In which the Champions (namely through Rei) finally tell ‘em why they are there!!

Yin

”Now that we’ve managed to somewhat peck out a somewhat halfway decent introduction with the parties here,” Rei interrupts whatever else is going through the various Heroic Spirits (the Saber sisters look rather disturbed by the simple questions I put forth, so perhaps it might be for the best).

At least it let them realize that our concerns about Masters and Servants with ill intentions had been not for them, but for various OTHERS not present here and now.

Probably the only reason why they are NOT demanding we go out to immediately eliminate every threatening enemy Master and enemy Servant right now is the same for why they do not demand we go trooping off to go and find allied Masters and Servants: they haven’t “quickened” yet.

That is, until we Champions get close enough to those with the capacity to utilize magic (like the magus folk) or are magical in nature (like Servants for example) to “awaken” them from the looped behavior, things will not change. Well, other “awoken” can do the same thing with enough effort but that’ll take HOURS if not DAYS of uninterrupted effort by the briefing we got before this Quest began.

In theory, we’re safe enough for right now.

But as for why the seemingly needless efforts of introduction that cultural programing demands, usually?

“If only to better facilitate conversations that is very good in my book since I do rather loath addressing another as ‘Hey you’ when chatting or giving direction,” Rei continued, in a wry tone. “After all, even a pot has a handle, yes?”

The last small joke didn’t garner even a chuckle, not that they had looked to be in any joking mood anyway.

Not that big sister really looked like she expected any laughs…

“Simply put,” Rei begins to explain to the tense audience before us. “We Champions, which I am to understand is somewhat but not have been tasked with finding a viable means of getting everyone here under the Dome…”

Basically, the mission briefing that the husband of Big Sister Yuki’s husband—John—already had provided you in passing earlier (re: 108840)? That is what is shared in just less that a minute. That and a “formal” introduction took MUCH longer than I feel it should have taken.

Then again, I would have to add that our introduction into the “mix” was less than stellar, more than a bit violent. Nothing that would provide a “nice and peaceful” setting for this briefing until now.

”Better late than never,” I sigh softly to myself.

We finally managed to get to this point, but only after a lot of running.

. . .

Running, fighting, and a bit of screaming here and there when Berserker got a bit too close for comfort…

That is the proper phrase for this occasion, yes? Servant EMIYA

Being that the others here seem to be still trying to swallow the rather heavy and bitter pill this blue haired woman just offloaded upon us all. I mean . . .gods!

If it had been somewhere else or done differently I would have called (and the others would have called) this woman a liar or insane.

Events and actions . . .argue very much FOR her and her cause here.

How is it that we are HERE when everyone is gone due a bad end in a prophecy from the times of Gilgamesh? It has to due in part to the Holy Grail War in part, namely the Grail itself had been harnessed to power the “environmental shields” and other effects keeping everything . . .as it was until now.

How these “Time Lord” super alien . . .people with super technology that rivals True Magic managed that? Managed to sweep us all up and put us here?

Why “here” instead of somewhere safer? Why didn’t theses Time Lords do that?

Why didn’t the “gods” of Medea (or “Higher Ups” as Rei called them) just save us and put somewhere safe?!

As for that? That is what is what Champions are good for, it seems. I . . .as a Counter Guardian don’t know how to fel about that one. Almost nothing like the hell I unwittingly signed up for when I made a pact with Allya…

Count me jealous…

But griping over that I think wouldn’t end well for me, considering that at least TWO of them were going to KILL me just moments ago for revealing too much about their wives. And they still haven’t said anything more about it than a rather terse “sorry” about it, even after Medea (!) revealed that I’d been under a magical backlash from my looking at their weapons.

No love for me from THOSE quarters…

As for the other questions?

No fucking idea for some of it, and something for trying to figure out later, thanks! AFTER we get out of here, if we can try to go and figure things out.

But there IS one I just HAVE to ask, considering that I . . .damnit . . . still want to save everyone, EVEN AFTER ALL THIS HELL I EXPERIENCED AFTER BECOMING A GODDAMN COUNTER GUARDIAN!!

. . .

Pardon, I’m bitter about it. Counter Guardians . . .well, we are “cleaners”. We “clean up” messes that threaten the survival of the human race as a whole if things get too dangerous by killing the source of the threat and anyone else even remotely related to it, collateral damage, just to be sure. That was NOT what I had bargained for with Alaya and . . .

Gah!!

“And just how exactly do you mean to go about getting the means to get everyone to safety?” I ask, really wanting to know. NEEDING to know that there is a way OUT of this dilemma.

Fred

”Before we left Colchis we had gathered some exotic reagents which when exposed long enough to the essence of a Heroic Spirit to be most helpful in that regard,” Medea answered before Rei could, sounding rather proud at the resources afforded by her kingdom (or rather her and her father had in their Magus Work Shops). “Just a few moments exposure and we’ve got the means of tracking down and calling forth things or be teleported to places we could gather things to possibly succeed in the Quest in spades!”

Point in fact, we almost had TOO much in the way of those reagents our briefing had clued us in on here but that was by the by.

”However as an aside,” I add, looking rather pointedly at the first two Servants classes we had encountered from the very start. “That took longer than it should have, considering that the exposure only applies to ‘normal’ Heroic Spirits, which leads me to think that you and the Saber sisters over there aren’t ‘normal’ at all.”

”Heh, we should take care of that before waiting any longer at that before something bad should happen eh?” Medea nods, glad for Fred having pointed that out. She had overlooked that in the mess of things, understandably, but still!

Opening a pouch she pulled forth a packet which contained some kind of paperwork that gave off a most odd feeling of power. A packet which she smiled and gave a quick and powerful stab with her version of Rule Breaker, a magical item a bit more . . .gifted and versatile than the one Archer was familiar with from prior encounters.

”So . . .which are you?” Medea asked in curiosity while shuffling through various contracts filled with highly powerful and inscrutable, eldritch writing not even SHE could read without MUCH effort. That is, if she had been foolish enough to take a real risk of being driven mad from things Man was NOT meant to know…(yet).

Oh yes, indeed. IN the Nasu-verse it had been said that their had been entities that even the “gods” had feared. In this case, it appeared that the “gods” had been fearful of the Higher Ups, but that was by the by (again).

Archer, unable to speak from shock, only manages to point and make odd squeaking and choking sounds. Berserker and Rider are also shocked, but at least not to the extent as Archer.

The Masters, meanwhile, are wondering just what the big deal is here…

”Wha. . . .where did you get that?!” Rider sputtered. “Are you insane? If Alaya. . .if Mankind’s Colllective Will to Survive catches wind that you got one of her Contracts like that she’ll have EVERY single Counter Gaurdian here to not only take that back, they’ll KILL everyone in this city for that!”

Berserker, meanwhile, grows suddenly thoughtful as something occurs to him.

”Not with Rule Breaker having broken the Contract will any Counter Guardians show,” he muses, knowing what Medea’s Noble Phantasm was capable of with magical contracts and magery in general.

Herkulese had been an Argonaut in life and had journey with her and Jason in their Legend, meeting Medea after her fall and having become the Witch of Betrayal. He knew what this might mean, even with this . . .odd but noble version of that tragic heroine he’d known in life.

”He’s a Counter Guardian,” Rin pipes up, sensing something BIG in the making in the air here. That and seeing nothing to gain and a LOT to lose by hiding the fact from these Champion folk. “Why?”

Nodding to herself, Medea takes puts half of the packet of Contracts away for the moment, muttering something about a main theme of “conquering oneself” and nodding.

”You’ll see,” Medea smiles brightly, wanting to share the moment but not spoil the mystery of what is going to happen here . . .just yet. In other words, she was playing up to the audience.

Pulling up one Contract, she looks at Archer.

”‘Unlimited Blade Works’,” she says, reading the only (safely) legible part of the Contract: the header. "’Struggling with oneself as an ideal’".

Getting no reaction but a confused blinking from Archer (who is still stunned speechless), is all that she gets for her efforts.

Shiro Emiya blinks, wondering what the title of his unexpected weapon he’d found himself able to use during that battle with the various Berserkers had to do with this ceremony. However, he opts to wait until later, sensing that this should NOT be interrupted else BAD things might occur (to him) for interrupting.

False concerns, but then again Rei wouldn’t have welcomed the delay. With Medea having severed the Contracts, the Gaurdian (of Gaia) and the Counter Guardian (of Alaya) would no longer be running a risk of being tasked to fight each other due any lingering Orders from those entities if some dark Miracle should make itself known here and now.

Frankly, the Champions would have been forced to put both down before the Fight flowed over and destroyed the entire city. Not something they’d want to do, but now no longer needed to worry about IF Medea got done here with this business.

So…

Somewhere back further in the city, another Red clad Archer (the one who belonged to the spoken contract) pauses for a moment to twitch oddly as a Contract melds with his Soul, only to again to into the motion of drawing forth a powerful arrow to let fly, quiet unaware of what is to come his way and shock him mute.

Contract gone and melded with a Servant not present, she tries another one but at least happy that SOMEBODY out there is going to be VERY happy once they get “quickened” sooner or later.

”’Heaven's Feel’,” the Princess of Colchis intoned with a small shiver, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand on end for some reason upon reading it. “’The friction with real and ideal.’”

”Uh . . . .no?” Archer blinks, finally managing to do something besides sputter. Do something besides sputter. Being able to give some kind of intelligent response. Being able to begin to actually hope?

Again, elsewhere in the city another red clad Archer shivers as a Contract merges with his soul. Again, pausing the red warrior then continues and draws two magical swords to face off a blue clad warrior with a spear.

Meanwhile, a young ten year old boy sneezes and then goes back to cooking for his father. A task he’d gotten good at by need, being that his father was gifted in many things, but could only make meals that tasted like military rations at the best of times. At worst? He’d almost burnt down the kitchen!

Pulling forth the last remaining Contract after the other had disappeared, she then nodded in satisfaction.

”’ Fate’,” she smiled. “’Oneself as an ideal.’"

THIS causes the Contract in her hands to fly out and merge with the Archer before her, knocking him to the ground and causing him to start to laugh madly in reaction as It merged with his Soul, freeing him to return to the Throne of Heroes when this was all over as a true Heroic Spirit.

And not a Counter Gaurdian, a “cleaner” for Alaya. “Now we’ll deal with you here and now,” Medea smirked, pulling the Contracts related to the Servant Sabers before her, only to pause when she noticed . . .a fourth Contract.

1. “’Fate/Zero’?”

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