Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Fate/Ancillary (Revelations and The Count of Chaos)

Jason watched as Nero fought like a woman possessed, the woman was a whirling dervish compared to any normal human swordsmen. Her blades sliced expertly, and each strike was intended to kill or seriously maim the attacking monsters. These monsters who had now become a common-ish occurrence once again when magic surged all over the world. Granted attacks like these did not happen all the time. In fact most were minor nuisances, but this almost seemed like a coordinated attack, and that was what was troubling to him. He knew that Nero was thinking of that as well. However while he was her Master, he was more than a little concerned that she put her concern on him, she was clearly being attacked on all sides. He could see her beautiful dress starting to take more damage and that was definitely causing the mage some concern. Sure a Servant was supposed to protect their mages for many reasons, and the mages had a responsibility for their own self-defense, but right now in this moment, he could see Nero struggling, see that woman who striving against these monsters, strong and powerful, and yet starting to falter, he could see how her hair was starting to come loose from the bun, and how desperately she fought. Jason fired off two more Gandrs, striking the beasts and hopefully giving Nero more of an opening, another healing spell followed these, hopefully renewing energy and healing up Nero's wounds, at least as much as he could in the moment.

Here's where Jason had made his mistake however. Jason had sacrificed all that time, trying to fend off the other wyverns off of Nero and heal his servant. The reality was he should have picked one or the other. Because right now that wyvern was bearing right now upon him. He had remained near the fountain, even as Nero herself had stayed there temporarily before fighting the wyverns elsewhere, bricks flew as it drew closer, jaws snapping at him. Jason backed away, and while he hadn't said it verbally, inwardly he had called for help. He was a little too distracted to notice the change in his environment, as the wyvern was taking up his vision, he did not see that strange blue glow, the fountain, the water, taking on a glow that while normally wouldn't be too bright...this was rather...brighter than any such occurrences.

This was another summoning.
 
As another wyvern bypassed the aggressive Nero, its jaws snapped as embers of flame flickered across its fangs, seeking to lash out against the master. Perhaps it knew that if he was killed that his servant would go as well. Even if it wasn’t that smart, it seemed to know that Jason was currently a defenseless target, and it took only a oment for its tail to lash out as well, slamming into the side of the building as it sought to overwhelm Jason and leave him with nowhere to run – bricks raining down harshly onto the stone and in Jason’s direction. It may well have been hopeless for him, as even when Nero realized one of the Wyvern’s was cornering him, her speed was delayed as another gout of flame lashed out against her, knocking her down temporarily as more of her clothing caught aflame.

Yet, this was not the end.

As Jason had felt the latent magic within the town, something occurred – a flash of light from behind, though one that was distinct from the flame breath of their foes. Almost directly behind the young master, a figure stepped forward with shield in hand, batting away the incoming bricks with her bulwark as she held a blade within her right hand. Clad in white – and perhaps not the most appropriately dressed, this woman was unmistakably a servant, that much Jason could tell off the bat. “Get behind me, Master!” She spoke, looking back to him with only a flickering gaze before she lunged forward against the wyvern, her blade not quite as impressive as Nero’s, but it seemed to do the job in carving into the wyvern quite well, blood flowing from the deep slice as it howled out and sought to strike her with razory claws as it lifted itself into the air once more. The sound of those talons batting against the shield was a loud one, but it seemed the woman was capable of holding her own for now.
 
Master?

Jason was temporarily stunned. Her being a servant wasn't what had surprised him so much. It wasn't that town landmark was a weird place for a servant to be summoned into the world. That again was not too strange in this world. No what was weird to him, was that she referred to him as Master. Even with the background mana easily allowing for servants to materialize in his world, he never knew of anyone who had summoned more than one servant. Some used others as contractors and perhaps even lead some servants even though they had a different Master who had summoned them. He must have "accidentally" summoned her, but even then he should have been extremely strained, and yet he hadn't felt the slightest bit exhausted. He got a little further back, only because there was another aspect to a servant. Unless they trusted you completely and you were working in perfect, and that means totally perfect coordination. Being on their part of the battlefield was a bad idea. It caused an unnecessary distraction, and he now realized that seeing Nero still getting caught up with the other wyverns that he might have distracted her from facing the enemy. Guilt nearly overwhelmed him, and yet he understood what he needed to do.

He could see her suffer another gout of fire, and she was sure to have suffered some slashes, as a Saber that meant she would often be in melee proximity with these beasts, he could see her suffering some damage, but right now he couldn't exactly get to her. Instead he outstretched his hand, and muttered out another healing spell. Nero was sure to feel a cooling sensation wash over, in stark contrasts to the searing touch of flame. He hoped it would revitalize her enough, and hoped that she would focus on defending herself and destroying what remaining wyverns she could get to. Thomas wasn't sure who this redheaded servant was, she was quite beautiful, but he had seen some other female servants and many of them had been beautiful as well. Still that was utterly beside the point at the moment, given her sword and shield he thought she might be another Saber, but she was possibly something else. Regardless the shield definitely seemed to bring more defense to the table and so Jason offered her a spell, to make her offense hopefully match her defensive ability. He cast another spell over this new servant. She would feel new strength was over her, an almost adrenaline-driven ferocity, as if she would be able to potentially cleave one of these monsters in two.
 
While Nero didn’t seem severely injured, she did have some crimson staining the white portions of her dress – not much, and it may well not have been her blood either. Yet there were more immediate matters as Jason quickly found himself being rescued by what was a new servant on the battlefield – directly calling him master. As Boudica’s shield slammed straight into the face of a Wyvern, sending it reeling back as it roared out in pain. The redhead lacked the finesse or grand style that Nero held, but she remained closed to Jason, ensuring that he was perfectly guarded from any incoming harm. Her blade lashed out against another wyvern, slashing deep into the beasts chest as it tried to rise in flight only to topple towards the ground. There were significantly less of the beasts in the air than there were before, so it was clear Nero and this new servant were accomplishing quite a bit. It seemed most people had fled as well, as there was no immediate chaos aside from the fire breathing beasts.

Nero seemed to briefly look back, acknowledging that there was someone else aiding her master but for now she was equally concerned with the fight around her, the momentary distraction allowing one of the remaining and larger wyverns to tear a gash into Nero’s dress, sending the blonde empress tumbling back but landing on her feet as her blade dug into the ground as support. “Tough! But you’re not tough enough!” As graceful as ever, Nero leapt forward with her blade in hand, the jagged weapon hewing through the wyvern’s wing as its jaws snapped at the empress, only for the woman next to Jason to whirl around, a beam of light emitted from her blade as the energy seared against the wyvern, the combined strike felling the beast with a bit of a mess.

Eventually, it seemed silence reined in the area the three were in, the remaining wyverns having apparently dispersed and flying off in separate directions. It was quite possible they had lost enough of their brood to scatter to the winds, which would allow other agents to hunt down the remainder. “Are you alright?” The redheaded woman asked, her sword sheathed once she had cleaned it off, her hand offered towards Jason.
 
While Jason was still concerned about Nero, she still seemed to be handling herself. Not to mention his eyes were now mostly draw to this new redheaded servant. He did not know her name, but considering where he had summoned her, perhaps she had to be a servant whose national origin was in Britain, or had fought there. It was good to see that there were fewer and fewer wyverns about. Even if this redheaded lacked the finesse or power that Nero showed, this redheaded woman seemed more than a capable fighter. She fought brutally and efficiently, hacking and bashing wyverns left and right. Soon the fighting died down, and when this redheaded woman turned around and offered her hand. Jason realized that once he had fallen down he hadn't got up in this entire time. He took the woman's hand stood up.

"I'm okay, definitely thanks to you. I must have drawn too much attention to myself during the battle. Thank you though, for saving my life. My name is Jason Blackwell." Jason was glad to see that Nero looked fine some distance away. She had definitely suffered some damage, but overall looked fine. She would likely be joining him and this new servant shortly. "I'm very lucky, I honestly don't know how I managed to summon you in that moment. Would you mind though if I asked your name? Are you alright as well?" Jason was curious, and while his eyes could have eaten up the eye candy that was this young woman. In this moment such behavior was wildly inappropriate, especially to a woman who had literally just saved his life. She definitely was a warrior of some sort, and she had to be a hero or important figure of some renown. The Throne of Heroes summoned people from any point in time, and thus it was possible to summon a servant from a different point in time. That much was obvious with Nero, although given her reliance on the sword and shield, she likely hailed from some time in the past like Nero. Jason himself however was unaware of how closely connected this new servant was to his first one, Nero. Her legend definitely was not a small one, and was well enough known around Britain and the entire world. That said Jason tried to be well-read and educated enough. He also thought that assuming a servant's name would be rude, unless they were the kind of fun-loving servant that would love to make a game out of it. Jason did look about for a second, just to see how the town looked, and while the signs of attack were definitely still clear, it was obvious that the worst of it was over. Jason did muse he would need to make sure both servants were well, and perhaps they could get some rest after that fighting. He knew he was only supposed to support, but as it seemed, Nero and him needed to act fast as soon as they arrived, pervious procedure be damned.
 
As the dust settled, one could smell the coppery scent in the air, enough blood had been shed that it tinged the area around the town – but it was not the only scent. Fire crackled on some of the buildings and smoke wafted in the breeze, giving the area a slightly smoggy outlook with the cloudy and cloying smoke not enough to choke on, but still making breathing a little difficult. The silence that cut through the air was a strong one, people had either evacuated or died, leaving Jason and the two servants as quite possibly the only two in the English town. Eventually there was some noise as the somewhat battered Nero turned to face Jason, her facial features a mixture of pride yet some concern for her Master. “Ah, Jason. It seems that we’re done here, right?” She asked, her sword slung over one shoulder as she made her approach back to him. A smile was soon writ on her face as she approached, only giving a brief glance to the redheaded servant that had come to Jason’s aide. “Umu! Looks like master is getting a little popular. Do I no longer have you to myself?” Her tone was a slightly cheeky one, her guard seemingly down as the redheaded woman turned to look at Nero.

For Jason, seeing the woman react would be a story in itself. Warm recognition to Jason turned to confusion as Nero addressed Boudica, her eyes suddenly going wide with shock and realization. Her body froze in place save for the grip on her sword, something that simply hardened until the whites of her knuckles became evident. Wordlessly, the somewhat scantily clad redhead suddenly lunged at Nero, giving out a sharp warcry as her sword was lifted high and suddenly came down hard against Nero – a parry from the woman’s blade enough to stop the otherwise deadly blow. “YOU!” Boudica yelled to the heavens, fury evident in her voice and actions. Even as Nero blocked and parried attack after attack, her opponents onslaught didn’t end – shield smashing in against Nero’s sword alongisde the blade of the Celtric queen, intent on battering through Nero’s defenses.

“Master!” Nero called out, hopping away from Boudica for a brief moment – and to her defense she did not immediately retaliate against the other servant. “It seems your new servant is quite testy~, is this a challenge from you?” Nero remained on the defensive as a sudden series of beams lashed out from Boudica’s blade, leaping out of the way in the nick of time before countless rays struck against where Nero had been seconds ago, leaving scorch marks and destruction in her wake.
 
"Yes Saber, I believe we are done for now, we'll have to meet up with the other members of Chalice." Jason noticed, that Nero had seemed to have taken quite a thrashing, and yet still she seemed to be faring relatively well. As far as he could tell she wasn't bleeding or injured in any other sort of fashion, although her outfit seemed to have endured the brunt of any damage, which left her a little more exposed than she was before, still he doubted it was of much concern for the moment. Chalice could likely help or perhaps he could use some form of magecraft to restore it. There was definitely an eerie silence to the town now, baring the crackling of some fires nearby, those fires themselves seeming close to petering out anyways. Thomas was about to respond to her again, but then he noticed the redheaded servant's reaction to her presence. It was so quick that hadn't been able to react.

Still the way in which Boudica reacted, remembering the town they had been sent to help, and her blazing red hair, it was all coming together now, especially with her reaction to Nero. He was partially stunned as he watched the woman behave almost like she was a berserker. Nero hadn't dealt with this woman herself, but her governors did, and she had rebelled against her. Perhaps to this woman slaying the Empress clad in red would ease some of the rage she had carried for her and her people. Nero calling out to him jostled Jason from his momentary stupor and he knew hat he needed to do.

"No Saber, remain on the defensive..."He said, and then raised his left hand, a set of red looking tattoos on the back of the hand. If Nero's had formed on his right hand, then it made sense that this servant's showed up on his left. "I understand you may be angry, but Saber was instrumental in reclaiming this town from the wyverns, who knows how many people would have died if it wasn't for the two of you. However, I cannot allow for you to harm her regardless of your past. By order of my command seal, Boudica you will not harm Nero!" Jason called out. Jason knew that his command seals were valuable but it was unlikely that in this moment Boudica was willing to see reason. Therefore he would be compelled to use his authority as a master to make her stop. He felt a sling twinge on his hand, and also a bit of warmth, as it looked as if one of the command seals on his left hand had been scorched off. Meanwhile Boudica will feel a compulsion. To lower her blade and shield, and to relent, even if she was bristling with rage. He could not have these two servants fighting each other, besides they needed to regroup and it was likely that the two and him would need to relax, although thankfully he wasn't feel too exhausted, still he felt a small bit drained, so the sooner this ended the better.
 
As a beam of light emerged from Boudicas blade, though as it lashed out against Nero, the saber deftly dodged it, though still she made no attempt to attack. Maybe she was waiting for her master to give her the order or perhaps she was just waiting to see what the red haired saber would do. Either way, she felt quite in control of the situation all things considered, a smile writ upon her face as she remained elusive in being struck down. Still some part of her understood the gravity of the situation as when her master told her to remain defensive, her hand held against the hilt of her sword, ready to parry another blow from the redhead until her master finally used a command seal against Boudica.

The seals effect took place near instantly, the woman buckled under some unseen force and while her hand and blade trembled in quiet fury, she made no attempt to strike again at Nero, instead grimacing in anger at the woman. Her entire body shook with anger for a few long moments, but eventually even that passed – whether it was by the command seal or her calming herself in the midst of the situation, it was truly difficult to say. There were no further attempts to advance towards Nero, instead she seemed to pace back and forth for a few moments until she slowly sheathed her blade once again, her shield disappearing in a glimmer of light as her hands were bared and empty now. Perhaps it was a sign of submission from her, but even then it was a little hard to discern.

As winded as Jason was he could survey the battlefield. Dead wyverns littered the streets alongside corpses of fallen humans, but there were no further wyverns in the air, apparently either driven off or slain in their attack on the town. He had done it – he had saved the town and likely a majority of oeple had escaped, though even that was hard to judge given everything that was going on around him, as well as the light sensation of exhaustion from using a command seal.
 
Jason sighed, using a command seal was the last thing he would have liked to do, for all intents and purposes it was essentially a form of mind control on servants that masters could inflict, especially if the servant was going against their wishes. Perhaps he couldn't fully grasp the rage that Boudica felt upon seeing Nero, upon seeing the Emperor whose Empire subjugated her people. Regardless he couldn't and wouldn't let her have her revenge. Besides if Nero had actually taken the fight seriously, it was very likely Boudica would have been cut down. All in all it seemed things had calmed down. In fact he figured that the command seal didn't put any of Boudica's feelings out of her mind, it just made it impossible or nearly impossible to act on them. He turned to Nero first. "You can be at ease Nero, a command seal has been used on her. Thank you for your valor in battle, and thanks for protecting me where you could." He said, figuring that his servant was due for some praise, and Nero herself almost seemed to turn battle into an art, so he found it difficult not to congratulate her on a job well done. Still he needed to talk with Boudica, while she seemed to be an almost accidental summon the fact remained she was one of his servant's and while it wasn't affecting him horribly he was beginning to feel a little tired.

"Boudica...I am sorry for the use of the command seal on you. I understand that you have a...history with Nero and her people. To be honest without your help I would have been dead today. Again thank you for your help and for saving me. I would hope we can continue to work together." He reached out a hand, perhaps he could treat her in earnest and that would take the edge of, but still he also figured she might not give up such anger easily, and might be mad at him by proxy. Sometimes it was difficult for a master to manage one Servant. How was he suppose to manage two of them? Jason didn't realize that in this time, he hadn't reached out to Chalice as was protocol after a situation like this one had been resolved.
 
Once Nero heard a command seal had been used, her guard immediately relaxed, and she gave a nod. “Very well, master!” Green eyes regarded Boudica once more, but rather than steely resolve they held a harder to place look within them. The redheaded woman on the other hand still held an intense glare, only to soften it as Jason began to speak. “It’s…” As she spoke she turned, hands curling into fists for a moment before she turned to face Jason more fully. “I shouldn’t have immediately attacked. I’m sorry for that.” There was a deep and long sigh from the woman, and as she tried to calm herself, it took some time for the ire within her eyes to die down slightly even if they weren’t directed towards Jason.

As if on queue, Jason’s communication device with Chalice came to life with sound. “Jason? We’re confirming that the situation seems mostly resolved on our end. I take it you’re still in one piece thanks to your servant?” It was a masculine voice, though not one that Jason had heard before. “We are picking up an extra servant signature around you, did someone else come with you with a servant?” After asking, he went silent – undoubtedly waiting for Jason’s reply.
 
Jason sighed, relaxing a bit more, it was unlikely for now and possibly for the future that Boudica would ever work well with Nero. Honestly that could be expected considering their places in history. Thankfully Nero herself didn't seem like she would antagonize Boudica which meant that while she often showed a brazen attitude, she was still a mature enough to not pick fights, even if she had the right to. "Thank you Boudica, still I understand your reaction even if I cannot approve of it." While it was surprising enough to be able to have two servants at his command, the fact that the two of them were essentially enemies was a stroke of bad luck itself. However, he wasn't allowed to think on this long as his communicator sprung to life.

"Uh yes, it's definitely Jason and as far as I can tell I suffered no injuries in the battle. My servant suffered some damage but she seems to be mostly fine." When they talked about possibly another master, he realized he would have to come clean about what happened. Although he was a little worried about the reaction and what might come out of it. "There is no additional master here with me, when were fighting near the town center, basically my current location, another servant had come to my aid when I was in danger, and she referred to me as Master, I believe I have summoned another servant, although as far as I know I gave no incantation to do so." Jason answered, looking about and towards his two servants. As far as he knew summoning one servant could be difficult unto itself at times, although made easier by the changes in the world. So far he hadn't heard about masters summoning multiple servants, so he wondered what fallout would come out of this. He waited on Chalice Command's response, mostly expecting them to not believe. Then again with much of the changes in the world, skepticism towards a situation like this might be lessened.
 
“Jason? Good.” Came the voice on the other side. “No injuries? That’s even better. We’ll have other agents in the area soon enough, and there will be assistance with the more mundane casualties in the town. Servants are tough, so long as yours is in one piece, any injuries they have can heal with time.” It was the next bit that caused the voice to pause, with a more subtle but unheard dialogue in the background. “Another servant? We had sent out some other masters in the area as well,but you were the only one around the town proper. There shouldn’t be any other masters or servants with you at all. Since you’re done there, we’ll be getting you back home here soon enough.” Came the voice. “If you’re ready, you should feel the pull of our magic calling you back. Both your servant and this other servant should be coming with you.”

While the voice seemed a bit doubtful about things, there was still no mistaking the faint pull of magical energy that began to surround Jason. At the same time, Nero seemed to notice the faint tug herself, moving closer to Jason as the red headed woman did the same. All he’d need to do, was focus on the magic and let it carry him towards its destination. "Ah, it seems like our new friend is coming with us too!" Nero spoke, her eyes on a slightly unhappy Boudica.
 
He noticed that the Chalice staff who had reached out to him on his communicator had likely being talk to someone else. He gave himself a deep breath, it was likely there would be some talks about what the had done in this town. Frankly, it was just as weird to him. While the background mana was certainly higher in the world now that Mystery had been reintroduced in a way that pretty much made every human a mage, there were still strange occurrences and phenomena that still out of the ordinary, a mage maintaining two servants regardless of those servants' power was still something of a feat. Not that he was necessarily patting himself on the back about it. Seeing as this secondary summoning had been well, something of an accident. Already he began to feel that slight tug, their use of the Rayshift as means of teleportation always had that almost electric feel to it.

As he began to focus on the magic, on the pull of it, he could almost feel himself starting to get pulled. As he heard Nero speak her turned to her. "Indeed, it seems that I have summoned two servants now. It's honestly quite strange. I'm sure the Director will want to speak with me, that or she'll have one of the others talk with me. Thank you for your prowess today, Nero." He turned back to Boudica. "Thank you for saving my life, Boudica." Honestly while a part of him wanted to be more casual, he wasn't sure Nero would really tolerate that. Boudica herself didn't seem in the mood for any jokes or other stuff. Why did he have to summon a servant that was essentially a mortal enemy of his first servant? He refocused his energy on letting the magic carry him back towards Chalice Headquarters.
 
"You are welcome." A more downcast looking Boudica looked back to Jason with a small smile, her more unhappy features softening somewhat. Afterwards, there was that telltale pull reaching out for Jason, and moments later reality seemed to bend and twist around him as he felt himself being called back to Chalice headquarters. To say it was a jarring experience was an understatement, the world shifting and contorting in unnatural ways as if he were being dragged through space itself was not an easy thing to truly comprehend or deal with. The world was a blur when it finally ended, a haze of warm light above and people moving around Jason at the same time. Once his vision began to slowly recover though, he was once again in a familiar place as some recognizable faces and some new ones looked in his direction.

"Aha, home again!" Nero spoke, a hand on her hip. While she stayed a step behind from Jason, Boudica remained at his side.

"Jason, there you are. Come with us, we need to get you… Tested. This is most unusual for a master, and while it shouldn't take long, your servants will have to wait in a separate room." Came the voice of a chalice technician, dressed in their standard uniform.
 
Indeed a Rayshift was something that would be hard to get used to. Still besides those preliminary tests they ran which occurred over much smaller distances they didn't seem to have too much effect. Rayshift that could potentially be entire cities away, if not countries...well to be moved over such a long distance instantaneously was such to be jarring. In fact Jason did feel a little queasy for a few seconds, and vision was blurry to say the least when he opened his eyes. A few minutes and his eyes seemed to catch up with reality. He definitely did seem new faces, and while it would have been interesting to check out the town. He was sure Chalice wanted him back for a variety of reasons. Not to mention that Chalice would likely have its aid and public relations arm handling the clean up and working alongside Britain in the wake of the attack.

"Ahh...that's a bit better. Hopefully it only takes a few more times to used to Rayshifting..."Jason sighed, thankful that the sense of nausea had finally passed. Upon hearing the technician approach him, he nodded and looked towards his two servants. "Alright you two, follow their orders. I'll go get tested." Jason moved to follow the technician. The young mage got this feeling that he probably would be seeing the Director again. Of course, it was admittedly strange that he was able to summon two servants. Perhaps it wasn't completely out of the question for a powerful mage? Granted Jason never really thought of himself as powerful mage, competent but definitely not powerful. He just assumed he might have been slightly about average with certain spells and such, and was happy to summon someone as powerful as Nero, let alone a second heroic spirit in Boudica. It was a strange day to be sure, but in this world, what day wasn't?
 
Nero gave a nod and a smile, Boudica seemed a little more concerned, but obeyed her master as she was told to follow the orders of his superiors. For Jason however, he was led down a hall towards the medical hall, and in to one of the examination rooms therein. "We'll get started on your tests right away…" One of the physicians within spoke. "But the fact that you have two servants that seem to obey your commands is irregular to say the least. Did you actively attempt a second summoning, or how did the second servant come to bond with you? A normal master only has enough mana for one servant, two would drain most any regular magus to death before long. But… You seem to be handling it well." It was an honest question and certainly an intriguing subject.

"We'll be testing your vitals and other factors as well as treating any injuries you may have, it shouldn't take us long, and from what we can tell you don't seem to be in any state of serious harm… So aside from figuring out why you have two servants, this hopefully won't take long." It was standard procedure to treat returning masters. Likewise, Jason could feel the tug from his servants, a light but intangible feeling - and from what the link could tell him, his servants likewise seemed to be alright, if waiting for him.
 
Jason was glad to see that his servants seemed to be taking it mostly well. Although Boudica seemed to be a little more concerned. Jason merely nodded and flashed both of the heroic spirits a smile before following the physicians and others of Chalice down the hallway towards the examination room.

"I am aware of that, I thought it was strange too. I haven't felt any serious pull on my energy besides the jaunts to and from the town. I'll admit that I do seem to recover quickly though. Though perhaps my magic circuits are just able to recover quickly." Jason replied as he stood in the examination room. "Now when it came to summoning the second servant, it seemed to be incidental or something. When Saber and I were busy fighting off the wyverns I had apparently attracted too much of their attention and strayed too far from my servant. I was on my last legs near a fountain at the town center and there was a bright flash of light, and they had begun fending off the wyverns." Jason added. Jason thought it was all quite strange as well. Of course he was lucky to have two capable servants aiding him. The fact that he wasn't really injured in any way was also good. Although that was eating at him, was that beyond some of the initial summoning he wasn't really feeling exhausted. Most Masters were briefed that they would suffer exhaustion depending on the strength of their servant and how many were possibly summoned, and while background mana now made it easier, it still shouldn't have made it this easy to have two servants to summon.
 
While Jason was away, the two servants were guided to a room where they could be monitored. Nero continued to be in a state of clothing distress, her transparent skirt torn in multiple places, a few scorch marks upon her outfit and her breasts practically showing thanks to a few unfortunate bites that she received. Boudica was spotless as far as injuries went, but her outfit was.. not quite the most practical. Despite being a swordswoman, her outfit was basically a pair of hot pants and a bikini top, the latter doing a poor job at holding her generous cleavage from bursting forth. With her sword sheathed, her free hand slowly curled into a first as she looked at Nero for a moment, but otherwise remained silent and taciturn. Nero remained likewise silent, but the difference between the redhead and the blonde was the subtle, but confident smirk that Nero held on her lips. It was hard to say what the expression was meant to convey, but her overall demeanor was like that of a cat – aloof but superior in feeling. For the redheaded queen, her inner thoughts were nothing but turmoil upon seeing the blonde empress.

Jason however, would soon be given a rather straightforward physical – with a few strings attached. For the young man, a simple test of his magical circuits showed that they were surging intermittently, likely providing mana to both servants but otherwise there seemed to be no ill effects. Healthwise he was fine, being in the prime of his youth and uninjured save for perhaps a few minor bruises from rigorous movement. "Well…" The physician examining him spoke. "You seem fine, I mean your magical circuits are capable of providing enough mana for two servants to manifest and be under your control. That being said… I would be cautious, you'll be getting quite the attention from both our directors and perhaps a few other interested parties. I can't say they'll all desire the same thing out of you. You're free to leave the medical wing." The man spoke, though something appeared to be distracting him. "I imagine the head director will be contacting you soon, so I would enjoy the rest you can get."
 
"Thanks doctor, I know being able to summon and maintain two heroic spirits isn't exactly normal. Still I wasn't sure it was that much of a rarity." Jason mused, adjusting his uniform after he had went through the physical and other health checks that the physician had put him through. "Hmm, thanks for the advice doctor, both about the rest and about my situation." The Chalice Mage got up and started towards the door and went to retrieve his servants.

Jason for the first time in quite a bit, had finally given himself the time to actually muse on all that had happened. Sure, he knew his magic circuits were good, but he had no idea they were good enough to maintain two servants. Even more interesting was the fact he wasn't exhausted, heroic spirits could end up putting a serious drain on your mana. So much to the point that some mages even went through a form of necrosis if they pushed their servants too far. Jason might have felt a little beat, but it was just an average sort of tired. It was so strange, all of this. Magic was something him, and most of humanity was forced to get used to. Their world changed, shifted and yet no one seemed able to pinpoint how and when it happened. It made all of this something that could be scarcely believed, and yet now everyone was living it. In a sense now magecraft was mundane as nearly every human was capable of it, even if they weren't particularly powerful. Thinking on Nero, on Boudica he sighed as he approached where they were being held. He had been forced to use a command seal on Boudica, a thing most servants hated, unless it was being used to power them up. He was aware of the history of both of them, both had their issues, both had their tragedies. How he was going to be able to deal with one that absolutely hated the other, and one that might antagonize the other he felt his work would be cut out for him. Jason soon entered the room, giving a slight nod to both of them as he spoke.

"Saber. Rider. The tests went well, we are free to head back to the quarters it seems. Unless one of you wishes to visit the cafeteria or elsewhere?" Jason said, sort of wishing to talk to both of them separately at some point. He could see that rage nearly boiling over in Boudica, at the moment the two of them needed to be far away. Jason not being sure if one command seal would be enough to keep it in check.
 
The two servants were sitting well away from one another though for Nero it seemed her reason was to sit closer to where her master would be coming from, rather than wanting any distance from the redhead. As the blonde kipped to her feet, the height difference between the two was incredibly stark and were it not for her feats prior, it may have been hard to believe this woman was a warrior given she didn't even break 5 feet in height. What she lacked for in height however did seem to be made up for in other assets, at least, between a beaming smile and a light bounce to her chest. "That is good to hear, master. We should likely take some time to ourselves. It seems this world is quite different from the way I remember it." Of course, she had been summoned with the capacity to understand it so she was not immutable in thinking.

Boudica however remained silent as he rose, and while not as tall as Jason either, she still remained well over a head taller than the empress did. The two servants were ready to flank their master, with one woman on each side. Nero was utterly nonchalant it felt like, while in comparison the redhead was more concerned with her master than any sense of freedom. "Anywhere is fine, Jason." Boudica eventually said, breaking her silence as she tried to relax – something that would come to her with some difficulty it seemed

For now, the base was open to the three, and there were no pressing matters for Jason to attend to either.
 
When Jason had left the examination room he had definitely noticed the rather large amount of space between Nero and Boudica. Although given their previous hostilities which he knew mostly radiated from Boudica. It was something he could understand as he had definitely dipped into history of quite a lot of things. Nero radiated this sense of imperial authority, at times it could sort of saturate the room, but he understood it. Nero probably viewed herself as a representative of Rome, or at least her Rome. There was definitely quite a disparity between what he had previously known and what was in front of him. It had certainly been surprising to find out that Nero was a woman. Was she history in its reality or merely a potential representation of it, of the things related to Heroic Spirits he wasn't quite sure. He honestly did not try to think about that too much.

"Hmm, that is probably for the best. Let's head back to my room and we can think of what to do from there." Jason said, he watched as Boudica rose and flanked him as well. There was a slight blush on his cheeks that he tried to bury given that the fact he was being flanked by two very beautiful women. Although he did remind himself that these were both warriors, and both had wielded both command of armies and of leadership in general. It took about a good ten minutes before they arrived at his dorm, it did seem like there was only one bed, although he wasn't exactly sure how servants/heroic spirits worked. Did they need to rest, could they even if they chose to?

"Alright I'm going to grab a towel and a change of clothes." Jason mentioned, going to one of the many cabinets the room had and gathered clothes out of it, in a sort of closet he gathered a towel and gave a gentle smile. "Alright I'm heading to wash up, you two are free to rest and explore as you like. I do believe the computer allows you some degree of internet surfing so that might be good." Still he was a bit worried about leaving these two alone together, who knew how long his command seal would get Boudica to relent around Nero?
 
Back
Top Bottom