Aston let go of his spear and turned to Bazett, staring at her with a gaze that gave no hint as to his actual emotions, "My Master, you need not do this."

He had a massive problem with changing allegiances but that wasn't what motivated his words, if Caster could take innocent children hostage just to gain an advantage, there was no assurance she wouldn't order him to attack Bazett the moment the contract was exchanged, "Honourless wench." He clicked his tongue, racking his brain for a solution.

"Honour?" Medea smirked maliciously, her eyes hidden under her hood, "Look where that got you." She mocked the Lancer and seemingly, enjoyed it a fair bit.

If he was more like her, he would have no problems letting unrelated strangers die to get the upper hand but then again, maybe that was why he was the hero and she was the witch here.

"It's alright, La-.." Bazett paused for a bit, there was simply no other way out, not one she could think of at least, "Aston." This way if not hers then his life would be prolonged but it was still terribly frustrating. Because of her, he would once again become a tool for war even if she stopped him from sacrificing something temporarily.

Aston took in a deep breath at her words, "My Master, you should retreat. There is no need for you to put yourself in harm's way for someone you've known only for several days." It was the objective truth, "Besides, what sort of knight would I be if my liege were to be harmed in my presence?"

He valued honour and loyalty for he was a knight, that was no secret to any.

His drive and motivations were his feelings and desires, that would never change.

"It's alright, this isn't your fault." Bazett smiled at her servant's estranged way of showing concern and shook her head, Aston was an amazing servant.

"Yes yes.." Medea clapped her hands together a few times, "It is truly a shame to ruin this moment but I've other things to do." The Caster calmly walked up to Aston, drawing a twisted dagger that looked like it was made more for rituals than utilisation as an actual weapon, "I believe I don't need to tell you that one small show of resistance and I WILL cause bodily harm."

Aston's Master accompanying him didn't really matter but it did give her one more card to play and Medea was grateful for it, "Spells can be set to trigger under conditions, do you wish to guess the conditions for that spell?" She gestured to the unconscious children, "..Hero?"

"I will not draw my weapon but know this, if you harm my Master.." Aston spoke uncharacteristically seriously, staring down at the Witch of Betrayal with eyes burning in a rage the servant couldn't realistically experience, "I will make use of my more questionable abilities, magus."

He raised an armoured hand, making Medea falter for a fraction of a second, "I reckon command seals wouldn't do much then."

Medea tilted her head in feigned confusion, "Are you Lancer or Berserker?" She questioned sarcastically, what sort of absurd servant was this?

The Lancer's eyes conveyed clear use of a skill the Caster was familiar with all too well, a form of Madness Enhancement present only in servants from the Berserker Class.

The same as the hulking mass of muscles that was the Demi-God participating in this war, the one foe she couldn't hope to vanquish in a confrontation.

"If they do then one harmless mistake and I will.." Aston pursed his lips, not speaking further but his words did their job.

Medea was well aware of the sheer power Lancer wielded, that was exactly why she wanted him. With Aston, there would be nothing to stop her from obtaining complete victory in this war and so, without hesitation, she swung her dagger, Rule Breaker.

A noble phantasm that allowed her to cancel out any and all forms of magecraft.

In the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, it allowed her to sever the contracts between Masters and Servants, destroying every rule that controlled them. This allowed her to effectively commandeer all command seals, assuming complete control of a servant.

The confirmation of it working was Bazett grunting and grabbing her left arm with gritted teeth as a searing pain akin to being burnt enveloped her hand, or to be precise, the command seals on the back.

Command seals that appeared on Medea's hand later, making her laugh gleefully, "I know you're about to stab me." It was almost insulting that he thought she was naive enough to be too drunk on a small victory and allow him unhindered access to her magical energy, "Do you truly believe me so idiotic? After all you've seen?"

Medea hummed, turning around and grinning at her new servant, "Knight of Atrocity, Aston." It was a shame his previous Master didn't know how to use him. He was feared as a slaughtering monster, to order him to slaughter all enemies would be the greatest employment of his capabilities, how Bazett failed to grasp that was beyond her.

Medea made no effort to hide her victorious smirk, "Just so you don't think I'm unreasonable. You can see off your Ma-.. oh excuse me, former Master." To drive the point home, she even waved the Lancer goodbye, aware that he had no way of realistically escaping her hold anymore.

Faster than she could perceive, Aston disappeared along with Bazett, "A Knight is certainly something to behold, aside from the foolishness that is his honour." Medea muttered to herself, having traced his movements up until he left her bounded field out of caution.

Aston was no doubt going to be her trump card but Medea could never trust him and never allow him enough magical energy to employ his true speed lest she be put down like an insect.

* * *

Artoria grit her teeth and swung Excalibur, barely deflecting a dagger attached to a chain aimed for Shirou standing right behind her.

Around her, the compound surrounding the Emiya Residence was in tatters, littered with tears in the Earth and sizable craters one would expect from a clash between two servants.

The British King summoned as a Saber was finding the battle to be increasingly difficult with her limited supply of magical energy. Servants were cost-efficient, yes but that didn't mean they could work without magical energy and her current Master, even if she didn't want to say it, supplied her with none.

From what she could make of the enemy servant, it was a tall pale skinned, purpled haired woman wearing an eye cover and a small black dress with light purple edges that would cover only her torso and half her knees if not for her black opera gloves and stockings.

She was expertly employing a pair of daggers with chains attached to them and her Master was nowhere in sight.

"Shirou! You must leave!" Artoria insisted mid-swing, as she'd been doing since the battle started but her Master refused to listen. She took a step back, taking the momentary respite she'd attained by throwing off the enemy's dagger and reeled back Excalibur before swing it horizontally, releasing strong bursts of wind that tore apart the storage shed, dissipating all the dust the woman had kicked up with all her jumping around.

This however, gave the enemy servant, who'd dodged her attack, enough time to throw her dagger from the side, jamming it into Artoria's gut as she appeared right next to her, slamming her foot into the Saber's face, sending her crashing into the walls surrounding the compound.

"Saber!" Shirou tried to make a run for Artoria, trying to protect her. He'd just been going about his day and now, all of a sudden, they were under attack by a dagger wielding maniac. Shirou figured this was normal considering they were currently at war.

Before the attacking servant could move any further, she found her head being driven into the cold dirt by an equally, if not colder, metal sabaton, "It appears I'm not the only one having a terrible night." She wasn't familiar with the voice, so her shock was understandable, especially because she was certain there had been no other servants in the vicinity.

Shirou was stopped by Bazett grabbing onto his shoulder, holding him in place, "A battle between servants is not something you can interfere with, even if you want to."

Her stoic voice surprised Shirou, understandable considering he'd mostly seen her flustered when interacting with Lancer but that wasn't important right now, "But, Saber." She was fighting to protect him, he couldn't accept that but found himself slightly relaxing when familiar blue lightning came into view.

"Si-.. Aston."

"My Ki-, Artoria."

With his expression masked by his helmet, Aston stared down at the injured Artoria in silence, "Was it her?" He asked rhetorically, contacting Medea through their newly established connection, "I've come upon a servant, and am entering combat."

"Oh my, how unexpected. Are you perhaps trying to earn my approval?"

"You are far too arrogant." He shot back instantly, turning to face the purple haired servant he'd earlier smashed into the ground and pointed his jagged spear at her as she prepared her own daggers, not interested in exchanging words.

"Very well, slaughter my enemies." Medea ordered confidently, granting him access to more magical energy.

Artoria grit her teeth and forced herself up with renewed vigour.

She couldn't allow him to fight and sacrifice for her any longer, she couldn't bear that.

"You've done enough, Aston." She spoke sternly, scolding herself for the relief she'd felt on his arrival.

Artoria believed herself undeserving of such respite and joy.

"But.." Disregarding her foe for a moment, the Saber looked at her knight, "What is wrong?"

Whenever they conversed, he had an almost obsessive habit of removing his helmet unless upset. Artoria didn't know why she took note of such inconsequential details before but now she did.

Bazett, on the other hand, could only observe the servants in silence, standing near a serious Shirou. The trip here had lasted mere moments and she didn't know why her servant had brought her here.

Did he seek out Artoria because he was troubled?

The Enforcer felt a mix of inexplicable emotions.

* * *

Before ranting about him accepting it, chill out a bit and think.

From what we've seen so far, all knights of the Round Table possess a custom skill related to themselves and of course, Aston does too. With the way he is, his reasonings, and his tale, there's not many functions that come to mind.

He's the Knight of Atrocity who commits slaughter in the name of King Arthur.

There HAD to be at least one skill I needed to give him that corresponds to his beliefs and legend that also works only in a situation where King Arthur is present too.

You think he sought out Shirou?

*

Also this should be the last chapter for a while cause writing while fasting isn't impossible, it's insanely taxing and the quality takes a massive hit. I'll be back right after.

*

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