"Mash, you did well!" Ritsuka cheered as they finally seemed to get a minor victory "How did you become a Servant?"
"We'll set aside those questions for later." Olga piped up, before looking at Keziah, "Do you have any other allies you could get to help us? I'm hoping you're not a complete dead end…"
Keziah slowly nodded "It's not gonna let you leave. At least not yet." She quietly gestured to follow her, causing all of them to go into a deeper part of the forest, following the now silent and stalwart Servant.
"I'm surprised that she's not shouting at her anymore…" Rika muttered, while Ritsuka sighed.
"She's trying to get the help of a woman who can hold her own against a demon who could quite literally take several grown adults out just by showing up. Frankly, even if Mash could defend her… she'd probably just want to just… leave by now. Let's not make her life harder than we already have."
"I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW!" the aforementioned Director shouted, already beyond tired by the whole experience.
"...You're sure that this will lead us to an ally?" Irenaeus questioned, trying to maintain some semblance of sense in a world that seems to be vanishingly decreasing in it. Between superhumans from history, and world saving plots, this was shaping to be the weirdest day of his life. Keziah turned briefly, solely to nod, turning her head back in front, eyes hyperfocused as if– jackpot.
Finally, as if their meager fortune was finally turning around, they happened upon a young woman in a gothic suit of armor combined with a dress and a visor of some sort covering her face to finish the ensemble, which was completely decked out in all black.
"Saber…. I brought some allies…" Keziah looked somewhat meekly at the knight-like woman, like a kid afraid to speak to an adult about the problem they're having. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting…"
"I take it that they're to help? Where are they from?" Saber said, to which Olga filled them in on the greater details of Chaldea and what it was and what exactly led up to that current moment… including the fact that the current Masters weren't mages and were essentially Masters in name only
Saber turned to Keziah, looking and sounding unimpressed with her, "You couldn't have hurried up?" And from the looks of things…" She sneered, looking at Mash. "You also failed at protecting a defenseless person on top of it."
"I'm sorry…" she responded, with the demeanor of a kicked puppy
"....No. Don't mind it." Saber shook her head and sighed, seemingly resigned to the situation. "So, which of you are Masters?"
Rika and Irenaeus simply revealed their Command Seals to her with hesitance on both their faces, but much more readily evident on Irenaeus' face. Meanwhile, Keziah had taken notice that Olga and Rika were both horrifically defenseless themselves on a battlefield. Olga could at least try to hold on for a while or at least try to help direct them, so she could at least be fine without one, but Rika seemed to look at her brother wistfully.
'He's being left out… if nothing else, maybe… he should…'
"Saber….I don't wanna bother you too much, but can you form a contract with either of the two others, please?" Keziah asked, still somewhat meek in her presence. "I know you've been made to do a lot for me already, but please, just one more favor?"
"Hmph. That woman made me play babysitter and now I've got to help an inexperienced Master..." Saber muttered, before acquiescing, a slight grin on her face as she saw both the Fujimarus and Mash. "Very well, then. Which one, the dark-haired one or the white-haired one?"
"...Let Ritsuka take the contract," Olga muttered.
Saber smirked as Ritsuka held his arm out. Unlike the others, his was instantaneous and he wound up with a set of tattoos similar to Rika's, only slightly different.
"I assume that you explained the situation to our friends here?" Saber raised an eyebrow to Keziah who looked down, further embarrassed. "... Alright, then. We were only two Servants brought here, seeing as this is effectively a minor Singularity. Or at least it seemed to be."
"What do you mean?" Olga became as white as a sheet, in spite of fully understanding the implications
Saber scoffed, her voice not growing any kinder, "I'm sure you all know that by now, that abomination wasn't supposed to be here. Ordinarily, something as simple as the usage of my Noble Phantasm would've been more than enough for such a paltry affair."
"So why not use it? Was it a mana problem?"
"No. I had to humor this one's request." Saber answered, pointing to Keziah, who looked rather sheepish and embarrassed
"Any specific reason why she did this? She just seems…."
"Incredibly suspicious? Potentially working towards your own demise? Your concerns are understandable, but… circumstances ensured that things had to happen this way."
Ritsuka piped up, seeming to further connect the dots. "Sorry, but a Noble Phantasm… that's like a super move of some kind, right?"
Olga's eyes widened, as she heard the succinct and yet… not wholly inaccurate remark. …Something really was off about these two. And the fact that they didn't seem too put off by all of this…
Mash replied, "It's the embodiment of a Servant's legend. Usually it could take the form of a weapon, or even just an abstract technique."
Ritsuka spoke up once more, "Like Yamato Takeru and the Kusanagi?"
"Yes, like that."
'Nope… Nope. Nice try. You're hiding something…' Olga thought, but deciding to keep her tongue held. 'Not now… not when I can't prove it…'
"What kind of servant are you, what about your own Noble Phantasm?"
"I'm a Shielder."
"So is that shield a Noble Phantasm?"
"Yes, but… it's not being used at its full potential…" Olga sighed, while Mash just stood there, seeming nonplussed by that.
Saber grunted and seemed to keep her smirk. "Hmph. Don't pay it too much mind for now. This Alter Ego over here can't use hers well anyway."
"WHAT?!" Olga shrieked. "I can understand Mash, but how can a full-fledged Servant not be able to use her own Noble Phantasm?!"
Saber's terse demeanor cracked, giving way to dry amusement as she smirked and turned to Irenaeus, "You there, who has had the luck of becoming this Alter Ego's Master, you have quite a unique Servant on your hands."
"How come?" Irenaeus asked, his voice trembling, knees struggling not to give in at the fact that he was now the main topic of focus
Olga rubbed her own temples, simply exasperated with all that had occurred up till this moment, "Why, pray tell, does-"
Before she could finish her question, they all noticed the fiendish animal that had been harassing them twice before and in an attempt to finish the job it started, it lunged towards them and had its sights set on Keziah