CHAPTER TEXT
Leonardo da Vinci sat in her workshop, sipping tea peacefully. The workshop was an ornate work of art – beautifully carved wooden furniture lay everywhere, with many drawings and blueprints pinned on the walls. Every table had a blueprint or a project that she had been working on, with parts strewn about to be utilized when necessary. It was a cluttered mess, but it didn’t detract from the beauty of the room. Far from it – it had a tasteful elegance to it, like everything that was there was where they were supposed to be overall. And for someone like da Vinci, who was possessed of intellect and inspiration beyond most, and who often pursued new projects because she was inspired to, that was precisely the case.
In her other hand was a list that Ren and Morgana had sent to her this morning. There were quite a few demands here. Her amused smile lit her features as she read them over. She had expected perhaps some mystic codes. Or if they were ordinary people, perhaps some vague things like ‘something that would allow them to escape or survive longer’. But as Roman and her both saw, the two were anything but ordinary, and thus their requests were certainly a bit more different as well. They WERE requesting mystic codes, but they didn’t ask for them directly – probably because they didn’t know what they were after all.
But really – a large knife or short sword and a pistol that didn’t require reloading for Ren, as well as a cutlass and slingshot for Morgana? Various flash and smoke bombs, as well as recovery items? And a small workstation with some listed materials? She would’ve thought to ask if the two were expecting to fight as well but she already knew the answer. After all, she had seen the footage of Singularity F as well.
She put down the tea and list and stretched. Their magecraft was unique and powerful – powerful enough to actually combat Servants. However, that still left one great weakness, and it was a weakness all Masters shared in a Servant battle: The Masters themselves. Even the weakest Servant was a magnitude stronger than a regular human, with only an extraordinarily powerful Master putting up even a modicum of a fight against them. She would have to work around that. Normally, the standard Chaldean Master uniform worked well as a mystic code, but it was designed with the idea that Masters would stay on the back lines.
However, their style, their flair… She recalled seeing something in the archives a small while ago while perusing the information of the world, seeking new inspiration and art, or simply admiring how far humanity had gotten in terms of advancement and knowledge, utilizing much of her work as the base. They had collectively come so far since her time. Though very few were as brilliant as her, if enough intelligent minds worked together, then they could create wonders after all. That was one reason why she loved humanity so much.
Moving over to her computer, she tapped a few keys, opening the archive’s search engine. She sifted through her mind as to what she was looking for. Although her memory was prodigious, there was quite a lot stored there, after all. She had to comb through the information in order to find it. Where was it… Tokyo? That was the city. There had been some incidents in the past that were curious. It resolved in about a year though, before any magus really tried to pay attention to what was going on – which wasn’t all too surprising. The Clock Tower couldn’t give any less of a damn about Asian countries, seeing it as a sort of backwater. It was certainly a blessing in disguise.
She tapped a few keys on her computer, opening a folder marked for recent events in Tokyo. She scrolled through the various saved news stories – a considerable stock drop in some large burger chain, a new medicine discovered and was being synthesized, some new progressive politician rapidly garnering votes… Some started catching her eye. Psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns in particular, where people just suddenly lost control of themselves and either went on a rampage or just stopped working entirely, collapsing dead on the spot in a rather gruesome manner.
Then she started homing in. Coverage was surprisingly sparse. Perhaps the media was being suppressed? The archive wasn’t exactly foolproof. It covered many of the stories from major news outlets, but da Vinci knew all too well how prone they were to being interfered with thanks to local politics. She herself never dabbled in politics, finding them beyond tiresome. The most she did was gain the patronage of those in power, but that was about it. Even a super-genius had to admit that she needed resources, after all, and she needed funding.
Then there was finally a news story. A recording. It covered the election of the prime minister, Masayoshi Shido. What she sifted through told her that apparently this man was perhaps the pinnacle of what Japan needed at the time, with a strong decisive leadership that would see the country through troubled times. Though when she tried to dig into any policies, just out of curiosity, they were surprisingly vague. Da Vinci’s smile turned bitter. Well, that seemed familiar.
But just a couple days before his election, something hacked into the news networks and TV stations. A flash of red appeared, and suddenly a video belonging to one particular organization began playing: The Phantom Thieves.
Da Vinci’s eager smile widened.
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Much of the day had been spent with Roman bringing everyone more or less up to speed – the disaster that preceded the Singularity, the Incineration of Humanity, and the fact that there were seven other Singularities to deal with. While Archer and Lancer were given some background info from the Throne, they were lacking in specifics overall. All they were essentially told was that some calamity befell the world and they were brought in to help resolve it. Even the Counter Force couldn’t do anything, as that relied on the collective will of a now non-existent humanity.
“What’s the Counter Force?” Ren asked.
Lancer glanced at Archer, who sighed. “The Counter Force is a part of the spirits of both the planet, Gaia, and the will of humanity, Alaya,” he explained. “To put it simply, they’re basically their survival instincts. When something threatens the planet or humanity, they act to put an end to it. Right now, however, since all of humanity is incinerated, Alaya basically has next to no power, if any, meaning it can’t enact anything.”
There was that term again – Alaya. It was the collective will of humanity? Was the Velvet Room part of Alaya then? Or was it more subservient? Why didn’t Alaya interfere with Tokyo? He wanted to ask for information but then he might be giving too much away. Moving on, he decided to ask another question. “Then what about Gaia? Wouldn’t she… or they… interfere?”
Archer shook his head. “No. Gaia’s Counter Force won’t interfere unless the planet itself that’s being threatened,” he pointed out. “And right now, it’s only humanity that’s in trouble. And frankly, it’s better if neither Gaia nor Alaya interfered – a Counter Force intervention from either of them would essentially be the ‘nuclear option’ – it would get rid of whatever threat was there, but it would most likely destroy much around it as collateral damage. Especially if it was Gaia’s.”
Ren’s eyes widened. Well in that case, it was probably better that the Counter Force hadn’t interfered with Tokyo then. If it did, then most likely the city would be a smoking crater by the time all was said and done. Maybe the Velvet Room was Alaya’s way of fixing things before the Counter Force was needed? Or maybe it was just some other mechanism…?
He inwardly sighed. The systems of the world were just as weird and complex as what he studied in class, apparently.
They also went over the particularities of the singularities – how there were seven major ones, all placed at the quantum timelock (whatever that meant), and how each of them most likely had a Holy Grail at their locations, their sheer power exacerbating and causing unnatural disturbances that made them singularities in the first place. They had at least gotten one Holy Grail, courtesy of Singularity F, and is currently being used to supplement the generators of Chaldea.
Speaking of, when Roman showed Ren and Morgana the Grail, Morgana more or less pounced on it, rubbing himself across it like an actual cat while mewing.
“Treeeeasuuuuurrre,” he purred out.
Roman, Mash, and the Servants just gave a confused look at Ren who sighed. “Yeah, he does that,” he simply responded with a grimace. It was apparent that Morgana still had his instinctual love for treasures, be they metaphorical Palace treasures or literal ones. Ren cleared his throat to regain Morgana’s attention, who came back to the meeting looking rather embarrassed and abashed – and to the shit-eating grin of Lancer who was very much finding his Master amusing.
Roman also went over the subject of Servants and Heroic Spirits more. What caught Ren’s attention was how every Servant summoned was essentially a copy that came from the Throne of Heroes. That was basically like Personas – aside from their personal ones, each Persona he used was essentially a copy brought forth from the sea of souls. Thinking in that term, he was surprised that there wasn’t more overlap between the Throne of Heroes and the Sea of Souls. But then, Igor and Lavenza had explained they were both parallel existences yet not.
But then, Ren and Morgana had to ask – did Lancer remember what happened back at Fuyuki? Both of them shook their heads.
“Kinda, but honestly, details are kinda fuzzy,” Lancer replied earnestly. “I’m not sure if being summoned in a different class or something messes with your memory but in this case, I only remember a few things of what happened.” He chuckled again. “Though I’m not sure how I forgot I contracted with the kitty – er, Morgana here.” Lancer quickly amended himself as Morgana glared in his direction.
“Same for me,” Archer added. “Unfortunately, I was corrupted by the black mud which interfered with my mental faculties. The only thing I remembered for sure was defending the path to the Grail at the temple, but that was about it.”
Ren blinked. “Wait, that was you?” he asked incredulously.
Archer nodded, then smirked in his direction. “At the very least, I did remember your unique magecraft – yours and Morgana’s.” He inclined his head toward the catlike being. “It certainly caught me off-guard, and it might catch other Servants too. However, I must emphasize that when it comes to Servant battles, you leave such matters to us, or at least have Mash around at all times. You are still a flesh-and-blood human, after all, and any Servant with half a brain cell will target you if they knew your magecraft could potentially harm them.”
Lancer chuckled. “Oh? Some high praise there, Archer,” he drawled, grinning at the red-cloaked man. “They gotta be if they surprised you that badly – your eyes went as big as dishes when you saw Morgana and his magecraft after all.”
He merely scoffed. “Once more, the black mud interfered with my mental faculties,” he excused himself. “As I am now, I doubt I would be unsettled as easily, unlike a certain Lancer who can’t over that their Master is a cat. Ironic, given that you’re a dog.” He fired a smirk at Lancer’s direction, who scowled and bristled.
“What was that, Archer?” he growled.
Ren thankfully intervened they came to blows, though Lancer was still scowling while Archer still had a self-satisfied smirk on their face. Morgana sighed. Was this what it looked like when him and Ryuji went at each other? It definitely felt annoying and strange seeing it from the outside. Maybe he should knock it off when things finally went back to normal…
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Finally, the meeting broke and everyone more or less wandered off. There really wasn’t much they could do until the next Singularity arrived so the most they could do was familiarize themselves with Chaldea. Roman had pointed out there was a simulator they could use if they wanted to do some training as well, which Ren and Morgana both nodded. They both had their plans for it later. In the meantime, Archer wandered above the ruined hallways in spiritual form. It was quiet and empty, with only a handful of people remaining
He frowned. This was all that was left of humanity, and they had to save it in this state? Admittedly, his time as Counter Guardian came with situations more dire at times, but not very often.
Suddenly, a scent caught on his nose and he turned. He moved to the cafeteria – and more importantly, the kitchens. He blinked with surprise as he saw his Master there, cooking a large potful of curry. The heavenly scent of spices floated about, filling the air with a tantalizing smell. There was also the smell of freshly brewed coffee that mixed with the smell of curry as well, giving it an even richer aroma. Morgana sat on the counter, patiently waiting. Several of Chaldea’s staff was also there, including Mash and Fou, waiting expectantly for the food, much like dogs waiting for their meal.
Somewhere in another part of the facility, Lancer sneezed.
Archer appeared from spiritual form at the entrance of the kitchen to avoid scaring him, entering casually. “I didn’t realize you could cook, Master,” he commented, casually peering at his work. “That’s certainly a unique curry you are making. I don’t think I’ve seen it made quite like that before.”
Ren chuckled. “Well, cooking does help me calm down a bit,” he replied, stirring the pot. “The recipe came from my… guardian. He ran a coffee and curry café and taught me how to make it.” Archer noted his pause and caught the grief that briefly flashed on Ren’s face before he hid it once more. “Apparently this curry was perfectly designed to go with coffee, so it worked out pretty well for him overall.” He grabbed plates, filled them with rice, and ladled the curry onto them before distributing the dishes to everyone waiting there. He turned around and grabbed their coffee as well. All of the expectant diners immediately dug in.
“Oh my god, my taste buds are in heaven,” cooed one of them.
“This coffee is a lifesaver, you have no idea,” murmured a bespectacled one, his face a picture of bliss.
“Well, it’s fitting for a non-magus to have some skill, I guess,” commented a female one in a low tone, trying not to look like she was scarfing her own portion (though she ducked her head when Mash shot a glare in her direction).
Archer looked at the ones at the counter eating as memories popped up in his own mind – a rectangular wooden table in a Japanese house. A young woman with pig-tailed black hair, arguing with a girl with white hair and red eyes. Another young woman, prim and proper save for the sheer amount of food she was elegantly inhaling. A beauty with long purple hair, trying to calm down the first two, her shy mannerisms barely getting through. An adult woman with short brown hair, singing praises about the food as she happily ate. Then he blinked and the image was gone. He felt movement to his side and saw Ren was offering his own plate and a cup of coffee.
“Here, your portion,” Ren explained with a smile. “Didn’t think you wanted to be left out.”
The female staff frowned. “He’s a Servant, he doesn’t need food,” she pointed out.
Morgana, who had been quietly eating his own food, scowled at her. “He looks, talks, and acts like a human,” he snapped. “I think it’s safe to say his taste buds work like a human’s too. So whether he needs to eat or not is none of your business.” The female staff member turned to Morgana with a scowl, finished devour her food and coffee, then left without another world. Morgana glared at her as she left. “Really, the nerve of some people,” he grumbled.
“Let it go, Morgana,” Ren said, placating the cat as he picked up the empty dishes and brought them to the sink. “We still don’t know what’s going on, and it’s better we get along. We’ve a lot to do after all.”
Morgana just sighed as he went back to his food. “You are too nice for your own good, you know,” he muttered.
Ren smirked. Instead of answering, he looked back to Archer. “So, what do you think?”
Archer blinked, distracted by what just happened to eat. He took a bite and closed his eyes, measuring out the various flavors, trying to figure out the ingredients. “Hm, an interesting blend of spices you used,” he murmured. “Beef is very tender, the potatoes are finely cut so they’re easy to eat without dissolving. But I’m tasting… hints of apple and yogurt?” Archer looked over at Ren who beamed at him.
“Impressive! No one could guess it before when I served it,” Ren commented. “The apple gives it a sweetness and melds to create a mild, delectable flavor. The yogurt gives acidity, richness, and sweetness as well. It’s my first time trying to use both of them at once. I have to be careful measuring out their proportions or the sweetness might overwhelm the spice. I’m glad it worked well, though.”
The Servant nodded, taking a sip of the coffee. He quickly realized what Ren meant when he said the curry and the coffee were meant to go together. They enhanced each other’s flavors significantly. “Impressive,” he murmured, appreciating the taste and glancing over at Ren. “I don’t suppose you’ll teach me the recipe? I could teach you some dishes and tricks in the kitchen in return.”
His Master laughed. “Trying to figure out my trade secrets already?” he joked. With a warm grin he nodded. “Sure. The more the merrier, and I have been curious about cooking something else lately. It’s a deal, Archer.”
Archer matched his smile and nodded. Well, perhaps things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Damn, what smells so good in here?”
Well, barring a certain dog.
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After finishing off both pots (again), the staff of Chaldea had left to attend their duties. Now it was just Archer, Lancer, Morgana, Mash, and Fou remaining, sipping at their coffees while Ren cleaned the pots and dishes. Archer offered to help but Ren refused, saying it wasn’t a big deal. It was a fairly quiet time, as if for a moment they could forget the fact that everything was destroyed. For Ren, he could pretend he was in LeBlanc again, if only for a little bit.
“Hm, this ain’t booze, but damn this is good,” Lancer commented as he took another sip. “I should treat you to some drinks, Ren! Maybe you could even use it for your curry, eh? With the odd ingredients and all!”
“I’m underage,” Ren called back. Granted it was only by a year or so but still. Nor did he have any wish to drink anyway. “And for your information, I sometimes use red wine when I make the curry. It helps tenderize the meat while giving it an acidity, richness, and depth to the taste.”
“Huh, is that right?” Lancer mused, taking another sip. He lowered the cup and gave a critical gaze over at Ren and Morgana, the former of which just took care of the dishes and put them to dry. “This isn’t the first time you’ve done this, is it?” he asked, his tone more serious. Archer caught on, glancing at his Master and Morgana to see his reaction. Mash’s eyes widened as she looked at Ren as well.
Ren blinked in surprise, then plastered on his easy grin. “Well of course,” he replied, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ve had to practice a lot of times to get the curry recipe right. My… guardian would never let me hear the end of it if I ever served substandard curry or coffee.”
Lancer waved his answer off. “Not what I meant and you know it, kid,” he growled. Morgana was facing Lancer with a serious look now as well. “I’ve seen a lot of warriors come and go. I know what fresh meat are like – sometimes they’ll cry themselves into a corner. Sometimes they’ll do everything they can to distract themselves. And a lot of the time, they’ll puff themselves up like roosters, either out of pride or fear. Especially now, with the fate of the world hanging over your head. You? None of that. You’re calm and know what to do. Sure, you’re afraid like any warrior facing a battle or war, but more importantly? You’re just tired, like you’ve seen this song and dance before.”
Cu Chulainn leaned forward, bearing a serious expression. “So, you wanna fill us in, kid? I’m sure you got some stories to tell.”
Ren froze, his expression melting into an unreadable mask. He glanced at Morgana who looked back. The answer was clear – whatever Ren decided to tell or not tell, he would support the decision. They already had this discussion after the first night. It was impossible to keep everything a secret forever, after all. They couldn’t hide their abilities, not with the world at stake, and their experience wasn’t easy to explain away. But neither could they just haphazardly tell everyone: Igor’s warning about magi hung over their heads and from how Olga reacted and what she told them, it held a huge amount of merit.
He sighed and gave a low chuckle. This time, the sound was far wearier, aging him what looked like an entire lifetime. “You’re right, Lancer,” he replied calmly. “Me and Morgana, we’ve fought a good amount of battles. This isn’t our first time doing this. Or even the second.” Mash’s eyes widened at that while Archer’s and Lancer’s eyes narrowed in consideration. “I’m not gonna say that I know how this is gonna turn out, because I really don’t. It’s way worse than what we’ve had to deal with before. And even then, we had a close group of friends and allies to help us. And right now they’re…”
He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. He closed his eyes briefly, concentrating only on his breathing. “Ren…?” Morgana asked gently.
Ren didn’t respond. He opened his eyes and once more stuck an easy grin on his face as his mask slid back on. “But hey, for me, I guess it’s business as usual,” he finished. “If I did it before, just have to do it again, right? We just have to keep gaining allies and winning. In the end, it should work out. That’s how it did for me, anyway.”
Lancer stared at him, his gaze hard, his red eyes meeting Ren’s surprisingly stern grey ones in turn. Finally, Lancer sighed, breaking the standoff. “Eh, fair enough,” he replied, standing up. “Just watch that attitude of yours. I’ve seen it before – right before the damn fools charged to their own deaths. There’s a place for courage and bravado, and then there’s just going through the motions to the point you don’t care anymore. Watch yourself, kid.” With that, he turned way and vanished in a show of golden light.
Mash just gaped at Ren, trying to say something. “Senpai…” she stammered. “I… you… that is…”
He gave her a tired smile. “Sorry, Mash, it’s been a long day,” he apologized softly. “Perhaps we can talk about this another time?”
Mash’s mouth snapped shut. She hesitated, then nodded. She got up from her seat and gave another small bow. “Thank you for the food, senpai,” she murmured before walking off.
Archer looked at the two of them, his expression unreadable. “Why?”
The two Thieves blinked at Archer. “Why… what?” the former asked.
“Most wouldn’t put themselves in harm’s way to such a degree, especially twice,” Archer noted. His expression was oddly blank, though his steel-grey eyes had hardened. “Some would even say you have little concern for your own life. Is that the case? Did you wish to be a hero? To save as many as you possibly could? What did you ultimately wish to do?"
As he spoke, his tone became more biting, bitter, gaining an edge that was pressing up against their throats. Already, it was clear that this was some deeply personal issue for Archer that neither of them could grasp fully.
Ren sighed. He might as well tell the truth – as much as he could get away with anyway. “A hero? I mean, I guess?” he began. “Circumstances kind of… forced me into the situation. We just wanted to do what was right in the end. From there it just… kind of snowballed, I guess.” As he spoke, the pressure from Archer lessened as he listened with a thoughtful silence.
“I just wanted to help people and stand up to injustice,” Ren continued. “So that people don’t have to deal with those who just take their power and abuse it. We got called heroes and we liked it but… our goal wasn’t to ‘save as many as we could’, as you said. We just wanted to give people hope and courage, to stand up for themselves against the injustices of the world.” Ren chuckled humorlessly as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not even sure in the end we did much, but I like to think so. I’ll stand up and do what’s right, and I have… well, had… people supporting me. It’s just a bit harder for me to do nowadays is all.”
Morgana just looked down at the ground. “And even then, is it really so wrong to help people in the end?” he asked quietly. “Our whole point wasn’t to save the world. Just help more and more people stand up for what they believed in. I mean, you’re supposed to be a hero, right, Archer? I’m sure you can understand that.”
Archer flinched at the last bit as he considered. They were heroes, yes, but of a different path. Ren didn’t walk a solitary road, and neither did Morgana. They had those around them that tempered them, kept them on the proper way. Their goal wasn’t to save as many as he could, like they implicitly knew they couldn’t. They simply helped those on their way of their own journey. And moreover, their goal wasn’t to burn their life by helping others. They wanted to use their abilities to inspire others.
Some might interpret that as a world where everyone could have the courage to be a hero.
“No, I’m not sure I could,” Archer murmured, more to himself than to the two of them. He looked back up, ignoring the confused glances of the two. “I can take the rest of these cups. Both of you get some rest. As you told Mash, it’s been a long day, and you both need it.”
The two blinked and looked at each other. Deciding that they had been dismissed however, they simply took their leave. Archer grabbed the coffee cups that had been left behind and brought them over to the sink to wash them. He thought back to their words, of wanting to give people hope and courage to stand up for what’s right. Then he thought back to Lancer’s admonishment, of how Ren seemed to be just going through the paces as opposed to with any hope and courage for himself.
Archer could only smile bitterly as he rinsed the cups. It seemed heroism and hypocrisy still went hand-in-hand, after all.