11:30pm, Outside a hotel in downtown Athens
Heping walked out of the hotel she'd been staying in and onto the sidewalk outside. The streets of Athens, even in the busy downtown, were thin and claustrophobic, as if the buildings on either side were a cage, a cage that threatened to collapse in on her at any moment. When she walked them during the day, she felt anxious, mainly due to all the people on the street that further added to the closed-in feeling. But now, in the dead of night, in the dense fog that had coated Athens every night she'd been there, it was a different kind of dread, as if some evil would jump out of the next corner.
Pigsy shared her anxiety.
Speaking to her telepathically, he began to stammer, 'W-why do we have to go out like this -oink-! You know the kind-a people that hang around at this time-a night dontch-ya? You're just askin' for something bad to happen -oink-!'
"We are going to meet with the master we met earlier. That is final, Pigsy."
'No it ain't -oink-! The hotel's right there! We can just turn around and go through the door! It's easy!'
She turned around to the hotel behind her. The tower climbed into the sky, and at this angle it was terribly imposing, like a great mountain, or a waterfall made of stone. Having spent her whole life secluded in the mountains, sights like these, even after a week in Athens, were still difficult to comprehend.
She sighed. Was this really a good idea?
An alliance seemed like a good way to stave off the war, but at the same time, she wasn't really supposed to get involved, was she? She was here to study, not fight. She had no interest in the Grail or the War beyond its relation to her family.
-But that wasn't right either, was it?
Her parents fully intended her to participate as a member, as a "Master". That would mean fighting for her life against the other Masters...
-No, it wasn't about preserving her life, it was about killing everyone else.
But why? She still didn't understand. Why was any of this necessary?
Suddenly, as her eyes began to wander to the sidewalk beneath her, a change in light brought her eyes back up. The lights in her hotel were flickering erratically, up and down and up and down through the windows like a snake. She couldn't help but stumble back in confusion, but it only lasted a few moments. When it ended, she could swear there were a few less lights on than before.
"Pigsy..?"
He whispered back in her mind, 'D-d-don't call me Pigsy... -oink-'
"I suppose we are headed to the Acropolis, then."
Somehow, she could hear him gulp in her mind, "Yeah... yeah, okay."
She turned and began to walk away into the night. The fog was thick, but the lights that surrounded her kept her grounded.
After walking for what felt like a few minutes, she felt comfortable enough to speak again, "Was that an attack from an enemy Servant?"
'Hell if I know! I'm not the friggin' Buddha!'
"Can you not detect other Servants?"
'I mean... a little... Servants can control their presence a bit, so whether or not I can detect them depends on how much 'presence' they give off, ya know? They're like demons -oink-, more powerful ones have stronger presences, but the real strong ones, the tricky ones, -oink- can hide their presences better than even the weakest demons, even though they're ten times as tough.'
"So... If it was a Servant, it was either a very weak one or a very strong one?"
'Or an attack from somewhere far away -oink-. There ain't no way to tell, so b-be careful, alright?'
She laughed under her breath. "If it was an attack, then there will be no safer place than with that man's silver Servant."
Here she realized that she knew nothing about the duo she had met earlier that day. Neither their names nor their abilities, other than that the Master could fire lightning from his hands, and didn't know how to handle a rifle. Was he a mage? More than that, could he really be trusted? At the very least, the silver Servant could. He was far too polite and gentlemanly to be so cruel.
'Hmph. Either that or we're walkin' into a trap -oink-.'
"Do not be so cynical, Pigsy, I'm sure Mr. Master will be accommodating. He was quite rude before, but if he and the silver man are working together, then he must be a good person."
"Are you really so sure about that?"
Heping stopped where she was and looked out into the fog with wide eyes. Having walked from downtown in the direction of the Acropolis, though she was still undoubtedly in the city, there were parks and unkempt areas where light was more scarce. To her left now was one of these parks, and walking around the corner ahead of her was a figure she could never not recognize: her brother Shenghuo.
He walked around the corner with the same regal air he always possessed. His tight and muscular arms behind his back, he was dressed as she'd never seen him. He was always dressed in formal wear, only ever changing into pajamas for obvious reasons, but at the moment his clothes could only be described as practical. A long-sleeved black turtleneck with equally black, fingerless gloves and brown slacks.
"Don't you think you'd be safer with your brother?"
' Hey! Hey! What do I do? What do I do -oink-? You know this guy? What's goin' on here!?'
She shifted her feet, ignoring the shouting in her mind, "This is a competition is it not? Do you not think working together defeats the point?"
He shrugged, "It will cease to be a competition if you surrender. Besides that, you certainly aren't accomplishing anything on your own."
"What does that mean?"
Pigsy continued his telepathic panic, 'Should we run? I think we should run!'
"I was worried, you know. If you had summoned Tripitaka or Wukong, we would be in quite the bind here- I doubt my Servant could take on the Great Sage on his own. But you didn't. You summoned poor 'Pigsy'."
'You see this! This is why you don't call me Pigsy -oink-! No one ever listens to the pig!'
He gestured to the air around him, "Do you even know the nature of this fog? Much less the nature of the war?"
Something was wrong with the fog? She hadn't noticed anything, she hadn't even thought to test it. She'd never been by the sea, so she thought it was natural! She went to ask Pigsy about it, but remembered what he'd said before. He wasn't the kind of Servant that could detect these things, and neither was she, apparently.
"I am investigating the nature of the war. I have already begun-"
"No. No you haven't. You went around testing the working quality of the leylines without ever thinking to test their properties or their structure. The leylines work just fine, Heping; the question was what purpose they served, how and why, but apparently that never occurred to you."
He was always a better linguist than she. Though she could speak more languages, of the languages they shared, he spoke all of them better.
She looked away, the embarrassment and shame eating away at her. Her insecurities twisting and turning in her mind and stomach.
"You, sister, are the contingency plan. You are here, not as a contestant, but as a placeholder, a limiting factor. A variable easily accounted for. Now, it's time to do your job. I admit I was genuinely curious as to whether or not you'd prove yourself capable, but then I should've known better."
She began to walk forward.
'Master? Boss? Boss? What're we doin' here, boss? What're you doin'? Hey!'
"If anything, I should've known you'd summon Zhu Bajie, or if not him then Wujing. Even with your quality circuits, there isn't any reason for a high Heroic Spirit like Sanzang or Wukong to appear to such an inexperienced Master."
His voice was always steady and cold. It never betrayed even a hint of emotion no matter what he was doing or saying. Even when he was being clearly condescending, he may as well have been reading the newspaper.
She continued walking, looking at her feet.
"If you'd allow, I can show you my base of operations, but you must forgive me if I continue to keep my Servant's True Name a secret. You can never be too careful, after all."
"Shen."
"What did I say about calling superiors by nicknames? It's disrespectful."
She was next to him now, "This is a war." She looked at him with her eyes, leaving her head pointed down. She gripped the sling of her backpack with white knuckles, "Our parents told us that whoever emerged victorious would become the heir. I hope you understand why I will not forsake this opportunity."
"That's what they said, yes, but not what they meant. Come with me, and I can see personally that you're married into a quality family, one worthy of your blood."
She looked away and back to the floor.
She took a deep breath.
And she kept walking.
Shenghuo said nothing, only watching her as she walked away. They both knew what she had chosen. She had chosen to die rather than surrender. They both hoped that wouldn't come to pass, but each had their own reasons for wishing so.
She had no argument. She had no logical reason as to what she had done. Perhaps it was her loyalty to her parents. Perhaps it was newfound ambition. Perhaps it was mere stubbornness. She didn't know. She didn't even care to know. She just wanted to get away from him.
...
'What is with you -oink-!?'
"Hm? What?"
'You keep running right into the danger spots! You keep ignoring my warnings! And you know what? It's gone bad every goddamn time! Why don't you just listen to me?'
"I knew what I was doing."
'Bullshit!'
She winced from the yell that echoed inside her head. "Maybe not, but running away is not a solution to every problem."
'Of course it is -oink-! If your problems can't catch you, then it isn't your problem anymore!'
"No, if you are always running, then the problem never goes away."
'That's assuming it doesn't give up on chasing you.'
She sighed audibly, realizing the conversation was going nowhere. Pigsy's cowardice couldn't be reasoned with. "Neither of us know what we are doing."
She felt his presence in her mind, but Pigsy said nothing.
"We are making our way through the dark with nothing but our hands to guide us."
'And that seems like an awfully good time to retreat, don't it?'
"It seems like an awfully good time to get help."
She looked to the Acropolis which grew out of the earth in front of her, and wondered what awaited her at the top. She found the gate leading into the complex open and unlocked, a warm welcome from the two waiting inside.
'...Goddammit -oink-.'
....
At the same time, high above the city
Atop the clouds was a strange outline, a figure standing as if plastered against the skyline. The black of his clothes seemed to reject the light of the moon behind him, as if he were standing in front of a grand spotlight.
He stood there on the clouds themselves, overlooking the city below as if it were his kingdom. But his eyes saw far more from here. His supernatural sight allowed him to see far past the mountains which surrounded the city, one of the signature features of the Archer class, improved many times by his own natural abilities.
His Master's voice rang in his ear, 'Archer, are you ready to perform Operation Titanomachy?'
There was no one to hear him at this altitude and, even if there were, it would've been drowned out by the furious wind, and so Archer spoke plainly, "Are you certain we want to pull this card when only two Servants are gathered at the Acropolis? Or do you have something else in mind?"
'No. It really is that simple. We can't afford to let this opportunity go to waste.'
"Do you plan to use my Noble Phantasm?"
'We shouldn't need to demolish the entire city to accomplish our goal, but if enough Servants gather tonight, then we should consider it."
"Good to know that you're a reasonable Master. I can only hold back so much."
'Naturally.'
"Do you know when my arrow needs to fly?"
'Plan for twelve-fifteen am. You'll have a better idea of what's going on up there, so you'll have to keep me updated for any specific signal.'
"Did you have anything in mind?"
'If things go south, fire. If they're about to formalize an agreement, fire. Drive a wedge between them. Even if they live, their alliance should die.'
Archer summoned his bow to his taloned hand, a thin, softly glowing orange crescent with a jet black middle. "Understood."
His other hand moved between the two ends of the bow as an ethereal orange string filled the space like a flame across oil. He touched it gingerly with his talon-fingers as he gazed across the plains surrounding Athens and into the distant mountains, looking at a small shack where an ivory colossus stood, hidden by the trees and rocks.
....