"So, do we have any info on this guy?"
"He leads an army of Servants and wields a spear. He calls himself the rightful king of Rome. In short... he's the Grand Lancer, Remus."
"Remus? The brother of our great founder?"
"So it seems."
"And who are our allies supposed to be?"
"The Fusion Point consolidated after the defeat of our agents, so information about it is murky; however, it seems to be a great palace. They've been holding back the advance for a bit, but now Remus and his army are getting closer and closer to their headquarter. If nothing is done, I foresee that in less than two months our enemy will prevail."
"Heavens!"
"So we need to get there as soon as possible!"
"That's enough, Lion King, you can rest."
The older Artoria shut off the projection and sat back down, stretching her body.
"You sure make me do all the work, King of Uruk. Don't you think that this kind of treatment doesn't do my position justice?"
"I apologise for that, but I must use all my strength to coordinate and slowly lead us to a favourable future."
"Hmph, I'd never treat you that way, Saber. Saber?"
"I don't understand... is it our diet? The climate? Could be magic... I'm sure that by this time surely... I've been eating a lot of meat... maybe I should drink some milk?"
"What the hell is she mumbling about?"
"Hey you, how did you-"
Saber got a spear in the head.
"Hehe, please, let's try to focus on important issues. I doubt the King of Uruk can stay awake much longer."
"I know that your first instinct is to rush there, but let me tell you something... at your current state, you're too weak and stand no chance. You must stay here until you're worthy of such a challenge."
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm sorry, other Goldie, but I can't just stand here while innocent people get slaughtered."
"Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just tells us that and we'll accept it? How do we even know if we can trust you?"
"Regardless of what I think, if everyone else is against it, there's no point in me opposing them."
"It seems like you mean well, King of Uruk, but my daughter's life is at stake. She can be found and captured at any moment, and we need to make sure she's safe as soon as possible."
"... naturally, I can't force your decision, that's your responsibility, you can do whatever you please, I'm just warning you of the consequences of your actions."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... screw this, let's go."
"Wait."
"Huh? What?"
"Listen to me for a second."
"What? You're siding with him, even though you hate him?"
"I may not appreciate what he stands for, but I can admit when he's right. You remember what happened when we challenged Alaya the last time? We couldn't do anything. And looking at her, I realised that there was nothing we could do. At this point, we... I am not strong enough."
"That still doesn't mean we have to trust this guy."
"I'm not asking you to trust him, I'm asking you to trust me, to trust my words."
"The words of a genocidal, arrogant and selfish idiot?"
"Goldie, I want to trust you, but-"
Everyone in the room had something to say, but they all forgot about it when something happened, something that not even in their wildest dreams they thought possible.
Gilgamesh bowed down his head and extended his hands in a praying stance.
"Please, I beg you... if my words have no value, I'm willing to cast my pride aside, just to ask you to listen to me. I need your help, and you need mine, and we need his too. So just this once, on my honour as King of Heroes, I ask you to trust me."
"Well, this is unexpected. Have you perhaps seen that this is the only way we can win?"
"No, Lion King. But I can see one thing clearly. If we don't do as this old fool says, there's no future in which we win."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Archer, I-"
"I believe you, Goldie."
"Nero?"
"When I needed you the most, you were there for me, so there's no way I wouldn't do the same."
"Well, if this thing is so important that you're willing to set aside your pride for even a moment, it must be pretty important."
"Archer, I just wanted to say... that you'll take responsibility if something happens to Mordred."
"It's only natural."
"Make sure you don't forget that."
"I won't forget your decision to trust me, Artoria, and I won't betray it."
"Very well, now that this is settled, we can get you into your rooms and tomorrow you can start training. We already have everything planned out. Thank you. The King of Uruk will be very pleased to hear that once he wakes up."
"He really is narcoleptic..."
"Hehe, he's always overworking himself, poor thing."
"What's exactly your relationship with him?"
"Shh, let's not disturb his rest. Mmm, strange, I was sure I left some pillows around..."
Lartoria [author's note: one of her names, since she's Lancer Artoria] looked around, before gently picking up CasGil's head and placing it on her lap.
"Yeah, they're definitely f-"
An axe fell on Jalter's head.
"I tried to warn you..."
The group went outside, going into their rooms.
Gilgamesh let himself fall on the bed and sighed as he looked up.
"Enkidu... what the hell am I doing..."
Galter looked down, as he kept passing his gifts through the hands. A single tear fell from each of his eyes.
"What's this feeling... I don't understand it..."
Jalter rolled around her sheets, as her sleep was troubled by nightmares. She always had them before fighting.
Salter and Artoria both ate quietly, unsure of what the future had in store, each of them with their own insecurities they weren't ready to tell one another.
Nero sat down, with a glass of wine and a blank canvas. She worked on a painting for a while. When she was finished painting what she felt from the bottom of her heart, she looked at the end result and blushed.
"Oh dear, what now..."
Somewhere else...
"I am Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
"A ruler from a far away land... nonetheless, a fool for opposing me, for opposing the true Rome, no, for opposing Remora. I shall show you what real power is."
"Real power doesn't belong to those who regret and resent reality like you. You're nothing more than a blabbering fool, just waiting to be crushed by me."
"Is that true? Show me your resolve then, great pharaoh. If you delight me enough, I might consider sparing your subordinates after I make them witness what's left of your corpse."
Some time later...
CasGil finally managed to finish all work for that day. He was about to head to his private room, when he encountered Galter right outside the door.
"You could have knocked before."
"I was afraid you'd be sleeping."
"That's considerate of you."
"... do you mind if we chat a bit?"
"... sure, come on in."