Fate/Heroes - Chapter 66

While Batman and Archer were having their conversations with the League, a certain Pseudo-Servant was sitting in a large, yet quiet cafe. The level of decor in the cafe indicated that this was not a cheap establishment, yet all eyes were focused on the table Gray was sitting at.

More specifically, the person sitting opposite Gray….

“It’s so hot~. Oi, Master, when is my ice cream going to get here?”.

Caster, or Scathach-sama as she liked to be called, sunk into her leather chair as she waved a small pamphlet into her face, the slight breeze was like heaven for the Divine Spirit, as the summer heat was getting to her.

Gray and her both ignored all the looks the two were getting, although Gray was glad that Caster changed her clothing into something more modern, not opting to go out with the purplish-white dress that was fixed to her Saint Graph.

Gray used a Primordial Rune as a catalyst to summon Caster. Lancer, or the original Scathach was taught these runes by the Norse Gods and were perfected by the Celtic Gods. Using the rune that represented ice, it narrowed down the Servant he could summon, and his gambles were paid off when the beautiful woman appeared in front of him.

The twenty year old was looking down at the menu before a he felt a slight kick at his shin, his eyebrow twitching as he put down the menu, only to see the crossed arms of Caster, her eyes averted and her mouth pouting.

“…. Yes Caster? Is there something-“.

“It’s not Caster. It is Scathach-sama. You would do well to remember that Master”.

Gray mentally ġrȯȧnėd and considered the possibility of summoning another Servant. Zhuge Liang would be a good pick, as would someone like Merlin. Although the latter Servant might be more difficult to handle then Scathach-sama in front of him….

He gave the Goddess a forced smile as he tried to placate her. It looked real enough, although the trained eye could see that it wasn’t truthful.

“Scathach-sama, I’m sure that the food will be here shortly. I’m sure the only reason they are taking so long is because the chefs and waiters were blinded by your beauty”.

Fortunately for Gray, Caster didn’t have such a trained eye. The Servant smiled happily at the praise and straightened her back and puffed out her ċhėst with a little satisfied look on her face. It seemed that Goddess’ were easier to manage than sixteen year old girls….

The pair waited in silence for another minute, before Gray felt another leg kick aimed at his shin. It was on the same leg too.

He looked up and saw Caster looking strangely at him, and was moving her head several times in order to get a better look of Gray or something. Her crimson red eyes looking so much like Lancer, but without the serious demeanor that came with the Queen of the Land of Shadows.

“How did you become like this? A Pseudo-Servant that is?”.

Gray let out a deep breath and shook his head, much to Caster’s disappointment.

“I have a feeling a certain Magician turned me into this, but I don’t exactly know. All I know is that every time I use their power, it becomes my own. Achilles and Scathach are two Servants that I have used the most, and have made their power completely my own….”.

Caster’s eyes widened slightly at the reveal that another version of her was inside Gray right now. She, as a Goddess of course, had heard about the Queen of the Land of Shadows as an unrivaled warrior whose spearmanship allowed her to kill even Gods….

To say that she was even a little be careful of Gray now would be a lie…..

Gray gave the beautiful purple haired Goddess a disarming smile before noticing a waiter come towards their table, two plates that looked familiar to Gray sitting on the tray in his hand.

The waiter placed the two orders down on the table, not even once looking at Gray as the young man’s face turned red as he placed the large ice cream in front of Caster. He could see that a small piece of paper was placed in front of her, a string of numbers written down on it.

Gray raised an eyebrow at the audacity of the man as he walked away. Feeling sorry for the man as Caster gave the numbers a once over, before handing it to Gray.

“I am your Goddess, so you must take care of me. This must be the bill, so you take care of it”.

The look on her face was priceless as she thought the man’s phone number was the amount that needed to be paid. If the waiter heard her right now, Gray was sure that he would’ve questioned Caster’s level of intelligence…. even if she would freeze him just for asking.

Gray just put the piece of paper in his hands before drawing a rune on it causing the paper to freeze and shatter. Caster smiled at the use of ice but frowned as she pointed her spoon at her Master.

“This Great Holy Grail War, why is it that it is still the Age of Gods? The Grail gave me some information, but what exactly is the Justice League?”.

She watched her Master sigh before gesturing to the single television in the cafe. The news was playing and the cleanup of Metropolis could be seen as the military were cordoning off the massive tree Gray had created, and a blurry figure of Gray with Achilles weapons and armor could be seen fighting Berserker in a video.

Caster watched with a confused look as the League escaped from the massive tree Gray had created, moving back to watch a gigantic vine shaped spear bloom in the atmosphere above Metropolis. The presence of such a flower caused many people to have positive thoughts about this unknown Hero, but like always, their were always those you opposed the presence of superhuman beings….

“The Justice League are a group of people who defend the Earth from internal and external threats. They take the law into their own hands and for lack of a better word are vigilantes that go around helping people and stopping criminals. Many support their presence, but ever since they have been around, an even greater number of threats to the Earth have appeared. Some, like Lois Lane are in favor of them, others like G. Gordon Godfrey oppose them”.

“And you? What do you believe?”.

Gray sighed as he looked down at his toasted sandwich and apple sitting beside his plate. His appetite had suddenly vanished, although he could always go for an apple….

“They do things in the name of “good” and “justice” but they are going about it wrong. They are treated like Gods and fight against evil for the people. But they are going about it wrong. They have the power to do great things, horrible or amazing but still great. But….”.

“But what?”.

Scathach-Skadi tilted her head cutely as she listened to Gray’s words, not noticing her her actions have an effect on the men around her.

Gray smiled, the first real one this entire conversation.

“But in my opinion, they aren’t Heroes. Te Heroes I know lived and died for what they believe in. Only in death can one become a Hero. Until then, your nothing but the topic of controversy and debate. If they didn’t care about their image, didn’t care about their standing in the world. Doing what they wanted to do, regardless of what others think, I wouldn’t judge them. But since they care so much, why not give them validation. Even if its the validation they don’t want?”.

Caster nodded at her Master’s words. He seemed to be a little bit more open in her presence now. He was serving her after all, there can’t be any secrets between Master and Servant.

Even if the roles were the other way around….

“Hmm? Aren’t you the guy from that party?”.

Gray and Caster turned towards the new voice, and the couple figures that stood around her. All of their faces looked familiar to Gray, but he couldn’t place where he had met them before.

He gave a wry smile before shaking his head as he looked at the raven haired woman in front. She was tall, and didn’t have an extremely curvy body like Caster or Diana did. She was thin, yet their was something aristocratic in her that wasn’t in Diana or Caster.

Gray frowned for a moment before his eyes widened and he extended his hand forward with a smile.

“It’s been a while. I don’t think we’ve seen each other since the party…. It’s Tohsaka right? Tohsaka Rin?”.

The long haired woman gave a similarly bright smile as she took Gray’s hand eagerly. A faint red smudge could be seen on the back of her hand.