-Jeannes PoV-
Jeanne glanced at Micheal out of the corner of her eye as Artoria explained her history with Morgan La Fey and then refocused on her food. It had been too close earlier when she was talking about her-
No.
Jeanne D'Arcs death. Even if it wasn't her that was up there those flames were still entwined with her very essence. Its why they were her main weapon while also being her curse. She glared at her empty cup of coffee as she tried to forget how just talking about Jeanne D'Arcs death a few minutes ago had made her feel warm.
Too Warm.
She never liked being warm or hot. It always made her think of being tied to that damn pyre. It was why she always took lukewarm showers. She could tolerate hot food because she could cool it down if she needed to but even then she would let it sit for a bit to cool off first. She remembered the ice cream Micheal had gotten her earlier that year during that heatwave. She frowned as she remembered how irritable she had been the entire time. Sure it was easy to blame "the curse" but it was still the truth.
She didn't like being warm.
And yet….
Jeanne glanced over at Micheal again and watched for a few seconds as he talked with Artoria. She watched him move, talk, respond, and be human. Something she could never hope to be. If she was being honest with herself… she was jealous of him. Of his caring family, the people that supported him, his control over his magecraft, and-
"-nne?"
She refocused her gaze on her plate
But I can't stay jealous of him. Anytime I do...
I remember how kind he is to someone like me and… I can't stay jealous of someone I lov-
"Jeanne? You there?"
Jeanne jumped in her seat as Micheal shook her shoulder gently. She looked around their table to see Micheal looking at her concernedly, Irisveil tilting her head at her with a knowing smile, Artoria watching her carefully and-
Jeanne blinked as she looked to her left and saw Waver sitting there next to her looking sheepish. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves and sat up straight,
"Sorry… lost in my thoughts. How… long?"
"Barely half a minute Lady Jeanne." Artoria said confidently causing Jeanne to sigh with relief as the waitress came over to take Wavers order and get refills along with more orders for everyone else. She sat up straight and sent a thanks to Micheal through their bond. She got an affirmation back and she felt butterflies in her chest for a split second before Micheal leaned forward all business,
"So. Lets start with the obvious. Jeanne and I believe the grail is cursed. I don't know about you but an omnipotent wish granting device being cursed doesn't make me feel comfortable. As for how we believe it's cursed….without signing a geass I can't tell you everything."
Irisveils eyes widened at this as her mouth formed an O-shape. She glanced at Saber, who nodded, and then her phone started to ring. She took it out of her jacket pocket, smiled softly, and excused herself to answer it.
"You remind me of how I tease my husband."
Jeanne shook her head trying to eject the thought from it as she felt the Other arrive like it almost always did,
You'll never experience that happiness so don't bother imagining it.
I am in the middle of something can you fuck o-
No one could love you in the way you so desperately want. Not even a Holy Grail could make that happen.
Fuck. Off.
We both know I'm right.
Jeanne felt the other vanish and gingerly rubbed her temple right as Irisveil came back to the table,
"Would you mind if I saw this Geass?"
Micheal nodded, reaching into the bag he brought with him. He pulled out two sheets of parchment and started to write the terms. As he did this Jeanne looked at Waver and smiled evilly making him visibly shrink away from her,
"Waver Velvet~" Jeanne said in the same voice she had used at the dock making him visibly flinch, "I need to get my revenge on you for what happened at the docks."
"I- I didn't do anything wrong." He managed to squeak out as he shrank back from her, "I don't-"
"No, no, no~" Jeanne shook her head causing her ashen hair to move rhythmically back and forth, "You do know what you did. You said my name. Or at least part of it. But I don't remember giving you permission to do that."
Jeanne rested her chin in her hand as she watched Waver squirm under her gaze
"I didn't know you were a servant at the time!" He protested as his coffee arrived along with more food for Saber in the form of a massive stack of pancakes, "You said you were Jeanne de Ruilly! You even appeared as a normal human then like you do right now...yet at the docks you were clearly a servant….How does that even make sense!?"
Artoria tore her gaze away from her food and leaned forward scrutinizing Jeanne,
"It is true...You don't have nearly as much mana as you did at the dock…" She said as her eyes flicked down from Jeannes face and then narrowed, "….Your necklace is a mystic code isn't it?"
Jeanne raised her eyebrows, impressed, "You're certainly more perceptive than the kid here." She jerked her chin at Waver who spluttered indignantly
"I'll have you know I am 19 years old!"
"And yet you look like an underfed scrawny 14 year old." Jeanne bit back as she reached into her purse to get out what she had bought. She pulled out a small bottle with a dropper and set it down in front of Waver, "Put all of this in your coffee and then drink it. All of it."
Waver eyed the bottle and she saw his eyes light up as he scanned it. She smirked, "Its Ghost Pepper extract. I told Rider that I'd get my revenge on you for saying my name," She gestured at the bottle as Waver looked at it in abject terror, "And this is it."
Waver's face paled further as he picked up the bottle and looked at it. He glanced at Jeanne and then at Micheal his gaze pleading. Micheal glanced up from the geass and smiled apologetically before going back to writing.
"...Is there room for negotiation at least? The entire bottle is…"
"And what would you have to offer that would satisfy my need to watch you suffer?"
Waver flinched and then looked up over his shoulder at thin air. Jeanne narrowed her eyes at the spot and then sighed,
"Micheal? Could you expand the bounded fields surrounding our table to…." She tried to remember Riders general size, "say two to three meters cubed to my left?"
Micheal looked up at her, glanced at Waver, and then straightened up as he stared into the empty space behind Waver. He smiled and easily tapped out the rhythm for the new coordinates.
"There. Grab a chair, Rider."
Immediately Rider materialized out of thin air, his grin palpable, as he did just that and sat down right next to Waver,
"Ah finally! Its vexing having to watch all this happen and not being able to speak." he said grabbing the bottle of pepper extract and looking at Jeanne while arching an eyebrow, "What do you say to a bargain Fire woman?"
Jeanne raised her eyebrows and interlaced her fingers to rest her chin on as she smiled lazily at Rider, "Oho? And what do you have to offer?"
"Information on Caster."
Suddenly the sound of parchment tearing ripped through the air as Micheal dragged his pen through the half written geass. He stared at it and then closed his eyes taking a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, and then breathing out slowly. He sat up and looked at Rider as Jeanne felt his mana begin to leak out of him while a cold silent rage briefly flickered from his end of their bond,
"Anything you can offer I will take." He said neutrally Rider rubbed his chin looking at Jeannes Master.
"I'm guessing by your reaction to my statement...you know more about him than I do. Yet you would ask for more information?"
Micheal glanced at her and she just firmed her lips and nodded slightly,
"If you can offer me and my servant genuine and accurate information then Waver won't have to do the pepper extract."
Waver seemed to deflate in relief as Rider eyed Jeanne and Micheal in turn, "...You already know who he is don't you. If you know that then why-"
"Because I am going to kill the bastard with my own two hands." Jeanne growled out while Micheal said similar to her at the same time. They looked at each other and she took comfort in her Masters eyes reflecting her own determination,
"...very well." Rider said after a few seconds. He glanced at Saber who was looking at him stone faced and he sighed before running a hand down his face, "Last Night I walked into Sabers base with the intention of sharing a drink between kings, a mistake in hindsight-" Jeanne noticed that Saber bristled at this but said nothing, "In the process I also had the opportunity to drink with Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes who has been summoned as an Archer. In the middle of our discussion something caught his attention and he conjured a golden portal that fired a blade at a window nearby. Except the window did not shatter. It turned into a tentacled horror that fell onto the grass, its blood killing whatever it touched."
Jeanne kept her face blank as Rider continued to elaborate on what happened. She knew exactly which poison it was and in what concentration it had to have been in to do that. She gripped her wrist under the table hard enough to leave bruises just to keep herself centered and present so she didn't flash back to what Gilles did to her with those same poisons alongside everything else he had used and tested on her.
"Saber here split who I assume was Casters master in half but by that point caster himself had already vanished. Not long after My master and I went back to our base as well." Rider shook his head and thankfully Micheal spoke first so that Jeanne didn't have to. She was still coming to terms with the fact that Gilles was here. She had hoped beyond hope that Micheals dreamwalk hadn't been true, that her creator and tormentor hadn't been summoned, but it looked like her E rank luck had kicked in.
"Waver….Try to remember what he looked like. Any details at all." Micheal said with a clearly forced calm as Waver leaned his head back to think.
"Pale...almost blue skin with dark blue and pink robes. His eyes...didn't sit right in his skull while his teeth, even from the distance I was at, looked like needles." Waver narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember in more detail but his memory seemed hazy around specific spots, "I...think he...summoned something into his hand right before his master appeared out of thin air to try and stab me. Its like something's preventing me from remembering clearly…."
Micheal looked at Jeanne in a silent question and she took a deep breath,
"Out of respect for what you have told me Rider I will tell as much as I can without divulging who I am in the process. Casters name is Gilles De Ray. He is… was obsessed with Jeanne D'Arc. To the point of fanaticism. Years after her death he would be found and executed for dragging young boys into his workshop to be experimented on and used in...truly depraved rituals."
Irisveil gasped in horror while Waver's face paled and Rider's own face formed into a glare,
"His...magic works by using "virgin blood"," Jeanne continued as she fought her own rising revulsion alongside the rising memories, "This doesn't mean someone who hasn't had sex. It means specifically the blood of someone who has not entered puberty as they are "pure and untainted" in the time before they enter it. Given that Casters Master is dead he will most likely look for more sources of this fuel to sustain his existence. Which means that any place where children congregate is liable to be attacked."
Jeanne looked down at her cold food and suddenly felt like the act of eating would make her vomit. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she glanced over to see Micheal looking at her concernedly.
[Do you need to get some fresh air? We can put this on hold if we need to.]
(No…. No the more people know about how his twisted shit works the better prepared we'll be to protect against it….Talking about it is bringing back…. bad memories though.)
He stared into her eyes for a few seconds, then nodded as he looked away from her and back at everyone else as he took the lead in the conversation,
"As my servant said we need to keep an eye on any place children are likely to gather. For their own protection."
"I'll set up some familiars then," Irisveil said resolutely, "If he is left to his own devices the war will be put on hold to deal with him anyway."
Jeanne looked up at this and then at Waver as he started speaking, "True… the Mages Association and the Church can only cover up so much. If he gets out of hand then it is likely the war would be put on hold if only to prevent the secrets of the moonlit world from getting out."
"I propose an Alliance then." Rider stated leaning forward his eyes glinting, "Until Caster is taken care of we work together to bring him down before he can harm anyone else."
Everyone nodded in agreement as Jeanne looked at all of them in silent awe. Even if it was temporary...she would have allies in taking down Gilles de Ray.
Allies in her quest for revenge.
-Micheals PoV-
With a final round of agreement Micheal brought the conversation back to the main issue they had all gathered for,
"So. Back on topic: The grail might be cursed." He said flatly causing Waver to groan and hold his head in his hands as Irisveil pursed her lips and seemed to be distracted by something. Before Micheal could ask Artoria spoke up,
"You keep saying 'might be cursed'. How certain are you that it is, in fact, cursed?"
Micheal felt Jeanne bristle at the implied accusation but understood the root cause of the question. Under the table he quickly grabbed her hand as the avenger was about to open her mouth only for her eyes to go wide and stiffen in her seat. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze along with a feeling of thanks for her coming to defend him through their bond. He let go and refocused on Saber,
"How much do you know about the grail itself or how a Grail war functions?"
Irisveil's red eyes snapped to his and he knew she knew where he was going with this. Artoria shook her head as Rider leaned back in his chair folding his arms,
"Clearly not enough. The grail only provides Servants with enough info to be able to do their job within the time they are summone-" Her eyes went wide as Jeanne whipped her head around to look at Micheal who grinned and shook his head,
"That wouldn't be touched by the curses. You're information about the current age is 100% intact and safe."
Jeanne and Artoria sighed as Rider leaned forward and steepled his fingers,
"Master of Jeanne-"
"Please do not call him that. His name is Micheal and the last thing he needs is a bigger head." Jeanne groaned out as Rider grinned,
"Micheal then. If the information we have received as servants is safe then what proof do you have that the grail is cursed?
"Angra Mainyu…." Irisveil said softly and then winced as everyone looked at her. She sighed and then leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling, "This was….back in the 1930s so 50 or 60 years ago. The previous holy grail war was faulty. There were two sabers that had been summoned and the Einzberns...summoned an extra class servant. An Avenger also known as Angra Mainyu, 'The container for all the worlds evils'. Contrary to that title he was the first to die…."
Wavers eyes widened as Irisveil continued to speak. Eventually she finished and Micheal picked up the conversation,
"While Irisveil has explained what happened in the 3rd war I do feel the need to explain how the Grail War System functions in the first place: Seven Mages tap into the Throne of Heroes and forcibly summon seven Servants from said throne. These servants are, for all intents and purposes, glorified familiars that have the mental profile of a past hero imprinted onto them. As such they are beings of mana first and foremost. The actual grail itself isn't the same Holy Grail that Jesus drank from. If that was the case the Church wouldn't just be an overseer. They'd be a participant."
Everyone nodded, understanding so far as this was basic information about the Grail War, so he continued,
"However the grail itself does manifest on top of one of the leylines here in Fuyuki and yet its completely empty at first so it needs to be filled with mana. A lot of mana. Specifically… the same amount of mana that happens to be the amount needed to maintain a servant six times over. The servants kill each other and they are sucked into the grail and turned into fuel for the wish that the surviving master and servant have. Now lets go back to the third grail war and Angra-"
Waver shot up straight as realization dawned on his face, "If Angra Mainyu truly was the container for all the worlds evils...and he got pulled into the grail-"
"Then the prize of this entire war is full of those very same evils." Jeanne said firmly as she locked eyes with Artoria, "Any wish made on it while its still corrupted would have that same wish twisted into something monstrous and outright evil."
Silence for a bit and then Rider blew out his cheeks,
"So...how does one cleanse it?" he asked clearly not expecting an answer. He looked around the table and the nodded standing up, "Micheal. You said that the grail could manifest at any of the leylines correct? While I am out with my master setting up familiars to watch the youth of this city I will also go to each of leylines-"
"That will not do Rider." Artoria stated firmly, glaring at the man, "You might get some advantage over the rest of us."
"Reminder: The grails useless until servants have died and gone into it," Jeanne said flatly as she folded her arms and looked between Rider and Artoria, "Add in the fact that no one will even know where it's going to be I don't see any harm in having Rider check the leylines as long as we all make it a point to check them on our own time."
Artoria nodded at this followed by everyone else. Rider then picked up Waver by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up and onto his feet in spite of his protests. They said their farewells to the duo and then as Saber began to stand up,
"Actually….Artoria. If its okay with your master I have a favor to ask and I am pretty sure you're the only one who can help me with this."
Artoria glanced at Irisveil who nodded and then sat back down in her chair looking at Micheal quizzically,
"What is it?"
Micheal blew out his cheeks and just decided to go for it, "Who taught you how to...use Excalibur. Hey- I'm not trying to get your secrets so calm down!" Micheal said raising both hands as Artoria narrowed her eyes in clear anger, "I just-"
"We might need their help." Jeanne said throwing a knowing glance at Micheal and he was suddenly so proud of her for picking up on what he was trying to do. Artoria blinked and looked between them,
"'We'?" she said arching an eyebrow,
"Why don't you and Jeanne talk for a bit while I write out the geass for this." Micheal said as Saber nodded and then looked at Jeanne who had smirked at the saber class servant
[Play nice. Please? We are asking for a favor here]
(I know, I know. I won't try to piss her off at least.)
Smiling, Micheal began to write the geass as the two servants talked. A few minutes later and he was done. He handed it over to Irisveil who read it twice, nodded, and then signed it. She handed it back to him and he saw that the signature was real. He rolled up the geass and then glanced at Jeanne who rolled her eyes and held her hand up as he further reinforced the illusion and privacy bounded fields. A second or two afterwards with a flash of blackened flames Blessed Hellfire appeared in Jeannes hands and she grasped it as Irisveil gasped and Artorias eyes widened further than he had seen them do so yet,
"Its name is 'Blessed Hellfire' in English. This is what it looks like when I hold and summon it." She flipped it over and handed it to Micheal grip first who opened his first gate causing the pistol to glow as it changed into his version as he wrapped his hand around it,
"And this is what it looks like when I hold it. As for what it looks like normally…" Micheal focused and it reverted back to its neutral state.
"I- Saber...is-" Irisveil stammered into the silence that followed.
"Its real. You have my word on that. My only question is...how did you forge it and….how is it tied to both of you? Even I could only ever truly pair with Excalibur. Every other divine construct I've used I couldn't do that with. They are notoriously picky…" Artoria said staring at the pistol, "What- Have you tried to fire it?"
Micheal nodded, "Yep. It even fires differently than me if Jeanne is holding it. In this form it seems to take normal ammunition though. As for how it was forged...The honest answer is I have no idea. It used to be a mystic code my family butler had but as soon as I picked it up it started sucking in mine and Jeannes mana like crazy. Almost killed the both of us."
Anticipating her next question Jeanne spoke up, "We were saved somehow. Thats what we've decided to call what happened. Right as I felt my mana bottoming out and I began to dissolve, something or someone came into the room we were in and flooded it with mana to the point where it felt like I was being smothered. Blessed Hellfire began to suck that up instead of mine and Micheals mana eventually turning it into what you see now. Our running theory is that since it took in both our mana its tied to both of us."
Micheal had set it on the table and begun to dissemble it with a practiced hand as Jeanne explained. As soon as he took the slide off Saber's head whipped towards him and she looked at the construct with a mixture of pain and despair. He froze and looked at Artoria who seemed to be struggling to speak. Eventually she looked back at Micheal as though she was reassessing him.
"...I was taught how to use Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake and….My court mage, Merlin. When you took the slide off I felt, for the briefest of moments…. Avalon. Which shouldn't be possible unless…."
Micheal looked at Jeanne who looked back right back at him as Artoria openly stared at the weapon. Eventually she shook her head and looked at Micheal with an intensity that unnverved him,
"You seem to be special Micheal. And not in the good way."
"How so?"
Saber opened her mouth to continue when her eyes flicked to the pancakes she had been eating. She had just finished one of them but there were a few left, one of which had slid off the others exposing the one under it. Artorias eyes widened and Micheal could have sworn he saw the syrup glow while at the same time he sensed the faintest trickle of mana. The Saber Servant eyes dimmed and she went slack in her chair for a few seconds only to sit bolt upright and openly stare at Micheal who narrowed his eyes,
"...You're not the same Artoria." He said carefully as he sensed Artorias presence change into something older and not quite human. He wasn't the only one who noticed as Jeanne began to emit mana as she entered her fighting state while Irisveil just stared at her servant before gasping, clutching at her command seals, and bending over in pain.
.
"Artoria" smiled at Micheal and he swore her green eyes flickered ice blue for a split second before they returned to their earlier green.
"When this war is over, and if you are still alive Micheal Lafaire, Go to the northernmost point of the British Isles, known today as Glastonbury. There is a cave system there. Go into it and go all the way to the bottom. Spill your blood onto the center most point of the floor and enter Avalon. I will be waiting for you."
The presence vanished and Artoria Pendragon fell face first into her food.
~~~~~~
"We will not speak of what happened within the cafe." Artoria said angrily as the three of them walked out and onto the sidewalk.
"Naturally. I would never let it happen." Micheal said neutrally still wondering what had happened earlier. A second or two after Artoria had fallen face first into her food, she had stirred and Micheal had to physically bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing. She had ordered pancakes with whipped cream and copious amounts of syrup. Which she had gotten all over her face in such a way to make it look like she had had a beard of whipped cream and had been crying maple syrup.
After she had cleaned herself up in the restroom she had stalked out with a simmering anger that would have made Jeanne proud if she hadn't been trying not to laugh so hard beforehand that she had to get up and physically leave the building.
"Oh right! Micheal! How should I contact you if anything comes up?" Irisveil said trying her best to change the subject although the corners of her mouth were twitching as she glanced at her still glowering servant.
"I...thats a good question actually." Micheal said stopping in place, "I wonder where I could get a mobile phone…"
"The shopping district would be a good place to start." came Jeannes voice as she came up along side them, "Which is good because I have some stuff I want to get."
"With my money."
She winked at him, clearly not bothered by his snark, and walked further ahead of them as Micheal sighed putting his hand into his pocket to check his wallet. As he was about to follow her,
"You'd make a good couple." Irisveil said as she came up beside him causing Micheal to simultaneously stop in place, jump, and blush. Irisveil glanced over at his panic and laughed a bit, "You support each more like partners would than how a Master and their servant would interact."
Micheal looked to his right at the red eyed woman as she smiled at him. Faintly he heard Jeanne shouting from up ahead, clearly impatient. He smiled and looked back at his servant to see she had folded her arms and was tapping her foot on the ground while glaring at him,
"Because we are partners." He finally said as Artoria pulled up to the curb with the car that they had arrived in. He left the rest of what he wanted to say unspoken but Irisveil picked up on it regardless as she winked at him and walked away to get into the vehicle. He shook his head and walked to his Servant eventually falling into step beside her as she pulled out a list of stuff she wanted to buy.