The Queen of Shadows

Chapter 24: Never Going Back Again (Part 2)

"It appears those two are just as stubborn as ever..." Jekyll deadpanned as he and Emiya met up in his quarters to discuss their progress of getting Arturia and Mordred to reconcile... or lack thereof. The Assassin was sitting upright on his bed while the Archer stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking quite pessimistic.

"Tell me about it, doc," said Emiya. "I really thought my talk with Arturia would get her to see reason."

Jekyll drops his gaze slightly. He and Emiya had disclosed to each other their "talks" with their respective Sabers. The Assassin himself thought the same as the Archer when it came to his one-on-one with Mordred, only to be proven as wistful thinking on his part same as Emiya. Jekyll should have not once thought for a second that just that one trading of words would have done anything immediate. The Assassin sighs with mild exasperation before sharing his thoughts with Emiya.

"Watching how the two of them performed today, I'd say Her Highness is simply avoiding any conflict with Mordred. She didn't even confront her after she was accidently struck by Mordred's attack."

"Mordred did not even check on her afterwards," Emiya reminds the doctor. "It would've gone a long way if she simply apologized or asked if Arturia was okay..."

Jekyll sighs again, this time more solemnly. Emiya could tell with a sideways glance that the Assassin was at a loss of what to do from here.

"Then it seems Mordred is being standoffish too," Jekyll affirms. "She doesn't want trouble like the day before."

"Avoidance is getting those two absolutely nowhere," Emiya stated bluntly before adding, "And I thought my younger self was a hardcase..."

"Is that right?" Jekyll casually asked, needing a momentary break from deliberating about Arturia and Mordred. "Come to think of it, you have been in the same Holy Grail War as Her Highness, and your younger self was her master."

"He sure was," Emiya says nostalgically. "Or rather, I sure was..."

The Archer then adds with an almost regretful expression:

"And I was more than eager to kill the kid before he tasted what true hopelessness felt like..."

Jekyll was intrigued, not knowing much about the Archer as a Heroic Spirit.

"Well, that would have been just been paradoxical, wouldn't you agree?"

"Perhaps," Emiya said with a shrug. "I was secretly hoping to just talk him out of following the same path I did. But when he wouldn't listen, stubbornly refusing to believe nothing good comes out just doing things for the sake of justice alone, I tried beating the truth into him. That only made things worse..."

Jekyll was fascinated. He had some idea of what it how it would feel to be at odds with oneself, albeit in his case not as literal as Emiya confronting his younger self. Edward Hyde was the physical manifestation of vices and desires that Jekyll himself had suppressed for most of his life. Hyde's desires and propensity for violence conflicted with Jekyll's sense of morality, and that conflict came to a grim conclusion. Thinking back on how Hyde was first created, Jekyll shared solemnly with Emiya:

"We all see things as black and white when we're young, Mr. Emi- no... Shirou."

The Archer turns his head to look at the Assassin, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience yourself, doc."

"You would not be wrong to assume such," Jekyll admits. "Psychology is not the most "exact" of sciences..."

Emiya's face fell slightly, picking up the implication behind Jekyll's words. Deciding against divulging into the Assassin's experiences, the Archer continues: