I felt an angel's loving touch, soft upon my heart
And with that touch, I felt the pain and hurt within depart

*******

"I've never seen a Semblance quite like this." Glynda walked around the massive Gate. It looked solid, just like her regular Gate of Skye. The fortress behind it was ephemeral, clearly made out of her Aura and was unfamiliar, though. "Are you certain it is not made of magic?"

"The Gate is the same as my Noble Phantasm," Scathach replied. The runes upon the door were different. Focused more on defence than entrapment. The Celtic witch knew its use instinctively but asked for her fellow teacher's insight. She had only had Aura for less than a week, after all. She shivered. Scathach could not remember the last time she had something new to learn. "Normally, when a Heroic Spirit is summoned as a Servant, they only have access to one Noble Phantasm."

"Because of the limits of Servant containers, correct?" Glynda asked, clearly remembering Medea's impromptu lessons on the nature of Heroic Spirits, Servants, and the Grail Wars.

"There are exceptions." The lancer nodded. "If legends are intertwined, two weapons or abilities can count as one Noble Phantasm. If you need one to use the other. Artoria's horse and lance, for example. Sometimes a Phantasm might be lowered in power and count as a personal skill instead. That happens with passive abilities most of the time. This summoning has been different. We are more robust, are not dependent on mana to maintain our forms, and have access to Noble Phantasms we shouldn't have. We are also all three getting the bonus to parameters we would receive if summoned and fighting in our homeland. Our bodies are still made of spiritual particles but act as if alive in every conceivable manner."

"The other two as well?"

"Artoria still has her spear, though it is much more potent than it would be if she was summoned as a lancer. She also has her great hall, Ehangwen. Some skills from her knights count as pseudo-Noble Phantasms. Medea, I have not asked yet. I do not know if either has discovered their Semblance. I have access to all of my Phantasms, however. My Gate and Gae Bolg." The Huntress was silent for a moment. She continued to prod the Gate and the illusionary castle with her own Semblance.

"I have a few theories. Nothing is confirmed before the other two achieve their own Semblances." Scathach nodded for her to continue. "I believe it is due to the fact that you are essentially ghosts. Aura, and semblances by extension, are the manifestation of the soul. From my understanding, your Noble Phantasms are as entwined with your souls as they can be. Having a Semblance manifest in a similar form shouldn't be too surprising."

"That was my theory as well." While no magus, Scathach knew more than most about the nature of the soul. It was why she preferred to use Gae Bolg rather than the Gate. Deciding that she didn't need it anymore, the Queen of the Land of Shadows dissipated the Gate and its ghostly castle. Her Aura was only slightly lowered from the expenditure.

"Have you made any progress with Haki?" The blonde asked as the Queen stood from her seat on the ground. The pair were in a deep jungle clearing on the other side of the mountain range. The island was massive, and the pair of teachers had been exploring for the last few days. The team could carry any needed supplies using Glynda's Semblance and Scathach's runes. Not that they needed much, more than capable of hunting any wildlife for food.

"I have focused more on Armament." She summoned a Gae Bolg to her hand. After a few moments, the air around the barbed spear distorted and black spread across its red surface. She held it for a moment before letting the new power and the spear disappear. "It is not usable in combat, but I have progressed."

"Observation has been my focus," Glynda explained, waving her riding crop. A boar squealed in the distance, almost a kilometre away. It was dragged before the pair by the Huntress' telekinesis in a few seconds. A massive beast, twice the pair's size. It would not have been out of place in Scathach's age. "It extends my range considerably, though I miss the finer details."

"Impressive," Scathach did not give empty praise. She had seen hundreds of abilities in her long life, thousands of different battle styles, and tens of thousands of battles. She had trained some of the world's greatest heroes and even gotten strong enough to kill her own death when it came for her. While Glynda was nowhere near the strongest of beings she had seen, few abilities were as deceptively simple and versatile as her Semblance. Simply amplifying her range from tens of metres to kilometres was enough to multiply her threat potential exponentially.

"I cannot take all the credit," both teachers continued their quick pace northward, leaving the animal behind. There was no need to kill it; they had enough food. "These 'Talents' have made all training easier. My Aura is larger. You all are picking up its use faster than even my best students. It almost feels unfair."

"There is no such thing as unfair. The talented can die just as quickly as those without. Talent is an accelerant, an advantage one has to use and is no guarantee of victory." Setanta had been talented, but he had still died young. Scathach had outlived every one of her students, many of whom were more talented than she had been.

"I know," Glynda replied simply, looking pained. The Huntress hadn't been a teacher for as long as her, barely a decade, but Scathach was sure she had lost students. That was the peril and the burden of teaching warriors.

"Mikael needs all the help he can get."

"He does," the mention of their mutual student seemed to shake the melancholy from the air. It was best to not dwell on the past. "I can barely imagine a world he describes. One without Grimm. Even civilians need to know basic combat and evacuation techniques where I am from. Such a peaceful world seems idyllic."

"It wasn't completely peaceful," Scathach pointed out. "If it was anything like the modern society of my Human History, then there were plenty of conflicts."

"I'm sure there was, but it was a distant thing. No ever-present threat of extinction. His most significant concern before now was securing his livelihood."

"It showed," She couldn't help but say, her mouth curving slightly. "First drill I had Mikael go through, he tripped over his feet."

"I tried to have him do some basic sword swings, get an eye for his form, and he cut himself." Glynda looked equally amused, a slight smirk on her face.

"First time he held a spear, he impaled his own foot."

Out of the ten women summoned to this island, the pair felt most comfortable with each other's presence. Raven, Emma, and Medea remained private people, sticking primarily to their rooms or workshops. After only a few weeks, Robin, Yoruichi, and Tsunade were practically inseparable, doing everything together. Diana and Artoria were much the same, talking, sparing, and generally spending time together. While there were no severe conflicts among the women, and many freely interacted with each other, their little cliques had formed naturally.

Glynda and Scathach were perhaps the most similar of any women summoned. They were women of few words, teachers of heroes, highly competent in their field, and extremely beautiful like all women on the island. Glynda's 195cm height towering over Scathach's petite 162cm frame was the most significant difference. Nevertheless, if either of their students ever met the other, they would run to the hills screaming.

The pair continued to exchange stories of their student's more amusing mistakes. That transitioned to telling about their respective experiences teaching. Time passed as quickly as the distance they travelled. They made it to the island's northernmost point well before the sunset.

"Bigger than Skye, about two-thirds of Scotland, I believe," Scathach reported as Glynda made notes to their map.

"I do not know the exact size of your homeland, but Medea's little creation is calculating the area at about 60 thousand kilometres. A bit more if you consider the mountains." The witch had asked them to plant small items in the ground, looking like bones or teeth, at the extremity of the island. It was to aide in scrying, as far as Scathach could tell. Though there had been talk about setting up a bounded field, the lancer did not know how Medea would go about powering such a huge barrier.

"The wildlife is changing as well, have you noticed?"

"I have." Glynda nodded as she put away the bag holding Medea's creation. "When we left, there was the occasional boar, giant rats, and some birds and wild dogs. I suppose I should not be surprised that there are large felines either."

The creature that had tried to stalk the pair for the last few minutes was a cat in only the loosest of senses. It looked like someone had taken a house cat, given it enough steroids for an entire sports team, and then turned all its fur into deadly spikes.

It lasted less than a second against Scathach's cursed spear. Glynda was levitating it to bring it back to Medea to study.

"I did not see any markings of territory, did you?"

"I do not believe they are native to the island. I have suddenly felt animals appear in my senses since we started exploring. I initially thought it to be due to my unfamiliarity with Haki, but this creature teleported within one hundred feet of us from nowhere near. I believe they are spawning from nowhere."

"If so, they are getting more dangerous. While no threat, this cat was worse than the dogs and boars. The island could be escalating."

"I will ask Medea, Robin, and Raven. They seem to be the most knowledgeable about the island. Can I trouble you to ask Mikael upon your next summoning? I was called last night, and I would rather not wait three more days if he has the answers."

"Of course," the ruler of the land of shadows nodded amiably. She actually was hopeful more dangerous creatures would appear. It would make life on the island more enjoyable. "On the subject of our summoner, I have intended to ask; would you like to go first or second?"

"Hm? First or second?"

"To lay with him, of course." The taller blonde, stern and composed, stumbled on her heeled boot. The levitating bag and body dipped, almost hitting the jungle floor. Glynda barely managed to not fall on her face. She regained her balance in a moment.

"Excuse me!?" She shouted as her face flushed red. A flock of ravens flew from the nearby trees at the loud sound.

"To lay with him." The veiled woman repeated. "I intend to do so at the earliest convenience. I have no preference for order. If you preferred to go first, I would not be opposed." The taller blonde continued to stare at her friend, red-faced and stammering.

"You-you, with him?" She stuttered.

"Of course, if you would like us both to do so simultaneously, I believe we will overwhelm him if it is the first time. Perhaps the third or fourth then." The celt persisted.

"How improper! With your own student?!" The blonde finally managed to gather her thoughts. She looked scandalized at the idea, though Scathach noticed her eyes were also a bit glassy in imagination.

"You have never laid with one of your students?" The Servant couldn't help but ask, shocked in her own way. While she hadn't slept with most of her students, not even Setanta, it was not a rare occurrence. One of them had even been the father of her daughter, not that they had ever met.

"Of course not!" Glynda snapped out of her thoughts, though fantasies might be a better term. "It would be a gross violation of my duty as a teacher. Entirely inappropriate."

"How odd." It must be a difference in culture. Scathach did not have the Grail to provide insight into her companion's world, so their society might have been utterly alien to her. Why had a difference only come up now, though? "I admit, I am looking forward to testing out that perk of his when we can interact physically. Sticky fingers, I believe it was called. Have you never thought about it? Even once? Yoruichi bragged considerably about what she planned to do with him. I have caught Artoria daydreaming about him more than once, though she refuses to admit it."

"It has crossed my mind," Glynda admitted hesitantly before immediately retreating. "But it would be completely inappropriate, as I said. As teachers, we have a duty to guide our students. To take advantage of our charge would be wrong."

"Why? It is not as if he is young. I believe your students, like mine, were old enough to be making a decision for themselves." Scathach was genuinely curious about this foreign concept. Was there a reason or simply propriety holding people back?

"I mean, it's just wrong." The Huntress stuttered out. "Besides, how would that even work? "

"Like any other sort of sex, I imagine." Scathact deadpanned. "I hope with more orgasms than most, I admit. Some of my students required much instruction to reach the bare minimum." As Glynda remained stonefaced, though red, the Lord of Spirits started to suspect a different issue was the problem. "You have laid with a man before, right?"

The silence was her answer.

The Servant let out a tinkling laugh. "Apologies, I mean not to mock you. Where I come from, you would have suitors knocking down the walls of your hall for your hand."

"It isn't as if I had much choice," Glynda grumbled as she walked away. Scathact matched her pace, still chuckling. "I was the only one keeping Beacon together, leaving little time for romance. And the man I was fond of turned out to be a monster in the end."

"We will have to fix that then." The Queen of the Land of Shadows stopped laughing, deciding to bring the subject to a brighter topic. "Before Mikael drops you off at home. I will be with you the entire way, much like I was for my daughter's first time."

"Can we please drop the subject?" The blonde sighed in resignation.

"Very well," she complied, but not before getting one last word in. "If the perk is all it is hyped up to be, I fear we will ruin you for anyone in your homeworld."

"You still intend to ask to travel with Mikael?" Glynda asked, desperate to end the teasing.

"I do."

"He has made no secret that he intends to bring us home and leave us there. How do you intend to convince him to take you with him?"

"I call it the 'Friendship of Thighs." She tried to stop the words from forming. She really did. But Glynda had given her the perfect opening. The stink-eye she received was worth it. "I suspect that it will not take too much convincing. He has kept cards close to his chest, but I suspect he is a bit of a pushover when it comes to us. He regrets dragging us into this mess, even if it wasn't by his design."

"I am not certain about that," Glynda shook her head. "While he has engaged us with good faith, Mikeal has repeatedly expressed he intends to leave us all behind. Not just to me but to all the other women as well. He is never rude or cruel about it, but any guilt he feels for us is tempered by his own situation. Something has set him against our further presence in his life."

"Emma knows what that reason is." Scathach declared with certainty. "She discovered it, and he silenced her with a Comand Seal. Despite enjoying the luxury the mansion has to offer more than any of the others, she is the most desperate to be free of it and our summoner."

"Raven might know as well," Glynda agreed. "She always returns from their conversations introspective. I overheard her talking with Diana about her empathetic abilities. She claimed that Mikael was no threat to us. She seemed absolutely certain of this fact."

"Good, convincing him will be easier than expected." Scathach was not going to accept any other outcome. She would not allow herself to be returned to the Land of Shadows. Either Mikael would take her with him, or he would kill her.

There was no third option.

*****

"Gah!" Mikael cried, whip-like vines slashing at his hand. He did not drop his halberd and managed to swing it at his foe. It passed through his opponent quickly, and the enchanted blade tip ignited the foliage as it severed the top of the monster from its bottom. One down, six more to go. Two of which remained hidden in the brush.

Scathach watched it all with an appraising eye. Her pupil had improved tremendously since she first met him as a decrepit old man in a cell.

She watched him take another blow, a whip to the back.

Of course, he still had a long way to go. He needed to get better at handling multiple opponents. His armour protected him from the worst of the plant monsters but slowed him down considerably. The celt understood that not everyone liked to go to battle naked, but shields and armour were only valuable so long as they did not engender passivity.

One of the creatures, whose legs had been severed and charred, crawled close enough to entangle his ankles. She didn't alert him, though. It was up to the living to chart their own course. Her nails dug into her palm. She felt her gut clench in fear as he stumbled to the ground. Immaterial as she was, she wouldn't be able to save him.

He saved himself with a blast of fire from his palm, taking out the group of tree-like beings. As he stumbled to his feet, she saw a line of blood flow from an open wound on his face, an attack that hadn't been protected by his helmet. She almost felt bad for telling him to battle the group without recourse to his magecraft.

Almost.

"You failed," Scathach told him as she wandered over. She had remained as distant as possible during the fight to not distract him. He was breathing heavily as he wiped the blood from his face. She noted with pride that he was not collapsing in exhaustion, instead taking the time to stab his weapon into his foes to verify their deaths.

"Sorry, instinct." He explained. The dark forest did not provide much illumination, but she noted his armour was stained with rust, blood, and sap. His halberd was still charred black but bore no other stain.

"Your pyromancy is potent. The purpose of the exercise was to familiarize yourself with your weapon further. Your insistence on this particular blade will do more harm than good if you cannot leverage it properly."

"After everything I went through to get this thing, I will learn to use it. It's the only weapon I've found that does not require regular maintenance. I will not have access to Andre all the time."

"It is powerful," Scathach agreed. She also agreed with his reasons as proper weapon care supplies were rare in this ruined world. "But a powerful weapon can be a greater foe than any beast if it teaches the wrong lessons."

"I know." Finished verifying his kills, he surveyed the forest. She saw his eyes lingered on the bush creatures that remained hidden. He approached them casually, even as he continued to talk to her. "I need all the help I can get. It is entirely different from using a sword. I think I will try without the shield. It should improve my balance. I am not leaving the Garden until I can defeat Havel."

As the vine monsters jumped from the dirt in an ambush, Mikael swept the blade through them both. Flames licked them as they fell apart.

"Tell me of this foe. Why is a target of your enmity?"

"He's not, not really. Much like most things in this world, he is hollow. An undead that has lost his mind and soul to madness. When he was alive, he was a fearsome dragonslayer. A hero. His primary weapon is a club made out of a dragon's tooth. His armour was so strong they called him The Rock. I am not sure if the man in that tower is Havel himself, an imitator, or somebody who has possession of his gear. If I cannot defeat him, I stand no chance against later enemies."

"I would not have you die because you challenged a legend too soon." The Servant kept her voice stern, though fear crept up her spine. Mikael was not allowed to die, not when she finally had hope. "You are growing quickly, and challenges will help you progress, but all growth will end if you die." She could not remember the last time she had felt fear, but she controlled it rather than letting it control her.

"I promise I won't die." Taking a seat on a log, he smirked up at her. A joke she was unaware of in his smile. "But Havel isn't even the worst threat in these woods. The hydra will be worse."

"A hydra?" She perked up, her hands aching for a spear. She had never had the pleasure of hunting one of those beasts, though legends of them had reached even her home in Scotland.

"It doesn't have the regeneration like the one from myth, but yes. A nine-headed one is in the basin's lake. It stands between the princess trapped in crystal and me. I will need to slay it to rescue her."

"A knight in shining armour, are you?"

"No," he shook his head with a chuckle. "She will be able to teach me some beneficial spells. They will make my life much easier later."

"Then I wish you a good hunt. On the subject, do you know why animals appear on the island? When we first arrived, it was barren of life but us. Since then, we have met all sorts of beasts. Glynda will be asking Medea, but you might have an answer for us."

"Sounds like the 'Creature Feature,'" He looked at her in interest. "It was an optional pick in the catalogue. It populates the demi-plane with any creature I encounter under a certain tier. Level Six, I believe. What animals have you met?" Scathach listed all the ones she was are of, even the cat-like monstrosity she had slain not an hour ago. "I ran into those creatures not too long ago." He grimaced, rubbing his chest in phantom pain. "I did not manage to kill one, so just meeting them is enough for copies to appear on the island."

"Does this mean the Hydra will appear as well?" She tried to keep the hope from her voice. Judging from his amused glance, she failed.

"It should. If I remember correctly, it shouldn't be strong enough to count as tier 6, and anything below that and non-sapient should fall under the category of 'creature.' I've forgotten most of the finer details of the catalogue. It has been too long."

"I shall alert the others," after hunting one down for herself, of course.

"Has a drake appeared?" She shook her head in denial. "Then either I need to touch the creature, or dragons are too high tier to count. Those and the Moonlight Butterfly are the only other 'Creatures' I expect to encounter. If any of you see them, let me know. Now that I think about it, there might be some wolves too."

"Medea will be happy with fresh materials, though I worry for the mansion if we must fend off dragons." It sounded like more fun than she had in millennia.

"Sorry," he shrugged his shoulder in helplessness. "I can't avoid facing them myself. If I had known this would happen, I would have bought Creature Defence. Like everything else on the island, I hadn't been able to buy the Creature Feature, so I didn't expect it to be relevant."

"We will be able to handle it." She waved off his concerns. It was not the place for the student to worry about their teachers. There were a few minutes of companionable silence as he used a ragged cloth to wipe down his armour from the worst of its sticky remnants.

"I'm sorry." He eventually said, not looking at her.

"About?" She asked, not sure for what he was apologizing. In her experience, Mikael was an intelligent man. His mind worked fast, sometimes too fast for others to keep up with, and he would start on subjects out of nowhere with very little connecting thread.

"Summoning you." He explained.

"Do not be. You had little control of the situation and are no more responsible for this than anyone else."

"Not that." He shook his head, finally looking her in the eyes. "I am not guilty of that. It was not my choice to actually summon any of you to that island. I can only control my own actions, not the world. I am not sorry for any of the others, the situation is unfortunate, but by the end, they will have a short vacation and go home with some nifty abilities. I apologize to you because you are the only one I have wronged."

"In what manner have you wronged me?" As far as she was aware, there was no such thing.

"I would be dropping everyone off at their own home in that story. Since it was only a short piece, I hand waived many issues away. You were one of them. Everyone else has somewhere to return to or would like the benefits of immortality to achieve their goals. By choosing you, I condemned you to the worst experience possible." He looked genuinely regretful.

"You were aware of my wish?" She asked, heart clenched. "To face a foe able to slay me in battle?"

"I was. With Warranty Plan, that is no longer possible. You were eternal before. Now, you are genuinely immortal so long as I live. And as sorry as I am for you, I have no intention of dying. So I am sorry that I chose you despite knowing your wish. I am even more sorry that I am not selfless enough to free you from your eternal prison. But I am not sorry that you were summoned. I do not regret meeting any of you." Indeed, she had a most selfish pupil.

Scathach laughed.

Mikael stared.

"I accept your apology, misguided and backhanded though it is." The Servant felt she should explain. He was looking a bit hurt that she laughed at his heartfelt words. "You know my wish, but you not the reasons behind it?"

"Not exactly," he shook his head. "All my knowledge of any of you women was filtered through different media. It never painted a complete picture, only hinted at parts. I know you mainly from a game with multiple servants; you were only one of the hundreds. You had explicitly stated your wish on the Grail but not the reasons as far as I can remember. Piecing things together, I thought it was due to simply being weary of life after millennia. I guess I was wrong."

"No, you were correct. But you missed the heart with your thrust."

"Then please teach me Shishou." He finally smiled at her once more, though why he continued to call her that, she did not know.

"I was weary of life because it had left me behind. There were no foes left to face. No heroes left to train. All my pupils and my family were long dead. The Land of Shadows had retreated to Reverse Side. It needed not a guardian anymore. I waited in solitude for longer than most civilizations exist. Before I awoke on the island, I sat in my castle of Skye. I had not moved a muscle in centuries."

"So it was the solitude that was the problem?"

"It was the despair." She clarified. "Had I companions, it would have been easier, but still, my wish would be the same. I would never be summoned as a servant without the world ending because I would never die. There was nothing new in the world, no path left untread. You did not just give me new companions as immortal as myself or a new student when you summoned me. You promised me a multiverse of foes to face. Experiences I have never conceived of. You told me I would get to face a Hydra not ten minutes ago. Did you know Diana lives in a world where space travel is standard? That Yoruichi hails from a land of the dead entirely different from my own? You did not shackle me to continue living. You provided the one thing I have yearned for in my long life. Hope."

He took a moment to digest her impassioned words. She turned her eyes away from his smiling face, embarrassed by her excitement. It was unbecoming of his teacher.

"I am happy for you then. I was worried about dropping you off once we are free. Think about where you would like to go, and I will bring you with any of the others before I leave."

"No." Scathach declared with finality, looking him in the eye. "Once we are free, I will accompany you on your travels. I will experience everything personally, not be left behind like a new bride. By the end of your training, anything able to slay you will be able to do the same to me. No matter what, I will have achieved my wish."

"No," Mikael responded just as firmly, no longer smiling. "If you do not wish to be dropped off with the others, very well. I will find a world you will enjoy, but I will not have anyone of you accompany me longer than necessary."

The pair maintained a glaring contest for moments, neither willing to bend.

"We will see," the Lord of Spirits eventually said. "Till then, learn to use that Black Halberd. I would face that hydra as soon as possible. Do not keep me waiting."

Not giving him a chance to respond, she disappeared to the island's jungle, where Glynda awaited her.

Once they could interact physically, Scathach would break Mikael's hips.

********

Man the Celts were weird.

For those unaware, the reason the celts in Fate where jumpsuits is to represent nakedness. They would go into battle wearing only paint. I imagine this was due to the limited availability of metals to make armour but it also would lead to a bit of disdain for it in my mind.

After a bit of time skip, we are at Darkroot Garden.

The build is coming together. With the Black Knight Halberd, Pyromancy, some Sorceries, and Med/Heavy armour. While Mikael is not me, I do try and write him as if he were. To that end, if I were trapped in Dark Souls I would use every tool I could. I wouldn't use sorceries for combat, since they require switching between weapons but their utilities are undeniable. Pyromancies, despite being an 'Item' in DS are, lore-wise, an internal ability and thus do not need a 'Glove.'