"This sucks!" Mordred complained, her frustration exemplified by her kicking the ground and spraying dirt. "We got our asses handed to us again."
"Would you relax?" Mashu said with an exasperated tone to the Red Saber. She and the other Servants were waiting around, still exhausted from their last session with Scathach. The warrior queen had taken a moment to go hunting for a little while before resuming their "lessons", and nobody was really eager to continue upon her eventual return. Morale was low for everybody, and Mashu herself was feeling a little pessimistic despite the overall intention of these exercises to help them become stronger. "Your complaints aren't going to make these sessions any easier."
Mordred huffed in response and crossed her arms. Just then, Astolfo, who was lying down nearby expressed his dismay, which was far off from his usual cheery attitude.
"Mordred's right," the pink-haired Rider said sullenly, optimism completely absent in his voice, replaced with dread. "At this rate, we're going to be stuck going through these lessons FOREVER..."
Mordred's visage of frustration wavered a little upon hearing Astolfo sounding so utterly defeated and NOT looking forward to whatever Scathach had in store for all of them next. She felt a modicum of sympathy for the Rider, having been through the ringer as all the Servants here have when it came to the warrior queen. Mordred knew things were dreadful when even the happy-go-lucky Astolfo is downtrodden.
"Glad someone is sane enough to see how farcical this whole situation is," the Red Saber remarked offhandedly, earning her a narrow stare from Mashu, who no doubt felt that statement was directed at her.
"You're just mad that you couldn't beat Scathach," Mashu said to the Red Saber, not willing to put up with her antics after their brief confrontation yesterday before Scathach intervened. "She's proven to be more formidable than any foe we've faced. I'm actually not surprised she brushed you off..."
"You admire her now?" Mordred asked the Shielder callously, not liking that Mashu was implying and glared in her direction. One does not simply label Mordred as weak and gets to brag about it...
Mashu, however, stayed calm and steered the topic away from the Red Saber, having already bruised Mordred's ego as much as she wanted and left it at that.
"I'm just being objective," Mashu replied as she leaned against a tree and crossed her arms. "I bet she could take on Solomon all by herself. Would make our job much easier."
Mordred's glare narrowed briefly before she broke away. Having wanted to give the Shielder a piece of her mind, she decided Mashu was not worth wasting effort on. Instead, the Red Saber scoffed and said under her breath:
"NOT ANY FUN is more like it..."
As much animosity Mordred had towards Mashu for almost getting on her bad side, her real plight was with the warrior queen. The Red Saber wanted so badly to defeat Scathach in combat after being beaten by her three times now. At first, she thought it was because of how easily the Guardian of Dunscaith just bested her so easily that Mordred felt weak for being defeated by her. If there was one thing Mordred hated as a knight, it was feeling weak... even remotely.
But the more she thought about it, Mordred realized her obsession was not because she felt beating Scathach would prove she was strong. It was more personal than that. Mordred's arms ached whenever the warrior queen stood up to her, exerted strength over her, called out her actions. It was a feeling Mordred had not felt since she was alive and scared her to know that she could still feel as a Servant.
There was only one person who could instill that feeling in Mordred, and as far as she knew, that person had been dead for a long time...
If she could not defeat the warrior queen, then this pain, and the memories that came with it, would continue to torment Mordred. Which made it even more frustrating after her last fight with Scathach; Mordred was sure she came so close to victory, only for it to slip from her grasp.
I would've had that witch on the ropes if father hadn't got in my way...
Nearby, the ever-vigilant Archer, Emiya, was watching everybody present. His eyes lingered on Cu Chulainn who was standing around away from everyone, and he looked to be seriously lost in thought. While Emiya still was not fond of him, he knew the look of internal conflict when he saw it on someone's face. Ireland's Child of Light had been distancing himself especially after Scathach's previous "lesson." The Archer had known of Cu Chulainn to be a rather emotionally open person given his bravado.
For Cu to be like this... Emiya wondered if it had anything to do with his and Scathach's spar. What exactly happened there?
Meanwhile, Arturia was still nursing her injury on her arm inflicted by Mordred. Only now was it starting to heal while Jeanne d'Arc walked up beside her, stretching her arms.
"The French army was never this tough," she remarked before showing concern for her friend. "How's your arm?"
Arturia briefly glanced at Jeanne and replied sternly.
"I'll live..." she said before stealing one hard look in the direction of Mordred, who did not meet her gaze. Arturia then curtly looked away. "I've suffered worse."
Jeanne's face fell with worry. From afar, Emiya was observing the girls' interaction, noting how cold the Blue Saber sounded in that moment; a sign of her old habit of closing herself off. His eyes narrowed as he sensed Jekyll just behind him, looking between Arturia and Mordred as the Archer was.
"There's even more to that statement than she lets on," Emiya said without turning to the Assassin. "I've seen some of what horrors she had to go through. Lived through it too."
Jekyll came up beside the Archer and glanced at his face before following his gaze towards the Blue Saber.
"If your forced stoicism is any indication, your Grail War must have been especially chaotic if that was what you were referring to."
"War is chaotic no matter how small it is," Emiya stated seriously. "What me and Saber had to go through... we both would've folded if we didn't look out for each other. No matter what, if Saber gets knocked down, she keeps getting back up to fight. She'll fight to her last breath to protect what she cares about."
Jekyll's gaze then shifted across the field to Mordred.
"Mordred is much like that too," he admirably revealed. "In London, she bore the might of the Dark Lancer that appeared after we defeated Tesla. Despite a heavy beating she took, Mordred gave it her all to protect me and the masters, like we were the most important things in the world to her. She was exhausted by time Solomon ambushed us."
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Emiya.
"Mordred may pretend otherwise, but she has a good heart. She hides it behind armor..."
Emiya's face fell with nostalgia as he admitted to Jekyll:
"So did Saber once upon a time." The Archer then turned to the Assassin. "I just wonder what forced her to hide it in the first place. And if maybe if the circumstances surrounding Mordred may have something to do with it."
Before Jekyll could offer an opinion, an authoritative voice caught everyone's attention.
"Line up."
Everybody turned and saw Scathach walking out of the woods towards the center of the group and carrying a burlap bag. Astolfo perked up and hopped back on his feet and all the Servants walked towards her. Curiously, Cu Chulainn was the slowest to join, his eyes locked on his former mentor yet remaining stoic.
Once everyone was lined up, Scathach then told them as she paced back and forth
"Here's what is going to happen from this point on; you'll all be put in teams of two and will rotate between partners. That is, if you prove that you can work well together."
Some of the servants were attentive but others (namely Mordred) groaned at the prospect.
"Ugh..."
Ignoring the Red Saber, Scathach then instructed them:
"Now, all of you will pull a gem out," she emphasized by holding up her burlap sack before going to the end of the line. "And the person with a matching one will be your partner."
Starting with Mordred, Scathach held open the bag for her. The Red Saber did as she was told with a barely audible grunt. Reaching in blindly, Mordred pulls out a gem and keeps it closed in her hand. Scathach did the same for Astolfo beside her and every servant in a row after the Rider. She finally gets to the last Servant; Cu Chulainn. When the warrior queen reached him, their gaze lingered on each other for a few seconds; their faces unreadable. Everyone watched as Scathach then curtly held the bag open for the Lancer, who reached in without looking away from her, as if there was some cryptic message passed between them. Scathach then turned around and announced:
"Now that everyone has their gem, on the count of three, you all can look. Don't complain about the result. One..."
Everyone held up their closed hands up at chest level, anxiously waiting to reveal who each of them would be partnered with.
"Two..."
Mordred glanced to her right and caught Astolfo peaking at his gem and "gently" kicked his shin and getting him to stop. Astolfo made an inaudible "Oww!," making Mordred roll her eyes when finally-
"Three."
Taking a deep breath, Arturia opened her hand along with everyone. She saw that the gem she had in her hand was white. She looked around at the servants nearby had a matching-
"Mine's blue!" The Rider cheered, making Arturia jump. "Guess what? You're partnered up with yours truly! Astolfo, the Twelfth Paladin of Charlemagne! Whoever you are, consider yourself lucky!"
Ignoring the bubbly paladin, Arturia took a glance at Emiya who was beside her. From the look on his face, the Archer seemed displeased at his result.
"Shirou?"
Jeanne turned to look at Emiya the same as the Blue Saber. Arturia followed the Archer's eyes to the revealed gem in his hand:
Blue...
Arturia and Jeanne tried their best not to laugh. It seemed that the stoic bowman was stuck with the chatterbox that was Astolfo. Emiya looked at both the girls with a pleading expression.
"Pray for me..." he directed to Jeanne before he stepped forward to join the Rider. Jeanne humored Emiya by quickly making the sign of the cross as he departed. Beside her, Arturia turned to the Ruler and asked her:
"How about you, Jeanne?"
The Maiden of Orleans showed Arturia her gem. To both their disappointment, it was green.
"Would you look at that?" Jeanne stiffened and blushed when suddenly an arm was wrapped around her neck, and she was pulled close to Cu Chulainn who had her matching gem. "Can't say I'm not grateful to have a partner who can keep me alive, huh lass?"
Arturia looked at Jeanne, who glanced back at her in embarrassment at the Lancer's charm.
"Looks like I'm with Lancer, Arty," Jeanne stated in an almost apologetic tone while trying to force down a bashful smile. Arturia simply smiled back as Jeanne was then dragged away by Cu Chulainn, who seemed to be looking forward to having the Ruler as a fighting partner. The King of Knights was still left wondering who had her matching gem.
She had a feeling... but not a good one.
"What's yours Beansprout?" Mordred asked while leaning towards Jekyll, hoping maybe he might have her matching gem. To her disappointment, Jekyll showed her:
"Red."
"Mine's red too," said Mashu to the Assassin nearby, holding up her matching gem for him to see. Turning away from the Shielder, Jekyll said apologetically to Mordred:
"Guess Mashu's my partner."
The Assassin left a stunned Mordred and left with Mashu, leaving the Red Saber to look at the only remaining servant in line; and the one she hoped NOT to be paired with.
"Don't tell me..." Mordred said under her breath. Sure enough, Arturia was glancing at her with the same expression of disbelief. Mordred's eyes drifted down and she saw the white gem in the other Saber's hand.
Please no, please no, PLEASE NO...
Mordred tried to deny it all she wanted, but she could not change reality. Looking down at her now open hand, she bitterly had to accept it...
Her gem was white too.
"Aww damn it!" Mordred groaned loudly and tilted her head back in dismay. It was the one outcome she did not want to happen. And glancing back at Arturia, the Knight of Treachery could tell she was not happy about it either...
The Sabers were each other's fighting partners.
I would've taken Birdbrain over father any day of the week... where's the luck?!
------
Soon After:
"This better be temporary..." Arturia stated bluntly as she and Mordred begrudgingly stood beside each other arms crossed, both refusing to even face the other Saber.
"Tell me about it," Mordred retorted to her "father" as they all the other servants waited for Scathach's instructions. Both she and Arturia looked around at the other teams of two to see how they were taking this arrangement concocted by the Guardian of Dunscaith.
Arturia saw Jeanne and Cu Chulainn getting along relatively well. Of all the team comps, the Maiden of Orleans was the luckiest, being paired with a teammate she could best act as both support/tank for besides any of the Sabers. Arturia thought amusingly that the Lancer could definitely use Jeanne's defensive abilities the most out of the other servants... for obvious reasons.
Shifting her sight towards Emiya, Arturia saw the Archer was exasperated with the teammate he was stuck with; Astolfo. The Rider just wanted to befriend his partner, but their conversation was very one-sided as the paladin seemed to talk nonstop about whatever subject piqued his interest and Emiya was forced to simply listen.
Most curious was the team which consisted of Mashu and Dr. Jekyll, with Arturia not really seeing how the Shielder and Assassin can work together in combat. Despite their incompatibility, the King of Knights could see that even they were willing to converse with each other and strategize.
Unlike with her and Mordred...
Arturia had no clue how she was going to get through Scathach's next challenge with the Knight of Treachery as her teammate. She was sure that Mordred's only train of thought was go solo and hit whatever's thrown at her very, very hard. Arturia dreaded that what was coming was going to be too much for any single Servant to handle.
Yet, it's not like Arturia could rely on Mordred herself. She'd rather not...
"Listen up," Scathach said to everybody. "Now that you are all in pairs, you are going to learn to succeed together, or be defeated together. That choice is in you and your partner's hands. Every challenge from this point on will take nothing less than strength and teamwork to conquer. You will have to get used to putting each other's lives in your respective hands."
All the servants shifted their weight uncomfortably. Cu Chulainn was hardly paying attention as he glanced towards the two Sabers who seemed adamant in ignoring each other. Looking towards his other fellow servants and their respective partners, the Lancer could not help but feel that they all weren't paired at random...
"This first trial will pit you against a familiar foe" Scathach told them as she paced back and forth. "Only this time, your opponent is MORE than a match for any one of you..."
Everyone watched as Scathach turned around and conjured a rune to the center of the clearing they all stood in. The ground rumbled, and from it emerged a familiar runic golem of stone; hulking as always. The only difference this time was instead of blue, the runes that lined its body were glowing red.
"Not this thing again..." Mordred said under her breath at the sight before Scathach instructed all the servants:
"Coordinate and combine your abilities as best you can. It will take nothing less to defeat my runic golem."
The servant teams then took turns trying to take the golem down. Scathach observed them while this exponentially tougher opponent made short work of them.
First up were Cu and Jeanne. While the Ruler supported him as best she could, even casting a veil on the Lancer to give him enhanced durability, it mattered not as the golem all but brushed Cu aside and Jeanne was left defenseless. Scathach deduced that the Maiden of Orleans was being too stiff in her role as support, and Cu did not create any opportunity for her to join combat so they can take the golem down with their combined strength.
Emiya and Astolfo did not fare any better, as they seemed to fall into their roles without mixing their respective styles at all. While Astolfo rushed in rather recklessly, the golem diverted and took out Emiya before he could use his special arrows, leaving Astolfo a sitting duck for it to knock the Rider out of the ring.
Mashu and Jekyll's performance was arguably more lackluster as neither of them could figure out how to best combine their strengths. The Assassin's knives did nothing to damage the golem as such was Mashu's shield in the same regard. The Demi-servant was stuck staying on the defensive for both their sakes before she was eventually overwhelmed.
With this round ending, Jekyll and Mashu struggled to back on their feet after getting knocked down. Mashu barely stood up for a second when suddenly she clutched her chest and hunched over in pain; something that did not go unnoticed by Scathach, who watched as Jekyll offered to help her back up.
"I'm fine..." Mashu insisted, declining help from the Assassin. She said she was okay, but Scathach could tell that she wasn't. Look around, the other Servants just thought the Shielder was wounded and would heal shortly. None of them heard what the Guardian of Dunscaith did.
The Shielder, for a fleeting moment, had an irregular heartbeat...
After Mashu and Jekyll rejoined the party, then came the Sabers' turn...
Mordred struck out first as soon as the fight began. Her sword glanced right off the golem's body with each furious strike. The golem would miraculously sidestep with great agility and blast the Knight of Treachery away with a face blast. Arturia quickly moved to keep pressure on their opponent, only for Excalibur to the same level of ineffectiveness as Clarent. The glowing sword, through all of Arturia's calculated strikes, could not even leave a dent as the King of Knights was kicked forcefully away, rolling across the ground near Mordred to a stop. Both of them struggled to get up while the golem stood still like a statue, waiting for them.
Of all the fights she had seen so far, Scathach was most disappointed with how the Sabers were fighting together.
"Its armor is too strong!" Arturia said strenuously as she used her sword to push herself back onto her feet. Mordred, however, was back standing up and not willing to wait for her.
"I'll smash through it," she said from behind Arturia; her frustration apparent. "Stay out of my way!"
Before Arturia could stop her, Mordred gathered mana and launched herself at the golem; her sword arcing red electricity. The Knight of Treachery was eager to take this opponent down if it meant proving her superiority to both the King of Knights and the Guardian of Dunscaith. With a yell, Mordred leaps and slams Clarent against the chest of the golem, discharging lightning everywhere. The hulking stone behemoth, however, stood unfazed, and before Mordred knew it, the golem's runes glowed brighter as if it was absorbing the energy from the Red Saber's attack. It's "face" glowed and fired a beam at Mordred, sending her flying backwards and right into Arturia's still recovering form. The Sabers were knocked back hard, crashing into a tree that exploded into splinters on impact.
The golem marched closer ready to fire another beam at the barely conscious Sabers, only stopped when Scathach raised her hand, signifying the end of their ordeal.
For several minutes afterward, the servants tended to wounds sustained from their tests, some lamenting how they failed despite having full access to their Servant abilities. Everyone was not keen on speaking to each other after another humiliating day training with Scathach, least of all were Arturia and Mordred, who refused to even look at one another.
Mordred for one was beyond frustrated; having once again been bested by the warrior queen and being forced into a team with Arturia, she needed an outlet to vent out on. Maybe it was about time for her to take one of Scathach's prized cars for a spin just despite their teacher...
"Daylight is almost gone," Scathach eventually announced to everyone. "We are through with today, so take time to deliberate with your partners and learn how to best work with them. Tomorrow, we go again..."
Ignoring the collective groan coming from most of the servants, Scathach began walking back to the fortress. Cu Chulainn, who had been watching her the whole time, got up and went ahead after her the moment she escaped everyone else's sight.
Scathach walked with purpose towards the staircase to Castle Dunscaith, not only to attend to the masters, but mainly to get away from a certain someone before-
"Teacher," she heard the voice of Cu Chulainn behind her, making her stop in her tracks. "We need to talk..."
Scathach slowly glanced behind her, her face remaining stern and stoic, hiding her internal conflict. She knew exactly what it was that her former student wished to discuss:
Their spar earlier, when the Lancer failed to best her... or rather-
"There is nothing to talk about Setanta," she said evenly, biting back the urge to scold him. "Except that maybe I was wrong to have expected better from you..."
"You know why I couldn't," the Lancer said seriously. "You don't have to be mad about it..."
Scathach bitterly turned around to face him. She was already weighed down by the fact that he and the other servant were not progressing as quickly as she was expecting, and Scathach really did not wish to deepen her frustrations further by this forced confrontation with her greatest student.
"You know it dishonors me to not give me your best, Setanta," The warrior-queen told him in a barely restrained voice. "And it's less about you being unable to, but choosing not to..."
"What was I supposed to do?!" Cu retorted. "Just let you...?"
He couldn't say it. The truth was too painful. Scathach's visage faltered slightly at seeing the look of conflict on her student's face, knowing his reasons for confronting her were somewhat justified. In that moment, the warrior-queen was glad that the Hound of Culann could not hear how much her heart was beating.
Why was it doing so much in the first place? Guilt? Shame? Something else?
"Scathach, please listen," Cu eventually said, reigning in his anger to reason with her. Scathach's heart skipped a beat when she heard him use her name. "This plan of yours... it doesn't have to end with-"
"It has too, Setanta," Scathach cuts him off right there, her voice breaking. "If you can't give me what I need, your friends will fulfill it."
"The Sabers..." Cu Chulainn long before deduced, and judging from Scathach's lack of reaction, she knew he would figure it out. "You deliberately paired them together, didn't you?"
"No one's pairing was random..." Scathach quickly said, which while true, was beside the point.
"But those two... you really think they will fare against you any better than I did?"
"I know as well as YOU do," she told him. "Out of all of you, the King and the Knight are the strongest. Them working together will motivate your fellow servants to follow their example."
"By making them fight you?" Cu stressed as he asked.
"Eventually," Scathach admits, having calmed down a little bit. "If I can make them to get along..."
"What if you can't?" Cu demanded, earning a narrow gaze from his mentor. Tense silence lingered as they glared at each other, until Scathach took a step into Cu's personal space, never breaking eye contact, and stated resolutely:
"I will..."
She then turned to walk away, soon leaving the Lancer with one thing left to add:
"One way or another..."
As she departed, Scathach said to Cu evenly without looking at him:
"You're procuring dinner for us tonight. Come back after I am done with your masters..."
At that, Scathach went into wraith form and flew up to the fortress, quickly putting distance between her and Cu Chulainn. The Lancer was left angry and frustrated in her swift absence, on top of other things concerning the Guardian of Dunscaith. Cu punched a nearby tree to vent, imbedding his fist in its trunk and not caring if his hand was bleeding.
His turmoil superseded any physical pain he could possibly feel.
Breathing heavily, the Lancer eventually cast his head down. He knew Scathach was doing her best to help his masters and fellow servants.
But to what end exactly... Cu knew, and he hated it. His efforts to undermine- no, dissuade Scathach's ulterior motives were so far for naught. The proud warrior from Ulster found himself torn.
He wanted Chaldea to hold together and grow stronger from Scathach's teachings, but at the same time, he wanted to help Scathach herself...
She might not want it, but Cu could not bear to fail her like he did with his former master from the Fifth Holy Grail War, and not the child soldier from way back during his time. Scathach and Cu's current masters... the Lancer could not let that happen.
Over his dead body...
-----
Gudao and Gabrielle were still in Scathach's chamber "training." Having felt secure in the fact they put enough practice in the runes they have learned so far, the masters have spent their remaining time before the warrior queen's arrival by engaging in some competitive sparing, serving as much needed reprieve from the issues they were facing in recent days. They both stood apart from each other, breathing heavily and sweating up a storm from the hour they spent trading punches.
"Well... Gabby," said an exhausted Gudao. "We are... currently... ten for ten. Next round decides the winner."
Panting, a hunched over Gabrielle looked up and smiled at her brother in challenge.
"I'm- not done yet... Gu-dork. You... seem ready to fall over..."
"You're delusional," Gudao replied cheekily while still catching his breath. "I've got... plenty of gas left in the tank. More than enough... to beat you..."
"I don't think so," Gabrielle said, standing up straight. "There's only one way to end this..."
She went into a fighting stance and to Gudao's surprise, Gabrielle's magic circuits lit up and she announced confidently:
"We pull out all the stops!"
Gudao narrowed his eyes at his sister. He readies himself, eventually going into a stance, same as Gabrielle.
"Agreed..." Immediately, Gudao's circuits ignite, channeling mana. This final round was going to involve them fighting with Reinforcement. Every punch and every kick were going to come faster and hit harder. "No more holding back!"
"Bring it on!" Gabrielle said just before she launched herself at Gudao, who stepped backwards as she unleashed a volley of empowered punches at him. Gudao raised his arms to block each of Gabrielle's attacks until she eventually tried sending a spinning kick to his abdomen. Gudao quickly grabbed Gabrielle's foot and spun around to throw her off her feet. Gabrielle rolls and stands back up just as Gudao goes on the offensive and quickly closes the distance on her. She steps back and ducks as Gudao throws a right hook that passed right over Gabrielle's head. Gudao immediately follows up with an uppercut as Gabrielle straightens back up. She deflects with her elbow before sending a palm strike with her other arm, striking Gudao in the chest and staggering him back. Gabrielle takes the opportunity to send a roundhouse kick right at Gudao's head. He bends backwards to avoid the kit, and Gabrielle then crouches to gather mana in her legs before launching herself at Gudao for a flying kick to his chest. Gudao crossed his arms to absorb the blow, sending him sliding backwards to a stop. Gabrielle does not let up her assault as she recovers and sprints at Gudao before jumping into the air for a downwards scissor-kick. Gudao sidesteps and Gabrielle's foot impacts the mat, leaving a huge impression accompanied by a loud bang. Gudao retaliates by sending another barrage of punches at Gabrielle, who quickly dodged and blocked each one until she catches one of Gudao's fists in her hand and sends a punch with her other only for it to be caught by Gudao.
The two masters stood there in deadlock, pushing against each other while digging their feet in the floor. Despite the carnage, the confident visage they gave to each other as Gudao and Gabrielle stared dead into the other's eyes gave away the fact that this fight was just as much about having fun as it was about seeing who was the strongest. They channeled even more mana into their circuits, both determined to emerge dominant and break the deadlock-
"Enjoying yourselves I see..."
Gudao and Gabrielle's circuits immediately dimmed down as they stared at each other in surprise as the new voice cut the tension. They broke apart and turned to see Scathach standing by the doorway to the chamber, looking right at them with a judging expression and having a hand on her hip. Gudao was the first to speak up:
"Oh, me and Gabby were just-"
"No," Scathach interrupted him, raising her hand. She then started walking towards the masters with a growing smirk on her face. "You didn't tell me you two could fight hand-to-hand."
Her remark prompted Gabrielle to give the warrior queen an explanation.
"It was part of our training in bootcamp," she said as Scathach stopped in front of them. "Won't help much against servants, but for when other problems arise..."
"Best to be prepared for anything," Gudao finished for his sister. Scathach shifted her weight and crossed her arms.
"That's a good mindset to have," she told the masters, all while having a familiar glint in her eye. After all the stress and disappointment from training their servants earlier, Scathach found herself wanted to indulge in some amusement for once. "How about you both show me some more?"
Gudao and Gabrielle glanced at each other, surprised by the warrior queen's challenge. They eventually smiled coyly at each other in mutual agreement and turned back to Scathach to accept.
"You sure?" Gabrielle teased. "Me and Gu-dork don't want to embarrass you."
"Gabby and I know you are not someone to hold back against," Gudao added, cracking his knuckles. "We tend to mix magecraft with our fighting if we have to."
Scathach chuckled at the master's played-up arrogance.
"Embarrass me?" she asked in kind, removing the sleeves covering her arms, followed by the ones covering her legs, earning a heated blush from Gudao (and admittedly one from Gabrielle as well on admiration alone).
"How naïve of you both to assume I need a spear to fight," Scathach said before tossing her loose garments aside. For good measure, she then tied her hair in a ponytail. "Feel free to give it your all against me. Use whatever you like..."
Both masters snapped out of their stupor and went in a pose ready to fight. Scathach stood patiently waiting for them to make the first move.
And move they did...
The masters' circuits lit up and they charged at Scathach. Gudao and Gabrielle alternated between each other, exchanging a flurry of rapid punches and kicks that any normal human would be hard pressed to react to. Yet amazingly (or not...), Scathach casually weaved and dodged all their attacks like they were no issue at all, only raising her hand occasionally to deflect a punch or kick that got remotely close. Her expression remained unchanged as the warrior queen stepped backwards from Gudao and Gabrielle's continued assault. When Scathach got out of reach, the masters pulled a combination maneuver; Gudao grabbed Gabrielle's hands and used her momentum to swing her in front of him so his sister could send a tethered flying kick right at Scathach's head.
The warrior queen had different plans however as she quickly sidestepped around Gabrielle and casually slapped her hand upwards against where the masters held each other's hands. Forced to let go, Gabrielle was sent tumbling out of control while Gudao quickly turned and retaliated with a right hook to Scathach's face. His punch was redirected away as Scathach then spun and swept out her leg at Gudao's. Despite the male master's leg being reinforced, he was thrown off effortlessly and sent falling onto his back. He was quickly pinned down to the floor by Scathach pressing her barefoot (gently...) on his chest, while at the same moment, Gabrielle landed nearby on the ground with a thud.
The masters groaned at having been so swiftly defeated, with Gudao having a generous view as they both looked up at Scathach, astounded at what had just happened. For a few seconds, the fight seemed to be going smoothly up until it all went wrong.
Which it did in less than one...
The masters have practiced sparring against servants before just out of curiosity. Even reinforced, they knew they were barely able to keep one on their toes, and it never ended well for them.
But this? It seemed like Scathach hardly had to even try to win. She did not use any magecraft, or anything really to suddenly end that fight. It just took a few swift, calculated moves on her part to emerge victorious.
It was if she read their moves perfectly, even at inhuman speed.
Calmly, Scathach released Gudao and stepped back to wait for the masters to recover. Gudao and Gabrielle forced themselves back up on their feet as the warrior queen said to them:
"Want to try again?"
By this point, Gudao and Gabrielle dusted themselves off and looked at each other determinately. They nodded at each other and stood in stance again, this time putting more mana through their circuits. The masters were no longer cordial with Scathach as they stared right at her, determined to get serious.
Scathach merely smirked as the masters once again ran at her.
Moments later...
Gudao and Gabrielle yelped as they were sent flying backwards and landed together on the floor with a thud. They groaned as their circuits dimmed down and they struggled to get up. All while Scathach just stood nearby casually putting her garments back on.
"Well... that didn't go as planned..." Gudao remarked as he forced himself on to his knees.
"Yup," Gabrielle bluntly replied. "We're the ones that got embarrassed..."
"That's enough," Scathach then said, undoing her ponytail and letting her hair fall down her back. She walked towards the masters who were still in the process of recovering. "I do not wish to rough you both up too much before your training."
Stopping in front of them, she held out her hands for them and pulled them back on their feet.
"Besides," she then added. "You should not feel down on yourselves. You two fought together well; it sets an example for your servants."
"Thanks," Gudao said to her, but his tone did not share the warrior queen's sentiment. If they were indeed setting an example for their servants, Gudao felt they would not need to be here in Scathach's domain at all.
"Now with that out of the way," Scathach changed tone as she decided to get to business. Gudao and Gabrielle listened intently as their next lesson started. "We can get back to where we left off yesterday. Now that you both know how to cast runes, we will be focusing on combining runes into sequence to create more powerful spells, and even throw in some new effect runes."
Training kicked off right away as Scathach showed Gudao and Gabrielle two new runes for them to memorize. The first was a Strand rune; a spell that spawned threads of mana that tethered and restrained targets. With some alterations, the spell could even pull enemies into a single point, bunching them up to all be hit by a single, follow-up spell. After some practice, the masters jokingly called their newfound mastery of this rune "string theory."
They soon moved on to a more straight-forward spell; Barrier. As the name implied, it generated a ward of mana that stopped oncoming spells from harming the caster, or even reflect such spells back upon attackers. In a sequence, the Barrier rune could be cast as a personal shield or be onto a specific area separate from the caster; great for protecting other objects and allies. The caveat was that barrier strength was strictly dependent on how much mana the user poured into the rune upon cast. Bigger shields break more easily and thus require more mana to be as durable as a personal one.
Something Gudao and Gabrielle found the hard way as they had to withstand Scathach's barrage of spells...
The warrior queen launched a fire spell at both Gudao and Gabrielle's projected wards. When they shattered like glass, the masters were thrown off their feet backwards, and the spells Scathach used were not even particularly strong.
The masters learned that their teacher was upping the intensity of their training.
After several more "stress tests," Scathach felt somewhat confident that her students could comfortably cast barriers and advanced the lesson.
"Supplemental runes are used to enhance the effect runes you cast," Scathach explained to the masters as she magically showed a series of runes. "Change its properties to split apart, explode, be shaped, sustained for an extended period of time and so on. The more you add before casting, the more mana will be required to manifest the spell. I'll provide you some to mix with your fire magic."
With this additional knowledge, Gudao and Gabrielle practiced adding these supplement runes to the effect of fire to introduce new properties into the spell. It took several attempts, but they managed to produce some unique results. Gudao was able to conjure 3 fire orbs at once, and Gabrielle was able to make a burning ring on the ground, completely locking down an area. After more improvising, both masters stopped to catch their breath and stave off mana fatigue.
"All this heat is making me sweat bullets..." said an exhausted Gudao, cringing at the smell of hot ash that filled the chamber from all the fire they caused; further exemplified by all the scorch marks scattered across the room.
"Did I singe off an eyebrow yet?" Gabrielle asked him in a joking manner, pointing at her face. Gudao shakes his head with a smile. "Good..."
"It seems you're both getting the hang of it," Scathach suddenly appeared, catching the masters' attention. By the smirk on her face, it seemed that the warrior queen was not willing to let their brief respite last. "Let's say we up the pressure?"
She turned and created a rune that summoned runic stones that levitated and arranged mid-air to form floating turrets that acted as drones; automated to fire stinging spells on Scathach's command. Despite their growing fatigue, Gudao and Gabrielle braced themselves for a fight.
"Your enemies will not let you take your time," Scathach told them. "They will kill you before they let you cast your spell. Conjure in haste!"
The masters dreaded what was about to happen. It seemed that they had to apply everything they have learned so far against targets that were shooting back at them. No more will Gudao and Gabrielle be able to take their sweet time casting runes.
The heat was truly on now...
But alas, the masters found themselves pushed to their absolute limit. Gudao and Gabrielle tried vainly to destroy their targets while avoiding oncoming fire from them. Quick rune casting did not do them any good as the test enemies were too tough to be taken down that easily. The more powerful runes they tried casting were interrupted constantly. Taking cover was fruitless as the runic drones adapted and repositioned to keep pressure on the masters. Gudao and Gabrielle found themselves beaten and battered after several rounds. After their tenth loss in a row, they laid on the floor sprawled with bruises and burn marks all over them, dazed from the onslaught.
It was clear to Scathach that they could not continue anymore.
"Enough," she eventually said, ending the masters' ordeal. Gudao and Gabrielle perked up and soon forced themselves up with great difficulty. "Meditate with me in the well."
Scathach conjured a well of residual mana after dismissing her drones. She casually walked over and took a seat inside the circle before being joined by Gudao and Gabrielle.
"Since you two don't like silence," Scathach told them as they sat down, rubbing their aching heads. "We can pick up where we left off last time..."
"That sounds great," Gudao said, his tone giving away how glad he was that today's training was over. Glancing towards Gabrielle, he could tell that she was relieved also.
Scathach was quick to pick up on it.
"If you two think you're in pain now," she mused. "Know that I only have a week to get you and your servants in shape. Let today serve as a taste of how intense your training will be to achieve that."
"I'd bet our servants are cruising through this compared to us," Gabrielle said, aware that her and Gudao's performance just moments ago could have gone better had they practiced more.
"No actually," Scathach's statement surprised the masters. "Believe me young masters, I've well taken the overall strength of your servants into account when I made the training regimen for them. Considering how new you are to using runes, you performed just as well as I expected today."
"Really-?" Gudao and Gabrielle asked hopefully at the same time, only for-
"Which is not exceptionally well..." Scathach quickly clarified, making them sulk. "I did not expect you to take out my targets given the level of difficulty. That would have been remarkable..."
Gudao and Gabrielle look at each other curiously before Scathach continued.
"You speak so highly of your servants, but compared to the standards I've set for you, they've been underperforming. You two at the very least are meeting my expectations."
"That bad, huh?" Gudao asked, sullen. It seemed that their whole plan for getting stronger from Scathach's tutelage and being ready to face Solomon again was not going well. Yet amazingly, it was the masters having the easiest* time so far.
(*Easiest does not mean it is)
"There has to be something we can do," Gabrielle said to Scathach, remembering when the servants were arguing yesterday and her and Gudao's pleas to stop it fell on deaf ears. "They never had a problem working together before until the last singularity after-"
"After you summoned Mordred, correct?" Scathach finished for Gabrielle, much to both masters' surprise.
"How do you know?" Gudao found himself asking as soon Scathach explained:
"Just from watching her, I can tell she is by far the most antagonistic of your team. It was not hard to deduce, especially after hearing what the blue one had to say about her."
"You-" Gabrielle starts, still stunned. "You talked to Arturia?"
"Last night," Scathach revealed.
"What did she say?" Gudao asked, knowing the history of King Arthur and the knight who ended his (or rather her...) reign. He knew whenever the two Sabers clashed, it was trouble. In all honesty, he and Gabrielle knew they were definitely a problem, but did not think it was THE problem affecting their whole team of servants.
"I won't divulge," Scathach said, remembering her lengthy conversation with the King of Knights. From the way that the Blue Saber talked about her, Scathach could tell that was purely because of Mordred's actions towards Arturia in recent days. Any animosity in that sense was purely based on clashing personalities. That was only a symptom of her and Mordred's opposition to each other.
There was more to it, and Scathach needed to find out.
"I will say it was rather insightful," she added for the masters. "Rest assured, the King of Knights was very considerate, surprisingly..."
Gudao and Gabrielle were stumped, expecting something akin to toxic gossip. The smirk from Scathach's face told them it was nothing for them to worry about. It did not erase their uneasiness, however. The warrior queen read their faces and told them:
"No need to trouble her over this. In fact, it could prove helpful..."
"Helpful?" the masters both said, now outright confused by the fact that Scathach knew something they did not. Narrowing her gaze, Scathach then told them cryptically:
"I just need to hear more from the other side of things," she then locked her fingers and leaned forward to scrutinize Gudao and Gabrielle. "Perhaps you two can tell me more about your hot-tempered knight..."
Gudao and Gabrielle looked at each other again, unsure of what to do. On the one hand, it would be rude of them to talk about their experience with Mordred behind her back. On the other, it seemed to them that Scathach genuinely believed she could get Arturia and Mordred working together effectively, and for the masters to not tell her what she wanted to know...
Could they even deserve to call themselves masters if they did not take any opportunity to help their friends?
"Where would you like us to start?" Gudao asked Scathach, to which she replied assuredly:
"From the beginning."
Gudao glanced back at Gabrielle, who looked at him back. Both silently debated who should start first before Gabrielle decided to take the initiative. The female master starts careful and steady, gathering her thoughts as she told their experience with Mordred to the avidly listening warrior queen.
"Well, soon after Gudao summoned Mordred, Arturia walked into the summoning chamber. We knew of their history, but I for one thought that because we were all working together that maybe they would be willing to cooperate..."
"It seemed it was only out of obligation," Gudao picks up for his sister, admitting oversight on both their ends. "As soon enough, the two of them got in each other's way. After trying so hard to get them to work together, we eventually had to separate them during the American singularity."
"How was she then?" Scathach asked curiously.
"She... was great," Gabrielle answered with honesty. "Without Arturia around, Mordred was pretty outgoing, albeit haughty and looking for every chance to show off how strong she was. She certainly proved it when she squared off against Medb."
Hearing that briefly surprised Scathach.
"Queen Medb of Connacht?"
Her reaction did not go unnoticed by the masters.
"You know her?" Gudao asked in response.
"I know that she was alive during Setanta's time," Scathach admitted. "From what he and Ferdiad spoke of her, she was an... eagerly provocative one. Can't believe her of all people became a Heroic Spirit..."
"We've met many individuals who surprised us like that well," Gabrielle revealed, before turning to Gudao with a teasing smile. "I'm sure Gu-dork remembers Mata Hari..."
"Gabby..." Gudao chastised his sister with an embarrassed expression, but Gabrielle maintained a smug look until she eventually digressed.
"Anyways," she then continued. "Medb certainly had a penchant for anything remotely lewd. She even had her sights set on Astolfo and Mordred, but The Knight of Treachery proved to be too tough a cookie for her. You should've seen it..."
Scathach allowed an amused smirk to slip through her lips, making a mental note to maybe ask Cu Chulainn about Queen Medb, but sadly she remembered that she brushed him off earlier. It would not be right of her, especially after the other times before recently when she opposed him.
Thinking about the time before, when she encountered Cu Chulainn in her "trophy room," Scathach's thoughts lingered on how the Lancer was scanning the table full of mementos while conversing with her. He did not notice, but Scathach was following his eyes, like Cu Chulainn was looking for something and did not want to share with her what it was.
For the Hound of Culainn to be secretive like that meant whatever he was looking for is very important to him.
Scathach had a feeling that she knew what that "thing" was... her heart started to race when she thought of-
"Scathach?"
Gudao's question of concern snapped the warrior-queen out of her thoughts. Scathach quickly pushed those personal thoughts down and returned to the matter at hand, all while internally admonishing herself for her moment of weakness.
"My apologies. Is there anything else you can tell me about your red knight? Something more... personal?"
The masters looked at Scathach curiously. Unbeknownst to them, the warrior queen wanted to know something about Mordred that would allow her to "approach" the Knight of Treachery. It was not a secret to Scathach that she had earned the Red Saber's ire and she wished to rectify that.
It was essential to her plans...
"Like any interests?" Gabrielle asked, earning an affirming nod from Scathach. "Okay... Not long after we summoned her, Mordred caught me listening to some tunes, and wondered what music people listened to these days."
"Oh?" Scathach said with a curious head-tilt. Gudao went on to explain:
"Gabby showed her some pop tracks, but Mordred did not seem to like them. When I shared some AC/DC, Sabbath, and Zeppelin, I remember her eyes lighting up and she instantly became hooked, wanting to hear as much rock, punk and metal as I had, and more."
"Me and Gu-dork eventually bought Mordred a guitar and amp for her to try," Gabrielle said enthusiastically. "And she seemed to really take to it."
Scathach's attention was on full when the masters revealed this to her. It seemed that she had a way of getting on Mordred's good side as a smirk grew on the warrior queen's face, and a familiar glint flashed in her crimson red eyes.
"Is that right...?"