-Micheals PoV-
"And thus my pride and dignity are shattered like glass." Micheal groaned as Olivia led him and Jeanne back from their impromptu tour of the Pendragon estate as he guessed that they had to have been gone for at least an hour by that point. The 'garden' as Olivia had put it would have outshone the Tuileries Gardens in the sheer variety of plants growing in it. He was also positive that a good eighty percent of those plants were also used in various magical fields as well. After the garden they had been taken to the stables, training fields, and then shown the various rooms in the house.
"Your 'pride and dignity' can take a little bruising Micheal if thats what it costs to get Amelia and Eleanor at least on speaking terms again." Jeanne said giving him a look, "Although I do wonder what even convinced Eleanor to reach out in the first place."
"Given that you are family, albeit extended, I can at least tell you that much since you have already met the reason." Olivia said glancing behind her as she led them to another part of the house, "Eleanors daughter is… unique. I can't say anything else beyond that but a little over three months ago Alison Pendragon began having dreams…."
Olivia hesitated and came to a stop before turning around to face them directly,
"I would say more but-"
"You'd need us to sign a geass?" Micheal guessed with a knowing smile as the woman nodded.
He glanced at Jeanne and then blew out his cheeks to look at Olivia, "Lets cut through the crap and just get to the heart of the matter then. You've picked up on something involving Jeanne here and whatever you noticed has to do with the dreams the Pendragon Heir apparent was having. Said dreams also lasted roughly twelve days spanning from early to mid November. I am also going to hazard a guess that in said dreams Alison was an "adult version" of herself, hovering around 24 or 25 mentally yet was stuck physically as a 16 year old. That about cover it?"
Olivia stared at him in stunned silence and then looked at Jeanne who raised her eyebrows,
"I…. Excuse me. I need to go…"
Micheal nodded and offered an understanding smile, "Go let Eleanor know that we can explain our side of what her daughter saw."
Olivia nodded quickly, guided them to another guest room, and then just as quickly left them alone. Micheal sat down in a chair as Jeanne sat adjacent to him, crossing her legs and folding her arms to think,
"So…. Do you really think that Alison is 'Artoria'?" She eventually asked after a minute of silence.
"Artoria is still resting within Avalon and she cannot die while she is there so there is no chance that Alison is the reincarnation of King Arthur." He said firmly, "Yet that also doesn't discount that Alison Pendragon saw enough of the war to recognize you in spite of the mystic code. Which means that she knew and saw enough to know who you were off of your appearance alone. The questions I have are if she knows if you're a servant and if there is there is a cutoff in the memories or dreams marking the point where Saber chose to be Darkened."
They sat in silence for a few more minutes lost in their own thoughts until the doors opened and a breathless Eleanor ran into the room,
"You- Micheal Lafaire. Jeanne you fought- How-"
Amelia came running up behind her and gently grabbed the other womans shoulder, "Breathe Eleanor. I'm sure he and Jeanne will be willing to explain everything they can. Right?"
She gave both him and Jeanne a meaningful look causing Micheal to roll his eyes and smile,
"If it helps then I'd be happy to explain anything I can."
Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief and then stood upright,
"Not- Not here. Follow me. I need to tell you-" She glanced at Jeanne, "both of you something."
They got up and he motioned for Eleanor to lead on. They all followed her to a blank wall in the middle of a seemingly random hallway and as she tapped her heel on the ground the wall shimmered revealing a set of iron doors. Micheal blinked as he felt the immense bounded fields coming off of the doors while Jeanne shifted a bit where she was standing as she glared at the doors,
"Normally I'd have you both sign a geass to keep anything you'd see in here secret," She turned around to look at them both folding her arms, "But since one of you doesn't use circuits and the other isn't truly human I don't see how it would even be enforced."
Micheal nodded, not surprised that she had noticed either him or Jeanne, "Then how about I swear on the Lafaire name that neither of us will speak of what we see. Would that work?"
Eleanor thought about it and then nodded, "A contract of a different sort then. Fine."
"I'll wait up here then for you all to get back." Amelia said, "I'd love to get a look at your cookbooks."
Eleanor smiled and then looked at Olivia, "Let Amelia peruse the books in the kitchen for as long as she wants."
Olivia nodded and walked off as Amelia followed her. After they had turned the corner she looked back at the two of them,
"Alright then. You two are the first and only outsiders to be allowed into this area. Alison doesn't even know this door exists or... at least I hope she doesn't."
"I'm betting money that not only does she know but she's tried to open the doors." Jeanne said smugly as Eleanor gave her a withering look.
"Anyway," She turned around and pushed on the doors with both hands causing them to vanish showing a stone staircase leading down that was lit by torches, "Follow me. We need to get to the bottom area. Please… don't touch anything. For your own safety. I just started mending my relationship with Amelia and-"
"We won't touch anything." Micheal promised.
Eleanor nodded and led them down the stairs. They walked down for what felt like a hundred meters before they were faced with another set of doors. Eleanor pushed these open normally and Micheal blinked at the mana in the room. He stepped inside and looked around before his gaze landed on what he could only describe as a pink frilly tutu. He stopped stone dead and Eleanor followed his gaze only to let out a groan,
"Don't ask. Please. Just… Don't."
Micheal arched an eyebrow but said nothing as he looked around. As he wandered the room his brow furrowed before he turned back to Eleanor,
"Okay. So where's the real vault?"
Jeanne had been looking at a set of gilded short spears but turned around at this,
"Micheal. What do you mean? There clearly isn't anything more than this."
"The Pendragons have been around since before the Lafaires, Jeanne. There is no way in hell this is everything. Caliburn, Rhongomyniad, Excaliburs sheathe, and who knows what else. I wouldn't be surprised if they had something related to Albion given the Arthurian legend. Everything I just listed would be powerful enough on its own to dwarf everything in here seven times over. So this is obviously a decoy vault."
Eleanor looked at him with raised eyebrows as her lips twitched up into a small smile,
"Consider my opinion of you raised Micheal. Most people would assume that this is it."
"Most people are fucking stupid." Micheal groused causing Jeanne to snort with laughter as Eleanor huffed a single laugh as well,
"Indeed."
Eleanor said and walked over to where a stone dais was sitting on top of a giant rug. When she got next to it she snapped her fingers and the dias slid backwards off the rug as if it was on wheels followed her kneeling down and lifting the rug under which was a seemingly normal wooden trap door. She grabbed the ring handle mounted in it and looked up at them as they both came over,
"This-" She lifted the trap door and Micheals hair was physically blown back as a pressure wave of mana shot out, "Is the real vault."
Eleanor began to walk down the stairs and as she walked wall mounted torches lit up with blue flames on the walls. Micheal and Jeanne followed her and with every step the mana got more and more dense until finally they reached the bottom and stopped in front of another iron door that had an ornate lock on it.
Jeanne tapped Micheals shoulder and he leaned down to hear her as Eleanor was trying to find the key,
"This mana density. Remind you of anything?" Jeanne whispered.
Micheal frowned and then looked at her understanding dawning on his face,
"Our mystery man." He whispered back
Jeanne nodded and leaned away as Eleanor found the key and unlocked the door. As the door opened the mana density easily tripled as it felt like Micheal was standing in front of a hurricane which he braced himself against until it finally faded. He blinked and walked into the Pendragon vault while letting out a low whistle. Jeanne wasn't far off behind him and she started speaking in Old French as her golden eyes tracked over everything in the room.
"The reason I brought both of you here, besides getting some answers about my daughters dreams, is for another reason." Eleanor said striding past both of them and walking past the various glass cases lining the walls. Micheal refocused and began to follow her only to stop halfway down as he felt something pull on him.
"Micheal?" Jeanne asked concerned, causing Eleanor to turn around while he walked over to a glass display box. He stood in front of the box as ringing began in his ears and he could vaguely hear the sounds of war. Inside the box were several shards of metal that seemed to shine from within. Before he knew it he had begun to reach out to open the box only for Jeanne to grab his wrist. He blinked and realized what he was about to do, yanking his hand back, about to apologize to Eleanor who only walked over to look at the box and then at him clearly thinking,
"Interesting…. Micheal. Whats the name of the divine construct you have?"
Micheal blinked, surprised,
"Blessed Hellfire? Why-"
He felt his body absorb mana from the air alongside both his holy energy and hellfire briefly flickering to life as they channelled themselves into making the pistol burst into existence. He quickly grabbed it and breathed a sigh of relief at having caught it before glaring at it,
"...It seems to be quite unruly." Eleanor said narrowing her eyes at the weapon.
"You don't know the half of it." Micheal grumbled, "At least it follows mine and Jeannes directions."
Eleanor blinked and looked at Jeanne who nodded,
"It was forged using both my and Micheals mana. We were almost killed in the process but someone or something saved us right as we were about to be drained dry."
Eleanor looked back at the pistol with renewed interest,
"...We can come back to this. Follow me."
She began to walk back to where she was before. Micheal and Jeanne followed her over to a tall glass box that contained something that seemed completely ordinary at first glance while also being too small to warrant a case that big,
"Is that… a dagger?" Jeanne asked tilting her head as Eleanor nodded,
"Caliburn, whos shards you were drawn to earlier Micheal, was known as the Sword of Selection and is known famously as the sword King Arthur drew from the stone which then led to his eventual reign. It was shattered in battle which lead to Arthur going to the lady of the lake to receive Excalibur. Excalibur is, naturally, the most famous of the three weapons Arthur wielded with the second being Rhongomyniad which is what he used to fell the Traitor Knight Mordred. As for the third weapon…."
Eleanor reached up and flipped a latch on the case allowing it to swing open on its own. Micheal immediately felt the mana pouring off of the weapon. Its handle was white pearl inlaid with silver while the blade seemed to be made of jagged green crystal. Overall its was more of a short sword than a dagger and he could tell from looking at it that it was made to fulfill the same function that a parrying dagger would in that it was meant to be used in the off hand.
He also knew the name of the weapon despite it being the first time he ever saw it,
"...Carnwennan."
Eleanor blinked and slowly looked at him as if studying him. After a few seconds Micheal sighed and looked at her,
"I don't think it will accept me Eleanor if thats what you're angling for. As for Jeanne…" He looked at her and silently asked for permission to talk about what she was. Jeanne shook her head and looked at the dagger,
"The only reason I can use Blessed Hellfire is because, for whatever reason, it took in my mana alongside Micheals. Given…. what I am I don't see any divine construct trying to contract with me."
Eleanor's shoulders sank and she closed the case,
"Can't say it wasn't worth a shot. No one else has been able to contract with it the entire time we've had the damn thing." She muttered probably not intending either of them to hear her, "Going back to what Jeanne said about her mana being used for forging Blessed Hellfire leads me to several questions but first..."
Micheal had been looking around the vault but looked at Eleanor who wore a pained expression. She sighed and looked at him,
"I should explain the other main reason I brought you here. Last November Alison began having dreams. Dreams of being an "Adult but not adult" version of herself as you so excellently put it. At first I wrote it off as nothing more than a childs overactive imagination but the more she told me the more I realized that it was too detailed to be mere dreams. So I had her keep a diary of what she saw in her dreams and asked her to draw anything she found she couldn't describe. Over the next 12 days the dreams became more… dark. I like to think that I raised Alison in a bright happy home, magus or not, but what she drew…."
Eleanor trailed off as if she couldn't continue speaking. She shook herself and firmed her jaw,
"She wrote about and drew many things. However there was at first one and then two constants throughout them all. Two people who looked exactly like you. A man with blonde hair that turned to black hair with white streaks….as well as-
"A woman who looks like me." Jeanne finished tiredly as Eleanor nodded.
"What- Whats happening to my daughter?"
Micheal looked at Jeanne who nodded,
"First thing out of the way: King Arthur was not a man. She was a woman and her name was Artoria Pendragon." Jeanne stated folding her arms and looking around the vault, "Your daughter is a miniature version of her. Right down to the cowlick."
Eleanor opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. She closed it with a snap and motioned Jeanne to continue speaking,
"We fought both together and against each other in the 4th Holy Grail war and while I can't say for sure what Artoria, and by extension your daughter, saw, I can speak assuredly on what we both saw and did… as well as how I killed the King of Knights after she was Darkened by the Cursed Grail."
Eleanor listened intently as Jeanne described what had happened over those twelve days stopping only so Micheal could describe specific events from his point of view.
"….At the very end I killed Artoria with my version of Blessed Hellfire while she was still able to be herself."
Eleanor was silent for several seconds only to start laughing. Micheal looked at Jeanne concernedly as the other woman eventually quieted down,
"This… explains so much. Alison is-"
"She isn't King Arthur. You of all people should know this." Micheal said firmly, "King Arthur is still resting in Avalon. Emphasis on resting. As in not dead. In order for Alison to be the reincarnation of Artoria, then something must have happened in Avalon to cause her to die, and I'd rather not even consider what could manage that in an eternal paradise."
Eleanor sighed and then glanced at Carnwennan as if thinking,
"There's…. a third reason why I brought you both down here and thats because I was hoping to get your thoughts on something that happened… after the last and final dream Alison had."
Micheal glanced at Jeanne who had firmed her jaw as Eleanor continued,
"The last dream Alison had was of Jeanne killing 'her' with a weapon that she didn't or wasn't able to understand. The following day at precisely 6:34am every object in this room began emitting mana as though they had all been activated at the same time. I ran down here to try and figure out what was going on as well as contain what I could when I… began to hallucinate. Whether what I saw was real or a side effect of being exposed to that much mana I don't know but I remember what I saw clear as day."
She looked at the back wall which had a giant fabric map of the English Isles on it. It was an old map Micheal noticed as he read the signed date on it being sometime in the 7th century AD. He watched as Eleanor walked over to the map and gingerly touched the wall behind it,
"What I saw was…. The stones that made this wall were pulled apart but instead of what should have been behind the stones there was a tunnel. I watched unable to move as six women who weren't human walked by me all carrying an open coffin. Inside of the coffin laying on a bed of flowers was what I thought was my daughter as a teenager. As I tried to follow them the back of the cave opened up and beyond it was a massive field of flowers with a rosy pink sky. Then… I heard a voice coming from Carnwennen. A voice that was both human and not, that said something I haven't been able to get out of my head since I heard it."
Eleanor paused and took a step back from the wall to look up at the very top of the map where a single word was sewn into it. Micheal followed her gaze and looked up to read it his eyes widening as he read the word "Avalon". He looked back at Eleanor Pendragon who had turned to face them again,
"'The Eleventh Saint and Dragon Witch
Both victors of a holy war with which
They obtained a wish both dearly sought
and escaped unscathed, against their Fate they fought.
They must enter Paradise before a years end
Lest the wheel of Fate be cracked and bend
Their journey is not yet done for their might and valour
Is still needed to save the world from a Fate most dour.'"
Micheal stayed silent as he remembered back to what 'Artoria' had told him to do at the cafe.
Once is weird and can be written off. The fact I have been told to go to Avalon twice now….
Although this is the first time I'm hearing of something happening if we don't go there….
"I… have no idea what it means," Eleanor said frustratedly, "I've looked through every record in the Pendragon Archives, every account of every legend I could think of, and none of them match what I heard or read even if the rhyming scheme matches the classical Arthurian Legend."
Micheal considered telling Eleanor about the 'Artoria' who told him to the same thing in the cafe when Amelia came running down into the vault clearly worried,
"Its Alison."
Was all she said.
Eleanor shot ahead having reinforced her legs to go back up to the house's main floor. Jeanne turned on her heel about to follow when Micheal grabbed her shoulder. She turned to look at him over her shoulder with a mixed expression as he let go,
"Did… you sense anything from Carnwennan when Eleanor opened the case?
-Jeannes PoV-
Jeanne paused and turned around fully to look from Micheal to the dagger. She blew out her cheeks and looked at Micheal who was standing there looking nervous. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. She opened her eyes,
"No I didn't but if you did then we can talk about this later. We need to help Eleanor."
She turned on her heel and dashed off using a bit of Mana to make her faster as she far outpaced Micheal. She reached the fake vault and heard an explosion from above her causing her to swear and use more mana to sprint back up to the main floor of the house right in time to see a giant red beam of light swing down into the ground of the training yard with a thunderous boom carving a trench into the lawn.
She glanced behind her and bit her lip as she thought about waiting for Micheal but she felt more of that all too familiar mana and was moving before she could second guess herself. She jumped at one of the windows, tucking herself into a ball, and crashed through the glass. She rolled out of the landing and equipped her armor all within the same motion as her combat sense screamed at her causing her to quickly dash to the side to avoid being slashed by Alison.
She landed and quickly took stock of what was happening in the few seconds she had before the kid could swing her sword again. Alison had gone from looking like a normal mini-Artoria to a mini version of the one she had fought at the civic center. Alison swung at her again with what looked like a wooden practice sword but had clearly been turned lethal. Jeanne sidestepped around the strike, grabbed Alisons arm, lifted and swung her around her head, and then threw her into the distance to crash through a weapon rack.
"Don't kill her! Please Jeanne! I'm begging you!"
Eleanor cried, sitting upright and staring horrified at the ruins of the weapon rack. Jeanne glanced at her and saw the blood coming from her arm.
Flesh wound then. As for Olivia….
She quickly scanned the area and saw that Olivia was out cold in front of an oak tree that she had clearly been thrown into. She narrowed her eyes, about to move to check when a spear flew past her. Jeanne turned her attention back to the child in front of her and narrowed her eyes at the sneer on her face as she stood atop of the scattered weapons from the armor rack.
Alison grabbed another spear, arched her arm back, and threw it at Jeanne who raised her hand, snapped her fingers, and burnt the spear to ash in mid air only for her eyes to widen as the kid crashed into her armored corset shoulder first knocking her back at least ten meters. She caught herself by summoning and planting her flagspear into the ground then using her remaining momentum to swing around on it to land further away from Alison and closer to Eleanor,
"Whats happening to her!?"
"Fuck if I know but if I had to guess-"
Three gunshots rang out and the response from Alison was immediate. She reflexively dodged in a way that no child should be able to and then raised her sword at Micheal as he slightly lowered the barrel of Blessed Hellfire: Fusil from where he was standing behind the window that Jeanne had crashed through earlier.
He aimed again as she took the distraction while Eleanor screamed Alisons name thinking that Micheal had shot her.
No way in hell he would ever shoot a kid so calm your tits Eleanor.
Jeanne thought as she planted her feet and angled her hands behind her. She begin to gather and condense fire into her palms that she rotated and reangled as she increased the amount of fire she was containing in her hands. She glanced at Micheal who nodded, immediately understanding what she was going to try and do. He got Alisons attention again by firing more shots from his rifle as Jeanne further concentrated her hellfire in her palms. She felt herself begin to be pushed forward but she dug in her heels, gritting her teeth and ignoring how doing this spiked her body temperature.
I have one shot at this. If that really is the Darkened Artoria possessing Alison then if I miss she'll adapt and I won't have another chance.
Sweat fell down the side of Jeannes face as she further concentrated her flames as she felt her body tempature continue to climb…
She waited…..
and waited....
Alison dodged another shot that was never meant to hit, stepped to her left, and her foot landed on the shaft of a spear. Micheal had been slowly leading her back towards the pile and her leg went out from under her as she slipped on the haft of the weapon and began to fall.
"NOW!!" Micheal yelled and Jeanne uncapped her flames. She shot forward, instantly cracking the sound barrier, and crossed the distance between herself and Alison in under a quarter of a second. She immediately tackled Alison, wrapping her arms around the kid, tucking her against her chest, and curling into a ball around her as Jeanne bounced along the length of the Pendragons backyard, went clean through a giant wheel of straw, and then landed in the lake at the far end of the estates property resulting in a truly massive plume of water.
A few seconds later Jeanne had her head above water and she was swimming with one arm as she was carrying an unconscious Alison in her other arm. She made it to the shore and staggered up the loose soil as she felt every single bounce on top of the impact of hitting the water as fast as she did in every muscle and bone of her body.
She dropped to her knees, twisting her body as she fell forward so that Alison wouldn't be harmed, and felt her consciousness slip as she hit the soil.
_____
"-nne?"
What…..
"-eanne!?"
Why is there dirt in my mouth…..
Jeannes eyes snapped open and she sat upright causing her forehead to collide with Micheals who swore and fell backwards as he yelled in pain. She rubbed her head with her fingers and looked around seeing that she was at the lake's edge her worry and anxiety spiking,
"Where's Alison!? Micheal-"
"Jeanne Alter please calm down. Alison is fine."
Jeanne froze on the spot as she heard the voice of someone she had killed. She slowly turned her head to see Alison standing upright and giving her a very Artoria-esque look of mild concern. Jeanne reflexively flared her mana only for 'Alison' to raise her hands,
"Alison is fine Jeanne D'Arc Alter! I am not- I am me! Just-"
"I killed you. I blew a hole through your chest and took your head clean off." Jeanne ground out as she slowly stood up, "And now you have the gall to possess a child."
'Alison' winced in the same way Artoria did with further incensed Jeanne as she ground her teeth together. Suddenly like someone flipped a switch Alison was back and looking at her with pleading eyes,
"Please don't be mad at Miss Artoria! I'm fine! See!"
Jeanne's anger screeched to a halt and she felt her mouth fall open as Alison continued,
"Look. Miss Artoria said she needed to apologize to both of you and since I was watching the war through her eyes I was naturally linked to her real self in Avalon. She's still sleeping but she remembers everything from when she was summoned. Would you please hear her out?"
By this point Eleanor and a clearly dazed Olivia had caught up and the Pendragon matriarch was staring at her daughter with a mixture of horror and fear,
"Alison… then those dreams-"
"Weren't dreams no. They were really things that happened. Just- Let Artoria explain. Please?"
Alison gave both her and Eleanor big puppy dog eyes which only made Jeanne narrow her eyes and cross her arms,
"Thats not up to me. Thats up to Eleanor. What I want to do is rip Artoria out of your body and use her as kindling."
Alison paused as if listening to something,
"She says thats fine but to please hear her out first."
Jeanne blinked and stared in disbelief,
"She…. She's fine with me going to Avalon… and killing her."
Eleanor looked at Jeanne sharply as Alison nodded,
"If thats what you think she needs to do to atone for what she did then she is ready."
Jeanne groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose,
"Lets… not do that if at all possible."
Jeanne turned to look at Micheal who had walked forward and knelt to Alisons eye level,
"I agree with you needing to atone for what you did but I don't think dying is the way to do that."
Alison's posture shifted and Artorias voice came out,
"Micheal Lafaire….." she glanced at Jeanne who had narrowed her eyes again, "I thank you for your understanding. I… would like to be able to leave Avalon at some point… and truly see the world in the modern day…. if possible."
"Okay… Might need something stronger than what I had earlier." Eleanor muttered as she turned to look at her daughter narrowing her eyes,
"King Arthur. I would appreciate if you… swapped with my daughter for now. I realize that you need to apologize to Jeanne and Micheal but…"
Artoria nodded,
"Indeed. As long as I am given the ability to do so I do not mind."
"What are the odds of you turning into your Darkened self again Saber?"
Jeanne asked as neutrally as she could causing Artoria to visibly wince,
"That is…. something else I need to explain and apologize for. It won't happen again. You have my word."
Jeanne looked at Eleanor who had a mixture of pain and worry on her face. She glanced at her and she nodded signaling that it was fine.
"Alright then. Normally for royalty we'd bring out fine wine and spirits but…. I'm afraid you'll have to settle for juice boxes."
Artoria nodded as her posture shifted again signaling that Alison was back in control. She grinned at all of them with wonder in her eyes as she jumped in place,
"This is so cool. I have the actual King Arthur hanging out in my head!"
Eleanor's lips twitched at her daughters excitement but motioned for them all to follow her as she led them back to the estate.
####
"Okay so," Eleanor said after taking a large gulp of her fourth gin and tonic, "Let me get this straight: You, Artoria Pendragon, are King Arthur yet are a woman. Nothing else in your legend or what you did during the 4th Holy Grail War is made up or altered?"
"Correct." Artoria said sipping from a juice box as Jeanne had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. Artoria clearly noticed because she gave her the stink eye before looking back Eleanor,
"First question then: How the hell was Mordred conceived then? I'm pretty sure you didn't have the… equipment at any point in your life for that."
Amelia spit her drink as Micheal choked on his biscuit while Artoria's face flit from anger to depression to resigned acceptence,
"Merlin. Is that a good enough answer?"
The King said bluntly, clearly eager to move on. Eleanor nodded which surprised Jeanne as she expected more pushback.
Given that Micheal and I are supposed to go to Avalon I really should read-
Jeanne blinked as she realized something,
"Artoria… how would one get to Avalon in the modern day?"
This time it was King of Knights turn to have some malfunction with food as she choked on her juice box,
"Why would you need to go there?" She asked hoarsely, "I hope its not to actually follow through on your threat to kill me Jeanne."
She shook her head and looked at Micheal and then Eleanor. The woman nodded at her while Micheal just blew out his cheeks,
"Twice now Micheal and I have been told we need to go to Avalon. One time you don't remember and the other time was a few hours ago."
"Why... wouldn't I remember this? When did it happen?" Artoria asked confused. Jeanne raised her eyebrows at Micheal who groaned as she passed the baton to him,
"Remember at the cafe meeting where we discussed if the grail might be cursed with Waver and Rider…. and the thing that totally didn't happen to you…. totally didn't happen?"
Artoria's eye twitched,
"Of course not but if it did then what could have happened?" She asked neutrally after a few seconds.
"So in this entirely imaginary scenario, again totally imaginary, you got your pancakes, went limp, and then someone or something possessed you, turned your eyes blue, and then told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to go to Avalon before letting you, again in this totally hypothetical scenario, fall face forward into your pancakes giving you an incredibly comical whipped cream beard and maple syrup tear trails."
Artoria nodded, accepting the way this was presented.
"You specifically said someone or 'something'. What do you mean by that?" Artoria asked quietly after a few seconds as Jeanne noticed an emotion flit across the kings face. An emotion she knew all too well:
Regret.
"It… well…" Micheal said hesitating and looking at his mom and her. Jeanne widened her eyes as she realized what he was trying to say.
His mana now has an almost identical feeling to whoever possessed Artoria back then which means….
"Artoria. You mentioned that you had concerns about Micheals lineage based off his family name correct?"
Jeanne felt Micheals and Amelias stares but she firmed her jaw and stared at the King of Knights. Artoria for her part sensed the shift in the conversation and quickly looked at both Micheal and his mother before finally looking back at her,
"I…. do. I also remember Micheal brushing it off as nothing worth mentioning."
A few seconds passed,
"Eleanor… does Alison know how to sense mana yet?"
"Not… properly no. She knows the basics of extending her 6th sense to be able to sense it but…. Why?"
Micheal grimaced and summoned Blessed Hellfire. He began to dissasemble it placing each part in a specific spot onto the coffee table between them all with practiced ease. When he slid the slide off Artoria stiffened in Alisons body like she had before,
"You said you sensed Avalon from my Divine Construct remember?"
"I do. Why?"
"Mom can I…?"
Amelia blew out her cheeks and folded her arms,
"Screw it." She finally said, "Its not like it ever worked before then. Artoria. You might have noticed Micheals physical changes."
"I have. He looks incredibly handsome now."
Eleanor coughed as she sipped her drink while Micheal's face turned red. Jeanne narrowed her eyes at Artoria and then blinked,
Am I… jealous?
She shook her head as Amelia thankfully got the conversation back on track,
"ANYWAY." she said forcefully, "I want you to look at his eyes."
Artoria got off the sofa and walked over to stand in front of Micheal. After a few seconds she inhaled sharply,
"You… You have Faerie Eyes but- How- When-"
"What do you mean Micheal has Faerie Eyes? Faeries should only exist on the Other Side along with all the other phantasmals." Eleanor asked sharply,
"Yes. However you forgot that one faerie in particular survived the end of Arthurian Legend and even is mentioned in parts of Charlamanges reign and legend." Amelia said sighing and massaging her temple with her fingers,
"Morgan…" Artoria hissed under her breath as she took a step away from Micheal, "I fail to see how Micheal and her are relate-"
Artoria froze and looked at Amelia who inhaled and glanced at Eleanor,
"So….The Lafaire side of the family can be traced all the way back to King Charlemagnes reign. As such we have lots of items from the 8th century… including Morgan Le Fays Water Mirror. Which up until recently we believed to be entirely and utterly broken."
"You've had Morgans water mirror rotting away in your basement." Eleanor said accusingly as Amelia rolled her eyes.
"And you have Arondight in your vault despite Lancelot being French. Shush."
"okay but…. what do you mean 'until recently'. What happened?" Artoria asked.
"Artoria… how much do you remember after being Darkened?" Jeanne asked quietly.
"…..All of it." the King muttered, "I remember all of it."
Her eyes widened and she looked at Jeanne horrified as Jeanne sighed and leaned back into her chair,
"Wait. When… you brought Micheal back-"
"Not all of him came back. No. I'm sure you've noticed his mana and utter lack of circuits. On top of that he also lost his origin and his eyesight in addition to his mystic eyes."
"The fact I came back as myself at all I consider a miracle. in and of itself." Micheal said glancing at Jeanne as she pointedly avoided looking at him, "However despite not having circuits I can, in fact, cast spells and perform basic magecraft. I draw mana in from outside of myself just like-"
"Just like a faerie…" Artoria said looking back at Micheal, "How does this… tie into the Water Mirror then?"
"Morgan le Fay is also known as the woman with three faces correct?" Amelia asked as Eleanor and Artoria both nodded, "Well while we were down in our 'basement' Micheal, while fully blind, had walked to stand directly in front of it. Jeanne and I found him there...and we all saw something entirely different reflected in its surface."
"The mirror… only worked when Morgan was using it though! How could it show-" Eleanor said only to freeze.
"Remember… Before Amelia was a Lafaire she was your sister Eleanor. The Lafaires obviously had some contact with Morgan le Fay given they have her water mirror. Its not out of the realm of possibility that Morgan did something to have one of any number of descendents on either the Pendragon side or the Lafaire side be able to inherit her blood directly."
Jeanne said matter of factly and everyone fell into silence.
"Micheal… What did you see in the mirror?" Eleanor eventually asked.
"I… Saw a shattered and broken throne. I was wearing black, purple, and gold draconic armor with a white and black sword. Behind the throne was the open sky which was blood red."
Jeanne saw Eleanor look at her,
"I… Saw a woman with white blue hair and eyes identical in color to Micheals current eyes. She was reclining on a throne and clearly thinking with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes, smiled at me, and waved causing the vision to vanish."
She said as Amelia finished with what she had seen,
"I saw a massive field of flowers with a blonde woman sitting in it and a sky with a perpetual sunrise. In the distance there was a tall stone tower."
Artoria looked at Jeanne, her face concerned, "Jeanne was there anything else about the woman you can remember off the top of your head? Anything at all? Her clothes, accessories, anything."
Jeanne closed her eyes and thought back to what she had seen as she focused,
"Her hair… was in a ponytail tied up with a black ribbon while she was wearing….white and blue robes….."
She furrowed her brow trying to remember more only for the memory to suddenly start moving in her mind. She froze as the woman stood up and walked over to where her eyesight was as she summoned a pitch black staff that was shot through with dark blue.
"Interesting… a servant that can peer across timelines…"
Jeanne watched unable to move as the woman reached out to caress her cheek as she stared into all too familiar yet alien ice blue eyes,
"Maybe its due to your connection with my heir along with the three of you activating my other self's water mirror…. Maybe not. Either way, I think you've done enough snooping for now."
The woman raised her other hand in front of Jeannes eyes and flicked her in the forehead with a finger.
Jeanne was suddenly blown backwards through her chair and smashed into the wall behind her cratering it and knocking the breath out of her as she felt ribs crack. She fell out of the wall and landed on one knee as she panted feeling her grail core working overtime to heal what had been done to her.
What-
"Jeanne! What happened?!"
She glanced up at Micheal as he ran over and knelt beside her, into those same blue eyes as the woman but filled with concern instead of detached interest, and briefly wondered what he saw with them,
"She knows. Morgan le Fay is alive… and she knows about Micheal."