A Glorious Return!

When Lazarus finally entered the mansion he ran to Miss Yui immediately, giving her a great bear hug and spinning her around. "We were successful against the dead apostle! Caster and Berserker defeated his servant, and the other master is keeping the creature trapped until dawn, when sunlight takes his powers away. I left a familiar to keep an eye on the situation in case something goes wrong, but without his servant getting in the way, everyone working together should be enough to bring him down if it comes to that. I don't think it will, though, he seemed very secure!" Lazarus beamed and began to pour everyone some of the most expensive alcohol he could immediately see. "Caster, you MUST tell me about your battle now, especially since Miss Yui is also here to hear it!"

Caster visibly relaxed at the sight of the booze. "Lazarus, you are a veritable mind-reader."

"First of all, I wish I'd know that she was capable of creating Boundaries. She put us in a dreadful Hungarian castle with stone walls and the dreariest decor you could imagine." He happily recounted the fight, especially emphasizing how brave Berserker was through it all.

"And you know, she didn't flinch for a minute while I was casting. I must admit, Lazarus, that I took a note out of your book and made a Chasm. I thought you'd be pleased." He grinned with a wink towards his Master.

The mage laughed heartily. "Amazing! And I do truly appreciate the nod it's...very sweet! I don't know what else to call it. Once again I find myself unbelievably greatful to have you as my servant," He clinked his glass onto Casters before taking a sip.

"To cooperation and companionship." Caster happily sipped with Lazarus. "Might I make the two of you fine young ladies some tea? I'd hate for you to be left out."

Yui beamed, hugging Lazarus just as tightly. "I watched the battle with the Apostle! Shame I couldn't see what was going on inside the buildings too." She then turned and gave Berserker a bear hug as well.

"Hmm..." she responded to Caster. "I wouldn't expect that out of a Lancer class... Though, I guess it doesn't matter anymore! And I would love some!"

"Well I did pour the both of you some glasses, but if you'd prefer tea, by all means!" Lazarus downed his glass and poured himself another. He was almost certain they had the grail war in the bag completely. It would be suicide, even for two servants, to try and break into this place.

"I had wondered if it was due to an anomaly that would also let a Dead Apostle in the war? There are plenty of unique circumstances this time around, so it seems." Caster held a teapot in his hands, one hand filling it with water and the other warming it from the outside.

"Yui is quite young, so I thought she might prefer something a little less advanced, drinks wise. Of course you can try some if you wish, Berserker, but there will be another option if you don't like it."

[[If Yui was offered wine, she actually would have asked for that instead. xP]]

Yui took a glass of wine and took a long sip. "Could be... But some anomalies occur just by the nature of the Heroic Spirit or it's Master. Her castle was a huge part of Bathory's legend, so that could have given her a Reality Marble Noble Phantasm... or the Territory Creation skill. I've heard of stranger incidents."

"My father told me in the last Grail War, the Edelfelt family sent a pair of twins with a unique brand of sorcery, and they somehow summoned two Sabers."

Berserker sniffed the wine hesitantly, then excitedly seized a glass and began gulping it down like water.

Lazarus lifted his eyebrows at the gulping servant, but it wasn't his place to tell her what to do. He turned his attention back to Yui, "TWO sabres? Astounding! I wish I could have witnessed that!"

"Me too!" Yui mused. "I wish I knew which Heroic Spirit it was. Apparently one of them died early on, but the second made it almost all the way to the end. That was a crazy war by the sounds of it."

Berserker finished her glass and sighed, her cheeks flushed red. She held out her glass for more.

Yui looked at her Servant with concern. "Can Servants even get drunk?"

"I suppose we'll find out!" he laughed, pouring Berserker more wine. "Honestly, from the anecdotes I've heard and the war I'm currently experiencing, it seems like EVERY war is a crazy war!" He grinned and poured himself another glass as well.

Yui leaned back as Berserker chugged her next glass as well. "Yeah, I suppose that's natural. It is war, after all. We should feel lucky that this War has even stayed this sensible so far!"

"True, true," he agreed. "Well...I suppose all we have to do now is wait." The mage let himself relax just a little more than usual. The alcohol helped. He had been so tense for quite sometime, and now, though not all the way, he could finally let his guard down and breathe a little.

"Yeah..." Yui gasped, setting the glass down on the table. That was a sobering thought. She gazed at the Command Spells on the back of her hand.

Kirei Kotomine commanded two Servants. Though he wasn't an experienced magus, he was deadly enough to fight evenly with a Dead Apostle.

She glanced into a jewel, seeing the trio still on the school grounds, toying with the pinned vampire.

"I suppose they're waiting until sunrise. After that... assuming they'll strike at next nightfall, that gives us a little under a day. Then it will end."

Berserker held out her glass for a third drink, but Yui plucked it out of her hands. "I think you need to slow down," she chuckled. Berserker pouted.

"No no," Lazarus responded, swiping the glass back. "Let her enjoy herself. We can just water it down for her. She won't get to stay here forever." He poured her another glass, but it was about a quarter regular grape juice. He handed it back. "That's if they strike right away. If they're smart, and I think they are, they'll take a look at this place and take some time to work things out."

"As for the final battle, I'll set up a Territory tonight. Most of the preparations are ready, I only need complete the spells, and the battle homunculi are formed and ready to fight. At least, for a while, we can relax." Caster leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile.

Berserker lit up again as she was handed her third glass, which she again immediately began to throw back.

"You might be right..." Yui wondered to herself, drinking more wine.

"That's good," she said to Caster, smiling. "It sounds like we're going to have an impenetrable fortress. That reminds me! We should figure out what to do with Einzbern. Even if they don't know her true nature, she'll be a high-priority target."

"Might I speak with her first? I've never met someone quite like her, and I'm very eager to ask her some questions."

"IF either of you feel like it, but don't feel pressed, please do write up some things about you experiences this time around! If Yui and I live, we can pass it on to other servants in the future, if another war happens. " Lazarus was feeling a bit of an itch to record things as well. He mentally checked out a bit, going over all the subjects he needed to write about in his head. Yui's words snapped him back to reality for a bit. "Oh! We should bring her some wine! Would you like to do the honors?" he filled a glass and handed it to Caster.

"Gladly." He contentedly took the glass and went to see Fraulein Einzbern.

Irisviel still sat in the same chair in the bedroom, her eyes closed. Her own familiars were monitoring the battle at the school. When Caster came in, she looked up and smiled tenderly.

"Hello. Congratulations with your battle."

"Why thank you!" He handed over the glass. "I'm afraid the chaos of battle has been a little too heated for us to be properly introduced. Phillipus von Hoenheim - a pleasure." He bowed politely.

She smiled as she took the glass. "Thank you." Her voice seemed weak. "I'm Irisviel von Einzbern, a pleasure to meet you." As she tried to bring the glass to her lips, her fingers twitched, and the glass shattered on the carpet. "Oh dear... I'm sorry."

"Please, don't worry yourself." He swept the glass into a bin with an extra handkerchief. "You must not be feeling well with this many servants removed from the War."

She nodded somberly. "Another soul has entered the Grail, and I'm losing more of myself. I barely have the strength to stand anymore. Once one more Servant is defeated... I will probably die."