FATE\Deus Decipit

Chapter 66: The Ties That Bind

...

Saber stood with all the seriousness he had, marched over to the blinds, peeked through, and tore open the door to reveal a foggy rain, and a strange, pig-like creature sitting on the railing.

The creature gave a mock salute with a stubby hand, "Yo."

Chrysaor's face stained with an uncharacteristic grimace, "What are you-" He glanced back at Monica, and, turning back, spoke with a more restrained voice, "-Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Lancer guffawed, "Huh!? Whaddya mean-" his beady eyes, too, caught the sight of Monica behind the blinds, "Tsk. Oh whatever-" He manifested his rake, spun it, and clacked it against the balcony floor, "Servant, Lancer-oink-, I've come here..."

He sighed, and scratched at the back of his head with his free hand,

"...I've come to ask for help. So, can I come in, please? Maybe with a towel?"

"Absolutely n-"

"Sure," Monica interrupted. She clicked on the light-switch, bathing the room in a cream yellow, "I'll get a towel for you."

As she turned her back to fetch from the closet behind her, she didn't see Saber's grimace, or the tongue Lancer stuck at him in return, before Saber moved to meet his Master halfway, gently taking the towel from her hand and throwing it to Pigsy, who hovered awkwardly in the doorway.

He scrubbed himself dry and hung it around his neck, finally waddling inside, "Thanks. Anyway-"

Saber interrupted, "How did you find us? Where's your Master?"

"Cutting right to the point are we? I guess I should expect that from a Saber. Ugh-" He plopped onto the floor and tapped his nose, "I got your scent and tracked you here -oink-, as for-"

"When? When did you get our scent?"

"C'mon, man! Let me speak at least!"

Monica was conflicted. Lancer's goodwill was clear and undeniable, of this she was certain. Though strange in appearance, his expressions were full of passion, and incapable of disguising even the slightest hints of emotion, whether it was the awkwardness and shame of his arrival, the gratitude towards her, or the frustration at her own Servant's difficulty.

She could relate: Chrysaor's 'sword mode' was infamously stubborn, and she had wondered on several occasions whether there was any reasoning with his neuroticism. Even with that, Lancer was still an enemy, at least theoretically, and so was a threat, no matter how childish in behavior or appearance he seemed. It was improper to dismiss her friend's fears out-of-hand, and it was equally improper to embarrass him in any circumstance.

She went to reach out to him with her mind, which she only assumed was possible, but was distracted by the jostling of a doorknob behind her.

All three, the Master and two Servants, turned to watch as Assassin, Echo, stumbled her way out of the bathroom- completely naked and dripping with water, with her own Master barely visible behind her- soaking in the tub with an innocent expression.

The intense and sudden beauty brought blood to everyone's faces. Chrysaor, ever vigilant, looked away with shame, covering his face with his hands. Monica and Pigsy meanwhile, stared with both confusion and awe, while she, Echo, scanned the room for the source of the odd sounds, finally lingering on the pig before turning to the girl and her Servant for an explanation.

This, it seemed, broke Monica from her trance, and she flustered, closing her eyes, "Everything's fine! Nothing to worry about!"

Echo turned to the pig again, shrugged, and began to fiddle with the doorknob, attempting to close it, despite being clearly unworried about her Master's privacy or her own. The moment, though, lingered far longer than it should have because Echo's arms were wrapped in layers of plastic bags and rubber bands to protect her petrified parts from the water.