Recap:
Last time on "The Queen of Shadows"...
After a fierce encounter with the warrior queen, Scathach agrees to train the masters and servants of Chaldea to become strong enough to face their great enemy; Solomon. They soon found themselves host to the warrior queen in her fortress, brimming with unknown magic, treasures, and mystery. With their first day training with the warrior queen ending with more animosity between the servants, the masters slowly come to the realization that even with Scathach's tutelage, they all have a long way to go to hone themselves for the coming battles...
[Present Day]
Morning had broken in the Hidden Forest, marking the start of a new day, and with it; another training session with the forest's watchful protector: Scathach the Shadow. After another explosive wakening, the servants of Chaldea found themselves on the edge of the forest, starting the day with an all-out-spar against the powerful warrior-queen.
Suffice it to say, it has not been going very well...
(CLANG!)
"Tch!"
Mashu found herself pushed back after a failed assault on Scathach. The other servants, having already had at least one turn each, were either limping or kneeling along the outside the outer ring of the makeshift arena in a battered state. Scathach stands in the center with her spear brandished, and not at all tired like the rest of her pupils. With scratches and dents all over her shield from the warrior-queen's spear, Mashu steels herself and dashes forward for another attack. The Demi-servant spins for a horizontal slash with her shield which was deflected by Gae Bolg. Mashu recovers quickly and reorients to jab the long flange of her shield at Scathach. The warrior-queen swiftly sidesteps, spins and kicks Mashu in her side, sending her flying out of the ring. She tumbles and rolls across the ground to an eventual stop, and she forces herself up using her shield for support. Mashu stands leaning and panting in exhaustion as Scathach announces:
"None of you are going to get the upper hand on me like this," she says while standing up from the tiny inner ring of the arena. Since this exercise began, she had yet to step one foot out of this spot. "A team fights by coordinating their attacks and keeping pressure on the opponent. What you are all doing is merely taking turns fighting, and that only ensures defeat."
Arturia, who had been watching after the beating she took from Scathach moments before, laments how poorly she and the other Servants have all been doing against the Guardian of Dunscaith so far. Although she was sure that Scathach had not slipped them any of her mana-diminishing potion again, all that did was confirm just how inconsequential she and the other servants are to Scathach in terms of power. Even with them practically at full strength, they all struggled against her.
-With such a power gap between us, Scathach may be right; in any one-on-one with her, a servant won't stand a chance. It will require real teamwork.-
But there was just one problem: so far, the servants have not been coordinating very well in this regard. Scathach turned out to be so skilled on top of her tremendous strength that she tore apart any weakness in all assaults thrown her way. She was a wall that just would NOT be moved unless Chaldea was able hit her harder and smarter. While Arturia had no issues with working with anyone she needed to overcome a substantial obstacle, she knew there was at least one person on the team who was not so willing to work with her.
Said person was across to her right, supporting herself with her sword while visibly seething at the warrior-queen.
Mordred had been "lone wolfing" the most out of the other servants by far, and it has resulted in her paying for it with a heavy beating, exemplified by the dents and scratches on her armor. She was the most eager to take out some much-needed aggression on Scathach but was left fuming in frustration every time she was brushed aside, attacking first before anyone else could help her; not that she even wanted that help in the first place.
After her first defeat at the hands of the warrior-queen, Mordred was making this fight personal.
-Damn witch is not fazed even a tiny bit... but I'm going to wreck her one way or another!-
As Scathach readied herself into a stance, the servants reluctantly prepared themselves for another bout. Cu Chulainn however was not dreading the next round like his comrades were. This was the first time he has squared-off with Scathach in so long, and all the other servants had already faced her so far when they first arrived except him. If anything, he was eager to see just how proficient his mentor was after all these centuries. The Lancer had been lasting the longest out of them all on the merit of knowing Scathach's fighting style, yet from the way he had been observing her so far; fighting off all eight servants and not breaking a sweat, Cu Chulainn could tell she was still sharp in her fighting skill. He cannot help but feel sentimental in sparring and watching Scathach fight. Along with something else...
Teacher has not lost her touch. This feels just like old times...
Cu Chulainn prepares his stance with his own version of Gae Bolg at the ready. As excited as he was to fight her, he also could not help but feel pessimistic in terms of how well the other servants were doing. The whole point of this fight was to encourage everyone to work together, and so far, that seemed to be flying over everyone's heads at this point.
"Prepare yourselves!" Scathach announced to them. "And show me your mettle!"
No sooner had she finished saying that Mordred charged at Scathach with a yell, packing mana into her legs and launching herself at the warrior-queen ready to decapitate her with Clarent. Her sword was met with a deflection by Scathach's spear. She spins and kicks Mordred in the back making her spiral out of control. Jekyll explodes into motion as Mordred crashes and rolls against the ground, brandishing his knives and throwing them in a volley at Scathach while her back was turned. As if in anticipation, she turned and twirled her Gae Bolg around and knocked away each one in a single stroke. At that moment, Astolfo jumps in ready to slam his lance down at her, taking advantage of the opening Jekyll made for him. To his surprise however, Scathach raised her free hand and cast a barrier rune over herself without even looking at the Rider. Astolfo's lance hits harmlessly and he is frozen as the barrier started coiling around him. Jekyll changes direction and B-lines toward Scathach with twin daggers to help him, but Scathach throws the ensnared Rider at him.
Astolfo collides with Jekyll, and they are sent out of the ring as Arturia, Emiya, Jeanne, and Mashu all charge at the warrior-queen. Scathach is undeterred as the servants converge on her from different directions. Emiya circles around as Arturia, Mashu and Jeanne close in to fight the warrior queen up close as he prepares a special payload to fire at Scathach given an opening.
"Trace on..."
An object forms in his right hand as he summons his bow with his left. Mashu swings her shield at Scathach only to be blocked and deflected. Mashu staggers back on one knee as Arturia and Jeanne close in behind the warrior queen to strike her both at once. Scathach swiftly turns and orients her spear vertically, stopping Jeanne's flag and Arturia's Excalibur in a single block. A spiral sword appears in Emiya's hand, and he loads it onto his bow like a giant arrow. He notches the charged weapon and aims at Scathach with her back turned against him just as Mashu recovers.
"Caladbolg!"
But just as Emiya was about to fire, Scathach forcibly deflected Arturia and Jeanne's weapons away with an upward swing of her spear. The two servants were thrown off their feet as Scathach turned and threw her spear at him. The weapon spun around in mid-air and the pommel hit Emiya at the side of his head with enough force to make him tumble and spoil his aim. He accidentally released the string of his bow, letting the spiral sword fly. With his aim ruined, the wayward weapon sailed right by Scathach's head, who does not even blink as her hair bellowed in the wake of the magic missile and sails towards a startled Mashu, who raised her shield just in time, only to be blasted backwards as the sword exploded on impact. Arturia and Jeanne land with a thud as Scathach summoned back Gae Bolg to her grasp.
Time slows as she turns and briefly locks eyes with Cu Chulainn, who seemed almost mesmerized at the sight of Scathach fending off all the other servants with such skill and grace. She could tell from the growing smirk on his face that he was enjoying the show, waiting for his time to strike at her, and her stoic, focused gaze wavered for a moment as she returns his smile with a smug one of her own before turning for attention to Emiya, who summoned his twin blades to engage her up close. A deflection and a parry later, Scathach weaves around Emiya and smacks the shaft of her spear into the Archer's back, sending him hurtling towards Cu Chulainn, who swiftly stepped out of the way as Emiya then crashed back-first, upside-down into a tree. Emiya then said to him sarcastically after he slides and lands head-first on the ground:
"Thanks for the catch..."
"Don't mention it..." The Lancer shot back at the Archer with the same sarcastic bluntness.
Arturia and Jeanne then got back and moved to attack Scathach, and a knife-wielding Jekyll came running up to strike her from behind. Arturia attacks first, and a swing from Excalibur gets blocked by Gae Bolg, trapping the Saber in a deadlock just before Scathach then kicks Jekyll away a far distance just before his knives reached her. Jeanne swings her flag at the warrior-queen, only for Scathach to let go of her spear with one hand to catch Jeanne's weapon by the shaft. Just then, a very P.O'ed* Mordred charges headlong at Scathach again, and the warrior-queen reinforces her arm and spins Jeanne's flag around, taking the Ruler who still holding on to it off her feet and crashing her into Mordred. Arturia breaks away before getting hit as Jeanne and Mordred go flying, and the Ruler's flag soon disintegrates to sparkles. The blue Saber quickly reengages to trade blows with Scathach who regains her grip on her spear. Astolfo and Mashu jump at Scathach from both sides, travelling extremely fast.
"I've got her-!" Astolfo calls out as he closes-in on the warrior-queen before Mashu, ready to whack Scathach with his lance until to his shock, the warrior-queen went into wraith form and her body became black smoke. "-no, I don't...!"
Astolfo passes right through Scathach and was unable to slow his momentum enough to stop himself from colliding with Mashu, and they both go tumbling out of the arena. Mordred struggles to get up as a barely conscious Jeanne was lying on top of her.
"Get off of me!" Mordred yells in frustration before forcing Jeanne's beaten form off herself. The Ruler lies reeling as Mordred stands up watching Arturia continue in vain to get the upper hand on Scathach. The Red Saber summons her sword: Clarent, which starts arcing with red electricity.
She wasn't about to let her father take this one victory away from her.
Gold sparks fly each time Excalibur contacts Gae Bolg. Arturia's finesse strikes were met with block after block as if Scathach could read her every move. A forceful parry by Scathach later and Arturia was forced on the defensive, evading and deflecting rapid strikes left-and-right. The Blue Saber was barely holding on, her strength and instincts being the only things keeping her in this fight at the moment while Scathach stood steadfast, hardly moving around inside the circle she had drawn around her feet. An awkward deflection sent Arturia stumbling sideways as Scathach spun to swing her spear at the Blue Saber's exposed back. Arturia, on instinct, raised Excalibur over and behind her to intercept the blade just in time, but the force of the strike combined with Arturia's lost footing caused her to fall on to the ground, leaving her vulnerable. Cu Chulainn watches intensely as Mordred then joined the fray, jumping into the air with a burst of mana to strike down at Scathach.
"EAT THIS!"
Scathach turned and raised her spear just as an arcing Clarent swung down at her. Mordred yells as her sword hits Gae Bolg and discharges red electricity wildly. Arturia looks up and rolls just in time to avoid the initial blast, only then to have a stray lightning bolt graze and singe her upper arm.
"Argh!" The Blue Saber yells in pain and clenches her arm where she was struck as Mordred pushes against Scathach in their deadlock. From the sidelines, Cu Chulainn notices Scathach had been forced back to resist the Red Saber's initial attack, and her heel was very close to touching the line of the circle the warrior-queen stood in. The Lancer seized his chance and launched himself at her with his spear summoned.
At the same time while being pushed back from Mordred, Scathach turned the tables by going into wraith-form, letting Mordred pass right through before materializing again and back-kicking the Red Saber from behind, knocking her down beside Arturia. The warrior-queen spins and meets Cu Chulainn's Gae Bolg with her own, and their exchange became a red hurricane of swings and jabs. The Lancer weaves between blows around his former mentor, and Scathach spins swiftly and gracefully on the spot, reorienting her spear to block on oncoming strike; her feet never leaving the inner circle. This deadly dance comes to a pause as eventually the two of them catch each other's spear in a deadlock, and the eyes of both combatants lock on to that of the other.
Cu Chulainn's face held a confident, challenging grin while Scathach's hyper-focused gaze eventually mirrored his. She knew her former student was enjoying this and seemed to think that he was in control of the fight. As Scathach's eyes narrowed in challenge, she made it clear to the Lancer that she was the one who was one step ahead, and picked up on the fact that he was only stalling her as the Sabers tried to recover.
The look on her face conveyed plainly to the Lancer:
-"You think you have me, huh?"-
And he would be totally wrong about that as Scathach reinforced her arms and pivoted her spear before bending back and dropping to the ground. This caused Cu Chulainn to fall forward over her while the warrior queen extended her leg and kicked the Lancer in the abdomen as she flipped him over and threw him behind him. Flipping to a handstand and dissolving her spear, she spun on the spot and gracefully turned herself back on her feet upright like an acrobat. Cu Chulainn landed near the edge of the arena with a thud and quickly got back up. Scathach took this brief break in the fight to launch a fire spell behind her blindly at the Sabers, all while keeping her gaze focused on the Lancer.
Arturia and Mordred, who were still recovering from their tussle with Scathach, both found themselves blind-sighted by her spell, which exploded by their feet and sent them flying out of the arena and landing hard on the ground. Cu Chulainn charged at the warrior queen again with a burst of mana while she summoned her spear again to deflect an oncoming strike from the Lancer's Gae Bolg. Cu Chulainn does not let up his assault as Scathach continues blocking his attacks until a horizontal swipe from the Lancer causes her to arch and bend backwards. Time slowed as the blade of Cu's spear sailed over the warrior queen's face and missed within an inch. Scathach felt her heartrate spike as the blade passed by her crimson red eyes precariously, feeling the barest modicum of the cold touch of death...
And making her excited as her face morphs from one of focus to breathless anticipation...
Time speed back up as Scathach straightened back up and deflected a retaliatory strike from the Lancer as she then pressed a counterattack. After a series of blocks, to her slight surprise, Cu Chulainn forcefully parries away a slash from Scathach, causing her to turn and reposition her stance to compensate and orient herself. Her concentration broke for a split second to prevent her foot from crossing the line Scathach drew around herself, leaving a window for Cu Chulainn to capitalize. Time slowed again as the Lancer focused on Scathach's exposed, vulnerable side of her abdomen. He glances at his spear; reeled back and pointing right at her, but his focused gaze falters as he then looked back at Scathach's face; giving him a sideways glance. He saw her eyes close, not because she dreaded what she knew was coming next but was instead content.
In that moment... Ulster's Child of Light hesitates...
Time returned to normal speed as suddenly Scathach spun and forcefully knocked Cu Chulainn off his feet with a reinforced leg-sweep. The Lancer lands with a thud, and before he could do anything, Scathach crouched on top of him and pointed the blade of her Gae Bolg right up against his throat. Cu Chulainn was left staring dead into the red eyes of his former mentor as she pressed down on him, keeping the Lancer pinned to the ground. The tension was thick as both Scathach and Cu stood frozen, breathing heavily from the intensity of the fight while keeping their stares locked on each other while the warrior queen straddled him, their faces unreadable as time seemed to have lost meaning to them. Their heartbeats were thundering in sync not only from the fight but also from this "dangerous" position that both warriors found themselves in. When they finally did calm down, Cu Chulainn's face relaxed, while Scathach's turned somber, almost as if she was disappointed.
The servants, who were all lying beaten outside the edge of the arena, silently observed the scene before them. It became clear to everyone that no matter what else they made of the sight of Cu Chulainn pinned beneath Scathach, one thing was absolutely certain:
They lost... Scathach bested them all...
In the course of less than a minute, the fight was over.
Scathach suddenly became aware of everybody staring at her and Cu Chulainn, and she then calmly stood up and banished her spear. She looks at the Lancer with a seemingly indifferent gaze, who then proceeded to get up by himself, silently declining any assistance from her. The warrior queen then walked away, not before addressing everybody:
"Take a break for now to recover, for we start a new exercise come midday. We are far from done..."
The finality of that last statement made several servants audibly groan as they struggled to stand up. Cu Chulainn for one stood there and watched Scathach leave momentarily; a pang of guilt lingering as she went out of sight without looking back at anybody. He could tell that not only was the warrior queen disappointed by everyone's performance fighting her as well as their lack of teamwork, but the Lancer knew that she was so at him most of all. They both knew what happened near the end of their fight, and neither of them had to ask the other why it went the way it did.
It was just like before.
Most of the servants by now had managed to get up after some great difficulty. Arturia watched Mordred storm off in a huff, who did not even look back at the blue Saber to help her up or even apologize for injuring her. Feeling jaded by the knight's blatant disregard for her, Arturia had to bite back the urge to verbally admonish Mordred, remembering her talk with Emiya the night prior. She figured that she could have continued the fight with Scathach had the Red Saber not rushed-in recklessly and instead cooperated with Arturia.
Alas, Mordred was not a team-player, and was especially not willing to take any help from the King of Knights. Arturia doubted anything she could say to her just now would change Mordred's mindset. In saying nothing, she did not make things worse.
But not better either...
Mordred meanwhile was too bitter and angry at herself to acknowledge Arturia's injured state and goes off to lean back against a nearby tree to avoid anyone's gaze. She crosses her arms and laments how for the third time now she was unable to defeat Scathach, and she would have openly blamed the Blue Saber for getting in her way had it not been for her talk with Jekyll last night. Instead, she opted to say nothing. Mordred had nothing good to say to her anyway...
Her frustration was instead of on her father more on the opponent that Mordred failed to defeat yet again. She had an unquenchable urge to give Scathach a real beatdown, and every time the warrior queen got the better of her, it only added fuel to Mordred's flame; further increasing her perceived hatred towards her. The painful feeling in her arms would not go away until Mordred herself stood victorious against Scathach.
Emiya went to help Jekyll onto his feet, and both observed the Sabers from afar, as Arturia went away opposite Mordred to tend to her injured arm. The divide between the Sabers was just as wide as ever.
Meanwhile, Jeanne came over to Mashu and Astolfo. Both were still tangled together on the ground until the Shielder helped herself from off the Rider, who silently groaned after Mashu's leg lifted off a particularly "sensitive" area of his.
"Sorry Astolfo," Mashu said with sincerity as she then grabbed his hand and pulled him up on his feet.
"Nah, it was my bad..." Astolfo waved off with a strained voice while rubbing his aching back with his other hand. Jeanne could not share in her friend's still cheery mood, for she was still processing the fact that despite them fighting through five singularities, all of them could not take Scathach down. She could only take solace in one simple fact:
-That fight was terrible. I'm glad the masters weren't around to see that...-
---
[Meanwhile...]
"You think they're doing okay?"
Gudao asks Gabrielle as they were practicing drawing runes in Scathach's chamber. Gabrielle fires an ice spell at a target and freezes it.
"I'm sure they are," Gabrielle said as Gudao then cast fire at his target and blows it up. "Our servants have been through worse than whatever Scathach can throw at them. It's not like she'll end up killing them."
"Still, I wonder," said Gudao as their targets reset magically. "If Lancer's warnings are anything to go by, Scathach does not mess around. If the servants have to be taught teamwork, something tells me she'll go to some extremes to get that across to them. They barely got through Scathach last session."
"She nerfed them, remember?" Gabrielle pointed out as she drew a lightning rune. "She gave us her word this morning that she won't have to use that potion again. With our servants at full strength, nothing should be a challenge for them."
She casts her spell and destroys her target. Gabrielle stands proudly with her hands at her hips watching the smoking embers of what was left as Gudao stood visibly pondering.
"If anything, that just makes me even more worried. Whatever she has planned for them, she must have taken that into account. Doesn't that make you wonder what she's got planned for us now that we got the hang of runes?"
"Well, it can't be any harder than you teaching me Japanese," Gabrielle humors her brother as she gives him a sideways glance. "I've had enough practice. How about we throw some punches?"
Gudao stares at her as she casually made her way to the floor mats laid out on the opposite side of the room. He and Gabrielle had been taught hand combat before coming to Chaldea, and although it was far from useful against servants, it was one of those "just in case" skills they picked up that helped them maintain some athletic ability. The siblings usually don't ever get a chance to use it except on each other for fun.
"Fine with me," Gudao eventually replied with a shrug, figuring they could use a change of pace after drawing runes for an extended period. "Been a hot minute since we practiced fighting hand-to-hand."
Gudao then takes off his jacket revealing his t-shirt underneath. He tosses it aside and takes off his shoes before joining Gabrielle as she did the same; only she ups the ante by taking off her stockings and ditching her shirt entirely, leaving her in shorts and a sports bra. Gudao bashfully looks away as Gabrielle does a stretch, refraining himself from feeling anything remotely lustful towards his stepsister.
"No need to be extra prudish, Gu-dork," Gabrielle teases, noticing Gudao's hesitancy around her. "It's not like we're really related. Besides, I know you're not gonna try anything..."
Gudao eventually forced himself to look at her, staying fixated on Gabrielle's smug face rather than her midriff. He had to admit she had a point, yet it still amazed him to know that Gabrielle trusts him completely, even with showing off her body around him. But...
"You're still my sister..." he points out in an "obviously..." kind of tone. "And a very weird one at that."
Gabrielle's face then lights up as if she had a brilliant idea.
"Then how about this? Take off the shirt, and we're Even Steven. Wouldn't want you hiding those abs of yours all the time... Mashu will want to see the goods."
Gudao nearly groans at that as he stood on the mat and took a stance, followed in kind by Gabrielle who stands across not four feet away.
"Sheesh... I didn't know you were such a hensei, nee-san*."
The two masters lock eyes as they hold out their hands ready to grapple or grab; the atmosphere remarkably relaxed as the two were prepared to spar.
"Anata no seida yo*," Gabrielle remarks in Japanese before she explodes into motion, throwing a punch to Gudao's chest only him to sidestep and counter with one of his own. Gabrielle dodges and weaves around her brother, catching her arm with one arm and holding his other before he can retaliate with it. "Anata ga watashi ni manga o shōkai shite kuremashita*."
Gudao winces as Gabrielle twists his caught arm at an awkward angle. She smirks in victory until in a smooth motion, Gudao frees his other arm and counterturns out of Gabrielle's arm lock. Before she could react, Gudao seized her still outstretched arm and pulled her around towards him, so her back was against him as he then snaked his other arm around Gabrielle's neck in a headlock. Gabrielle strains as Gudao then asks her:
"Ittai don'na dōjinshi o yonde kita ndarou*?"
Smirking, Gabrielle kicks Gudao's leg in, loosening his arm just enough to wrench herself free, dropping and rolling around her stepbrother until she pulled his other leg and caused him to fall flat on the floor. Gudao found himself pinned down by his stepsister as she threw her weight on his back.
"Watashi no kyōmi o hiku mono wa nandemo,* " Gabrielle replies in comically casual fashion. Gudao rolls, but this results in Gabrielle catching him in a headlock and pinning his legs down by wrapping them with her own. Gudao strains as he holds his stepsisters' arm with both hands trying to pull it off, all the while having the back of his head firmly pressed against Gabrielle's chest covered by her sports bra.
"Okashina koto ni natte kimashita..., * " Gudao strenuously remarks before grabbing her wrist and pulling her arm away from his neck and frees his leg to roll Gabrielle off him. She saw this coming and let go halfway in the roll to avoid getting crushed. Before Gudao could get up, Gabrielle quickly used her legs to grab Gudao's head and rolled to send him tumbling back to the floor. They keep rolling until Gabrielle has Gudao locked between her thighs while they lay back against the floor. Gudao's legs flail vainly as Gabrielle keeps him pinned against the ground, not caring that she was keeping her stepbrother's head in a "questionable" position.
"Sore ni tsuite oshietekudasai, nii-chan...,* " Gabrielle said playfully as Gudao struggled to separate his head from between her thighs. She smirks in triumph as he eventually tapped the ground, signifying that he surrendered and giving her the win for this round. She quickly released him and Gudao gasps for breath.
"Not bad, sis," Gudao compliments as Gabrielle quickly stood up and did another stretch. She then lends a hand to help her brother up, which he gratefully accepts.
"Well, one of us has been hitting the gym more it seems," Gabrielle quipped as she prepared her stance for the next round. Gudao smirks with a competitive visage and mirrors his sister's stance.
"That so?"
They pause before Gabrielle sends a flurry of punches and kicks at Gudao who blocks and deflects each one while being pushed back by his opponent. Seeing him being pushed further towards the end of the mat, Gabrielle lets her confidence get the better of her and reels around to do a jab-kick right at Gudao's abdomen, only to her shock for Gudao to catch her foot with both hands and use her momentum against her, pivoting himself around and throwing Gabrielle to the mat's edge.
Gabrielle rolls and plants her feet down to stand up before she crossed off the mat. She stood up just in time as Gudao closed in on her, dodging a blow to her ribs and blocking another swing with her elbow. In desperation, Gabrielle spins around to ram her elbow at the side of her opponent's head, only for it to be intercepted and caught by Gudao, who then grabs the rest of Gabrielle's arm and twists it behind her. Gabrielle grunts as she blindly jabs at Gudao with her other arm to then be caught and entangled with her own. Gudao then kicks her leg in forcing her on to her knees and touching the edge of the mat. Unable to break free of Gudao's arm-lock, Gabrielle concedes with a strained voice.
"Okay, uncle... uncle!"
Gudao lets go and Gabrielle exhales and massages her arm. This round went to her brother.
"Fight smarter, not harder," Gudao calmly remarks while offering his sister a hand, mirroring the kind gesture she gave him before. Gabrielle accepts and allows Gudao to help her stand up.
"Noted," she replies as they then made their way to the nearby well of mana and sat down to catch their breaths. "We never sparred like that in a while."
"Well, I don't know where you've been, but we've had bigger priorities," Gudao joked, and Gabrielle snorts out a laugh.
"If only Mashu could've seen you just now. She'd be head over heels..."
After she'd said that, a moment of silence lingered before Gudao eventually faces Gabrielle and asks her honestly:
"You think so?"
Gabrielle sensed a bit of uncertainty in his tone. Her cheery demeanor made room for some seriousness to seep into her voice as she answered.
"Gu-dork... you're a nice guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you; which I can't say the same about the guys I've dated..."
Gudao could not tell if she was joking or really meant that last part. He could tell where this conversation was going as he watched Gabrielle's expression falter.
"It's why it frustrates me that you haven't taken a leap on her. I mean, since we found about her... you know." She casts down her eyes and twiddles her thumbs as if thinking about how to say what's next. "I thought we were going to make her happy until then."
Gudao stares, silently contemplating how to respond now such heavy subject matter has been brought up. He knew Gabrielle was never on-board with keeping Mashu's condition a secret as much as he, Roman, and Da Vinci were and felt he needed to reassure his sister that what they were doing was right.
"We have, Gabby," Gudao eventually replies, trying to hide his uncertainty. "She has friends, and she enjoys the things we introduce her to: Ping-pong, karaoke, anime, Just Dance-"
"You know she asked about you back in Edinburgh," Gabrielle confessed out of the blue, cutting him off as she then turned to face him. "Mashu's worried that you're not confiding in her like you did before America."
Gudao stares stunned for a brief second until he fearfully asked:
"You don't think she-?"
"No," Gabrielle quickly answers. "I assured her there was nothing wrong with her and that you're just stressed out. She cares about you Gu-dork. You make her happy more than anything."
From the way his sister was staring at him, Gudao could tell what Gabrielle wanted to ask him. It was paining her to keep up this charade of keeping Mashu in the dark of her eventual death and wanted to end this lie.
The sad thing was Gudao knew that she was not the only one. He too wanted to stop this and make Mashu as happy as she could be, but...
"I can't, Gabby. It will just make things harder when..."
He could not finish that sentence. It was too morbid and heart-wrenching for him to say, but Gabrielle understood regardless.
"For her... or for you?" she then asked seriously. In his shock, Gudao could tell that Gabrielle was blind towards his and the Demi-Servant's interactions and knew better than he did how much she meant to him. She was implying that he was keeping Mashu at arms-length hoping to spare himself more heartbreak. Gabrielle looked away and shook ahead, appearing ashamed of herself for even saying what she had to him. Curling her legs and wrapping her arms around her knees, she then reluctantly asked:
"Why don't we just tell her and the others? She's gonna find out eventually..." her voice was strained at this point. They both knew Mashu's fainting episode after the last singularity will not be a one-time occurrence and it will not be long until the Shielder became wise to what was happening to her. Gudao cast his eyes down slightly after agonizing silence and said:
"Roman won't forgive me if I end up breaking her heart. We need to have faith that he and Da Vinci can find a way to reverse it-"
"And what if they can't?" Gabrielle snapped and faced Gudao, and he could see that she finally shed a tear that she was holding back this entire time. He understood Gabrielle's doubt; Mashu was the only surviving Demi-Servant from Chaldea before Olga took over. There was just no telling even IF Mashu's condition could be fixed, or if trying could end her miraculous life sooner. For the moment, the two siblings felt helpless to do ANYTHING to save Mashu.
Even magecraft cannot work miracles...
Gudao slowly wrapped an arm around Gabrielle and gently pulled her close to him, allowing her to silently cry in his embrace. If he was honest with himself, he felt like crying too.
But one of them had to stay strong. Gudao knew if he was the one breaking down, Gabrielle would do the same and keep him together just as he was doing with her now. He rubs Gabrielle's shoulder affectionately hoping it was enough to calm her down.
Gudao was reminded that as spunky and cheery as Gabrielle was most of the time, she was just as vulnerable as he was.
She was not as good at hiding her sorrow.
They stay like this for a while until Gabrielle calms down enough to speak.
"It'll hurt more the longer we keep this from her..."
"You're right," Gudao consoles. "What say after we get back to Chaldea that we tell her and the others then? Slowly?"
He then took a deep breath as he imagined how that scenario would play out in his head, realizing it was going to be rough for all three of them to go through. Gudao then adds:
"I can't promise she won't admonish me for keeping this from her."
Gabrielle sniffled and wiped a tear from her cheek. She looked up to her brother and said:
"Mashu is my best friend too. I can tell you that she's not the type to hold a grudge."
Gudao looks down at his sister and sees her somber face slowly form a hopeful smile. It seemed Gabrielle was feeling slightly better now that the prospect of being burdened with a lie would end, even if not immediately. They were aware that Mashu and the other servants had to focus on getting through Scathach's training first.
The masters would sit for a while before they were in the mood for more practice. During that time, Gudao's mind fell back to the time he and Gabrielle were summoned by Olga to join the Grand Order initiative and wondered what on Earth they were thinking when they accepted her offer. It seemed too good to be true; they were going to help save humanity, be heroes, and be set for the rest of their lives if they succeeded, and yet it was true. Upon arriving at Chaldea however, after the initial splendor of the magic and technology on display and meeting the other Prime Mages; a whole army of them, Gudao had no idea things would happen so fast.
And so badly...
[Flashback:]
The last thing Gudao remembered before blacking out was taking Mashu out of the rubble after the explosion back in Chaldea. They ended up trapped in the Control Room, watching Dr Roman drag a frantic Gabrielle out before the strange Chaldeas device exploded. Gudao found himself thrown through a cosmic vortex before he got overwhelmed, believing it to be the end for him and the girl he tried to save.
All he saw was blackness. Gudao had not the faintest idea of how much time had passed or even if time mattered at all in this limbo he found himself in.
"Senpai, wake up. PLEASE... wake up!"
"Fou!"
He could have sworn he heard a familiar voice, but it sounded so distant that like an echo, so he did not recognize it. He tried to will his body (if he even still had one) to move.
"Hmmm, this isn't working. What if I use another title? How about..."
The voice was gradually getting clearer, and before he knew it, Gudao's other senses began to return. He could smell fire and brimstone; feel the hard ground he was lying on, and even begin to move his eyelids. Gudao tries to open his eyes, but hits resistance and they close from being too heavy. He had no strength to move yet.
But felt a certain something lick his cheek again.
"Master, wake up! If you don't, I'll kill you!"
"Huh?"
Gudao found his voice, and knowing he was indeed alive energized him to the point where he could finally open his eyes. Mashu's blurry face came into focus as he blinked several times before locking eyes with her, and Gudao could see she was overjoyed and relieved to see him and the white, furry creature named Fou was on her shoulder, having jumped from Gudao just a moment ago.
"Finally! Thank goodness you're awake Senpai! We're safe for the moment."
"Mashu?! You're-" Gudao stammered, daring to believe Mashu was alive and well. Yet behind her, he caught a glimpse of the environment they were in; a city of fire and destruction everywhere. It was clear to Gudao that they were not in Chladea anymore. "Where are we? And-"
In his confusion, Gudao realized something peculiar.
"Did you say, "I'll kill you"?"
Mashu suddenly turned embarrassed and ashamed.
"Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant to say you're going to be killed. Everything happened so quickly, and I was just saying anything to get you to wake up."
Gudao blinked at her and looked around frantically, not knowing how they ended up in this terrible place.
"What did happen? How are we alive right now and..."
As he looked around, Gudao's gaze eventually fell back on Mashu, noticing something strange about her. Words failed him as his eyes went over Mashu's evidently "healthy" form. The cuts on her face were gone, along with the fact that she was kneeling over him with both legs. Gudao could swear that her legs were broken last he checked.
What was more puzzling was the attire Mashu now wore. Gone was the girl's grey hoodie, stockings, tie, and glasses; replaced with a black/purple body with a metallic skirt and greaves. The outfit exposed her shoulders, bellybutton and her thighs. On top of that, she was holding what looked like a gigantic round shield with a cross profile in one hand. Mashu seemed to be holding it as if the shield was light as a feather.
All in all, Gudao was stunned and enamored with this form Mashu was in, and just had to ask:
"What is with the getup?"
Mashu briefly looked at herself in slight embarrassment. Before she could provide an explanation-
(Screech!)
Mashu stood up and turned at the horrendous sound. Gudao followed the sound and turned to see a group of walking skeletons, armed with swords running towards them. He quickly got up just as Mashu motioned him to stay back. Fou was nearly panicking.
"Fou! Fou!"
"Hostiles! Master, I await your orders..."
"Orders?" Gudao questioned her before he became aware of a curious sensation on his hand and saw a glowing symbol on it, shaped like a shield. He recognized them as command seals and came to the startling revelation; "Wait! You're a Servant?!"
"I guess so..." Mashu said as the monsters closed in on them. "We're about to have company. Let's overcome this together!"
Her newfound determination prompted Gudao to focus and charge a Gandr curse. He had no clue that the mysterious that he only met today had such strength and he doubted Mashu herself was even aware she had it.
"Skeletons... Let's see if that shield is useful to hit them with. Do you even know how to use that thing?"
Mashu sensed the uncertainty in Gudao's voice. She could not explain it, but something about her form assured her that she was up for a fight. She faced the skeletons again and readied her combat stance.
"I think so. Only one way to find out..."
"Kyu!" Fou squirmed on Mashu's shoulder, briefly catching her attention
"Hide Fou," she warns the creature while keeping her eyes on the nearing enemies. "This could get ugly... Hyah!"
Mashu launched herself towards the group of walking skeletons leaving Gudao stiff with shock and disbelief as he watched her maneuvering and swinging her weapon at her enemies, splitting them apart and sending flying. He briefly turned around to shoot two skeletons creeping up behind him with a Gandr curse. He lands two perfect headshots and turns back around to give Mashu some help, feeling proud of himself UNTIL he saw how many the girl decimated while he wasn't looking. Judging from the huge pile of broken bones scattered around her, Mashu had easily defeated over two dozen of them in the time it took for Gudao to take out two. He was left flabbergasted as Mashu stood there seeming shocked and surprised at herself.
"Oh my. That was really violent..." She remarked before turning to Gudao with genuine concern. "Are you hurt, Senpai?"
One lone skeleton rushed at Mashu, only to be casually (and blindly) bashed away by her shield.
SCORE:
Mashu: 27 (was 26) Gudao: 2
Gudao himself was feeling insecure, having been shown up so innocently by the girl he just met today.
"Uhhh..." the boy starts awkwardly, then to his relief saw a legless skeleton to his right crawling slowly towards him and he quickly fired a curse at it.
Mashu: 27 Gudao: 3
"Nope!" he then replied confidently, feeling slightly better about himself before changing the subject. "You never mentioned you could fight like that."
Mashu rubs her head abashedly, feeling quite flattered.
"Well, I didn't know until a few minutes ago. It's hard to explain but-"
(pulse)
Mashu's shield suddenly glowed, and she drops it in surprise. Fou hops off Mashu and inspected the shield with its nose before the weapon glowed brighter. She and Gudao stared in amazement as a distorted holographic image was being projected over it.
"Yes, I'm finally getting through!" The voice that came out was loaded with static but both Gudao and Mashu were able to recognize it. "Hello? This is the Chaldea Command Room. Can you hear me?"
Mashu and Gudao looked at each other ecstatically before the girl spoke to the projection as the image gradually got clearer.
"Dr. Roman? Come in, this is Mashu. I'm here with Gudao Fujimaru. Respond..."
Sure enough, Roman's face came into focus, and the doctor was beyond relieved to see Mashu.
"Oh, thank God! Mashu, you're alive!"
"We're both here, doctor," Gudao adds for Mashu, and then another familiar face came through the image, pushing Roman out of the way.
"Gudao!" Gabrielle suddenly came yelling ecstatically through the shield. "You're safe!"
"Gabby?" Gudao said hopefully. Gabrielle beamed at him, secure in the knowledge that her brother was alive. Judging by her broken voice, Gudao could tell she had been crying.
"Yeah bro, I'm here with Roman. We've both got out."
"That's great, but..." Gudao trails off, the situation at hand coming back to the forefront. "I have no idea how we're alive right now..."
"I do," Roman cuts in. "You got transported when the Chaldeas system overloaded."
"Really? So where are we?"
"I think the better question to ask is WHEN. According to these readings, you and Mashu have rayshifted into 2000's Fuyuki City, Japan."
"We've gone back in time?!" Gudao asked in disbelief. Looking around, if he IS where Roman said he was at this time, Gudao was left with even more questions. With what he knew about the last Holy Grail War, he was absolutely sure that Fuyuki City was NOT destroyed as it seemed to be now. "But- None of this was here. This didn't happen..."
"Let me clarify," Roman said. "You two are in a singularity: a paradox that has not yet merged into the normal timeline. It's not QUITE the same as time travel, but technically-"
"Maybe save the quantum physics lesson for another time doc?" Gabrielle cuts him off. "We've got more pressing matters."
"Thanks Gabby," Gudao said to her, grateful that Gabrielle cut that explanation short, because even with that, he was STILL lost. "How did you even find us?"
"Once I got some the temporal scanners working again," Roman starts off annoyed at having been interrupted by Gabrielle. "I've picked up a signal coming from precisely where Mashu is standing right now and-"
Roman suddenly stops as his gaze becomes fixated on Mashu. Or rather-
"Young lady!" the doctor said to Mashu with extreme concern at having JUST noticed it. "WHERE did you get that outfit?!"
Both Gudao and Gabrielle turned to Mashu, who turned embarrassed and slightly ashamed of herself. Roman was obviously emphasizing how... risqué Mashu's combat attire looked, like a dad disappointed with his daughter. Gudao could tell by Gabrielle's expression that she was even more curious about it.
"It... uhm, is a long story..." Mashu started hesitantly before going on to explain, "I've seemed to have bonded with Gudao senpai as Servant to Master. He even has command seals tied to me."
That seemed to have immediately washed away Roman's concern to then be replaced with utter disbelief.
"You- you're a Servant? Hold on..." Roman's eyes darted downwards, and the sound of rapid keystrokes reached both Gudao's and Mashu's ears. "Scanning spiritron/saint graph makeup. By God... strength, magical circuits, vitals; all improved greatly! Impossible... they were all failures... it- it worked!"
"Say what, doctor?" both Gudao and Gabrielle let out suddenly at the last things Roman said, not fully knowing the meaning behind that statement. But it sounded to them like Mashu was no ordinary girl at all...
"I'll tell you both later," Roman quickly brushed them off. "Mashu, you aren't kidding! I'm reading you as a Shielder-class Servant."
Mashu's face morphed into surprise, but Gudao was stumped; a sentiment shared by his sister.
"Shielder class?" Gabrielle said skeptically, she and Gudao knowing there were only seven known servant classes, and none of them were what Roman just said. "Never heard of it."
"I'm equally surprised, believe me," Roman replied, not hiding his wonder. The doctor then turned his attention back to Gudao and Mashu. "Right now, we need to get you two back to Chaldea."
"How are we going to do that?" Gudao asked the doctor.
"We've designed the Chaldeas system to send people into time distortions like the one you and Mashu are in now. We're working on getting the Chaldeas system back to full power so we can bring you back, but that's not going to happen if you don't destroy the source of the singularity."
"Okay..." Gudao said with uncertainty with the knowledge that he and Mashu were trapped for the time being. "How do we find it?"
"That'll be up to you and Mashu," Roman said somewhat sadly. "We're trying to repair some pods to we can send backup in to help you."
"Who?" Gudao asked just before he got his answer...
"Me, Gu-dork," Gabrielle replied determinately. "According to Roman, only the Prime Candidates can make the rayshift. And I'm the only one still topside..."
"But Gabby!" Gudao said horrified. "You'll be trapped too!"
"I can't sit by and be unable to help my brother!" insisted Gabrielle. "Once the pods are repaired, me and another Servant can beam over and help you."
"Gabby please..." Gudao pleaded, unwilling to let her sister put herself in danger for him. However, Gabrielle was not having it.
"You would do the same for me Gu-dork. I almost lost you once, and I'm not letting that happen again. Don't argue with me on this."
Gabrielle said that last part almost as a plea. Seeing his sister's conviction, Gudao eventually relents with a sigh.
"Not like I can really stop you anyway..."
His response was met with an assuring smile from Gabrielle.
"Thanks bro. Hang in there... help is on the way!"
"Gudao. Mashu," Roman then addresses the two. "While you're at it, see if there could be any survivors from the attack down there with you. I'll have to dive further into what happened, cause this had to have been an inside job..."
"Got it," Gudao said with a nod. "Thanks doctor."
"I'm glad you both weren't fazed out of existence. Mashu, you both be safe out there."
"Yes Roman," Mashu responds before Gabrielle addressed her.
"And Mashu, please keep my brother safe for me..."
"I promise, Gabrielle-senpai."
"Check back later Gabby..." Gudao said to his sister before the images vanished and Mashu's shield had dulled. Mashu picks it up and Fou hops back on her shoulder.
"So we need to find the source of this singularity and destroy it to escape," she said to Gudao. "Where do you suggest we start, Senpai?"
"Uhhh, me?" Gudao starts hesitantly, having not yet thought of a plan. Looking around at the ruined urban landscape, his sights fall on a nearby skyscraper that looked intact for the most part. "Well... we might have some luck seeing where this thing is if we go to higher ground. Like over there..."
He points at the building to show Mashu. He knew it was not the best plan ever, but Mashu seemed to be onboard.
"I agree," Mashu said, and the optimistic smile she gave made Gudao's heart skip a beat. "Let's make our way there."
"You seem cheery at the prospect of trekking through a post-apocalyptic wasteland," Gudao remarked as they began walking.
"I will admit, I'm a bit scared," Mashu revealed. "But I feel pretty safe around a dependable guy like you, Gudao-senpai."
"You do?" Gudao said hopefully, his heart skipping again. It was flattering for him to know that Mashu would go to him for protection like a valiant knight that he currently fantasized himself as. Perhaps even-
"Besides," Mashu then cheerily added; "we have Fou with us, who is ALWAYS there to cheer me up!"
"Ah..." Gudao deadpanned, forcing that fantasy to end abruptly. He felt jealous of the white-fur creature sitting happily on Mashu's shoulder, who to him at least seemed even more important to Mashu than himself.
"Kyu. Kyu...!" Fou squeaked directly at Gudao while Mashu wasn't paying attention, as if to smugly taunt him, adding salt to the wound. Gudao narrowed his eyes and glared at the creature and discreetly grumbled:
"Laugh it up, fuzz-ball."
[Flashback End:]
Gudao was still sitting there with Gabrielle, continuing to cheer her up. He knew Gabrielle was not the kind of person who would wait for things to happen; she always needed to be doing something whether to be contributing or as a distraction to ward off the mental toll. Gudao thought he could use that himself to distract himself from the possibility of not being able to help with Mashu's condition.
So after a while, the siblings continued sparring, deciding that the best they could do was better themselves for when the time came for Scathach to evaluate them.
Unaware to the masters, a presence hiding behind Gabrielle's mind had been listening and watching them this whole time.
And he was taking notes...
"Keeping secrets from each other, huh?" Zenith said to himself as he stared into the mirror reflecting whatever Gabrielle was seeing and hearing, turning a pocket watch in his hand. "Well, none of your secrets are safe from me..."
TBC