Lying on my stomach on the cold surgical bed, I let out a slight grunt when the cold salve was applied to my back.
Slowly I felt the numbing effect spread across my back, causing my muscles to relax, allowing me to let a deep sigh out.
"How much longer is it until I am fully recovered from the operation?" I asked in a tired tone.
Morgan gave a huff from above me, and momentarily stopped applying the balm.
"I'll need to do this twice more, to ensure that there will be no lingering after effects from removing the crest," she said as if talking to an annoying child.
Letting out a small sigh, I slightly tilted my head to the side to glance at Morgan.
"Couldn't you lend me Avalon? Wouldn't it be capable of speeding up my recovery?" I wined, causing Morgan to use one of her nails to 'accidentally' dig into my back, while applying the salve.
"I believe I told you that I preferred not using that thing," she said flatly, causing me to sigh.
"Come on," I drawled. "Thanks to your plan, I had to get my entire back ripped off, to remove the crest. So the least you could do is to relieve me of the aftereffects of a crest removal," I argued.
Morgan let out another huff, before responding.
"And thanks to my plan, no one will expect you to move against them, giving you the ability to be theoretically found at the scene of the crime, with blood on your hands, and no one would suspect that you'd have been responsible," Morgan said dryly, before roughly applying the last of the balm.
"And whatever little pain you are experiencing now will only build character. So do try not to complain about your meager pain tolerance to a fair lady such as myself," she said the last part with some degree of haughtiness.
I could only give a gruff huff in response, as I knew that Morgan was unnaturally stubborn when she made her mind up.
Feeling Morgan's hand leave my back, I waited a moment, before pushing myself off the table.
Sitting on the edge, I gave a long stretch, before jumping off the table.
Glancing around Morgan's workshop, my eyes landed on my witch, who was moving a majority of the items in the workshop into her shadow.
"Anything else I should do while I am here?" I probed, causing Morgan to turn her head in my direction.
Raising a hand, she snapped her fingers, causing a golden flash to fly out from one of the display cases.
Reacting quickly, I caught the golden projectile in my fist.
Opening my hand, it revealed Solomon's ring.
Glancing back at Morgan, I raised a brow, prompting her to answer my unasked question.
"As you know, it's meant to be in a set of ten, and the set gets weaker with each missing ring. Meaning that alone, the thing is close to worthless."
Her blunt appraisal of the divine construct caused me to internally grimace.
I knew damn well that when Solomon held all ten rings, he was basically unstoppable, which only made the fact that the ring being so useless on its own, all the more bitter.
"The only silver lining is that wearing it should help shield your connection to Rhongomyniad from Artoria, as well as raising your Magic Resistance to somewhere close to my level," she said with interest, causing me to instinctively slip on the ring.
A+ Ranked Magic Resistance made me practically immune to next to all magecraft, other than the incredibly obscure and powerful.
Smiling at Morgan, I flashed her my hand, with the ring fitted snugly on my right index finger.
Morgan seemed to stare fixedly at the ring on my hand, before shaking her head, and turning around.
"I have packed enough resources for the homunculi, though I'll still need a sample of the Lesser Grail's vessel, to create a… satisfactory copy," she explained, causing me to give a nod.
"I should be able to get some skin samples, as long as I have the encounter with Saber, as Irisviel stuck to her like a lost puppy," I explained, causing her to give a low hum.
"I could probably lay the groundwork for the rest of her body, as long as I get a blood sample later, then I'll be able to make an identical copy," she explained.
Nodding, I shot her a thumbs up.
"What about the fake servant body?"
At the sound of my question, a body covered by a white sheet floated out of her shadow, and hovered in front of me.
"It is close to operational, but I'll be needing to siphon some of the leylines in Fuyuki to make it as convincing as possible," she explained airily.
Nodding, I prodded at the body, before looking back at Morgan.
"How strong will it roughly be?" I probed, causing Morgan to place a hand under her chin.
"I am unsure, as the overall strength of the puppet will be decided on by the leylines mana supply, along with the materials used to complete it. But I can safely say that it should be physically as strong as you."
Fuck, that kind of hurts my pride… the fact that she can make something as strong as me on a whim irritates me a fair bit, especially as she could 'safely' assume they would be as strong as me...
Fuck, thats actualy really terrifying…
I watched as the covered body slowly sank back into the shadow.
Glancing back at Morgan, I saw her return to her 'packing'.
"I'll take my leave, if you have nothing else for me, then I'll be in my room, packing my own things," I explained, while eyeing Morgan, waiting for her response.
She slowly turned her head to glance at my direction, before she spoke up.
"I'd be much obliged if you brought some nice clothes for you to wear, as I'd like to have something nice to look at while we're working," she said suggestively.
Pursing my lips together, I gave her a nod.
"I'm willing to acquiesce to your request," I said before turning around, and heading for my room.
~~Fate/False Order~~
Opening the door to Altrouges room, I was greeted by the raven haired Ancestor in the middle of trying to play dress-up with a struggling Cath.
And the second I opened the door to her room, I met the pleading gaze of Cath, who's tail started wagging with immense strength the second his eyes connected with mine.
"Fou!" His struggling was kicked up a notch, as he squirmed for freedom at the sight of me.
"Let go of Cath, Altrouge, can't you see he is miserable." I said with reproach.
My eyes met hers, and she clicked her tongue before letting go of Cath.
The little beast ran to me, and jumped up into my arms, and started rubbing his face on me, while exuding immense relief and happiness.
"Happy?" Altrouge said with mild annoyance, causing me to give her a satisfied smile.
"Quite," I mused, as I used a hand to give Cath his daily scratches.
Altrouge walked closer, and placed a hand on her hip, while glancing up at me.
"I assume you're here to say farewell?" She mused, causing me to nod.
"Yes, I'll be leaving soon, so I thought it prudent to at least say goodbye to my favorite vampire," I said with amusement.
Altrouge gave a smile, and widened her arms in anticipation of a hug.
Smiling, I adjusted Cath onto my shoulder, before meeting her halfway.
Her hug made my spine emit popping sounds, making me give an audible groan.
"That's kinda tight…" I wheezed out, causing Altrouge's smile to show some teeth.
"That's the point," she said with a closed eyed smile, before loosening her grip.
"I'm just a bit worried," she explained, causing me to sigh.
As much as I wanted to bring Altrouge and Cath with me, we both knew it would just spell disaster.
If the church somehow found out, be it by seeing her, or one of the participants telling them of either's presence, then the war would be put on halt, and every servant would target her and Cath.
While I'm fairly sure they would come out on top, even while taking Gilgamesh into account, the church would send in the Burial Agency's best, meaning Merum Solomon would come.
And I'd bet my entire fortune that Merum would inform Gransurg Blackmore, along with enticing Ortenrosse to join in for an assault.
And for as much as Altrouge likes to boast about her strength, she'd get into major issues if Arcueid came running, due to her 'sister' being spotted in the area.
Case and point, this whole thing would be blown out of proportion, as Altrouge would need to bring her guards, Rizo-Waal Strout and Fina-blood Svelten, for extra security.
Meaning that the Grail War would turn into a real war between humanity and the Apostles.
Safe to say, the whole thing would become a bust, and I'd probably lose the chance at cleansing the Grail, and getting my wish.
So in conclusion, Altrouge agreed to not join in, to be on the safe side.
"Ah, there is no need to worry." Came the smooth, silky voice of Morgan from the corner of the room. "I'll be taking good care of Alistair in your stead."
At the sound of the witch's voice, Altrouge tightened her grip on me once more, before suddenly letting go of me, and glowering at Morgan.
"And yet my worries just skyrocketed after the moment you opened your mouth." Altrouge said while crossing her arms.
Morgan seemed to give a low hum, before gliding over to Altrouge.
"Oh my, such hostility. You hold so little faith in me keeping my Master safe?" She mused, while slightly cocking her head in Altrouge's direction.
"And how am I meant to trust someone who hides their face, as if it was ugly enough to turn men to stone," Altrouge snapped back, causing Morgan to slowly shake her head.
"You misunderstand, child, you see, a woman's face is like a piece of art, only the cheap pieces are on display consistently, so it has nothing to do about trust," she explained haughtily, causing Altrouge to frown.
"Though I have been known to make men go rock hard with just a glance,, so you might be onto something there" she commented offhandedly with amusement.
"Are you calling me ugly?" She said with mild irritation, making Morgan raise a hand in front of her veil.
"I said no such thing," she said with fake shock, before lowering her hand, and placing it on her hip. "But it would seem you came to the obvious conclusion on your own."
"Perhaps a look in the mirror would have allowed you to come to such a conclusion sooner, silly child," she said with amusement.
Glaring up at Morgan, Altrouge gave a slight grimace.
"Could you stop being such a bitch, or at least give me some respect and stop calling me a child? I have a name, you know?" She said with mild irritation lacing her tone.
Morgan merely shook her head ruefully, before giving a theatrical sigh.
"My dear, I only say things as I see them," she said, before giving a momentary pause. "You should be thankful that I don't refer to you as a dead child anymore." She said with amusement.
Altrouge's frown deepened, before it suddenly receded, being replaced with a cruel smile.
"Oh? If that's so then maybe I should give you an affectionate nick-name, something like Used-Goods perhaps?" She said with an icy smile.
There was a momentary pause, as neither of the two spoke, and only looked at eachother.
The silence was broken by Morgan giving an amused chuckle, while imperceptibly shaking her head.
Altrouge had clearly been hoping for a different reaction, as I saw her icy smile turn into a confused frown.
"Let me clear up a little misunderstanding you seem to have," Morgan said in a surprisingly amused tone, which caught me off guard, given what Altrouge had just said.
Crouching down to her level, she leaned in a bit closer, as if talking to a child.
"Let me put it in a way you'd understand." Morgan said in a lecturing tone.
"Many would beg on their hands and knees to get the chance to drive a Ferrari 250 GTO, without caring about how many others have driven the same car before," she said while gesturing at herself.
"While few, if anyone, wishes to be known for driving a Mini," she said smugly while gesturing at Altrouge.
That's gotta burn, like holy hell, I'm fairly sure that I've seen arson victims with lighter burns…
Morgan put a hand on Altrouges hair, before threading a few fingers through it, and touseling it for good measure.
"Though I have heard news that priests are known for 'driving' Mini's," she mused as she moved her hand away from Altrouge's head, before straightening herself up. "But, I believe they prefer driving stick, so no luck for you."
As the words left her mouth, Morgan's form started to glow, before dissipating into golden dust, followed by Morgan's best imitation of a witches cackle.
As Morgan's laughter dissipated, I felt a sudden urge to leave overcome me.
Something I could only assume to be my survival instinct.
Glancing at Altrouge, I took a cautious step back, while moving Cath away from my shoulder and into my arms.
I needed to feel a bit more safe right now, as I think I just witnessed a murder…
Slowly backing up, I gripped the door's handle, only for it to make a slight creaking sound as it turned.
The minute sound caused Altrouge to snap her head in my direction, revealing a scowling face, causing me to give an imperceptible gulp.
"If she somehow returns from the Grail War with you, I'll gut the two of you." She said icily.
Nodding my head fervently, I saw Altrouge give me a nod in return.
"Good."
~~Fate/False Order~~
Throwing my duffel bag into the boot, I slammed it closed before turning around, meeting my mothers gaze.
She stood outside in the snow filled front yard, while draped in a traveler's cloak, which she fiercely hugged around herself to block out the winter cold.
Smiling up at me, she took a step into my personal space, and smiled up at me.
"Hug me, as I'm not willing to open this thing to hug you," she said with a hint of playfulness.
Naturally, I acquiesced to her request, and slung my arms around her, and raised her a few inches off the ground.
"Oi! Get me down! The wind is going up my cloak!" She screeched, while frantically kicking her legs in the air.
I gave a low hum for a second, as if contemplating not letting her go, before unceremoniously dropping her.
Mother naturally landed on her feet with no issue, but she made her annoyance known, while giving me a light kick in the shins.
"Brat," she grumbled, before regaining her smile.
Smiling back, I gave her a proper hug.
"I'm going to miss you," She grumbled while leaning her head on my shoulder.
I gave a slight chuckle. "I'll only be gone for about two months at the most, so you'll finally have some free time to do whatever single old ladies do," I explained, causing me to feel a slight pinch on my waist.
"Can't a mother worry for her child that's going to observe a war for 'research purposes'?" She said with mild exasperation.
Releasing the hug, I looked down at her with some amusement. "Well… you can, but that's not going to do much, unfortunately," I mused, causing her to sigh.
"Just, give me a call every few days, I need to know that you'll be safe," she said in a pleading tone, causing me to give a light sigh.
"Yes, Mother, I'll give you a call every other day or so," I said gently, causing her to give me a smile.
"And do tell me if anything interesting pops up, as I'd like to be kept abreast of the situation, seeing as you'll be there," she explained.
Giving her a nod, I gave her a sly smile.
"Yes, I'll keep you informed on anything interesting that is going on during the war." I said, before gaining a soft smile.
"I'll be taking my leave now," I said before giving her a light hug.
"Goodbye, Mom," I said softly, before letting go of her.
She gave me a smile back. "Goodbye, Alistair, and stay safe," she said equally softly.
Nodding, I walked over to the passenger door, and gave mother a small nod, before entering the car.
~~Fate/False Order~~
The perks of basically being England's royal family are many, but being able to section off a third of an airport, and just drive through the employee entrance for the hanger-bay, is certainly one of the few privileges which I enjoy the most.
The endless hours of staying at an airport, and going through security, and being stopped at 'random checks', I swear to God they profile people for those, random my ass, is something I'm happy that I'll never have to experience again.
Amelia slowly drove up to an inconspicuous double-decker passenger plane that could probably fit up to 300 to 400 passengers.
Amelia slowly closed in on the air stairs leading up to the plane, where two men in flight attendant uniforms stood.
"You ready to go, kiddo?" Amelia spoke up from the front, causing me to glance at the rearview mirror, allowing me to meet her blue eyes in its reflection.
Smiling, I gave her a shrug. "I hope so," I said with amusement, causing her to give a scoff.
"Rosalind would have had a fit, if you had told her that," she said with equal amusement.
Smiling back, I could only give a shrug. "Be a dear, and don't tell her then," I explained, causing her to sigh.
"Be careful, Alistair. I've read up on the Grail Wars, and I am surprised that your mother even allowed you to leave the house once you voiced your thoughts on observing it," she said softly.
I could only give her a slow nod.
"I'll try to steer clear of as much trouble as possible," I said in a serious tone.
Scoffing, Amelia's eyes sharpened on me. "That's a lie if I've ever heard one," she said dismissively.
Well, fair… but she could have at least pretended to believe me.
I could only give a smile in return to her words.
Seeing it, she shook her head.
"Well, at least try to stay safe," she grumbled, before slowly stopping the car.
"I'll try," I mused, causing her to flash me a smile.
"Alright then, goodbye, Alistair, see you in a bit," She said just as the car stopped.
"I'll see you soon, Amelia," I said, just before the door to the car opened.
Smiling at the man dressed as a flight attendant, I exited the car and straightened out my suit jacket.
"Good morning, Sir," said the attendant professionally, causing me to give him a respectful nod.
"And a fine morning to you as well," I commented cheerily.
Glancing at the other man, I saw him open the trunk and take my luggage.
Glancing back at the man who opened the door for me, I saw him gesture for me to walk up the air stairs.
Giving him a slight nod, I walked up the stairs, entered the plane and gave a low whistle.
And what a sight it was.
The inside was nothing like the outside would suggest, as the interior was closer to that of a more elaborate Air Force One, rather than a passenger plane.
With tables, sofas, Tv's, carpets and armchairs, with some wooden furniture lining the plane.
Smiling, I walked inside and all but jumped into one of the armchairs.
I watched as the two flight attendants made their way inside, before closing the door.
The one that wasn't holding my luggage made his way towards me, while the other made his way deeper into the plane.
Smiling down at me, he plucked one of the menus from a table, and handed it to me.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" He probed.
Nodding, I was about to speak, but Morgan was faster.
"Two glasses, and a bottle of the finest wine this plane has to offer," her voice came from the previously unoccupied armchair next to me.
I watched as the shocked face of the flight attendant went from shocked, to blank with glazed eyes, before returning to how he looked before.
"Of course, my Lady, is there anything else I could get you?" He asked in a normal voice.
Morgan merely shook her head, before turning her head in my direction.
"Anything else, dear?" She probed with amusement.
I could only give her a flat look, before sighing.
"A flight isn't complete without a pack of peanuts," I said dryly.
Nodding, the man gave us a smile. "Your refreshments will be delivered to you once we are in the air," he said, before turning around, and moving deeper into the plane.
Glancing away from the steward, I fixed my gaze at Morgan, who proceeded to re-cross her legs when my eyes landed on her.
"Finally we have some time for ourselves, Alistair," she said breathily, while leaning a fist on her chin.
Her comment made me subtly squirm in my seat, thanks to the tone she had used.
"Welcome aboard, Lord Pendragon, I must ask you to put on your seatbelt, as we are about to take off." Came the voice over the intercom
At the sound, Morgan gave a low huff.
"Such atrocious timing," she said aloud, before reaching down, and buckling her seatbelt.
"Uh, yeah," I said, before giving a low cough, and doing the same.
Seemingly noticing my reaction, Morgan gave a low chuckle.
"No need to worry, Alistair," she said smoothly.
"We still have another fourteen hours to get 'personally acquainted' with one another."
-----
A/N
Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and Reviews, as it would be much appreciated.
Now that the mandatory begging is done, time to ask the hard hitting questions.
What are your thoughts on the chapter?
Anything I missed, or should have added?
🍋?
Are you all looking forward to Vol 2? It will be properly starting next week, so be prepared for the war to start in full soon.
Btw, I have made a Discord server for the fic, come on and chat with me! https://discord.gg/T39uwmxJ
Now I'm tired, so have a nice day, and send me some stones or some shit, I need motivation, or some shit like that.