Aston sat on a random rooftop, peering off into the distance listlessly.
He hadn't donned his armour since the battle earlier and was still in casual clothing, thinking to himself even if he himself noticed that that wasn't like him at all. He didn't ponder too long on the things he'd done lest he fall into the bottomless pit called regret, "Huh." Maybe that was why his hair had lost it's colour.
"Sir Aston, get off there." Artoria released a small sigh, her knight had a strange habit of sitting in high places and.. Well he just sat there in silence. One of the easiest ways to find him was to scour the towers in Camelot, "You've come quite far in your craft." She tried to praise him, it also meant he was mulling over something.
Aston jumped down but still had to look down to meet Artoria's gaze, being considerably taller than the British King, "I must say, is it not unfair that my King addresses me as Sir Aston when I address her as Artoria?" He mused with a hand on his chin.
The Knight of Atrocity had taken up a spot a small distance away from the Emiya Residence, accompanied by the King of Knights.
"That is.." Artoria paused for a moment before nodding, it was the truth, "Then, Aston." It was strangely embarrassing to be addressing him in such a casual manner.
"This reminds me of the King with Caliburn." Aston smiled gently, Artoria had once been an upbeat, kind and incredibly precious if not somewhat naive teen. The days he'd spent in her company then were among his fondest memories, "Do you recall that time you rode into battle on a donkey?"
Artoria ended up flustered, very vividly recalling the tragedy that had befallen her younger self, "Y..You, that was because you convinced me it was the superior mount!" It was so naive to think tricking her was beyond him! "Ah.. the other knights." She hid her face in her hands, only having learnt why everyone seemed so happy later on.
"They were struggling t-"
"I know." Artoria wanted to smack him for that one but couldn't help the smile crossing her face.
Those had indeed been happy days.
Just a young girl going on strange adventures with a band of knights.
"Onto a more serious topic," Aston dropped his smile, noticing that the Sun had started rising in the distance. His Master would be up and about sooner or later and that, would be problematic seeing how she wasn't open to allying with Shirou Emiya, "We've so far identified Caster, Berserker and Archer. Lancer is myself and you are Saber."
"That leaves.." Artoria pondered on the information the Grail had given her for a moment, "Rider and Assassin." While Assassin could be incredibly dangerous, she doubted the possibility because the rules didn't allow going against Masters.. Or at least that was how she'd have thought if not for the fact that she recalled the last Grail War where her Master had done just exactly that.
If Rider was anything like his or her counterpart from the last conflict then that was going to be a problem as well, "Are you confident in your capabilities?" She asked in a strange tone, thinking more like the ideal ruler than what she was as of now.
"I would be but the fact is.." Aston stopped short and shook his head, "It is nothing of importance." Bazett was still his Master and Shirou was technically an enemy. Giving away the fact she didn't have the magical energy to sustain his complete noble phantasm was a betrayal, something a knight could never do.
Artoria shook her head too, "My apologies for asking." She was reverting to her old way of thinking, one she wanted to leave behind. Had it not already proven that it would only lead to destruction? Besides, she had no right to ask anything of Aston, not after how she had allowed his reputation tarnished, "I promise you this however, I would not willingly raise my blade to you." It was impossible.
"And you know of my stance already." Aston gave a small bow before turning to leave, he was going to walk back, take in the sights and all. Certainly a strange notion considering how his stay was only going to be a week or two longer at most but still, he wanted to revisit an age he'd lived in before, "Let us meet on the battlefield my King, preferably as allies lest I thr-" The Knight of Atrocity put a hand over his mouth failing to noticed Artoria who was waving him goodbye had frozen for a fraction of a second at his words.
* * *
Bazett hurriedly wore her black suit, putting on a beige trench coat over it before slinging the case she carried around with her over her shoulder. She then put on tight black gloves, and looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment.
The Enforcer walked out of her room and was faced with fresh bacon and pancakes, coupled with two glasses one of milk and the other of orange juice. Why was her servant so keen on cooking for people? "Wait, how did you even buy these things?" Bazett was sure she hadn't given him any more money.
Aston appeared near the table, scratching his scar with a small smile, "Funny story really.."
Oh no... Bazett's shoulder slumped as she struggled to maintain a nonchalant demeanour, finding it to be increasingly difficult as she recalled HIS memories. It was pitiful and sad to see him so loyal to a woman who'd used him, caught up in political schemes and felled by rebellion when all he had ever wanted was to help the British people, the same people that loathed and feared him due to those very schemes and machinations.
"Please don't tell me you stole supplies.." Bazett practically pleaded, with his speed he'd be gone before anyone could even notice something off.
Aston gasped, dramatically placing a hand over his chest, "I am deeply hurt that even you would think that of me." He chided with a gentle smile, "There was this man dressed not unlike you.." The Lancer put both hands behind his back, "Something about talents? He had me take different postures and gave me funding, promising that I would be given work." Aston gave Bazett a thumbs up, smiling as if happy, "Of course I did make him promise me this work would not put the innocent in peril or hurt them in any shape or form."
He explained the situation without much pause, more so because he didn't truly understand it himself but wasn't averse to earning easy money.
"You know what? I'm done." Bazett just gave up and took a seat, she would think about this after breakfast. Once she took a bite however, she ended up forgetting the ordeal entirely and was reminded of why her servant constantly claimed he had a high ranked skill pertaining to cooking.
How was she supposed to go back to ordinary food after this?
Aston only observed in silence, deriving satisfaction from his Master's actions. While it didn't come anywhere close to his King's expressions, everyone had a particular reaction to his food, apart from Lancelot because he kept feeding the man bread and water.
The Knight's eyes widened as a strange possibility crossed his mind, had he played a part in driving his dearest friend mad?
Couldn't be right?
As if forgetting the way she'd eaten, Bazett shamelessly pushed the plates away and fixed her collars, "Archer and his Master will possibly be at the same Academy we encountered them in the other night." She wiped her mouth with the tissues Aston had brought over.
"Quite right, it would not do for that young girl to simply cede to the threat that is you, my Master." Aston nodded, folding his arms, "She appeared to be one of those 'I can't get by without being respected!' types that are endlessly stuck in that time of the month."
Bazett went silent, estranged by how well the knight could mimic young girls and be extremely rude at the same time, "She wasn't tha-"
"She was not, the pragmatic mask over her compassion fails to hold." The Lancer hummed, "Quite flimsy, 3/10 but astounding considering she happens to be a magus." The same could be said for his Master who while stoic on the outside, was a gentle yet lonely individual on the inside, "Has the widespread cold pragmatism of magi died out with the passage of time?" What he'd seen so far was hinting at that.
The closest thing to an actual magus he'd seen so far was that priest using children as mana batteries.
"Afraid not." Bazett denied the presumption but didn't wait for the servant to ask further, "We should head to the school too, I know you can beat Archer." She'd seen him play around with the man with her own two eyes even if only in blurs, there was motive again for her to win this war.
For the tragic Knight of Atrocity, she hoped to allow him some semblance of happiness with the Wish-Granting Holy Grail not knowing that the man was already satisfied and incredibly grateful to her for allowing a reunion with his beloved King.
"I still can't understand how I didn't summon Cu Chulainn though." Bazett spoke her mind without realising and covered her mouth with both hands, realising that she was being far too rude.
"Ehem, Merlin decided throwing me to the Shadowlands was an adequate bit of tomfoolery in return for me calling him a manwhore and filling his home with donkeys." Aston nodded with closed eyes before smiling proudly, "The joke is on him however, I gained much from a Godslayer trying to kill me and me trying to kill her." He even appeared pleased with himself for that.
"..."
Bazett pursed her lips, stood up and left.
She didn't get Cu Chulainn, she got his, or at least one of his, successor(s).
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Perched atop the hotel his Master was staying in, Aston stared at the setting Sun with a strange expression on his face.
Something had been bothering him since his run-in with the priest overseeing the war, this whole war simply felt wrong. As if something was incredibly off, or vile in nature, moving in the shadows and the Lancer trusted his instincts a fair bit, they'd saved him too many times for him to not, behaving like a supernatural sixth sense.
"Uninvolved civilians are turning up missing, dead or worse in several parts of the city."
Aston answered without looking back, his voice slightly subdued, "My Master, not all legends are as cordial as I." He smiled noticing how discussing things on the roof seemed to have become the norm between them, his creed demanded he see the wishes of the one he served through, no matter the cost, "There are still two if not three unidentified servants, it wouldn't be strange for one of these individuals to be the perpetrator."
Bazett, having approached him in silence, nodded shortly, "I suspect it might be a Master with insufficient magical energy or.." She gave a short pause, "Caster, didn't you say you found him?"
"Her, Caster is a her." Aston corrected her with a small smile on his face, tapping his fingers against the ground in thought, wondering how there were so many women involved in a war. Admittedly, this was the first female servant he'd encountered but the same couldn't be said for Masters.
Bazett released a small sigh, "Of course, woman, witch, why not?" It even made sense now that she thought about it. The fact remained however that she was probably the one behind the growing incidents, "Let's go after her then."
"As you wish." Aston was already on his feet and bowed with a hand over his chest, holding out the other to his Master, "Let us do as heroes do and fell the evil witch."
Bazett could only resign herself to the fate of being carried in her servant's arms, understanding that the Lancer wasn't willing to compromise on something that should have been, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential, "Do you enjoy embarrassing me?"
"My.." Aston feigned a gasp, "It is sad that you would think of me in such a way."
"You're weird." He was weird, he was weird about things.
* * *
A dreary atmosphere encompassed the arguably majestic temple built atop Mount Ryuudou, a hill in the central area of Fuyuki City whose residents had a strange dislike for women in their midst and so, it was mostly looked after by men.
On this particular night however, these people were nowhere in sight. The lights were out and it would be difficult to even see in the dark of the night if not for the moonlight.
All this combined barely seemed to bother the master-servant duo walking up the concrete stairway leading to the main temple compound.
Aston's metal armour clanged against the ground as he calmly climbed the steps, a jagged spear held out to the left just in case someone attacked Bazett who was walking a small distance behind him, her gaze stoic and focused as usual, he even felt she was too serious sometimes but not at the moment, the situation called for seriousness.
She'd told him this temple erected right above a leyline and as such, granted whoever was here access to the vast amounts of magical energy flowing underneath. With their current adversary being of the Caster Class, it served to make the situation far more dangerous than it should have been.
The only reason Aston took a frontal approach was because bounded fields were magus homefield 101, there was no way they could realistically sneak in even if they wanted to.
An all too familiar glint ripped Aston from his thoughts, forcing him to swing his spear less like well, a spear and more like a sword, moving it in a horizontal arc to deflect a blade aimed right at both his and Bazett's necks.
Metal clanged against metal and sparks momentarily lit up the surroundings as a testament to the raw physical strength of the two clashing individuals.
"I take no pleasure in attacking in such a manner but my Master seems to be far too wary of you." The newly arrived servant leapt back, standing on one of the higher steps with a massive thin, slightly curved sword held in one hand resting on his shoulder, "I do apologise." He slightly smirked.
Standing a few centimetres taller than Bazett, the servant had long purple hair tied up in a ponytail and wore similarly coloured somewhat baggy clothes reminiscent of 16th century Japan. He stared down at Aston with barely concealed curiosity in his eyes, having caught a glimpse of his opponent's prowess through the singular exchange.
Aston only smiled gently, standing up straight, "I accept your apology, the inadequate have to make do somehow after all." The Lancer shrugged, prompting his opponent to let out a small amused chuckle.
The servant lowered his sword and stepped to the side, shrugging, "I am not against letting your Master proceed however." He suggested cordially, displaying no intention of stopping Bazett if she walked past.
"Surely you jest, I would want to bury myself alive if I even made such a suggestion." Aston replied with his head slightly tilted, it was such an obviously stupid ploy that the knight felt there had to be something more to it, "It would mean letting my master face a servant."
Bazett observed the exchange in silence, understanding that humans had no place in a clash between such entities.
"You would be surprised." The servant smirked, "Humans from this era are.." He hummed for a moment, scratching his chin with his free hand, "Let us say, full of surprises."
"I concur." Aston nodded his head, there were magi like his master and Archer's master here, it was completely astounding to bear witness to such an alien thing.
Seemingly no longer interested in idle chatter, the still unidentified servant held out his blade, grabbing the hilt firmly with both hands and did something that left Bazett wide eyed, "Class Assassin, Sasaki Kojirou. Let us fight splendidly."
Aston smiled, genuinely pleased with the servant's actions and introduced himself as he had done a number of times before, "The Knight of Atrocity, Aston. I was summoned as a Lancer." He saw nothing wrong with this, honorbound to share his name before a confrontation with a legend.
"Oh? I am ashamed." The now identified servant slightly lowered his head, "I fail to recognise that name." His words were truthful and not mocking, even if it may have seemed as such.
Aston waved his apology off, not even slightly offended, "No matter, I fail to recognise yours as well." The name suggested he was a hero of the land they were in right now, it made sense then that they failed to recognise each other.
"I will never understand why you share names."
Weren't names supposed to be important? Weren't they supposed to stay concealed? Didn't they risk giving away weaknesses by sharing them?! What was wrong with these servants?
"My Master, you disappoint me." Aston shook his head, as if genuinely disappointed.
"I find your lack of culture disturbing." Sasaki joined the Lancer and expressed his disappointment too.
A simple leaf flying through the air and landing peacefully on the ground was what signalled the start of their battle with both servants lunging at one another, leaving cracks on the concrete underneath.
Aston possessed superior strength and superior speed, Bazett easily noticed that with a single use of the Master's Perspective that revealed a servant's parameters but found herself taking a step back in awe when Sasaki met the knight's thrust, using his almost awkwardly long sword to make it slide to the side as sparks flew about.
In the same instant, the Assassin changed grips and using the opportunity he'd made for himself to the fullest, Sasaki swung down diagonally from the other side, aiming to slash apart Aston's armoured neck only for the latter to, for the first time since his summoning, draw the thin sword concealed by his cloak in reverse grip with his right hand and deflect the blow completely, forcing his opponent to leap back, understanding that he'd lose a contest of raw strength to Aston.
Aston corrected his posture, sheathing his sword as a smile crossed his face, "What splendid swordsmanship." His main weapon was a spear and so, he more than understood the problems using one brought.
It was a good weapon, no doubt about that but in close single combat, a sword just possessed far more mobility and effectiveness than a spear irrespective of skill. The cherry on top were the Assassin's next words,
"I have spent my entire life honing my blade yet you drove me back, your skill in combat is praiseworthy." Sasaki praised honestly, even if his now idle posture suggested he didn't find this battle to be much trouble, "But.." His gaze sharpened and the air instantaneously became tense, "How long do you intend to believe me unworthy of your fullest?"
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