The Search for Rameses

Saber didn't really respond to Avalon's hug. She shook her head at Lazarus. "It doesn't matter. It's dealt with. Let's go back."

Lazarus picked up Ilyasviel and they made their way back to the hotel. Aaron looked concerned for the little girls but didn't know what to do. He did however offer his shoulder if they needed to talk about anything. Avalon continued to worry over Artoria.

Yui was waiting for them anxiously when they came back, her familiar back on her shoulder. She quickly waved Lazarus into another room.

"So... I saw everything. There's a lot to unpack. Manaka was sacrificing girls to try and remake the Grail. In order to summon... the Beast of Revelation."

His eyes widened, "Sweet Jesus!...Why?!"

Mari looked at her blandly. "The What of Who?" Phillipus, however, was much paler.

"The Beast of Revelation, bringer of the End Times. A Biblical figure, meant to destroy the world after the faithful have ascended, or so the lore goes. Summoning it would bring ruin to us all." Mari's jaw dropped.

"That bitch was crazy...."

"She said it would give her unlimited mana to get around her limited circuits. She said it would be under the 'Beast' class. I've never even heard of such a thing!" She shook her head. "I'm sure you all saw what she did to Assassin next. Then Artoria took her out. It was... rather gory. And she was already unsettled after everything she heard and saw. I'd rather not even tell you what Manaka's ritual looked like." A chill ran up her spine.

"Well...I suppose we can only be glad that Artoria stopped her in time..." Lazarus took Yui's hand, brow furrowed. This was exactly the type of thing that he hoped to prevent.

"I'm just glad Ayaka and Ilya are okay." Mari went to the kitchenette and got the girls glasses of water.

Phillipus put the kettle on and muddled together a mix of herbs while murmuring enchantments. He let the tea steep and brought it to Saber - it might not be as effective as Medea's mixtures, but it was worth a try. "Here, this will help calm your nerves."

Saber, who was sitting and looking out the window, looked up. She didn't look quite as dead inside, but still seemed quite depressed. "Thank you." She took it and took a sip before continuing to stare out the window.

Ayaka took the water from Mari, still struggling to hold back tears. "I'm sorry to be a bother. She came out of nowhere. There was nothing I could do." She looked down at the floor. "I had no idea my sister was even part of the war." Remembering something, she unbuttoned the top of her shirt, noticing her Command Spells--which had been on her chest--were gone. "What... happened to Assassin?"

She rubbed Ayaka's arms. "Sis, no one's gonna blame you, I promise. Cleo... Manaka stole your spells and made her... She's not here anymore. But she can come back! Dad's keeping ahold of her catalyst, and our Assassin before her, too. We can get them to Marisbutter or whatever and he can help us!"

Phillipus bowed slightly and sat in a chair close to Artoria. "If there's anything weighing on your mind, I've an open ear." He fished his notebook and pen out of his robes, jotting everything down before he forgot a single detail.

Aaron snortchuckled at the mispronounciation of the name. Carlotta brewed the girls some tea as well, "I know there isn't anything we can really say to make what happened better, but we're here for you. Whatever you need," she smiled sweetly as she handed them each a warm cup.

"Thank you..." Ayaka sighed and leaned back into her chair.

Artoria shook her head and kept staring out the window. Even if she would like to talk to someone, she didn't know anyone on the team well enough to open up to them.

Yui sat back in her own chair, trying the shake the images from her head. "All that's left now is that Lancer. I'm still scanning the news from all over the world. Hopefully we'll have something soon." She tried to smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't thank you all for your hard work. You did a great job taking care of Ozymandias. God, what a blowhard."

After ensuring the younger girls were alright, Avalon found Artoria in her own private corner and sat next to her, "Hey," she said with a soft smile, "So...I know you saw some bad stuff. If you wanna talk about it I'll listen. I know it's kinda your thing, but it's not good to keep things all pent up inside." she ended with a small chuckle.

Artoria tried to smile back, but couldn't muster up the strength. She thought for a long, hard moment. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

After gathering their things, she changed into appropriate dress for walking around outside and walked down the street with Avalon, gazing at the ground. After a long, awkward silence, she finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I let Manaka do all those horrible things. I failed you all. If I'd acted sooner, all those girls would still be alive. Assassin too."

She looked at her new servant sympathetically, "Hey, we are all only doing what we can. You're just a person! I mean...you're a king and all, but kings are still just people. We're playing a really high stakes game here and you did your best. You tried to be tolerant. And hopefully you've learned for the next time around. But one thing you didn't do is fail."

"I did fail!" Artoria argued stubbornly. "I should have seen the danger from the beginning. At the very least, I should have taken care of her after I saw what she did to those girls. But I hesitated, and Assassin paid the price. All because I saw her as just a little girl." She sighed. "And the worst part is, I still feel terrible for killing her."

"Well good! I mean, not good that you feel terrible, but I think it's a good way to think. I mean hell, Ilya is still a little girl but she says some creepy ass shit, and I'm pretty sure she was going to kill us all. But I still wanna take care of her cause she's still a young girl. It's like...kinda natural to look out for kids. You wanna give them a chance. That's not a bad thing. We have to hold on to our humanity so we don't raise a generation of mages like Manaka. I think it was too late for her, but I support you giving her a chance.
Even if it didn't work out."

"That's kind of you to say. Still, as king and especially as Servant, I need to be able to put aside my personal feelings in order to protect people. I can't let this happen again."

"You know, I actually disagree with that." she shoved her hands in her pockets, staring down at the sidewalk. "I know that I'm just a nobody. If we still had the social heirarchy you did in your time I'd be a peasant. But I've read about a lot of leaders who fall because they become detatched. They don't let their feelings out. They try to be too pragmatic. A good leader is in touch with their emotions and uses them to protect people. And I'll be honest I know detatchment is a problem for you. You do too..."

Artoria looked away. "I know... A great many were dissatisfied with my rule because of that. I'm sure Mordred told you as much as well."

"It's what I always believed; the king is not human, and cannot protect the people with human emotion. I lived by that oath as I won battles and commanded the people. I always believed I had to isolate myself in order to rule."

She looked off into the distance. "'The King doesn't understand how others feel.' That's what Sir Tristan said when he left the Round Table. I knew he was right, but I still believed it to be a necessary sacrifice. In the end it just made more and more people turn against me, and my kingdom was torn apart."

She wrung her hands. "That Britain is long gone now. I guess it doesn't matter what kind of King I was."

"It still matters for you! You've got to recognize your mistakes! You can't put it behind you just because your kingdom no longer exists as you left it. And hey, even if you did make mistakes you are a legend. People remember you fondly. You're the hero of your story."

"I'm not saying I'm just going to forget about it," she said with some frustration. "Just that... It's clear now that I can't just go back and fix what I did. Grail or not. I need to look at what lies ahead. Even so... I don't really know how to... change that part of me."

"It takes work. But you can do it. You are King Arthur after all." Avalon gave her a smile and a wink.

Finally, Artoria gave her a genuine smile. "Thank you. Mordred and I were both lucky to get such an understanding Master."

Avalon shrugged, bashful "It's nothing. You guys make such a big sacrifice to come here and fight for us. The least I can do is be friendly."