Amun cursed and kicked the leg of the table he was sitting at in his hotel room. He had miscalculated, and to an Alchemist of Atlas, there could be no worse folly. After the fight with the other Master, he had been Hell-bent on tracing the other man’s origins and location, but had not been able to discover anything whatsoever.
The problem didn’t lie in a lack of resources per say, but more the fact that Amun had little to no access to them. It was obvious from the way he looked and spoke that he was an outsider here, and getting information from people had proven much more difficult than expected. Apparently his skill at social rapport was not up to par.
All he really had to go on was that the man was seemingly American and had darkish colored hair. He had been average in about every way other than that, but he would remember his face if he saw him. Another problem was that there was a lot of tourism to this city. With a good number of Americans wandering around added to the fact they didn’t really LOOK any different than the normal populace, this was going to be next to impossible.
Even forgetting about that master and moving on to other targets presented challenges. That Servant had been the only one that he could find, even with all of his patrols. He had to keep himself mostly secret while he searched, which meant he had to rely on little more than his eyes to try and sniff out other Masters. And no doubt they were doing much the same.
All of this kept pointing in one direction, and it was a dangerous angle for Amun. In order for him to be able to do this effectively, he was going to need to team up with one of the other Maguses, if only temporarily. Someone that had a little better knowledge of the land and customs here, and perhaps more charismatic.
That seemed almost ridiculous to him, of course. No matter who this other person was, it would be an eventual enemy and that would make cooperation difficult and stressful more than he needed. He would be constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being betrayed or compromised. That could cost him his life quite easily.
There was also the fact that more than likely the remaining contestants would more than likely be from the Clock Tower, or possibly the Sea of Estray, neither of which had a particularly fond view of Atlas. Cooperation through prejudice would be near impossible, he feared. Especially since this was not Atlas’s territory by any means. He was well within the Clock Towers domain here.
So, as much as it would help, cooperation with another Master was something that probably just wouldn’t work. He’d keep it on his mind, of course, but as for actively perusing it over his normal sweeps, he’d decline. Amun had never needed anyone else before now, so why should that change here?
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Luviagelita stared at the woman before her and finally replied, “Yes, I suppose I have…”
The woman began to fidget and said, “Well… you gonna let me in or just stand there while I freeze? It’s cold out here, dammit!”
She blushed and said, “Of course, Miss Blue, please come in.” Moving aside, she let the Sorcerer in the house she had bought for the war.
Her mind was racing. If they sent Aoko Aozaki as their representative than it must be pretty damned serious. Although, with the little group she had made with Rin and Shirou, she was known not to kill those accused… So she might keep her life, but who knew what would happen to her now.
Luviagelita led her to the sitting room and sat her down in one of the large chairs occupying the room. She asked her, “Can I get you anything to drink, Miss Blue? Tea?”
“Not unless you got any beer stashed here, Luvia,” Miss Blue replied. “And I’m really sick and tired of you still calling me Miss Blue after all these years. Drop it, kid.”
“W...well, what would you have me call you?” she asked her, again taken a bit aback by her lax mannerisms. She was already completely leaning back in the chair with her feet sprawled up over the arms. Also, the woman was just wearing a black biker jacket over the normal white T-shirt and bluejeans she seemed to live in.
“Aoko sounds nice, don’t you think?” the Sorcerer replied with a toothy grin.
“I… but you’re the Blue Sorcerer… I couldn’t…” Luviagelita stammered.
The woman sighed and shook her head. “You know what you’re biggest problem is, Luvia? You’re way too concerned over WHAT someone is rather than WHO they are.”
At that, she put her hands on her hips and glared at the other woman. “Just what do you mean?” she demanded.
“I mean things like this,” Aoko said, point at herself. “We’ve known each other for years now and you’re still hung up about me being the Blue Sorcerer instead of being a friend or at least acquaintance. Just like someone else you still..”
“Enough,” Luviagelita interrupted her. “I get your point, but that’s not the reason you’re here, I know.”
“Right,” she replied, and Luviagelita sat in the chair across from her. Azure met plum as they stared at each other as Aoko continued, “Well, as you know you’re being charged with the open use of magic in the public eye in combat with a non-magic user.”
“Yes, although I have a few rebuttals about that,” the Finnish Magus responded with a nod.
“I figured as much,” Aoko said. She sighed slightly and added, “The Association isn’t very lenient on this kind of thing, though, Luvia. Just what the Hell happened?”
Luviagelita bit her lip and said, “I’m sure you get this all the time, M…Aoko, but I was set up.”
The older woman laughed and said, “Why yes I DO get that pretty often. But still, you’re normally too smart to get caught up in a trap like this.”
“They knew who I was and what I could do,” she told her. “He addressed me by name and pulled a gun on me to force my hand.”
Aoko warped her mouth as she thought things over. “Well, it looks like one of the other Master’s have done their homework,” she started. “Don’t worry, just as I told you I would, I only told Rin and Shirou about the war. Nobody else at the Association SHOULD know about it.”
“I didn’t really doubt you, there,” Luviagelita said. “And it wasn’t them, obviously. The only other major force I know about here are the Einzberns, so I suppose it could be them.”
“Things are already heating up, then,” the other woman mused.
She stared at Aoko and finally asked, “May I ask you something, Aoko?”
“Yeah, of course, Luvia. What is it?” the Sorcerer replied.
Luviagelita shifted a bit and then questioned, “Why? Why would you go along with me and tell the two of them about this… I mean, it’s either Rin or me… One or both of us will be dead after this, you know.”
“Ya think so?” Aoko said, shocking her. “I don’t. Not really, anyway.”
“What?” she said, dumbfounded. “There can only be one winner. The chance of surviving if you lose your Servant is extremely low.”
Aoko chuckled slightly and said, “I know all of that, of course. But neither you nor her has the coldness to kill the either. Honestly, I’m just hoping this ends your stupid rivalry so that you two can calm down.”
“That’s insulting, Aoko!” Luvia told her sternly. She huffed and folded her arms under her chest and said, “I guess I’ll just have to show you, then. Don’t complain when you’re ridiculous little task force is missing a member.”
“You kill her, you face Shirou,” said the other woman, shooting her a glance with her almost glowing pure blue eyes.
Luvia flushed slightly and replied, “S…Shero understands this is a war…I’m sure.”
“Shirou will understand that you are his wife’s killer, and that’s about it, Luvia,” Aoko told her.
“Then I’ll deal with that when the time comes,” she said.
Aoko snorted and said, “I won’t hold my breath.”
Luviagelita grit her teeth but calmly asked, “Regardless, what are you going to do about my accusations, Aoko?”
“Well, hold out your hand, Luvia,” she said, putting her feet back on the floor and leaning forward.
“Alright…” Luviagelita said, tilting her head in confusion. She held out her hand towards the other woman.
Aoko bent towards her and swung her arm, slapping the back of her hand with her own. “Bad Magus! Don’t do that again!” she said in a teasing voice.
Luvigelita sat there in utter shock for a moment and just stared at the woman. Honestly, it wasn’t the first time she had thought the woman had gone mad, but she was sitting there with a wide smile on her face. “Ah… so… I’m free… just like that??” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll cook up something for the Association, so don’t worry about it, kid,” Aoko said. “Honestly, did you really think I was going to do anything to you?”
“Well… I… You were the dispatch from the Association, so I wasn’t sure,” she responded, a bit shaky.
“There it is again, Luvia. What did I tell you about concentrating about what people were?” the woman replied, shaking her head.
“Fine, I see your point,” the Magus said, a bit lightheaded from the relief and weight off her chest.
Aoko clapped her hands and rubbed them together. She then announced, “Now! Show me this Servant of yours! I’m really curious!”
Luvia smiled wryly and shook her head. “Absolutely not, dear Sorcerer. That would be like announcing his identity to the enemy,” she said.
“Aw, come on,” the woman pleaded. “I’m already double agenting this thing as it is, but I’ll keep it secret. Honest!”
*************************************************
Rin crossed her arms under her chest and looked at the busy street before her. She had hoped to use the daylight to get further acquainted with the city again, but it was proving more difficult than she had expected. There were people everywhere today, and it made memorizing streets and landmarks rather tough. She sighed to herself again and continued making her way towards the center of town.
Archer was staying on the rooftops keeping an eye out for her and getting a feel for the terrain himself. She had sent her Shirou shopping for things they would need and groceries as well. At night, they would stick together, but during the day they could relax a bit. Battles between Servants weren’t really allowed to happen during daylight hours for obvious reasons.
Rin had finally accepted the fact that Archer was once again her Servant. She had been denied Saber once again, which irked her more than a little. It wasn’t really fair. She had been given a taste of the raw power the compact girl had possessed, but had been unable to really use it. With someone like her at her side, this war would have already been in the bag.
And not like it wasn’t already. She knew that Luvia was here somewhere, and that they were pretty evenly matched in skill and power. But she would be operating alone with her Servant while she at least had her Shirou and at most had one of the Five Sorcerers on her side as well as her Servant. It was true, too, Archer was no slouch. His antics in the last war had proven that.
Despite his power, Rin still found it hard to trust him. She had no intention of being tied to a chair and being left to scum like Matou Shinji ever again. If things went bad, she did still have all three of her Command Seals, as she hadn’t had to use one to get him to listen to her this time. Hopefully, her Shirou was right and he was a bit more committed to her cause this time.
In truth, the Servant seemed much different this time. Before he had seemed so arrogant and sure of himself, but here he just seemed kind of lost. Like he didn’t know what he was doing here. It was definitely odd, and maybe it was just some sort of disorientation he was suffering. He was the same one she had summoned last time, however, as he did have the memories of their previous encounter.
/Rin,/ came his gravely voice in her mind. She turned around and looked up to see him on the rooftop of the building next to her. He was in spirit form, so none of the normal people around would be able to see him as he scoured the roads.
/What is it, Archer?/ she asked him.
/Another Master, with her Servant,/ he said.
Her eyes widened and she slowly looked around her. /Where?/ she questioned.
/Across the street. She’s… young,/ was his reply.
Rin sighed and asked him, /Can you at least see her Servant?/
/Yes, although I can’t tell much about her,/ Archer said. /It’s a woman dressed in what looks to be peasant’s clothing of some sort from several hundred years ago. She’s in her released state and I don’t see a weapon on her./
/Alright,/ Rin said. /Describe the girl to me… with things other than her age, please./
/She’s got on a green sweater and has sandy blonde hair,/ Archer replied.
Rin squinted until she saw the girl and nodded. /I see her,/ Rin told him. The girl looked unremarkable at first glance, medium height and normal build. She couldn’t see the Servant, as it was in spirit form, but she could tell the girl was actively talking to it.
/Watch it!/ Archer hissed. /Don’t just glare at her… ah, too late./
/What’s wrong?/ Rin asked him, looking away from the girl quickly.
/Her Servant saw you staring at her… You know that red coat really makes you stand out…/ he replied. The girl looked over at her and began to cross the street. /What do you want me to do, Rin?/ Archer questioned.
/Stay there for now, don’t let them see you,/ she said as the girl approached her.
“Hello ma’am,” the girl said with a definite German accent. She could see now that she had pale almost silvery blue eyes and freckles on her face. The girl was about the same height as Rin, but was clearly still growing as she looked to be maybe fifteen at the most.
“Hello,” Rin replied to her, not saying anything else.
“You’re a Master, aren’t you?” she asked bluntly. The girl stared at her almost unmoving.
“Excuse me?” Rin asked her, tilting her head.
“You’re a Master. That’s why you were looking at me. You somehow knew I was one, too,” the girl said to her.
“Look, little girl, I’m not really sure what you’re talking about, but all I was doing was admiring your shirt. I’m sorry if I upset you,” Rin replied, keeping her gaze.
“My shirt?” she asked, frowning and looking down at it, finally breaking the stare. “Ah, well, thank you, I suppose.”
“You’re welcome,” Rin said flatly.
The girl bowed slightly and left. Rin inwardly sighed in relief as the girl headed back into the crowd. She could see her jaw moving, but didn’t hear what she was saying. It was possible that she was actually talking to her Servant and so she asked Archer, /Did she say anything else?/
/Yes. She said, “Come along, Saber, that girl is just a weirdo.”/ Archer replied.