Chapter Text
Mash was nervous. That much was plainly apparent to everyone.
But Nikki was determined to assuage that. It seemed obvious to her that she was overwhelmed and felt out of place along the many great heroes from across the world that Chaldea had summoned. So she insistently pulled her along, and all but forced her to sit down between Astolfo and Romulus, then took her seat once again as she made the introductions. "You remember Astolfo. This is Romulus, this is Jack, and this is Nursery Rhyme,"
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mash!" Jack beamed at her.
"Uh, nice to meet you too," Mash hesitantly offered. "I've, um, missed a lot, haven't I, senpai?"
"Yeah, but don't worry. We'll get you caught up and introduced to everyone," Nikki promised.
"G-good . . Romulus, you are, the founder of the Roman Empire?" Mash seemed to shrink in her seat as she stared up at the massive bronze-skinned man.
His dull red eyes dominated her vision, and for a moment Mash wished she could sink back into unconsciousness, but then he nodded and offered a wide smile. "Indeed. I'm honoured to meet my Master's first Servant. Such dedication is truly Roma," he boomed, adopting his signature T-pose. Jack leapt up and joined him in the T-pose.
"Uh, heh, you, um," the newcomer stammered, leaning over to Nikki and whispering, "What are they doing?"
"It's a thing. You get used to it," she summarised.
". . I see," Mash lied.
"Hey! Mash! Did you miss me? I missed you!" Era interrupted, popping up between them and pulling her into a hug.
"Oh, hello Era," Mash chuckled, relieved to see someone she knew how to deal with. She crouched down, remembering the small, helpless girl she'd put her life on the line to defend back in Fuyuki. "I missed you too. How have you been?"
"Good! Last week we conquered America. I stabbed the evil Cu Chulainn with an exploding spear! It was so cool!" Era bragged, a manic light in her eyes.
Mash choked. "Uh . . That's . . nice?"
She cast a desperately questioning look at Nikki, who just winced and shrugged. "Era has been very busy and we're all very concerned but can't really argue with the results,"
"Why are you concerned? I'm not the one who got possessed by an evil ghost. I only got possessed by my own subconscious," Era protested, gesturing at Lily.
"Please don't remind me of that . . it was very uncomfortable," Lily shivered a bit, swallowing the memories, and Romulus patted her back.
"I've, um . . really missed a lot," Mash repeated herself, and Nikki could swear that she saw cartoonish swirls of confusion in her eyes.
As this was happening, Nightingale regarded the cast around Nikki's leg and her crutches with irritation. "Why didn't you tell me we had another patient to tend to?" she snapped at Dr. Roman.
"Nikki? Oh, she's already mostly healed. Mash was more pressing," Dr. Roman assured her. "It'll only be a couple more weeks until she can get that cast off and resume going on missions,"
"Nonsense. I shall inspect her condition personally," she insisted, making for here only for Dr. Roman to catch her hand.
"Stop. Look, she's the only one here who Mash is connecting with. Nikki needs to be here right now so that Mash can get comfortable with everyone else we've recruited while she was out," He wracked his brains as Nightingale looked unconvinced, and frantically added, "Nikki's presence right now is a necessary part of Mash's treatment!"
Nightingale mulled this over. "Mm . . very well, but I insist that as soon as they're done here, I inspect her condition,"
"Ah, actually with Mash here, it occurs to me that she can finally re-manifest Lord Camelot and we can finally operate the FATE system -" Da Vinci started, but trailed off when Nightingale turned her death-glare on her.
"I will tolerate one delay for medicinal purposes. Do not test me," she hissed.
"You've waited for five months already, Leonardo. Another few hours won't hurt," Dr. Roman advised, and Da Vinci found herself unwilling to argue.
X
Half an hour after being all but carried into the medical wing by Nightingale following the end of breakfast, Nikki emerged. She had a haunted look on her face, but the cast and crutches had been discarded and she was once again walking unaided.
"So does it feel good to have the cast off?" Tyler asked.
". . I think I would have preferred to finish healing on my own," Nikki muttered.
"Remind me to never get hurt ever again," Era grimaced.
"Uh, yeah," he agreed, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.
". . smart . ." Nikki wheezed.
"Oh, good, you're done!" Da Vinci appeared with a wide smile, Mash tagging along. "Now, come with me! It's time to finally get the summoning system up and running again! Me, Mash and Zeetocris have sorted everything out, all we're missing is our Masters!"
Tyler tried not to growl at Da Vinci using his nickname for his Assassin glanced between her and Nikki. "Uh. Do we have to do this right now?"
Nikki shook herself, focusing on the Caster and facing away from the medical room. "No, she's right. Let's do summoning. Right now. And make sure that we're very busy with that and can't possibly be pulled away, not even for health reasons,"
"That sounds smart, I'll come too," Era agreed.
"When you put it that way. Let's do it," Tyler agreed.
"Wonderful!" It wasn't long before Mash and the three Masters were being all but dragged along towards the summon room. Da Vinci had also insisted that Lord El-Melloi II and Mysterious Pharaoh Z accompany them, and Kiyohime - who as a matter of principle avoided leaving her Master's earshot as much as possible - invited herself upon hearing that they were about to summon new Servants who might pose a threat to their Masters. No one really believed that she was accompanying them for any reason other than to assess the newcomers' chances of being threats to her love life, but Tyler had supported her and no one really felt like talking her down.
"Just as a point of clarification," Da Vinci primly reminded the assembled group as they entered the suite that had become home to the disused summoning room and its component mechanisms, "it's not that I don't know how to fix the FATE system so that it works without Lord Camelot. It's just that doing so requires materials and reagents that we don't have on site, and considering that the world outside Chaldea no longer exists, we have no way to import those materials. All this time, what I've been doing, is trying to engineer a workaround using only the limited supplies we have access to,"
"No one thinks any less of you for not achieving something that's not possible," Tyler assured her.
"I kinda do," Era mumbled, and was swatted in the back of the head.
"Thank you," Da Vinci's tone was perfectly placid and level, as she assumed her position at the control panel in the partitioned off sideboard in the FATE room. "Mash, if you're ready?"
"Right, of course!" The massive cross-shaped shield appeared in Mash's hands, and she laid it on the floor in the centre of the room, slotting it into the groove that fit it perfectly, then stepped back to join Da Vinci. The Renaissance (Wo)Man threw a switch and an artificial magic circle flared to life, conduits of energy appearing beneath a layer of protective glass that traced complex formations all over the room.
"Do we not need to fill it with blood?" Nikki asked.
"We originally should have, but I ran out of blood quite early on, and no one felt comfortable with something as obscene as asking all the remaining humans here to offer up donations. It's one of the parts of the process I successfully found a workaround for, we're using Spiritron-neutral trigonal quartz crystals instead," Da Vinci clarified.
"Good," Tyler tried not to look queasy.
"Alright then! We can't perform summons ad infinitum, our generators can't sustain that, but we've got some leeway, so let's just see what we get and how much magical energy it takes us. For starters! Nikki, remember this?" With an unnecessary flourish, Da Vinci produced a golden coin.
"That was the token Asclepius gave me," Nikki nodded.
"Mm-hm. Which means you're up first, Nikki. Take your position over the ritual circle. Do you remember the incantation?"
"I memorised it, don't worry," the bluenette assured her. She raised her hands, holding her Command Seals - the four-pointed star with two half-circles beneath it - upwards, and took a deep breath. "Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate. Let it be filled. Again. Again. Again. Again,"
As she chanted, bright blue spread across the room, intricate patterns spiralling in every direction. Ten orbs of mana appeared above Lord Camelot, and span clockwise, slowly at first, but rapidly accelerating, becoming a solid ring of blue-white light.
"Let it be filled fivefold for every turn, simply breaking asunder with every filling. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you submit to this will and reason, then answer!" All at once, the ring collapsed into an infinitesimally concentrated pinprick that flashed upwards into the array on the ceiling, then came back down as a pillar of blindingly white energy. "Seventh heaven clad in the great words of power! Come forth from the circle of binding, guardian of the scales!"
The energy dispersed, peeling away to reveal a bulky black robe, draped over a humanoid figure and obscuring most of his features. Dull blue eyes peered out through locks of white hair, and a familiar caduceus staff hung from his hands.
"It worked . . you're back!" Nikki beamed. She collected herself, straightening. "It's good to see you again, Asclepius,"
". . Where is the patient?" he flatly asked instead of responding to her greeting.
"The, uh, what? There . . aren't any patients right now, me and Mash are fully recovered,"
"Then why did you summon me, if you don't need my expertise?" Asclepius flatly asked.
"Because - well - uh, you gave me a coin, when we met in Okeanos. You wanted me to resummon you. Didn't you?" Nikki questioned, confused.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Asclepius informed her, tone still devoid of emotion.
"You don't?"
"No. Whatever version of me you encountered in the past, I have no memory of that summoning,"
Nikki's heart sank. ". . Oh . . you don't have any idea who I am, then, do you?"
"Not in the slightest. Such things are incidental anyway. You are my Master. I am here to practice medicine as needed. What else matters?"
Her jaw worked for a moment. "I, just . . thought . ."
"If there are no urgent matters, show me to the medical facilities. I must ensure you possess an adequate environment for my needs,"
"I see," Nikki did her best to swallow the glum expression that crept across her face. "We're kind of in the middle of something, you're just the first one we were going to summon, but if you're in that much of a rush, just go outside and ask the first person you see to take you to Dr. Roman's rooms, everyone knows where it is,"
"Understood," Without further ado, Asclepius vanished from the summoning room through the door behind Nikki, leaving only a vanishing wake of billowing black robes.
Da Vinci cast Nikki a sympathetic look. "That, uh . . well, at least we know that FATE is working?"
"It's fine. Whether or not a Servant remembers previous manifestations is a crapshoot, anyway. I know that," Nikki sighed, stepping away from the summoning circle. "He was nicer in Okeanos, though . . but oh well, I guess . . Alright, what's next?"
"Next . . is this!" the Caster exclaimed, pulling out a familiar cylinder of carved wood.
Tyler started. "Wait, isn't that the -"
"That's right! It's the catalyst that we found with Akuta's things!" Z confirmed, dramatically gesturing at the scroll container. "Sanzang took the cursed scroll out of it. It should be mostly safe now!"
Tyler was not reassured by the description of 'mostly safe'. "The scroll container that somehow sent us to medieval China? Should we really be poking that again?" he frowned. "Also. It looked like something that was Akuta's property. Catalysts are consumed by the summoning, right? She'll probably be upset if we destroy something precious to her,"
"We need all the help we can get. If it lets us add another Servant to our ranks, well, we'll just have to apologise to Akuta when she wakes up," Da Vinci reasoned.
"You're probably overestimating how important that scroll container is to her," Nikki pointed out. "Keep in mind, she's a Magus. Most of us don't really do emotional attachments if we can help it . . and I kind of see the appeal right now," she grouched. "Besides, Akuta Hinako? That's a Japanese name, yeah? It's a Chinese artefact. Odds are, it's just something she bought somewhere specifically to use it as a catalyst, not something important to her,"
Tyler still looked hesitant, so Nikki sighed and continued. "And if she really kicks up a fuss about it when she wakes up, we can just transfer to her the contract with whichever Servant we get from summoning it,"
"Yeah that's fair," Tyler nodded, still looking uncertain but nodding. "Besides, maybe it's just a scroll container. We don't even know if this thing is a catalyst anyway,"
"Eh, what else could it be?" Era shrugged. "C'mon, make with the summon, I wanna have my turn,"
"Alright, alright," Tyler chuckled, accepting the container from Z and placing it in the centre of the ritual circle. "Um. I didn't memorise the ritual?"
Da Vinci flipped a switch, and a teleprompter descended from the ceiling behind the circle.
"Yeah, good call," Tyler muttered, raising his hands. "Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation,"
He rattled off the details, and once again, ten orbs of mana appeared before him. They span, blurring together into a circle of light, which collapsed into itself and erupted into a pillar of energy that rained down from the ceiling.
As Tyler yelled, "Come forth from the circle of binding, guardian of the scales!" a humanoid form began to emerge from within the summoning circle.
"It actually was a catalyst," Tyler realised, eyebrows shooting upwards.
A slim blade danced through the air, leaving an elegant series of lines that dazzled their vision. Radiant light formed the hand and arm holding the sword, and wrapped white and purple robes around the forming torso, tucked into a set of pants made from cotton. The Servant's head was last to form, a shape barely identifiable as human that shone with a halo of light, framing silver locks that were draped with perfect symmetry down the back of his head, without any knots or tangles. The last feature to form was an ornate mask, which was mostly golden, but with a prominent third eye made from purple crystal set into its forehead and matching stripes underneath the eye-holes, with two swept-back horns turning it into a full fan of metal that covered the newcomer's face.
"Servant, Saber. My name is Gao Changgong. I, the Prince of Lan Ling, have come to answer your summons. While I do know it is insolent for me to appear with a mask covering my face, I hope you understand that my appearance is just as much a weapon as my sword,"
Tyler considered. He also considered the newcomer's elegant manner of speaking and formal dress. "Welcome to Chaldea. I, Tyler Coren, am honoured that you answered my summons, and if it pleases you, shall serve as your Master for the duration of your summoning,"
". . There's no way Master actually summoned a man, right?" Z blinked.
"Hmm. Yeah, that's suspicious," Kiyohime squinted suspiciously at the man, pacing around him. "Are you a 'prince' in the same way Artoria Pendragon is a 'king'?"
"I'm afraid that I don't quite know what you're talking about," Changgong confessed, his lips twisting in a confused frown.
"Hmmm. You have a very effeminate face. The bits I can see anyway - do us a favour and take that mask off?"
"I would, ah, really prefer not to. Why would you even want to . ." Changgong questioned, head tilting to the side in confusion.
"I'm trying to figure out what's between your legs and whether or not it makes you a rival for my Master's affections," the Berserker snapped.
"I, um, don't quite see the logic there. Personal feelings on the matter aside, I am not unaware of the existence of homosexuality,"
"Ugh, clearly there's only one way to get to the bottom of this," Kiyohime determined, and before anyone could realise her intention or try to stop her, she had ripped the Saber's pants off.
Tyler spluttered.
Da Vinci raised her eyebrows.
Changgong shrieked and leapt back, desperately trying to preserve his modesty.
"Hmm, yep, that's a man," Kiyohime observed.
"Kiyo, that's so inappropriate . ." Z whined.
"By my Command Spell, go to your room and stay there until tomorrow!" Tyler snapped. "So not okay, Kiyo!" There was a flash of red light, and Kiyohime wailed as her feet moved against her will, carrying her out of the room.
Tyler buried his face in his hands, unable to muster the willpower needed to look at Changgong as he fixed his legwear. "I am so sorry about her, she's usually . ." He paused, trying to think of something he could say that was both truthful and would make up for that awful first impression.
"Exactly like that?" Nikki wryly interjected.
". . well . . yeah," Tyler muttered.
"It seems I've been summoned to quite the lively place," Changgong observed, doing his best to take the incident in good humour. "As . . long as such events are outside what usually happens in situations like this, I'm sure it shan't be anything I'm unable to handle," He bowed, hands sweeping behind him.
"I'm glad to hear that. Welcome to Chaldea," Tyler somewhat awkwardly returned the bow.
"My turn!" Era exclaimed, pushing Tyler and Changgong aside to stand over the summoning circle.
"Oh? Do you have a catalyst, Era?" Da Vinci questioned, her smile unwavering.
"Uh-huh! Get it ready!" Era insisted, pulling a small glass test tube out of her pocket and placing it in the centre of the ritual circle.
Da Vinci peered at it, and her eyebrow quirked. "Oh, alright then,"
As Era conducted her summon, Tyler cast a glance at his new Servant. "Also, I do want to ask about the mask, if it's not a sensitive topic or anything?"
"I don't mind at all, and even if I did, as my Master you have a right to know," Changgong assured him. "It's nothing bad, at any rate. It's simply that I am too beautiful, and people who look upon my naked face tend to be mesmerised, or even suffer mental injuries as a result of being unable to comprehend my beauty,"
Era, who'd been half-listening in, spluttered, and the ritual wavered for a moment, so she hastily corrected the mistake and kept going. The reactions of everyone else listening in were equally confused.
"Okay, I've seen a lot of nonsense recently, but come on, you really expect us to believe in literal blinding beauty?" Nikki demanded.
"Yeah, that's really stupid, which is saying something coming from me," Z agreed, folding her arms.
"If you desire, I shall demonstrate for you. It might have to wait until a later time, though, it appears we have a new arrival," Changgong pointed out, gesturing at the summoning circle.
"Servant, Assassin," A black coat fell around a grey suit, and a familiar bespectacled face framed by shaggy blonde hair peered at them. "I am Henry Jekyll. I'm not that good at fighting, but I'll do my best to help out,"
"Aw. You're the wrong one!" Era complained.
"Um, excuse me?" Jekyll blinked at her.
"I wanted Hyde!"
"O-oh. I see . . well, I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"Uh, putting aside why you wanted Hyde," Tyler grimaced, "he's still Jekyll. Surely he can switch back and forth?"
"That, erm, is an option I would prefer not to explore," Jekyll didn't quite insist.
"Aw, fine, whatever. I guess at least you can make me some more of that potion, so that End can come out again," Era mumbled.
Jekyll realised where he was standing, and moved out of the glowing summoning circle. "I am very curious about the context for that statement," he frowned scrutinising her.
"I'll tell you later. Can we do another summon? This one was kind of a dud," Era appeared to Da Vinci, without minding the disgruntled look that Jekyll cast her.
"Unfortunately, that was the last of our catalysts," Da Vinci reminded her. "We could afford to perform one, maybe two more summons, but without a catalyst they'll be entirely random, or at least based on compatibility with whichever of the three of you is doing the summoning,"
Tyler paused, raising a finger. "Actually, wait. We might have another catalyst. I just had a crazy thought,"
"What's that?"
"We've still got the swimsuit that the living Nero wore when we swam through the Tiber and infiltrated Boudica's camp, right? I know it's a long shot, but . . what if we tried to use it at a catalyst?"
"What? No, no way. A catalyst is supposed to be something sacred, a historical relic that's so tied to the legend of a given Heroic Spirit that you can't help but think of them just by looking at it," Nikki protested. "You can't just use something like 'that swimsuit Nero wore one time which technically never happened'. It's not enough!"
"I mean, I don't think of anyone other than Nero when I think of that swimsuit," Tyler pointed out. "Plus . . legends propagate based on how many people know them, right? If everyone here at Chaldea recognises that swimsuit as Nero's Swimsuit, and we're the only living humans left in the world currently, then doesn't that mean all of humanity considers it something associated with Nero Claudius?"
Nikki opened her mouth, then closed it. ". . You've been paying attention, huh," she finally mumbled. "Good argument,"
A smile tugged at Da Vinci's lips. "It's worth a try! I'll find it!"
X
The two-piece bikini was laid across Mash's shield, and Da Vinci threw the switch. "Here goes nothing!" she declared as glowing white spiritrons filled the room.
"My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny!" Tyler chanted. "Answer my call, Nero Claudius!"
The system sparked to life, and the rotating orbs of prana appeared, but something was different this time. A rainbow-coloured fog erupted around them, painting the summon room in lustrous shades of pink, gold and green as they span together, once more merging into a pillar of light that this time shone bright golden as it reached up to the ceiling.
Arms, graceful and slim, formed out of the coalescing prana, white energy flaking away to reveal bare skin. The forming human figure pirouetted in midair, a blonde ponytail coalescing and floating behind her. Dainty toes hit the ground, and bright green eyes slid open, filling the familiar face of the young blonde woman who (apparently) was Nero Claudius.
Also, instead of the expected non-Roman dress, she was wearing the stripy red and white bikini they'd used as a catalyst.
She beamed and struck a pose. "Caster, Nero Claudius, has come in response to your summons!"
". . what?" Tyler blinked in disbelief.
Nero beamed at him. "Were you surprised by my sudden swimsuit? You were surprised, right? Umu, I'm happy and excited as well!" she cheered, throwing her arms up and pirouetting.
"Wait, but, you were a Saber. Or, close enough to a Saber. Caster? Why are you a Caster?"
"Because you summoned me in my swimsuit, umu! Don't you know that swimsuits give Servants new and exciting powers?"
"What? No! . . What?!"
Nero couldn't help but giggle at Tyler's confusion. "I'm joking, umu! Ahh, don't worry too much about it. Some Heroic Spirits qualify for multiple classes, you know? I'm capable of being summoned as a Saber, Caster or Rider," A dark shadow fell across her face. "But don't ever summon me as a Rider," she warned, then brightened again. "I just thought that appearing like this would be fun!"
"Nikki? You're being quiet," Da Vinci observed, glancing at the eldest Master.
Master.exe has stopped functioning.
". . oh dear. I'll find my smelling salts,"
"Let me guess!" Nero continued regardless. "You encountered a version of me that was a different class in the past, didn't you?"
"Yeah, you were a Saber back in Rome. Or, sort of. What do you mean, guess, though? Do you . . not remember?"
"Nope! I'm afraid to say I have no idea what you're talking about, umu! But don't worry about it. Memories or not, it's me, I'm here, and we'll just have to make new ones!"
"Oh. I . . see," Tyler blitz his lip, but nodded. "Yeah, yeah okay, we can do that. We'll do that,"
"Aw. I see what's going on; you went and fell in love with me, didn't you? I can hardly blame you for that, the radiance of the empress is so overwhelming that you just had to make me yours," Nero giggled, sidling towards her new Master.
"Uh - no - what? No," Tyler protested, trying not to blush and swallowing a stirring of greed at the back of his mind. "Nothing like that. I only knew you for a few days, we only really talked once. It was just that . . you called me a hero, and that meant a lot to me,"
"Did I now?" Nero's eyebrows shot up. "What an odd thing for me to have said,"
Tyler's featured tightened. Did she think that was a mistake? Was she going to retract the words that had meant so much to him? ". . Why?"
"I never gave all that much credence to the idea of heroism, beyond the abstract at least. So I am intrigued as to what sort of epiphany you must have induced in this other version of myself," Nero strode towards him, imperial confidence oozing from her every pore, and suddenly all that Tyler could think about was the bikini that was still her only attire and the way it seemed to barely constrain her chest, which looked all the more ample the closer it got. "I look forward to relearning what makes you so special in my eyes, then, umu!"
"I, um . . I mean, I can show you the records?" he offered, trying very hard not to blush.
"The meaning I search for will not be earned by simply reading about the past. No, I shall have you earn my praise with fresh acts of valour!" she insisted. "Surely that will be a trivial matter for a hero?"
Tyler could only stammer as the words refused to leave his throat, fighting back a furious blush. Z watched him sweat, and tilted her head, musing, "This is either the best or the worst thing that's ever happened to our team,"
"You should probably help him," Da Vinci suggested from where she was waving scented powder under Nikki's nose.
"Why? He's cute when he's flustered,"
"He'll be grateful to you. You might earn an owed favour," she crooned.
Z jumped, her twin ahoge seeming to leap straight up on their own like the ears of a startled rabbit, and she hastily interrupted the two. "Hey! Emperor Nero? How about we take you on a tour? And maybe find you some proper clothes,"
"Don't be concerned about that, umu. The Emperor is always the most fashionable person in the room!" Nero bragged, stepping back and doing a pirouette, as a wave of crimson petals were conjured from the ground, briefly obscuring her body. When it cleared, she was once again clad in the red dress that Tyler remembered from the Roman Singularity. "Now then, shall we depart?"
"Uh. Yeah. Da Vinci? We don't have anything else, right?" Tyler questioned.
"No, I can't think of anything else we could use as a catalyst. And that summon consumed most of our remaining fuel, as well," she added, lips pursed.
"What fuel?" Era questioned, sidling towards her.
"This," Da Vinci opened a circular tub in the corner of the room, and rainbow light spilled out. Peering inside, the Masters and Servants could see that it was filled about one-fifth of the way to the brim with small, eight-pointed crystals that glowed in every colour of the rainbow. "These are Spiritron-neutral trigonal quartz crystals. Or SNT-Quartz for short,"
"So, Saint-Quartz," Era further abbreviated the abbreviation.
"That's clever, I like that," Da Vinci cheerily agreed. "They're harvested from the ley lines underneath Chaldea, and through the summoning circles you all kept establishing in the Singularities,"
"I thought those were just so you could send supplies to us?" Nikki questioned.
"They are, but every connection goes two ways. Not all prana can be refined into Saint-Quartz. This is the crystallised life energy of the planet, only the purest wisps of prana can be used to make Saint-Quartz. As is, our only source is the refinement machine in the basement, and it doesn't make all that much - about six crystals in a week,"
". . I can manipulate ley lines. Uh, apparently. Maybe I can help you get more?" Era offered.
"Certainly worth investigating, but don't you still need to master those abilities a lot more?" Da Vinci gently reminded her.
"Yeah, but it's not fair that Nikki and Tyler both got two Servants today and I only got one," Era whined. "Can we do another summon? Pleeeeeeease?"
"I'm really not sure," Da Vinci started, but was interrupted.
"C'mon, we've still got enough to do one more," Era insisted the small pile of rainbow-coloured crystals in the machine.
"Probably, but trying to perform a summon with a small amount of SNT-Quartz like this is risky. We might just get nothing. I think we'd be better off keeping this on hand and trying to gather more,"
Era pouted. "Aw, come on, please?" She scrunched up her face and did her best puppy-dog eyes.
Da Vinci wavered.
"I can attempt to augment the process. Improve our return on the investment," El-Melloi II offered.
". . oh, alright, fine. But only if you promise to focus on developing your ley line powers and hopefully get more back for when we need it," the Caster insisted.
"I promise!" Era agreed, immediately regaining her good cheer.
Da Vinci sighed and chuckled. "Don't ever go gambling, with an attitude like that you'll lose all your money," she warned with an amused smile, taking her position once again. "Whenever you're ready, then, go right ahead,"
"Okay!" Lord El-Melloi II stood behind her, and Era felt him focus his own prana into amplifying the system as she chanted. "Let silver and steel be the essence! Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation!"
As she chanted, a wind kicked up throughout the room, and there was a clatter of hooves, the sound of horses racing through boundless plains. The summoning room seemed to expand, and as Era stared at the pillar of light that erupted in the centre of the room, she felt an unparalleled sense of vastness, a boundless ambition that reached out to encapsulate the whole world, from shore to shore.
The aura was only enhanced as brown and red armour manifested before them, rapidly followed by the body of the Servant they had summoned. At once, his identity was obvious.
That unmistakable aura of unbridled confidence. That fiery red hair. That tanned skin. That wide smile. There is no doubt. This is the King of Conquerors, the one and only Alexander the Great, ruler of the Macedonian Empire!
At the age of twelve years old.
The boy smoothed back his mane of red hair, which did nothing to prevent a cowlick from falling across his forehead, and flashed a grin. "My name is Alexander, Alexander the Third. But you can call me whatever you want,"
Da Vinci's eyes widened in disbelief, then she shook her head. "This is why we summon on a fulltank of SNT-Quartz," she mumbled.
El-Melloi II was slack-jawed. ". . My King?" he spluttered in confusion.
Era just stared, looking him up and down. This definitely did seem to be a version of the incredible, larger-than-life man she'd fought alongside in Washington. But she didn't feel quite the same awe she had before; that sensation, that he was a living legend in the truest sense, wasn't there. Instead, this newcomer, at first glance, seemed like someone who could become great, who was just starting out, and was endowed with a sort of innocent charm.
Era realised her thoughts were drifting, and she focused back on the warm and rakish lines on Alexander's face, on the casual combat readiness of his stance and the way he seemed to bounce on the balls of his feet as he approached her . . nope, try again. Looking away from his body, she focused on his eyes, warm and inviting, an exotic sort of reddish brown the like of which she'd never seen before, and all but glowing with glee and exhilaration that drew her in like a moth to a flame . . 'What's going on?' she asked herself, a voice that wasn't quite her own overriding her frozen thoughts. 'He's just a boy!'
Except he wasn't just a boy, he was Alexander the Great, and she knew that somewhere inside him was that awe-inspiring man, but now he was the same size as her and cute and . . and he was talking to her. He was talking to her.
"Master? You still with us?" Alexander questioned, waving his hand in front of her face.
Era stared.
Say something.
"I-ask-of-you-are-you-my-Servant?" Era rushed out.
Not that!
"Yep, I sure am," Alexander took her flustering in stride, raising his hand to clasp their forearms together. Recognising the gesture, Era raised her own arm, hooking his elbow around hers and squeezing. "You're a weirdo, Master. I like it!" he declared, oblivious to the way his words sent half of Era's mind spiralling into gloom at the accusation of weirdness, and the other half riding the high of 'he likes me'.
Tyler, Nikki, Mash and the Servants watched this with raised eyebrows.
"Question. Era was raised in the Atlas Institute, yeah? How many kids her age would have been there?" Tyler whispered.
"Probably very few," Nikki whispered back.
"So, she's on the brink of puberty, she's got next to no experience talking with people her own age, let alone of the opposite gender, and, well . ." Tyler trailed off.
"Era has her own way of viewing the world," Da Vinci mused. "This shall certainly be a sight to see. Oh, watching young people develop their first crush is adorable!" she cooed, making a playful little heart with her fingers.
"Ahem. My King," El-Melloi II interrupted, having apparently regained his wits. "May I ask, ah . . why did you appear like that?"
"Huh?" Alexander peered up at the man. "Oh, are you one of my adult self's retainers? You look really smart, you must be a really trustworthy advisor. Right, so I'll be counting on you to be me and my Master's teacher from now on, got it?" he grinned.
El-Melloi raised his eyebrows. "That's definitely Iskandar's attitude," he muttered. "You didn't answer the question,"
"Oh, that," Alexander shrugged. "No idea!"
While everyone was focused on the newly summoned Servant, or in Tyler's case the immediately preceding Servant, Mash looked around and realised no one was paying attention to her. "If that's all, then . . then I suppose I'll just be going. I'll . . see you all around," she mumbled, and all but fled, leaving Lord Camelot behind in the summon room.
Tyler and Era took no notice, understandably preoccupied, but Nikki paused, watching her go. "Huh? Mash, hang on," she protested, but the pinkette was already gone. Frowning, she took off after her kouhai.
X
"Oh hi! Elizabeth! You're here!" Nero beamed as they spotted the idol in the corridor.
Elizabeth started, wheeling and blinking in disbelief. "Eh? Nero? What're you doing here?"
Tyler looked between them. "Hold on, you remember her?"
"Of course I do! We fought each other on the moon!" Nero explained.
"Yeah . . don't remind me . ." Elizabeth murmured.
"Oh," He tried not to look disappointed. "So it was a different Grail War . . the moon again, huh," Tyler hummed. "I still can't believe you fought in virtual reality on the moon,"
"Can we not talk about the moon? I don't want to remember that place," Nursery Rhyme whined as she passed.
"You were on the moon too?" Tyler spluttered.
"I was born on the moon. I'm probably more qualified to be its ruler than any of you were," Rhyme sniped.
"I was an excellent ruler of the moon!" Nero retorted.
"Don't kid yourself. None of us who were there would have done a good job," Elizabeth shook her head. "Blowing up Sefar does not make you a good ruler!"
"I am an Emperor of Rome!" Nero reminded her, folding her arms. Elizabeth just snorted disparagingly and stalked away.
Tyler looked between them. "So . . anyone going to fill me in? No?"
X
Meanwhile, a limping Nikki finally arrived at Mash's room, where the pinkette had fled. She was still getting used to walking again after being wheelchair- and crutches-bound for two and a half months, and her lingering limp had prevented her from catching up to Mash in the corridor. So instead she found herself knocking at her kouhai's bedroom door.
"Come in," Mash called after a moment.
Nikki pressed the button and the automated door slid open, revealing Mash curled into a ball on her bed. She started, realising who it was, and tried to hide her face in her knees. "S-senpai?!"
"Hey, Mash. Uh, kouhai? Heh, sorry, don't speak much Japanese,"
"W-what are you doing here?"
"You ran off. I was worried about you," Nikki reasoned, sitting nearby and peering at her as Mash tried and failed to hide her face. Her smile slipped as she noticed a trail left by tears running down the other girl's face. "You're crying. What's wrong?"
"It . . it's nothing. I shouldn't be sad. It's good news, that we summoned five new Servants . . that we have so many Servants now . ." Mash mumbled.
"Should be isn't worth anything. You look sad, and I'm not having that, not today and not ever," Nikki insisted. "Come on. Spill. What's on your mind?"
Mash looked up at her. "You . . you don't need me, do you, senpai?"
She was taken aback at the question, which was only just shy of an accusation. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"There are so many Servants here. So many real heroes. Members of every class. Including some I've never even heard of. Anyone you could possibly need for a fight, you've already got. Weighed against all that . . the only reason you bothered to wake me up was because you needed Lord Camelot for the FATE system, isn't it?"
"No . . no, Mash, that's not true," Nikki shook her head slowly, focused on her.
"Then why -"
"Because you're my friend!" her Master all but exploded. She threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Mash, losing her balance and sending her tumbling backwards, leaving them lying on the bed, noses mere inches from one another. "It doesn't matter how many Servants we have. And I know this isn't how a Magus is supposed to feel, but I was always terrible at being a Magus, so screw that too. Mash. It wasn't any of them who was there with me in Fuyuki. It was you. I'd have died way back there at the start if it wasn't for you,"
"Oh. So it's just gratitude, then . ." Mash mumbled, closing her eyes.
"No! It's not - well, it is, because I am grateful, but more than that. On that day, you showed me that you're trustworthy, that you're dependable. That, even injured, you're able to fight for and defend me. You're a good Servant and a good friend, and I know that I can count on you, so I'm going to count on you!" Nikki insisted. "So, please. Don't think that you're just a spare, don't tell me that you don't think you can fight. Because I still need your help to save the world, and I still want you to help me,"
"Senpai . ." Mash whispered, staring into her eyes.
"So don't think so little of yourself, okay? Because you're better than that. I need you to be better than that," Nikki insisted, squeezing her.
"Senpai . . you're very close,"
Nikki stilled as she realised just how little space there was between them, and noticed the blush on Mash's cheeks. Her own face suddenly turned bright red, and she hastily sat up. "I, um, heh. Sorry,"
"N-no . . don't be. You really feel that way?" Mash asked, a pleading note in her voice.
A smile split her lips. "Of course I do. Kouhai,"
Mash beamed, a radiant smile brightening the room. "In that case . . from now on, you can count on me, senpai," she promised, ragged, relieved breaths escaping her throat.
". . also, I have to confess, I don't know what either of those words mean, Dr. Roman just mentioned them in passing and they seemed important,"
OMAKE: The Other Perspective On Boys
"Oi. What's going on? He's just a boy!" End complained, watching through Era's eyes as she froze up in the presence of Alexander. "Say something!"
"I-ask-of-you-are-you-my-Servant?" Era's squeaky words drifted back to them.
End's eye twitched. "Not that!"
"Aww! I reckon Ma-chan's got her first crush!" Oei cooed.
"Her first what?" End frowned, sizing up the redhead. "He does look kinda scrawny. We could probably crush him if we found something heavy enough. That makes sense,"
"Not like that, ya little murderhobo. Humans have an instinct to bond with other people. They sometimes feel an attraction to others. Usually the opposite gender, but not always. When kids grow up and start feelin' these things for the first time, they can latch on to the first suitable partner to catch their eye, because they need experience in matters of the heart,"
". . That doesn't make sense at all," End snorted. "The only matter of the heart we should be dealing with is ripping them out,"
"Aw, c'mon, kiddo. Ya don't look at that handsome little face and feel ya heart go all a-flutter?" Oei crooned.
"No. But if he's doing something to me and Era's heart, then I should just kill him and save us both the trouble. That would make sense," End flatly assessed.
"Naw, naw, not yet, kiddo, give him a chance,"
"A chance to do what - wait. That wasn't a no, that was a 'not yet' . . ?" End trailed off inquisitively.
"Well sure. After all, if he goes and breaks Ma-chan's heart . . well, I've never tried makin' paint out of powdered Spirit Origin afore. Wonder what kinda colour we'd get outta that?" Oei idly mused.
End blinked at her. "How is it that most of the time you're so boring but sometimes you're really cool?"