Fate: Time and Punishment, Chapter Five, Part Two
OverMaster
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"And that was it all?" Mordred asked.
Saber looked at the horned knight again, with that especially harsh look from her inhuman golden eyes. "What else did you expect would happen?"
They all were gathered around Shirou's lunch table now, and while it was a huge table indeed, there were only seats for the females present, and Kiritsugu, whom Shirou had made sure of giving a seat of honor much to the annoyance of the other males. This included, of course, Mordred, who also stood there, wondering with this King seemed even bitterer towards her than towards everybody else. Sella made sure of translating Illya's florid story for those who only spoke Greek, while Leysritt had been doing the same for those who only spoke English.
"Well, you have to admit, it does sound rather anticlimactic, for a wrapup to your situation," Bedivere said sheepishly, scratching herself on a cheek with the giant gauntlet arm. "W-Wait, but, the King's cursed armor, how did she--!"
"When the Grail was destroyed, Lancer must have perished, so your sovereign shouldn't be afflicted anymore," Saber blandly said, and Artoria nodded, flexing her arms vigorously to prove the point. "More importantly, however, who in the blazes are you?"
"Eeeehhh?!" the pigtailed blonde whined. "You don't remember the second of your knights, the long serving Bedi?!"
"Bedivere was a man," Saber icily replied. "I recognize good Sir Agravain, of course, and noble Gawain, and the brave Gareth, and even Mordred and Lancelot, but you? I had never seen you before. Get thee away from me, pretender."
Bedivere began sobbing. "My Liege…! You are so mean…!"
"What's this 'even Mordred' business?!" Mordred demanded. "What did I ever do to you?!"
Lancelot sighed. "I'm going to regret ever embarking in this whole enterprise, am I not…"
"There, there, don't mind too much, Sempai," Galahad patted her senior's shoulder. "She said the same thing about me; I suppose her Camelot was far less inclusive."
"I never believed on diversity hires, just those based on competence," Saber said.
"We shouldn't expect much from a wayward king without a cowlick," her lighter counterpart hummed.
"Whoa, whoa, we're getting political! Stop it already!" Iri chided. "On the subject of scary girls, what do you think happened to Lancer's Master? Could she have survived after his disappearance?"
Shirou blinked. "Um, why wouldn't she? I imagine she must be angry about that, but what is she going to do? Chasing us here across the dimensions to wreck revenge on us?"
Everyone stared at him then, except Sella, Leysritt, and those who didn't understand Japanese. After the maids translated, those joined in on the staring as well.
Shirou grunted. "Oh, for heaven's sake, you're all paranoid. It's only a girl…!"
The staring grew even harsher and fiercer, especially from Kiritsugu and Saber.
Shirou flinched under the pressure, especially that from his father figure. "Anyway… how should we call you, Second Arthur-san?"
"I was altered by the unholy mud, so you can just call me Alter," she said indifferently. "Or you may call me by the birth name of Artoria. Or just Saber. I don't care."
"Oh! Oh!" Bedivere said. "What if we bring the names of Alter and Artoria together and call you 'Altria'?!"
"No. That's a stupid name."
Bedivere pouted.
Growing fed up with this circus, Hinako slammed a hand on the table. "Very well, that will be enough of this! Fine, I have seen proof your contraption indeed works! I'm even willing to overlook your breach of protocols as you as you comply with this single demand of mine, you are to take me to ancient China and--!"
"Why don't we just kill you instead?" Stheno calmly asked, interrupting the tirade Sella was translating for her as it went.
Hinako stared at her and spat in flawless Greek, "They'll send another one!"
"So we'll kill them as well."
Hinako facepalmed. "Is killing all you can think about?"
"I don't even like doing it myself, that's more like Medusa's vice."
Medusa lowered her head. "It's not that I enjoy it either, really…"
"Yes, you do, you murderous monster, you. Don't play innocent before these nice softhearted people," Stheno calmly chided her.
"Why China anyway?" Rin inquired. "Why does it have to be China? You're Japanese! Why is a pure blooded Japanese fangirling after the Chinese? I mean, I like their cuisine and all, but…"
Illya blinked. "Do you like eating bats and pangolins and all those disgusting stuff? Gross…!"
"That's not the heart of real pure and refined Chinese cooking!" Rin and Hinako angrily told her, as one.
Illya clung to Irisviel's arms. "Mama, the evil hags are bullying me! Sic Aunt Artoria on them!"
"Now, now, Illya," Iri maternally said, "you're overdoing this, plus, I'm sure she'd prefer being called your Uncle…"
"No, I don't care either way anymore," Alter said apathetically. "We can't keep having discussions like this, however, it's a royal pain in the arse. Boy, don't you know anyone who could teach these dolts proper English, in the absence of a Grail to conveniently solve this situation for you?"
Shirou blinked. "Oh, you mean…someone reliable, discreet, able to deal with many troublesome personalities at once, and easy to get along with? W-Well, now that you mention it, I might know someone who fits the bill…"
"Who's troublesome, you spineless, useless maggot?!" Mordred growled. "You've got a lot of nerve, calling us that…!"
"Shut up," Alter told her.
"Okay, you ARE being worse to me than to anyone else! I demand to know why…!"
"You are imagining things, Mordred, she is this curt and vile to everyone, pay her no mind," the Artoria in blue said with great dignity. "The words of the fallen rabble deserve no ears to fall into."
"You," her other self told her, "are a sodding idiot. And a cuckold."
The lighter Artoria lunged at her over the table.
Saber looked at the horned knight again, with that especially harsh look from her inhuman golden eyes. "What else did you expect would happen?"
They all were gathered around Shirou's lunch table now, and while it was a huge table indeed, there were only seats for the females present, and Kiritsugu, whom Shirou had made sure of giving a seat of honor much to the annoyance of the other males. This included, of course, Mordred, who also stood there, wondering with this King seemed even bitterer towards her than towards everybody else. Sella made sure of translating Illya's florid story for those who only spoke Greek, while Leysritt had been doing the same for those who only spoke English.
"Well, you have to admit, it does sound rather anticlimactic, for a wrapup to your situation," Bedivere said sheepishly, scratching herself on a cheek with the giant gauntlet arm. "W-Wait, but, the King's cursed armor, how did she--!"
"When the Grail was destroyed, Lancer must have perished, so your sovereign shouldn't be afflicted anymore," Saber blandly said, and Artoria nodded, flexing her arms vigorously to prove the point. "More importantly, however, who in the blazes are you?"
"Eeeehhh?!" the pigtailed blonde whined. "You don't remember the second of your knights, the long serving Bedi?!"
"Bedivere was a man," Saber icily replied. "I recognize good Sir Agravain, of course, and noble Gawain, and the brave Gareth, and even Mordred and Lancelot, but you? I had never seen you before. Get thee away from me, pretender."
Bedivere began sobbing. "My Liege…! You are so mean…!"
"What's this 'even Mordred' business?!" Mordred demanded. "What did I ever do to you?!"
Lancelot sighed. "I'm going to regret ever embarking in this whole enterprise, am I not…"
"There, there, don't mind too much, Sempai," Galahad patted her senior's shoulder. "She said the same thing about me; I suppose her Camelot was far less inclusive."
"I never believed on diversity hires, just those based on competence," Saber said.
"We shouldn't expect much from a wayward king without a cowlick," her lighter counterpart hummed.
"Whoa, whoa, we're getting political! Stop it already!" Iri chided. "On the subject of scary girls, what do you think happened to Lancer's Master? Could she have survived after his disappearance?"
Shirou blinked. "Um, why wouldn't she? I imagine she must be angry about that, but what is she going to do? Chasing us here across the dimensions to wreck revenge on us?"
Everyone stared at him then, except Sella, Leysritt, and those who didn't understand Japanese. After the maids translated, those joined in on the staring as well.
Shirou grunted. "Oh, for heaven's sake, you're all paranoid. It's only a girl…!"
The staring grew even harsher and fiercer, especially from Kiritsugu and Saber.
Shirou flinched under the pressure, especially that from his father figure. "Anyway… how should we call you, Second Arthur-san?"
"I was altered by the unholy mud, so you can just call me Alter," she said indifferently. "Or you may call me by the birth name of Artoria. Or just Saber. I don't care."
"Oh! Oh!" Bedivere said. "What if we bring the names of Alter and Artoria together and call you 'Altria'?!"
"No. That's a stupid name."
Bedivere pouted.
Growing fed up with this circus, Hinako slammed a hand on the table. "Very well, that will be enough of this! Fine, I have seen proof your contraption indeed works! I'm even willing to overlook your breach of protocols as you as you comply with this single demand of mine, you are to take me to ancient China and--!"
"Why don't we just kill you instead?" Stheno calmly asked, interrupting the tirade Sella was translating for her as it went.
Hinako stared at her and spat in flawless Greek, "They'll send another one!"
"So we'll kill them as well."
Hinako facepalmed. "Is killing all you can think about?"
"I don't even like doing it myself, that's more like Medusa's vice."
Medusa lowered her head. "It's not that I enjoy it either, really…"
"Yes, you do, you murderous monster, you. Don't play innocent before these nice softhearted people," Stheno calmly chided her.
"Why China anyway?" Rin inquired. "Why does it have to be China? You're Japanese! Why is a pure blooded Japanese fangirling after the Chinese? I mean, I like their cuisine and all, but…"
Illya blinked. "Do you like eating bats and pangolins and all those disgusting stuff? Gross…!"
"That's not the heart of real pure and refined Chinese cooking!" Rin and Hinako angrily told her, as one.
Illya clung to Irisviel's arms. "Mama, the evil hags are bullying me! Sic Aunt Artoria on them!"
"Now, now, Illya," Iri maternally said, "you're overdoing this, plus, I'm sure she'd prefer being called your Uncle…"
"No, I don't care either way anymore," Alter said apathetically. "We can't keep having discussions like this, however, it's a royal pain in the arse. Boy, don't you know anyone who could teach these dolts proper English, in the absence of a Grail to conveniently solve this situation for you?"
Shirou blinked. "Oh, you mean…someone reliable, discreet, able to deal with many troublesome personalities at once, and easy to get along with? W-Well, now that you mention it, I might know someone who fits the bill…"
"Who's troublesome, you spineless, useless maggot?!" Mordred growled. "You've got a lot of nerve, calling us that…!"
"Shut up," Alter told her.
"Okay, you ARE being worse to me than to anyone else! I demand to know why…!"
"You are imagining things, Mordred, she is this curt and vile to everyone, pay her no mind," the Artoria in blue said with great dignity. "The words of the fallen rabble deserve no ears to fall into."
"You," her other self told her, "are a sodding idiot. And a cuckold."
The lighter Artoria lunged at her over the table.
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