Rejection 1.9
Vista felt the back of her palm burn, and she began trying to pull her hand away, but the grip of the Holy Grail was too tight. There was no escape now. Then she saw it. A glowing blue circle appeared on the ground before her, rings of light spinning and rising, expanding then collapsing into a single pillar of light. She closed her eyes as it grew brighter and brighter.
And then the light dissipated, and her gaze fell upon the figure of a man kneeling before her, a hand held over his heart. The man wore fine looking leather armor, a tunic and a...was it an armored kilt? His legs were protected by similar armor to his chest. His feet were clad in sandals, strange considering how he put in the effort to cover his legs beneath his leather kilt.
His hair reminded her of wheat, and it fell behind him in a cascade that reached his calves. His hair was tied in a ponytail low down on his back. He gave off an aura of calm, and Vista found herself unalarmed by his sudden appearance.
"By your summons, I come. I am Servant Archer. I ask of you…" The man rose his head and smiled at her. "Are you my Master?"
Vista did not respond, instead opting to open and close her mouth soundlessly in shock. The Holy Grail poked her visor idly, giggling into her ear (Vista shivered). "Hey, he's talking to you. Don't leave him hanging now."
"I…I have no idea what is going on."
There was a long moment of silence, then the bloody girl that believed in her stood upright and facepalmed. "Oh right…forgot to tell you about the Holy Grail War. Well, not really feeling it now. Your Servant can explain." Then she walked away to the other side of the room and sat down on the floor.
The mysterious man's eyes were focused on Vista, his brow furrowed. Then he stood up. "I see. It appears you have been pulled into something you are not prepared for. My sincerest apologies, Master."
Vista bit back the retort on her lips. As much as she'd like to deny it, she couldn't exactly claim to be prepared when she had no idea what was going on. "Why are you calling me Master? It's kind of weird."
The man smiled. "Because that is precisely what you are, and because I have nothing else to call you by. If you wish, I would be willing to call you by something else. I am Chiron, but please, call me Archer. It would not do to advertise my true identity." He extended a hand out towards her, and Vista found herself a little surprised by the gesture. She didn't often have older capes, because what could this man be if not a cape, treating her with such respect.
"...I'm Vista." A short response. Vista took his hand. "What's going on?"
The man let go of her hand and took a step back, looking now to be much more resolute. "I am afraid this may be a bit complicated to explain. As such, if you could please leave your questions until the end, that would be much appreciated."
The Holy Grail tuned the explanation out, though they did manage to catch sight of the green girl's shocked expression at learning that she had not only summoned an actual legendary hero, but she had summoned Chiron. This was followed by the girl asking why he wasn't a centaur and Archer showing her his horse tail.
And then the conversation started coming to a close.
"I must ask, what wish do you have that you would summon me?"
The girl refused to meet the older man's eyes. She bit her lower lip as she tapped the tips of her index fingers together. "I…I honestly don't really know. I want to grow…to be able to make decisions for myself…"
At this point Angra Mainyu chimed in. "She wants to be a hero!"
Chiron turned his head to look at the Grail in surprise, then after a beat of silence he smiled. "Ah, I see. Thank you Lady Grail."
"What the fuck did he call us?" [CONFUSION]
The Archer turned back to his Master. "Is that true? Do you really aspire for growth? Do you really want to be a hero?"
Vista's hands stilled, and she slowly looked up at the gentle expression on the Greek hero's face. "Yes. Yes I do."
"Well then, I have some experience training young heros. If you would have me, I'd be happy to take up my old duty again. I am certain that you are destined for greatness."
Vista's mouth opened and closed, before finally she settled on beaming back at the man. Today had been quite the emotional roller coaster, but-
Where the hell did her new blood stained
friend think she was going?
The space in front of the Grail expanded (shocking the Archer but only eliciting a groan from the container of All the World's Evils), preventing them from reaching the door. Vista glared at the older girl. "There is no way I'm just going to let you walk out after you dropped this on me!"
"Why
noooooot?"
"Besides! Look at what you are wearing!"
The Grail looked down then back up. "Can I go now?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it!"
Chiron watched the exchange with some incredulity. Ignoring how strange it was for the Grail to be puppeting a body around, for his Master to be speaking to it in such a…
familiar manner was just a bit too much.
"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" Was his Master insane?
"...Rejoice?" Was the
Grail insane?
Vista glared at the omnipotent wish granting device, as if silently trying to will the girl's head off, then sighed. "Look, you stand out way too much. And you look creepy. And you are definitely going to catch a cold or something wearing that.So…how about you at least come with me so we can find you some clothes or something."
The Grail tilted their head, their expression suddenly blank. "We do not require clothing."
The smaller girl began grinding her teeth, so her Servant decided to step in. "Lady Grail, I believe my Master brings up a good point. As you are now, anyone would be able to point you out. A Master could easily kidnap you to try to ensure their victory, and local law enforcement is sure to make things difficult for you as well. It would make things much more convenient for you if you were to find some more suitable clothing."
The Grail stared at him, and for some reason Chiron had a strange sensation wash over him, like he had been covered in mud, but just as soon as it came it was gone. The Grail nodded it's head. "Such would not be acceptable, therefore we shall heed your advice."
Vista's expression of frustration faded, and in its place was a smile. "Great! Okay. If we throw a blanket over you or something, I'm sure no one will bat an eye at you as long as we stay and shop in this area. Uhm, but there is probably, no
definitely a lot of crime around here, so it might be kind of dangerous."
Chiron smiled. "I will protect you Master."
Vista frowned at him. "I told you to stop that." She then turned her attention back to her friend who knocked her out and kidnapped her. "We might be able to sneak you into my house without anyone noticing. I'm sure we could find something for you there, then we can go shop around the Boardwalk or something? Less crime there. Safer. Just a bit harder is all."
OPTIONS:
[] Get clothes here
[] Shop at the Boardwalk
OMAKE:
[X] "If these clothes aren't satisfactory, we shall simply take them off."
Vista's eyes widened in shock. "Wait! Don't!"
Too late. The Grail dropped their hospital gown to the ground, revealing herself in all her holiness. Vista let out a squeak and covered her eyes while Chiron politely turned his head away. "Please please please put your clothes back on." Vista heard no response. Almost afraid to look, she opened her eyes.
Only to find that the older girl was gone (Damnit! She was so surprised she stopped warping the space in the room!) and she had left her hospital gown behind.
Elsewhere the Grail calmly walked by a certain gangster in a metal dragon mask, who promptly called the police to report an incident of public indecency.
A child might see her! Lung couldn't let that happen to a child!