she calmed down to regain her composure.

"The Hogyoku has ties to Ichigo's enemy of Aizen so if he is the one behind the summoning of so many Servants, there has to be a reason. Do you know why?" she asked.

"I cannot say as per my agreement with the Hogyoku." Justeze answered simply. Jeanne sighed in disappointment.

"Well, I at least know that Aizen is responsible for the sabotage of the Grail War. So, the presence of the other soul reapers was justified beyond dealing with Hollows. Do you know where he is?" Jeanne asked.

"I don't. That's the one answer I can't give on account that I honestly don't know. But I do know that if you want to draw him out of hiding, I can at least point you in the right direction. You must unite the Servants and Masters against one named Shirou Kotomine. Do that and he'll reveal himself and his reasons for his being part of the War. And then once he's either defeated or backed into a corner then Sosuke Aizen will reveal himself." said Justeze.

"Alright. Then I guess the only questions left are what can Ichigo do to grant your wish, and can the other Soul Reapers do the same or at least become Masters?" asked Jeanne.

"For Ichigo to grant my wish he can do so by one of two methods. The first is applicable to all Servants. He must stab them in the heart with his sword or zanpakuto as I believe they call them. And the other method can only be done to female Servants. He would have to gather up a portion of his spirit energy and then infuse it directly into the Servant's spirit core at their heart." explained Justeze.

"And how does either of these methods grant servants a true 2nd life?" asked Jeanne. Justeze smiled cryptically.

"Have him perform either of these methods and you'll find out." she said coyly. Jeanne frowned at this. "As for your other question . . ." Justeze began.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – homunculi basement – same time

Guinevere followed her fellow Caster of Gold through the basement as he approached the pile of discarded and barely alive Homunculi. All the while feeling bile rise in her throat. She hated this and the fate that awaited all homunculi here at the fortress but there was nothing to be done. All she could do was help in her own little way and hope that they would feel no pain. "Well, we're here my fellow Caster. I need your healing expertise to prepare them so that I may have use of them." said Gil de Reis.

"Understood." she said monotone. She then held out her hands and she began glowing a golden color. The pile of homunculi also glowed gold for a few minutes. A few were twitching and moving slightly. A few were even sitting up looking around in confusion. Then the golden glow died down from both the group and from Guinevere. "It is done." she said maintaining her monotone.

"Thank you, my dear Guinevere. Now it's my turn." said Gil de Reis. He then summoned his spell book and opened it. With a wave of his hand, dark purple near inky black smoke started oozing out of the book. It then encircled the pile of homunculi. Guinevere lost her composure as she watched horrified seeing what was happening as the homunculi began to emit bloodcurdling screams.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – grail chamber – outside of grail vessel (2pm)

Over the near 100 years he'd been alive, Darnic had seen many things, both conventional and strange but this had been the strangest thing yet. He'd never seen the Grail react in such a way even with his and Lord Einzbern's tampering. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw that the other members of the Gold Factions Servants had started to emerge out of hiding. Darnic signaled to them and gestured to them to back off. Idiots. They were supposed to stay out of sight. Or at least stay in spirit form. Before another thought could be formed, movement in front of him caught his attention. The wings began to retract until they disappeared back into the Greater Grail vessel. This left Ruler alone, but she began to start losing her balance and started to fall down. This spurred the three other Servants to rush forward to catch her. No! Idiots! Thought Darnic in a panic. "Stay in spirit form!" he ordered. But they either weren't paying attention or were deliberately ignoring his order. They continued to rush forward. Since he was behind Ruler, he couldn't tell if she had passed out or had in fact seen the three Gold Servants approaching her. Suddenly a black hole with a red outline opened up beneath her, causing her to fall. Darnic's eyes widened in surprise. Moments later she fell through completely and the hole closed up behind her leaving nothing but an empty space. "WHAT!?" yelled Darnic in shock.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – throne room – same time

Ichigo, Rukia, and the others in the throne room heard a sizzling sound and looked up at the ceiling and saw a black hole with red lining appear catching everyone off guard. Then they saw Jeanne and Noba fall through the hole. Everyone else gasped in surprise at this display. What's more, they both saw that Jeanne was unconscious. Ichigo instinctively threw his arms out trying to catch her. During the fall Noba became separated from her purse and fell in another direction. The portal closed behind them. Much to his surprise he landed, face first, on Fiore's chest. She looked on in surprise at this mishap.

Meanwhile Rukia and Ichigo quickly caught Jeanne and Rukia immediately ran a diagnostic Kaido on her before she sighed in relief. "It's alright. She's merely unconscious. But there doesn't seem to be any obvious wounds or bruises. We'll have to ask her when she wakes up." said Rukia. She then stood and turned to talk to one of the other Masters only to see Fiore pull Noba's plushie form off her chest to examine it. Gotta admit that Noba's a real trooper in that he stayed in character of being a harmless plushie even when he was placed in that kind of position. If Kon had come along he would've broke character and grabbed and squeezed that poor girl's boobs. Well small miracles I suppose. Rukia calmly walked up to Fiore who took note of her presence and saw her hold out her hand. "Terribly sorry about that. We bought that for Jeanne before we came to Romania cause she thought it was cute." she said in her sweet voice.

"Well, she's not wrong. They're adorable." said Fiore with a sweet smile. This caught Rukia off guard, but she smiled much more earnestly.

"Personally, I prefer bunnies. I think that those are the cutest." she said.

"Preferred? More like Obsessed." said Ichigo sarcastically.

"You too?" asked Caules with a small smile looking at Ichigo.

"Is she obsessed with turtles?" asked Ichigo looking at Caules indicating with his head towards Fiore. Caules nodded.

"Every time she sees anything that isn't a live turtle, she'll pause and check it out before she decides whether to buy it or not. 8 times out of 10 she buys them. The only time she doesn't buy it is if she's in the presence of her peers cause she doesn't want to appear childish." said Caules.

"Caules!" Fiore exclaimed.

"Don't feel too bad. Rukia is absolutely obsessed with Chappy the Rabbit and she's unashamed about it. But it's me that has to buy all those rabbit plushies." said Ichigo with a small smile. This caused both boys to give a little laugh at their shared plight of knowing girls with obsessions for cute animals. Fiore handed over Noba to Rukia. Then Rukia bent over with her hands glowing again, much to the surprise and confusion of everyone still in the room. Then the glow appeared on Fiore's legs causing her to worry slightly.

"What are you doing?" she asked in concern.

"My kido diagnoses showed me that your legs appear to be atrophied but are hotter than normal due to what I'm assuming are your magic circuits in your legs. I imagine that this is probably the reason for your current state and probably causes you pain. Am I wrong?" asked Rukia.

"You're not wrong in that regard. However, this is necessary as all mage training requires pain and sacrifice in order to achieve one's goals." said Fiore with a serious look on her face. Rukia shrugged and then both her hands and Fiore's legs glowed once more. Fiore gasped.

"Do you feel better?" asked Rukia.

"The pain. It's gone. What did you do?" asked Fiore in surprise.

"I merely used a Kaido technique to numb the pain in your legs so you shouldn't feel it for the next several hours so by dinner time you'll start to get feeling back in your legs and the best part is that there are no side effects. No drowsiness, no loss of energy, and most importantly it shouldn't interfere with your magecraft. Merely soothed the nerves in your legs so that you aren't in pain. Though I wouldn't try walking on them." said Rukia jokingly at the end with a smile.

Fiore looked at her in surprise. Archer. Is this true? Can you confirm any of what she just said. Fiore asked Archer over the link. Archer placed his hand on her shoulder and Fiore's magic circuits glowed into existence. A few seconds later they disappeared from view. Well Archer? She asked. The nerves in your legs are showing signs of reduced electrical signals like those in people who haven't suffered injuries. Before your nerves were showing signs of being overly sensitive due to the near constant aches and pains in your legs because of your magic circuits. But beyond that nothing else. Your magic circuits are showing no signs of anything out of the ordinary. It appears that she did exactly what she said she did. Said archer over the link. "But why would you do that?" asked Fiore looking confused. "You've already stated that you aren't going to ally with us, so why bother with something this trivial?"

Rukia looked at her confused. "It's true that we aren't allies but that doesn't mean that we can't be civil with each other. Besides until the Grail War ends and no Servants deliberately put civilians at risk be it by luring Hollows towards them or using their own noble phantasms on them, then no Servant is our enemy." said Rukia.

"That same sentiment applies to the Masters." said Ichigo as he stood up holding Jeanne bridal style.

"But why bother helping her?" asked Caules suspiciously. Ichigo looked at him confused.

"Do you always need a reason to help someone?" asked Ichigo to Caules. This caught several Masters and Servants off guard. Saber of Black's eyes widened in surprise at this.

"See that's what I've been saying. You just help others because you want to. You don't need a reason to help others." said Astolfo in delight.

"That kind of weak sentiment will only get you killed." said old man Acht with disdain.

"We'll just have to be okay with that if that is the outcome." said Ichigo evenly. Rukia turned to Lancer of Black.

"Lancer of Black, I request a temporary room for which our Master can recuperate from her ordeal." said Rukia. Lancer of Black nodded. He turns to one of the few homunculi that are still in the room standing guard on the door. "One of you. Escort this group to one of the spare rooms, immediately. And ensure that Ruler is made comfortable while she recovers." he ordered. The female homunculus of the pair stepped forward. She bowed to them and headed out of the throne room followed by Rukia carrying Noba's plushie and the bag Jeanne brought with her and Ichigo carrying Jeanne bridal style.

"Archer, could you go with them and examine Ruler and see what might've caused her to lose consciousness?" said Archer's Master.

"Of course, Master." said Archer of Black. This got Ichigo and Rukia's attention.

"You've got some medical training?" asked Ichigo curiously. Archer of Black gave an amused smile to the two of them.

"I have some." he said simply. With that the group headed out the doors. Once the doors closed Roche, who was still looking at the space that hole appeared in spoke aloud. "Was that a non-degraded flash air spell we just saw?" he asked in wonder.

"Yes it was. But I don't know how that could be possible. No modern magecraft is capable of such a feat." said Angelica clearly troubled by this. Roche turned to his Servant.

"Teacher, do you think that the Grail can grant Ruler class special abilities that aren't part of their legends." he asked curiously. Caster of Black merely shrugged.

"I'm aware that they are granted True Name discernment and are gifted with command spells for every Servant summoned in the Grail War, but beyond that I don't know."

===Romania – forests outside of Trifas – Tohsaka's base of operation – 2:30 pm

Assassin of white, while hiding under his cloak of invisibility, had followed the Blue Faction group to a very well to do home with another situated very close to it. Hey Master. I found the base where the Blue Faction is located. Unfortunately, there's some very high-level bounded fields surrounding both homes where they are residing. What do you want me to do? He asked over the link. I want you to continue to monitor them for now. I sent Archer of white on another errand, so I'm using my scrying mirror to monitor the Silver Faction and see where their base of operations is. Until I can get that location, I want you to maintain your current position. And while you're at it examine the defenses and see if there is a way to bypass them. I'll let you know when I've got the location. Manaka replied over the Link. Gotcha, Master. I'll talk to you later. And with that the Link closed leaving Assassin alone with his thoughts. Well, I may as well start analyzing the bounded fields and start setting up traps. With any luck they'll at least be handicapped the next time any of them enter a fight. With that thought he, still wearing his cloak to conceal himself, headed out to the woods.

===Romania – outskirts of Bucharest – chapel – Shirou K.'s office – same time

A man with short brown hair, green eyes and foppishly dressed in refined, Medieval-esque clothing walked down the hallway to an old wooden door. He was humming to himself nonsensically. He opened the door with his black gloved hands and stepped in. "Greetings and Salutations my dear Master!" he said dramatically and with much flourish. After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes as they closed when he gave his bow upon entering. He looked up to see Shirou K. completely ignoring him and was hyper focused on whoever he was talking to on the phone. The man gave a pout at the fact that he was being ignored. He then glanced around and saw a peculiar sight. The room had piles of books piled up in stacks or strewed about on the floor. By contrast, the shelves were completely empty.

"I see. Thank you." said Shirou K. as he hung up the phone. He turned to look at the other occupant in the room. "Caster, what can I do for you?" he asked.

The now named Caster perked up. "I simply wanted to see how my Master is doing. I haven't seen you for a while. Not since the transfer of my contract from my original Master." he said enthusiastically.

"I'd appreciate it that you not announce that to the world." said Shirou K. nervously.

"Oh, come now. The bounded field set up past the sanctuary by our dear Queen of Assyria would inform her of any intruders who might wish you ill will. And by extension both of us and Berserker." retorted Caster.

"Still, I'd rather we keep that information confidential until we achieve our objective." said Shirou K.

"Would that be including from your fellow Masters of Red?" asked Caster slyly. Shirou K. looked at him with a slight frown. Then sighed in defeat.

"Is the reason you're here is because your bored, Shakespeare?" asked Shirou. K using Caster of Red's True Name. Caster sighed dramatically. "I am greater than a king: For when I was a king, my flatterers were then but subjects; being now a subject, I have a king here to my flatterer." he quoted. "However, I thought that it would do good to inform you that Assassin of Red is still hard at work at her ritual." he added.

"I'm not surprised. It's been only 48 hours so far. She'll need another day to get the gardens fully functional. How's Berserker doing?" Shirou K. asked.

"For a Berserker, he's quite content to simply sit still and quietly speak to his battle ax though he claims it's his wife. I'd wonder if he's mad but he's a Berserker so it's par for the course. But what about you, Master. I come in here and you appear to be quite frustrated." said Shakespeare. This caused Shirou K. to look confused. "Ever since you received news about the sheer number of Servants summoned you've been not your usual calm self. In fact, you've been anxious, frustrated, or concerned and your smiles have become far more noticeably strained as of late." he pointed out further.

"You just want to have more details to add to your current work of documenting the War." said Shirou K. deadpanned.

"As you said, I'm bored. And with the ceasefire underway I must do something to occupy my time." Shakespeare pointed out. Once again Shirou K. sighed.

"Fine. You're right. I am frustrated. I've contacted every one of my contacts in the 8th Sacrament and Executors and I've been unable to find out the identities of either of Ruler's Servants even after giving a description of both. And that's not even getting into the fact that A being like Urahara exists." Shirou K. admitted. He quickly told Shakespeare all that transpired in the opening fight with Lancer of White and Kisuke's contribution in said fight. This left Shakespeare intrigued.

"Didn't the girl use her noble phantasm to stop our Archer from attacking Ruler?" asked Shakespeare. Shirou K. nodded.

"She did but her potential noble phantasm doesn't really mean much other than translating from Japanese to Sleeves of the White Snow. So, she's affiliated with ice and snow. I've also gone through every book in my extensive personal library and the closest thing I can find is a legend of a Yokai known as the Yuki-onna. But there isn't much else as it's just a couple of legends and superstitions that were made up in prior periods. So, I don't think that it's possible for something that scarce in legends or stories could be strong enough to manifest as a Servant without some kind of assistance in some form like needing a human host or a composite spirit or something along those lines." admitted Shirou K. as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Well, it seems that we have no choice but to wait until the ceasefire comes to an end and we can see these individuals fight to their fullest and perhaps glimpse at any potential weaknesses that they might possess. And I look forward to documenting all of it as this Great Holy Grail War unfolds." said Shakespeare as he then struck a dramatic pose to match the tone he used near the end.

"You do know that this means that we have to wait another 48 hours, right?" asked Shirou K.

"Ah yes. I have not forgotten this fact and it will be trial of will for me to sit and convalesce. But Patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait." Shakespeare replied cheekily.

"I hope you're right. To be quite honest, I'm quite scared about what lies ahead for us. I waited 70 years for this. The Grail being in the hands of the enemy, the idea of more than 7 Servants fighting each other, Ruler being summoned, having other Masters who are savvy enough to not trust me but seem to be able to work together and have a small amount of trust in each other, I'll admit all these factors I can and was prepared to handle. But now with the sheer number of Factions and Servants and now the idea that this Kisuke Urahara might interfere with this war and the True Status of Ruler's Servants, the former I was confident that I could eventually work through it and manipulate others to my will, but the latter two are True wildcards that I have no idea about and frankly that terrifies me." Shirou K. admitted looking concerned as he stared down at his desk.

"All the more reason to wait until we get through the first true battle of this Grail War." said Shakespeare simply. Shirou K. simply closed his eyes and nodded in acceptance.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – spare room – 3pm

She felt extremely tired. She wasn't sure what had happened. She had been conversing with Justeze at the core of the Greater Grail and had gathered up some interesting information that would be valuable to the meeting tonight but then when Justeze helped her strengthen her connection to all the Masters and Servants and she realized that that is what caused her to lose consciousness. She also realized that she might've caused a panic for everyone and that she needed to wake up. With effort she struggled to open her eyes. When she did, she saw that she was in a room that she didn't recognize. She started to look around and that's when Rukia came into view. "How are you doing, Ruler?" she asked. By then she saw Ichigo and Chiron also come into view.

"Where am I?" Jeanne asked.

"One of the spare rooms here in Millennium fortress. My master asked that I look you over to make sure that you were alright. Thankfully, it seems that there's nothing out of the ordinary I just don't know what caused you to lose consciousness since I wasn't present at the time it happened." said Chiron with a gentle smile. This made Jeanne feel more at ease. She smiled in return.

"It's alright. Thank you for helping me. What happened after I lost consciousness?" she asked. Ichigo told her what happened from how she got back to the throne room to them bringing her to this room. Jeanne noted that Ichigo had left out any mention of Noba, so she decided to follow along with that. Probably a smart move since they still had a member of the Black Faction present, and they hadn't mentioned anything of Noba yet prior.

"So did you get your questions answered?" asked Rukia curiously. Jeanne looked down at her hands on the bed pensively.

"Yes. But every answer led to an even bigger question." she said with a sigh. But before anything more could be said the doors burst open with Astolfo followed by Berserker of Black. Chiron got up and looked at the trio.

"Well, it seems that you're on the mend. I believe that you'll be able to get up and move about without any problems now. Since my services are no longer needed, I will take my leave. It was nice to meet you all." he said sincerely.

"It was nice to meet you as well, Archer of Black, right?" asked Rukia. Chiron nodded. Ichigo got up and gave a twenty-degree Japanese bow.

"Thank you for all your help, sir." Ichigo said politely. Chiron smiled gently and gave a western style bow in kind.

"Have a pleasant rest of your day." he said and with that he turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Leaving Astolfo and Berserker of Black in the room with the group.

/

"So how are you doing? How did you do that when you came in through that weird hole? Was that a skill you have? Or a noble phantasm?" Astolfo rattled off these questions leaving no time for any of them to be answered. It's like dealing with a tamer version of Keigo. Well at least he isn't being a pervert about it. Thought Ichigo sardonically. He then sees the one Servant that was dressed in what looked to be a goth Lolita outfit and if he remembered correctly was identified by the 'tamer Keigo' as Berserker of Black. He then noticed that she had two different colored eyes that kept peeking out from her hair. Rukia seemed to notice his scrutiny.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" asked Rukia.

"Nothing is wrong, I just noticed something unexpected about Berserker of Black is all?" said Ichigo.

"Oh? And what's that?" asked Rukia curiously.

"She's got two different colored eyes." answered Ichigo. Rukia looked at Berserker of Black with interest, but this caused Berserker of Black to shrink away from the attention still Rukia seemed to see the same thing Ichigo did.

"So, she does. That's amazing. I've never met anyone that has that. And they're so pretty too." said Rukia fascinated. Berserker of Black gasped in surprise.

"Right? I've told her several times now that she should pin her hair back as her eyes are too pretty to be kept hidden behind her hair." Astolfo piped up.

"I agree." added Jeanne. She and the others all gave Berserker of Black kind smiles. As for herself, Berserker of Black blushed and nodded mutely but spoke up.

"Thank . . .you." she said with difficulty but also shyly. This reaction delighted everyone else in the room.

"You're welcome." said Ichigo kindly.

===Romania – Millennium fortress – courtyard where Urahara's vehicle is parked – 3:15 pm

Jeanne decided not to linger much longer at the fortress. After telling Astolfo to please inform the Black Faction that she wished to send her thanks to them for their hospitality and that she needed to conduct further investigations elsewhere and with only two days left, she needed to conclude them as quickly as possible. Once both Black Servants were gone and realizing that no one else was in the room besides the three of them, Ichigo requested Noba's plushie where he quickly removed his gikon and put it in his pocket alongside Ririn's. Within minutes they gathered up what little they brought with them and asked a homunculus guard to take them to the courtyard where the motorcycle and sidecar was parked. 5 minutes later they almost made it to the vehicle when they were stopped by a voice that they recognized as Lancer of Black. The trio turned around and saw that not only was Lancer of Black present but also was his Master along with Fiore and Archer of Black.

"So, you really are leaving." Lancer of Black stated looking disappointed. Jeanne turned to him.

"Correct. While my communing with the Grail did in fact help, it also showed me other places I needed to conduct further investigations. And I now only have two days left as I'm sure many wish to get the war underway as soon as possible. The last thing I want is to cause further delay." said Jeanne earnestly. This seemed to satisfy everyone. Then Ichigo strode forward and presented Fiore with the turtle plushie much to her confusion.

"You said you like them, right?" he asked. At her hesitation, he continued. "Look in my culture it's required by visitors to bring gifts to their hosts. Since we're in a different country, we weren't sure if we should adhere to that but when you mentioned that you liked these, I figured there was no harm in observing that tradition. You can even check it over if you're worried about there being some kind of ulterior motive." said Ichigo. Finally, after a moment of hesitation, Fiore took the plushie and used magecraft to check it over.

"It's clean." she declared. Ichigo turned and walked back to the vehicle where the girls were waiting.

"Just a moment. I have one final question to ask. I know the both of you are from Japan but where from Japan are you both from?" asked Darnic. Rukia and Ichigo exchanged a glance before they turned to Darnic to answer.

"Karakura." they both said. Darnic's eyes widened as the trio put their helmets on and got on the vehicle.

"Thank you again for your hospitality." said Jeanne. She then started the engine and turned the vehicle towards the exit. From there the trio left. Lancer noticed his Master's surprised expression.

"Darnic. What troubles you?" he asked curiously.

"Not troubling but surprising. But we must speak of this to no one aside from the other leaders of our secession movement." said Darnic. From there he revealed rumors that he'd heard from his contacts in both the Clock Tower and in Japan about the strange goings on concerning a suburb of Tokyo called Karakura Town. Namely a year ago where a barrier was placed around the city limits that kept out all supernaturally gifted individuals a year ago and the two days that Karakura went dark several months ago but he'd originally dismissed it as nothing more than rumormongering.

"And what do you think now, Uncle Darnic?" asked Fiore.

"I think this Soul Society in located within this Karakura, Japan which makes me wonder how much of their story is to be trusted." said Darnic suspiciously.

"Respectfully, Master of Lancer, I'm very good at being able to detect lies and can say that their explanations on these gikons, gigais, Hollows, and their soul society was true. Even the existence of this Kisuke Urahara was true due to how they acted and that Saber of Black and Gordes saw him fighting last night. The only thing that I'm not sure about is whether or not Ruler's Servants are in fact Servants or even counter guardians at all." said Chiron.

"What do you mean, Sage?" asked Lancer.

"As I was examining Ruler when she was unconscious Ichigo was doing some basic checks that someone with medical training would do. When I asked where he got this knowledge, he replied that his father owned a clinic and he'd picked up some basic medical training since he helped him from time to time. He referred to his father in present tense, not past tense." emphasized Chiron. This surprised the trio present. "Then there's Saber's report of what he saw of Kisuke Urahara and his fight with the Lancer of White. Under normal circumstances even a first-class mage would not survive an encounter with a Servant unless they were of the Assassin class. Yet Kisuke Urahara was not only engaging in combat with a Lancer but had apparently did damage to him. I'm inclined to believe Saber of Black due to his identity and that lying isn't a part of his character. Finally there's the explanations that Rukia and Ichigo gave as to how they became counter guardians and the ulterior motives they and this Urahara have for the war. I'll admit that it's difficult to tell if they were lying or not on that one." concluded Chiron.

"In other words, you're suggesting that Ruler's two Servants might be very powerful magic users that are still alive?" asked Fiore in shock.

"Well, I have no real proof but simply circumstantial evidence to go off of. Still the fact that these Hollows might be a real problem and that Ruler's Servants are equipped to handle them tells me that we need them as they will deal with the unexpected complications that might derail the Grail War. The fact that they've allied with the mediator tells me that for now at least they have no interest in the Grail." Chiron admitted.

"So, it seems the best course of action would be to wait til the War gets underway and see what other information we can gleam from Ruler's group." said Lancer of Black.

"Then that will be the course we'll take concerning this matter. This conversation is to remain between us for the time being. There's no need to spread rumors around until we have evidence to back up the rumors. Though I would like to know what was discussed in the throne room in my absence." ordered Darnic. On this no one objected.

===Romania – 30 mi outside of Trifas – Urahara's safehouse/Ruler's base of operations – 4pm

As the vehicle the trio was using pulled up to the safehouse, the group wondered what their next move was, and Rukia asked Jeanne as much. "We've got quite a lot of information that we need to go over with the others as we only got 2 days left of the ceasefire. I want us to also try to prepare for the true first battle." said Jeanne. The trio made their way to the front door and entered realizing that no one appeared to be in the immediate rooms. Suddenly Jeanne saw a woman dressed in an orange coat and black pants that she'd never seen before walk out of one of the bedrooms.

"Yoruichi. You're in your real form so what's wrong?" asked Ichigo looking concerned. Jeanne then realized that this was the human form of the cat that she had been conversing with for the last few days. The woman noticed her reaction and smiled.

"Hey Jeanne. What do you think of my true form?" said the now human Yoruichi.

"Very impressive." said Jeanne. "Since you're voice in cat form sounds male, it was hard to believe when you told me earlier you were Urahara's wife." said Jeanne as she blushed in embarrassment. Yoruichi smiled and waved it off. "Well, it doesn't matter. We've got more important things to worry about. Like the guest I brought home." she pointed out indicating the trio to follow her to the bedroom.

"Guest?" asked Rukia suspiciously. Yoruichi opened the door and revealed Kisuke using Kaido on a young boy. The trio gasped.

"Who's he?" asked Ichigo heading over to the other side of the bed.

"Judging by the similarities the boy has to the homunculi back at the Black Faction's base, I think it's safe to say that he's also one of them as well." concluded Jeanne.

"But why is he without clothes?" asked Rukia.

"Most likely he's either just recently born or he might've been one of the homunculi that are meant to serve as batteries of spirit energy. With them, the Black Faction can power their Servants while the Masters can still utilize their magecraft without hinderance." said Jeanne.

"When the homunculi in the courtyard explained that I thought that they meant it like a collection of actual circuits like a power grid of some kind. Not a bunch of living beings that their draining the life out of." said Ichigo getting angry.

"Sadly, this is the reality of the Mage World. While there are some with morals and decency, many will sacrifice anything to achieve their goals." said Kisuke as he finished using his Kaido. He then turned to Yoruichi. "Alright how did you find him?" he asked. Yoruichi nodded and gave a full account as to how she came across him.

"Sadly, I didn't get very far in my reconnaissance before coming across this boy. Once I found him, I found a place to hide and waited for an opportunity to leave. The other homunculi were apparently searching for him under orders from the Black Masters. Once I sensed Ichigo left, I waited about 5 minutes and then used my fastest flashstep to put as much distance between us and the fortress. All while under a concealing Kido. Then I came back to the safehouse and had Kisuke look him over." Yoruichi reported.

"So, what caused the alarm that we heard?" asked Rukia.

"Most likely there's a barrier over the fortress and if anything that was part of it, like the homunculi, escaped without authorization, then the barrier would sound an alarm." theorized Jeanne.

"Your report of his condition lines up with my diagnosis. His magic circuits seemed to be in a constant state of activation. Or are turned on and it seems that he doesn't know how to turn them off. According to Kariya during our cultural exchanges, if a mage can't turn their circuits off and on then it will lead to serious problems for the one who possesses them." explained Kisuke.

"Such as?" asked Ichigo.

"High fever and sickness due to his body running at a higher temperature than what is considered normal or safe, damaged nerves and muscles, loss of sensation, eventually paralyzing the body and ultimately death." Kisuke rattled off. This angered the Reapers and saddened Jeanne. "And if the destruction of the physical body isn't bad enough the circuits draw power from one's soul, so they are leaking spirit energy continuously. But unlike Ichigo where it's like a leaky faucet, for this homunculus, its leaking out like a shower-head set to the rain function. As the body gets weaker the circuits draw more power from the soul to compensate to keep the body alive. This of course has the adverse effect of shortening the person's life span. The more magic circuits one has, the more drastic the drain on the soul will be. This culminates in the soul breaking down at the moment of death and committing soul suicide. Which would explain why a homunculus' soul has never been documented as being konsoed. For mages this is something that must be avoided hence why heirs are taught to turn the circuits on and off at will. But for those magical batteries it's a perfect system. Disposes of the body and soul. Efficient, but cruel and ruthless." said Kisuke.

"Thankfully this can get remedied by helping him learn to turn his circuits off and on at will." said Yoruichi with a sly smile. Kisuke looked at her with a neutral expression which caused her to drop her smile. "What else did you find, Kisuke?"

"Well on a minor note, he's fatigued. No doubt him exerting himself like the way you reported was the first time he did that since being born. As for what else I found on him, something similar to limiters that are put on high ranked officers when they head to the world of the living. But these seem to be put on as a way to limit his physical growth and potentially his lifespan." Kisuke explained.

"How long does he have to live currently?" asked Rukia concerned.

"About 3 years at most. I can see if I can extend that, but I need to take him with me back to Karakura as my lab is in the shop." said Kisuke.

"But how are you going to get him there. No doubt that agents of various factions saw us as we left the airport. If you take this boy with you, they'll see you and detain you under the pretense of kidnapping and it could land you in all sorts of trouble." Jeanne pointed out.

"We won't be using the airport to get back." said Kisuke with a sly smile. All save Yoruichi were looking at him puzzled. "I haven't been idle while you all were out and about." he added.

===Soul Society – Seireitei – squad 10 barracks – Toshiro's office – same time (11 pm Tokyo time)

Toshiro was finishing setting up the phone and projector and had already got his notebook out on the coffee table with a pen. His mind was racing. Kisuke called half an hour ago saying to send a missive to the other three about this meeting tonight. And even sent messages to them on their Denreishinki for good measure. I just hope that things were a little more successful for Jeanne and her group this time. He heard a polite knock at the door and scrambled to open it. Sure, enough Captains Kuchiki and Ukitake, and lieutenant Abarai were on the other side of the door. With a sigh of relief, he stepped aside and let them in. Once all were in, he closed the door and activated a Hako barrier.

"I do hope that we aren't late." said Ukitake. Toshiro shook his head.

"No. I just finished setting things up for the next meeting. While we're waiting, how did things go on your end?" asked Toshiro. The trio exchanged a look of concern.

"We decided to go to the Daireishokairō (Great Library) first and compare documents there to documents found in the Kuchiki personal library. The documents we focused on was the founding of the Soul Society." explained Ukitake.

"And?" asked Toshiro curiously.

"Take a look." said Renji as he handed Toshiro his iPhone Denreishinki. Toshiro tapped the screen several times. Then his eyes widened.

"Which pictured document belong to which library?" asked Toshiro.

"Look at the timestamps on the pictures. The older time stamps are for documents from the Daireishokairō. The newer ones are from the Kuchiki personal library." said Byakuya.

"There are major differences between the documents." stated Toshiro.

"We noticed that too. After painstaking effort, we realized that the Kuchiki documents were the originals while the Daireishokairō documents were the doctored ones. Honestly, it's not that surprising. Terrible but not unsurprising." said Ukitake in disappointment. Toshiro closed his eyes and sighed.

"Considering that we are a military organization whose job is to recruit as many people as possible and to mold people into following rules that we set up. It makes sense that they don't want anything that goes against that goal to be suppressed or removed from public record." Toshiro conceded. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Scroll to the most recent documents from the Kuchiki Library." said Renji. Toshiro did as told. What he saw caused him to quirk an eyebrow.

"Project Atlantis. Project Osiris. And . . . Project Albion." Toshiro read the titles of the documents. As he read further his eyes widened again. "Wait . . . then . . . this means." he started.

(Very Heavy Dialogue incoming. If you don't want to read, head to the next scene change.)

===Romania – 30 mi outside of Trifas – Ruler's base of operations – kitchen – same time (4:20 pm Romanian time)

Kisuke lowered his hands and got them out of the gesture he had them in. Though he did sigh from overexerting himself. Yoruichi came to his side and helped him sit down. "You need to rest, Darling." she said with concern. Kisuke immediately brushed off the concern.

"I'll rest later. Just give me some tea and I'll be right as rain." he said nonchalantly. He looked at Ichigo, Rukia, and Jeanne who were all sitting on the kitchen table. "Alright you all can get off the table now, the barriers are in place. Now this quaint little farmstead is now the magical and spiritual equivalent of the U.S. Fort Knox." he said the last part grinning like a fool.

"And that homunculus, is he also included in the protections you put in?" asked Rukia with a serious look.

"Anyone that was in the house at the time that the barriers were set up will receive all the benefits and protections that these barriers will provide." Kisuke assured the group. Then he headed into the living room along with the others where they would be more comfortable. There on the coffee table was the phone and projector already set up. Yoruichi was the last to enter carrying a tray of tea. "Alright let's give them a call." With that he hit the call button on the screen. Minutes later the projector showed all their soul reaper cohorts. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long." said Kisuke cheerfully.

"Only 20 minutes. Mind if I ask what caused the delay?" asked Ukitake.

"We'll get to that in a minute, but first did you find anything interesting on your end?" asked Kisuke.

"We found some information concerning your inquiries in our last meeting which has led us to some promising leads. But it doesn't pertain to your current situation, we'll leave it be for now." said Byakuya. At the teens curious looks Yoruichi elaborated.

"Jeanne info dump from our first meeting intrigued us and we had Byakuya and Captain Ukitake look into the origins of the Gotei 13 to see if there was anything that sounded like what Jeanne told us concerning the Magecraft world." she said. This seemed to satisfy the teens.

"I will admit that it's fascinating but do agree that it should be left alone for now as it isn't pertinent to our current situation." Jeanne concluded. "Anything else on your end?" she asked. Ukitake raised his hand to get everyone's attention.

"I have something. During the rare times that I got a break today I followed a hunch and contacted an old acquaintance of mine from one of the few times that I took missions in the world of the living as a Captain. This acquaintance I suspected was supernaturally gifted but upon discussing Magecraft, I began to suspect he was a mage. I called and confirmed this as he has no problems using technology which has made him somewhat of a social pariah among his fellow mages. But he's still kept in the loop of recent events. I explained that I was interested in anyone who might've left for Romania. He admitted that quite a number had left for that country either to support the Red Faction Mages of the Mage's Association or the Black Faction which you know as Yggdmillenia. This includes members of the Catholic Church as apparently one of the Masters of Red is a priest for the Church." Everyone looked stunned at that information, but he pressed on. "I was surprised to hear that myself. Still word through the grapevine is that there are more than 2 Factions so he told me he'll contact his associates working with the Association and see if he can find out who's been confirmed as Masters and then get their files and have me come get them." explained Ukitake. This caused everyone to look at him with a quirked eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that I didn't call Soifon yet. Still, we do know all the members of the Blue Faction. So, you can have him start getting those files together first." said Yoruichi as she and Urahara rattled off the names of the Blue Faction Masters which Ukitake wrote down.

"They probably know all the Masters of Red as well so that's already two Factions of Masters down. It won't take much work for them to put together the Black Faction." said Kisuke.

"And the Gold Faction as I saw that they were in an alliance together today." Jeanne pointed out. Kisuke nodded at this piece of information.

"So, the only factions that might be harder to find out is the Silver Faction and White Faction Masters." said Ichigo.

"Considering we saw multiple factions out and about due to the temporary peace brought on by the ceasefire I don't think that it'll be as difficult as you think, Ichigo." Rukia pointed out. Ichigo nodded.

"I'll contact him and let him know the names of Masters we already know so he can focus on the remaining 4 factions tomorrow. Once all the files are together, I'll send them off with the 4th division member we select to bring in on this situation." said Jushiro.

"We now know to stick to the Kuchiki Library for further research for our case building as we know that those documents won't be tampered with. We have a few promising documents, but it will require further research on our end." said Toshiro.

"As for Servant research, we haven't found anything that we don't already know about. I mean we were able to find out how the nine of them died, but only a couple of them were practical. Others either died by means that aren't practical, died by unknown means or died peacefully in their sleep as old men. So, unless you come across a Servant whose identity you haven't figured out, I'm not sure if what we find will be helpful." said Renji disappointed.

"How did the 9 earlier ones die?" asked Rukia.

"Karna died of decapitation as he was distracted trying to get his chariot out of the mud it was stuck in. Given as he doesn't have that, that method won't be practical. Lancelot died a monk at a ripe old age, Arash's noble phantasm kills him so no need to worry about that. Siegfried died due his one weak spot being exploited so that's one that's practical. Gilgamesh died peacefully in his sleep as an old man while Iskandar died from an unknown ailment though many suspect it was malaria but no solid proof on that front. Diarmuid was mauled by a boar and wasn't healed in time before he succumb to his wounds. Jekyll shot himself in the head to avoid Hyde from fully taking over and finally Cu Chulainn was forced to break several sacred oaths to weaken him enough to be impaled by a spear and even then, he survived for another three days before he died standing up." Byakuya rattled off.

"That last one would definitely give him plenty of admirers in squad 11. But like I said earlier only a couple of these are practical. The others we would have to get creative if we would have to put them down." Renji pointed out.

"True but until we know about their Masters it would be best that we do not think like that." said Jeanne firmly. Renji shrugged.

"That's fine. Anyway, how did things go on your end?" Renji asked.

"We talked with Kariya and got the names of all the Masters and Servants of Blue." said Kisuke excitedly.

"Telling me their names won't do any good if I can't see their faces through a direct encounter." Jeanne pointed out. Kisuke pulled out his iPhone with a sly smile.

"I think that I might have a work around for that." he said as he tapped a few times on his phone then he handed it over to Jeanne. She looked at it and her eyes widened. Kisuke's smile turned triumphant. "So, your skill did kick in." he noted.

"But how? This is only a picture of the Servant not him physically." Jeanne said shocked.

"On technicality you are directly looking at the Servant themselves, not a facsimile or a straight up fake but the person whose image has been frozen in time and preserved digitally to be looked at later. So apparently looking at a Servant's picture is the same as seeing them directly as it's still them at the end of the day. You just don't have to put yourself in danger to encounter them." said Kisuke.

"That's amazing." said Jeanne in awe as she looked at more pictures of the Servants of Blue.

"So that means I'll have to be using my iPhone when I go out on reconnaissance." said Yoruichi.

"How about we wait until the last day of the ceasefire. Then we'll know whose pictures you'll have to get. By the way how did you get these pictures?" asked Jeanne.

"It was all Sakura's idea. She played the part of innocent child playing with her uncle's phone and in particular the camera to have the Servants believe she was just taking funny pictures. When she was done. She discreetly sent the actual pictures to my phone via a text message then promptly deleted the pictures from the phone per my instructions so that way she wouldn't get in trouble with anyone on her end." Kisuke said nonchalantly.

"That was dangerous, but her efforts did bear fruit. So, I guess I can't complain about the results." Jeanne conceded. Kisuke turned back to the other reapers who were looking highly amused at this discovery.

"I also got the underground training facility finished and got all the warding and barriers set up before you all got home. I just finished powering them up and running them before we called you." Kisuke informed them.

"What kind of barriers did you set up?" asked Toshiro curious. On this Kisuke launched into a long explanation. The barriers were actually a network meant to interweave magecraft and kido together to create them. They had both true and false ones that all had a specific function. It was set up as a set of round and box shields placed in intermittent intervals. The first set of security set on the perimeter of the property would be a round and box shield interlaced with a bounded field. The outermost round shield was set to alert whoever was inside of the house of anyone that was a mage of Servant even in spirit form who was approaching the property. The outermost box shield and bounded field would alert those same inhabitants of the house whether the person in question was coming with hostile intent. These two would act as both a magical and spiritual doorbell per se. This was followed by a 3rd barrier and the 2nd round shield barrier that was a mix of hako and kyomon and whose bounded field was laced with intent to keep out anyone who wasn't invited by those inside. He admitted that Servants like Lancer of Silver with abilities that render barriers moot would be a problem but against anything else it would be strong enough as both barriers were estimated to be about A rank. Combined they would be about EX rank. The remaining barriers would be put in place as added protection for after the 'guests' were allowed to enter the property. The 4th barrier and the 2nd box shield barrier this one using kyomon and the bounded field interlaced with it would enforce all 'guests' to leave their weapons at this point either physically or unsummon them with the condition being that if this was violated, they would go no further than that point even if they were invited inside. Only if the condition was met would they be allowed in further. The 5th barrier and the 3rd round shield barrier this one using Danku would have a bounded field interlaced with it which enforced that all 'guests' would be forbidden from using anything save kido beyond that point consequences would be the same as barrier 4. This included noble phantasms that were magic based in anything that wasn't kido. Finally, the last barrier which was the 3rd box shield barrier would be a combination of Hachiyo Sogai inlaid with Millon Escudo interlaced with one final bounded field. These together would be the final line of defense and act as protection from a distance as well as for 'guests' who made it past all the other defenses. The effects would be that in addition to continuing to enforce the previous conditions there would be an added one through the bounded field that 'guests' were forbidden from using any physical violence. If any of these conditions were violated once the 'guests' entered the house, then Millon Escudo would take effect and expel the violators from the place and the bounded field would activate one final consequence: erasing all traces of the home, protections and the inhabitants of this place from the inner consciousness of the violator and compel them to leave the area. He did admit that on Servants with high magic resistance, the effects of the latter would last about 2 hours by his estimate. However, he was confident that the effects of others would work indefinitely. Though this did mean having to repeat explanations over and over again. The barriers will also work on attacks that come from a distance be they magical, spiritual, or physical. This includes any modern weapons like guns and anything less than a ballistic missile. Then there will be the added bonus of absorbing enough of the attack to charge the barriers if needed and then reflect the attacker. And the best part was those inside the house when they were activated will be able to bypass all the barriers or those that enter the house from the inside and exit it.

This caused Toshiro to raise an eyebrow. "You plan on setting up a senkaimon gate in the basement of your home." said Toshiro.

"Not a senkaimon, Captain Hitsuguya. But a new invention I've created, and I've been meaning to try. I've dubbed it a Senkaiodan or a world traversing gate." said Kisuke with pride. He explained that it would be similar to a senkaimon gate but instead of traversing dimensions such as from the world of the living to the soul society it just allowed someone to travel from one point to another but on the same plane of existence. In this case, two points on the world of the living. He revealed that he also called Tessai and had him set things up on his end so all that's left is for him to set things up here and have the both of them activate the two points simultaneously then send something on through to test it and see if it works. Yoruichi suggested clothes as that way if they were lost then they could easily be replaced and nothing of real value would be lost but if they succeeded then they had something useful. No one objected to this idea. "So instead of using a senkaimon gate to head directly to your location and have to adhere to all the conditions of the security you've set up just to talk to you face to face, you want us to head to Karakura, in particular the shop, use your new creation, the senkaiodan gate, and then when we are in the basement the barriers will recognize us as the inhabitants of the house since we appeared inside without disturbing the barriers. Is that about right?" asked Byakuya.

"More or less." confirmed Yoruichi with a sly grin. "The other thing we don't have to worry about is needing to install a reishi Henkan-ki or spirit converter as both points are fixed to the world of the living. It should also be stable and have no time limit for how long it remains open or the need to use hell butterflies. The only real downside is that if you all are going to come visit and want to not rouse suspicions that your soul reapers before arriving, then you'll need to get gigais, gikons, and modern clothing at the Urahara shop prior to crossing.

"I can't thank you all enough for all the trouble you're going through just to help me." said Jeanne with gratitude. "I'm just worried what will happen once Ichigo, Rukia and I leave such a well defended location." she admitted worriedly.

"Don't forget that while Ichigo's training is a bit more slipshod, he more than makes up for it with his ability to adapt quickly to the changing flow of battle with his opponent. Rukia is a fully trained soul reaper with at least a few decades of experience. Then you have the Shihoin cloak that allows you to fly and has other protections. Then if you all have to run both Rukia and Ichigo can get you out of there in a pinch and if all that somehow fails, I can come bail you out as a last resort. So, you see everything will be fine." Yoruichi reassured Jeanne who in turn smiled with hope that things would turn out all right after all. "I think it's time for you three to give your report. I didn't see too much being hidden in the front of the sidecar or doing reconnaissance in the fortress belonging to the black faction."

Jeanne, Ichigo, and Rukia relayed everything that happened after they left the house including the current cover story that Kisuke had devised, and that the Gold faction was in an alliance with the Black faction. When the subject of homunculi came up all the Reapers were a bit appalled at how the homunculi were both regarded and used. Ichigo revealed how homunculi have very short lifespans according to the ones he spoke to. 3 years for the ones that acted as living energy batteries though apparently if Servants burned through a lot of energy at one time it would shorten even that to the point it would kill them. At their confused looks Jeanne stepped in and elaborated.

"I need to make this clear. Technically partitioning off the Master-Servant contract is actually considered perfectly acceptable during a Grail War. Due to mages barely able to utilize their magecraft at all and maintaining a Servant simultaneously, it sometimes becomes necessary for mages to find methods to that will make achieving those tasks easier. Especially since the maintenance of a Servant could leave the Master weak and vulnerable to attack if the Servant leaves their side. The easiest way to do this is to have someone else provide the spirit energy to maintain the Servant while the Master who summoned the Servant keeps the seals and can use their magecraft to their fullest potential. All they have to do is keep the one providing the upkeep safe until either the Servant dies or the War ends." explained Jeanne. The reapers seemed mollified by this but the disregard for life on the mages pert towards the homunculi still gave them looks of irritation.

Ichigo continued with the explanations on his end. He found out that for the homunculi that served the two allied factions in the traditional sense like maids, guards, and combat forces, their lifespans were even shorter. Apparently, most of the homunculi that the group saw had only been created about a week ago and their lifespans without a war looming was about 3-4 months at most. Though that would shorten once the fighting got underway as they were to serve as their disposable combat forces. Yoruichi and Kisuke revealed her finding a homunculus boy who was apparently trying to escape and what Kisuke uncovered when Yoruichi brought him home. This surprised the group of Reapers.

"So, what will happen to the boy now? If the Gold or Black Factions find out that he was taken by Yoruichi and that he's living with Ruler and her companions, they might decide to retaliate in some manner, and it might compromise your current position." Ukitake pointed out.

"They have hundreds of homunculi at their disposal so losing one won't be a great loss to them. Besides I don't intend to have him stay here for too long." said Kisuke. At the confused looks everyone gave him he elaborated. "If we can successfully get the senkaiodan gate up and tested and it works the way it's supposed to, then I'll take the boy back with me to Karakura for study." At the glares that he was receiving from Ichigo, Rukia, and Jeanne he quickly added. "Harmless, non-invasive studies. I want to see if there might be a way to extend his lifespan however little. Worst case scenario nothing changes and he lives out his three years preferably with us in Karakura helping me understand magic circuits and other magecraft related topics and living like a human as best as he can until his death. Best case scenario we extend his life to that of a regular human and then give him the choice to do what he wants with his life though I would like to hope he'd still help me with the previous things I mentioned." said Kisuke. On this no one objected. With that matter tabled for now as they would have to wait til the boy woke up, they shifted gears.

Rukia then continued reporting what happened. The demonstrations, the explanations, the hollow attack, and the granting of Jeanne's audience with the Grail. Then Ichigo revealed what he found out during the Hollow attack in Trifas and how half of the Servants couldn't see him. Everyone quickly made note of that though Ichigo didn't know which Servant other than Lancer of Silver could see him as no class names were given save for Caster of Silver who couldn't see him. Then Rukia continued with her report after Ruler left for the Grail. She revealed that most of it was just further explanations like Rukia technically coming from a noble family and the Kuchiki's status in the soul society, revealing Kisuke's status as the founder and first head of the R&D department, a few specific tasks that a few divisions did, just basic knowledge that was available for everyone in the Soul society to know.

Ichigo then revealed that prior to Darnic leaving his inner hollow quietly surfaced and warned him how Darnic smelled like a Hollow. Ichigo then revealed that his hollow let him utilize his heightened sense of smell and did indeed detect hollow reishi coming from Darnic. Not like he encountered a hollow and survived but that he was on the verge of becoming one. It was pretty subtle as he still felt alive so only Ichigo's inner hollow's heightened sense of smell could detect it, but the moment Darnic died Ichigo had no doubt that he would instantly become a hollow. Ichigo asked everyone point blank after Jeanne and Darnic left why Darnic smelled like a Hollow catching everyone off guard. Rukia then reported how she shifted the facts of what happened about a hundred years ago and made her and Ichigo apart of that incident. How Ichigo prior to becoming a counter guardian gained an inner hollow and how Rukia would have died in the attempt to stop him when he nearly went on a berserker like rampage and how on the verge of death both became counter guardians. Then stated how in his Saber form his hollow abilities are tampered down to where he can use a few abilities but not much like heightened senses and higher regeneration and recovery but if he had been summoned as a Berserker than he would've been far more dangerous and uncontrollable to Ruler. Finally, Rukia used this as a segway to talk about Sosuke Aizen and how he was the true mastermind behind the incident that led the duo to become counter guardians and how he framed Kisuke for the crime. How only recently, roughly almost a year ago, the charges were voided when Sosuke turned traitor and left the Soul Society and had been on the lam ever since. How Kisuke was tracking a lead to find Sosuke when he bumped into Ruler while she was doing the summoning and how Kisuke's ulterior motive is to see if Sosuke Aizen might have a role to play in this Great Holy Grail War in addition to observing it as a whole. And Ichigo and Rukia both want payback for what Aizen did to them hence why they answered the call of the summoning.

"Gotta say Rukia, that was actually a stroke of genius." Said Renji with a smile. Rukia blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, I figured that the potential threat of Aizen might distract them from doing any investigations about us. We have no idea if they've found anything about us yet and if we give them a threat that is greater than us than they might leave us to deal with the non-Grail issues at least until they are done then they might backstab us. And I did my best to keep to the facts of what happened during that time. The only thing I lied about was mine and Ichigo's role in it. And we've left out any mentions of the afterlife but everything else I spoke of was true." said Rukia.

"The best kinds of lies are the ones that are interwoven with the truth. Well, the best-case scenario is that this will buy us the time we need to get into a position of strength so that no one will try to challenge us. Hopefully we'll put on enough of a spectacle that everyone will just decide it's not worth coming after us especially with their wishes on the line. Worst case scenario it'll put a target on our backs that means we have to be on guard from the moment we leave the barriers to the time we return." said Yoruichi with a note of resignation.

"Anything else?" asked Ukitake curiously. Ichigo picked up what happened when Noba used his portals to bring an unconscious Jeanne back to their location and what was exchanged while she was unconscious. Archer of Black being a very gifted healer and their opinions of Rider and Berserker of Black. The former being a tamer version of Ichigo's friend Keigo Asano and the latter not being what one pictured when thinking of a warrior of madness. She seemed more like a shy quiet girl instead. Then from there Jeanne waking up and what happened before they left and what happened when they got home.

"And then Urahara had us sit on the table while he activated the shields he'd been setting up since we left. After that we called." Ichigo finished.

"So, all that's left is what happened to Jeanne when she separated from you to go and commune with the Grail." Toshiro noted. Jeanne nodded as she began.

"Well, I now know where all the bases are at currently for all the factions and my connections to the Masters all participating in the Grail War has strengthened enough that I can now track them through those contracts with their Servants. It's led to some unexpected discoveries including all the Class names of the currently summoned Servants even though I can't tell their True Names yet as I haven't encountered them directly. While the blue faction is showing common traits for Master-Servant contracts that being typical pairs and the Master carrying the load of maintaining the upkeep of the Servant, almost all the other factions are showing anomalies." explained Jeanne.

"Could you elaborate, please, Lady Jeanne?" asked Byakuya.

"Well, the black and gold factions are showing signs of shared contracts. Meaning that the contract with a Servant has been split with the Master keeping the command seals while another is taking care of the upkeep of the two factions of Servants. We know due to Ichigo's earlier statement that the ones maintaining the gold and black Servants are homunculi for mana batteries. What's more the gold faction has cheated the system for summoning. Instead of summoning the typical Seven Servant classes their faction is made up of 3 Sabers, 3 Caster and one extra class Servant, that being the shielder class." continued Jeanne.

"WHAT!?" everyone exclaimed.

"I don't know how they did this but given that they are one of the founding families and the fact that they were allowed to access the Grail upon allying with the black faction, it's most likely they had time to study it and figure out how to select Servants of their choosing rather than taking what was assigned to them for the Classes." said Jeanne.

"And there's nothing you can do about this?" asked Toshiro.

"Not without jeopardizing my neutrality. Either nothing changes or I'll be killed to keep my silence. And while my command seals could be used, I only have two while the Masters have three. And once my seals are used up so is my usefulness to them as then I'm more valuable dead than alive if I lose the seals." said Jeanne unhappily.

"So, we're at an impasse on this. Well, we'll just have to play dumb on that front for now and let them think you lost consciousness before actually seeing anything or that you learned this from your conversation with the Grail.. So, is that all or is their more?" asked Kisuke.

"Just the last three factions. These are all a bit strange though." noted Jeanne. At the curious looks of everyone she elaborated. "The red faction seems to be split where 4 of the contracts are showing more typical Master-Servant contracts while the remaining 3 are showing signs of shared contracts. Even stranger is that the Master of Assassin of Red is the one holding the contracts of Caster and Berserker of red along with maintaining and being contracted with his own assassin of red while the former two's actual Masters are taking care of the upkeep for the Servants. I'll admit that this arrangement, while not impossible, just seems odd to me. Why keep the contracts of three Servants but maintain your own and let others maintain the other two? It's true that Assassin and Caster are both low upkeep so it make sense to take and maintain both. But Berserker is the most mana consumptive of all the Servant classes. So much so that shared contracts is almost mandatory for Berserkers unless you either have a lot of spirit energy at your disposal or they can replenish their own reserves somehow without hurting their Master." said Jeanne, clearly troubled by this.

"Maybe the trio are familiar with each other enough that they don't mind sharing contracts?" suggested Yoruichi. Jeanne didn't look convinced but shrugged.

"Until I can speak to the red Faction, there really isn't much else to be done on that front. So, I'll move on. This leaves the silver and white faction. The silver faction shows there are only four members with three maintaining two Servants a piece. Only one is a typical Master-Servant contract. As for the white faction all but Saber of White has been summoned and all the remaining contracts of the white faction are with one Master as well as the upkeep of the six Servants." revealed Jeanne.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed everyone again.

"I don't know how that's possible. The only way for that to be possible is if the Master has a lot of spirit energy at their disposal but for mages living in the modern era that's not even a possibility." said Jeanne troubled.

"But for a soul reaper it is." pointed out Rukia. That got everyone suspicious. Still Ichigo spoke up.

"Before we go down that rabbit hole, I want to ask is it possible what the silver faction is doing?" he asked. "Having two Servants per master?"

"That family unit we saw Ichigo. The two albino women with white hair one a child and the other a full-grown woman. That boy with red hair and that man in the black business suit. All 4 were the Masters of Silver. The two albino women were most likely homunculi as they are contracted to Rider and Berserker both of which are heavy on mana consumption, but both have a Servant that is far less in terms of upkeep. That being Caster and Archer respectively. The older woman had the Rider-Caster pair while the child had the Berserker-Archer pair. The boy had the Lancer-Assassin pair and the Man just had Saber of Silver." said Jeanne.

"That was done strategically. If Archers can go for a while without needing to replenish their reserves, assassins require the least amount of upkeep, and Casters can tap into the Ley lines to replenish themselves and others, then pairing them up with a heavier mana consuming Servant shows that there's a method here. They're compensating for their lack of Masters by strategically pairing up those who can maintain specific Servants while not leaving the Masters too vulnerable to attack. Sound strategy but isn't that illegal?" asked Kisuke.

"If the Masters have the reserves for it, they can contract and maintain as many Servants as they wish within the 7 summoned or more in this case so what while unusual, nothing the Silver of White factions are doing is illegal." said Jeanne. She then revealed the current bases for all the factions, and should they move or change locations, she can track them through the contracts. The bases were revealed as followed: red- a hotel in Bucharest and a church on the outskirts of the city, black and gold- millennium fortress, white- inside a mountain or rather a cave system in the Transylvanian alps called the Piatra Craiului Mountains or it's English translation The King's Rock mountains, silver- an air b&b on the outskirts of Trifas just outside city limits, blue- air b&b in the forest bordering one side of the town outside of Trifas but the last two are on opposite sides of town.

"Alright. So now we come to the big question: Does Aizen have a role to play in this Great Holy Grail War?" asked Toshiro.

"I do have an answer for that. The short answer is yes. The long answer is complicated." At everyone's confused looks Jeanne elaborated. She first elaborated on Justeze von Einzbern making up the core of the Grail and her wish. Then explained how Aizen rigged up the hogyoku to cause the Grail to overflow with energy making it so that the current number of Servants summoned was the only way to absorb the excess amount of energy. She also found out that due to this excess energy, instead of the upkeep of Servants being a 60-40 split with the grail doing majority of the heavy lifting to keep the Servants manifested now it was more of an 80-20 split with the Grail doing most of the heavy lifting. This explained why the ley lines weren't tapped out yet as Aizen made it so the Grail could actually support so many Servants while the Master's energy was supplementary. As to why Aizen went through all this trouble to rig up such a system and why he had so many Servants summoned, Jeanne admits that Justeze refused to answer just like she refused to tell her where Aizen is at the moment. The reason being that an agreement was reached between both Justeze and the Hogyoku that in exchange for allowing Aizen and the hogyoku to interfere with the Grail War, and it would open the way to allow for Justeze's wish to be granted. She also reveals that in order to draw out Aizen they need to unite all the Masters and Servants against a Master named Shirou Kotomine. If this is done, then he'll be forced to reveal his reasoning for needing the Grail and once that's done, he'll need to be removed from the equation in some manner and only then will Aizen come out of hiding. So as long as Shirou Kotomine is still actively participating in the Grail War, Aizen will stay in hiding.

"Why does his reason for participating in the war matter?" asked Renji curiously.

"Apparently it will determine if he is Aizen's willing accomplice and needs to be put down or if he's just another one Aizen's pawns and then needs to be merely incapacitated and possibly saved should Aizen eliminate him due to him outliving his usefulness. I believe you all mentioned that Aizen has a known track record of doing that even to loyal subordinates, correct?" asked Jeanne looking concerned that she might've hit a nerve. Everyone nodded solemnly.

"You're not wrong on that. Is there anything else that you learned on your end before we start discussing the Servants you ran into today?" asked Ukitake trying to change the subject.

Jeanne nodded and then she dropped the last two bombshells: Ichigo apparently can grant Justeze's wish of granting the Servants a true 2nd life and that soul reapers can become Masters as well.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed everyone yet again.

"How is that . . . even . . .possible?" asked Byakuya clearly stunned by this revelation. Jeanne relayed the method of stabbing the Servants in their spirit core or heart with his zanpakuto and that this was applicable to all Servants though what would happen after that Jeanne had no idea only that somehow if Ichigo did this method, he and he alone could apparently grant every Servant summoned a true 2nd life.

"As for soul reapers becoming Masters, in most circumstances it's impossible for spirits to form pacts with other spirits. This is due to degradation caused by the planet recognizing a spirit that is dead and should not exist in the world anymore, so their spirits are worn away by the world causing them to degrade until they disappear. Hence why the contract with Masters and Servants are necessary as the Servant uses the Master to stay anchored in the World of the Living due to the latter being alive and accepted by the planet. Soul Reapers and Hollows are a different matter all together. According to Justeze during her conversations with the Hogyoku, Soul Reapers and Hollows spend most of their time in other planes of existence and only come to the World of the Living periodically for either to slay Hollows or to get sustenance respectively. As such they don't really feel the effects of degradation as most don't stay for very long in the World of the Living. Also due to Hollows eating souls they are fighting off degradation from the planet's rejection of them just like Servants without a master will resort to when they are trying to remain in the world but for Hollows it's at the expense of corrupting the spirit particles around them. By contrast Soul reapers, whose jobs are to purify and send souls onto the afterlife, are actually not rejected at all by the Planet. This is because in Gaia's eyes the Soul Reapers are reducing the number of Human souls that exist on the planet and perceives soul reapers as helping her protect herself from humans and their destructive nature which hollows personify even if all the souls you are removing are dead and are purifying the mana or spirit particles in the atmosphere of corruption with their very presence. Alaya sees the soul reapers as both guiding her children back to her in the cycle of reincarnation and by slaying hollows that are a threat to both the living and the dead views them as protectors of humanity but aren't under her authority. So both sides of the planet agree that soul reapers are a net positive and therefore make them the exception as spirits who can happily exist in the world of the living indefinitely even though they are dead and not be feeling the effects of degradation. Throw in gigais that were created only a little over century ago that can act as artificial anchors for you and soul reapers can essentially incarnate themselves and live and even create lineages on the living plane of existence with the Planet wholly accepting them without any issues. For this reason it's possible for Soul reapers to form pacts with Servants even in their spirit forms." revealed Jeanne. This put the group into deep thought. Then Toshiro spoke up.

"Alright. I think I understand. So then how would we soul reapers become Masters in the first place?" Toshiro asked.

"You can do so through a few methods: one is myself transferring an existing contract from a Master who for whatever reason either can't or won't be participating in the Grail War anymore, but the Servant is still able-bodied and willing to do so to a soul reaper. Another is that all the original Master's seals have been used up and the Servant is on the verge of disappearing. It's possible for a soul reaper through an incantation to form a new contract with an existing Servant. Usually, these methods can only be done with other participating Masters but according to Justeze soul reapers are in a unique position where they both have the power to easily support a Servant and still be able to fight more or less unhindered under their own power. The other and most important thing that makes them uniquely able to pull this off even without being already participating Masters is that they already have a Master-Servant contract of sorts that is just another part of their lives. Their zanpakutos." Everyone's eyes widened at this so Jeanne continued. "From what you told me, while the zanpakuto are a part of the soul reaper they still can represent aspects of the soul reaper including parts of themselves that they don't like which means that compatibility plays a role in whether or not the soul reaper will get far in their career. Compatibility also plays a role in Master-Servant contracts. Some getting along famously while some can't stand each other, and some find a way to find common ground to achieve their goals. The compatibility of the two affects whether the two can get their wishes granted or not. So soul reapers are seen as Masters by the Grail due to their already existing connection to their zanpakutos." explained Jeanne.

"Or another way to put it Servants can be seen as masterless zanpakuto spirits looking for a wielder. So, by forming a contract, they are essentially agreeing to become the weapon of whoever summoned them or whoever is willing to form a contract with them." deduced Kisuke. Jeanne nodded happily at his analysis though it disappeared with his next question. "Do you think it's possible for us to summon a Servant of our own?"

"Honestly, I don't know as you're essentially adopting a spirit who might not compliment you or your current zanpakuto and they would be fully manifested at all times. Not stored away in a convenient container like a sword. That's even if you factor in that your personalities are compatible with one or both of you." Jeanne pointed out. Kisuke got a gleam of interest in his eye at this.

"Well it will definitely be something worth looking into. I already have the mage tomes that talk about summoning Servants and the incantations but I'm curious on what would this incantation be for us when forming a contract with an existing Servant." he said intrigued.

"Why don't you give us the standard incantation as well, Kisuke. We'll write it down." asked Ukitake as he and the others had notebook and pens at the ready.

"Fine the standard incantation goes like this: Elements of silver and iron, The foundation of stone and the Archduke of pacts, A wall for descending winds, Close the gates on the four sides, Come forth from the crown and follow the forked road leading to the kingdom. Behold. My will creates your body and your sword my destiny. If you heed the Grails call and obey my will and reason, Then answer my summonings. I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world

That I shall defeat all evil in the world. Thou Seventh heaven clad in the great words of power, Spring forth from the Circle of Binding! Now Guardian of the Scales!" Urahara recited.

"That sounds very similar to a high level kido spell." Toshiro noted as he wrote down what he was hearing.

"I should note that if you're specifically trying to summon a Berserker a few lines are added after the 'I shall defeat all evil in the world' line. The Berserker lines are as follows: And let thine eyes be clouded with the fog of turmoil and chaos. Thou who art trapped in a cage of madness and I the summoner who holds thy chains.' From there you finish the rest of the normal incantation. For the formation of a new pact with an existing Servant the lines are as follows: Heed my words, My will creates your body and your sword my destiny. If you heed the Grails call and obey my will and reason, Then answer my summonings.' And that's it." recited Kisuke. Jeanne nodded in approval.

"Very good. I'm not sure how much the incantation would have to change for the actual summoning chant but the lines for forming a pact between a soul reaper and an existing Servant goes as follows according to Justeze: 'My soul becomes your will; your spirit becomes my blade, and our pact shall forge our own destiny, if you heed my words and you answer my call, Bind yourself to me. Will you accept this partnership?' And that's it." said Jeanne.

"You know, it just hit me but if you look at the Master-Servant relationship through the same lens as that of a zanpakuto spirit with its soul reaper wielder it makes the former look like a bastardized version of the latter." observed Ichigo.

"That's an excellent point, Ichigo. I wonder if there's a reason for that?" asked Yoruichi looking thoughtful. "Still, this is something I think we should look into further. Perhaps even consider as an option like making contracts with these Servants. Or even summoning some of our own in the future if we can figure out how to actually pull that off." she added.

"I think we better hold on a second. I will admit that this development sounds really intriguing but think about this. If what you've told me how the relationship works between a zanpakuto and the wielder is anything to go by, it's a very intimate relationship. Now imagine bringing in both another person into that relationship and a stranger to boot. Yes, compatibility would definetly play a role as to who that stranger is, but it would still cause issues for the zanpakuto and wielder. Namely that due to the constant manifested state of the Servant, it might cause a rift brought on by jealousy on the zanpakuto's behalf due to feeling their wielder is possibly neglecting them in favor of the Servant. If you're serious about this idea of forming contracts with Servants, I would recommend a discussion of sorts with your zanpakuto before doing anything just to gauge their thoughts on the subject as they will be part of the consequences of such actions." Jeanne cautioned.

"And yet you haven't discouraged the idea of Ichigo forming contracts with the current batch of Servants." Rukia pointed out. Jeanne looked at her.

"That's because it's meant to be a temporary situation. Granting Servants a True 2nd life means that they can be incarnated somehow and exist in this world without the need for a Master so that means the contracts would be temporary in nature. What Yoruichi's suggesting with summoning and forming soul reaper-servant contracts is an entirely separate and different matter. Hence why I'm not nearly as cautionary against Ichigo potential situation as compared to Yoruichi's suggestion." explained Jeanne.

"Jeanne is the reason for your caution because of your upbringing?" asked Yoruichi curiously. This caught Jeanne off guard.

"What?" asked Jeanne, confused.

"If my understanding is correct you were brought up as a Roman Catholic, right?" she asked. Jeanne nodded but still looked confused. "Which means things like a marriage are meant to be thought of as 'til death do us part' and are meant to be with only one person. I think you're equating the relationship we soul reapers have with our zanpakutos as a marriage when that couldn't be further from the truth." Yoruichi deduced. This surprised Jeanne.

"But it's a part of you." Jeanne began but was interrupted by Ukitake.

"But our zanpakutos are still us at the end of the day. The more in harmony we are with them is a sign of self-acceptance. Embracing all parts of ourselves, both the positive and the negative. And while the analogy of Servants being like Masterless zanpakutos is relevant, one could see the contract of separate individuals as having potential as to form a bond similar to that of a marriage if said bond is intimate enough as the Servant and soul reaper are still separate individuals when all is said and done. So, you really don't need to fret over something like that, though the concern is touching." said Ukitake trying to reassure her with a smile. Jeanne seemed thoughtful before she spoke again.

"I can't say that I don't still have concerns about this but before we table this conversation, I do need to let you all know one other aspect of the contract that I've not touched upon up til now as it wasn't relevant to anything we discussed earlier. As the Master and Servant contract continues if the bond is deep enough then both will start to see events of the others' life usually when they sleep. This is again meant to help strengthen the bond between Master and Servant. As an example, say that Renji contracts with myself. If we develop some kind of bond of say comradery then eventually as a sign of that bond, we would start seeing each other's lives in our dreams and this is meant to give the both of us a better understanding of one another. I bring this up to give you all an idea of just how intimate the contract can get." Jeanne explained. This seemed to put everyone in deep contemplation. Then Toshiro spoke up.

"Your concerns are noted. And we thank you for providing us with this insight. It seems we have a lot to consider before we make any commitment to the idea of taking on the role of Masters to these Servants. Still, we still have to discuss the Servants that you encountered today. So, is there any other information that needs to be said or discussed before we move on?" Toshiro asked. When no one said anything, he nodded satisfied. "Alright. Then let's move onto the next batch of Servants you have for us." he added firmly. Jeanne nodded.

"Right. Will we be using the term Np for noble phantasm since we'll be saying it quite a bit tonight?" asked Jeanne.

"Unless you want to use the formal term noble phantasm. Personally, I'd prefer to use the shorthand for now while we have these meetings." said Yoruichi. Everyone save Byakuya gave affirmatives to use the shorthand for now.

"Alright with that out of the way, let's get started." said Kisuke.

"Right. Of the 6 factions we didn't encounter anyone from the Red or White Faction. At least no one that wasn't using an np or skill to hide themselves. As for the other 4 factions, the Black Faction revealed all their Servants to me in a bid to try and once again recruit me to their side. The gold faction gave a show of doing the same but only officially showed me two Servants, but I caught a glimpse of three others just before Noba activated his portals that took me back to Ichigo and Rukia and I lost consciousness. So this meeting will probably one of our longest due to the sheer number of Servants we need to go over." explained Jeanne.

"And thanks to your strengthened connection we now know that the Gold Faction has cheated the system and summoned a faction of Servants that is made up of Sabers, Casters, and a Sheilder." noted Kisuke. Jeanne nodded and continued.

"Thanks to your student's efforts, Urahara, and by happy accident, we now have all the Blue Faction Servants as well. And we saw most of the Silver Faction Servants today. The only one of Silver Faction that I didn't personally encounter was Berserker of Silver." finished Jeanne.

"Okay so who do we start with?" asked Ichigo.

"Why not the Blue Faction? We already have two members that we discussed the last time and now we have the full set. Then we can do the Black Faction for the same reason. Then followed by Silver as we have all but one member now IDed. And then we'll end off on the gold Faction." suggested Rukia.

"Good idea. Then we'll finish off how we did last time with individual and overall assessments of the Servants and Factions respectively so far. We just need to keep in mind geographic boosts and push up the ranks of all parameters and nps should the Servant have them. And also keep in mind for counter classing and their threat level to Jeanne's safety as well." added Yoruichi

"Alright then let's get started with the Blue Faction. We already have Berserker and Lancer of Blue. And we already determined that while Berserker of Blue was extremely lackluster, Lancer of Blue more than compensated for it to the point that depending on the rest of the faction he'd either be the crux of the Faction or just one of its powerhouses." said Toshiro looking at his notebook.

"Then I'll start with the Assassin Servant and work up to the Saber class Servant. So, we'll start with Assassin of Silver. True name: Hassan-i-Sabbah specifically the Hassan of Serenity." said Jeanne.

"None of that sounds familiar at all." said Byakuya quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"I can field this one. The title Hasan-i Sabbah was given to the head of an Islamic religious and military organization. The first Hassan was the founder of the Nizari Ismai'li sect widely known as the Hashshashin or the Order of Assassins, as well as the Nizari Ismaili state in Iran. In fact, the word Hashshashin comes from the word Hashish or hash which is made from the resin of the cannabis plant. This is usually dried and pressed into small blocks and smoked and as many of you know causes people to get high off it. Hashshashin is also where the word Assassin comes from." explained Yoruichi.

"Why would you name an order meant to kill people after a plant that sports worldwide fame for getting people high?" asked Ichigo sporting an 'I can't believe this' look.

"Because one of the rituals in this sect was before sending one of their operatives to go kill someone, they needed to smoke enough of the Hashish to get crazy, stupid high as it was thought that it calmed the operatives so that should the missions end in failure or their mission was suicidal, they would face death with calm and composed dignity." explained Yoruichi. Renji snorted.

"I've seen people find ways to get high in the Rukon districts and I can say for a fact that they showed absolutely no dignity when they were high." Renji said with a chuckle.

"That's only because they couldn't get their hands on the right stuff." Yoruichi retorted back playfully.

"I have to ask. How do you know so much about this particular subject, Yoruichi?" asked Rukia curiously.

"Because my ancestor, Chika Shihoin, the first Captain of Squad 2 and the 10th head of the Shihoin Clan, was the one to help in the founding of this order then took the ideas from this, modified it and then created the Onmitsukidō or stealth force that exists in the soul society today. As a result, this knowledge of the order was and still is part of the history taught to all members of the Shihoin family including its head and heirs. As such I know that the first Hassan was born in 1050 AD, he did most of the founding of the order in 1090 AD, ruled the Hashshashin until his 'death' in 1124 AD, and that the order itself lasted until 1275 AD where the last known record of them is mentioned before they fell into obscurity. Between the time of his 'death' to the order's fall into obscurity there were approximately 19 leaders. And when they became leader, they had to both give up their original names and take up the name Hassan-i-Sabbah with some kind of moniker attached to it as the only way to differentiate between the leaders and usually carve out their faces and wear bone white skull masks. I'll admit that the stealth force doesn't go that extreme but the idea of concealing one's identity is still practiced both due to the original order of Assassins legacy and for practicality. But our vassal house, the Feng clan, does follow the tradition of family heads casting off their original names and taking the name Soifon upon their ascension." Yoruichi explained.

"That's incredible. I had no idea that your family was that deeply intertwined with the order of Assassins. Does that mean that you know about this particular Hassan?" asked Jeanne in surprise. Yoruichi shook her head.

"Not really. I know she specializes in poisons but I'm more familiar with her predecessor, Hassan of the Shining Star. The reason for that is he was the inspiration for why I strove to become 'the Goddess of the Flash'. His moniker came from the fact that his technique of Assassination was where he would use blinding speed to blitz his opponent and then combine this with overwhelming power to destroy his target. This was to compensate for the fact that when he pushed his human body to its limit, it would glow and look like a shooting star making it virtually impossible to conceal himself when he would start his attack. The only other drawback is due to his human body this technique is if used for too long, it would kill him. As a soul reaper I didn't have to worry about that limitation and could expand on the technique he created." explained Yoruichi.

"Huh. You never told me that." said Urahara being genuinely surprised.

"You never seemed interested in that stuff. History was never one of your strong suits, Kisuke." Yoruichi commented with a playful smile.

"Alright, Jeanne, what can you tell us about this Hassan of Serenity?" asked Ichigo trying to get everyone back on track.

"We'll start with her parameters: Strength is D, Endurance is D, Agility is A+, Mana is C, Luck is A, and finally her Np is C." rattled off Jeanne.

"So calculated that puts her power level at C+ just hovering at the threshold of a low seated officer almost a high seated officer. About an 11th seat at best. So, she's already slightly better than Berserker of Blue but just barely." said Kisuke.

"The order of Assassins did operate throughout the middle east, they never expanded westward beyond Turkey and Israel. So, it's safe to say that Serenity gets no geographical boosts here in Romania." pointed out Yoruichi.

"Anything else extra we need to know about?" asked Toshiro. Jeanne shook her head. "Alright let's move onto her Class Skills."

"She has two. One is the main skill that most Assassin Class Servants possess which is called Presence Concealment which is A+ rank and Independent Action which is A rank." said Jeanne.

"You mentioned Presence Concealment in our last meeting but didn't elaborate on it beyond showcasing the difference between Class and Personal Skills. And we already know of Independent Action so what differs her rank from Arash and Gilgamesh's rank of the skill?" asked Byakuya.

"It's rank is high enough for her to be able to survive for a week should her Master die especially if she has a way to continue existing like eating human souls. I know you all find that repulsive, but this is how some do maintain their existence be it willing or not." Jeanne said with a sad look.

"And presence concealment?" asked Jushiro trying to move onto the next topic quickly. Jeanne latched onto that and went onto the next explanation.

"That skill hides one's presence from others. It's obviously suitable for spying. Due to its high rank, it's possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected, even against a Servant's perception. Though I have no idea if a Soul Reaper can still detect them when this skill is active. The only drawback to this skill is that once she's prepped for an attack, she has to drop the skill before launching said attack. In other words, if all she does is spy, no one will ever notice her. But if she attacks the skill will be active if all she does is summon her weapons but makes no move to attack her target. The moment she moves with intent to attack her target, this skill automatically drops and she's once again able to be detected by others." explained Jeanne.

"So, there's room, however small, for counterattack and defending oneself against an opponent like her." noted Toshiro.

"Yeah, but not much. You gotta be walking around expecting to be attacked in order to exploit that small of a window of time or be very fast with your reaction time to make that work." Renji pointed out.

"Alright. What about personal Skills?" asked Jushiro.

"Actually, with one exception almost all her personal skills tie back to her np so it might be more prudent to look into that first before explaining her Personal skills after I explain the one that doesn't pertain to it." explained Jeanne. When no one objected to her suggestion she continued. "The one Personal Skill she has that isn't tied to her np is called Shapeshift which is C rank. This skill allows her to change her appearance at will and get close to her target of assassination. However, she is only able to shapeshift into a figure with a physique that is close to her own. As long as this condition is satisfied, it is also possible for her to shapeshift into a figure exactly like that of a particular individual. Because the condition does not have an impact on the little differences the shapeshifted form may have, it is even possible for her to shapeshift into the opposite sex. She usually takes on the guise of a pure and innocent looking maiden, and her appearance is extremely bewitching to men, of which they look at her with a look full of lust and with a disregard to caution, just to go to her. Even in her Servant form, she is still shown to be extremely alluring. This plays into the devious nature of her np and her method of assassination as a whole." Jeanne continued.

"And what exactly is her noble phantasm?" asked Byakuya.

"The Hassan of Serenity's Np is called Zabaniya: Delusional Poison Body." said Jeanne.

"I'm not familiar with that first name of her Np." said Kisuke. He then looked at Yoruichi with a quirked eyebrow. Yoruichi sighed but answered.

"I have heard of Zabaniya, the term, before but not with this context." she said. When everyone was still looking at her, Yoruichi continued. "Zabaniya, comes from the name of the 19 angels that guard Hell and torment its inhabitants under Archangel Maalik, according to Islamic faith. Now that I think about it there were 19 Hassans before the order fell into obscurity." said Yoruichi looking thoughtful.

"Do you think that was done deliberately?" asked Rukia curiously. Yoruichi shrugged.

"As a side note, with one exception, almost all the Hassans share the np name Zabaniya before adding on their personal twist to their np usually representing their moniker in some fashion." Jeanne pointed out.

"Who's the exception to this?" asked Ichigo.

"That would be the First Hassan or King Hassan as he's called. His is called Azrael and it's a sword." answered Jeanne.

"Azrael, is one of 4 archangels in the Islamic tradition. He in particular is the Angel of Death that carries the souls of the deceased to their final destinations. As for the sword the First Hassan had, that's actually an inherited divine blade that was passed down the Shihoin line until Chika Shihoin gained his own zanpakuto and therefore saw no use for it. That blade's original name was in fact Shi no Tenshi (angel of death). Its ability was unusual in that even in its sealed state it had a passive ability where whoever wielded the blade essentially was preserved in their current state for as long as they were in possession of the blade. This means that all wounds would be healed, they'd never get sick and were immune to influences outside of themselves be it environmental or manmade. To put this into perspective, if Rukia received this blade as she was currently, she would never have to worry about being injured or being put under Aizen's hypnosis as since she wasn't like that at the moment she inherited the blade, it would straight up negate any of that from happening to her or it would restore her to her original state. But its greatest power came from its released state. It was thought to be so powerful in its Shikai state that as far as I'm aware there is no record of it even having a Bankai or it was never utilized before it was lost. That Shikai ability happened when its release command 'toll the bell, Shi no Tenshi' was uttered. Then in addition to its preservation ability to its wielder, it had the ability to grant instant death upon any who were wounded by it. No matter how slight the wound, be it a paper cut or a decapitation, the person would die instantaneously upon being cut by the blade. Thus, it ended fights pretty quickly. I will say from my understanding the only true weakness was that it required the person wielding it to get up close and personal with their opponent." said Yoruichi.

"What happened after your ancestor gained his own zanpakuto?" asked Byakuya.

"According to family records, about 5 years after the Stealth force was founded so 6 years after the Hashshashin's founding with the first Hassan, Chika was asked to step down as both the head of the clan and as a Captain and pass down the divine blade of Shi no Tenshi to his successor as he'd been both Shihoin clan head and Captain of squad 2 for about over 100 years. Chika had no issues with stepping down from either position but revealed that he gave the blade over to his then human friend Hassan in the human world and had changed its name to Azrael in honor of his conversion to Islam. The family, while annoyed, didn't see any true issue with this and simply asked that he go retrieve it so that the succession could continue without any issues. He did so and went to his friend Hassan only to realize something shocking: Not only had Hassan stopped aging due to preservation ability of Azrael but also had bonded to it in a manner similar to that of the bond between zanpakuto and wielder. This left my ancestor with a big problem. Hassan could never die due to the sword's ability and the blade couldn't be taken from him due to the bond. This would've marked Chika for execution and redaction from historical records for essentially causing an otherworldly incident but due to his status as a war hero during the time of the founding of the 13 Court Guard Squads and his otherwise illustrious military career, he had some leeway to work with to try and if not get rid of this issue, at least alleviate things. But he was stripped of his statuses of Clan head and Captain of Squad 2." explained Yoruichi.

"What did he do about the whole thing?" asked Jeanne curious.

"Chika had a Mausoleum built in the world of the living from materials found in the soul society so only those who were spiritually aware could find it. Made arrangements so that when the First Hassan got old enough to technically die, he would head for the Mausoleum and only emerge to execute members of the order he felt strayed from the faith but not use the blade to harm anyone else. Upon his Hassan's 'death' the kido and stealth force would arrive and use kido and drugged drinks to manipulate the members of the order's memories of their founder making him into this mysterious grim reaper like character rather than just their primary founder. Thus, the name old man of the mountain was born. But in exchange for this Hassan had to remain in the Mausoleum once he 'died' outside of the agreed terms and my ancestor had to commit seppuku on the Mausoleum's completion and kido spells would be layed on the entrance and exits of the Mausoleum so the soul society would know every time Hassan left and returned to the Mausoleum and a stealth force squad would be dispatched to observe Hassan to make sure he kept his word. These were all adhered to and as a final exchange 4 years later after the Mausoleum was complete. Chika gave Hassan a black silk cloak and Hassan gave Chika a potent cannabis drink to numb the pain as he committed seppuku after which Hassan decapitated Chika mercy killing him. Making him the only non-member of the order to be killed by Azrael. When the order fell into obscurity about 150 years later, the then Captain of squad 2 at the time and the 10th head of the Shihoin clan visited the Mausoleum and discovered that the First Hassan had disappeared. A check of the kido spells showed that they were intact and gave no indication of him leaving and there were no signs of forced entry or exits or secret exits or passageways that Hassan might've escaped from. He just vanished without a trace and despite thorough and extensive searches over the years no one at least from the Soul Society has ever been able to find him either in the world of the living or in the Soul Society. And that's the extent of my knowledge regarding the Hassans." said Yoruichi. She then looked at Jeanne. "So, with all that out of the way why don't you finish explaining this Hassan of Serenity as now I'm very curious about her."

"Well, the Delusional Poison Body, which is Anti-unit and C+ rank, bit of her np comes from the fact that her body resists every single poison, while simultaneously, is a lump of poison too. It is an attempt by the Assassin Order to replicate the Vishakanya or Poison Girls of India. It turns every part of her body, including all her bodily fluids, her nails and skin, and even her breath, into deadly poison. It results in death to living things that touch her skin and bodily fluids. It is also possible for armaments that are not Nps themselves to corrode instantly when coming into contact with her poison. Because she is not able to "adjust" the amount of her poison given towards living beings, opponents who touched her will be killed without fail. No matter how small or brief the contact is. I should also point out that this is the reaction towards humans. I don't know if soul reapers who are technically dead if her poisons will affect any of you." Jeanne said.

"What about Servants?" asked Kisuke.

"Towards Servants, the Hassan of Serenity is not able to "kill them by simply touching them" but is more than possible to cause them pain that slightly weakens their movements. It is also possible to give them damage and bad lingering effects if they happen to come into contact with her, such as through oral means like kissing, etc. It is generally death for any being that comes into contact with her for a total of three times Servants included. As a side note I need to add that Servants who were known to die of poison in their legends are the only Servants to be susceptible to the death with a single touch gimmick like ordinary humans to Serenity. By contrast, Servants who either specialize in poison themselves or have poison immunity are the only Servants who will survive indefinitely against Serenity's poison which means she'd have to resort to more traditional assassination methods to get rid of those types of Servants. The Hassan of Serenity also possesses a trump card that can be used only once and that is she causes her body to self-destruct which scatters her body in all directions at point-blank range, throwing towards her enemy a massive quantity of her poisonous blood. However, this kills her in the process, so it's meant to be used as a last resort and it can hurt her allies as well as her enemies." explained Jeanne.

"So, the weakness of her noble phantasm is that it requires her to be up close and personal with her opponents. Aside from her last resort does she have any range capabilities?" asked Byakuya curious. Jeanne nodded.

"Her last two personal skills actually do give her some range. Her 1st personal skill tied to her np is called Poison Blade and is C+ rank. Just like the other Hassans, the Hassan of Serenity also wields dirks for both short-range and long-range combat, slicing up her opponents in an instant with dance-like movements. However, unlike the dirks wielded by the other Hassans, her personal dirks are white kunai-shaped daggers. The daggers alone have the same destructive power as firearms when thrown, typically spelling certain death for human targets, but due to her poisonous body, the dirks possess a secondary effect of bestowing onto the target poison." explained Jeanne.

"So even touching her blades makes them poisonous." noted Jushiro. "And her final personal skill?" he asked.

"That would be the Dance of pale death skill which is A rank. The dance of the Hassan of the Serenity scatters her poison breath into the air, weakening the target, and enhancing the success rate of her np's application. This skill comes from anecdotes that spoke of how Hassan of Serenity possessed the power to spread this deadly poison onto the wind, wiping out entire armies if necessary, but also lacking in the capacity to discern friend from foe, making it equally devastating to her allies." finished Jeanne.

"So, on a personal assessment, Serenity is extremely effective at spying and deadly at close range, but her low seated officer power level makes it so that she has to rely on surprise in order to make her style of assassination work. Against humans she's dangerous but unless she comes across a Servant who died to poison, she then has to drag the fight out enough so that they'll die from over exposure to her poison which in turn leaves her vulnerable to a mutual kill. Then there's her overreliance on her gimmick of poisoning people. It's deadly but if she can't get them close enough to use it, then it's useless. While she does have range, if she's sniped from a greater distance then she's done for. Then there's the fact that she's as much of a danger to her allies as well as her enemies, however unintentionally." Toshiro summarized.

"So, if she's matched up with someone like Arash, who is an Archer, and has poison immunity it would be a one-sided slaughter on her part. The sad part is that going over all the information in my head I don't see how she'd be able to pull out a victory against any of the current Servants we know save for Iskandar due to counter classing but even then, it be more of a mutual kill at best." concluded Kisuke.

"Still think she's better than Berserker of Blue as she's more flexible in terms of strategy than Jekyll and Hyde. He only has one effective strategy whereas she has a few to work with. And under a prudent Master she can be used very effectively." said Yoruichi.

"Alright let's move onto Caster of Blue. True Name Paracelsus von Hohenheim." said Jeanne.

"Ah this one I recognize. He was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He's thought to be the "father of toxicology" and was a pioneer in several aspects of the "medical revolution" of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom. Now in terms of his alchemy popular myth states he successfully created a philosopher's stone which can turn lead into gold and allow the one to obtain the elixir of life which allegedly upon drinking it makes one immortal. Myths contest that he and his wife have been living long past their stated deaths in 1541 under assumed names and what not. Also on a more humorous note Paracelsus was the name he came up for himself on account of the fact that his birth name was simply too long to remember." said Kisuke with a humorous smirk.

"What was his original name?" asked Renji in curiosity.

"Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim." said Kisuke with a goofy grin. He turned to Yoruichi. "See. I do pay attention in history." Yoruichi chuckled ruefully.

"When it interests you." Yoruichi pointed out. "Anyway, let's get into Paracelsus as a Servant."

"Very well. His strength is D, Endurance is E, Agility is C, Mana is A, Luck is B, and Np is A+." Jeanne rattled off.

"So calculated that puts his base power level at the same level as Serenity at C+ or at the threshold of being a high seated officer but still at low seated officer overall." calculated Kisuke.

"But unlike Serenity, Paracelsus does have geographical boosts. In the world of Magecraft and history, Paracelsus is an alchemist from the Renaissance Period in the west and the one responsible for creating both the Alchemic system that is used by most alchemists of the modern era as well as the Azoth Sword, which has become a symbol of a rite of passage for mages, with copies of the original being given by mages to their students as a simple, yet very effective Mystic Code. His Noble Phantasm is the Sword of Paracelsus, the sword that would be the origin of the Azoth Sword. So, his alchemy alone gives him worldwide fame which means all his parameters are bumped up as well as his Np rank." Jeanne pointed out.

"Okay so recalculation for parameters puts his new power base level at A- as he just barely cleared the Lieutenant threshold." calculated Kisuke.

"Damn that's a hell of a boost to one's power level." noted Renji.

"And keep in mind Paracelsus only qualifies as a Caster so he's fighting at full strength at least for a summoned Servant which is half their soul summoned." Jeanne pointed out.

"Alright let's look into his class skills." said Jushiro.

"He has two of them. Territory creation which is A ranked and Item Construction which is EX ranked." rattled off Jeanne, however this caught the reapers off guard a bit.

"WHAT?!" they exclaimed.

"I'll get to that momentarily as I'm sure you're all surprised at the EX ranked skill, right?" At their nods she continued. "Territory Creation is the Skill needed to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus, such as for the purpose of collecting mana, creating magic objects, or perform other tasks. It is a Class Skill of the Caster-class. Territories can look different depending on the Servant, as each has their own purpose in mind for the territory they create. For example, a standard magus Servant typically creates a territory where they can experiment and practice magecraft, while an artist Servant may create a Study or Performance Venue. Due to his high rank Paracelsus can create a territory that can perform a multitude of different tasks all at the same time and also be very defensible. For comparison the barriers and protections here could be thought of as an EX-level territory creation due to the sheer level of defenses and the fuctions that happen within the territory. Paracelsus can almost achieve this same level of creation due to slight differences in Rank. In his case, A rank. Then there's the surprising skill he has which is the EX-rank class skill of Item Construction. Item Construction is another Caster-class Skill. It is the Skill to manufacture magical items, from implements of war to items for daily use. Also, this Skill requires time to gather components and manufacture items. Paracelsus has numerous anecdotes as a legendary alchemist who manufactures magical items, earning him this Skill at EX Rank as a result. Mass production of jewels used for Jewel Magecraft can also be achieved through the use of a leyline connected to his territory. With this level, he can create a variety of tools, objects and the like, like a powerful mana cumulate crystal such as the Philosopher's Stone, artificial spirits that correspond to the five elements called Elemental, robots endowed with multiple-body-synchronous-thinking ability, homunculi, etc." explained Jeanne.

"Oh God, Hat n' Clogs. We just found your Servant self." said Ichigo filled with dread.

"Except my Class skills would both be EX rank." said Kisuke with a smug grin.

"Okay that's the Class Skills so let's move onto the Personal Skills." said Rukia sounding amused.

"He has three. They are Rapid Casting and Philosopher's Stone, both of which are A ranked, and Elemental which is A+ ranked." rattled off Jeanne. "I will say that in order to get an understanding of his skills we will also have to deep dive into the type of Magecraft he uses as a whole." she warned. When no one objected she continued. "We'll start with Rapid Casting. It's the ability to speak magical incantations at an accelerated speed. Paracelsus is able to perform greater magecraft at the speed of a Single Action spell. In his case, he is able to use it to improve the efficiency of his Jewel Magecraft (specifically, when using Philosopher's Stones).

"So, it's like when we discard the incantation on our kido spells in order to fire them off quickly." noted Rukia.

"Imagine if he was on the kido corps. He would be terrifying." said noted Kisuke.

"I can see him making it to perhaps Hachi's level." Yoruichi added. "So, what's his next skill?"

"That would be Philosopher's Stone. It's a Skill that denotes the ability to purify and accumulate spirit energy into a crystal named after his accomplishment the Philosopher's stone - informally known as a photonic crystal - and manipulate it. The rank of the Skill greatly affects the degree of purity which can be attained. Depending on the rank, a large number of effects can be displayed. For example, At his A Rank, a kind of counterfeit immortality can be bestowed upon any given target. And this is merely a facet of the breadth of his talents." explained Jeanne.

"How about you explain his final skill first and then explain his capabilities as a Caster as a whole?" suggested Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"Very well. His final skill is called Elemental. It's the ability to make use of artificial spirits corresponding to the five elements. These spirits are called Elementals, or more informally Elemental Masses interestingly enough this name came from Paracelsus himself. Exactly what it sounds like, they are existences created using a super-high density crystal as a base. For example, a Fire Elemental Mass is made from concentrated flame, and can manipulate incredibly high temperatures. An Earth Elemental Mass becomes super-high mass, gaining a hardness similar to that of diamond and so on. As a note, there are even ones called Ether Elemental Masses made from the element of Nothingness or more popularly known as Void. Though it takes considerable labour to produce them, they can be used as effective familiars even in battles against Servants as Casters rarely fight themselves. Instead, they rely on others to do the fighting for them while they play the role of support in the background." explained Jeanne.

"Alright now we come to his capabilities as a Caster as a whole. So, what exactly can he do?" asked Toshiro.

"For starters, Paracelsus is a powerful magus officially classified as an Average One. This means that he is who is endowed with the attribute of "Void" in addition to the attributes of "Earth", "Water", "Fire" and "Wind". As a result, he can perform magical attacks with usage of the five elements. He typically casts his spells with the command, "O' [Element]". For example, through the command, "O' Wind", Paracelsus is able to carefully levitate a dusty cloth and have it automatically fold itself without scattering any of the dust on it. Note that this is an example of a simple Single Action spell that combines psychokinesis and air manipulation. And thanks to his Rapid Casting skill Paracelsus is able to perform powerful spells up to the level of greater magecraft at the speed of a Single Action spell, in his case, shortening the normally lengthy arias into the command "O' [Element]". As a Caster, he typically employs long distance attacks by means of Magecraft. When using Magecraft, objects similar to large jewels, these are actually Elementals, that correspond to the five elements floats around Paracelsus. These Elementals are artificial spirits I spoke of earlier. The Elementals have different colors attached to the five elements in Western Magecraft. Earth is Yellow, Water is Silver, Fire is Red, Wind is Blue, and Ether is a purple color close to black, and the basis of this color scheme is how they're assigned based on India's Tattva." explained Jeanne.

"What's Tattva?" asked Ichigo looking confused.

"I'll field this one. According to various Indian schools of philosophy, tattvas are the elements or aspects of reality that constitute human experience. Although the number of tattvas varies depending on the philosophical school, together they are thought to form the basis of all our experience. Though the number is usually in the double digits rather than the nice short 5 that are being talked about now." answered Kisuke. At his look and nod Jeanne continued with her explanations.

"These Elementals are also the Elemental Masses we talked about earlier. These are usually what Paracelsus sends out to engage his opponents. These crystalized elemental masses are also used as a basis for his more famous Philosopher's stone which we talked about earlier for his skills. Now given his nature as an alchemist, Paracelsus is able to create a large number of homunculi to do his bidding in a short time span. He can coin at least one in the time frame of one day even after his summoning via a process that involves distribution of his flesh. As with all homunculi, they only superficially resemble humans and are not as physically equipped biologically as a normal human. Each of them are connected to each other as a hive mind and he can program them with instructions for complex tasks such as brewing and serving tea. And he can use them even to fight his opponents as well alongside the Elemental Masses. He's also a master of Jewel Magecraft. A good example is Paracelsus can effectively have stones packed with spirit energy floating around him in combat and throw them against targets in a way similar to telekinesis. Being a member of the Caster class, Paracelsus is able to set up several types of Bounded Fields and magical traps, effectively turning his stronghold into a fortress of death. Interestingly enough, while he prefers to assist in progressing life and helping others, Paracelsus is also remarkably skilled in curses, being able to stealthily inscribe a lethal curse upon an individual without them noticing. One other field in which he seems to have a good deal of experience in is Healing Magecraft. He is also capable of employing a form of levitation and illusion Magecraft, as well as the formation of magical barriers that can correspond to the five elements, appearing as faint mana 'walls' with the shining, flickering color corresponding to one of the five elements. Each individual wall is as durable as diamond. With the incantation "O' Heavenly Stars, Macro Cosmos" and the establishment of a fivefold barrier derived from the five elements, a receiving attack can have all of its kinetic energy completely dispersed upon contact with the wall, scattering in a ripple-like power. And that's the extent of the knowledge that the grail is willing to give me on him besides his np." concluded Jeanne. She looked around and saw everyone in stunned silence.

"It's almost scary to think what would happen if he ever learned how to fight in addition to all his skills." Jushiro finally answered, being the first to come out of his stupor.

"Well physically Casters are pretty weak but most of the time they make up for it by being such powerful magic users." Jeanne pointed out.

"If these are his raw abilities, just what exactly is his np?" asked Renji with a look of caution.

"That would be the Sword of Paracelsus: Magic Sword of the Element User. It's an Anti- Army and A+ ranked np. More precisely it's a Mystic Code composed of ultra-high density "Elixir of The Philosopher's Stone" and is the origin of Azoth dagger which is just a simplified version of this sword made from lesser materials and often used to assist in Magecraft for modern mages. Paracelsus' sword is mainly used to enhance, assist and amplify the power of magecraft as well. It also allows instant use of ritualistic magic. By using the Five Elements as a catalyst, the sword can simulate True Ether, which is Spirit energy from the Age of Gods, to destroy anything around it. However, the high-density spirit energy beam fired at his enemies is but a secondary effect of the Np. Its true power lies within the Elixir that the blade is made out of, where it is a magecraft version of a "quantum computer" that is able to analyze and respond to the magical properties emitted by the opponent, before immediately encroaching it and making it his own; essentially an act of power snatching. Such an ability is on the level of a large scale ritual Magic-level Mystery. A fragment of this Elixir-composed blade in the form of a Philosopher's Stone is able to briefly neutralize a magical property be it a barrier, attack, or some magical item." Jeanne finished. Everyone looked at her with wide eyes at this.

"Hold on. Let me see if I understand you correctly on this concerning the np. You're saying that first off, this sword is essentially his Philosopher's Stone but weaponized. And that he can take a fragment of it and use it to neutralize a magic property of some kind regardless of whether it's a barrier, np, etc. Then it's two primary functions are a flashy beam fired from the blade similar to Siegfried's Balmung which is used mostly for offense, but it also has a dual purpose of the beam allowing the blade to analyze the power of his opponent and then take that for himself. What exactly can he take from his opponent in terms of a Servant?" asked Toshiro cautiously.

"Anything really. From mystic codes to nps of Servants and keep in mind that thanks to his geographical boosts, that np's rank has been bumped up to EX rank. But it has to be magic based. A good example I can think of is the Lances of both Celtic Warriors both have the passive ability for their respective spears of giving wounds that will never heal. If Paracelsus were to fight them, he would use his np to analyze theirs and then steal that ability for himself due to the fact that this is a curse which Paracelsus excels in. This of course would leave them with still very dangerous weapons but now at least the person on the receiving end would actually be able to recover from it. By contrast, both Celts would be susceptible to these curses as now Paracelsus could imbue his blade with the curse so then he now had the passive ability making him more dangerous." answered Jeanne.

"Could his noble phantasm be used on us?" asked Byakuya cautiously.

"Considering that your weapons are sentient, I don't think so. Afterall Lancelot's whole gimmick was to take anything he touched and make it his and Ichigo was able to repel him completely. But he might still be able to at least seal away your weapons abilities if they are magic based. Especially if they are elemental based. If it's purely melee then there's a chance that he might not be able to. Unless the ability to release your zanpakuto's full potential counts as a magic property then that might count for him to use his np on you." Jeanne theorized.

"So, in summation, this Servant while he seems to lack much in terms of physical fighting, he more than makes up for in his ability to utilize magic and has a versatile skill set at his disposal. And his np is capable of him being able to either neutralize or steal magic abilities of others, particularly if they are elemental abilities. And thanks to his boosts of worldwide fame, he's at a lieutenant level though barely and he's at the strongest that a Servant could be at summoning due to his one class affiliation and therefore having half his soul present." summarized Jushiro.

"Alright anything else that needs to be said about this Servant?" asked Kisuke. When no one said anything, he looked at Jeanne. "Then let's move onto the next Servant."

"That would be the last of the Calvary classes. This one being the Rider. Her True Name is Medusa, the gorgon of Greek mythology." said Jeanne.

"What's a gorgon?" asked Renji.

"A monster of Greek mythology. They were three sisters though Medusa is the most well-known of them. Their most notable features were that they had live snakes for hair and could turn anyone that looked upon them to stone." recited Byakuya.

"Hold up." said Kisuke as he pulled up his phone and fiddled with it then showed it to Jeanne. "Is this one it?" he asked. Jeanne looked at the phone and nodded. "Alright. I can't believe I didn't think of this before. Let me send you pictures of the Servants we've looked at so far and then I'll send you Medusa's." He fiddled with his phone some more then looked up. "Okay the order I sent you these are as follows: the 1st 4 pictures are Berserker, Lancer, Assassin, and finally Caster." The other soul reapers looked at their phones indicating that they received new messages.

"I must say that Berserker doesn't look like he fits the class but given who he is I suppose that's to be expected." commented Jushiro.

"Why is Lancer's hair blue and his eyes red?" asked Toshiro.

"Those that come from divine parentage usually showcase this by either having unusual hair and eye color, though sometimes the Servants can change their appearance to suit their tastes but that's a rarity. So, in the case of Lancer, it's due to his heritage." answered Jeanne. Toshiro nodded.

"Assassin looks like a child. The Hashshashin allowed for children to lead them?" asked Byakuya quirked an eyebrow.

"After the founding the Shihoin family was pretty hands off when it came to the Assassin order. So, who they chose to lead them was none of our business." said Yoruichi with a shrug.

"Gotta say I almost thought caster looked like a girl with how his hair is. But now that I look at him, he looks like he could be related to you, Captain Kuchiki." commented Renji.

"The resemblance is uncanny." added Jushiro amused. Byakuya looked annoyed but didn't comment.

"Alright. So, here's Rider's picture." said Kisuke. A few minutes later, all the soul reapers were looking at the picture with confused looks.

"I thought she was supposed to be a monster. All I'm seeing is a beautiful woman wearing a blindfold. So, what gives?" asked Renji clearly confused. Jeanne gave a quick synopsis of Rider's legend in that she and her sisters were originally goddess that were born from the hopes and desires of their followers and unlike the other Greek gods didn't require divine sustenance to maintain their immortality and so Aphrodite cursed the sisters, so all their love turned to hatred and their worshipers saw them as monsters. This led to their banishment to the Shapeless Isles. Medusa was already an oddball in that she did actually age albeit very slowly. But Athena, out of petty jealousy for Medusa's hair, cursed her further so that as time went on her divinity would wither away and she would slowly turn into the creature known as gorgon. This did eventually happen as heroes would continuously come to the isle in the hopes of slaying the beasts and claiming everlasting glory and fame from the kill. As her transformation into the gorgon neared completion, she also lost her sanity and eventually ate her own sisters. By the time of Perseus' arrival, it was more he was putting her out of her misery rather than gaining glory.

"What you're all seeing is Medusa when her divinity was still present and keeping the curse at bay, but she had already aged up compared to her sisters who still looked like preteens since their creation." finished Jeanne.

"And the reason for the blindfold?" asked Byakuya.

"Let's go over her parameters and skills then we'll discuss her blind fold as that is one of her nps actually." suggested Jeanne, Byakuya nodded. "Okay so her Strength is B, Endurance is D, Agility is A, Mana is B, Luck is E, and Np is A+"

"So calculated that puts her base power level at B- rank so a High seated officer level but around a 10th seat's level." calculated Kisuke. "Geographical boosts?" he asked.

"Since Greek mythology is known around the world and Medusa is linked to the hero Perseus who slew her she does get worldwide fame." said Jeanne.

"Okay so move everything up by one rank. And the new calculation is A- rank or very low lieutenant." said Kisuke.

"Anything about her we should know outside her Skills and Nps?" asked Toshiro.

"Because she became a monster in her legend, Medusa is very incompatible with Servants such as her fellow faction member Cú Chulainn who fought off monsters in their tales. Also due to her status as a former earth goddess as that was what she was upon her creation, she has a strong connection to the earth, sensitive enough to its state to be able to sense disturbances in the leylines here in Romania. Like her fellow Riders, Medusa displays a great variety of skills and Noble Phantasms that are particularly high numbered even amongst other Servants, all of which are traces left from her time as a goddess. Her great versatility grants her several methods of attack that can be adapted to a wide variety of situations. Here we have to make comparisons to her fellow faction member Lancer. Medusa also specializes in close combat, taking advantage of her skill of Monstrous Strength and high Agility. Both Cú Chulainn and Medusa boast the most outstanding speed for their faction. In average speed, Rider is faster, being able to move like a bullet and race around the battlefield. Lancer on the other hand, surpasses her in immediate maximum output, as he is able to counter attacks with a lance with the speed of gods, while standing still. If the two of them were to fight each other, While Rider has several different types of Noble Phantasms, Lancer also has protective ability from rune sorcery. Being an expert monster exterminator, Medusa would find a battle against him rather tough."

"And yet they are allies now. Can't help but see the irony." said Ichigo.

"One of her greatest strengths is her tactical acumen. Medusa is a highly skilled tactician, having displayed this ability a fair number of times throughout her life. She specializes in being able to devise strategies in the heat of battle because the longer she fights with her opponent, the better she is able to analyze their fighting style, attack patterns and deduce their powers. She fights mainly with a pair of Nameless Dagger in close combat that is more likely to be called a "nail" rather than a "dagger." It is attached to a long chain that can restrain and immobilize targets that she pierces. It is not suited to short-range battles, instead best utilized as a thrown weapon from a distance. These are not NPs, and it is thought to be a weapon that reflects her inner character, as well as being strong enough for her to stand on and use to propel herself at an opponent. She is also able to conjure numerous Nameless Daggers through a summoning circle and fire them over a large area in the direction of her choosing. She displays the ability to phase her Nameless Daggers into and out of spirit form due to her weapons being an extension of her hair. This ability is extremely valuable in combat because it allows her to stealthily restrain and or trap her enemies. Unfortunately, Medusa's fighting style relies heavily on sneak attacks and evasive maneuvers which she uses in tandem with her speed. This style of fighting allows her to disorient her opponent as they don't know where her attacks are coming from until it's too late and to make the first move in a battle. Signature moves of her fighting style include: rushing at her opponents in spirit form and materializing just right before the moment of impact, striking at her opponents at great speed from all sides with a barrage of kicks and stabs from her daggers weakening them until she can land a fatal blow and utilizing her surroundings to rush for cover after striking to prepare for another sneak attack. Due to her speed and her ability to promptly strategize she is able to land multiple sneak attacks at a time even at close range, only those with great technique are able to counter them all. She also has a preference for striking her enemies' weak spots because it allows her to incapacitate her opponents swiftly and efficiently. One of the best ways Medusa uses her Nameless Daggers in combat is by stabbing her enemies with her daggers or ensnaring her opponents in her chains and proceeding to smash her captured adversaries into the surrounding environment to injure them, hurling them with a hammer throw or using them as flail like weapons against other enemies. She normally does this in tandem with her Monstrous Strength skill."

"Damn. If I was still apart of the Stealth Force, I would have recruited her on the spot." said Yoruichi clearly impressed. "And we haven't even gotten to her actual skills yet. So why don't we do so?" she asked. Jeanne nodded.

"We'll start with her Class Skills. She has 4 of them. They are Magic resistance which is B rank, Riding which is A+, Independent Action which is C rank, and Divinity which is E – rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Almost all of these we've heard before, so why don't we just see how they differ from others." suggested Rukia.

"Very well. Rank B Magic Resistance easily nullifies spells of three lines or less. It is also difficult to damage Medusa with even greater magecraft and grand rituals. Moreover, Medusa herself is skilled in sorcery, so she has countless ways to counter enemy spells. In other words, Medusa is excellent at fighting mages. Thanks to her agility, even with powerful spells, it is extremely hard to hit Medusa who will keep moving at high speed. Then there is her riding Skill which is the same rank as Karna's in that she can ride nearly all beasts save for Dragons." explained Jeanne.

"So Kidos of level 80 or higher will have to be deployed when fighting her." noted Kisuke.

"Before we continue, I need to ask something. Her personal fighting style lacks a mount instead she seems to fight more like an assassin. There's also the fact that she didn't have a known mount in her legends. So why is she classified as a Rider?" asked Byakuya quirking an eyebrow.

"That has to do with her nps. Which we will get to momentarily." she answered. When Byakuya nodded she continued. "For independent action, At C rank, even if the Master is lost, or if the contract is nullified, Medusa can continue to materialize for one day. She can also obtain mana by drinking blood, she can prey on humans as the situation demands and extend this duration." The soul reapers frowned on that but said nothing, so Jeanne continued. "Then there's her final class skill Divinity. The low rank is due to her current form being in the state where it was still present but the curse was eating away at it before turning her into Gorgon. So, it's badly degraded but isn't gone yet from her current form. It's also why her hair is the color of lilac purple as it's a reflection of her divine blood."

"Alright that's all the Class Skills now onto the Personal Skills." noted Jushiro.

"She only has two. They are Monstrous strength which is B rank and Mystic eyes which is A+ rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Let's start off with Monstrous strength as it was brought up a few times during her fighting style." suggested Renji. Jeanne nodded.

"Very Well. This skill allows her to temporarily magnify her Strength by one rank. The duration depends on the rank of the skill. However, she tries not to rely too heavily on this skill for long durations of time out of fear of turning into the legendary Gorgon monster because of the skill's curse." explained Jeanne.

"Wait. This skill is cursed?" asked Ichigo, surprised.

"Yes. The higher the rank and the longer the skill is used, the more of a monster the person becomes." Jeanne elaborated.

"That's disturbing." said Kisuke. "So all that's left is her Mystic eyes. I'm assuming this is how she has the ability to turn people to stone, correct?" he asked. Again Jeanne nodded.

"Mystic eyes are Eyes that originally function to collect visual information are instead a method to impart magical effects upon a subject. Medusa possesses Cybele, the Mystic Eyes of Petrification. The corneas do not take in light, and the pupils see the world through a square. It affects all targets within the owner's field of vision, regardless of whether said targets are looking at the Eyes physically, or if they have their eyes closed but continue to view her with their mind's eye, as it is a curse to look upon her in any way. As in her legend, subjects caught in her vision will be unconditionally petrified if their Mana rank is C or lower, while those of B rank will be petrified depending on other factors. Those of A rank will not be petrified, but suffer a rank down on all of their abilities and receive a "heavy pressure". Knowledge of the eyes render further attacks less potent, but it is not enough to allow Rider to go without keeping them covered. Repeating the initial surprise effect would be impossible, making it possible to act without going completely numb and causing the effect of the petrification to go at a slower rate. The effect will be magnified again should the person's guard be let down. It is possible to cancel the effect if it has not reached a certain point, usually the heart, by closing her eyes." explained Jeanne.

"And considering that Captains and lieutenants are at EX and A rank respectively by power level, I think it might be safe to assume that we are unaffected by her Mystic Eyes along with the fact that all but Ichigo here are technically dead." noted Urahara.

"I was curious about whether any of you would be affected by it but since I'm neutral, unless the Master wishes to target me, I don't think we have to worry about it." pointed out Jeanne.

"Sakura is Medusa's master. So, I think we don't have to worry about being targeted by them." stated Yoruichi with a fond smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. Just a few more things to note about this skill before we move on. The entire body of the target will be affected, including clothing and weaponry, "killing them while alive" as they are turned to stone. The ability is viable in petrifying a group of enemies, but it would not be useful against an infinite number. The amount of energy it uses is comparable to her using her NPs, so it would quickly drain her faster than simply fighting them off in melee combat hence her personal style of fighting being far more close quarters despite her Rider class. Lastly this skill is normally sealed away by Breaker Gorgon which is one of her NPs." explained Jeanne.

"So it's a Skill so powerful it needs an Np to keep her from accidentally turning her allies to stone. Kinda seems a bit counterintuitive." said Ichigo cringing.

"Actually, Breaker Gorgon does more than that and since we're on Nps we'll start with that one. Breaker Gorgon is one of her 3 main NPs. This one is C rank and Anti-unit. Though thanks to the boosts that rank is now B. It's the blindfold she wears to seal her Mystic eyes as a precaution for her Master and her allies. So effectively she's blind but she perceives the world through hearing, touch, smell, and magic-detection to have an even more precise outlook than with sight. But while this is what she uses it for, it's not the original purpose of the Np. Its original use is to exert a degree of mind control on an opponent. Also, it requires only a steady stream of spirit energy to have an effect. It is difficult for individuals with low Magic Resistance to notice it, much less avoid it and unlike Mystic Eyes that requires a direct line of sight she just needs to perceive her target nearby to utilize Breaker gorgon on them. If used on others, it will imprison the consciousness of one enemy within her own mind; it can even obstruct the invocations of abilities such as Magecraft, Skills, or NPs, before removing any abilities they possessed in the outside World once inside her consciousness. Those trapped within are said to see a nightmare mixed with both delight and taboo. Medusa can use it on a target to capture them for the purpose of taking in blood and semen, if male, under the false pretense of a lewd dream. Or more cruelly she can capture someone for the purpose of simply killing them while they could be trapped in their idea of paradise. But she can trap them for the purpose of breaking them mentally through the use of forcing them to endure a living nightmare. Then kill them once their unconscious. Essentially once you are captured, you're at Medusa's mercy for her to do with you what she will."

"So what's the effective range?" asked Toshiro.

"Not very far since she has to get up close and personal to then trap the person in her mind. So probably about 5-10 feet at most otherwise she has to close the gap. And she can only do this to one target." Jeanne pointed out.

"Still this np is a little terrifying. And this is supposed to be the weakest of the 3?" asked Renji nervously. Jeanne nodded.

"Medusa's second Noble Phantasm is Blood Fort Andromeda which is B rank and is anti-army though the boosts make that rank an A. It was the Temple of Blood that surrounded the Shapeless Isle which was the home of Medusa and her sisters, but after her transformation into the Gorgon she turned it into a palace of darkness, dyed crimson from blood, where even the sun didn't shine. Now as an np it's a fixed conceptual bounded field and the life force of those inside it is plundered reducing them into red blood and organic ooze. An absorption power that literally "dissolves the body" of ordinary people without any Magic Resistance. Even Heroic Spirits will have their life force plundered as long as they are inside the barrier. It takes the form of magic circles placed at predetermined points and people within the affected area will have their life force lightly sapped. This is also to slowly build up energy without leaving a single trace of her existence. If one can locate the magic circles and destroy them it does delay the activation date significantly. Without interference, it takes over ten days to completely store enough energy to activate the full power of the field, but it can still be activated at any time once the foundations are complete. It damages the leylines of the area once it is completely set up, so it cannot be reactivated on the same land twice in succession. However, in case it is fully activated, regular people without the Magic Resistance skill will be quickly dissolved unless they possess knowledge of magecraft, in which case it will be difficult to affect them. It creates a crimson dome-shaped Bounded Field resembling a gigantic red eyeball around the area of operation, and it tints the area in crimson red that makes a person think that blood is seeping into their eyes. The barrier acts like a separate plane that completely cuts the affected area from the rest of the World, cuts off all escape routes for fleeing enemies. Naturally, from outside the Bounded Field, the area appears normal as usual and the red sky and dome cannot be seen at all, but the interior is stained with blood, as its name suggests. Victims within the barrier are quickly dissolved into blood as if they were inside a stomach upon activation, and its spirit energy is given to either Medusa or her Master. Mages and Servants can resist the Np for a short amount of time but how long depends on how strong Medusa and her Master are. It is completely controlled by Medusa, and it will continue to stay active even after she dies. It will only be deactivated through her own will or once her body dissipates. Thus, it is not a NP to be used for combat, but rather a Bounded Field created by Medusa to efficiently gather blood to drink one's spirit energy." Jeanne stated she was met with silence. She looked around and saw everyone either looking uncomfortable or were grimacing.

"It seems I stand corrected. This Np seems a lot more terrifying than her blindfold. Guess it's a good thing that she can't deploy it more than once." commented Renji.

"And just how big can she make this bounded field?" asked Kisuke cautiously. Jeanne thought about it for a moment before answering.

"She's probably capable of summoning Blood Fort Andromeda on the scale of Fuyuki city or Karakura town as they are about the same in terms of size and population." she answered as a matter of factly. This caused the reapers and Ichigo to look at her in shock. Finally, Yoruichi spoke.

"Well thank whatever god you subscribe to that Sakura is her Master as I don't see how she would willingly order Medusa to set something like that up even if it was just to feed off the living. Especially with how we and Kariya raised her." she pointed out. This seemed to calm everyone down.

"So, are we to ignore that noble phantasm as Medusa's Master is a child and is unlikely to order her to deploy it?" asked Byakuya.

"More likely we should think of it as unlikely to be used as all that it would take is for Medusa to switch contracts with another master. But for now that's unlikely." answered Jeanne. At everyone's nod she continued "So, with that we only have her final np and the one that gives her the Rider Classification as it's her mount. Bellerophon: Bridal of Chivalry. It's A rank and Anti-army though the boosts make the rank EX." After a moment Kisuke spoke.

"Is it safe to assume that the mount is in fact the Pegasus?" he asked. Jeanne nodded. "Interesting that it shares its name with Bellerophon, the young man who tamed and rode the Pegasus in Greek Mythology." said Kisuke thinking out loud.

"What's a Pegasus?" asked Toshiro looking confused. As did all the other Soul society Reapers including Rukia.

"Oh that's right. None of you would know that. Okay. Brief lore lesson. Pegasus is a horse with wings capable of flight. Bellerophon is the man who tamed the Pegasus. I'm assuming the bridal is named after him not the Pegasus itself, right?" asked Kisuke looking at Jeanne who nodded.

"But then what's the connection to Medusa?" asked Jushiro confused.

"Medusa is the only one of the Gorgons to be killed and when she died, after being decapitated, either one or two creatures emerged full grown from her neck stump. One was the Pegasus, and the other was an individual called Chrysaor. Both of which are considered her children which she allegedly had after the Greek god of the sea Poseidon had intercourse with her though whether this was with or without her consent is still hotly debated." said Jeanne.

"So, wait. You're saying that her mount is also her child. So, she's . . .riding . . ." Rukia stopped as it looked like her brain just broke.

"Let's just move on. As to the np itself, Medusa first summons the Pegasus by taking one of her daggers and then cuts into her throat, the blood then forms a summoning circle which then materializes the Pegasus. Now the bridal itself can either be summoned separately or already on the Pegasus, but it needs to be on it for her to utilize the Pegasus as her mount as without the bridal it's too docile in temperament to be useful to her in combat. It is with this NP that all of Pegasus's abilities are drastically increased for a limited time. Furthermore, thanks to Pegasus's Divine Protection, the defensive capabilities are also increased 100-fold, granting this NP of the highest level in terms of combination of offense and defense. Now Pegasus is already an exceptional beast, and directing it with Bellerophon removes its limiters, causing it to rage under Medusa's command. In battle, the strengthened Phantasmal Beast and Medusa fight as one. Once fastened, it allows for the mounted beast to use its most powerful charge to physically destroy the target. As it is a powerful ability, it is not suited for ground combat in normal situations. Although Medusa can fasten and mount it immediately after it leaves the summoning circle, she prefers to utilize it in the air away from onlookers. She has the Pegasus fly high into the air, before descending down like divine lightning. It grows large enough to engulf a skyscraper rooftop and destroy the building itself and the maximum speed that the charge of the beast can reach is between four hundred and five hundred kilometers per hour. So fast that in the air it's compared to a white comet." Jeanne explained.

"I'll admit that it's speed is impressive but even the slowest Flashstep practioner can get out of the way and is it safe to assume that this Np once used is meant to be a one and done kind of attack?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"Under the best circumstances, not counting having a soul reaper for a Master, Medusa would be lucky to use this particular Np more than a few times over the course of the whole War which can last up to a month at most in a regular Grail war. And due to how powerful it is, the big drawback is that it can only be utilized once per fight. So, she has to be very careful where and when she deploys this one and it has to be a case that she feels that victory with it is assured. Otherwise, it's a waste." stated Jeanne. "And that's it for Rider of Blue.

"Okay so in summation this Servant is at a low lieutenant level in terms of base power level thanks to the geograhical boosts. Has a good tactical mind, and whose personal fighting style is that of a member of the stealth force despite her rider classification. Three of her class skills show how resourceful she is, while the last class skill just showcases her origins. Then she has two Personal skills that can complement her fighting style, but each come with their own drawbacks as one is cursed if used for too long and the other is dependent on whether her target is susceptible to it. Then she has 3 nps. One that is her mount but has to be deployed sparingly as it consumes a lot of energy when used. The other is unlikely to be used due to the gentle nature of her current Master and last one while probably the most dangerous can only be used on 1 target at a time. Overall, she's a Servant that can be quite terrifying if she has both a powerful and tactical Master but if she doesn't then she can't compensate for it and is mid-level in her own faction at best. Anything anyone wish to add?" asked Jushiro.

"I'm still stuck on the fact that essentially her kid doubles as her mount." said Renji.

"Okay. Moving on. So all that's left is Archer and Saber." noted Ichigo as he tried to quickly change the subject.

"I'll do Archer next. His True Name is David the 2nd and considered to be the greatest King in Israel according to the Old Testament in the Bible." said Jeanne. This surprised everyone.

"So even religious figures could be summoned as Servants?" asked Byakuya shocked. Jeanne nodded.

"Makes me wonder if Gods can be summoned as Servants." said Kisuke thoughtfully. Jeanne shrugged.

"If they can, I have no memory of such occurrences as my memories were altered to suit the timeline I was summoned to." answered Jeanne. Everyone paused awkwardly at this until Rukia spoke up.

"Is it safe to assume that due to Christianity's widespread influence that David has geographical boosts?" asked Rukia. Jeanne immediately latched onto this.

"Yes, but let's first look at his normal parameters. His strength is C, Endurance is D, Agility is B, Mana is C, Luck is A, and Np is B." rattled off Jeanne.

"So calculated that puts his base power level at B- rank or a 10th seated officer. So adjusted for the boosts his current base power level is bumped up to A- rank or low lieutenant level. Same as Medusa with her boosts. Interesting." said Kisuke thoughtfully. He then fiddled with his phone. "okay I just sent a picture of what Archer of Blue looks like." Everyone looked at their phones.

"He's a lot younger than I thought he'd be." commented Renji.

"Anything we should know about before we get to his skills and nps?" asked Ichigo.

"Well David's armament include a bow and arrows made by himself, although he also possesses the sling that he used to defeat Goliath, his harp, and his shepherd staff. Also despite being an Archer, David is strong at close range, this is due to him being very proficient in the mixed martial arts called Jacob's limbs." said Jeanne. Yoruichi looked intrigued by this.

"Hhmm Wonder how that compares to Hakuda?" said Yoruichi.

"I doubt that you'll get him to fight you seriously, Yoruichi. He is absurdly weak towards women, so care is required in regards to that point. So, he might throw the match with you, letting you win." said Jeanne with a chuckle. Yoruichi looked a bit put out by that.

"Why is he weak to women?" asked Byakuya.

"Because his pursuit of women led to terrible consequences during his lifetime. The best example I can give is when he pursued the married woman Bathsheba and then arranged to have her husband killed so he could take her as his. This led to God cursing him in several ways one of which was the child she had during this time was stillborn. But that should give you all an idea as to why this translates as a weakness towards women." answered Jeanne. Byakuya nodded.

"Alright. Let's start with his class skills." said Jushiro.

"Very well. He has 3 Class skills. They are Magic resistance at A rank, Independent Action which is also A rank, and Divinity which is D." rattled off Jeanne.

"All of these we've heard before so what makes them different compared to others with this skill?" asked Toshiro.

"Well his A rank magic resistance nullifies Magecraft spells that are Rank A or below. Or more bluntly modern Mages can't wound David with their Magecraft." said Jeanne. Kisuke's eyes widened at this.

"So that means that only Hados and levels 90-99 would be usable against him. Gotta say that's pretty damn impressive." Kisuke noted.

"Independent Action at A rank is the same as Gilgamesh in that he can act on his own without a contract indefinitely. The only time a Master would be needed would be if he used one of his nps that required a lot of energy to work. "explained Jeanne.

"What about Divinity? Last time I checked he was a human shepherd born to a human family." Jushiro pointed out.

The reason he has any Divinity at all, even higher than Medusa's E-, at D rank is because he, according to biblical lore, is an ancestor of Christ. Thus he qualifies weakly as a being of divine nature. He also possesses some defense against magic properties of conceptual relics and NPs based in the divinity of Christ (though not those based in the divinity of God) - for example, "Holy Shrouds," "the Nails of Crucifixion," and "the Lance of Longinus"; possibly even "the Holy Grail." itself." explained Jeanne.

"You mentioned with Lancer and Rider that the odd hair colors were due to their divine blood. Since David also has divinity does that mean that his odd hair color is due to that skill as well?" asked Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"So being ancestor to a divine being can grant you divinity by association. Neat." commented Renji. "So, what are his Personal Skills?" he asked.

"He has 3 of those as well. They are Protection of God at A rank, Harp of Healing at B rank, and finally Charisma also at B rank. I'll start with Protection of God. This is a Skill that demonstrates the outstanding body and appearance of one who was prophesized with the purpose of becoming King. This skill bolsters his quick-wittedness, Agility and physical Strength to grab onto the tails of lions and bears and beat them to death. So, he can go toe to toe with Servants of correlating strength and agility." explained Jeanne.

"I'm curious how a biblical figure feels about being a Servant." said Kisuke in deep thought. "From what I understand by glimpsing at his skills, though he has been resurrected by the power of the Grail, David does not regard himself as a vessel to the Soul of his original—merely as an instrument of God. He does not terribly mind this existence, content merely to feel what he sees as the grace of his Lord. I like to see myself in a similar manner and find great admiration from his perspective." said Jeanne with a small smile.

"Getting back to his Personal Skills, what can you tell us about his two B rank skills?" asked Yoruichi.

"I'll start with his Charisma skill. This comes from all the tribes obeying him as the Second King of Israel. David led an army of soldiers that exceeded 320,000 men and gained total control of Jerusalem. For the long path of bloodshed that he wrought as a prodigy military leader, he later deemed to seek the forgiveness of God by building a place of worship in his capital. This would become the Temple that housed the Ark of the Covenant. As to his final skill that is Harp of Healing. David's harp more properly called a kinnor, possesses effects of exorcism and preserves the tranquility of the listeners' minds. His skill with the instrument is such that he is capable of purging mental interference and restoring psychological stability to those who listen to his music. However, the accuracy of projectiles and polearms suffer a large Rank Down within hearing range. In legend David used his harp to cleanse the Evil Spirits from the king of Israel, Saul." explained Jeanne.

"Interesting. In ancient society, the harp was highly regarded as appeasing evil spirits. And now that I think about it, David's act of exorcism may have a modern analogue in musical therapy." said Kisuke growing thoughtful. "So, what are his Nps?" he then asked.

"He has technically 3 but only utilizes 2. The 2 that he utilizes are Hamesh Avanim which is B+ rank and Anti-unit and Sacrifice which is A rank and anti-army. While the one that is his technical np but he doesn't have access to it currently is the Ark of the Covenant." said Jeanne.

"Wait that's a potential np?" asked Ichigo, shocked.

"Currently that last one is unavailable to him, but it's still listed as one of his nps none the less." stated Jeanne. That made Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Kisuke sigh in relief.

"Then there's no point in worrying about it. So, what about his actual nps?" asked Yoruichi.

"I'll start with his main np. Hamesh Avanim: The Five Stones. It's the sling he used to defeat Goliath. So, it works best against large opponents. But in addition to the sling, it also consists of five decorated stones bound by the line of a sling and normally carried around his waist. Though once he loses the stones, he can pick up other stones on the wayside and transfigure them. While the sling is the true np, the stones can be called an expression of David's tolerance, the first four stones acting as projectile "warning shots" to attempt to persuade the opponent to lay down their arms. David will shout in Hebrew gematria a countdown when using this Noble Phantasm, starting with "He (5)", "Dalet (4)", "Gimel (3)", "Bet (2)" and "Alef (1)". He will make the threat obvious towards his opponent on the count of one with a stronger shout. Should the opponent fail to comply with the warnings, he will be able to launch the fifth stone, "a rapid, nonlethal attack that is extremely difficult to evade", that is said to certainly hit a vital spot and defeat the opponent. In the case of a Servant, they will temporarily lose consciousness and suffer severe damage, although it is something insignificant in a typical war situation where the unconscious person can be rescued. But there is one final bit to his np. Afterwards, the opponent's main armament will either become David's or it will become unusable." explained Jeanne.

"So, with non-Servants his np is used to be a non-lethal knockout. But with Servants he is capable of non-lethal knockout as well, but he can either seal their main armament or he can steal it for himself. Did I understand that correctly?" asked Toshiro. Jeanne nodded.

"Also as a side note, Hamesh Avanim is the name of an Israeli game consisting of throwing one stone upward and picking up four stones before catching the first as it comes down, like the ancient Greek game Knucklebones. So, this np's name was well chosen." noted Kisuke looking a bit amused.

"That just leaves his last usable np. Sacrifice: Flames Upon the Altar. This is carried by David as an incense burner while not activated. It represents the "flame that carries the hottest heat, shining brightly, which flared up by God's commands" that is told of in the Book of Numbers of the Old Testament. It is activated by burning Ketoret or the incense within the burner, and a phantasmal incense burner would materialize in front of each enemy presence before it would cause violet fumes to envelop the targets. Immediately, thunderclouds and mist gather overhead, "giving the impression of Mount Sinai", and from them descends fire from the heavens in the shape of an altar to incinerate all those who oppose the will of God without leaving a trace of blood." explained.

"Even without the Ark of the Covenant, that np sounds terrifying enough. So glad that he doesn't have access to that np as well." said Yoruichi.

"And thanks to his geographical boosts the two that he does have access to get ranked up. Keep that in mind too. So, his main one goes from B+ to A+ rank and his Sacrifice np's rank goes from A to EX rank." Kisuke pointed out.

"So, in summation, we have a Servant that can fight at both long and close range. Whose skills help bolster him personally or aid those around him particularly in healing. And while one noble phantasm is unavailable to him, the two he does have access to are quite the opposite in that his main one is non-lethal but can let him seal other's abilities or take them for himself while the other just eliminates everything in the immediate vicinity of him leaving nothing behind. Is that correct?" asked Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"Alright then all that's left is Saber of Blue and then we can assess the Blue Faction as a whole." said Rukia looking excited.

"In that case here's a picture of the Saber of Blue." said Kisuke as he fiddled with his iPhone again.

Everyone looked at it and Renji then asked, "So who is this Servant?"

"Saber of Blue. True name Artoria Pendragon or more famously known as King Arthur." recited Jeanne. This shocked everyone.

"WHAT?!" they said.

"To be fair Saber of Silver is also King Arthur as well but that one is actually male." said Jeanne.

"How does that even work?" asked Toshiro.

"It works due to the fact that while both Sabers are in fact King Arthur there are enough differences between the two that it doesn't create a paradox. In this case the fact that the two are different genders. As well as the circumstances of their myths and the different dynamics that occurred in their myths due to this change in gender there's also the fact that these two are from different timelines. The only way for both to be present in the same war is that someone from the same timeline as the foreign King Arthur brought a relic tied to that specific version of him and then used that relic to summon that version. But compatibility still plays a role so with two relics of King Arthur being used from different timelines for the same war it's possible for the version of King Arthur to match up to the wrong relic due to the Master simply being a better fit for that version." explained Jeanne.

"Alright. I think I understand. So, we have either a case of a freak accident that deposited that relic here in this timeline and someone picked it up and used it or someone from a different timeline, most likely a Master, traveled to this timeline with the relic and summoned their version of King Arthur here. Is that about right?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded. "Okay I don't think it really matters which King Arthur is from where, but does this mean that we can just copy and paste everything we discuss here about the female version and apply it to the male version?" Yoruichi asked.

"In terms of their legend, unless there's a significant difference besides the obvious one in their respective legends, yes but their stats and abilities as Servants I can already tell that there are some differences that will need to be discussed separately when we get to the Silver Faction." Jeanne pointed out.

"Before we get started let's get the obvious question out of the way. This King Arthur's gender. Why is it that this version of King Arthur's gender is different compared to legends?" asked Byakuya.

"According to the knowledge the Grail provided to me, this King Arthur was born female and named Artoria but was raised and disguised as a man name Artorias. And when she pulled the sword from the stone in her myth at the age of 15, the sword had magic properties that stopped her aging making everyone around her believe that her androgenous youthful looks were a blessing to signify her Kingship as being destined. The reason for all the secrecy was the fear that given the times of the King Arthur myth, everyone was certain that a woman wouldn't be accepted as leader much less a King. Only Merlin, Sir Ector, Kay, Morgan le Fay, her sister, Guinevere, and eventually Sir Lancelot knew that she was in fact a woman. The only two significant differences in the myth concern the Lancelot and Guinevere affair and Mordred's birth." explained Jeanne.

"So how do they differ in legends?" asked Rukia.

"Well, the love triangle was never a thing in this Arthur's mythology as the two women married completely for political reasons. So, when Lancelot and Guinevere were having their affair Artoria gave her full support and blessing to the couple as they knew the secret concerning the King's true gender. But to everyone else not in the know it looked like adultery and betrayal by the couple and the King's forgiveness and Blessing fired people up into a frenzy either thinking that the pair didn't deserve their place with such a wonderful and perfect King and the other side seeing the King's reaction to all this as inhuman and her perceived perfection began to alienate her from the very people she dedicated her Kingship to." explained Jeanne.

"And Mordred's birth? My understanding is that all parties were female so how does Mordred come into the picture?" asked Kisuke. Jeanne flushed in embarrassment but did her best to answer.

"In the broadest of terms, it can be summed up as magic shenanigans on both Merlin and Morgan's behalves that led to Mordred who was essetially a homunculus clone of Artoria but was raised by Morgan." said Jeanne quickly this caused Yoruichi to get a sly grin.

"Come on, Jeanne. Elaborate for us on the details." she said teasing.

"I told you the truth so there's no need to elaborate further on that." Jeanne insisted.

"That's enough Yoruichi Shihoin. Can't you see how uncomfortable you're making her." said Byakuya sternly. Yoruichi pouted but relented. Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, lord Kuchiki." said Jeanne respectfully.

Byakuya nodded and then asked. "I only have two further questions. Was Mordred also female and how did she play out her role in the mythos as a woman?"

"She was indeed a female homunculus clone of Artoria and when she was sent to King Arthur's court to become one of the knights, she was given armor that covered her from head to toe and was instructed to never remove it unless she was certain that she was alone. So, she suffered from isolation due to needing to hide her gender as well, but she didn't have anyone she could trust. Did that perhaps play a role in her eventual rebellion? Who knows? But beyond that the legends are otherwise unchanged." finished Jeanne.

"Alright then. So, let's start with. . .uh . . .Artoria's stats then." said Toshiro.

"Very well. Her strength is B, Endurance is B, Agility is B, Mana is A, luck is A+ and np is A+." Jeanne rattled off.

"I think it's safe to say that she will get geographical boosts due to her worldwide fame. So, her base power level is a low lieutenant level, and her boosted power level is a low Captain level. That's actually impressive." noted Kisuke.

"Anything we should know about outside of her skills and np?" asked Jushiro.

"Well both Arthur and Artoria Pendragon are known as the King of Knights. As you all are aware in life, both commanded the Knights of the Round Table, the greatest knights to ever live and heroes that would later be sung of in legends. If summoned as a Servant, any of them would boast indisputable fame and strength, however, even among them, both Arthur and Artoria stand at the top. As a Servant, both Arthur and Artoria are widely considered to be the strongest Heroic Spirit in the Saber class, the class considered the "Most Outstanding" among the seven classes due to its excellent ratings in all categories." said Jeanne.

"Can't say I fully agree with that. We have three Sabers to compare to so far and even though 2 would be nearly identical, the other one we have as a 10th seated officer in terms of base power level and the other 2 are being boosted by worldwide fame. So, I don't exactly buy the hype." said Kisuke not impressed.

"What about her fighting style?" asked Ichigo curious.

"I'll mostly be focusing on Artoria from here on out. Her ability is maximally unleashed while engaging in an honorable face-to-face single combat. It is a method of battle that she feels is full of chivalric honor, and it is also one that suits her sense of aesthetics. She does not dislike strategizing, but she tends to loath fabricated strategies that have no concrete basis due to her experience as a capable military commander. She will fine tune her strategy meticulously, and she will further adapt her actions in response to the ever-changing dynamics of combat while in battle. She naturally dislikes cowardly actions, no matter if it involves strategies or not. She dislikes fights involving constant running and retreating, and such behavior from an opponent can only be seen as an insult to her pride as a knight. To her battles must determine the victor by exchanging blows with full force. She also likes the idea of withstanding a surprise attack fair and square, turning the tables to go for the kill, and reminding them that the Saber class is not just about gallantry. Due to her nature, she feels inclined to follow the etiquette of a knight to properly introduce herself to an opponent should they give their own name. Despite the potentially devastating effects it could have on future battles, she feels that she cannot disgrace the faith of a knight. She would never normally reveal her true name no matter what torture she were to receive, but that is only for the sake of victory that is not worth more than her pride. The pride in her heart can be called her greatest weapon, so she would rather give up her hand to sever any confusion in herself." reported Jeanne.

"Sounds like you and her would get along splendidly, Byakuya." commented Jushiro with a humorous chuckle. Byakuya simply sighed, not amused.

"Anything else we should be aware of before we move onto her skills and np?" asked Toshiro.

"Just a few more things. First is that Artoria was born with the heart string of the Red Dragon of Briton and is one who carries the blood and power of a phantasmal beast in a human body, granting her a heart and unique Magic Circuits that transcend what can be achieved by normal humans and magi. Or more simply her heart is a single Dragon. Thus, Artoria possesses a Magic Core at her heart." said Jeanne.

"Wait! Are you serious? How is that even possible?" asked Renji.

"Merging phantasmal creatures with humans is not unheard of. Especially with what a successful merging allows but sadly successes are rare, and the failures often ended in death of those participating willing or not. And usually, the people who were used in these Magecraft experiments would often be orphans or the destitute. People who wouldn't be missed." said Jeanne sadly. This caused everyone to be uncomfortable.

"Well in the case of Artoria how did she benefit from being a successful merging of human and phantasmal beast? Specifically, a dragon?" asked Kisuke trying to stay on task.

"Well, her magic core functions as an enormous energy reservoir with tremendous capacity that generates energy independent from her body simply through breathing like Dragons. The amount of Spirit energy it generates rivals the heat of the Earth's core, and it was due to her own power that Excalibur was considered the strongest holy sword. There is a drawback though. Due to the characteristics of a Dragon, she has trouble with existences such as Siegfried, who is associated with tales of culling Dragons and weapons with an anti-dragon attribute such as Arondight which is wielded currently by Berserker of White, Lancelot." finished Jeanne.

"That last one seems a bit ironic." Yoruichi pointed out. Jeanne nodded with a smile.

"Even more so when you realize that one of Artoria's greatest deeds is defeating a Dragon." said Jeanne. At everyone's confused looks and quirked eyebrows, she elaborated. "When Artoria, her knights, and her troops confronted the Usurper Vortigern, only she was able to see through his true power. In an instant, before the others could react, Vortigern released its true form as a dragon that clouded the sky despite it being the mid of day and vaporized the elite troops and the uninjured with a single attack. In fact, Vortigern was a monster not even the Knights of the Round Table could have imagined, manifesting the will and avatar of the entire island of Britain. After facing him for several hours, the dragon's movements were restrained by digging holy swords into his hands, depriving him of some of his freedom. It was then that Artoria used a shining spear to pierce through the heart of the crucified dragon which then roared its death scream and crumbled to dust." Jeanne finished. She looked to see everyone with shocked expressions.

"Well, damn. What do you say to that?" asked Renji at a loss.

"I wonder if she would let me examine her in future" said Kisuke aloud. "Alright anything else?" "Just a few more things. You all already know that she is extremely skilled with a sword. In fact there are few Servants that surpass her in close combat, and she can clear an escape route from the battlefield under any disadvantageous situation. Although the Saber class is famed for its great offensive power, Artoria is also very skilled when it comes to going into defense. She utilizes armor woven by her Spirit energy and it can be called part of her body, so it can be called forth for battle and dismissed for normal interactions. It is heavy, hard silver-white and azure armor including gauntlets, greaves, a breastplate, and long tassets shaped like a skirt that act as impregnable defenses made from Spirit energy meant for overpowering others. She has to will it away manually and it doesn't fade when she is unconscious, so it is able to be removed from her like it is normal armor. While she normally wears a casual outfit, removing her armor during battle leaves her with a blue dress that she wears under it. Being made from her energy, the armor is weak against abilities that target Spirit energy like Lancer of Silver's Gae Dearg. It cannot be permanently damaged no matter how much it is slashed, chipped, or smashed, as she can instantly repair it with her own energy. It costs a great deal to protect herself by forming, maintaining and repairing it, so she may have to forgo healing her body to repair the armor. Maintaining her armor is the same as maintaining her body, so she keeps it off when possible to preserve her power. The cost of doing so in battle can be deadly, but it can also grant her a boost in power that proves greater than the handicap of losing it. She can dismiss it simply by cutting off the Spirit energy supplied to it, causing it to fade into mist breaking into metallic dust. She can also manipulate it through psychokinesis, allowing her to impart it on objects of her choice. Then she has a potent healing ability due to regeneration magic that again comes from her draconic heart and blood. It automatically heals her wounds. It takes her own energy to heal wounds, so she relies on support from her Master if possible. As a final note, she cannot be impeded by water due to her body having received divine blessing from the Lady of the Lake. The miracle from the blessing allows her to advance undeterred on water at full sprinting speed, which gains hardness identical to ground even while her feet splash against the surface." finished Jeanne.

"We have not even touched on her actual skills and noble phantasms and already she's showcasing how much these X factors make up for the gap in raw power." noted Byakuya sounding slightly annoyed. "So what are her actual skills?" he then asked.

"She has Class Skills Magic Resistance which is A rank and Riding which is B rank." rattled off Jeanne.

"Both of which we've heard at these ranks previously so we can move on." noted Kisuke.

"I do have a side note that needs to be taken into account for Artoria at least concerning her magic resistance skill. The immense magical power from Artoria's dragon blood grants her a very strong Magic Resistance that is the highest amongst the Servants, especially due to it having increased in magnitudes upon being summoned in the Saber class. A good example is that unlike most other Servants, Artoria is able to resist an action force onto her powered by one stroke of the Command Spell. Such is the extraordinary rank of Artoria's Magic Resistance, sufficient to shake the very foundation of the Servant System. However, she cannot handle having two used at once, so the tremendous force of dual Command Seals will ravage and crush Saber's form and resistance to make her follow the second command without being able to stop it." explained Jeanne.

"I see. And if I recall correctly, you deliberately stated that Command seals are considered irrevocable when used. So, the fact that this Artoria is able to resist even one is highly impressive." noted Kisuke. "Are you and Captain Kuchiki aware of Command Seals, Captain Ukitake?" he then asked. Both Captains nodded.

"We know that they're the sign of the contract and that one can issue orders that must be obeyed no matter what. And they can either hinder or enhance the Servant in question." said Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"That's more or less correct. Alright we'll move onto her personal skills. She has 3 of them. They are Dragon reactor Core, which is ranked B, Radiant Road, which is ranked EX, and finally charisma which is also ranked B." rattled off Jeanne.

"We've heard of Charisma at this rank with Iskandar so I think we can skip this one and go to the 2 unknown skills." said Rukia.

"Very well. We'll start with her Dragon reactor core skill. I've already explained the origin of this skill earlier. With it, she can infuse and accumulate energy into her weapon and body, momentarily injecting an arbitrary vector that allows for an exceptional boost of her abilities by instantaneously releasing the energy to reinforce herself. In other words, it's jet propulsion with spirit energy. However, normal weapons without strong divine protection such like Caliburn will not be able to endure the energy-fueled attack and will be destroyed with one blow. Still, even in this state, she can shoot a beam from the tip of her sword with power equivalent to an A-Rank attack. Even simply striking the enemy's weapon causes the energy to penetrate it, and it fills the area with light. She can surge it around herself to blow apart bindings, tearing them and scattering them in an instant. She can also use this skill to compensate for her lack in physical strength while wielding Excalibur with one hand, if need be, but it drains much more energy, and she still cannot use the strength that can only be delivered with both hands. Finally, her other skill is Radiant Road. Artoria possesses the ability to always instantly identify "the best personal course of action" during combat. It is an innate ability which is essentially a sixth sense in the realm of predicting the future. Because this skill allows for the prediction of trajectory, it is possible to avoid attacks from armaments like firearms, and along with listening to the sound of cutting air. Through this ability, it is also possible to negate the penalties inflicted by visual and auditory interference to a certain extend. It also allows her to turn and jump back from the attack with all her might, as if she knew it was going to happen. She is able to sense the possible arrival of certain "divine opportunities" for victory should she manage certain conditions. While it can theoretically surpass thought for a natural talent in battle decisions and it has kept her alive over the years after having been sharpened through many battles, is not an infallible ability. While she is able to select the best choice and follow that view normally, if faced against an opponent that is superior to her this ability will be unable to help her find a course to victory." Jeanne. Finished. Jushiro sighed.

"The more we look into this version of King Arthur, the more terrifying she becomes. If it wasn't for her chivalry, I'm almost certain that if she was unleashed onto the soul society, she would be a monster that only the likes of the Head Captain could potentially beat and even then I fear that it would only end in a mutual kill. And we're only now getting to her nps. So, what are they?" Jushiro asked.

"She has 3 nps. They are Caliburn which is ranked B+ but under certain conditions can push this rank up to A and is anti-unit. Then there is Invisible Air which is also anti-unit and is C rank. Finally there is her most famous np Excalibur which is ranked A+ and is Anti-fortress but if she becomes wounded then it's marked down to anti-unit." Jeanne rattled off.

"Do we start with the most well-known one or the ones that don't sound familiar?" asked Ichigo.

"Let's start with Caliburn as I'm very curious about that one." decided Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"Very well. Caliburn: Golden Sword of the Victorious is the holy sword that is the symbol of the king pulled from the stone of appointment by King Arthur under the guidance of Merlin. With the words "Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise king of all England" engraved in a golden inscription on its hilt, it became the symbol of England's King of Knights once it was pulled from the stone." explained Jeanne.

"Huh. I always thought that it was Excalibur that was the famous sword in the stone." said Urahara aloud. Jeanne shook her head.

"No Excalibur was Caliburn's replacement gifted to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake hence why at his death it was returned to her upon his orders." said Jeanne. Kisuke gave a shrug and motioned for her to continue. "It is not as strong of a sword as Excalibur as the swords of kings are often lowered to the role of fancy decorations due to being symbols of authority. The cost of being a dazzling sword is that its grade as a weapon is inferior to Excalibur. Prior to pulling it out of the stone, Merlin claimed that she would "no longer be human" after taking hold of it as a king is someone who kills everyone to protect everyone. Once she pulled it from the stone, it's said that the area filled with light, making her something inhuman and stopped her physical aging. Many knights thought it to be ominous while most praised this as a sign of their king's immortality given by the divine. After the sword was destroyed, Excalibur and Avalon later granted the same properties. Artoria lost Caliburn due to a trap set by her sister, Morgan le Fay. It was broken in a battle in which the rules of chivalry had been broken by Artoria, and she later received the new holy sword of the Lady of the Lake. Although inferior to Excalibur, this holy sword also converts the energy of the owner into heat, then releasing it as particles of light. If this is employed in battle as a weapon, and its True Name is released, a firepower on the same scale as Excalibur will be displayed, but its blade will probably be unable to withstand Artoria's energy and break." explained Jeanne.

"So, she is most likely to use this as merely a melee weapon otherwise she can only use it for one attack before it's destroyed." noted Toshiro.

"As long as she doesn't invoke its true name while channeling her energy, she can utilize it quite effectively." pointed out Jeanne. "I'll move onto her next np. That would be Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King. It is a Bounded Field made up of multiple layers of wind compressed into super-high pressure air with a massive amount of energy, which distorts the refraction of light and renders what is inside completely invisible. With this it forms a sheath in which she conceals her sword Excalibur so that it cannot be easily recognized as the famous holy sword of King Arthur and exposes her identity. It does not allow the enemy to determine its range even as sparks fly off of it. It is simple, but tremendously effective in hand-to-hand combat. It is not a vacuum, but the wind whirring around the blade is like a weapon and it seems to increase the damage of the slash. Only when the compressed wind is released is a vacuum state created. It increases the damage and cutting power of an attack, and the amount of spirit energy released from each strike is high enough that it is visible to the eye. Once the barrier is released so that Excalibur can be used, the previously compressed wind surges around her chaotically, creating a vacuum as it diffuses into the air with enough force to knock over normal people and shake heavy, firm trees like a typhoon. The compressed wind can also instead be released as a single use projectile weapon called Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King. Acting like a hammer made out of wind, it creates a gale made out of super high pressure condensed air that is powerful enough to easily crush and blow away armies and fling a stone slab weighing several tons into the air as if it were nothing. It is a long-range attack with a constant amount of damage that is not influenced by Saber's physical condition or her level of spirit energy. It can only be blocked by overwhelming it with a higher amount of spirit energy. It can also be used to accelerate her own body towards her opponent, allowing her to travel at three times her normal speed. By holding the sword in a backward wide stance, she releases the air and changes into a supersonic bullet that charges towards her opponent. If working together with another person, the partner can use the vacuum left behind by the attack to immediately rush in behind it by using the surge of air taken in by the vacuum as a Slipstream. After releasing it, she can recall it by compressing the surrounding air to reform the barrier." she explained. Everyone looked shocked at this.

"And this is just the barrier that covers Excalibur itself?" asked Jushiro in disbelief. Jeanne nodded.

"Makes me wonder what the actual sword can do." Renji said wondering aloud.

"Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory. This is Artoria's ultimate trump card and her most powerful np. Excalibur was created 14,000 years ago by six great Fairies in Avalon. It was created as a weapon to be used by the Planet against external threats. Thus it is a Divine Construct, the pinnacle of holy swords, and the strongest holy sword. One of the ultimate God-forged weapons, a Last Phantasm, forged by the Planet as the crystallization of the wishes of mankind stored and tempered within the Planet. At the risk of sounding poetic, It is said that this sword, born in the Inner Sea of the Planet otherwise known as Avalon, and exerts its true power only when an enemy that threatens the planet emerges. It is said to be made from people's conceptions; a legend weaved purely out of hope. It is not a myth or inhuman work, but a "crystal trained by the heart alone", making it reign as the strongest fantasy. It is the crystallization of the prayer named "glory" and everything etched in the hearts of those who are scattered at the sword's radiance; the nostalgic, sorrowful, and hallowed dream of those who were placed on the bloody hell called a battlefield, of all warriors past, present, and future fully exposed to the fear of death and despair, and who still cling to a desire: "to be exalted." It was guarded by extensions of the Planet, Fairies, before briefly being passed on to Artoria Pendragon by the Lady of the Lake to act as a replacement for Caliburn and later returned to the lake before her death." said Jeanne. She looked to the others who looked at her with surprise.

"I will admit that the description of its creation was beautiful but how can a sword be that old? At 14,000 years old? Recorded human History is at best about 4,500 perhaps 5,000 years old at most?" asked Byakuya.

"The older an np is the more it embodies a concept of something. And like I said the sword was forged from fae hands. No human contribution at all. In the case of Excalibur, it's moniker as the Sword of Promised victory isn't just a title that is quite literally the sword that embodies the hope of victory and since hope springs eternal, then when using this sword victory is guaranteed. Its closest comparison is Ea which is the sword that was created at the dawn of creation billions of years ago making it even older, so it literally embodies the concept of destruction and creation simultaneously. Does that make sense?" Jeanne asked tentatively. After a moment Byakuya nodded.

"Okay so what can the sword do then?" asked Rukia.

"Well first off, Excalibur is a typical Western sword with a length of ninety centimeters and a width of twelve centimeters, and it has Fairy Letters inscribed on it to show that it is not the work of mankind. It and its scabbard, Avalon, provided partial immortality for its wielder. It must be revealed to unleash its full power, and charging it with energy to slash an enemy, called the gold blade version, brings about an overwhelmingly superior power. Excalibur is a "sword that amplifies", converting its user's Energy into offensive power and releasing it. It is a weapon of directive energy that converts the Energy of Artoria into light by accelerating it with her factor of the dragon, intensifying the kinetic energy by convergence and acceleration, It is an "ultimate killing technique" that releases light holding energy rivaling Artoria's entire Energy supply from the tip of the blade once the sword is swung. To an observer, it looks like a giant beam of light, but the attack's target point is only at the tip. It is the "ultimate slash" that cuts through everything in the "area" the light goes through. Its enormous power heats space around the tip, and as a result, it is interpreted as a wave of light that mows across the surface of the earth like a directed energy weapon. Even if it is dodged, those in close proximity can still be temporarily distracted by its intensity." Said Jeanne.

"That sounds very close to how Ichigo unleashes Getsuga Tensho." Noted Kisuke.

"Excalibur is considered to be among the greatest of nps because of its speed, attack power, and reach upon being activated surpassing and remaining unrivaled by nearly all others. In terms of competing against others in pure power, only Ea is known to be able to match and surpass it. The speed required for activation is less than a second. It requires a sufficient amount of distance between Artoria and her enemy, and the further the distance of the opponent will increase its effectiveness. Once something is struck by it, no human Magecraft of any kind can match it. Both hands are needed to use the attack, so losing access to her hands means being unable to use the ability. It ranks as an Anti-Fortress np due to its magnitude and destructive power, Artoria generally attempts to aim it into the sky due to its destructive power, able to incinerate an entire military cohort of one thousand soldiers and turn the ground into scorched earth, leaving a great disorder in the land that would never fade. When launched into the sky, it can be seen from far around, even cutting into the clouds. The Energy consumption is extremely high, leaving Artoria exhausted after usage, and it cannot normally be fired consecutively. Even using it a single time to destroy an enemy, depending on how weak her Master is, is enough to completely cripple her, leaving her unconscious and in constant pain as she fights to keep from fading away. She is left in a state where she can barely run while she is awake, and she is physically on par with an ordinary human. Releasing the sword where others can view it will allow others to instantly figure out her identity. This requires her to use it only as a last resort, compared to the weaker but easier to use Invisible Air. If used without enough energy or a Master to actively replenish her, it can cause her to instantly fade away upon usage. It is possible to activate it without sufficient energy, but the resulting Excalibur will be weakened. Excalibur's destructive power can also be a negative trait that limits its usage as it can easily damage the surrounding area and kill a large number of people if used under the wrong conditions. Artoria can somewhat control the output with precise calibration, but it is still easily capable of completely destroying a skyscraper while holding back energy to minimize collateral damage. Finally, It is possible to limit its destructive power if the opponent focuses on close-range combat, and it cannot be used against opponents who fight at extremely close range." Jeanne finished. Kisuke had a thoughtful expression.

"Interesting. Despite the hype of what this sword can do, it seems like a more grandiose version of Ichigo's Zangetsu. The only true difference is Artoria doesn't have the energy capacity Ichigo has so she has to rely on her sword play and skills to carry her through unless she has no choice but to use her beam attack." said Kisuke finally.

"True but keep in mind that if it weren't for her chivalry that she would be quite an intimidating opponent to face. Armor that can never be destroyed, resistance to all but the highest level of kido, battle precognition and if she did have access to an energy source like that of a Soul reaper, she could fire her Excalibur en mass and not care about the collateral damage." said Jushiro.

"And that's all the Servants of the Blue Faction." said Jeanne. She got up and went to the fridge to get a bottle of water before she sat back down.

Okay so let's get the group assessment out of the way along with the threat level to Jeanne's safety as we know most of the Masters here in terms of personality save for the Master of Assassin." said Yoruichi. "For groups let's assess them on base power level and nps rank only with the geographical boosts in mind as their skills and other extra items only apply to them as an individual. The only things they bring as a team are their power levels and nps."

"So going off the ranks and our comparisons at the last meeting, the Blue Faction has one captain level servant with three nps 1 at the Shikai level and 2 at the Bankai level that's Saber with the boosts in mind. Archer, Lancer, Rider, and Caster all get boosts as well and are at lieutenant level. The first has 1 unusable np and of the other 2, 1 is a Bankai and the other can be either depending on the conditions. Lancer has only 1np that with boosts is at Bankai but with his skills can bolster it further to a high end Bankai. Rider has 3 nps and with boosts, 1 is Shikai and the other 2 are Bankai. Finally, there's Caster who only has 1 np but with boosts is at Bankai level. Then the two remaining Servants are Assassin and Berserker, and they will get no boosts. So, at their respective base power levels the former is at an 11th seated officer level while the latter is at a 15th officer level. As for their respective nps, Assassin has 1 which is at the sealed zapakuto level and then Berserker is the same way with 1 np and same level as Assassin." said Toshiro.

"Even with the last two being a bit lackluster, the fact that most of them have nps that are at Bankai level is pretty intimidating. What about threat assessment?" asked Renji.

We've been around Tokiomi and he's a traditionalist in that he'll follow protocols and rules, so he won't interfere with Jeanne. The rest of the group, save for Kirei, will either go along with his decision or like Kariya and Sakura, not interfere when they know we are working with Jeanne. The only true outlier is Kirei as we've never met him before. Though what little Kariya has told us he falls into the following the lead part so far but I'm just not sure on that one. As a side note I think the Blue Faction has a decent chance of winning the Grail war as more than half are powerhouses in their own right." said Yoruichi.

"So the next one is the Black Faction, right? Since they're the only other one we have a full set of." said Ichigo. "We only have Saber of Black and he got no boosts. So do we go down the line starting with Archer or Berserker?" he asked.

"Let's start with Berserker and work our way up to Archer." Rukia decided. Jeanne took a swig of her water before she began.

"Alright. Then I'll start. Berserker of Black. True Name Frankenstein's Monster." she began only for Rukia and Ichigo to react.

"You mean that magenta haired girl with heterochromia is the Frankenstein's Monster?!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Who's that?" asked Rukia confused.

"Frankenstein is a gothic horror novel and one of the most well-known horror monsters in popular culture. The novel itself is almost 200 years old. Only werewolves and Dracula are about or more popular than Frankenstein. But what's kept Frankenstein relevant is the slew of films that have been made over the last 100 years allowing more people to know the story. So, I think it's safe to assume that she has geographical or in this case fame boosts. In the simplest of terms, it's a book that explores the folly of man playing God and the consequences of such an endeavor. In the book Frankenstein is the last name of the scientist who is playing God while the monster is unnamed. Hence why it's referred to as just Frankenstein's monster." explained Kisuke. He then looked over to Ichigo and Rukia. "You said that this Servant was female?" he asked. Both nodded. "Huh. That's unexpected. In the novel the monster is male." Kisuke said looking thoughtful.

"Does the gender of the monster really matter?" asked Jeanne.

"Not really. It's just unexpected." admitted Kisuke. "Anyway, what can you tell us about her parameters?" he asked.

"Okay, Strength is C, Endurance is B, Agility is D, Mana is D, Luck is B, and Np is C." Jeanne rattled off.

"So, without the boosts that means her power level is C or low seated officer probably a 15th seat. But with the boosts her power level is B or high seated officer probably a 6th seat. At best." calculated Kisuke.

"Funny how despite the hype of the Saber Class being the best, in terms of power level, Berserker is stronger than him. As our calculations placed Saber of Black at about 10th to 9th seated officer at best." said Yoruichi clearly amused.

"Is that a testament to how much of a power boost geography or fame plays or a testament to how strong Saber of Black is as he achieved that level without the boosts?" asked Jushiro quirking an eyebrow. This shut Yoruichi up.

"Is there anything we need to know about Berserker of Black aside from her skills and np?" asked Toshiro. Jeanne shook her head. "Fine let's move onto her skills."

"She only has one Class skill and that's Madness enhancement which is D ranked." said Jeanne.

"We've heard of this skill before but what can the skill do at such a low level?" asked Byakuya.

"It just raises the Strength and Endurance parameters, but language ability becomes simple, and continuing complex thoughts becomes difficult. But that's all she gets out of this skill." said Jeanne.

"And Personal Skills?" asked Renji.

"She has 3. They are Galvanism, which is B rank, Wail of the Falsely Living, which is D rank, and finally Overload which is C rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"I don't think we've heard any of these skills mentioned yet. So what do they do?" asked Rukia.

"I'll go in the order I listed them in. Galvanism is the unrestricted conversion and accumulation of energy and bioelectricity. Attacks without substance such as Magical light, Magical wind, Magical bullets, etc. can be converted to electricity and discharged into the environment, nullified. Also, depending on the amount of stored electricity it can be put to use strengthening her body and rapidly repairing any damage she gets. She has the big advantage of efficiently replenishing her energy supply at an abnormally high rate, but since her energy supply is being taken care of by the homunculi in this Great Holy Grail War, that advantage is made useless. Then there's her Wail of the Falsely Living. It's a shrill shout that she can give and increases in power while on Mad Enhancement. It deprives enemies and allies without distinction of their ability to think, and those without the capacity to resist will panic and become unable to breathe. But due to its low rank it will only effect those with D rank magic resistance or lower as it will be read as someone casting some type of spell meant to affect the mind. Finally, she has Overload. In Berserker of Black's case, she converts the energy accumulated with Galvanism into more electricity than the maximum permissible level and bolsters the attack power of her Np up by outputting all of it. Since her body can't bear it, she suffers damage. How much depends on the rank of the attack she's outputting." finished Jeanne.

"Jeez. While the Class Skill seems helpful her personal skills are either rendered useless due to circumstances or they hurt her in the process. So, what about her np?" asked Ichigo looking worried.

"She has two. They are Bridal Chest which is anti-unit and ranked C. And the other is Blasted Tree which is Anti-army, and its rank fluctuates from D-B+." Jeanne rattled off.

"Why the fluctuation?" asked Byakuya curious.

"I'll explain that when we get to that particular np. For now I'll start with her main np called Bridal Chest: A Maiden's Chastity. It's her battle mace that discharges electricity with the appearance of tree branches when used as a striking weapon. Kept on her at all times even while not in battle to power her, the large, spherical orb on the top contains her reactor core, her heart so to speak. Yet it's use as a mace for battle is only it's secondary function. Its primary function is absorbing excess energy from the environment around her. The "fin" on the opposite end of the mace remotely transfers electrical energy to her main body by means of the similar fins on the sides of her head." said Jeanne.

"Wait you mean those gold headphones I saw on her head are actually electrical fins to channel electricity?" asked Ichigo surprised. Jeanne nodded.

"It is a high efficiency implement that continuously gathers and recycles energy wasted by her and gathers energy present in her surroundings to continuously power her by flowing it through her heart and into her Magic Circuits. If she should be exposed to an environment with a high-spirit energy content, such as in combat where the dispersed converted energy discharged by Servants and magi and dissipated into the atmosphere is abundant, the function of Galvanism and the Bridal Chest combine to qualify the Np as a "pseudo-Type II Perpetual Motion Engine. It can even allow her to emulate a Mana Burst to some extent. It is not an all-powerful ability, but it is extremely convenient for her as a Berserker-class Servant whose regular supply of energy can barely last five minutes without the support of her Master's homunculi replacements. Able to fight perpetually at full power without any outside support, the need to rest, or even the need to breathe until the death of the enemy, losing the weapon would put her into a great crisis, but losing her heart would mean her loss almost immediately as well. As a final note, the mace also acts as the means of using her 2nd np." explained Jeanne.

"Have to say that that's a rather ingenious way to make an otherwise high risk, high reward asset actually be viable. Though I question why place her heart inside of a weapon. That seems like a bad idea as the weapon could get damaged." noted Kisuke. "So that just leaves her last one."

"That would be Blasted Tree: The Lightning Tree of Crucifixion. It's based off the idea of lightning either being the inspiration for her creation or that it was the spark that gave her life. But as it is, it's the full powered discharge of all her accumulated spirit energy being used at once. At activation all the electricity is discharged into the surrounding environment as an area of effect attack, taking on the silhouette of a towering tree that "rains down like a waterfall" and scatters homing thunder throughout the surrounding area as everything within a one-hundred-meter radius is completely destroyed. If the opponent is a single enemy at close range, it can be activated from her body rather than Bridal Chest. It is normally a suicide move that involves using tremendous power that she cannot normally handle, causing permanent deactivation, essentially death, as all her functions halt. She can also use her body to bind the opponent as the technique is unleashed. This np only reaches B rank by making a suicide attack. It can be used without releasing the limiters, but the power output is greatly lowered. It reaches C-rank at its absolute best and D-rank at its worst. While able to kill most Servants at full power at close range, it is a hard-to-utilize ability that would require losing her in order to kill only one enemy Servant. Although its usage means her death, the ability has a hidden function the fact that the attack is not simply lightning but rather a power with her very will imbued within it. So long as the will exists, she will never truly perish. This allows for the low possibility of a second Frankenstein to be materialized in the attack's wake, but with her death, it will be impossible for her to witness the result of her actions. As a result, she would be incapable of winning in either a normal Holy Grail War or the Great Holy Grail War unless she had great luck and her Master had excellent judgment." finished Jeanne.

"So in other words, despite her power level all her skills are either rendered useless or hurt her save one and the one helpful one just gives her a boost. Then she's got her two nps one that is actually useful, but her strongest np requires that she sacrifice herself with only the potential of passing her abilities onto another but even then she won't be able to actually come back after her death. Man. This Servant was really just made to be nothing more than a sacrificial pawn at best. It's really kind of heartless and tragic when you think about it." said Renji looking a little sad.

"I find myself in agreement with that sentiment." agreed Jushiro.

"Sadly, mages don't really care as long as they fulfill their goals. So if Berserker of Black fulfills her role and the Black Faction is victorious than she is seen as a necessary steppingstone towards achieving their goals." said Jeanne sadly. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes until Byakuya spoke up.

"While unfortunate, we do still have to look into the rest of the Black Faction. So we will have to move on." said Byakuya evenly. He then looked at Jeanne and motioned for her to continue.

"Very well. The next Servant of Black is Assassin of Black. True name Hassan of the Hundred Faces and the 19th Hassan before his successor was the last Hassan of the Order before it fell into obscurity." said Jeanne.

"I'll admit that I'm curious as to how he got that moniker but I'm sure we'll get to that soon enough. So what are his parameters?" asked Yoruichi looking intrigued.

"His parameters are as follows: Strength is C, Endurance is D, Agility is A, Mana is C, Luck is E, and np is B." Jeanne rattled off.

So since he's also from the Middle East, he gets no boosts and that puts his base power level at C rank or a high seated officer, 6th seat at best." calculated Kisuke. "Anything we should know before we get to his skills and np?" he asked.

"The only thing of note about him is the reason he got the moniker is due to him having a split personality. This Hassan can use a variety of weapons depending on the personality. As each personality has its own expertise, they can handle almost any situation they find themselves in as a result." said Jeanne.

"So, he split himself into 100 different personalities. How does he do that and not go insane?" asked Renji in surprise. Jeanne shrugged.

"Alright let's look at their Skills." said Toshiro.

"He also only has 1 Class skill. That is Presence Concealment which is at A+ rank."

"So it's the same level as Hassan of Serenity's Presence Concealment. So the same info applies to him is well, I presume?" asked Byakuya. "Then let us move onto the Personal Skills." Jeanne nodded.

"He has three. They are Librarian of Knowledge which is ranked C, All kinds of Specializations which is ranked A+, and finally Battle Retreat which is ranked B." Jeanne rattled off.

"None of these sound familiar. So could you elaborate on them?" asked Rukia.

"Battle Retreat is exactly what it sounds like. It just means that they can find a way to get out of a fight. Librarian of Knowledge is the distributed processing of memory through multiple personalities. Knowledge perceived in the past can definitely be reproduced in the memory even if it wasn't acknowledged. Then All Kinds of Specializations is the proper usage of professional skills by arbitrarily switching between the multiple personalities. Tactics, scholarship, espionage, assassination, swindling, rhetoric, and other 32 types of specialties in total can be demonstrated with proficiency of B rank or above." said Jeanne.

"Sounds like these skills are just an extension of his split personality." noted Ichigo. "NP?" he asked.

"That would be Zabaniya: Delusional Illusion. It's ranked B+ and is both a self anti-unit and regular anti-unit. To put it simply, it's his split personality sublimated into an np. Hassan of the Hundred Faces is a single entity, but he possesses a compartmentalized soul and multiple personalities that allow him to divide his spiritual potential into any of 100 separate personalities, though only 80 existences can manifest at one time. Each one is its own separate entity, and the only shared characteristics are their skull masks, black cloaks and race. Their body sizes can be giant, slim, short as children, and some can even be women. They each have their own will, personality, strengths, and weaknesses, and although they are against unnecessary sacrifice, losing one without a specific strength does not directly affect the whole of the others more than losing a finger, but that individual along with their characteristics and abilities will vanish and not be restored to Assassin as a whole. There are personalities that are unfit to be assassins, who are impatient glory-hounds who ignore orders like fools, and individuals who are terrible at ambushes despite being assassins. All existences of Hassan of the Hundred Faces are equal, none of them created or designated as a superior or subordinate of one another nor is any a "real form" or a "offshoot" of the whole. Despite any drawbacks, if one can comprehend their characteristics and apply their skills in the right situations, Hassan of the Hundred Faces can be a very dangerous Servant. They can be split up for reconnaissance, but they have to directly speak to each other to communicate information and decide on orders as they are not connected by telepathy or other similar connections. If the Master has the ability to see through his or her Servant's eyes, he is limited to a single Hassan at any one time. As his statistics are divided among the bodies, it means that they are unable to match any Heroic Spirits in direct combat, nor does it allow him to equal a small army. Though not suitable for combat, their abilities are unparalleled in terms of spying and gathering recon as their Presence Concealment Skill, the inherent Skill of the Assassin class, will not decline in effectiveness. By making maximum use of this, they can transform into an excellent and extraordinary intelligence system. Their high numbers do allow for a final resort strategy to kill an opponent's Master or Servant by sacrificing the greater whole in order to overwhelm the opponent with pure numbers." finished Jeanne.

"So, we've got a Servant that is essentially a one-man intelligence network, and all their skills compliment the np. But that is about all he's good for other than maybe taking out an opponent with all their counterparts." Toshiro assessed.

"Yes but it's best to not underestimate specializations. As those who might be good at one thing can sometimes be victorious if they can apply that to the circumstances correctly." cautioned Jushiro. Toshiro nodded. "So who's next?" he then asked.

"That would be Caster of Black. True Name Medea." said Jeanne.

"That name doesn't sound familiar." commented Renji.

"Medea is a supporting character from the epic poem called the Argonautica or The Argonauts. A group of Greece's greatest heroes who went on a quest to retrieve an item known as the golden fleece. Medea was a princess and sorceress of the city that possessed it. She was compelled to help them by forcibly falling in love by the gods with the Argonauts leader Jason and betrayed her family and country in the process. Thus, she is sometimes called the Witch of Betrayal." recited Byakuya.

"That's more or less correct." said Jeanne.

"Okay so parameters. And considering that she's from Greek Myth I think it's safe to assume that she also gets geographic or fame boosts." said Kisuke. Jeanne nodded.

"Right. So her strength is E, Endurance is D, Agility is C, Mana is A+, Luck is B, and Np is C." rattled off Jeanne.

"So, without the boosts her power level is rank C or low seated officer level probably a 14th seat at best. With the boosts her power level is rank B or high seated officer level probably a 5th seat at best. Again, a pretty significant jump." calculated Kisuke.

"Anything we need to know about her before we move onto her skills and nps?" asked Ichigo. Jeanne nodded.

"Like Caster of Blue, she also has other abilities outside of her named skills. First off, Medea's skill in magecraft ranks her among the top 5 mages in the entire world. This is due to Medea being a magus from the Age of Gods that far surpasses modern magi. She is something from the divine era that shouldn't exist in the Age of Man, so her abilities in magecraft are on an entirely different level than any living magus can produce. She does not need to cast her magecraft like modern magi, as incantations are unnecessary to connect herself with the world. She is always surrounded by divine mysteries of ancient lore, so magic is just something she commands like ordering a dog to attack. Because of this she can use Divine Words. Divine Words are a language from the Age of Gods that modern humans can no longer pronounce that permit the user to enact a fraction of their gods authority, while modern incantations are mainly just a means of self-hypnosis to work one's circuits. Medea's use of Divine words is advanced enough that spells are activated with just a single action, allowing for greater magecraft in an instant than a several aria spell by a modern mage with several years' worth of preparation. She also has a large amount of energy at her disposal, and at normal levels, she is capable of staying in the world for up to two days without an active contract with a Master even though she lacks the Independent Action skill of the Archer class." said Jeanne. This left the Reapers in shock.

"So she may only be a 5th seat but if she used Kido she'd easily be a Master of it." commented Yoruichi after she recovered from her shock. "Do you know any spells she can use?"

"The magecraft she can use is versatile, but I'll try to highlight some of it. Her main offensive spell is Rain of Light: Machia Hecatic Graea, which is a volley of rapidly fired beams of light each with an A rank power of attack. Each beam is capable of destroying the body of a Servant with a direct hit. Just to give you a comparison, the use of one single beam would normally require a magic circle, ten count aria, and one minute of casting for a normal magus, and still thirty seconds with a High-Speed Aria. Medea's Divine Words by contrast allow her to shoot them in rapid succession without any preparation after simply targeting the enemy with either her hand or her staff wand. She can fire them without pause when she has a supply of stored energy, and the result is something that resembles a bombing raid that leaves the ground scorching red. The speed of Medea's spells cannot be exceeded by anyone because she can bring forth divine mysteries from a single word. Equal in speed, it is a battle of power without a "first move" that will end only when one runs out of energy. She also uses Αερο (Aero),which is a plague wind spell that easily minces part of a target's chest as if it were sent through an enormous fan. She also makes use of an electrical attack and Κεραινο (Celaeno). She also has various support spells like Ατλας (Atlas), which freezes the target in place by altering the pressure of the atmosphere to anchor a region of space. Everything in the surrounding is frozen, and it is potent enough to hold even Servants in place. She is able to easily cast it even while using Rain of Light, allowing her to freeze the target before destroying them. Servants are able to break free by surging their spirit energy. She has a constant protection over her, and she can further shield herself with Μαρδοξ (Argos), a protective spell that borrows the concept of the Argos. It is a glass-like barrier that has the same toughness as Heracles's skin and his requires an attack of A rank or higher to pierce him. So naturally this barrier has the same requirement to break it. She can also direct all of her spirit energy into healing herself. If she is too damaged, she will be unable to manipulate the external energy, no matter how much is present. She can also use an extremely strong version of Reinforcement on regular humans, greatly strengthening them and allowing them to harm spiritual bodies like Servants. She cannot utilize a Reality Marble, but she can potentially construct "another world" of the same scale by precisely constructing small magecraft and large magecraft. The time and expenses required to do so would be very vast. She does display Tροψα (Trofa), a Spatial Transportation spell that is an imitation of the True Magic governing teleportation much like the teleportation granted by Command Spells. She is able to transport others at the same time by encircling them with her robe. She can also transport other people to her from far away, allowing her to bring others to her. It's described as being pulled out of the third dimension, being dragged through multiple dimensions, and then finally dropped back into the original dimension, but at a different location. She is able to manipulate her figure and her robe in a number of ways. She can control the spirit energy in the air to become a dense fog that covers her entire body. This allows her to manipulate her appearance by covering herself in darkness like a mirage. Looking like a shadow, she can show herself as she wishes or remain hidden from sight. She can create solid images of herself that will fade away as if she were actually killed upon being attacked. She can control them from a long distance in order to manipulate her Warriors, or she can do it while in battle to create a diversion for her attacks. She can even fake her death by being able to hide herself in her floating cape in an attempt to escape. She can extend her cape as wings for flight, which allows her to maximize her destructive potential with the Rain of Light. She can create Dragon Tooth Warriors to act as basic soldiers to attack enemy Masters and Servants. She can easily control humans and weak Magi and her degree of power allows her to take control of even a magus' body from kilometers away. Due to this, she can easily control anyone in the town from her location. While another magi would have to normally infuse their own spirit energy into the enemy to gain control, Medea is able to take hold of someone with one single cursed word. Normal practice would allow the target fight off such control by forcing the enemy spirit energy out with their own, or by concentrating all of it to one limb so they can regain control of the other three. Medea's use of a single completed spell inserts only a "poison-like element" in one small point on their chest rather than mixing her own spirit energy into their bodies. It is potent enough that it feels as if there is something wrong with their blood vessels themselves, which affects the target's entire body by taking authority over it away from them. This makes it impossible for them to regain control over their bodies. The only way for them to regain control is for her to release them from the spell or to receive outside help. Once given control, she can skew their senses, distorting the vision or rendering them blind. She can eliminate their bodies or minds in a matter of seconds, she can also easily turn humans into "dolls" for her own use. Using "artificial Command Spells", she instills her control upon all the people in a small area like that of a modern high school. They become "things" that execute a single command when they find someone that breaks one of the "three rules" she has established. Medea is able to speak through them and mentions that the implanted order only functions when someone inquires about her. She is also able to manipulate them further, which allows her to have the person kill themselves by stabbing their own neck. Medea is also capable of setting up her own anti-sorcery Bounded Field to greatly diminish the effects of outside magecraft and Noble Phantasms. The method she uses to take the energy is through a witches potion that destroys love. It takes their spirit energy and renders men impotent. It leaves behind the smell of a rotten plant, and it can render a large number of people in various areas in comas." she explained.

"I see that you weren't exaggerating on how versatile or dangerous her magecraft is. And yet you haven't even talked about her other non-magic abilities. Is there a reason for that?" asked Jushiro curious. Jeanne nodded.

"She cannot fight directly against the other Servants. Due to the natural Magic Resistance of Saber, Lancer, and Rider, she is unable to match them in direct combat as a magus. Under normal conditions she may have restrained her Master like a puppet to further her plans, but her soft spot for children which from what we saw her Master is a child, this allows her to make all of the decisions without resorting to such a tactic. If forced into combat, she does have confidence in her own abilities. She is not a threat in a direct confrontation, but rather the most troublesome enemy able to worsen the situation without even showing herself. In a competition against humans, it can be said that she is the most dangerous opponent capable of bringing about the most horrifying and greatest results." finished Jeanne.

"So, in other words, while she is a top-notch magic user, physically she's the weakest of the Servants." noted Toshiro. "Is there any other extra things we should know about her?" Jeanne shook her head no. "Okay then let's look at her Skills."

"She has two class Skills. They are Item construction and territory creation both are A rank." rattled off Jeanne.

"Caster of Blue had both of these skills at either A rank or higher so unless there's something extra to add I think we can skip over them otherwise. So, is there anything you feel you need to add?" asked Byakuya. Jeanne shook her head.

"So moving onto Personal skills, what have we got?" asked Renji.

"She has two. They are High-Speed Divine Words and Teachings of Circe both of which is ranked A. Since I already talked about divine words the only difference for this first skill is that it just assists her in the speed of delivery of the incantations for her divine words casting. The 2nd skill represents the lessons Circe imparted on her when they were studying in a temple of Hecate. This is why she is incredibly powerful as a Caster and why she is so versatile. She was quite literally taught by the goddess of magic and was her prodigy. This skill grants her knowledge of forbidden magic even if she was never properly trained in it when she was alive." explained Jeanne.

"So both skills simply compliment her abilities." Byakuya noted. "That only leaves her noble phantasm." Jeanne nodded.

"She has two. Her main one is called Rule Breaker. It's C rank and an Anti-magecraft np. It appears as a ceremonial dagger that is iridescent and jagged. With it she is capable of dispelling and destroying any kind of magecraft. Whether such an effect is an enchantment, a relationship formed through contact, or even life created through spirit energy. Once it comes into contact with Rule breaker the ensorcelled item or person, enchantments, connections bounded through contracts, and creatures created and maintained by spirit energy, they will all be returned to their original components in a state "before they were made." That said, the blade is blunt and cannot be used for offensive means, being unable to hurt even a regular human. Also, there is a limit to what it is able to dispel, artifacts on the rank of Nps will never be returned to their original state no matter how low their rank. However, the greatest benefit it offers during a Grail War is the ability to sever the connection between an enemy Servant and Master, allowing her to take their Command Seals for her own. She can also turn the dagger on herself, severing her contract with her Master without establishing a new one in its place. This does not seem to do anything to the Command Spells the Master won't lose them after Caster severed their contract this way; however, without a contract, they become vestigial and useless. The downside is that Servants themselves must be the target as it has no effect on the contract from simply stabbing the Master." explained Jeanne. This shocked the Reapers.

"Hold on. So she can essentially steal Servants with this np of hers?" asked Ichigo. Jeanne nodded.

"How many can she take?" asked Yoruichi intrigued.

"As many as she can handle." Jeanne replied.

"Considering it's anti-magic I wonder if she could stab our zanpakuto and sever our connection to them. And would that be it or would she be able to steal them for herself like the Command seals. Cause due to your earlier statement our bonds with our zanpakuto are what allows us to be able to be potential Masters." said Kisuke thinking out loud.

"Given the relationship you all have with your zanpakuto, it just means that if the blades are stabbed then you'll lose your connections to the blade and will have to start from scratch. But that's most likely it." theorized Jeanne.

"Even if that's all it would do, that's still an intimidating np. Does she have another one?" asked Rukia.

"That would be Argon Coin: The Golden Fleece. This is the pelt of the golden winged ram Chrysomallos, given to King Aeëtes of Colchis by Phrixus as a token of his gratitude. It was possessed by Medea, the princess of Colchis, and she was made to blindly love Jason, who was sent to Colchis to retrieve it, by the goddess Aphrodite in order to defeat King Aeëtes. She nullified her father's magic, allowing Jason to obtain it. Despite this there is no rank or type of np tied to it. This is because the fleece itself is nothing special besides being gold. But it can do one thing: summon dragons." revealed Jeanne. This caused everyone to look at her shocked.

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed.

"You're serious?! She can summon an actual dragon with this np?!" exclaimed Renji in surprise voicing everyone's thoughts.

"There is an anecdote in the myth that a dragon will appear if the fleece is thrown on the ground. As an np, Medea also possesses the knowledge on the true summoning Ritual to summon the Guardian Dragon that protected the Golden Fleece of Colchis. But if she has another Servant present at the ritual who has ties to other dragons in myth she can summon those instead. She, however, does not possess the knowledge or means to actually control the beasts once it is summoned. This is because she has no Riding skill or isn't a rider herself, and Dragons are completely immune to magic-based control. Hence why this np goes unused most of the times she is summoned. That being said I'm almost certain this Np is the reason that Yggdmillenia chose to summon Medea, and why Siegfried is their Saber. Because most likely if they're plans don't work out, they'll probably summon a dragon to destroy their enemies and then send out Siegfried to slay it once the dragon did its job." Jeanne theorized.

"Still the fact that she's got this np in the back pocket definitely makes her a Servant to watch out for." noted Yoruichi.

"So in summation, Caster of Black is a complete master of divine Magecraft and extremely versatile possibly on the same level or surpasses even Kido Masters with her abilities. Her skills all compliment her specialty. And she has two nps one that can destroy anything magic based and one that can summon a dragon. The only downside is that physically she's pretty weak." summarized Toshiro.

"And to think that at half strength of her soul she's only at a 5th seats level in terms of base power level. If she was at full strength, she'd be at least at a lieutenant level or even a low captain for sure." Jushiro pointed out.

"So then, who is next?" asked Byakuya.

"That would be the last of the Calvary Class Servants, Rider. True name Astolfo." said Jeanne.

"That name doesn't sound familiar at all either." noted Jushiro.

"Astolfo was one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne. In the Charlemagne Legend of France, he was the son of an English king but turned it down on account of him desiring a life of adventure, and instead became one of Charlemagne's twelve faithful Paladins. Among the Twelve Paladins, Astolfo is most famous for being the most handsome, eternally optimistic, and completely lacking in sense." recited Jeanne.

"Wait so does that last part mean that he's an idiot or just insane. Cause either one sounds like that could be an issue." said Renji.

"All I can say is that he's out of his mind but due to his upstanding morals and principles he's more a benevolent force of chaos." said Jeanne diplomatically.

"Still sounds like he'd be a liability to me." said Renji with a slight chuckle.

"Regardless we still need to assess him like all the other Servants. So does he get geographic boosts?" asked Yoruichi.

"Only if the Grail War took place in Italy or France due to his legends having prominence there otherwise, he gets no boosts." answered Jeanne. "So his parameters are as follows: Strength is D, Endurance is D, Agility is B, Mana is C, Luck is A+, and Np is C." she rattled off.

"So calculated with no boosts that puts his base power level at rank C or low seated officer. 14th seat at best." calculated Kisuke.

"That's odd. In terms of physicality Medea is the weakest of the Black Servants while in terms of base power levels Astolfo is the weakest." noted Toshiro. "Anything else we should know about him?" he asked.

"Only a few things of note. Astolfo's main weapons are a sword and chain mail, neither of which is an np. His sword hanging along his waist, has a sharpness to it that's incomparable with commonplace weapons held by other rank-and-file soldiers. Also, unlike many other Servants, he is a Heroic Spirit whose True Name does not bring about any inherent weaknesses if it is exposed. This is mostly due to the fact that he plays a very minor role in the legends of Charlemagne and even then he's only well known to those that live in the two countries I've mentioned previously." said Jeanne.

"So he's a Servant that despite the age of his legends is pretty weak due to him almost falling into obscurity. Unexpected." noted Kisuke. "Anything else?" he asked.

"This is probably the only time I'll bring luck up into the discussion, but Astolfo boasts high luck which is not just for show; most of the time, what Astolfo does ends up going smoothly for him. Even if he lacks any sense still. A good example I can give is: say he's fighting a hollow and he charges at it, he might trip and stumble but his luck would then kick in and he could land a decisive hit on the creature. Like throwing his sword so he can catch himself. His luck would guarantee that the sword would impale the Hollow's mask and crack it all the way through purifying it and aside from taking a minor tumble he'd be otherwise unharmed." Jeanne explained. This caused several of the reapers to look at her with disbelief then several began laughing their asses off. The only two that didn't laugh or snicker were Byakuya giving a deadpanned stare and Toshiro pinching the brim of his nose to stave off a headache.

"I've heard of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but it sounds like he takes that concept to a whole new level." said Jushiro trying to calm himself though the mirth was still evident in his eyes.

"So he basically falls into success ass backwards. I don't know if I should be jealous or laugh my own ass off in the process." said Renji with a laugh still evident in his tone.

"Alright I think we need to calm down and finish. We still have two more Servants for here and two more factions to look into." said Yoruichi calming down.

"Right so do we move onto his skills?" asked Rukia with a smile still on her face. Jeanne nodded.

"Yes he has 2 class skills. Riding which is A+ and Magic Resistance which is usually D rank but under specific circumstances can get bolstered to A rank. This is tied directly to one of his nps so I'll cover more of that later."

"In that case there is no need to go over these skills in detail as we've seen them both at these levels already so let us move onto his Personal Skills." said Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"He has Monstrous strength which is C- rank, Independent Action which is B rank, and finally Evaporation of Reason which is D rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"That last one doesn't sound like a Skill. That sounds more like a curse." said Ichigo with a slight chuckle. Jeanne says nothing but smiles.

"I'll start with Monstrous Strength. Like Medusa it bolsters him physically, but it curses him to, in his case, receive damage whether it be from his opponent or from the duration of time he uses this skill. The longer the duration the more damage he receives. Independent Action at his rank means that even if he loses his Master, he is able to stay manifested for a period of 2 days. Finally there's his Evaporation of Reason skill. With this skill It is impossible for him to keep secrets. He'll carelessly chatter about his team's weaknesses and True Names, forgetful of important things, etc. A kind of extreme curse. But in exchange, this skill also serves as a form of "Instinct." In other words, during a battle Astolfo is able to, to some extent, feel the optimal course." explained Jeanne.

"So that last one combined with his high luck essentially ensures things go smoothly for him regardless of how bad the situation he finds himself in. While the other two keeps him alive and temporarily boosts his strength. Surprisingly they help out." commented Yoruichi. "So all that leaves is his nps."

"Right. Now I need to let you know something about Astolfo when it comes to nps. Despite Astolfo himself being certainly weak as all of you have repeatedly pointed out, the many Nps he received (or borrowed) in the middle of his adventures are extremely powerful, so he can be fully counted as a war asset. If his Nps weren't taken into account, Astolfo would be considered somewhere between second- and third-rate Servant in terms of strength and skill. As a final note due to his legends having him receiving and borrowing such powerful items, as a Servant it's very possible for him to receive nps from other Servants and potentially utilize them." said Jeanne.

"Wait you mean that it's possible for nps to be used by other Servants besides the ones who actually owned them?" asked Rukia surprised.

"Why was this not brought up earlier?" asked Byakuya quirking an eyebrow.

"Because such an event rarely happens. Almost never. The only way it can happen is if two conditions are met: 1. the two Servants involved in the transaction must agree to such an arrangement and 2. the np in question must be extremely easy to use like simply calling out it's true name or it might not even require that to use. The only one I can think of right now would be Lancer of Silver's spears as those possess passive abilities. Even if Astolfo isn't gifted with the skill to utilize the spear he could still use those nps as they are easy to use but only if Lancer of Silver decided to give them to him in the first place." explained Jeanne. This made all the Reapers thoughtful.

"I will admit that while this idea is fascinating, I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. This is merely a potential issue that might happen. I think we should refocus back on the original discussion." said Jushiro. Then he looked at Jeanne. "I believe we were about to get into Astolfo's nps." he said as he opened the floor to Jeanne as she took yet another swig of water.

"Yes he has 4 nps. They are from weakest to strongest, Trap of Argalia which is D rank and anti-unit, Casseur de Logistille which is C rank and anti-unit self, La Black Luna which is C rank and anti-army, and finally Hippogriff which is B+ rank and is anti-army." Jeanne rattled off.

"Okay let's go in that order then. Starting with his weakest one." suggested Kisuke.

"Fine. Trap of Argalia: Down with a Touch is a shining, ornate golden lance that belonged to Argalia, a knight and prince of Cathay, that was later taken by Astolfo as one of the many treasures obtained through his escapades. it is a spear with a low killing-ability that acts only as a cavalry lance. Although it will still cause the enemy to bleed and kill them should it penetrate their heart, killing is not its primary intent, but it does prove deadly in battle. It's true function was that of a jousting lance which was said to cause anyone it touched with its golden tip to fall. As a result the owner won every one of their matches in jousting tournaments." said Jeanne.

"Okay that's just straight up cheating." commented Ichigo. "But if this lance didn't belong to Astolfo originally then how did he get it?" he asked.

"During a jousting tournament in which the knight Argalia was victorious against all the knights that challenged him in jousting matches, including Astolfo, Argalia ran away from a knight who refused to surrender after being knocked off his horse, someone that Argalia reluctantly fought with his own sword without using his lance but ultimately couldn't match him in combat, and he left his magic lance behind during his flight. While the entire jousting contest was thrown into total chaos, Astolfo, who had broken his own lance earlier, noticed Argalia's lance and since no one claimed it took it for his own never once realizing it's magic properties." Jeanne continued. This caused several in the group to laugh out loud while the others looked amused.

"So he basically just pulled a finder's keeper's mentality, and no one objected to it. And he didn't even realize what it could do." commented Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded and Yoruichi laughed again.

"Naturally, Astolfo won match after match in jousting contests afterwards and kept it with him for many years and battles. Eventually he entrusted this lance to his fellow paladin Bradamante, even then never knowing it had such an ability. As an np the spear's only function is to realize its legend by returning its target to Spiritual Form below the knee when the target is a Servant. It is able to hit anywhere on the target's body, even armor woven from spirit energy, and physically cut the supply to the affected part of the body. With a "wound" attached to the legs of the spiritual body, it is temporarily rendered as impossible to take form as flesh and blood, a form of falling if you will. It possesses an extremely strong compelling force that can "even topple a giant." The only downside is that they can recover in a short period of time from the effects depending on the target. 5 minutes at least for Servants whose overall rank is higher than his up to 15 minutes at most for Servants that are weaker than him." finished Jeanne.

"Makes me wonder if we would be affected by this lance since we are already spirits." said Kisuke thinking out loud.

"It could work similar to your Shibireyubi on us except it just requires its true name to be called out and to be hit by it." theorized Yoruichi. "But we're dealing with hypotheticals." She then turned to Jeanne. "So, what's the next np?" she asked.

"That would be Casseur de Logistille: Destruction Declaration. Its a thick magic-binding leather book specially given by and inherited from a witch named Logistilla, to Astolfo. It contains the ability to shatter any magecraft, granting its owner the passive ability to deal with magecraft of A Rank and below. This is the np that gives Astolfo his fluctuating rank for his Magic Resistance skill. Without it he would be D-rank which he only gets due to him being summoned as a Rider as Sabers, Lancers, and Riders in general usually get that skill as a prerequisite class skill. But there is a caveat to this np specifically. During a Grail war this is the most it can grant him but it's not working at its fullest potential. The reason for this handicap is twofold: 1st is that he's calling it by a false name of Luna Break Manual: Magical All-purpose Tome of Tactics. This is because he's forgotten its true name." she explained.

"HUH!" said the Reapers in disbelief.

"If it's his np how can he not remember its name?" asked Ichigo.

"It is related to the legend of how Astolfo found his reason on the moon. This is where the second handicap comes from. Whenever the moon is visible to Astolfo, he would have no reason for, according to his legend, it would be on the moon. On the other hand, should the moon not be visible, Astolfo regains his reason, thus remembering this Np's True Name. When its True Name is released and the book is read, it becomes possible to break all magecraft excluding Reality Marbles. The only other thing to note is that it's meant exclusively for defensive purposes." explained Jeanne.

"So even though it's quite powerful, only on one night, if that, can he use it to its fullest potential. At least it terms of defense. And the book is useless for offensive abilities." noted Byakuya.

"Can't he just be told the book's true name on the other nights by someone else?" asked Jushiro. Jeanne shook her head.

"Even if you did, he'd forget almost instantly thus you'd have to keep reminding him constantly." Jeanne answered.

"Seems a bit counterintuitive for an otherwise powerful np." noted Toshiro. "Then what can you tell us about the next np?"

"That would be La Black Luna: Magic Flute That Calls Panic. It is a hunting horn granted to Astolfo once again by the good witch Logistilla to, in his legend, drive away a large flock of Harpies. When he uses it, it strikes fear into the hearts of all who hear its sound, prompting instinctive escape. Interestingly enough, it is kept in a small size that can be hung from the belt on his hip but increases in size to encircle his entire body when activated. If those around him are weaker than him or are badly injured, then the damage caused will instantly make all around him become dust that scatters away in the cardinal directions. Its power isn't that great, and while it's effective against small-fry enemies, it's a bit unreliable against other Servants. Especially those with the magic resistance skill as they are completely unaffected by it. However, the true fearsomeness of this Np is the chaos and confusion caused by the shock of its overblown sound. If someone skilled with the flute blows it, it's capable of even taking away all hearing from the targets. Their ability to fight won't necessarily be stopped just by cutting off one of their five senses or by being sent into disorder, but even so, lacking the ability to hear would disadvantage a Servant for a little bit of time at least. It wouldn't be much of a handicap for highly experienced Servants, but during clashes between first-rate Servants, there are times where the slight opening it creates can decide the battle." explained Jeanne.

"But is Astolfo skilled enough to use it to cause that effect?" asked Kisuke. Jeanne shrugged unsure. "Well, if nps can be used by others I wonder if that can extend to us Soul reapers?" he thought aloud. That got everyone's attention.

"You think that it's possible?" asked Toshiro in surprise. He then looked at Jeanne. "Is it?" he asked.

"I would say that it depends. Masters can sometimes use non-np weapons and armaments from their Servants as the melee or defensive armaments that they are meant to be. Nps on the other hand have to have very specific circumstances in order to be used by humans. They either have to be nps that have survived to the present day as relics, passed down lineages for generations, and in that case only those of the bloodline can use it, and the last condition is if the Servant in question was known for giving their items away in their myths like Astolfo, and the np is very easy to use. To use someone other than Astolfo, Karna was known as the hero of charity and was well-known for giving up his armor in myth. So it's possible that his armor could be gifted to the Master in order to protect them as it's protections are continuously active even if he specifically isn't wearing it. But then he loses access to Vasavi Shakti and the Master would most likely die upon trying to use it that, if they even could at all. Now what would happen to a soul reaper using an np, I could only speculate." Jeanne admitted.

"Still it's non the less intriguing." admitted Rukia. "So we're down to his last one what is it?" she asked.

"The last one is called Hippogriff: Otherworldly Phantom Horse. This is the np that grants Astolfo his Rider class in the first place and is the most powerful of all his nps. Astolfo secured Hippogriff from the evil magus Atlante. More specifically, it was obtained from Atlante by Bradamante and then she later loaned it to Astolfo."

"Seems like a pretty roundabout way of getting the damn thing." Renji commented.

"A Hipppogriff appears in the story of "Orlando Furioso" or The Frenzy of Roland. In "that story, Astolfo even goes to the Moon with the Hippogriff in order to save Roland. It boasts great speed, and its demolishing attack as it charges is equal to an A-rank physical attack, although that is not the real value of this mythical beast. The true power of the Hippogriff takes advantage of its "impossible existence" nature and amplifies it, allowing it to perform short bursts of dimensional shift continually and only for an instant. For only a moment, it is able to place itself in an inter-dimensional rift. Therefore, it is able to phase through every single attack. This feature allows both the mount and its rider to be non-observable and immune to damage for a very short period of time. However, it also drains mana rapidly, equal to that of an A-rank Noble Phantasm." explained Jeanne.

"Wait so this thing can temporarily render itself immune to damage by phasing itself and Astolfo through an attack? Did I hear you correctly?" asked Toshiro in shock as were everybody else. Jeanne nodded.

"This is what makes it his most powerful of his nps." said Jeanne.

"So despite being the weakest in terms of power level, his skills and luck carry him through and his nps almost completely compensate for his otherwise lacking in strength. Under a Master with a tactical mind and ability to adapt and timing Astolfo to fight on a moonless night could actually pull out a victory over an opponent. It's just a question of whether they can win the entire war in that one night or not. Have to say that I was expecting to write him off like Berserker of Blue but it seems that was my mistake." summarized Kisuke.

"So that leaves only Lancer and Archer of Black. So, which one do we do first?" asked Jushiro.

"Let's start with Lancer of Black. True name Vlad III or Vlad the Impaler. I do need to let you all know that Vlad gets geographic boosts as Romania is his homeland specifically near his birthplace of Wallachia." said Jeanne.

"Oh yeah. You mentioned that last time and said that you were certain that he'd been summoned due to how close we were to his home. You just didn't know at the time what faction he would be on." said Ichigo as he remembered that conversation. Jeanne nodded.

"That's right. And now I know he's part of the black faction as their lancer." Confirmed Jeanne.

"Alright let's go over his parameters." Said Yoruichi.

"Very well. His strength is B, endurance is B, agility is A, mana is A, luck is D, and np is A." Jeanne rattled off.

"Okay so that puts his overall base power level at B rank or high seated officer. Perhaps a 6th or 5th seat at best but that's without geographic boosts. With the boosts that puts his base power level at A rank or lieutenant level." calculated Kisuke.

"That's the first one of this faction that has even reached that level and that's only because of geographic boosts." said Rukia. "Is there anything we need to know before we get to his skills?" she asked. Jeanne shook her head.

"Nothing that we don't already know." said Jeanne.

"Then let us move onto his skills." said Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"He only has one Class Skill and that is Magic Resistance at B rank." said Jeanne.

"We've seen this skill at this level before so let's move onto his Personal Skills." said Toshiro.

"Very well. He only has one Personal Skill and that's Demonic Defender of the State which is EX Rank. This is the capacity of the Servant to mark a region as his personal dominion by securing the surrounding leylines prior to an engagement, permitting reinforcement of his combat capabilities when fighting in defense. With this skill he is able to transform Trifas and the surrounding areas into the land he rules over as its Lord. Inside this domain, Vlad III acquires a combat bonus comparable to a Berserker's A rank in Mad Enhancement. This allows Vlad III to display some degree of advantage even against top rank Heroic Spirits such as Artoria, who boast of worldwide-class fame. Kazikli Bey is a usable Np only where this skill forms its domain." explained Jeanne.

"In that case, let's get straight to the np." said Jushiro.

"He has two nps. One is the aforementioned Kazikli Bey which is B rank and anti-army and Legend of Dracula which is A+ rank and anti-unit self. I'll start with the former and then cover the latter. Kazıklı Bey is Vlad III's main np in his current summoning as a Lancer and is a sublimation of the legend about the impaled soldiers shown to Mehmed II. I'll try to be quick about the history of this one. During his reign, the punishment of impalement for the general masses was not an unusual penalty in the Northern Mediterranean area that included the Balkan Peninsula and specifically Romania. However when Vlad III came to power, he viewed the nobles as the source of the country's ruin, so he carried out an unprecedented great enforcement of discipline, and in addition to laws designed to curtail their excesses, what became the keystone of that enforcement was the punishment of impalement towards the nobles, the amount of punishment carried out reaching an unprecedented number among the noble classes alone. Vlad was shockingly ruthless in his approach to justice, targeting commoners and the upper-class with equal viciousness. His kingdom became a land of horrors. Thereafter, impalement became his favorite stunt. According to records reported to the Vatican, the number of humans that he impaled during his career is said to have reached 100,000 people, which does not even include the individuals from enemy nations that were executed." she finished. Everyone was looking at her with shock and surprise.

"Never thought I'd say this, but this Vlad guy makes Kenpachi Zaraki look like a decent man. That's not an easy thing to do considering the latter and his reputation." commented Renji looking disgusted.

"So that's the source of the np but what can he do with it as an np?" asked Yoruichi trying to keep focus.

"Within a range of 1 kilometer that he's established as his territory, a maximum of 20 thousand pikes can gradually manifest over time, bursting from the ground to impale opponents. The true characteristic of the ability is its extraordinary quantity as the individual stakes aren't necessarily fast or sharp. But the sight of the pikes imposes a curse-like psychological effect, destabilizing an opponent's mental condition with oppressive anxiety or fear. While there are Nps of the Anti-Army and Anti-Fortress ranks that can kill hundreds and thousands of enemies at once, it is one of the few able to kill over ten thousand people. What's more manifested pikes can remain as a physical barrier that eliminates free ground, and evasion thus becomes less likely with passage of time. Although they are only ordinary stakes, thus Servants are able to dodge and destroy them individually to avoid being pierced, they can be summoned forth upon Lancer's command and them suddenly appearing from the ground makes them difficult to dodge. They can chase after retreating enemies as if predicting their movements, sprout out from already destroyed stakes, and while they target the legs of enemies on the ground, they can also prepare for circumstances like falling enemies. He has great control over their deployment, allowing him to control them with only a single finger to either attack, defend or regulate their movements while maintaining distance from the enemy. He can easily summon five hundred stakes in three seconds, and although he can only summon forth a maximum of two thousand stakes at any one time, he can limitlessly keep producing them so long as he has energy. Vlad III can even cause the stakes to fly out of the ground, able to have them move even throughout the air as he controls them with hand gestures, and assail the enemy from any direction while in his territory. Then he has a spear he personally equips himself with to chase after vulnerable enemies and enact the effect of being "skewered" if it should pierce them. If his spear hits the enemy even once, and as long as they're within his territory, it will cause stakes to be created from within the enemy's body and pierce them from inside out. Originating from the enemy's heart and piercing outward, there is no way to avoid them with speed because the attack manifests as "already ending." When this happens, nothing can be done, and the enemy will end up suffering in excruciating pain until they die or are able to get out of the territory. Only then will it vanish." finished Jeanne.

"Considering how deeply tied to his territory this noble phantasm is, I take it that should he leave his territory he can no longer use it?" asked Byakuya.

"He is able to utilize Kazıklı Bey outside of his territory, but he is only able to produce them from his body. As they are strengthened by his fame boost, leaving his territory or Romania as a whole, will cause them to reduce in power and sharpness. Using Legend of Dracula seals the Noble Phantasm, but the vampire is able to produce similar stakes." answered Jeanne.

"Considering Byakuya's bankai being what it is, I can't help but wonder what would happen if the two of you battled who would be the victor." said Jushiro thoughtful.

"I'd pay money to see that fight." commented Ichigo with a smirk while Byakuya glared at him, clearly annoyed.

"Alright since you mentioned his other np, what can you tell us about it?" asked Kisuke.

"That would be Legend of Dracula: The Succession of Blood. It is an ability that reproduces the legend of Dracula, gained by Vlad III through the distortion of his heroic legend. In Romania, Vlad is treated as a hero, but this Np releases his abilities as the "Vampire Dracula", who possesses great fame worldwide outside of his home country. When hearing of the word "vampire", people think of the "vampire Dracula" who was created using Vlad III as a base. Its usage allows him to alter his aspect to become the blood-sucking vampire modeled after him, turning him from a Heroic Spirit into a literal monster. As a Lancer, his hatred of what the effect of the legend has had on him will make him refuse to use the Np even should it mean his death, requiring a Command Spell to force him to use it and the price of his Master's life as he makes them pay for the transgression. In fact, I suspect that his wish is in fact to destroy the very existence of the legacy of Dracula as Vlad III sees himself as a warrior of the Christan faith and to have him be remembered as the basis of a fictional monster and one that is anti-Christian at that is the ultimate insult to him as a Heroic Spirit." explained Jeanne.

"Considering the fact that he was known for killing people in such brutal and inhumane fashions, regardless of justification, is it really so shocking to him that people saw him as a monster and therefore used him to help create one that is known the world over?" asked Byakuya.

"Hold on, Byakuya. Some could argue that the way we kill Hollows is inhumane as well. While I personally don't care for the way Vlad treated people, I have to ask, would you appreciate it if people took one look at how your zanpakuto worked, created a fictional monster with you as the basis and even though you benefited from the fame you'd be remembered as the progenitor of said monster?" asked Jushiro. This caused Byakuya to grow thoughtful before he spoke.

"Your point has been made." admitted Byakuya.

"I assume that upon being activated he transforms into the vampire Dracula." asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"Upon transforming, his normal Skills and Noble Phantasms are sealed, causing his personal spear to vanish like dust as his "aspect as a hero is extinguished." He gains blood-red eyes, displaying a great amount of cruelty, but loses his normal look of intelligence. He gains fangs and claws, his normally aristocratic clothes become torn, and his flesh and blood take the form of shadows with mass. It boosts all of his attributes, grants a "black cloak that melts into the night" able to produce stakes within his body similar to Kazikli Bey to stab his enemies, grants the capacity to shapeshift into mist and assorted animals, grants the ability to turn others, even Servants, into vampire comrades through blood-sucking. Within this state, physical attacks that would normally hurt and kill a Servant no longer affect him, allowing him to remove projectiles from his body without a single drop of blood leaking out and take strikes to the heart that would destroy his spiritual core without issue. Though his thought processes are weakened equivalent to the effect of Mad Enhancement, if you look at his overall abilities, his strength is greater in this form than Vlad III as a sovereign. He can use his transformation ability to become a giant dog to attack enemies and easily dodge attacks and quickly remove projectiles as a flock of bats or mist, negating all physical damage while in these forms; however, targeting the bats with magecraft or using flames on the mist can still damage him. I will say that he could be the greatest threat to the Holy Grail War in this state. The vampire's very "concept" is something that mixes, joins, and fuses history and legend together. Should it also adopt Vlad III's power and fame, like returning to his birthplace, it would become a "Grand Guignol" that slaughters the people of the country, creating the Night of Wallachia." said Jeanne. That got everyone looking at her in worry.

"That is very concerning." said Renji voicing what was on everyone's minds.

"Does he have any weaknesses when he's in this state?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes, he does possess two major weaknesses: daylight and holy symbols. He will become weaker during the day, and he has a weakness to holy implements like my Luminosité Eternelle, Black Keys that would normally do-little damage to a regular Servant, and Baptism Rites." Jeanne reassured them.

"And Black keys are essentially living world zanpakutos but without the zanpakuto spirits so then that means that our zanpakutos can actually hurt him as well." added Kisuke with a sly smile. This caused the other reapers to breathe a sigh of relief.

"So in summation, this Servant is the first of this faction to reach lieutenant level for power level, has only two skills, one that is entirely tied to needing to be on his homeland in order to be effective. And the same can be said with one of his nps. While the other np is one that this incarnation of him hates to the point that he'll only use it if his Master forces him to and then he'll become a potential threat to everyone around him to the point of causing a potential apocalypse if the situation isn't handled with care but that np has some very potent weaknesses that we can exploit if the need arises." Toshiro summed up. "So, all that's left is Archer of Black, correct?" he asked. Jeanne nodded taking a swig of water.

"Yes. Archer of Black. True name Chiron. Often referred to as the Teacher of Heroes." said Jeanne.

"Really? That was Chiron but he looked so different from legends." said Ichigo in shock.

"Huh. I'm surprised that none of you mentioned that you encountered a centaur." said Kisuke. Rukia looked at him weirdly.

"We didn't and what's a centaur?" asked Rukia.

"I'm kind of curious about that myself." said Renji with the other Reapers, except Byakuya, looking at the group in Romania curiously. Yoruichi smacked herself in the head.

"Right, I forgot. None of you would have any idea about what we're talking about as aside from Byakuya most of you wouldn't have bothered to look into a mythology book. Let alone one on Greek mythology." said Yoruichi.

"So . . .?" asked Renji.

"A centaur is a creature of myth that is composed of a human making up the top section and a horse making up the lower section. Specifically from the waist up they are human in form while below they have almost the entirety of the horse's form save for the neck and head." said Byakuya with closed eyes and frowning. He then opened them. "You're saying that you saw no such thing while you were with him?" he asked. Rukia nodded.

"Yeah. The only noticeable thing about him was his extremely long brown hair as it went all the way to his knees even though it was tied up." she stated.

"Actually you both saw his tail and hair." said Jeanne.

"WHAT!?" the two teens looked at her in surprise.

"Yes. His brown hair actually only goes to his waist, while his horse tail starts there and goes to his knees. But because of how his hair is arranged and both are the same color, one could at a glance mistake it as one long braid." said Jeanne shrugging.

"But he looked human otherwise. So how does that work if his original form is a Centaur?" asked Ichigo clearly confused.

"I thought I mentioned this earlier. Servants can alter their forms slightly when being summoned. It can be because it suits their tastes, practicality, or perhaps it's for convenience. The possibilities are endless for why they alter their forms on summoning. In Chiron's case I can hazard a guess, but we need to cover his parameters first before I share my theory." said Jeanne. That seemed to get everyone refocused on the situation.

"Right. Sorry about the tangent. So, his parameters and since he's Greek I think we can assume worldwide fame. So we'll need to account for boosts." said Kisuke.

"Okay so his parameters are as follows: Strength is B, Endurance is B, Agility is A+, Mana is B, Luck is C, and his Np is A." Jeanne rattled off.

"Okay so calculated without the boosts that puts his base power level at B+ rank. So a 4th or 3rd seat, almost a lieutenant. And with the boosts his power level is at A+ rank. So a high end lieutenant level almost a captain. That's the highest level we've seen for this entire faction." calculated Kisuke.

"So why would Chiron alter his form so radically?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, you first need to know who Chiron is. Chiron was born of Kronos, patron of the harvest and the earth as well as the titan of time and king of the titans before the Olympians took over the heavens in Greece. After the births of all his half-siblings, all of which would later become major deities in the Olympic pantheon, including Zues the next king of the gods and youngest of the Olympians, Kronos forced himself onto Chiron's mother the sea nymph Philyra. What made the encounter all the more traumatic is that he did the deed in the shape of a stallion. Thus Chiron was born as half man and half horse. Since he was the son of a titan he was immortal and his mother a nymph he inherited her eternal youth. As a result, he was technically born a divine spirit and would normally not be able to be summoned to the throne unless it was due to very special circumstances." explained Jeanne looking uncomfortable. The soul reapers cringed save for Byakuya who frowned.

"So, he got the jackpot in terms of the genetic lottery but not off to the best start in life." commented Yoruichi cautiously.

"There's a reason I only gave a Greek mythology a cursory glance after reading the creation myth and how the Olympians came to be. Zues was a notorious philanderer to put it in the politest terms possible. I could not enjoy a mythos that had that kind of leader as its head." said Byakuya sternly.

"So how is he able to be summoned as a Servant and what does this have to do with his human-like appearance?" asked Ichigo.

"Because just before the start of the Trojan War Chiron was accidentally hit by an arrow dipped in hydra venom by one of his students Heracles. Being immortal he couldn't die but he also couldn't heal himself from the injury thus he was in constant agony. He eventually abandoned his own immortality in order to be released from it. It was then that he lost his complete Divinity along with his immortality, and he became a Heroic Spirit that could be summoned by the Holy Grail. As a further reward his older half-brother Zues had him become the model for the constellation Sagittarius, the Archer in the sky. Due to this Chiron is the most famous Archer in the world. Thus, to anyone who sees the form of Chiron, the centaurs would immediately come to mind — Narrowing it down to the more famous heroes, his would be the first name to appear, all the more given his bow in hand." explained Jeanne.

"Ah hence the reason for his altered form. A means of hiding his identity. Good Strategy." acknowledged Toshiro. "Is the change to humanoid form permanent for as long as he's summoned and are there any demerits he suffers from due to this drastic change in appearance?" he asked. Jeanne shrugged.

"I don't know for sure on the former question, but I do know that should he be able to use his centaur form he would be faster than his student Achilles who among Servants is said to be the fastest hero in existence." said Jeanne. That got Yoruichi and Byakuya's attention.

"Really?" she asked looking intrigued. Jeanne, missing her tone merely nodded.

"He doesn't suffer any demerits other than his speed being slower but only below his student Achilles slightly. So, I can't really call that a demerit as that does not particularly affect his skill with the bow and he boasts specs high enough for him to be called a first-rate Servant — to an extremely abnormal extent in a certain sense. Chiron is a Heroic Spirit with a long history of experience as a warrior. Archer's strength and discernment are both excellent. Always levelheaded and thinking ahead, he is able to capitalize on openings so small that they would not even be perceived as such by other Servants. Likewise, Archer boasts the incredible agility to successfully capitalize on these moments. Archer's great composure also makes it extremely difficult for himself to show any openings due to fear or surprise during combat. A normal arrow shot by Chiron would definitely kill everything in its path doing at least B rank damage for every arrow fired. But one of Chiron's special attacks is "—αστραπη χειμων: Ferocity is the Hammer of the Gods", which consists of three arrows fired simultaneously all filled with as much Energy as they can take. Then when fired and on impact they can cause A rank damage. And keep in mind that this isn't even his np." explained Jeanne.

"So it's like fighting someone who's a combination of Ukitake and Byakuya. Well at least since he's an Archer he can only fight at range." assessed Yoruichi.

"Not exactly. Although most Archers would usually be in great trouble facing a proficient close range fighter in hand to hand combat, Chiron is able to easily do this. Having been granted the wisdom and skills required to educate many great heroes, Chiron also acquired mastery over Pankration; the world's oldest mixed martial arts spoken of in Ancient Greek tales. It combines techniques from both boxing and wrestling, but he is also quite proficient with utilizing his legs offensively as well. His locks and throws are extremely well done and possess terrifying effectiveness. He's also very skilled in using a sword and spear. On top of all that, he's also an excellent healer as I, Ichigo, and Rukia can attest, I'm sure." she said as both nodded in confirmation. "Whether Chiron is summoned in a normal Holy Grail War, or a special format like our current predicament, he will always be a candidate for victory. If Chiron has a weakness, it is that he lacks a decisive trump card. His only other weakness is against the brute force approach that throws away all wisdom or intelligence, his strong points fade away." Jeanne finished.

"Damn it really is like Captain Ukitake and Captain Kuchiki had a love child together." said Kisuke highly amused along with almost everyone else save for Toshiro and Byakuya. The former giving a neutral expression and the latter frowning in clear annoyance.

"As amusing as this is, we need to look at his skills." said Jushiro with an amused tone.

"Right he's got two class skills and they are Independent Action at A rank and Magic Resistance at B rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"We've heard of both of these skills at this levels so let's move onto his Personal Skills." suggested Toshiro. Jeanne nodded.

"Right he has 4 personal skills. They are Divinity which is C rank, Clairvoyance which is B+ rank, Mind's Eye True which is A rank, and finally Wisdom of Divine Gift which is A+ rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Aside from divinity we've not covered any of these other skills And we haven't come across the divinity skill at this rank. So let's go in the order you presented them and then move onto the nps." suggested Jushiro. Jeanne nodded.

"Very Well. Despite being an existence born between the king of the titans and a nymph, this skill is a reflection of his lost status as a fully divine spirit but he still possesses no human blood within him, so the rank is at C for this reason. Mind's Eye (True) is Insight fostered from training, discipline. Calmly understanding the ability of the opponent and the situation of the predicament one is in, and through combat, logic is able to figure out a way to get out of such a situation. This is different from its direct counterpart of Mind's eye (False) which is just instinctual. Then there's Clairvoyance. Essentially this is Enhanced Eyesight. Chiron can capture with his eyes far-off targets up to about 15 kilometers from his location, thanks to this skill improving his dynamic vision. But where this skill really shines is by combining it with his Mind's Eye (True), where by doing so makes limited future sight possible." said Jeanne.

"So he can see an attack coming and be able to counter it before it happens?" asked Renji. Jeanne nodded.

"When the three of you went into Bankai, while I lacked any knowledge of what that was besides what was talked about, if Chiron were to face off against any of you his combo foresight skill would allow him to realize that you were about to unleash bankai and either try to prevent it from happening or knock you out before you can do so." said Jeanne.

"Makes me wonder if all these demigods were to come to the soul society what would happen?" thought Kisuke offhandedly. This caught everyone off guard. "Would they be gods that could surpass even those like the Head Captain? Or perhaps even . . ." he started until Yoruichi flicked him on the forehead.

"Quit getting distracted by tangents, Kisuke. We still have to look into two more factions. Now we still have to get through the last skill." said Yoruichi.

"That would be Wisdom of Divine Gift. These are the various wisdoms bestowed upon him by the Greek gods. Having taught many heroes as a sage, including Asclepius who later became the god of medicine, he is an expert on healing as I mentioned previously. He can easily diagnose someone in an instant by scanning over every part of their body with his marksman's eyes, checking their pulse, and placing a hand over their heart. During fights he's also demonstrated a skill similar to Presence Concealment of Assassins in order to hide from the enemy. It's also through this that he can fight using other weapons allowing him to step outside the role of an Archer. However, these skills are based on the techniques of Greece's mythic era, and as such Chiron cannot acquire skills developed in another time and place. Unique skills limited to a specific individual such as Imperial Privilege or Pioneer of the Stars, which is a skill where all difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" turn into "events that can be realized". Or to put it another way it allows a Servant to navigate their way through something whether it be a battle of a journey and give them the ability to see a solution to the problem, but they still have to make that solution happen. These two skills and others like them fall outside the scope of Wisdom of Divine Gift. But in exchange he can grant skills to other Servants with his Master's permission." finished Jeanne.

"I have to say while the Wisdom of divine gift is impressive, the fact that other skills that are actually even more broken than that is more than a little terrifying." admitted Ichigo. "So, what is his np?" he asked.

"That would be Antares Snipe: A Single Shot at the Celestial Scorpion. It's an A rank, anti-unit np. It's the embodiment of his legend where he is said to always be aiming at the Scorpion in the sky after being turned into the Sagittarius constellation. It manifests as a sniping Np that "shoots a shining star", based on Chiron being said to have attained the ultimate shot an Archer can reach by piercing a star. It is a conceptual materialization of the constellation, but it is not limited to being activated when the constellation appears in the sky. But it can only be used once per night, limiting its usage to around fourteen times in an average two-week typical Holy Grail War. It is not a shot fired from his bow, but a star that shoots a "comet shot", possessing a tracking ability to hit its target. It is capable of being fired the moment he decides on the target by simply pointing his finger to the sky, and it is unique in that it does not require its True Name to be released or for it to be filled with energy to activate it because "As long as there is a night sky, 'the star of the archer always aims at the scorpion.'" It has a secondary effect, but there is extremely little chance of it being spoken of even if the Np is used. But upon Chiron's death, the ability will automatically be activated as a parting shot. The only other known weakness is despite having a high rank, it possesses low attack power, so it must be planned out as to fatally hit the target as much as possible with each use for maximum efficiency. Should the target not possess any weak-points, Chiron may deduce the ability to not be viable to utilize." finished Jeanne.

"So he can literally harness the power of the stars to be his arrow to pick us off at his leisure and unless we knew when it was coming he could do so before we had a chance to react. Granted he can only use it once per night but considering how skilled a warrior he is. It makes him pretty terrifying." summarized Renji looking nervous.

"Overall, I would say that this Chiron is the most formidable Servant of the Black Faction." Byakuya commented.

"Alright then all that's left is the overall assessment of the Black Faction. Same as we did with the Blue, but we'll have to wait for the information on the Masters later. So of the 7 Servants, only half of them we have to keep in mind for boosts to their power levels and nps. The rest we can leave as is. And on that note let's start with the ones that don't require boosts." suggested Yoruichi.

"That would be Saber, Rider, and Assassin of Black." Ichigo listed off.

"Okay. So Saber we've concluded is at 10th seated officer level with 2 useable nps. 1 is Shikai level almost low level bankai and the other is a low level bankai but can get boosted up to a high level Bankai. Rider we've concluded is at a 14th seated officer level with 4 nps. 1 is potentially able to be destroyed easily by a sealed zanpakuto due to its D rank being weaker than that, 2 are at the level of a sealed zanpakuto, and his last one is Shikai level almost a Bankai. Finally, Assassin we've concluded is at a 6th seated officer level making him the highest ranked of this trio but he only has 1 np and that's Shikai level almost a Bankai level." calculated Kisuke.

"Not exactly off to a promising start as Saber is the only one with a Bankai level np." noted Rukia.

"Well let's get to the other half as they all have boosts. So that would be Berserker, Caster, Lancer, and Archer of Black. Berserker we've determined is at a 6th seated officer level with 2 nps, 1 that, with boosts, is at a Shikai level and the other's level fluctuates from being at a sealed zanpakuto level to being as powerful as a high level Bankai but would kill her in the process if she goes to the latter level. Caster we've determined is at a 5th seated officer level with 1 actual np that is only at shikai level. Then we've got Archer who we've determined is at a Lieutenant level and has 1 np which is at a high level Bankai and is consistently the strongest of Black Faction Servants due to Lancer fluctuating rank. Lancer we've determined is highly dependent on his location. If inside his 1-kilometer territory or Romania as a whole, he's at a lieutenant level, outside that he's at 5th or 6th seated officer at best. He has two nps with one also being tied to his territory but even in Romania as a whole it's rank is a low Bankai but outside that it's Shikai at best. As for his other one that isn't tied to his territory, that one boosted is at a high level Bankai in Romania but outside is a low level Bankai." calculated Kisuke.

"I have to say that this group is certainly a mixed bag. On the one hand the highest level they reach in terms of base power levels is a lieutenant level. Not to mention that about half of them are as high as they are thanks to fame boosts. But taking into account that only a portion of their souls are present and the fact that half of them possess nps that are, fame boosted or otherwise, at Bankai level even in their current state, makes me worried how well we'd do against such a group especially if they were at full strength." assessed Jushiro.

"It is best to not think about this in terms of theocraticals. I will say that while I can see Lancer and Archer as surviving past the halfway mark of the war, I do not see how any other members of their faction would last that long given their weak base power level. Especially when compared to the blue faction." added Byakuya. On this no one disagreed.

"Okay. We've got two factions left. That would be the Silver and Gold Factions. Which one do we want to do? If we do Silver, who we already have two finished, we'll just have 4 to add on to tonight and only have 1 left to investigate. Gold we'll be starting from scratch and will only get 5 Servants done for this faction. And we can't do a full team assessment with these two either." said Yoruichi.

"I say we start with the Faction that has the least number of Servants to look into and then we'll finish out the gold Faction." said Rukia. "And furthermore let's start with Assassin and work our way up to Saber." she added.

"Alright. The only Servant for this faction we don't know yet is Berserker of Silver. And we've already done Archer and Lancer of Silver. So starting with Assassin of Silver, her True name is Jack the Ripper." said Jeanne. This caused Ichigo, Urahara, Yoruichi, and Jushiro to be caught off guard. Meanwhile Byakuya, Toshiro, Renji, and Rukia all looked nonplussed.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the former group. "JACK THE RIPPER!"

"Who's that?" asked Rukia curiously.

"Right. You four were too young to know about that incident and since it resolved itself shortly afterward and the records, while publicly available, were left to gather dust as the case was considered closed due to no further appearances by the hollow in question." said Jushiro.

"Wait, Hollow? You mean Jack the Ripper was a Hollow?" asked Ichigo in surprise. Jeanne looked puzzled. Jushiro nodded.

"For those who don't know, during the fall of 1888, 5 women, all prostitutes, were murdered in very grisly fashions in the Whitechapel district of London, England. But the killer was never identified. Thus, press at the time gave the killer the name Jack the ripper. However what isn't known is that several members of squad 4 were also murdered in similar fashions to those women. As the number grew to 4 prostitutes and 3 soul reapers, granted they were unseated officers, but the fact that they were disappearing around the same time and area warranted Captain Unohana asking for help from another squad. I instantly offered to help thinking that it was a hollow and sent my then 3rd seat Kaien Shiba there to investigate." explained Jushiro.

"Lieu- sorry Lord Shiba was sent to investigate those killings, Captain?" Rukia asked in surprise though correcting herself to be proper. Jushiro gave a small smile and nodded then continued.

"He stayed and investigated for two months and actually did find the body of the last confirmed prostitute victim of this Jack the ripper but never found any trace of them. His report was a bit peculiar though. He talked about how he is certain that he encountered them and even fought them and could say for certain that if it was a hollow it was one that was extremely agile and used hit and run tactics in the fog there but he couldn't recall what they looked like." said Jushiro. This surprised everyone.

"Was it due to the fog that they were fighting in?" asked Yoruichi. Jushiro shook his head.

"Kaien did recall several times during his one encounter with who he suspected was Jack the ripper that it was light enough to actually see them but after the individual disengaged and ran away, he suddenly couldn't remember who he had just fought." confessed Jushiro.

"Could it have been one of Aizen's experimental Hollows and that was its special ability?" asked Byakuya.

"Possible, but that sounds similar to one of the skills of this Servant version's Jack the ripper." said Jeanne. She then looked to Ichigo and Rukia. "Ichigo, Rukia do either of you recall who we saw when we encountered the Silver Faction with that family of Masters?" she asked.

"I'm not the best of remembering names and faces unless I go out of my way to commit them to memory. So I wouldn't know either way." admitted Ichigo. Rukia seemed to be in deep thought then gasped in surprise.

"What is it, Ms. Kuchiki?" asked Kisuke eyeing her with interest.

"Jeanne were there 5 Servants with them or 6?" Rukia asked.

"Six. Why?" asked Jeanne.

"Because I can only recall the faces of 5 with perfect clairity and even the faces of the family you identified as Masters but that last one I can't recall at all." said Rukia with shock evident in her voice. As were all the other Soul Reapers. Jeanne nodded her head as she seemed to be expecting this.

"So that confirms that, that particular Servant's skill does affect soul reapers. I wasn't sure til now." said Jeanne.

"And what skill would that be?" asked Toshiro.

"I think we better start the assessment of this Servant and I'll explain as we go." suggested Jeanne. On this no one objected. "Okay. Strength is C, Endurance is C, Agility is A, Mana is C, Luck is E, and Np is C. And considering the worldwide fame we'll need to account for boosts as they are treated the same as geographic boosts. So rank up once for all parameters and np." rattled off Jeanne.

"Alright. So without boosts that puts her overall power level at C rank or low seated officer maybe 15th or 14th seat at best. And with boosts the power level is at B rank or high seated officer maybe 6th seat at best." calculated Kisuke.

"Anything that we need to know outside of her skills and np?" asked Toshiro. Jeanne nodded.

"Compared to other Servants who have garnered legends over centuries and millennia, she is a young Heroic Spirit of only over one hundred years old. Even with the fame she garnered that gives her the necessary boosts befitting of a Heroic Spirit, she cannot hope to match those worshiped as gods and heroes with such little history of her own. This is because of what she is." said Jeanne.

"Wait, she? But isn't Jack a guy's name?" asked Renji confused.

"I'm getting to that. Her true nature is that of a collection of wraiths born from the aborted children of prostitutes in Whitechapel, London. Once the number of aborted children who were disposed of in rivers reached the ten-thousands, the collection of resentment that the children shared eventually formed the shape of a human. In this instance a young girl. Because she was created from 80,000 children who had yet to even be born, she lacked common sense and morality, and simply killed prostitutes so she could return to the womb. To put it another way, this is the heretical Jack who was born from the "side of the victims". As she killed and heard about the name that her killings spawned. She took it as her own and from then on thought of herself as Jack the Ripper." explained Jeanne.

"But then that would make her a Hollow. And if she was comprised of over 80,000 children souls she would be at least an Adjuchas class level Hollow or she would already be at a Vasto Lorde level at worst. Neither of which usually come to the living world." said Jushiro in shock. The other reapers were also looking shocked as well.

"In this timeline, Jack the Ripper may very well have been a hollow, but this version as a Servant could have easily came from a different timeline where soul reapers and hollows don't exist, and she was simply summoned due to good compatibility with her Master only, or they found a catalyst with ties to Jack the Ripper to be used for the summoning and the Throne just selected the one that was the most compatible that way. Afterall, I did tell you about the existence of the multiverse being real and we have two alternate timeline variations of King Arthur here for this war. So why would this be too far-fetched?" asked Jeanne. This got a lot of reapers to consider this.

"You make a good case. Alright we'll table that for now and continue with the original discussion. Anything else we should know before we go into her skills and np?" asked Kisuke.

"She can utilize the other spirits comprising her to possess children to act both as her soldiers and hostages. If her heart is pieced, the spirits are released from the focal point that is "Jack the Ripper", like a stream of black mud-like mass from her mouth. These spirits attack the nearest living being to trap their victim in an illusion of Whitechapel formed from their memories. Think of it as pseudo-reality marble. It is an inner world that is meant to embody Jack the ripper's origin and shows the ugliness of humans. The illusion is destroyed if all the spirits are exorcised. Then there is the fact that due to being a murderer, their efficiency as a "soul eater" is extremely high. Due to her nature as chaotic evil, an existence that preaches chaos in the face of order while carrying out evil deeds, souls of the same nature are more easily digested. Eating evil people is the best for her because it is more polluted and delicious. She mainly eats the hearts of her other targets instead of devouring them fully." continued Jeanne. This made the Reapers very uncomfortable.

"That behavior sounds very hollow-like to me save for the fact that evil souls taste better to her." said Toshiro voicing what everyone else was thinking. "Anything else?" he then asked. Jeanne nodded.

"Her weapons include four strangely shaped knives, two butcher's knives, and a black, bloodstained scalpel. However, in addition, she possesses an unknown number of other black scalpels that she uses as throwing projectiles. She is capable of holding up to four per hand for a total of eight and throw them simultaneously. And with that I think we can safely move onto her Skills. She has one class skill and that's Presence Concealment ranked A+." said Jeanne.

"We do not need to go into further detail on this skill as we have seen it before at either the same or at least at a similar level. Unless there is something extra that needs to be added." said Byakuya.

"Only that when this Skill combines with one of her Personal ones she's guaranteed a first surprise attack against her opponents." said Jeanne.

"And which skill would that be?" asked Rukia.

"That would be Murder on a Misty Night which is A Rank. Since her characteristics are that of a murderer rather than an assassin's, she, the assailant, always gets the first move against the enemy, the victim. However, this only applies at night with both Presence concealment and this skill active. Together these combined skills guarantee a first surprise strike. During the day however, both her class skill, this one, and luck are required and even then without the latter, their attacks can be sense and countered. As for her other Personal skills she has 3 more they are Mental pollution at C rank, Surgical procedure which is E rank and finally Information Erasure which is B rank." Jeanne finished.

"None of these skills sound familiar but is it safe to assume that the last one is exactly what it says it does?" asked Toshiro. Jeanne nodded.

"Information Erasure is when the very second battle is finished, eyewitnesses and opponents' memories about information concerning her abilities, True Name, appearance etc all disappear. Even if the battle took place in broad daylight or was recorded on a device such as a camera though I don't know if that is applicable to iPhones, this skill will still take effect. To counter this, one must either deduce her identity from evidence left at the scene, hold her contract as her master or in this case be part of the same faction as her or have a skill like mine as where I can discern the true nature of a Servant at a glance. I have no doubt that I'm probably the only one here who would be unaffected by this skill." explained Jeanne.

"And the last two?" asked Yoruichi.

Surgical Procedure is where she, using her blood-stained scalpels, can provide medical treatment to the Master as well as herself. Essentially healing them both. The techniques are from 120 years or so in the past but can be improved a little with mana. The reason she has this skill is because the legend had Jack the Ripper killed victims in ways that would require anatomical knowledge, such as removal of specific organs. Hence why she can do this despite her childlike appearance and mental state. Finally, her last skill is Mental Pollution. Which is essentially a twisted version of Madness enhancement but is specific to Jack the Ripper as an Assassin. As it currently is any magecraft with Mental Interference abilities has a medium chance of being blocked by her. Where this gets twisted is if her Master has an evil alignment, or is generally cruel to her, this mental pollution gradually rises thus increasing her chances of blocking that kind of magecraft. But the cost is that her already broken spirit will begin to irreversibly corrupt." Jeanne finished. The Soul reapers expressions looked like a cross between disgusted and saddened.

"You're really not selling us on the idea that she's not already a hollow and the fact that a mage family has something like that at their disposal makes me very concerned about the people who will be only bystanders for this war." noted Kisuke. "Okay so let's get this over with. What is her np?" he then asked.

"She has two. One in known simply as the mist which is a barrier type np and is C rank and the other is maria the ripper which is anti-unit and has a fluctuating rank from D-B rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"So it's similar to Frankenstein's Monster's np of Blasted tree. Does that mean that there are conditions also that have to be met in order to maximize its potential?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"Why don't we start with the lower ranked one first?" asked Ichigo.

"Very well. The Mist: Darkened Misty Metropolis is a Bounded Field Np that is usually generated from an antique lantern that she keeps on her person. Upon opening the shutter and gently touching the candle inside, the lit flame instantly begins to generate smoke-like mist from the bottom of the lantern. The mist, heavily mixed with sulfuric acid and created with spirit energy, forms a Bounded Field around an area over a dozen meters that has a negative effect on all those who enter within the perimeter, even though it can be a means of keeping people out. Normal humans will quickly faint from pain upon coming in contact with the dense cloud of enveloping smoke as simply breathing it in burns their throat and direct contact with eyes causes them to fester. They start to suffocate due to being unable to breathe, and they cannot see anything as they writhe in pain. Due to this, Assassin can easily use this time to selectively kill them, or she can simply wait for them to be inflicted with death within several minutes. Magi will not immediately perish, but they will receive continuous damage and makes it difficult for them to use Magecraft if they do not take countermeasures. Heroic Spirits will not receive damage, but they will be slower in their movements. Jack is also able to direct the mist as she wishes in order to select which targets within the Bounded Field are affected, allowing her to leave a blank space around her Master. She is also able to limit it to only a specific area, allowing her to activate it just inside a building. It also affects the sense of direction of those within the field perimeter, making them lose their bearing of the area. Even within a familiar enclosed space, the mist deceives all those trying to escape into running around in circles in the same place without them realizing it. Normal humans will always die in agony without ever being able to escape. The only means of escape for magi and Servants is either the employment of Magecraft or a Rank B or higher in Instinct to guide them. It is extremely difficult for Servants to see and track Jack within the mist. But the Mist quickly clears upon being deactivated or if a surge of energy blows it away to clear the area." explained Jeanne.

"So by flexing our spiritual pressure we could theoretically blow the mist away to clear the area, right?" asked Rukia. Jeanne looked thoughtful before nodding.

"I believe so. Servants with the mana burst skill in this condition will use it like a whirlwind to clear the area. Also, thanks to this Np, Jack can almost unconditionally fulfill one of the three conditions of her 2nd np: Maria the Ripper." said Jeanne. At everyone's expectant looks she continued. "Maria the Ripper: The Holy Mother of Dismemberment is her main np. It reproduces her murders, the sublimation of the Jack the Ripper murders as a concept. This is where those 4 strangely shaped knives come into play. They are normally classified as Rank D Nps when used as melee weapons, but they can be empowered under certain conditions by "the hatred of children who were denied everything, even the chance to sell their own flesh; the children who were abandoned back then by the 80,000 prostitutes in the London ghettos in order to maintain their own livelihood." If activated normally, they can be used to deal physical damage to the target while the conditions are not completely fulfilled. Upon fulfilling them, the damage rendered gets boosted to B Rank, and the attack can guarantee instant death" said Jeanne.

"What are the conditions?" asked Ichigo.

""it has to be night-time", "the target is a woman or female of some kind, including animals", and "it has to be misty". If all three conditions are met, the knives manifest within the target's body, instantly vivisecting their flesh, their innards forced out of their body as a result and turning them into a dismembered corpse. The attack is communicated as a curse rather than a physical technique executed by utilizing the set of knives, so it may be used at long range. Physical defense is impossible, but resistance to curses may permit evasion. My Ex-rank magic resistance includes curses, so I know that even if I was hit by it, I'll survive it. In a Holy Grail War, it is relatively easy to fulfill all but the second of these conditions, so in that regard, it can be considered an easy to use Np. Her Mist np helps fulfilling one of the conditions. And when this is combined with Jack's "Information Erasure" Skill, she can act more than sufficiently as a member of the Assassin class." finished Jeanne as she took another swig of water.

"So, in summation, we've got a Servant who acts closer to a Hollow than any of the others and with their fame is at a 6th seated officer level. Who's already at a Vasto Lorde level due to how she was created, she just hasn't hollowfied yet. And whose skills and Nps allow her the perfect advantages for hunting and claiming victims. The only thing we aren't sure about, which is due to the unknown factor of her Master, is whether or not she'll stick to just going after her other opponents or if she'll hunt indiscriminately. Of all of these Servants she's the only one I think we need to consider keeping a close eye on in case she does the latter." summarized Toshiro. "So, who's next?" he asked.

"That would be Caster of Silver. True name Queen of Sheba." said Jeanne. At everyone's nonplussed looks, she continued. "She was the ruler of the kingdom of Sheba and is most well known due to two passages in the Old Testament biblical texts. According to these two passages, she visited the then King Solomon and tested his wisdom 3 times. All of which he passed. After that and giving her tribute in the form of fabulous wealth she returned to her kingdom satisfied. Since then, apocryphal texts have been made trying to expand on these two known passages including painting the two rulers as lovers and even having a child together, out of wedlock mind you." explained Jeanne.

"And due to the popularity of Christianity she benefits from that and therefore gets worldwide fame correct?" asked Kisuke. Jeanne nodded. "Then I'll need to account for the boosts here as well. So, what are her parameters?" he asked.

"They are as follows: Strength is D, Endurance is C, Agility is D, Mana is A, Luck is A, and Np is B." Jeanne rattled off.

"Alright so without boosts this puts her base power level at B- rank or the lowest end of a high seated officer. About a 10th seat at best. With her boosts though she gets bumped up an A- rank or to a lieutenant level but the lowest end of it." calculated Kisuke. "Anything else we need to know about her before we get into her skills?" he asked.

"Sheba is a half-blood individual born between a human male in the African continent, most likely Ethiopia, and a female Nature Spirit called a Genie or Djinn. She inherited clairvoyance and future precognition from her djinn heritage, which was capable of rivaling Solomon's own Clairvoyance and reasoning hence why she journeyed to see him. She dislikes predicting the future of people she knows, and she also notes that her visions aren't set in stone; even having knowledge of a potential future can cause it to change. Due to her being half-djinn, she is given a natural resistance to demonic powers and probably hollows as well given their corrupting nature and of course her actual physical appearance is very different from the human woman texts portray her as."

"What's her actual appearance, then?" asked Renji curious.

"For starters, she possesses jackal-like ears along with horns and a fluffy tail. These features she's of course had to hide using her djinn inherited magic for deception." said Jeanne. Everyone looked at her poleaxed.

"No offense but just that description alone makes her sound downright demonic." noted Ichigo. "Is there anything else?" he asked.

"Sheba's only real armament is a golden Djinn Lantern, which she uses with her magecraft and Np. She takes an incense burner made of gold to scatter incense smoke and manipulate it. With the fog from her Djinn Lantern, she can conjure smoke out of her incense burner and use it to attack directly, fire off whirlwinds, allow her to fly via the fog, create a copy of herself that attacks in tandem before disappearing in a puff of smoke, and form weapons such as clubs or boxing gloves or a massive hammer out of fog. But even without her lantern, she is also an incredibly skilled and incredibly powerful magus wielding magic from the Age of Gods who can be compared to Circe, who in turn taught Medea, the Caster of Black, everything she knows. Despite being in the physically weakest servant class and mostly fighting from a distance with her lamp, Sheba is skilled at physical strikes, being able to pummel the enemy by getting in close with kicks and boxing glove punches to pound the enemy before shooting them off magic beam blast. And that's really all the non-skills and nps information I have on her." finished Jeanne.

"Kind of weird how both her and Jack the ripper both use fog as a means to an end. The latter uses it to hide and attack her opponents using hit and run tactics and the former uses it to help her fight close quarters." Renji noted.

"That's a good point. Not to mention that her magic abilities are on par with Medea's and yet unlike Medea she can actually fight close quarters if necessary." said Jushiro. "Alright so let's move onto her skills." he said Jeanne nodded.

"She has two Class Skills. One is Magic resistance which is A rank and the other is territory creation which is C rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Both of these we have heard of at their respective rank so unless there is something extra that needs to be added then it would be best to move on." said Byakuya.

"The only thing to add is that for marking her territory she conceals it via an ephemeral, often unstable mirage. But that's all I can truly add." said Jeanne.

"Then let's move onto the Personal Skills." said Rukia.

"Very well. She has Charisma which is B rank, Eye of the Spirits, and Wisdom of the Demon God both of which are at A rank." rattled off Jeanne.

"We can skip over the first personal skill as we've seen that at this level before with other rulers. So that just leaves the other two." said Toshiro.

"Wisdom of the Demon God is the blessed sharp wit and sagacity that made her capable of challenging King Solomon with riddles. Then the Eye of the spirits skill is her ability to appraise not just material things, but even the suspicious conduct of enemies during battle. When this skill is active nothing can escape from her eyes. But she also causes the formation of a barrier in the surroundings through firm, and fair transactions. Once the barrier is up then devious or duplicitous transactions are forbidden from happening." explained Jeanne. That got Kisuke to have a sly smile.

"I wonder if I could get her to set up such a barrier in my shop. That way I can ensure that I'm never cheated by customers when they pay." he said with a goofy expression.

"Kisuke. The only one who would be underhanded when it comes to money is you in that situation." Yoruichi pointed out looking very annoyed.

"So that just leaves her np." noted Rukia.

"Her np is Three Enigmas: The Telling of Three Riddles. It's anti-unit and is B rank. Three Enigmas is based on her story where she visited Jerusalem, carrying vast treasures on hand in order to receive the wisdom of the renowned sage, Solomon. All three riddles she had prepared to test Solomon with were completely seen through, and the Queen admired the way Jerusalem prospered as I stated earlier. Upon activating her np she rubs her golden djinn lantern and it summons three djinn that serve her. The three Djinns are respectively called Achat, Shtayim, and Shalosh. They can manifest and present enemies with physical challenges and will fight on her behalf." explained Jeanne.

"Huh. Interesting. Their names are Hebrew for one, two and three." noted Yoruichi.

"So in summation we have a Servant that is not very well known, but due to sources gets a major boost to her base power level to lieutenant. She is known mostly for foresight and is skilled in magic but can fight hand-to-hand if it is necessary. Is apparently half Djinn which bolsters her prowess in magic along with skills that support that. And finally has a noble phantasm that has her summon others to fight for her. Is there anything else that should be noted?" asked Byakuya. Jeanne shook her head no and then took a swig of her water. "Then who is next?" he asked.

"That would be Rider of Silver. His True name is Ozymandias or as he's more commonly called in History Rameses II or Rameses the Great." This got a reaction from Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Kisuke.

"WHAT?! He's summoned as a Servant?" they exclaimed.

"Um. To those of us who don't know, mind filling us in?" asked Renji looking confused.

"Sorry. Rameses II was a pharaoh that ruled Egypt during the 13-14th century BC. He established one of the first known peace treaties in history with another country. He was an excellent warrior, general, statesman, he built more monuments than any other pharaoh and had one of the largest harems in history. Allegedly he had 200 wives, countless concubines and had as many as 90 sons and numerous daughters. As a final thing, he was also one of the most long-lived pharaohs in history. Living to be between 90-96 years old. Keep in mind that this was during a time when the average lifespan was 45 years old for people, making his longevity a truly impressive feat. As far as known Egyptian pharaohs go records show that only one other pharaoh outlived him and that was Pepe II who was the last pharaoh of the old kingdom era while Rameses II ruled in the new kingdom era after him." said Yoruichi.

"He is one of the few names that people associate with the golden age of ancient Egypt. And outside of one other name in Egypt's history if you say the name Rameses almost everyone knows who you're referring to. The only other more famous name in Egyptian history is King Tut." added Ichigo.

"The latter's full name is Tutankhamen, but Tut is simply easier for people to remember. And as an aside the reason for such well-known fame for that pharaoh is due to being the pharaoh with his tomb and all its riches untouched by grave robbers thus it's the only fully intact tomb in Egypt to be discovered. Now getting back to Rameses II the other big reason he's so well-known is because many scholars, especially biblical scholars, often associate Ramses II as being the unnamed pharaoh in the story who takes up the role as villain in the book of Exodus. One of the most well-known books of the Christian bible after the Gospels. Though there is no proof of this at all merely popular belief. So given his worldwide fame historical or otherwise I think we can safely assume that he gets a fame boost even though we're nowhere near Egypt." said Kisuke with a wry smile. The others excluding Jeanne looked a bit overwhelmed.

"I see that his title the Great wasn't just for the sake of ego. He really was a larger-than-life man." said Jushiro as he seemed to recover first from his stupor and was smiling. "Alright then what are his parameters?" he asked.

"Right. His Strength is C, Endurance is C, Agility is B, Mana is A, Luck is A+, and Np is EX rank." rattled off Jeanne.

"Huh. Np is Ex rank. Well, they must be pretty powerful. But anyway, calculated without boosts that puts his base power level at B+ rank so a high seated officer level. A 3rd seat at least, almost at lieutenant level. And with boosts his power level is at A+ rank. Very high lieutenant almost a captain level. Anything other than his skills or nps we should know about?" Kisuke asked. Jeanne nodded.

"A couple of things. First is that Ozymandias, which is the Greek translation of Rameses name, is an extremely powerful Servant, that is equal to King Arthur. Ozymandias possesses some unspecified level of skill at magecraft. He has is the past demonstrated something akin to Mystic Eyes or a high-level suggestive magecraft. He is also seen observing battles between others from a distance, utilizing some form of scrying orb. Ozymandias is also capable of summoning fire spirits in his sleep. He can even be capable of summoning the promised land of Canaan through means unknown to me. So while he is a Rider class Servant, he fights very much like a Caster for most of the time." said Jeanne.

"Huh. Interesting. Alright let's move onto his skills." said Rukia.

"Alright. So, he has 3 class skills. They are Magic resistance, which is B rank, Riding is A+ rank, and finally Divinity is B rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"We can skip the first 2 skills as we've seen them before at these levels but I'm curious about the divinity skill. If he's well known in history than how can he have any divinity?" asked Toshiro.

"He receives this skill due to the fact that pharaohs were considered to be both the children of and the reincarnations of Gods on earth by their subjects. In Rameses case he was considered both the son of the sun god Ra and also his reincarnation on earth so his rule and authority were absolute. Hence why he gets the divinity skill." explained Jeanne. This seemed to satisfy Toshiro.

"Alright what about Personal Skills?" asked Jushiro.

"He has three personal skills. They are charisma, which is B rank, imperial privilege, which is A rank, and the last one is protection of the sun god which is A+ rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"We have seen the first one before so let us move on to the other two." Said Byakuya.

"Very well. Imperial privilege is a skill that allows a Servant who possesses it, to temporarily grant them abilities that would otherwise be impossible for them to have this can include the nps of others if they can get their hands on it without the consent of the original owner. At A rank or higher they can even grant divinity to themselves even if they don't have any divine blood in them." Said Jeanne.

"What?!" exclaimed everyone.

"Now that's just straight up cheating!" exclaimed Ichigo in shock. Kisuke hid his face behind his fan as he wore a goofy expression.

"Of all the skills to have that one would be the one I would want to have. Imagine how much I could abuse that skill." He said looking slightly manic making everyone around him look concerned. Then his expression sobered up "I wonder if that extends to using our zanpakutos even if they are a part of us." Kisuke said thinking out loud. Everyone paused on that thought.

"Could he?" Asked Byakuya looking concerned. Jeanne grew thoughtful before answering.

"I'm not sure. I want to say no but this has never been considered as soul reapers have never been involved in a Grail War." Jeanne finally answered. Yoruichi shrugged.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. So, what's the last skill?" asked Yoruichi.

"That would be Protection of the Sun God. With this skill Ozymandias receives the divine protection of the sun god Ra. Essentially it gives him blessings and the authority of the Sun God. With it he can essentially summon the light of the sun no matter what time it is even in the middle of the night and under the light of the sun enhances his abilities and his nps. As a result he's the closest to having a god participate in a Holy Grail War." finished Jeanne.

"And he's just barely at a Captain level. That's terrifying considering he's handicapped by not having all of his soul summoned." said Renji looking ill. He sighed though. "Alright let's just get this over with. What is his np?" he asked.

"He has three actually. His first is called Abu el-Hol Sphinx which is A rank and anti-army, Mesektet which is the np that gives him the rider classification and is A+ rank and is also anti-army, finally his last np and most powerful one is called Ramesseum Tentyris and is anti-unit or anti-fortress depending on the circumstances and is Ex rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Let's go in that order then. I'm already dreading what these are going to be about." said Toshiro pinching his nose to stave off a headache.

"Very well. Abu el-Hol Sphinx: The Lion-Bodied Beast of the Hot Sands. This np allows him to summon forth a number of Divine Beast Sphinxes to then fight on his behalf. The legend transmitted in ancient Egypt of a lion-bodied beast with a human face, which is the incarnation of the Sky God Horus, and feared by all as a manifestation of wild winds and fire. Even in modern Egypt, its existence is left behind in their language as the "Father of Fear (Abu el-Hol)" hence the name of the np. Their offensive ability surpasses modern weaponry and combined with their movements which surpass a hero's blade, they could easily overwhelm an ordinary Servant. In fact, they could easily break a Servant's Spiritual Core if they dropped their guard down for even a decimal of a second." Jeanne explained. She looked around and saw everyone looking concerned.

"And this is the weakest of his noble phantasms?" asked Byakuya cautiously. Jeanne nodded. "Very well. Let us move on."

"His next np is Mesektet: The Solar Ship of the Dark Night. This is the boat of the sun god Ra. Ozymandias, who was regarded as Ra himself, is using the ship spurred on by the Sun God as his own property. It is able to fly through the skies and fire several beams of light that can scorch the earth. Ozymandias is also able to summon just parts of it if he chooses, and it is both sturdy and large enough that just causing the front of it to appear is enough to demolish a sizeable portion of a large building. It is able to fire several beams of light or one large powerful one. The full destructive power of this vessel is such that it is touted to be able to destroy all of Tokyo in a matter of hours." she looked to the others who were looking at her in stunned silence.

"That is alarming." commented Ichigo breaking the silence.

"That only leaves his final np. Ramesseum Tentyris: The Shining Great Temple Complex. This is his trump card. It's a Reality Marble-like Np that manifests a large pyramid and temple complex. It is the manifestation of how the glorious Pharaoh contains within his body the various Egyptian gods, thus it contains a number of mystics. It appears as a giant complex consisting of temples and corridors, and the central pyramid, the Ramesseum Great Temple Complex, acts as the main temple and throne room. By joining together and mixing several and more "bodies of temple complexes composed out of several temples", such as the Great Karnak Temple Complex, the Great Dendera Temple Complex, etc., as well as by combining many great temples and mausoleums, such as the Ramesseum, the Great Temples of Abu Simbel, etc., it is transformed into a grotesquely large temple complex that cannot exist in reality. But through this np it can manifest and make anything caught in it marked as his domain. As a result it is possible for Ozymandias to give arbitrary divine protections and curses associated with the deities enshrined in each and every temple towards the targets that trespassed into his domain. Thus the complex is equipped with the following features and abilities: One feature is Curses: Ozymandias can grant curses to the enemies that enter his domain. One of them is a powerful poison capable of bypassing even Arash's Robust Health, making him cough blood, or reducing a servant's parameters by one rank thus lowering their overall base power level. It also seals away their Nps unless they were originally owned by a Divine Spirit, or the wielder is one themselves. I have no idea if those same curses are applicable to soul reapers but I would rather not find out personally. Another feature is Invincibility: Ozymandias' Divine Protection allows him to regenerate infinitely from damage as long as his temple isn't destroyed. This is due to the temple providing him with infinite spirit energy. Even if his spirit core were destroyed, he would continue to remain for as long as he is in Ramesseum Tentyris. Also inside Ozymandias' Ramesseum Tentyris, the sphinxes are granted infinite regenerative abilities. But even outside of Ozymandias' Ramesseum Tentyris, they are able to regenerate from the damage done to them by invaders in the blink of an eye. In addition, inside the Great Temple Complex, there is a specimen belonging to the king species that commands the rest of the sphinxes, the Sphinx Wehem-Mesut, lying dormant within. Then he has Ammit: Ozymandias possesses a gigantic Ammit within his Tentyris. For clarification Ammit was a chimera like demon who sat at the scales of judgement in the afterlife. When a person died in ancient Egypt they would make their way to these scales where their hearts, their souls, would be judged. If the soul was deemed virtuous or at least the sins they committed were few or minor then they could proceed onto the equivalent of heaven. If the soul was deemed not worthy of heaven then Ammit would eat the soul and the person whole destroying them in the process. Ozymandias essentially has that at his disposal to fight for him if he feels it necessary. Then he has the Dendera Electric Bulb: This is the temple's main offensive method of attack. It's an Anti-Fortress Spirit Energy bombardment. Its heat reaches the level of a Solar flare and if released with all his might, it would probably turn all the people in Tokyo into ash. Even Artoria's Excalibur would not be powerful enough to block Dendera on its own and that sword was forged from the heart of the planet 14,000 years ago. But if all that fails then upon True Name activation of his np: Ozymandias can perform an Anti-Unit attack as a last resort. It consists of throwing the pyramid to crush the enemy with the temple's large mass." Jeanne finished.

"Okay so in shocking summation, we've got a Servant who's in a word frightening. He's just under a captain level in base power level, fights like a Caster despite being a Rider, Has skills and abilities that are either enhancements for him or are just straight up cheats and has three nps that allow him to fight with no fear of his own safety. One has divine beasts fight for him, one is a ship that can level a city like Tokyo in a matter of hours, and the last one is an np that marks an area under his domain and is equipped with everything one needs to be prepared for a siege or invasion and if all else fails he can just throw his entire domain at you and see if you can survive that. Anyone else want to add or comment on anything?" asked Kisuke.

"You mean besides the fact that this guy is just straight-up broken?" asked Ichigo sarcastically. When he got no rebuttal, he pinched his nose staving off a headache. "I guess it would be best to move onto the last known Servant of this Faction. As we still have 5 more to get through."

"That would be Saber of Silver. True name Arthur Pendragon. This is the Arthur from another timeline and the male counterpart to Artoria." said Jeanne.

"Does this mean that we can skip him and go into the Silver Faction's assessment?" asked Rukia now recovered from her shock.

"There are some differences between the two so it might be best to at least quickly go over Arthur." answered Jeanne.

"Okay then. If you insist. What are his parameters? We already know he's sporting worldwide fame so he'll get boosts as well despite coming from a different timeline, right?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"Yes. He's still Arthur pendragon at the end of the day so those boosts still apply no matter what timeline he came from. "So his parameters are as follows: Strength is A, Endurance is A+, Agility is B, mana is B, Luck is B, and Np is EX." Jeanne rattled off.

"So without boosts that puts him at A- rank or low lieutenant level for base power level. With the boosts though he's at EX- rank or a low Captain level. Exactly the same as Artoria. Which is to be expected." calculated Kisuke. "Anything else we should be made aware of before we get to his skills and nps?" he asked.

"In combat, Arthur blade can be swung at such super high speeds that its visual information can't be recognized by the minds of ordinary people. Arthur can fight the likes of Arash, and Cú Chulainn simultaneously. While Cú could get a few good hits, Cú would need Arash to go all out, as they would never be able to pin down Arthur otherwise. Beyond that everything about his combat abilities have already been said with Artoria." said Jeanne.

"Then let's move onto his Class skills." suggested Jushiro.

"Very well. He has the same two class skills as Artoria which is Magic resistance at A rank and Riding which is B rank. The only difference is that he lacks the dragon heart that Artoria has and therefore can't fully resist a command seal. But that's the only add on." said Jeanne.

"I get the feeling we're gonna see that a lot for this Servant. So what are his Personal Skills?" asked Renji.

"He has 4 personal skills. They are Charisma at B rank, Dazzling Journey, which is the equivalent of Artoria's Radiant Road skill and is EX rank, sign of the Red Dragon, which is A rank, and finally Giant Beast hunt which is also A rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"We have heard all but the last three and since Dazzling Journey functions the same as Radiant Road, I see no problem with skipping that ability as well." said Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"Alright so since Arthur doesn't have a dragon's heart, his dragon named skill is a slight downgrade compared to Artoria's. But he can still infuse his weapons and body with energy and boost his defense to where his body can be as hard as Dragon scales, hence its name. And his sword can also be reinforced to cut virtually anything that isn't a divine construct. Then his Giant beast hunt skill is a skill that denotes having abundant combat experience against giant enemy lifeforms. King Arthur fought against and managed to completely defeat all the magic beasts that attempted to tramp down Britain. This skill gives him the advantage over opponents or creatures that are considered giants." explained Jeanne.

"Do you think that would apply to Hollows?" asked Ichigo. That made everyone pause as they thought on that.

"I'm not actually sure. I never considered that." Jeanne admitted.

"Well. It's something for us to look into at a later date. So about his nps? How similar are they to Artoria's?" asked Kisuke.

"He has three of them. Invisible Air which is the same rank of C and same level as an anti-unit. All of the abilities I mentioned with Artoria's version is applicable here. The only difference is that Invisible Air is one of the seals along with the Restraints of the Round Table to Excalibur's true power." said Jeanne.

"Then let's move onto the other two nps. I'm assuming that one of them is Excalibur, right?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"Yes. For differentiation I think we should call it by a slightly different name so we know which version of King Arthur we're talking about. Perhaps Excalibur Proto?" suggested Jeanne.

"Excalibur Alter? Like Alternate Excalibur?" suggested Rukia.

"I like that first one you used, Rukia." said Jushiro. "Why don't we go with that one? And what did you mean by the Restrains of the Round Table?" he asked.

"Excalibur Alter's power is normally suppressed by Invisible Air and the Thirteen Seals each one named after a member of the Round Table including Arthur himself, and its True Name cannot be invoked unless seven or more seals are released. Even in this state, it still has a power befitting an Anti-Fortress classification. Each seal has its own condition that must be met in order to unlock the seal. Hence the reason for its fluctuating rank from C-Ex and type from anti-unit all the way to anti-planet potentially. Beyond that it does the exact same thing as Artoria's in that it does a golden slash attack just that the power behind will vary depending on the situation and how many seals Arthur has managed to unlock during the fight." explained Jeanne.

"What are the conditions of the seals?" asked Byakuya.

"I'll only tell you the conditions of each seal but not the name out of respect for privacy for the Knights of the Round Table." said Jeanne. When no one objected to her condition she continued. "The conditions of the seals are as follows: The enemy must be more powerful than oneself, the battle must be one-on-one, the enemy must not be an elemental, the battle must be one against evil, the battle must not involve personal gain, the battle must not be against Humanity, the battle must not be inhumane, the battle must be for truth, the battle must be to live, the battle must be to save the world, the battle must be to defend humanity, One's comrades-in-arms must be courageous, the battle must not be against one pure of heart, and finally the battle must be an honorable one." she rattled off.

"And everything else about Excalibur Alter is otherwise the same?" asked Renji. Jeanne nodded. "Then let's move onto the last np." he said.

"That would be Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia. It's a barrier type np with a rank of EX. This is the sheathe of Excalibur. Originally it was stolen from Arthur shortly before the Battle of Camlann due to the machinations of Morgan le Fay. So how he has it as a Servant is unknown to me. It has both passive and active abilities. Passively, it bequeaths limited immortality through constant regeneration, as well as preventing physical deterioration caused by aging. allowing for critical and fatal wounds to be rapidly repaired to restore the wielder's health. Minor injuries are restored easily, and even large missing portions of the body and destroyed vital organs like the heart can quickly be restored at the critical moment before death. Targeting anything other than the holder's head in order to destroy their brain is futile, requiring a decisive strike to be landed in order to cause any true damage. Even the wounds sustained by Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish are healed in a few minutes without consuming any Spirit Energy." Jeanne explained.

"Can it heal existing health conditions? Like diseases that have been with the person in question for quite some time?" asked Rukia cautiously. This caused everyone to eye her and then looked at Jeanne. She gave it a bit of thought before answering.

"Either Artoria or Arthur would have to be in close proximity to the person in question for a period of time as it would make the healing more potent, but the constant regeneration will heal any issues with the person in question. No matter how severe their conditions. For example, if Arthur were to give the scabbard to either their master or even a bystander and they have cancer well he would have to stay with them for perhaps an hour or more but by then the cancer would be gone with no trace it was ever there. Since the scabbard was created the same time and way as Excalibur about 14,000 years ago by the fae, then as long as the person or disease is younger than that, the healing passive is guaranteed to work on them." said Jeanne. Everyone was silent for several minutes and Jeanne was confused by this. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Just one final question before we move onto the active abilities, what happens if neither version of Arthur is present?" asked Kisuke. While a little confused, Jeanne answered.

"The scabbard was intended to be used by Arthur due to his fate of arriving at Avalon at his death. If it has any energy from either version of Arthur in it prior then it will heal whoever has it even if neither are in the immediate vicinity, but it won't be as potent and once it runs out of energy it will stop healing. The only way to recharge it is to have either version pour their energy into the scabbard. As long as either one is alive getting the energy needed to power it will not be a problem. But if both were to die than once the scabbard ran out of energy, it would be nothing more than a beautiful decoration." said Jeanne. This made everyone silent again. "Is there someone in question that is sick and in need of Avalon's healing properties?" she asked.

"There's no need to worry about it for now. What's the active abilities of Avalon?" asked Jushiro trying to change the subject. Jeanne looked at him for a moment before she answered the question.

"By invoking its True Name, Avalon will deploy a Bounded Field. The scabbard dissipates into countless tiny particles in the air and engulfs the user to become a "portable fortress" that shuts out all interference. This will place Arthur and one other in the land of the fairies or Avalon itself for a brief period of time. It can also nullify any and all magecraft, ailments, and injuries. This is due to Avalon being a place of healing and of peace and where death isn't permitted. The only problem is that this technique can only last for a brief period of time as it consumes a lot of energy." said Jeanne.

"I have to say that last one surprised me. Is that it?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded. "I see. And since we don't have Berserker then I think we can say that for now at least we're done with the Silver Faction. I think we can do an overall assessment of the faction as we're just missing one." said Yoruichi.

"Very well. In terms of boosts almost all but Archer and the unknown Berserker are are getting boosts from worldwide fame. So, Saber is a Captain level Servant with three nps that with boosts are one Shikai, one Bankai, and one that can fluctuate between the two easily. Following him is Rider who is almost a Captain Level with three nps that with boosts all three are Bankai level. Then there's the Caster who's at a lieutenant level and has one np that with boosts is a Bankai level. Then we have Lancer who's at a 3rd seat officer level and has two nps that with boosts puts them at a Bankai level. Then we have Assassin who's at a 6th seated officer level and has two nps that with boosts has one Shikai level np and the other fluctuates up to a Bankai level. Then the only non-boosted Servant is Archer who's an unseated officer level and only has one np and yet even without boosts the np is still at a Bankai level. Which is a feat that's actually pretty impressive." summarized Toshiro.

"Have to say that the fact all of them have access to Bankai level abilities is a little frightening. Compared to the other factions we've done even though we don't know anything about their Berserker, I can see the blue and silver factions making it past the halfway point of this war with Black only making it that far. Now it's just a question of Berserker of Silver helping or hindering his faction all together." commented Jushiro.

"So you said we had 5 Servants left?" asked Renji curious. Jeanne nodded.

"Yes all from the gold Faction but considering that I know now that they tampered with the summoning system unless Ms. Yoruichi can sneak back into the fortress, locate them and take a photo of them, this might be the only Servants from this Faction that we'll get otherwise." said Jeanne sadly.

"Oh ye of little faith. I think I can pull it off. But we'll figure that out later. Right now let's get these last 5 out of the way." said Yoruichi.

"Alright. We'll start with Gawain The Knight of the Sun of the Round Table as the 1st Saber of the Gold Faction. His Parameters are as follows: Strength is B+, Endurance is B+, Agility is B+, Mana is A, Luck is A, and Np is A+" Jeanne rattled off.

"So calculated without boosts that puts his power level at A- rank or lieutenant level and since he's part of the Knights of the Round Table he's also sporting world-wide fame so with boosts that puts his overall power level at EX rank or Captain level." calculated Kisuke. "Anything we should know about before we move onto his skills?" he asked.

"Only that in legends Gawain's prowess was equal if not superior to that of Sir Lancelot, and a rival to King Arthur himself." said Jeanne.

"Then let us move onto his skills." said Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"His Class skills are 2 which are Magic Resistance and Riding both at B rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Then we can skip both of them and move onto the Personal skills since we've seen these at these levels before." said Rukia.

"Very Well. He has 3 personal skills. They are Numeral of the Saint and Belt of Bertilak both of which are EX rank. And the other is Charisma which is E rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"We've heard the latter skill before but why such a low ranking?" asked Ichigo.

"It's due to Gawain being oblivious to his ability to actually lead people due to his honesty hence the low rank." said Jeanne. This caused several to chuckle.

"I can think of someone here who would have that same ranking and skill." said Urahara looking over to Ichigo with his fan now covering the lower part of his face to hide his goofy expression. Ichigo just glared at him in response.

"Real funny Hat'n clogs." he said grouchily.

"What about this Belt of Bertilak skill?" asked Toshiro trying to keep on task.

"That skill comes from Gawain's only known personal legend in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Bertilak is the name of the Green Knight. AS for the Belt part. That comes from part of the legend where Gawain took up residence with a noble couple not knowing they were in fact the Green Knight and his wife and during his stay he was gifted with a girdle that was meant to protect him from harm by the wife which he kept with him on his quest. Though I can't remember if the belt was ever returned or if Gawain kept it." explained Byakuya. "What does this do for him as a skill?" he asked.

"It bolsters his offensive and defensive capabilities basically by one rank." answered Jeanne.

"And Numeral of the Saint?" asked Ukitake.

"A skill that allows his power to become three times greater only in the three hours between 9 AM and noon, 3 PM and sunset. It indicates 3 as the sacred number of the Celts. Due to this skill, Gawain boasts the fame of a peerless knight who is unmatched during daytime. Even Lancelot, who was considered the strongest Knight of the Round Table, was forced to wait until the sun set to strike what became a fatal blow. Basically as long as the sun shines, Gawain might be the mightiest Knight of the Round Table, even greater than Arthur." said Jeanne.

"We haven't even got to his np yet and he already sounds pretty busted for a Servant, not counting the Gil guy from the Red Faction." Renji commented. "So what is his np?" he asked.

"He only has one np called Excalibur Galantine: Sword of Revolving Victory and is A+ rank and anti-army. It's the sister-sword of Excalibur which was given to him by the Lady of the Lake but it is not as well-known as a holy sword and rarely mentioned due to having its legend hidden in the shadow of King Arthur's holy sword. Unlike Excalibur's centralized attack, Galatine is a broad wave, a radiation-type attack that completely annihilates the enemy army. It represent the rays of heat from the sun with a Pseudo-Sun contained in the hilt. It is similar to its owner in that it shows its greatest power at noon, making visible the unsurpassed sharpness of the edge capable of scorching the earth. To activate this np, Gawain tosses the sword into the air where the pseudo sun inside creates a miniature sun before landing back in his grasp. While the sun floats overhead, he generates a large magic circle with a sun symbol in the center under him as he draws the sword behind his back. With a motion like drawing a sword, the pseudo sun, and the energy put into it, the attack extends as far as it is possible to visualize the blade of the sword, around thirteen kilometers. He unleashes a horizontal slash of flame that pierces through the enemy and erupts into a giant ball of fire that engulfs them. However, it has also been shown to be possible to employ a Vertical Slash and Thrusting Variation as well. As a final interesting side note due to being the wielder of the holy sword of the Sun, Gawain's nature has some similarities to that of Karna and Cú Chulainn both of whom we discussed last time. Karna is sometimes called "the Hero of the Sun," and portrayed as an incarnation of the Sun itself, and Cu Chulainn is the son of the Sun god Lugh. Gawain is on their level as a Servant." finished Jeanne.

"So during the day at least he's essentially invincible. What about at night?" asked Toshiro.

"His physical prowess remains unchanged but while he can utilize the abilities of Galatine it's destructive capabilities are about half strength at night. He can still send a fiery slash at his opponents that will cause anything that comes into contact with it to burst in to flames but that's all he can utilize at night." said Jeanne.

"That's still pretty damn powerful. But if he's second only to King Arthur himself and Lancelot I guess that makes sense that he would be a powerhouse in his own right. So, in summation we've got a knight that can fight on par with the top tier knights of the round and King Arthur and has a gimmick of needing to be in the sun in order to fight at his best where he's basically a one-man army. But even when not in ideal conditions he can still hold his own in a fight. Definitely not someone I would want to face." summarized Ichigo. "So, who's next?" he asked.

"That would be Sir Bedivere of the Round Table." answered Jeanne.

"I'm sensing a pattern here. Do you think it's safe to assume that all the gold Faction members are from Arthurian lore?" asked Kisuke.

"Most likely. But I'm not sure who would fulfill the other two Caster slots. Perhaps Morgan le Fay but Vivian would be the only other obvious candidate, but I don't know how you'd summon her without a catalyst connected to her specifically. I suppose Guinevere too but the legends for her are more centered on her tryst with Lancelot than her abilities as a magic user even though she is one." Jeanne speculated.

"We'll worry about it when the time comes. For now, let's get back to the ones we know for certain, and we can assume that they'll be getting worldwide fame boosts due to the mythos that they all are a part of. So, parameters for Bedivere?" Kisuke asked.

"His parameters are as follows: Strength is A, Endurance is B, Agility is A+, Mana is C, Luck is B, and Np is A." Jeanne rattled off.

"So, without boosts that would make his base power level at B+ rank or a seated officer level a 3rd seat more specifically but almost a lieutenant level. But with those boosts his base power level is at A+ rank easily a lieutenant level almost a captain level. So, anything extra we should know about him before we move on?" asked Kisuke.

"Only that in the Round Table where heroes surpassing humans gathered, he, Kay, and Ector served King Arthur as the "only normal humans" among them. Bedivere was further handicapped due to being one-armed, yet he has been regarded as a knight possessing excellent sword skills and an outstanding general. Also, I should let you know that Bedivere and Kay will have quite a bit in common in terms of history and skills. Their nps will be where they greatly differ." said Jeanne.

"Wait he was one handed?" asked Ichigo in surprise. Jeanne nodded. "Wow that's actually very impressive." he complimented with a smile. When everyone nodded in agreement to this statement, she continued.

"Well, Bedivere has the same two class skills as Gawain that being Magic resistance at B rank and riding at A rank both of which we've seen previously. So, I think we'll move onto his personal Skills. He has 3. They are Tactics which is C rank, Calm and Collected which is B rank, and Oath of Protection which is B rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"Tactics and Calm and Collected sound pretty straightforward so let's move onto his last skill." said Yoruichi.

"Very well. Oath of Protection is a defensive skill meant to be used with allies. Basically it boosts the defensive abilities of himself and his nearby allies. But that's it." explained Jeanne.

"Wow we're already at his np. That was surprisingly quick and painless." commented Renji relieved. "So what exactly is his np?" he asked.

"He has 2. The first is the prosthetic arm called Switch On- Airgetlám: O Silver Arm, Take Up Thy Sword which is anti-unit and C rank. And the other is Dead End - Airgetlám: O Silver Arm, Flash which is A rank and can be adjusted to be anti-unit or anti-army.

"How did he get a prosthetic arm in the Middle Ages? I thought that was a modern concept." said Ichigo in surprise.

"He actually didn't use it very often. Mostly it was used for ceremonies but he did get a blacksmith to forge one and Merlin imbued and interwove it with magecraft to have it function like a regular arm. But Bedivere felt that he should compensate for his weakness by learning how to expertly fight with one hand. The only battle that he wore the prosthetic was during the Battle of Camlann. When he was asked to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake as King Arthur lay dying after the 3rd time he succeeded, the Lady of the Lake rewarded him for his loyalty and for returning the sword to her she blessed his arm turning it into a divine construct and named Airgetlám after the silver prosthetic worn and used by the Celtic god-king Nuadha. Because of this, as a Servant he can draw on Nuadha's power to utilize it in combat due to this connection even though Bedivere never used it in actual combat in legends. It's a constantly active-type np, and Bedivere displays devastating power with it, including creating craters in the ground with a single hit. That's where his 2nd np comes in. It's actually a technique that he uses with his prosthetic arm called Dead End - Airgetlám: O Silver Arm, Flash. It's a special slashing technique utilizing the silver arm that is concealing a "colossal amount of magic energy." It can only be activated during the arm's "combat activation" mode with a True Name release, a "flashing anti-unit, anti-army annihilation attack" that blazes through the enemy line by means of a "hand swing."" finished Jeanne.

"Have to say considering that he's supposed to be the everyman in this group of knights you all seem to know so well, and yet he can fight at a near Captain level with the fact that he's technically handicapped is all the more impressive all things considered. Especially since his skills and nps are meant to compensate for that handicap." summarized Renji. "So who's next?" he asked.

"The last of the Sabers of Gold is Sir Kay. The adopted older brother of King Arthur and son of Arthur's caretaker Sir Ector. He's also the Steward of Arthur's lands and the longest serving knight of King Arthur." said Jeanne.

"Alright. So Parameters?" asked Rukia.

"Parameters are as follows: Strength is A, Endurance is A, Agility is A+, Mana is C, Luck is B, and Np is B." Jeanne rattled off.

"So without boosts that puts his base power level at B+ so a seated officer level, A 3rd seat at most. But with the boosts, he's at a high lieutenant almost a Captain level. Anything besides his skills that we should know about?" asked Kisuke.

"Only that he and Bedivere share many traits and qualities due to them being the normal humans of the Knights so a few of his skills are similar to Bedivere's." said Jeanne.

"So, what are his skills?" asked Byakuya.

"He has two Class skills and the same as the other knights in being Magic resistance and Riding both at B rank. Given we've seen both at this level before I'll move onto his Personal Skills, which he has 3. They are Charisma and Military tactics both of which is B rank, and Seneschal which is EX rank." rattled off Jeanne.

"We've also seen Military Tactics before so that just leaves his last skill. What can you tell us about it?" asked Toshiro

"Seneschal is the medieval term for Steward. This comes from the fact that Kay was, in addition to being a knight and a very good general, he was also an excellent administrator to Arthur's kingdom. So much so that up until Mordred led their rebellion against Arthur there were no real internal issues that Arthur had to worry about for his kingdom before or after the numerous campaigns that he went on. And in fact, the rebellion and civil war that occurred that led to the fall of Camelot was driven by internal scandals between nobles not because of some economic disaster. As to how he uses this as a Servant, it basically functions as Artoria's radiant road skill in that it allows him to see the best path to achieving whatever goal he wishes to achieve. The only caveat is that while Artoria's is strictly used for combat, Kay can use this skill for both combat and noncombat situations. An example I can give is say he's traveling through an area he's never been to before, but he has a destination in mind where he wants to go, this skill will show him the best path for him to go to reach his destination." explained Jeanne.

"And combine with his military tactics he would be a deadly opponent." noted Jushiro. "What about his nps?" he asked.

"Sir Kay has two. His sword and shield. His sword is called Mabinogion: Sword of Woe to enemies of my Beloved King. It's an A rank anti-army np. It can be used like a melee weapon but like Siegfried's Balmung it can use a sword beam attack to destroy his opponent upon it's True Name release. The difference is that this blade's power is amplified simply by his familial love and faith in his King. As a result of it's easy to charge the beam, it's one of the few sword attacks that can be reused in quick succession. Though if used too much, about 5 quick uses, in the same fight it will start to put a strain on his body. And he has to discard his shield to fully deploy it. The other is his shield called Camelot Image: Fleeting Forgotten Castle. It's a C rank barrier type np. He can use it as a regular shield but upon invoking its True Name, a water mist appears and then the walls of Camelot form from mist before Kay. Water due to him receiving this shield from the Lady of the Lake. Its defensive power is weak, though it can block an anti-army np or attack effectively. But if an anti-fortress attack or np is used then the walls will shatter. However, the true power of this Np is its ability to take the attack that destroyed the misty walls and send it back at the attacker. This np is capable of protecting a small army if need be. But if hit with a powerful enough attack then the other members run the risk of getting hit. And that's it for both Sir Kay and the Sabers of Gold." said Jeanne.

"That last np sounds similar to my own Bankai though it's functions a little differently. Still what little of the Arthurian myth I do know seemed to paint Kay in a negative light. I have to say that knowing that he's actually a far more loyal and kinder individual than in later depictions makes me glad, but it makes me wonder since their King is also participating in the war, what will happen?" asked Jushiro concerned.

"More than likely given their own code of chivalry they've sworn fealty to their Masters, so they'll have no choice but to see Arthur and Artoria as enemies. Not to mention that Lancelot has also been summoned so it's very likely that we could see a reenactment of Camlann once again." said Jeanne.

"That sounds kind of heartbreaking when you think about it." Ichigo commented.

"I agree but that's not our concern. We just have to make sure as little collateral damage happens as we can manage. So, in summation we have a knight that's just as skilled as Bedivere but without the handicap. And has nps that allow him to fight effectively for both offense and defense. Making him the perfect all-rounder of the knights. Now we are down to the last two so who's next?" asked Kisuke.

"Why don't we do the only known Caster of Gold so far. That would be Merlin." suggested Jeanne.

"Sure. So yet another Servant with boosts due to worldwide fame. Parameters?" asked Yoruichi.

"His parameters are as follows: Strength is A+, Endurance is D, Agility is C, Mana is EX, Luck is C, and np is EX." Jeanne rattled off.

"Huh. Not what I was expecting. Well without boosts his base power level is at B+ rank or a high seated officer. A 3rd seat at best. But with boosts his base power level is at A rank or lieutenant level. Probably mid-level lieutenant at best." calculated Kisuke. "So anything outside of his skills or nps we should know about?" he asked.

"Well like Medea, Merlin is one among the top-ranking Casters and is said to be the most feared magus in the country of Britain, even once being described as a True Magician albeit rivaled by Morgan le Fay who in some depictions is actually his student. Supposedly he reached the top of the Caster Class by meeting high standards in both power and legends, so Merlin meets the necessary requirements to be summoned as Grand Caster." explained Jeanne.

'What's that?" asked Rukia.

"I already spoke previously about the true reason for Servants existing. So to add onto that there are entities that are considered Threats to humanity. These are simply called Beasts of Humanity. They are beings who love humanity but that love has become so twisted and distorted that now they are a threat to humanity as a whole. To counter them there are Servants that are specifically meant to counter them. These are the Grand Class Servants. They are the Greatest of their respective classes and considered the pinnacle of that particular warrior. There can never be more than 7 Beasts and 7 Grand Class Servants. The reason is the beasts represent the classic 7 deadly sins while the other represents the 7 classes of Servants respectively. However, those that possess the title Grand or Beasts can vacate their seats and have someone else take up their posts. As for Merlin he merely qualifies but doesn't hold the title Grand Caster since he answered the summoning for a Holy Grail War. Grand Servants are only permitted to be summoned if a Beast of Humanity makes itself known not for Holy Grail Wars." explained Jeanne.

"Fascinating. Anything else?" asked Toshiro.

"Well the strange thing is legends have Merlin being imprisoned in Avalon. A place where death is not permitted. So that means he is technically still alive and therefore can't be summoned like a proper Servant." Jeanne pointed out.

"But if you encountered him, than is there a work around for him to still be summoned?" asked Byakuya.

"Usually one of two ways. One is that he's summoned to a time before he was born making it so he technically doesn't exist thus qualifying as a Heroic Spirit. The other is through a combination of his skills. Specifically Clairvoyance and Independent manifestation. Through these skills he can send a hologram of himself to act on his behalf as a Servant during a Holy Grail War. So given that we are in a time after his imprisonment in Avalon it's most likely that what we saw was merely a very impressive hologram created through Magecraft. But while it's not the real Merlin, it still acts identical to the real thing including his abilities to perform Magecraft." said Jeanne.

"So wait do his parameters still apply to the hologram?" asked Ichigo in surprise. Jeanne nodded.

"So his hologram is strong enough to fight at a mid-lieutenant level. Makes me wonder how strong the real deal is." said Kisuke in shock. "What else can he do?" he asked.

"Well, he created Invisible Air for excalibur as we discussed earlier. Merlin is also capable of predicting the future, as he taught Artoria how to do so by reading the stars. Merlin has the ability to teleport himself and others away from danger, but does so in the most conspicuous way possible. He's able to summon a bright pink orb that surrounds himself and his allies to warp them away. The orb also emits his signature flower petals. In the past, Merlin was capable of using a magecraft called Conceptual Conception, which he used to have Igraine be impregnated with the concept of the red dragon that protects Britain. This caused Artoria to be born with a dragon Magic Core inside of her. The reason why he's so talented in Magecraft is that he's not even fully human to begin with. He's in fact half Incubus." explained Jeanne.

"A what now?" asked Renji.

"An incubus and its female counterpart the succubus, are both demons that would often invade people's homes in the world of the living at night. Then they would enter the bedrooms of their respective prey. Women for incubi and men for succubae and then proceed to both drain their victims of their life force for the night while simultaneously satisfying themselves through intimate relations with their victims. And considering said victims would be asleep while this was happening, it was nonconsensual." said Byakuya.

"Wait you mean that these demons would-" Renji began to ask only for Byakuya to step over the question he was going to say.

"Is it safe to assume that he also has these traits of his heritage as well?" asked Byakuya. Jeanne nodded.

"Merlin can freely walk into the mind of anyone who's asleep and mess with them however he wants, though to his chagrin, if said victim is only half asleep, meaning they would still remember this when they wake up and could report it instead of dismissing it as part of a dream. He also feeds off the dreams, nightmares, and emotions of those around him. Ironically despite being exceptionally good at Magecraft, Merlin does not treat magecraft as his forte, claiming that he stumbles during incantations and that it's easier to beat people down or whack them over the head with a sword instead. Having been Artoria's swordsmanship instructor, Merlin is an extremely skilled swordsman. So, while his physical parameters are not that good, he can still hold his own in either a sword fight or mage fight." explained Jeanne.

"Oh no. It's like he's Hat'n Clogs twin. Now I'm praying the two never meet as that will be a sure sign that the world is truly coming to an end. It can't handle two of you, Hat'n Clogs." said Ichigo with a sour look on his face.

"You wound me, Ichigo." said Kisuke playfully.

"Alright both of you stop. We've got to get through this one and one other Servant. And frankly I wanna get this done as quickly as possible." said Yoruichi annoyed. This shut the two up before she turned to Jeanne. "Anything extra you want to add?" she asked. Jeanne shook her head. "Then let's move onto his Skills and nps." she said.

"Right. He has 4 Class skills. They are Territory Creation, Item Construction, and Rapid Casting, all at C rank. And Clairvoyance which is at EX rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"We've seen the first 3 previously but why all at C rank?" asked Toshiro.

"Because Merlin tends to bite his tongue mid incantation thus screwing up the spell and he often gets tired of staying behind a fixed territory preferring to use sword play to fight his opponents head on causing him to toss it away after a while. And the low stat for item construction is due to him being able to do the job but it's dubious on whether or not the item will work as intended or whether it will instead backfire spectacularly when it's being used as the items he makes are only tinged with spirit energy." explained Jeanne.

"You're kidding right?" asked Renji giving a deadpanned look. Jeanne shook her head no. "And he's allegedly strong enough to be a Grand Caster." he commented in disbelief.

"And Clairvoyance?" asked Jushiro curious.

"Due to him qualifying as a Grand Caster, this skill is almost treated like another np as it's full name is Clairvoyance: "The Eyes Which See through the World". They are eyes that are able to see beyond while the person stands in place. Or in laymen's terms, He can see anywhere in the world from where he's standing. For example, he could theoretically see what's happening in Karakura, Japan without setting foot outside Romania and vice versa. And there's no limit to how far he can view things on the planet. While most uses of this ability allow the user to see the Future, or even the past as well, Merlin's can only see the Present. Gilgamesh's np also allows for him to use this ability, but he can see both the past and the future not the present." explained Jeanne.

"So if the two of them were to work together, they could easily compensate for the other's blind spots." noted Byakuya. "Though is it safe to assume that given his incubi nature he uses this particular skill for his own ends?" he asked. Jeanne wilted a little under his critical eye.

"That's not an . . .unfair assumption?" Jeanne admitted reluctantly. Ichigo, Renji, Jushiro, Kisuke, and Yoruichi were chortling at the implications while Rukia looked confused, Toshiro pinched his nose to stave off a headache and Byakuya narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Getting back on topic what are his Personal skills?" asked Toshiro.

"He has 5 of them. They are independent manifestation, which is unranked, mixed blood, which is EX rank, Hero creation, which is also EX rank, Dreamlike Charisma, which is A rank, and finally he has illusion arts which is also A rank." Jeanne rattled off.

"You already explained the first two earlier so unless you have something to add I say we move onto the last 3." suggested Yoruichi.

"I only add that whether we're talking about the hologram or the real Merlin his mixed blood skill makes him immortal as if the hologram is destroyed, he'll reappear in Avalon." said Jeanne.

"And the real Merlin? Would he also be immortal?" asked Kisuke.

"In the respect that neither age nor disease can touch him yes, but he could die by say Medusa's petrifying eyes if he looked at her and other nps if he doesn't activate his np first. But otherwise, yes." answered Jeanne.

"Then let's move onto the last 3 skills, starting with Dreamlike Charisma. What's that?" asked Toshiro.

"It's slightly different from Charisma in that it's Merlin's ability to charm and fascinate people. By charming them he can make them do whatever he wants. Since I did bring some aspects of his Illusion Arts already, I'll go into that one. I already explained how he messes with people's dreams while they sleep but his skills go beyond that. He can project illusions into reality itself. At A Rank, He can even introduce nightmares within reality. To give an example he can create an illusion on the scale of a single village and all its inhabitants and manifest it into reality with ease, and successfully fool anyone looking at it into believing that it had always been there. Another example is that he can even manifest things that come from people's dreams or nightmares into reality. Like manifesting what a child believes to be a fantasy creature like a unicorn into reality just so that child can ride it. That is well within his capabilities. In fact I dare say that he could outpace Aizen in terms of illusions as Merlin is older than him and is part incubus from what you all told me about Aizen's abilities. Merlin just doesn't have the lasting effect of people remaining under his illusions after disengaging with the opponent. Not unless he manually puts them permanently under the illusion himself for every individual. So Aizen's ability is better in that regard at least." explained Jeanne.

"That's disconcerting. The more you describe him, the more like a weird love child between Hat'n Clogs and Aizen he's starting to sound like." said Ichigo deadpanned.

"I'm happily married, Ichigo. Aizen could never hope to satisfy me the way Yoruichi can." said Kisuke with a chuckle and goofy expression on his face.

"What about hero creation?" asked Rukia ignoring the two.

"This skill is simply the acknowledgment of his role as the one who helped create King Arthur. But as a Servant, this skill allows him to assist and support other Servants who were actual heroes in their legend. For example, upon activating this skill he can help Siegfried by being able to utilize a spell that could bypass his curse and protect his weak spot. Or he could ensure Arash survives his np once he uses it. But he wouldn't be able to use it to help Serenity given that as an Assassin her deeds were questionable at best." explained Jeanne.

"Fascinating. I wonder if he could use this skill on non-Servants as well?" wondered Kisuke aloud.

"I'm not sure on that though I doubt it." admitted Jeanne.

"So all that's left is his np." noted Jushiro.

"That would be his only one and that's Garden of Avalon: Eternally Secluded Utopia. It's an EX ranked np and can be adjusted from anti-unit up to anti-army. To put it simply this np allows him to summon the paradise of Avalon itself into reality. As long as it's deployed, he and his comrades won't die as death isn't permitted in paradise allowing all nps to be nullified should they be fired at him while the Garden is summoned. The only exceptions are anti-world nps due to their destructive nature against the world and Excalibur as it was made in Avalon. Also wounds or other ailments that were acquired previously will heal albeit slowly. Finally, he can have it be as small as an area of 10 meters in all directions or he can extend it as far as he's able to. And it will remain as long as he can maintain it. The only other real weakness is that the extent and duration of the summoning of paradise is heavily reliant on how much energy he and his Master have to deploy it." Jeanne finished. Everyone was silent as they took a few moments to take in what exactly she said.

"That's a pretty op noble phantasm. And he's using a hologram that's only at mid-level lieutenant? That's just crazy!" Renji said voicing what everyone else had yet to say.

"I'm incline to agree." said Byakuya cautiously. "If he were in the soul society, he'd be able to deploy it for probably the entire Seireitei and maintain it indefinitely. Essentially turning the Seireitei into a no-kill zone." he added. "Though I'm not sure if Kenpachi would like that."

"Best not to dwell on what-ifs. But in summation we've got a powerful mage that could give myself and Aizen a run for our money in terms of abilities and illusions respectively. Is able to see anything in the present and is not even fully human and immortal. And can summon paradise and buff other true heroes with no real issues. There really is more to him that meets the eye. But we need to move onto the last Servant and finish things up. So, who is the final Servant tonight?" asked Kisuke.

"That would be the Extra Class Servant more properly known as the Shielder Class Servant and his True name is Galahad. The knight of heaven or the Grail Knight." said Jeanne.

"So another one that's sporting worldwide fame. Alright what are his parameters?" asked Yoruichi.

"Parameters are as follows: Strength is A, Endurance is EX, Agility is A, Mana is B, Luck is A+, and Np is A+." Jeanne rattled off.

"So without boosts his overall base power level is at A+ rank so about a mid-level lieutenant. But with boosts his base power level is at EX rank so at a Captain level fighter." calculated Kisuke. "Anything extra about him we should know about?" he asked.

"Well he's actually the bastard son of Lancelot. Yet despite this, legends depict him as the strongest, wisest, and most courageous Knight of the Round Table. He is also widely regarded as the greatest knight the Round Table ever produced. Due to this, he was chosen by the Holy Grail and thus is the only one who succeeds in finding and taking it before he eventually gives it back to heaven. Due to his Shielder class, he is a knight that protects his allies with his good heart, rather than one that defeats the enemy. Though he is still a knight and thus was trained to fight like one." explained Jeanne.

"Alright let's move onto his skills." suggested Rukia.

"He has 4 Class Skills. They are Magic resistance which is A rank, Riding which is C rank, Self-field Defense which is B rank, and finally Mana Defense which is A rank. Since we've seen the first two, I'll skip over to the last two and explain them. Self-Field Defense is a power displayed when protecting allies or an allied camp. Due to his selfless nature by being raised in a convent this skill embodies that selflessness. It allows him to reduce damage to his allies by increasing his allies' defensive capabilities but not himself. Also, the higher the Rank the more the protective range spreads. In other words, those he's marked as his allies become far more durable to where they can potentially tank nps and not just survive them but also retaliate without being injured. And at B rank this ability extends to probably both factions of Black and Gold. As for Mana Defense, well if Mana Burst is meant to be used offensively such as a burst of speed for the individual than Mana Defense is it's opposite. This skill is directly drawn from Galahad's interpretation of what it means to be a virtuous knight which he saw as a protector of lord, land, and the people. Thus he is able to have his spirit energy translated directly into defensive power. For a Heroic Spirit possessing a huge reservoir of energy, it would probably become a sacred wall that protects a whole country. In Galahad's case he's most likely tied to a homunculus Master and the battery homunculi of Yggdmillenia. As a result, he most likely has access to becoming that sacred wall currently." explain Jeanne.

"Given his class it makes sense that his skills are defensive in nature. But what about his Personal Skills?" asked Byakuya.

"He has 3. They are Shield of Rousing Resolution and Wall of Chalk Obscured in Time both of which are A rank. And Wall of Firmly Honorable Snowflakes which is Ex ranked." Jeanne rattled off.

"Those names sound oddly poetic. So what do they do exactly?" asked Jushiro curious.

"Shield of Rousing Resolution is a skill that temporarily raises Galahad's own defensive power and draws in an opponent's attack. It forces the opponent to focus entirely on Galahad and attack him leaving the enemy vulnerable to attacks from others. This is essetially Galahad's personal charm skill used in a combat situation as in legend he was always the center of attention whenever and wherever he went. As for Wall of Chalk Obscured in Time, it's a defensive Skill that allows Galahad to arbitrarily apply invincibility to one of his allies. The power of their own np also increases a bit. Following how it "obscures", the ally granted this ability can perceive an attack coming beforehand and move fast enough to dodge the attack even if it's an np being fired. At A rank or higher, the ally given this ability could even phase through attacks, among other things, even if they were nps being fired. This skill is derived from the fact that Galahad could perform miracles in his legend and now he's doing so once again as a Servant. As for his final skill I'll save that when we get to his nps." explained Jeanne.

"I'm noticing that most of his skills seem to be meant to be used in a team scenario is there a reason for that?" asked Toshiro.

"Well, the Shielder class is defensive in nature, so they need to have someone else do the attacking for them. Whether that teammate is their own Master, or another Servant is debatable." Jeanne admitted.

"So all that's left is his nps." Ichigo noted.

"He has 3 of them they are Around Round Shield which is C rank and anti-unit, Lord Camelot which is B+ rank and anti-evil, and finally Sword of the Red hilt which can be, depending on the circumstances, C to A rank and fluctuates from specifically anti-unit to anti-destiny/anti-unit." Jeanne rattled off.

"I'm sorry . . . what for the last one?" asked Kisuke in surprise. Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

"I'll explain when we get to that." Jeanne assured them. "Now we'll start with his Shield. Its full name is Around Round Shield: Fragment of Time that Indicates Calamity. This shield is essentially The Round Table of King Arthur forged into a shield. As such it's completely indestructible and can't be destroyed as the round table is seen as a place where heroes gather so as long as the concept of 'heroes' exist then the shield will remain whole and intact. But that doesn't mean that it's wielder can't be killed as they are the weak link of the two hence why the wielder is often targeted by their opponents. This shield is one of a small group of nps that doesn't require its True Name to be activated in order to work properly. Instead, it passively grants several functions to both its wielder and the Master. Most notable is that both Master and Servant are granted an Anti-Filth or Poison protection skill. This means that they are immune to all poisons no matter how lethal and as long as the contract exists then it doesn't require Galahad to be in close proximity to his Master for it to work. It can be as lethal as poison from Hydra venom to something as mundane as alcohol poisoning." Jeanne explained.

"Hold on. So, in theory if I formed a contract with Galahad, I could basically never get drunk?" asked Renji looking very interested.

"You're just asking because Rangiku always beats you in a drinking contest." said Toshiro deadpanned.

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you aren't a little curious about that yourself." said Renji retorted.

"I don't drink therefore I have no reason to be curious." Toshiro gave for a snappy comeback.

"Is that all the shield can do?" asked Byakuya shutting the two up and focusing on the discussion.

"It has a few other functions. One is that due to it being taller than Galahad himself he can dismiss it and call it up at will with little difficulty allowing him to utilize it as a melee weapon or for a surprise shield bash but that's more akin to Galahad's skill as a warrior than the shield itself. Its other passive function is that he can carry food, water, and other mundane items inside his shield. So no need to carry anything on his person besides his weapons and armor." explained Jeanne.

"What's the limit to what can be stored inside it?" asked Kisuke looking intrigued.

"If there is a limit only Galahad knows of it." answered Jeanne.

"I see. Fascinating. Well, is that all for this np?" asked Kisuke

"It does have one final function and that is the release of a 2nd np called Lord Camelot: Now is a Castle of Distant Ideals. It is an "ultimate protection" employing the Round Table, "where the Knights of the Round Table sat at the center of the Castle of White Walls, Camelot". Its strength is proportionate to the will power of the user, and it is said that "so long as the heart doesn't break, those castle walls too shall never crumble." Combine this with his final skill called Wall of Firmly Honorable Snowflakes which derives from his indomitable will in legend and causes his mental fortitude to be converted into physical defense, and you have a fortress that will never be destroyed and is on par with the likes of Avalon. But there are three other aspects of Lord Camelot. One is that unlike Avalon he can send his enemy's attack back at them. Also, like Merlin's Garden of Avalon if he has enough spirit energy at his disposal than he can expand the fortress breadth of protection and duration of deployment for as long as he wishes. As a final note is that his allies benefit in other ways as well. Due to his incantation to invoke the np as 'that which heals all wounds and grudges' and his miracle skill, should he activate both than his allies will be healed while in the walls of Camelot. And I will also say that his final skill can be used without the np and be given to his immediate allies where their own mental fortitude is converted into physical defense." explained Jeanne.

"Well in that case Byakuya's will would make him tankier than Kenpachi which would make him want to fight you even more, don't you think, little Byakuya?" teased Yoruichi.

"I'm not even going to dictate that with a response." said Byakuya clearly annoyed. He looked at Jeanne. "You said that he has 3 noble phantasms so what is his last one?" he asked.

"That would be his sword. It's True Name is Sword of the Red Hilt: Balin's Curse from the Floating Stone. This is a sword that he pulled from a stone as a test by Arthur to prove that he was in fact the greatest knight before officially becoming a member of the Round Table. It can be used as a melee weapon as it's the only truly offensive weapon and np he has. But even without its True Name invoked, it still carries the passive ability of creating wounds that won't heal. But its trump card is the anti-destiny gimmick it has with it's True Name invoked. When that happens, it boosts the sword to A rank. But more importantly it's curse comes into play. This is due to the sword's legend of causing tragedy when used. A double cursed np as both the one wielding it and the one on the receiving end both are affected by it. For context the original owner of the sword Sir Balin earned the sword as he proved himself to be the greatest of all the knights prior to Galahad. But he was warned that if the sword wasn't returned immediately to the unnamed lady in the legend who presented it in the first place, then he would suffer tragedy for it. To cut a long story short, he didn't return it and tragedy happened and the sword got passed to others and accumulated a curse where both the wielder and their opponent will both die tragically after doing battle with this sword in hand. The only known exception to this was Galahad himself. As an np this curse remains when its True Name is invoked. Once that occurs then the next strike with the sword will guarantee the opponent will die from their wounds either due to the wounds themselves or from the curse. The time it takes will differ depending, but the maximum amount of time, due to Gawain dying from a wound caused by the sword in a grudge match with Lancelot of about several weeks, is about a month hence it's classification as Anti-destiny. It's literally rewriting their destiny to ensure that no matter what they will absolutely die in a short amount of time." explained Jeanne.

"Interesting. I thought Gawain was slain by Mordred's hands at the Battle of Camlann. Indicating that he did actually recover from his wounds from that bout at the end of those weeks but was never the same again thus allowing Mordred to succeed in killing him." said Yoruichi.

"That version and the version this sword is tied to are actually the two most popular retellings of the story as many often have the Battle of Camlann take place shortly after Lancelot flees Camelot with his lover Guinevere. Though how much time passes between those events is left to hot speculation. But getting back to the np. As I said earlier, the wielder is also cursed by this sword as well. They too will suffer great tragedy though what that will be depends. Now due to Galahad being so blessed as he is in his legend, the curse is rendered moot on him but as a Servant, that curse gets passed to his Master instead. But as a caveat, Galahad's blessings affect his Master to a degree through the contract and as such softens the curse on his Master to simply suffer misfortune rather than tragedy. So instead of say losing a dear friend or family member or becoming deadly ill, it gets reduced to something far more mundane. Like tripping over and falling face first into the ground in public. But that's only if Galahad finishes the fight on that one last strike. If he's forced to fight longer after the sword's True Name has been activated and put more strikes on the opponent the greater that misfortune becomes for the Master until even Galahad's Blessings can't affect the now stacked misfortune thus having the Master experience the tragedy it was meant to be originally." explained Jeanne.

"How many strikes before his Blessings are negated?" asked Kisuke.

"7. And after that the tragedy worsens for the Master until about the 13th strike and it will result in the Master dying as a result of the curse. Hence why Galahad rarely uses it. The risk just simply outweighs the benefits." finished Jeanne.

"So in summation we have a Servant whose very defensive in terms of abilities and often works best in a team scenario. And when he uses his defensive np he can create the ultimate fortress but if he uses his offensive np than it becomes a game of high-risk high- reward so he must handicap himself in order to protect his Master. And he's at a Captain level currently." summarized Toshiro. "Since there's only two left for this Faction that are still unknown I think we can do an overall assessment for the Gold Faction." he added.

"Well since their all getting world wide fame boosts not a single one is below a lieutenant level which is a little scary when you think about it." said Renji.

"So for the Gold Faction we've got Shielder and one Saber, that being Gawain, at Captain level. For shielder he has three nps that with those same boosts one would be Shikai, one would be Bankai and the last one would fluctuate between the two depending on how he wished to use it. As for Gawain his only one is already at a Bankai even without boosts. Then we have the other two Sabers of Gold, Bedivere and Kay, both are high lieutenant or near Captain level with the boosts. Bedivere's 2 nps with boosts means that he has one that's Shikai and one that's Bankai level both with or without boosts. Then Kay's nps are in the same position in that one np is Shikai and one is Bankai both with and without boosts. Then we have the only known Caster so far for the Gold Faction, Merlin whose mid-level lieutenant at best. But his one np is still at a Bankai level even without boosts. So all that's left to discover is the other two Casters of Gold." summarized Kisuke.

"In terms of quality, the Gold Faction seems to be quite outstanding." Byakuya commented.

"Yeah I agree with that. I can see the Gold Faction surviving past the halfway mark of the War and having it be a brawl between Blue, Silver and Gold so far." said Ichigo.

"Let's not be hasty, Ichigo. We only have a full picture for Black and Blue for Servants and there are still members unaccounted for, for Gold and Silver. And let's not forget we're still mostly in the dark concerning Red and white." Yoruichi reminded them.

"And most of the Masters are a complete mystery to us. So, we still don't know which Faction could pose the biggest threat to Jeanne save for maybe Blue." Rukia reminded them.

"As for counter classing, We've got nearly three full sets and the 4 from the other two factions and the oddball Gold faction. Of the Berserkers I can only see Berserker of White surviving til about halfway through the War. As for the Rider, Caster, and Assassin counter classing, Assassin of Blue I would say would also fall pretty quickly due to the other two have the gimmick of needing to kill all their clones or repeatedly. Though if Rider of Red uses that reality marble to trap Assassin of Black then he could eliminate that one easily. Assassin of Silver I could see maybe getting Rider of Black and maybe Rider of Blue if she can get her before Rider uses her eyes to turn her to stone. Otherwise, it would be the other way around as to who would win and who would lose. But for those that are left of this group I think Rider of Silver would just dominate everyone else with the exception of maybe Merlin due to his np that would keep him alive. If Merlin and Shielder work together to keep their team alive then they could actually be the dominate Faction. As for the Saber, Archer, Lancer counter classing, this is the one where we have quite a few power houses. Archer and Lancer of Silver, Archer of Blue, and Lancer of Black, should he step outside of his territory, would probably be the first of this group to fall. Even if the latter never left his territory, there's still a high chance that he would not last against the sheer number of high-class Servants in this group. Since most of the fighting would be taking place at night Gawain would probably be the first of the Gold Faction to fall as he would be severely handicapped due to his sun gimmick, but not before taking out at least one of the others first. Berserker of White and Artoria would most likely end in a mutual kill as neither would have any way to keep themselves alive. And Kay and Bedivere would probably fall to the likes of either Chiron or Lancers of White and Blue due simply to the fact that two ordinary men even when backed up by their team just can't compete against two demigods and a Titan. Lancers of White and Blue would be the only Lancers Surviving. Archers of Red and Black I could see making it through the halfway point. And as for Sabers I would say Sabers of Black and Silver would be the only ones to make it through the halfway mark. Along with Merlin, Sheilder, and Rider of Silver." Kisuke reasoned.

"Aside from Arthur and Galahad almost all of them are demigods or aren't fully human." Ichigo pointed out.

"I honestly think that those two would be making it because of their broken defensive abilities." said Kisuke. For this 2nd half Chiron would easily be the first to fall as he's the weakest of this group. As for the other 8 that's where it would get tricky. As Archer of Red would have to go all out for this group and would have to summon that flood np in order to wipe out the rest and his other nps to pick off those that flee. The only one who could escape both would be Arthur with his Avalon and then use Excalibur and Avalon to survive and counterattack against Ea. So as of right now I could see either Saber of Silver or Archer of Red as coming out the ultimate victors based on counter classing." Kisuke finished.

"Still that potential outcome was pretty unexpected. I thought Archer of Red would just continue to be the last one standing due to him being the most powerful Servant one can summon normally." noted Renji.

(Heavy Dialogue is Finally Finished.)

===Soul Society – Seireitei – Toshiro's office – same time (1:30 am)

"And it looks like all that's left is a few housekeeping things and we'll be finished for now. While it took far longer than expected we did learn quite a bit tonight." said Jushiro with a smile. Ichigo looked off to the side away from the group.

"Holy crap! I didn't realize it was getting dark outside. No wonder I'm feeling a bit hungry. It's almost 8pm over here and we didn't eat yet." said Ichigo in surprise.

"Oh, spare us it's almost 2 am over here and we still have to get up and be on time for work later this morning." said Renji snarkily.

"There's no need for the both of you to start arguing when lack of sleep and hunger are clouding your minds." said Byakuya sternly shutting the two up. He then turned back to the 4 others on the screen. "I take it that if everything goes well the next two days these nightly meetings will be shorter than this one was?" he asked

"Considering we only have 12 Servants left to identify before the War gets underway and two days of the ceasefire left, yes, these discussions should not take as long as tonight's did. Not to mention I still need to inform several factions about the Hollows and investigate this Shirou Kotomine as soon as possible." said Jeanne.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow at least?" asked Rukia.

"On our end nothing has changed. We'll continue doing what we agreed to do the last time for both myself and Captain Ukitake, and Captain Kuchiki and lieutenant Abarai on their end. With the newer information and more insight on nearly all the Servants we have more to work with. We just need to get some insight on the Masters." said Toshiro in deep thought.

"Which I will provide shortly in the near future, and I think come later today, I'll see if I can convince Captain Unohana to send one of her subordinates of seated officers or higher to Romania. The only downside is that we'll most likely have to bring her into the discussions, and I can't say if she'll side with us or Yamamoto if he disagrees with our case." said Jushiro.

"At this point we might have to start letting others in on what we're discussing regardless. While it's true that these Servants are fascinating, the fact that Aizen himself is involved in this Holy Grail War, however tangentially right now, means that this has now become a problem for the entire Soul Society." Byakuya pointed out.

"Does that mean that the Soul Society will interfere directly with the Holy Grail War?" Jeanne asked cautiously. Byakuya looked at her directly.

"At present, no. But once his location has become known to us, there's almost a guarantee that the Soul Society will want to take action as soon as possible." answered Byakuya. Jeanne looked unhappy about that but looked thoughtful.

"Still, that's a ways off for the moment. Best to keep focused on the current situation." said Kisuke.

"So what's the plan for our end?" asked Ichigo.

"Well. We have the homunculus boy I brought home to consider. Once he wakes up, we'll figure out what to do with him. Meanwhile, Kisuke over here has his side projects he's got to finish up and I have a few errands to take care of. But your main goals for the next two days will be the same as today, right?" asked Yoruichi. Jeanne nodded.

"As I said earlier, thanks to my meeting with the Grail I know the locations of the Red and White Factions. Red is in Bucharest and White is in the Piatra Craiului Mountains here in Romania." said Jeanne.

"Either one is a bit of a haul. It might be best to try one location tomorrow and then the other one the next day." suggested Kisuke.

"In that case, let's do the Piatra Mountains tomorrow as the white faction only has one Master who we know through Lancer of white was spiritually aware as he was able to see Ichigo and Rukia." added Jeanne.

"That's right he was. I'd almost forgotten about that." admitted Rukia.

"In that case you both should go in your soul reaper forms and Yoruichi will go with you for added protection tomorrow. Since we know the White Faction only has one Master supporting 6 Servants, I'd rather be safe than sorry." said Kisuke. On this no one objected.

"Anything else?" asked Renji.

"No, I think for tonight at least that's it." said Yoruichi.

"In that case I'll head into the kitchen and start making a late dinner. I'll see ya later then, Renji, Toshiro, Byakuya, Captain Ukitake." said Ichigo as he got up and left waving goodbye. Renji and Jushiro waved goodbye while Byakuya looked annoyed.

"It's Captain Hitsuguya." said Toshiro reflexively.

"And I'll head to my room and start writing my reports and send them out before I head off to bed tonight. Goodnight then, Brother, Captains, Renji." said Rukia bowing and waving goodbye before she two left.

"I gotta go make a phone call to Soifon. So goodnight to you guys. Jeanne I'll join you and the others when dinner's ready." said Yoruichi as she left the room quickly.

"Oh almost forgot. I'll need both sets of your translation bracelets for tonight. I need to make some additions to them." said Kisuke holding out his hand. While puzzled both Rukia and Ichigo complied and handed them over. "Thank you. So, with that I think we'll call it a night and see everyone sometime tomorrow." he said and with that the screen went dark.

Renji got up from his chair and stretched. "Man, that took way longer than the last one did." he said mildly complaining.

"I know this seems tedious Lieutenant Abarai, but there's a reason for why it's critical now more than ever that we learn about these Servants." said Toshiro.

"I know, I know. I was there for the discussions after Ichigo, Rukia, and Jeanne left last time. You're all worried that Aizen might decide to recruit them for his new army. So therefore, we need to know as much about them as we can." said Renji.

"The Arrancars and Espadas while powerful, many of them would hardly be thought of as quality-level warriors. Here it seems that he's going more for quality rather than quantity. And considering that despite their base power levels running the gamut from being very weak to very powerful don't forget that many of them have the equivalent of Bankai at their disposal. All he needs is 26 powerful Servants to take out all the captains and lieutenants of the Soul Society and the rest would fall very quickly. So regardless of how tedious these discussions might be, if it will help us protect the soul society, then we will endure." Byakuya stated.

"Not to mention that according to Jeanne mages are a paranoid lot. So, they aren't going to allow any information to slip to those they perceive as enemies. As such the Servants aren't just going to tell us everything, we should know about them or how their powers work. Ergo these discussions are the only other way for us to understand our potential enemies." Jushiro pointed out.

"Do you think Jeanne knows that?" asked Renji looking pensive.

"She'd have to be incredibly naïve to not consider that especially with what we told her about Aizen. I assumed that that's the reason she's been so forthcoming. I suspect she knows that's a possibility. Her worry about our direct intervention being a possibility shows she's not keen on the idea but the fact she didn't protest tells me she at least is aware of the possibility of Aizen using the Servants for his own ends." pointed out Toshiro. By now Jushiro got up with a yawn.

"Well we'd better head off for now. I have a feeling we won't get as much sleep in the following days. Best to get it where we can." said Jushiro.

Toshiro dismissed the Barrier allowing the Captains and Renji to leave. "Same as before when I get the message. Good night Captains, Lieutenant." said Toshiro. They all nodded and left. Toshiro looked at the set up for the phone and sighed. "I think I'll just sleep here for the night."

End of Chapter 4

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Author's notes:

As I said at the top this will hopefully be the longest chapter for this story and the only reason it was so long was due to the sheer volume of Servant information the group had to go through. With only 12 Servants left to ID these round table discussions will hopefully be a lot less.

I made the decision to have Shirou K. not be too good at utilizing technology. He can use a phone but not anything more complex than that. The same goes for the parts of the Church that he mentions in this chapter here. I figured that since both of these branches of the Church deal with the Mage's Association more directly than others and utilize their version of Magecraft, even if they'll never admit to it, they too don't use technology beyond Kevlar clothing protection from guns and phones to communicate. I'm doing this because I like the irony. If Shirou K. did a simple google search, he would've found Ichigo's social media page and realized right away that he wasn't a Servant, but he too falls into the same trap that most others fall into in the World of Magecraft. By deliberately choosing not to embrace the Modern era and synchronize it with the Mage World, it handicaps them from learning critical information that would only be available to the non-mage world.

The spell that Jeanne has the soul reapers learn for forming contracts with existing Servants was heavily inspired from Ziracona's story The Kid on Ao3. I highly recommend reading it.

I'm well aware that I'm playing around with Merlin's stats and abilities and Galahad's stats and abilities I'm either taking from Mash from FGO or making up from whole cloth but there is a reason for this: Merlin being alive and present is unknown to all but the Knights and they've sworn secrecy and given his ability for illusions I think since he was told to look for his True Master after he was released, he would use those abilities of illusion to mask the truth from even his Master and Ruler. As he's both older than Jeanne and not fully human I think he could pull it off. Afterall if Astolfo can mess with his stats to hide his gender from Ruler's True Name discernment than I can see Merlin easily using illusions on her True Name discernment skill to fool her as well. As for Galahad since he's supposed to be better than Lancelot, whose thought to be Arthur's greatest knight, I figured just look at Saber Lancelot's stats and increase them by one to get an understanding of his Stats. As for his skills well Mash is supposed to be a gender swapped version of Galahad so I figured giving her abilities to Galahad was fine save that his versions would be the more perfected versions of them and used his legend to justify the skill's existence. Finally, he's seen in type-moon artwork to be carrying a sword, but it's never been used by either him or Mash. And it's hinted in his alter form that he has two swords: the sword of strange hangings and an unknown one that he doesn't want to use for fear of hurting his Master somehow. I just took those bits and what I found in the legend and ran with it.

Finally I added to the reference guide below the power level of the Servants based on Bleach power levels. This is calculated to include the boosts the Servants get from their location and/or fame should they have either.

Faction and Servants (bold and Italics means soul reapers now know their identities): Blue: Saber – Artoria Pendragon Captain, Archer – David lieutenant,Lancer - Cú Chulainn lieutenant, Rider – Medusa lieutenant, Caster – Paracelsus von Hohenheim lieutenant, Assassin – Hassan of Serenity 11th seated officer, Berserker – Jekyll & Hyde 15th seated officer

Black: Saber – Siegfried 10th seated officer, Archer – Chiron lieutenant, Lancer – Vlad III lieutenant (while in his territory) 5th or 6th seat (outside his territory),Rider – Astolfo 14th seated officer,Caster – Medea 5th seated officer, Assassin – Hassan of the Hundred Faces 6th seated officer, Berserker – Frankenstein's monster 6th seated officer

Silver: Saber – Arthur Pendragon Captain, Archer – Arash unseated officer, Lancer – Diarmuid Ua Duibhne 3rd seated officer, Rider – Ozymandias (Rameses II) lieutenant almost a captain level, Caster – Queen of Sheba lieutenant, Assassin – Jack the Ripper 6th seated officer, Berserker – Heracles

Gold: 3 Saber – Gawain Captain, Bedivere lieutenant almost a Captain level, Kaylieutenant almost a Captain level, and 3 Casters - Gilles de Rais, Guinevere, Merlin (alive but hiding true stats) mid-level lieutenant, and Shielder – Galahad Captain.

White: Saber – not summoned, Archer – Atalanta, Lancer – Karna 5th seated officer, Rider – Perseus, Caster – Avicebron, Assassin – Robin Hood, Berserker – Lancelot du Lac Captain

Red: Saber – Mordred, Archer – Gilgamesh 3rd seated officer, Lancer – Achilles, Rider – Iskandar (alexander the great) 6th seated officer, Caster – William Shakespeare, Assassin – Semiramis, Berserker – Eric Bloodaxe

Quick reference: EX and A rank nps are equivalent to high and low powered Bankais respectively, B rank is equivalent to Shikai, C rank is equivalent to sealed zanpakutos. D and E ranks are weaker than sealed zanpakutos and would be destroyed by them easily.

For kido: Ex- negates all Bakudo kido but #99-#90 Hado kido spells do effect Servants, A- #99-#80 for Bakudo Kido and #89-#80 for Hado Kido, B- #79-#60 Kido, C- #59-#40 Kido, D- #39-#20 Kido, and finally E- #19-#1 Kido.

For power levels: Ex- captain level, A- lieutenant level, B- high seated officer level (3rd- 10th seat), C- low seated officer level (11th-20th seat) D- unseated officer level, and E- non-Soul reapers

Thank you once again for reading this. I greatly appreciate it. And hopefully I will not take long in posting the next chapter.

Enjoy and Bye!