Next day, Fuyuki Bridge.
Lelouch had a strange feeling. It wasn't the fact that he was going after an insane master and his servant or meeting with his new ally. No, it was Avenger. Ever since he woke up this morning, she was watching him like a hawk. Whenever he caught her staring at him, the redhead would just smile and slowly turn away. It wasn't annoying or anything like that but he was curious why Avenger was like this.
'Usually, Avenger would be entertained by new things she saw but right now she doesn't pay attention to anything around her.' Both of them made their way towards Fuyuki Bridge. If his theory was right Ryuunosuke and Caster should be hiding in the sewer system. 'Now with two servants, we should be able to take down Caster...of course if everything won't go wrong during the meeting.'
Kayneth, master of Lancer. Lelouch knew nothing about the man besides what Avenger told him. From what he understands he was a fine example of the old nobility of Japan according to Avenger. 'Arrogant, self-interested but not useless...people like him will strike you in the back.' Words of his servant remind Lelouch of too many nobles from Britannia.
Soon the two demons arrived at their destination, Fuyuki Bridge. They stood near the river, close to the entrance into the sewers. Lelouch glanced around, trying to find their potential ally.
"Fascinating, a sewer system that covers an entire city." His servant comments. "In my time something like this wasn't possible. Then again people were busy with other things."
Lelouch smirked. "A beautiful woman like you amazed by sewers?"
Avenger nods proudly, "Of course! Any good ruler should see the necessity of small things like this. Something like this would have been useful for my provinces. It would have improved sanitation. Good sanitation would have given better healthcare which my soldiers always needed. Kami only knows how many of them died because of sickness. I might have conquered the entirety of Japan in no time if not for little things like this. Aggh!" Avenger let out a groan while Lelouch stopped himself from laughing.
"Having time to look back at your life like this must be nice." The former emperor said before looking at the city around them. It was peaceful. Lelouch only wished that his life decisions would make his world's Japan like this. 'After everything they suffered under Charles and my rule, they deserve peace. But...'
"It is. Now knowing what happened after my death I can think about all my actions and how useful they were."
Violet-coloured eyes stared at Avenger, "Would you have changed anything if you were given a chance?"
The redhead closed her eyes and carefully thought about it. "Hmm, yes. First, I would kill Akechi Mitsuhide. No forgiveness for the traitors. After that, I would have finished my job, now knowing the size of the enemy armies and what conditions they were in, I would have eliminated all of them without issue. Then I would-"
"I meant life in full, Avenger. Not your conquests or wars." Lelouch said slowly, stopping Avenger who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "This Grail is believed to grant any wish. Would you completely change your life if you could?"
"No." was the immediate answer. Now it was Lelouch who was surprised. "My lifelong dream was to unite Japan and expand its territory beyond the sea. I dreamed of an empire under my rule. A perfect nation. Someone should have done it and I'm sure if it wasn't me then someone else would have done it. Hell, Takeda Shingen first comes to mind. However, none of them wanted to expand our nation. All of them were stuck in the past and couldn't see the wonders of the outside world… It pains me to know that even a unified Japan chooses self-isolation for centuries with every attempt to expand being a failure." Avenger glared at the ground. "Master, no, Lelouch. I wanted the best for my country and I did everything I could. If I was given a second chance I would have fixed the wrongs of my doings but not my journey."
Lelouch, who was stunned by the sudden words of his servant, took a moment to collect his thoughts, he said. "Forgive me for asking this, Avenger. I should have known better than asking something so...superfluous." She sighed before shaking her head.
"Heh, don't worry about this, master. I'm surprised by how much I said just now." Suddenly, the look on her face changed, it became more pleasant. "Master. Now when I said something so personal, it would be only fair if you did the same. Don't you think so?" A mischievous smile appeared on her face while Lelouch cleared his throat.
"Now, Avenger. I don't think it is the right place or time to speak about personal matters freely. Especially-" The raven-haired master turned away from his servant and looked at the approaching figures. "Not when our guests are here." A smile found its way on his face while the redhead next to him grimaced.
"And here I hoped you would willingly share with me your secrets, oh well."
***
The two new figures were a man and a woman. A blonde man fit the description Avenger gave him while the redheaded woman was most likely the one who answered his phone call the previous night. Lelouch couldn't see Lancer but the male servant was most likely in spirit form near his master.
A minute later, the two of them were standing before Lelouch and Avenger. After a brief silence, Kayneth was first to speak. "Master of Avenger," he said with a neutral tone, his eyes narrowed. Both hands were behind his back, therefore, Lelouch couldn't see if the man was holding anything.
"Master of Lancer." greeted Lelouch with a welcoming tone and smile. He placed his right hand on his chest and slightly bowed. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Kayneth and his female companion raised an eyebrow at this. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Archibald."
Kayneth smiled while both ladies rolled their eyes. "At least some of the younger generation know how to show respect. Now, you know my name but I still haven't learned yours."
"Lelouch Lamperouge."
"Lamperouge… Never heard about a magi family with such a name." commented the redheaded woman next to Kayneth.
The former emperor turned to her and nodded. "Not surprised. My family was always secretive and tried to use magecraft as little as possible. Sorry, but still I don't know how to address you, lady..."
"My fiance Sola-Ui," spoke Kayneth while his companion sent him a glare. "Now that we are done with the introduction we can move to business."
Lelouch smirked, noticing how annoyed Kayneth's bride was. 'Hmm, so the future wife isn't so happy.'
"Of course, Lord Archibald. I believe my servant and you talked about something that can prove beneficial to all of us."
"An alliance. If we want to ensure our chance of winning in this war, an official alliance will be needed." Avenger said while Lelouch nodded.
"Of course we all know that alliance won't last forever in a war like this. So I recommend uniting to take down the most dangerous servants together. After that our union won't be needed anymore."
Both Sola-Ui and Kayneth glanced at each other before speaking. "If we will work together what servants will you go after?"
"First and most dangerous right now is Caster. After learning his true name and some other worrisome things I'm sure that taking him down is the number one priority. Not to mention the current ceasefire and reward in the form of a command spell." Lelouch noticed how Kayneth reacted when the additional command spell was mentioned. 'Interesting, did he use one already?'
Sola-Ui placed a hand under her chin before speaking. "You said you learned the identity of Caster. Care to share?" she narrowed her eyes when Lelouch shook his head.
"Unless we are working together, I'm afraid I cannot discuss such important information. I'm sure you can understand why… However, I can speak about one of his abilities. Caster's master was kidnapping children while Caster used some of them as a mana supply and others to create monsters to use. Both I and Avenger already fought some of them. They aren't dangerous on their own but when they are in bigger numbers they can be a threat even for a servant. Not to mention the fact that kidnapped children will alert the attention of local police. If we don't want unnecessary complications it is better to avoid it." Lelouch explained. The blonde master was silent for some time thinking about it.
"Familiar creation with human flesh," whispered Kayneth. "Not the easiest skill to learn these days. This Caster must be from old times if he can do it in big numbers… Very well I can see your point but is Caster your only target?"
"Of course not. After last night we also learned the identity of Saber." Now Kayneth was even more interested. "As far I know she is currently wounded after the first fight with your servant. It will be better if we take her down while she is in such a state. Also, I'm sure your Lancer will be glad to finally finish his duel."
Kayneth laughed. "I don't care what Lancer wants, the servant will do what his master commands him." he didn't notice the glare that Avenger sent him while Lelouch slightly narrowed his eyes. "But I agree. Saber should be eliminated as soon as possible."
"Caster and Saber. Who is next?" asked Sola.
Lelouch was silent for a second before speaking. "Archer." Both Sola and Kayneth froze. Behind him, Avenger clicked her teeth.
"Only seeing him once was enough to see how strong he is," spoke Kayneth."He is, without doubt, one of the most powerful servants in this war."
"Arrogant bastard, that's who he is." hissed Avenger.
Sola-Ui ignored her. "Getting rid of him won't be easy, even with two servants."
"And we don't know anything about him either," commented Kayneth before addressing Lelouch. "What makes you think our alliance will be enough to kill him."
"Well, I won't say we don't know anything about him." started Lelouch. "We can narrow down the identity of his master to two possibilities. Either Matou or Tohsaka family members. So far we haven't seen the master of Archer or Berserker. Three main families always participated in the Grail War and you already met the Einzbern master. We also witnessed how Archer carries himself. Prideful and like my Avenger said arrogant. Calls himself ruler of this land even if it's obvious he isn't from Japan."
"A heroic spirit who was a ruler during his life," whispered Sola-Ui and Lelouch nodded.
"Indeed, while it doesn't give us his true identity, we can at least use his overconfidence against him. As far I know one of your Lancer's spears is able to make a wound that cannot be healed. If we were to unite and go after Archer, this will be essential to weaken him before my Avenger will take him down."
Blonde master narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think your servant will be able to do it, Lamperouge?" Before the former emperor could answer, his servant answered for him with a sly smirk.
"Let's just say that I have what it takes to kill Archer."
"Hmm." Kayneth stayed silent for a minute. Lelouch could see that the master of Lancer was considering the benefits that this could bring. "While working with magi or even magus from an unknown family is below my standards, I can see that you aren't completely useless, Lamperouge." Lelouch just smiled while Avenger clenched her fist.
"My master is anything but useless. I recommend you to not forget it unless you want to meet your ancestors soon." Avenger said darkly. Lelouch would have stopped her but he noticed how Archibald paled while his fiancee slightly smirked.
'He isn't different from Britannian nobles but at least he can see the benefits that this venture can bring to both of us… or the danger that Avenger presents. Fear isn't something I like to use on my allies...but then again it could be useful right now.'
"So what do you think, Lord Archibald?" asked Lelouch. Kayneth coughed into his fist before speaking.
"After some thought, I decided that this alliance is indeed useful. I agree to work with you, Lamperouge." After saying it, he gave out his hand to shake. Lelouch accepted with a pleasing smile. Sola-Ui rolled her eyes until her gaze met Avenger's who winked at her.
"Welcome to the winning team, Lord Archibald. Now that we are officially working together." Lelouch pointed at the entrance of the sewers behind him. "How about we take out the trash?"