No spoilers. Just a normal oneshot this time...
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"So you decided to show up. It took you a while. I assume your servant is on standby as well." This man that had spoken looked like the same man that had registered (y/n) into the holy grail war and even sounded like him, but (y/n) knew that this man was not even close to being human.
"Don't act like you don't know anything. You set this meeting up. I didn't ask to be put in this stupid cup fight," (y/n) growled. They were in a local park with plenty of witnesses. The only reason (y/n) decided to show up was to obtain a stolen cellphone that contaimed something that he valued more than his life.
For the past six days, he had been keeping a low profile and staying out of public areas to avoid being assassinated or dragged into any servant battles. His own servant, Mordred, was more than eager to take down the other servants, but (y/n) didn't think the time was right yet. Lancer and Assassin's masters were still hot on his trail.
"We have no intention of telling you anything, although you did show up. The least we could do is give you what you came here for," the priest informed. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out (y/n)'s smartphone. "But there is one thing that we ask."
"You expect me to just do whatever you say? I don't know what you are or what you did to the real priest, but I'm not letting you boss me around." The false priest tilted his head at (y/n)'s words
"So if I destroy this right now...?" he threatened.
"Don't you dare," (y/n) hissed. "I'll hunt you down and make sure you never see the light of day again. Don't try me."
"There is no need for that. All you need to do is team up with Lancer's master to take down Rider. You do know that Rider is a major threat in this war. You and your servant alone could not defeat such a servant without some sort of cooperation." The false priest slightly waved (y/n)'s phone around. "All you'd need to do is this one simple thing and then you'll get this back."
"You liar!" (y/n) snapped. He wanted to try taking it, but he didn't want to risk damaging the device. Just then, a pair of children ran up to the false priest. It caught both them off guard for they hadn't expected any civilians to inturpt their meeting. The children seemed no older than seven years old.
"Hey, you're a priest right? You aren't supposed to be mean to people and take things that don't belong to you!" one said. While he had been speaking, the other one quickly snatched (y/n)'a cellphone from the false priest's hand. "Take that you meanie!" the first child spoke as he threw dirt into the false priest's eyes. The second child kicked his lower leg before running off with the cellphone.
"Hey, wait! That doesn't belong to you two!" (y/n) yelped. He immediately went after the two children but was soon put at ease when he saw who they were running to. Mordred was standing at the far end of the park with a smirk of victory on her face. The children gave her the phone and in return, she gave them a ridiculous amount of money.
"Mordred! You can't bribe children to participate in something so dangerous. They could have been killed!" (y/n) reasoned once he had reached her. The children had already run off with their prize. No doubt they'd waste all one hundred dollars on something useless or short lasting.
"Quit complaining. It worked didn't it. Got your stupid phone back. Now let's get out of her before that bastard over there decides to take it back," Mordred said. She grabbed (y/n) by the arm and dragged him along behind her as she headed for the park exit. (Y/n) had a chance to look back in search of the false priest finding that he had already vanished. That fact alone sent chills down his spine, but he decided not to think about where that thing could have gone. "What's so important about this phone anyway? Can't you just get another one? You've got more cash than you know what to do with."
"It's not the phone that has value. It's what I hid in it that has value," (y/n) admitted. His magecraft was a little special and rare in the mage world. He could take any object and store them inside other objects, utilizing the second object like a storage space. The amount of storage avaliable was limited to the size of whatever he chose. That being said, there wasn't much that he could store in his phone. However, the thing he'd kept there was more valuable to him than anything. "I don't know how that fake priest found out about it, but I can't afford for my phone to be stolen again."
"You didn't really answer my question," Mordred muttered. She let his arm go once they'd left the park and began to head straight to the subway. "You keep so many secrets, ya know. It's kind of hard to understand you sometimes." She frowned as she spoke these words. (Y/n) had kept a lot of information from Mordred, but he was only doing so temporarily. He had to make sure he survived and won this holy grail war that he didn't want to be in. Only then could he entrust her with all of his secrets because he'd know for sure that she'd stay by his side.
"I'll tell you once this is all over," (y/n) promised once again.
"Don't worry about it. You've already proven yourself worthy of my trust. Just make sure you don't go do anything stupid and we'll stay on good terms." Mordred's grin returned with her sudden dismissal of the subject, but something wasn't right. The amount of people in the area was decreasing the further they went. (Y/n) was sure that Mordred noticed, but she didn't seem to care.
"Saber," (y/n) stated with warning in his tone. He knew a servant was nearby, so he couldn't use her true name. He'd already told her that he wanted to avoid any battles unless there was no choice.
"There's no getting out of this one. It's Lancer. He chased us down last time. I doubt he'd just let us slip by especially since he knows we're here. Besides, I finally get to kick that bastard's ass for nearly killing you last time," Mordred explained.
"Don't remind me." The memory of being chased down by a homicidal spearman wasn't something he wanted to relive. That shining red spear would have pieced his heart if it hadn't been for Mordred's intervention. "I hoped to never see that guy again."
When they got to the underground train itself, there wasn't a single human being around other than (y/n) and possibly Lancer's master. Lancer was standing causally against a wall with his spear leaning on his shoulder. This time he was in modern attire instead of the strange blue...whatever he had been wearing. (Y/n) had been too busy trying to stay alive than to care much about what his attacker had been wearing.
"So you came right to me. I thought I'd have to go find you," Lancer said. He pushed himself off the wall and faced them.
"I just thought it would be better to kill you where I can go all out. No one's around. It would be fun," Mordred sneered. Her sword materialized in her hand although she didn't bring forth her armor.
"Hey, wait just a minute. I'm not here for a fight. Besides, I'm not too fond of fighting women. It's not really my thing." Lancer tilted his head and dematerialized his weapon. Mordred didn't take his words well. She hated being likened to a woman, but she also hated being treated like a guy. It was complicated, but (y/n) had already figured out how to get around it.
"You're definately going to die now. Bring back that weapon of yours," Mordred growled.
"It's alright, Saber. He's probably here to join us. I bet his master was threatened too," (y/n) said. Mordred glanced back at him with her anger still evident, but she didn't try provoking Lancer anymore.
"How did you know? Yeah, I'm supposed to join you guys. Master's orders. The priest guy made a threat of some sort, but he didn't seem like the same guy," Lancer explained.
"The priest again. I knew it. He told me to team up with you to stop Rider. I don't feel like going out of my way to do that," (y/n) sighed. He wasn't the type to go straight into a battlefield like his servant, Mordred.
"Don't be like that. There's just us, Rider, and Assassin left. Wouldn't it be nice to have one less servant to worry about until Rider is dealt with?" Lancer's eye held a glint of mischief, but (y/n) had already made up his mind. As much as he hated to follow the false priest's orders, he was going to team up with Lancer to take down Rider. The simple fact was that Rider was indeed a formidable force. Even though all of his trust was in Mordred, he wanted her to survive the fight no matter what.
"We're going to help you and your master defeat Rider, but after that's over, we become enemies. Make sure your master understands this," (y/n) informed. Lancer gave him a stare of confusion.
"What? You expected us to be friends for the rest of the war. I don't think that's how this goes." (Y/n) already wanted to just tell Mordred to kill Lancer and get the war over with. Lancer's statements weren't helping his mood even in the slightest. Instead of shooting a retort in response to Lancer's words, (y/n) was given an unexpected scare. Mordred suddenly grabbed him and pulled him out of the way of something he couldn't see.
"Stay close, Master. I can't see that damned assassin, but I know she's here. Make sure you don't touch her." Mordred held him in a sort of half hug and used her sword almost like a protective shield. Lancer also went on high alert for he knew how dangerous Assassin was. She had been the one to take down Archer who fell victim to her poison all too easily.
"We need to go before the poison reaches us," (y/n) reminded.
"That won't be necessary. I will kill the three of you at another time. Master wishes to warn other masters. The priest is planning something. Master wishes to sit on the sidelines and will not participate in the war any longer," Assassin could be heard saying. She made her appearance, walking towards them from the underground tracks of the subway system. She was also in modern wear, but (y/n) didn't care. "So I have arrived with the purpose of aiding enemy masters against the priest. Rider has refused to cooperate, but he aims to kill the priest as well."
The way assassin explained it all made sense now. The priest was setting them up to kill Rider because he refused to join forces with anyone but is also capable of killing the priest. "Just what is that guy...?" (y/n) thought to himself. This holy grail war was certainly not like the one his real father had participated in ten years ago.
"The more the merrier, right? I don't see why you can't help. If Rider isn't our target, then we'll go after the priest. That should be interesting," Lancer spoke. He and Mordred had put away heir weapons, but Mordred hadn't released (y/n) from her hold.
"If you try anything, I'll have your head. Make sure you don't forget that," she told Assassin.
"If I wanted to kill any of you, I'd have already done it," Assassin retorted with a smile. Mordred kept her glare focused on Assassin all the while.
"If that's all, then I want to go home. Being out here with you people or anyone else is annoying," (y/n) muttered. The subway was his ride home anyway, and he'd hoped that the train would arrive and interupt the discussion. (Y/n) had already rested his head on Mordred's shoulder since she hadn't let him go after Assassin's arrival.
"Fine by me. Just know that this ain't just a holy grail war anymore. Good luck surviving. Master and I will return here tomorrow, so don't be late," Lancer said with a wink.
"Why should I answer to another servant's master?" (y/n) complained as Lancer disappeared into spirit form. Assassin gave a small smile before she also said her farewells and left.
"I don't intend to give you my head," she politely stated before vanishing. Mordred was clearly agitated by those parting words, but she didn't linger on the matter. She let (y/n) free of her hold only once Assassin was gone.
"You're being so cooperative all of a sudden," she pointed out.
"You're being so protective all of a sudden," (y/n) said rather than giving an explaination. Mordred narrowed her eyes at him.
"So I can't do my job now? What do you expect? I'm gonna win this war and you have to be alive for that to happen. Stop being stupid."
"I'm not. All I did was state the obvious just like you did. No need to get all defensive," (y/n) muttered. Conviniently, his ride appeared soon afterwards. In two quick stops, he would be home and not have to worry about watching his back for a while. "I don't plan on making any extra stops so don't even think about asking." (Y/n) led the way to the stopping electric train and waited fod the exiting passengers before he and Mordred got on.
"You're only letting them help because you don't think I can do everything on my own," Mordred muttered. Perhaps she had read his earlier thoughts or simply guessed. Either way, (y/n) didn't directly deny her words.
"I promised to make you king. I will keep that promise," he reassured.
"You don't even try lying do ya? I wouldn't hurt every now and then," Mordred huffed. She led them to a relatively empty area to sit. There weren't many people around, and no more traces of Assassin or Lancer could be sensed. "So why is the phone so important?"
"I don't want to tell you that right now," (y/n) reiterated before sitting next to her. It wasn't the first time Mordred had attempted to get the information out of him. "It's not something I like talking about."
"Well so far, all I know is that your old man has something to do with it. Your new mage family forced you to take their family crest after he got killed in the war before this, right?" Mordred kept speaking.
"I didn't tell you any of that, so I'm going to assume you've been eavesdropping into my thoughts. Quit doing that..."
"You knew from the beginning that you wouldn't be able to think in peace. I know almost all of your thoughts, but those are particularly guarded, the ones about that phone at least," Mordred explained.
"Almost all my thoughts? Are you sure?" (Y/n) was curious as to what she claimed to know. Mordred didn't hesitate to lean closer to him and take hold of his face with one of her hands so that he could only stare into her eyes. A slight glare joined with a smirk was on her face as she whispered. "If you've thought it, then I probably know it."
"You're too close," (y/n) mumbled. He kept a straight face the entire time which caused Mordred to pout.
"You didn't think that earlier when Assassin was here," she growled.
"That's not the same as now," (y/n) reasoned. Mordred let him go and deadpanned.
"You're really no fun. I can't believe I got paired with such a boring master," she grumbled. For the rest of the train ride, she remained oddly silent, but (y/n) knew that she was probably listening out for his thoughts, so he'd speak directly too her every now and then to see what she'd do. She simply ignored him or was never hearing his thoughts to begin with. When their destination was reached, they got home as quickly as possible with no detours to the convinient store.
"You didn't even ask for your phone back," Mordred started once they entered (y/n)'s home. "If it's so important, wouldn't you have wanted to take it back immediately?" She held the phone out to him from where it had been in her pocket.
"I trust you, Mordred. You're going to be my king. You wouldn't do anything to harm that future," (y/n) spoke as he took the phone from Mordred's hand.
"You're a strange one for sure," she sighed. "Don't go complaining if you end up losing that thing again. I honestly don't see what's so important about it..."
"It's my real father's family crest. I stored it in the same space as my phone so I can keep it with me at all times. There's no one I can trust to leave it with other than myself and now you. This family that I've been adopted into...their family crest has been forcefully passed down to me. They'd destroy this one if they got their hands on it. I can't allow that," (y/n) explained the moment Mordred went quiet.
"You said you'd tell me later. Now you're going back on your word."
"There's more to it than that. You already knew about my father anyway. It wouldn't hurt to tell you about the crest." (Y/n) slipped the phone into his pocket and looked around the vastly empty space where his fake family would have been roaming. "I want to get this stupid war over with already. We both do."
"Then tomorrow, we'll end everything. You just get some good night's rest and leave everything to me. I'll make sure to bash that bastard priest's head in," Mordred proclaimed with a thumbs up.
"Mordred, it's early afternoon. Why would I even go to sleep this early. It'd be a waste." She seemed to only get upset at him for his statements of truth.
"Just shut up already!" she snapped before storming off towards the room he had designated for her. (Y/n) couldn't help but notice the glance she shot at him before disappearing. It was one of partial worry, but it was clear that Mordred did not intend to simply defeat the priest tomorrow.
For his sake, she was going to kill every enemy servant in the area so that he could be victorious and bring about a change in the world of mages. It wasn't simply because she wanted to win. Of course, that was part of the reason. (Y/n) was not aware of this, but she had found a copy of his will and read over every detail. Just as he wanted to make sure Mordred did not face death, she also wished the same amd was willing to do whatever it took to achieve that. Anything if it meant that her master's will was never viewed by anyone other than themselves.
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The extra servants included in this oneshot were the following: Ozymandias (Rider), Cu Chulainn (Lancer), and Hassan of the Serenity (Assassin). Hopefully I wasn't too vague to the point where things were too hard to follow...