[X] Help Headless recover; she may not have done right, but she meant well.
[X] Don't bring up Headless's reason to Caster.
-[X] Go see Illyasviel and Berserker.
--[X] Bring Deis along; you said you would after all.
Slowly, you loosen your hands and lower them from your head. You breathe heavily as your teeth unclench and the whimpers die, and you finally open your eyes and look down at Headless's mutilated body. She's staring up at you, worry or concern plain on her face, and you lean down to pick her up. Her one arm wraps around you awkwardly as you hug her tightly, her head resting on your shoulder. She's hurt, but she isn't dead, so all she needs is power to fuel her recovery. She gasps and her hand tightens against your back as you push power into her, and you stop, afraid of hurting her.
"Not … not so much, please." A trickle of power flows from you to her, and you carry her from the empty hall to her suite. By the time you reach it, her torso is recovered, as are her wings, but her arm hasn't recovered its elbow. You push open the door with a wing and look around for Giltless, but you don't see her. Is she still recovering from Deis's examination, or did Headless tell her to stay back? You set Headless on one of the soft divans and take a seat on a chair. "Thank you, Flan," she says quietly. You shake your head.
"Never again. Promise me that you won't ever do this to me again, Headless." She sighs and you stiffen.
"I … I …." You grab a nearby pillow and knead it between your hands.
"Headless, I let Caster into my head. I told her she would be fine. And then you …." Frustrated, you tear the pillow apart. Headless frowns at you.
"Giltless made that," she says accusingly, and you hurl the savaged cushion across the room. Headless raises an arm placatingly, then lets it fall as she realizes the futility of the gesture. "Flan, I get where you're coming from, I really do. But frankly, I think sometimes you make … poor decisions. Sometimes we just flat-out disagree about things. And maybe we'll meet someone who can control you without affecting me, or Giltless, and then we'd have to break that promise if we were going to help you. Hell, remember that Mephala that you let in?" You scowl at her for the reminder – regardless of what Remilia said, you still want to make her pay. "And I know how much a promise means to you, so I don't want to make a promise I don't think I'll be able to keep. I can try, and I can do my best to make sure you know if I'm doing something subtle like that, but I won't promise what you want me to." You stare at her for a long moment, fingers twisting into claws, and then you just stand up and walk out on her. Maybe you could come up with something that will satisfy both of you, but not right now, not in your condition. Headless starts to get up to follow you, but you slam the door behind you, splintering the thick oak door, and no one follows as you make your way to the tower. It's not your suite, it's not comfortable, it's even a little unfamiliar … but right now, it feels safe, and it's a place of solitude.
Neither Headless nor Giltless interrupt you as you cry yourself to sleep.
An increasing pressure on your shoulder wakes you from your sleep, and you spin away as you leap to your feet. Your scything claws don't hit anything, but you see recognize Ershin and Deis waiting inside the door and relax.
"You okay?" You give Deis a suspicious look and she brushes at her cheek below an eye. You rub your own face and scowl as you feel the dampness; it grows even fiercer when you look down where your head had lain. A shuddering breath later to calm yourself, and you're able to give Deis an obviously fake smile.
"I'm fine, thank you. I'm going to change, so would you mind giving me some privacy?" Deis gives you a concerned look but nods, dissipating as Ershin turns leave the room. You simply rip off the sundress you'd been wearing before carefully take out your clothes, the ones Remilia enchanted. An examination reveals that while they aren't damaged anymore, they're still quite thin; simple movement and flight shouldn't be a problem, but they'll tear quite easily if you have to exert yourself at all. What's important, however, is that they're undamaged, and they're comforting. Every little bit helps right now, and you feel more relaxed when you're finally properly dressed. Now you can walk around without feeling tense. You glance out the window; the sun is going down, but it's not full night yet. Where you're going, that won't matter. You check yourself one more time to make sure everything is as it should be, then leave the room to find Caster and Deis. They're in the dining room, of course, and they both watch you as walk up to the table but don't sit down. "Berserker is still the priority, right?" Caster nods slowly.
"Yes. He is the most dangerous Servant, partly because of his own abilities, partly because of the strength of his Master. Did you have a plan to deal with him?" You relax, relieved that she isn't going to question you about Headless – at least, not immediately – and nod, smiling lightly.
"I have an idea on how to more precisely identify his capabilities. I thought I'd just ask Illyasviel." Caster blinks, unable to respond, and Deis puts her head in her hands, although you think you saw her smile before her face disappeared. "I think she might actually tell me, especially if I'm upfront about why I want to know." Not that that's why you're going to see her, of course, but there's no reason you can't do that as well. Caster shakes herself and looks thoughtfully at a few of the tracings of magic that are on the table. She quickly frowns and shakes her head.
"It would be too dangerous, I think. The Einzbern Master is unpredictable, and you would be going to her domain, where any assistance I could give you would be delayed and weakened, at best. You should stay and rest some more." It might be wiser to stay and rest, but you shake your head.
"Thank you for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. I'll take Deis with me, though, so if Illyasviel does decide to fight, I won't be alone. We should be back fairly early, and you and Assassin can hold off Archer, Saber, or Lancer until then. Rider shouldn't attack – her Master is still in the hospital." Caster sighs and looks you over before nodding, defeated. She even smiles.
"Very well, Flandre. Do take care of yourself." You curtsy and look expectantly at Deis. She sighs and shakes her head.
"I guess we'll finish talking later, then? I think Flan's kind of impatient to leave." They smile at each other – some private joke, perhaps – and Ershin moves to follow you as you walk away.
"What were they talking about, anyway?" You're still on the temple grounds, making sure no one is around before you lift Ershin and fly toward Illyasviel's castle.
"Deis and Caster were discussing magic and the focusing capability necessary to penetrate the defenses of Servants with high magic resistance, such as Saber and Rider. They did not have much success." You snort – short of an actual example to practice on, 'not much success' is about the best they could hope for. Well, as long as it wasn't anything important …. Ershin is characteristically silent on the flight, and you wonder what Deis will do with it when she gets a body of her own. If she doesn't want it, maybe you can persuade your sister to take him on? It could substitute for Meiling when she has other duties, or assist her if she needs it. Well, that's if it wants to stay with you instead of Deis. When you reach the castle, however, you frown – not only does it look like there's damage to it, you can see two figures in white sitting on the stairs leading to the door. Sella and Leysritt jump to their feet, acting as though they had always been that way when they notice you, but you're too close for it to have been an effective ruse. Sella glowers at you, but then, she always does.
"If you wish to meet with Lady Illyasviel, I must inform you that now is not a good ti-" She's cut off by a familiar howl and the sound of something being smashed inside. Sella winces, probably imagining whatever was broken, focuses on you. "We will not attempt to bar your entry, but neither will we assist you." You look at her, then bark a short laugh.
"If you aren't careful, Sella, I might start to think you like me and don't want me to get hurt." Her glower returns and you look back at Ershin. "You stay out here for now, okay? I'll be fine." Without waiting for a response you walk briskly past the servants and open the door. It's dark inside, of course, but that's no problem for you, and you make your way deeper into the castle, following the occasional roar or crash. You shake your head – you might be able to get Deis to fix up some of the damage, but it just won't be the same. You aren't particularly surprised to find Illyasviel first, although you are quite surprised by her almost haggard appearance. Her fine hair is messed, she's dusty and dirty, and when she turns toward you after you clear your throat, you can see shallow scratches on her face. "Illyasviel?"
"… Flandre?" She takes a moment to place you, and Berserker bursts through a wall, stone weapon raised to strike at you. "No! Stop!" The weapon redirects up into the ceiling, showering you with dust, and Illyasviel shocks you by running up to her Servant and trying to attack him as he stands ready, battering him with her fists and kicking him. "Stupid, useless Berserker! I hate you! I hate you!" After several seconds of cursing and futile assault, she collapses against the giant's hip, sobbing uncontrollably. You walk up to them, still wary of Berserker, and brush your hand through Illyasviel's hair. Your clones step away from you and dart down the halls. You look up at Berserker.
"Unless you know where a decent bathing room is?" You lift Illyasviel's unresisting body and turn to follow the path one clone took – there's a nice bath on this floor, fortunately, and your clones streak back to rejoin you. Berserker follows you to the room, but you turn and waggle a finger at him when he starts to follow you in. "Sorry, only ladies beyond this point. You're just going to have to wait and trust me." Whether he understood you or Illyasviel gave some command, you don't know, but he remains outside as you clean up Illyasviel. You wash her hair and clean her face, singing quietly, and when you're finished you help her into the warm pool. She sits curled up in the water, silent and staring at nothing, and you hesitate. She seems to be fine physically, but she seems withdrawn. Not in shock, though … probably. Still, you aren't sure what to do from here – maybe it's something to do with being a homunculus?.
What do you do?
[ ] Talk to her privately.
- [ ] Ask what's wrong.
- [ ] Ask why she hates Berserker.
[ ] Wait for her to initiate conversation.
[ ] Get Sella and Leysritt before talking to Illyasviel.
- [ ] Ask what's wrong.
- [ ] Ask why she hates Berserker.
- [ ] Ask if she wants to meet Deis.
[ ] Get Sella and Leysritt, then wait for Illyasviel to see you.
- [ ] If she can't see you tonight, leave.
- - [ ] Go back to the temple.
- - [ ] Go after Saber.
- - [ ] Try to capture Tohsaka.
- [ ] If she can't see you tonight, talk to Sella.
- - About?
[ ] Get Sella and Leystritt, then apologize for interrupting and leave.
- [ ] Go back to the temple.
- [ ] Go after Saber.
- [ ] Try to capture Tohsaka.
[ ] Other?
