"Thank you for driving us." Jeanne said to the taxi driver, "We can get it from here."
She watched his eyes flick from her to Micheal sitting beside her in the rear view mirror and hesitate,
"Please take this. It would mean a lot to me if you did."
Jeanne reached into her purse and pulled out a roll of bills. She grabbed his hand, placed the roll into his hand as his eyes comically widened, and then curled his fingers around the roll. She got out of the taxi and walked over to help Micheal out from his side only for him to open the door himself and step out. She watched him flick open his walking stick and adjust his glasses before he turned and began to walk to the back of the taxi.
Tap, tap, tap
Jeanne tried not to let the tapping of his stick get to her but clearly she wasn't trying hard enough as every tap she heard reminded her that what happened to Micheal was her fault. She took a shaky breath and began to get their luggage out of the back of the taxi starting with the suitcases.
It was now almost two months after the end of the Grail war and they had finally gotten everything in the house locked down. As for what to do with the house it was still technically Desmonds so that would be up to him. Micheal came around the side of the taxi and managed to grab his bag after a few attempts as she sighed and got the rest of their luggage out. She closed the trunk, tapped her knuckles on it, and turned to walk away when she felt Micheals walking stick in front of her shin. She paused and looked up at him as he angled his head towards her,
"I may not be your master anymore but I still know enough even when blind to know when somethings bothering you. I want you to know I'm here and wanting to help. Okay?"
Jeanne was suddenly glad Micheal couldn't see as she felt a surge of emotions that she barely held back followed immediately by guilt at feeling happy for it. She bit her lip,
"I know but… please worry more about yourself right now… okay?"
She watched him frown but nod his head thankfully accepting what she asked and not questioning it. She guided the handle of his suitcase into his free hand as he slung his backpack onto his shoulder and then they walked into Tokyo International Airport.
Tap, tap, tap
Jeanne closed her eyes and did her best to not make Micheal more aware of her distress. How could she even begin to explain that it was her fault he was like this? He was crippled and it was her fault. She could never apologize enough for-
"Jeanne."
She jumped a bit and noticed belatedly that she had walked ahead of him as he stopped. She turned around and walked back to him shaking her head as clear as she could make it,
"We're almost at our gate and our flight boards in under half an hour."
"Thats not what I wanted to know."
She paused,
"Lets… sit down first if this.. is going to be a heavy conversation…" She finally said after a prolonged silence. He nodded and let her guide him to some empty seats. They sat down and before she could stop him he had tapped out the rhythm for an illusion and privacy bounded field. She grabbed his wrist as she felt it envelope them,
"Will you STOP." She hissed, "You don't have the mana to be doing shit like this anymore and I don't fucking give a damn that the amount you have available has slowly been increasing week over week. Do not do this shit. Got it?"
Micheal wiped some of the suddenly formed sweat from his brow with his arm but smiled at her in that damnable way he did,
"Figured you'd want actual privacy for this talk is all…. and I can do this much at least."
"I don't- Just- God dammit," She finally bit out as she grabbed some of his shirt in her fist and yanked him towards her, "Stop worrying about me. It was my god damn wish that turned you into a cripple and-"
She froze realizing that she had said too much when he stiffened and slowly turned his head fully towards her,
"Forget what I just said."
"Jeanne-"
"Forget what I just said." She said again more forcefully before gently pushing him away and letting go of his shirt as she turned her head away, breathing in and out as she tried to calm herself down. Thankfully he closed his mouth but she knew from the look on his face when she glanced back at him that he intended to talk to her about this later.
From the destroyer of France to caring for a cripple. How the mighty have fallen…
...
No response? No deflection? You finally see what your very presence does to the people around you and now you can't even vanish due to your wish. The same wish that crippled the man you love.
…..I know.
Jeanne grit her teeth as the Other vanished before letting out a slow breath. She felt Micheal move next to her and glanced at him just in time to catch his worried face before he looked straight ahead.
...He can't tell when the Other's talking to me… right?
She thought worriedly,
The last thing he needs is to know about that.
She leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes remembering the phone call with Amelia she had had two weeks earlier. It had started off well enough with her asking if the Avenger had had her wish granted but then….
______
"….and thats that. Its been...weird not having to worry about my mana or rather having a constant supply of it thats not from Micheal if I'm being honest."
"I bet. Having a holy grail for a heart has got to be an interesting feeling," Amelia chuckled, her voice scratchy over the phone line, "But I've noticed you haven't mentioned Micheal at all. Is he there? I'd love to talk with the other Victor of the Holy Grail war."
Jeanne froze just long enough for Amelia to pick up that something was wrong,
"Jeanne…. my son is still alive right?"
"Ye-Yes!" She said panicked, "He'- He's still alive! He's just… asleep right now and-"
"Jeanne D'Arc Alter you are just as bad of a liar as my son. What happened."
"Well… in… the process of cleansing the Grail…"
Jeanne haltingly explained what had happened at the end of the war, what Micheal had told her he had done, and then talked about the last two months. When she finished there was a long silence over the phone. Then,
"Other than not being able to see and not having any circuits…. is he alright? Is he still himself?"
Jeanne blinked momentarily taken aback,
"…Yes? He's...still his normal snarky self. I went out and got him one of those pointer stick things along with some glasses the other day since he's been wanting to walk around more and the first thing he did was try to poke me with it. Its just-"
"I… need some time to process this Jeanne but…."
She trailed off for a few seconds,
"One thing I can say for sure is that whatever happened to him doesn't matter…. thank you for bringing my son back. It… means more to me than I think you could know… Thank you so much…."
Jeanne stood there shocked and stared at the handset while Amelia put the phone down and walked away. She could, however, clearly hear Amelia sobbing in the background of the call,
He's crippled. He can't ever be a mage again. So…
Why is she thanking me when its my fault he's like this?
After a few minutes Amelia came back on the phone still sniffling a bit,
"I'll have Desmond get your flight back figured out. You do not need to be navigating that entire process right now. How- How far along are you with demagicking the house?"
"I managed to get everything beyond some of the bounded fields that use the Lafaire magecraft with Micheals help. I had to describe it all to him since...he can't see but I don't know how or if I can even mess with some of the remaining ones…"
"Are they Gem or rhythm based?"
"Both…. I think."
"As in both are powering the one field?"
"Both in that they are likely both powering the one field, yes. Micheal said he could sense the some lingering Lafaire magic and it seems to be a… gem array of some kind."
A breath of relief came over the line followed by sniffling before Amelia spoke more confidently,
"Okay that ones simple. I am curious as to how you got rid of the other ones given that Micheal can't see and doesn't have circuits but that can wait. Go find the gem array. You'll need to break the gems in a particular order…."
_____
Th rest of the phone call had been fine but even after hanging up Jeanne was still confused as why Amelia would thank her at all. A feeling which persisted to the current moment.
"Now boarding! The nonstop flight from Tokyo International Airport to Paris International Airport is now boarding! Please come to the ticket desk one at a time and present your ticket. Again…"
Jeanne felt Micheal stand up beside her as she refocused. She grabbed her suitcase and reached up to grab Micheals shoulder to guide him to the counter. They got their tickets punched and soon found their seats which were in first class. Jeanne glanced down at her ticket and then up to make sure that she had the right seat number,
"We didn't walk very far…. let me guess: They got us first class seats." Micheal said dryly as Jeanne guided him to his seat so he could sit down. She sat down opposite him and huffed a bit folding her arms,
"It would seem so. Yes."
Micheal chuckled a bit and then collapsed the stick he was using to feel around into the shape that would fit into his pocket,
"So I figure I'll ask this now: How…. mad did my mom seem on the phone?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I was wondering what her reaction to me is going to be and remembered the phone call you had with her a week or two ago. Despite only hearing your end of it I noticed there was less yelling than I thought there would be."
Jeanne tilted her head and looked out onto the tarmac thinking,
"….She seemed glad that you were alive and yourself. I did tell her about your… current condition though…."
She trailed off as Micheal groaned and leaned his head back into the chair,
"So… she's not mad?"
"No? Why would she be mad?"
"Just… worried about the state of the Lafaire Crest is all. I can't see it but I can tell its damaged from sensing it."
Jeanne folded her arms and stared out the window,
"She seemed more worried about you. The crest didn't even come up."
"Well… At least I'm going home as myself. Thats something to be thankful for at least. Better that then what I did for the first three weeks which was lay there in bed and be miserable."
"What the everloving fuck would you have to be thankful for!?" Jeanne said biting her yell back into an angry whisper, "You can't see. You barely have any mana to speak of-"
"My wish was to see you have your own life." He said flatly, folding his hands in his lap, "I got my wish granted. As for any other wishes…."
He trailed off only to shake his head,
"I'm grateful I got that wish granted over any others. Thats all. After the first three weeks I couldn't stand just laying in bed anymore so I just started doing drills in my room. I can't exactly go for runs anymore but I can still do other stuff. Pretty sure you know this because you caught me doing one handed push ups and I distinctly remember you yelling at me to "get the fuck back in bed"."
Jeanne glared at him knowing he couldn't see it,
"...You're glaring at me right now aren't you."
"I'm doing nothing of the sort."
She turned to look out the window deciding she would look at the scenery until they took off.
####
Almost fifteen hours later Jeanne was jolted awake when the wheels hit the tarmac of the Paris International Airport. She groaned and stretched her neck and upper back as much as she could. As she did this she blinked and noticed that someone had buckled her in at some point. She got a flight attendants attention and had to suppress an annoyed look as they did a triple take upon seeing her before they walked over,
"Bonjour madam. How may I help you?"
"Do you all buckle in passengers when the light comes back on? I fell asleep and when I woke up someone had buckled me in."
The attendent shook their head,
"Non. We may wake you for you to do it yourself but we do not buckle in passengers."
As they attendant walked away she felt herself frown before noticing Micheal pointedly angling his face away from her. She felt her face flush at the obvious implication and the red tint she could see on his ears only confirmed it for her.
"You could have woken me up you know." She hissed as the seatbelt light turned off and everyone on the flight started to get up from their seats,
"And where the hell am I supposed to touch to shake you and do that? I can't see normally remember?"
Jeanne paused and turned her head to look at him,
"...Did you use your eyes are to be able to see the seatbelt?"
Micheal winced a bit but nodded after a few seconds. She immediately felt a reprimand shoot up her throat but she swallowed it with difficulty. She turned her focus off of Micheal and onto getting their stuff from the overhead compartment.
"...Thanks but… don't use your eyes unless you have to. Not until we know what they are. Okay?" She muttered to him as she guided him out of the airplane by putting her hand on his shoulder.
"I just- ...You just got your new life and I don't want to see it…." He said trailing off.
"As nice as that is I'd like to remind you that I am still a Servant." Jeanne snapped at him enough for him to hear her as she winced a bit at her tone. She glared up at the side of Micheals head before focusing on walking along with the massive crowd of people. Soon enough they were on their way to pick up their suitcases only to have to wait along with several other people. She made sure to stand nearby Micheal incase he needed her but otherwise was lost in her own thoughts.
Its weird that I didn't have any of my normal dreams while I was asleep. I wonder why...
She thought to herself as she tapped her foot. She heard Micheal chuckle beside her and she looked at him,
"Whats funny?"
"You're irritated by something."
She felt herself blush,
"Just be quiet."
"Oui, oui~"
They fell into silence for a few minutes until she saw their luggage start to come around. She grabbed it, made sure Micheal got his hand around his own, and then they made their way slowly to the airport exit only for Micheal to pause and pat his pockets. She turned around to look at him as he pulled out his wallet and felt around in it,
"Shit…. Jeanne I don't have any Francs on me. How are we going to get back to the house?"
Jeanne was about to answer as they walked out and onto the sidewalk for the pick up zone when out of the corner of her eye she saw a very familiar light grey SUV parked in line. She did her best to ignore the lead weight that dropped into her stomach as she sighed, gently grabbed Micheals shoulder again, and guided him forward,
"..Jeanne?"
She ignored his questioning tone as they came into view of the driver and she felt that lead weight grow heavier as Amelia's eyes widened and she quickly got out of the car. Jeanne averted her gaze, about to step away so Amelia could hug her son without her in the way when she was suddenly unable to move her feet. She quickly looked down and saw that her shoes had been partially encased in reformed concrete. She looked up, panicked, as Amelia threw herself at them to wrap them both in a hug as she sobbed.
"I'm- I'm- so glad your both okay. You- You had no idea how worried I was the entire ti- time. I couldn't see anything on -hic on the news and anything I did hear was through a giant game of Clocktower telephone and-"
Jeanne froze unsure of what to do and she looked at Micheal who just shook his head and gently tapped his mom on the shoulder,
"Nice to see you too mom… Maybe hold the water works until we're in the car since we're making a scene. Come on, I wanna sleep in my own bed for once."
Amelia pulled herself off of them and sniffled as she smiled,
"I'm so thankful you're both home safe and sound."
Jeanne opened her mouth to ask what the hell about Micheal was 'safe and sound' only for Micheal to nudge her in the arm and shake his head as Amelia took their suitcases to put in the back of the car,
"Look. I know you feel bad but-"
"What the everloving fuck about your condition is 'safe and sound' Micheal!?" Jeanne hissed back incredulous. She looked between him and Amelia like they were both insane as the woman came back to stand in front of them. She gave Micheal a proper hug and then she held out her arms in front of Jeanne who stiffened but nodded jerkily. Thankfully the hug was brief but it was clear from how tight Amelia hugged her that she had been just as worried about her as as she had been for her own son.
Amelia helped Micheal get into the passenger seat and started to hold the door open for Jeanne only for her to wave her off and get in on her own. Jeanne noticed Amelias pout at this and sighed as the woman got back into the drivers seat and turned the key in the ignition. Thankfully she waited until they were fully on the highway to put up a bounded field. She waited, anxiety making her nauseous, until finally,
"You're both okay. Thank fucking hells…"
Jeanne snapped her head to look at Amelia who just glanced at both them clearly thankful,
"What about Micheals condition is okay!? What is wrong with all of you!?" Jeanne yelled her patience finally snapping, "He's blind and he doesn't have circuits anymore! My wish-"
"Was worth it." Micheal said firmly as Amelia looked between the two of them her brows furrowed.
"...I take it this is an ongoing argument." She stated more than asked.
"Yes."
"Apparently."
Jeanne glared at the back of Micheals head as Amelia blew out her cheeks. After driving for a bit,
"Do you want to know the survival rate for every previous Grail War, Jeanne?"
She flicked her eyes to look at Amelias as they were reflected in the rearview mirror and decided to stay silent.
"Basically Zero. With the exception of Desmond, every participant in every Grail War before this one has always died horribly. I've been worried this entire time that the next time I'd see either of you was as a foot note as a specific summoned servant or as a picture on top of a closed casket. The fact that both of you are alive and still yourselves means that my wish was granted too."
Jeanne stared,
"Why would you care if I died?" She asked incredulous. She was unsure if she wanted to know the answer but her curiosity won over her hesitation,
"Because as far as I am concerned Jeanne D'Arc Alter after all of this you are a Lafaire and as the acting head of the Lafaire family that means I can make that happen officially if I so choose."
Jeanne narrowed her eyes at what was left unspoken but clearly said in Amelias brief glance and sly smile back at her from the drivers seat,
"I can either name you a Lafaire or you could take the name for yourself in the future. I know which one you would want."
Then she remembered what was only a few months ago but felt like an entirely separate lifetime,
"I'd love to have you as a daughter-in-law Jeanne Alter."
Jeanne glanced at Micheal, once again feeling that crushing guilt, before looking out the window,
He'd never want me in any way. Let alone like that.
She stared out the window as the city of Paris slowly morphed into suburbs and then turned into countryside.
~~~~~~~~
Jeanne tried her best to ignore her persistent blush as she reclasped her bra and pulled her shirt back over her head as Amelia walked back to her desk in her workshop. She pushed her arms through the sleeves and shivered a little remembering the feeling of that thing that Amelia had placed on her chest. It was apparently to listen to someones heartbeat and while Jeanne was quick to point out that she didn't have a heart Amelia had not budged. She awkwardly coughed and Amelia looked up at her,
"Is… all of this normal? For humans?" She asked, averting her gaze at Amelias near instant attentiveness.
"Not all of it but since you're going to be sticking around and living in the house I wanted to do a proper physical on you for baseline health reasons." She said smiling, "You might not be fully human but I also want to make sure you stay healthy. Even if it is a 'moot point' given that you are technically still a Servant."
Jeanne pouted a bit but sighed deciding to not fight Amelia on this. One of the first things she had learned about Amelia Lafaire is to just let her do stuff like this. She stretched and groaned a little feeling her muscles unclench. Her nightmares had resumed the same night she and Micheal had landed back in France and she had had one the night before, managing to lock herself into a position that made her muscles stiff which persisted as the day went on.
She glanced over as she heard the rapidfire clunking that was Amelia typing into her computer and moved to hop off the table only for Amelia to glance up at her,
"Not done yet."
"But- what the hell else is there to test? I can't get sick and I'm not going to start physically aging either since I'm still a servant!" She asked bewildered as Amelia arched an eyebrow and stood up from her desk reaching into her coat pocket. She pulled out what was clearly a mystic code and walked over spinning it between her fingers. She handed it to Jeanne who took it and just looked at it confused,
"And this is supposed to be…."
"A mana meter. It not only measures the mana in a room but also if and where the mana is moving. As in where its moving from and where to."
"But why-" Jeannes asked not understanding as Amelia sighed,
"I've already examined Micheal. I've been examining him since we got back trying to find someway to restore his sight. In the process of doing this I've found that he effectively has no magic circuits left in his body which means he, for all intents and purposes, should not be able to hold or generate mana at all."
"...Yet he not only can but he's getting it from somewhere." Jeanne finished as Amelia nodded and frowned a bit.
"Did he tell you what he did to cleanse the grail? He keeps dodging the question when I ask him and I have a gut feeling whatever he did is both the reason he doesn't have circuits and is also unable to generate mana."
Jeanne shook her head, looking back down at the meter before putting it in her pocket,
"No. Every time I've asked he's always had something come up that he has to do or has changed the subject."
Amelia ran a hand down her face,
"Would you mind going and getting him? We need to figure this out sooner rather than later."
Jeanne sighed but agreed and about 10 minutes later Micheal was sitting in a chair in front of both of them in the workshop, his heel bouncing up and down.
"Micheal." Amelia started and he turned his head to her, "I don't want to force you to sign a geass but I want to know and Jeanne deserves to know this. What else besides your circuits and sight did you give up to cleanse the grail?"
He stiffened and opened his mouth only for Jeanne to cut him off,
"Just answer the question Micheal. Please."
He hesitated and slowly closed his mouth as his foot slowly stopped bouncing until it was fully still. He might as well have been a statue the only thing giving away that he wasn't was that his chest was moving in time with his breathing,
"….Why are both of you so insistent on asking this question?" He finally asked as Amelia let some frustration slip into her voice
"Because the math doesn't make sense Micheal. You performed a Miracle and yet you are still here, body and soul. Everytime, in every legend, that Man reaches beyond his limits into the realm of the Divine he gives up something. Usually his life. Its the whole self sacrifice stuff. Yet-"
"Yet you're still here. Even if my wish brought you back physically you shouldn't have had your soul and yet you're still the same person you were before. So what did you give up that would be equal to your lif-" Jeanne froze as a thought occurred to her. She stared at Micheal her eyes wide as Amelia looked between them, "Micheal. I want you to be honest with me. Completely, fully, one hundred percent honest. Did you give up what I think you did?"
He sighed, "I'm guessing you figured it out given the lack of…. anything it would usually do."
Jeanne swallowed as her mouth suddenly felt dry,
"You gave up your Saint Origin. Didn't you?"
As soon as she asked that question Amelia shot forward, quickly going behind Micheal fast enough that neither Jeanne nor he had anytime to react. She ripped up the back of his shirt as he yelled in surprise while Jeanne moved to help him summoning her sword,
"Jeanne don't. I need to focus and if my guess is right you just confirmed a theory I have had since Micheal came out of his coma."
Jeanne froze in place her sword partially raised,
"What- What theory?"
"The theory that Micheals Saint Origin was planted in him somehow by someone."
Micheal had gone noticeably quiet and had stopped struggling when Amelia said this which both of them noticed,
"So you're testing-"
"I'm running the same test I ran on him when he was born and when he came out of his coma."
Amelia said as she placed a large sheet of parchment on his back and bit her thumb to draw runic circles on it in blood. Jeanne looked at him,
"Did you know? Is she correct?"
Micheal was silent for a few seconds before,
"I've….had my suspicions ever since I came out of my coma. I did my own research and saw somethings while in the grail that made my suspicions hold more water than I thought they would. After all why would a mage get an origin related in any way to holy and hell energy or the church? The two schools are fundamentally incompatible with each other."
He shook his head,
"And yet not only did I have whatever a 'Saint Origin' would imply but my attribute is Heaven/Hell and I can use said attribute to enhance my magecraft with holy energy or hell energy and I use both energies alongside my mana to summon Blessed Hellfire. I never tried to even channel the 'Hell' side of it until that final day of the war."
Amelia lifted her thumb off Micheals back and quickly healed it. She placed her other hand onto the paper and channeled mana into her son only for her eyes to widen as the circuits on her arm began to glow brighter as she staggered. Jeanne dispelled her sword and quickly grabbed Amelia getting her away from Micheal who shot upright out of the chair and went stiff as a board as the circles glowed blue and the blood was absorbed through the paper and into his skin.
The mana meter in Jeannes pocket started beeping. She looked at Amelia who nodded that she was fine and went to grab the paper off of his back while Jeanne pulled the meter out and began to walk towards Micheal who was panting. The beeping got louder as she got near him,
"Whats that beeping-"
"Shush. Amelia can explain after I'm done." Jeanne ordered causing him to quickly fall silent. She narrowed her eyes at the meter as she walked around Micheal noticing when the beeping changed. She eventually started walking in a specific direction as the beeping intensified until it was beeping so fast it sounded like one loud beep. She stopped and looked around trying to figure out what was so unique about this spot. She turned around and blinked as it clicked into place.
Amelias entire workshop was powered by a gemcraft array that pulled mana directly from the leyline.
And she was standing where the 'spigot' was.
The meter finally stopped beeping as a puff of smoke came out of it. She stared at it, dumbfounded.
"He's pulling mana from the leyline…"
"I'm what!?"
"HE'S WHAT!?!"
Jeanne shook her head and walked back towards them taking note of the mana density in the air as she did so. It was approaching normal until she got within a meter of Micheal where it suddenly became more dense. Not enough for her to notice normally but now that she was looking for it,
"Amelia….I have a question."
Amelia made a noise and Jeanne looked at her about to tell her to pay attention when she noticed that she was looking at the sheet of paper and seemed to be sweating bullets. Jeanne walked over and tugged on the paper to read it as Amelia let go and collapsed into a nearby chair.
Jeanne read the paper realizing that it was all Micheals magical crap. She began to read it, her eyes growing wider and wider,
Magic Circuits: N/A (Error code: 23.196:45)
Crest: Lafaire (Age: 1,216 Accumulated) (Included Circuits: 105) [WARNING: SEVERELY DAMAGED]
Attribute: Heaven/Hell; [ERROR: IMPOSSIBLE/NON-HUMAN ATTRIBUTE DETECTED. WARNING: REFER TO EMERGENCY MANUAL SECTION: 15.682.542 FOR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Elements: Fire; Earth; Lightning; Holy; Hell; [ERROR]; [ERROR]
Origin: [ERROR: NON-HUMAN ORIGIN DETECTED. REFER TO EMERGENCY MANUAL SECTION 84.304.8745]
Eyes: [ERROR: ABNORMALITY DETECTED. REFER TO EMERGENCY MANUAL SECTION 105.6975.3047]
[WARNING TO ACTING HEAD OF LAFAIRE FAMILY]
SUBJECT IS POSSIBLE THREAT TO HUMANITY.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
ADVICE TO ACTING LAFAIRE FAMILY HEAD:
TERMINATE SUBJECT IMMEDIATELY.
Jeanne read and reread the paper before looking at Amelia who just stared at the floor in some kind of stupor.
"Amelia. AMELIA."
The woman jolted and looked up at Jeanne who shook the paper,
"What the everloving fuck does any of this mean!? AND WHY IS YOUR SPELL SAYING TO 'TERMINATE' MICHEAL!?!?"
"I'm sorry, the who said what now?" Micheal asked as he began to tap his way over to them. Amelia straightened up and looked between the two of them. Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief that Amelia wasn't looking at Micheal like he was what the paper said he was. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at them both.
"We need to go to the Vault. It will be easier to explain there…. I hope. First though, Micheal try summoning Blessed Hellfire."
Jeanne blinked and glanced at Micheal who extended his hand and summoned the pistol easily letting it fall into his hand as he caught it. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief and stood up,
"Good. Keep it handy. Jeanne? Sorry but you might need to use your mana to fight."
Amelia began walking away as Micheal and Jeanne followed her. She noticed happily that aside from the stairs Micheal was keeping up with them. He paused as they got halfway up the stairs,
"Mom. Whats gotten you so worked up? Whats in the vaults that is so dangerous that I'd need to have a Divine Construct ready to go?"
Amelia paused and looked down at them with a look that sent chills down Jeannes spine,
"Just in case what we're going to see summons anything. Come on. I'd rather get this figured out sooner rather than later. I just hope I'm wrong…."
######
The Lafaire mansion was, in actuality, a giant multilevel complex that extended underground for seven levels under the main house. Jeanne had been to six of the seven of them at some point , having crashed through floors 1-3 the year prior to get to the training floor on the fourth sublevel, with the exception of floor seven which Micheal would later tell her was the Lafaire vault.
As the elevator descended Jeanne felt apprehension as she looked at the other two people standing with her. Micheal stood in place humming a song to himself, his eyes still closed, while Amelia looked like she was preparing to fight something or someone. The elevator slowed to a stop and just like the last time she had been to this floor a small metal arm extended out of the wall of the elevator. Amelia placed her thumb onto it and winced. She pulled her thumb off and Jeannes eyebrows shot up as she saw a small needle retract into the arm.
"Thats….intense for a security system." Jeanne said.
"Wait. What happened? I think I blinked."
Micheal grinned as both Amelia and Jeanne gave him a flat look knowing he couldn't see them,
"I'm hilarious. Its not my fault you two don-"
The elevator doors opened and they were immediately swamped in mana. Jeanne blinked as she felt herself begin to absorb the mana that suddenly surrounded her as Micheal sighed,
"...of all the times to not be able to see." He muttered as Amelia stepped out of the elevator with Micheal soon following her as Jeanne walked out and into the Lafaire vault craning her neck up to see the ceiling. She looked back down and let her gaze wander the area.
The Lafaire vault was easily the size of multiple airplane hangers. The floor was a solid white tile while the walls were dark grey. The ceiling overhead was natural bedrock but had bright white lights mounted at fixed intervals that were slowly turning on in rows illuminating items that made her head spin. She walked up to a massive horn in a glass case. It was big enough that she could comfortably sit inside the middle of it. She looked to her right and her mouth fell open as she saw several charred pieces of wood all sitting on their own pedestal within their own giant glass case. She slowly walked up to it as she felt the pure version of her own mana leaking off the fragments of wood,
"Thats the one Micheal used to summon you." Amelia said softly coming up beside her and making her jump a bit. Amelia pointed at a vaguely familiar piece of burnt wood sitting on a blood red silk cloth on its own pedestal near the center of the other pieces, "But thats not what I want to show you. Come on."
"Wait…. where's Micheal?"
"If my guess is correct, and I sincerely hope I'm wrong, then he's already found it…. In spite of being completely blind."
Jeanne followed Amelia past more glass cases as her mind whirled. She paused in front of one case that held a pure white sword with a sky blue handguard. The blade had bulges running down both edges that were meant to crack through armor while running along the middle groove seemed to be a substance that absorbed light.
"Jeanne? Come on!"
"Ye- Yeah… Be right there…" Jeanne tore her eyes away from the sword and jogged up next to Amelia. As they walked she noticed that the mana was slowly getting more and more dense. Right as she was about to ask she noticed Micheal standing in front of a slender case that seemed to be kept separate from the rest. They came up beside him and this time Jeanne couldn't keep her shock internal,
"Is that… Is that what I think it is?"
Inside the case and sitting at an angle atop white silk was a pale blue mirror etched with silver embossing with a black outer edge. The mana coming off of it was truly immense, so much so that Jeanne felt it actively slowing down her thoughts. As she looked into the mirror she didn't see her reflection as she thought she would.
Instead she saw a woman with silver-blue hair kept in a ponytail by a black bow reclining on a throne as if deep in thought. As Jeanne stared the woman who opened her eyes and Jeanne felt her mouth fall open.
Her eyes were ice blue.
The woman just smiled serenely at her and waved her hand causing the image to vanish and Jeanne to wonder if she had just been seeing things. Only,
"….Okay… you all saw that too right?" Amelia said her voice betraying her shock.
"I…. Okay. What did you see? Because I saw a woman with white hair in a ponytail and ice blue eyes sitting on a throne."
Amelia looked at her,
"I saw a woman with blonde hair and green eyes sitting in a field of flowers with a stone tower in the distance."
"….I saw myself. In ornate black, purple, and gold armor standing in a field of shimmering golden lances all before an empty and broken throne inside a ruined and floating castle while the sky burned blood red."
Jeanne snapped her head to look at Micheal at the same time Amelia did. He had taken his glasses off and Jeanne sucked in a breath as for the first time since they had gotten back she saw his eyes. They weren't grey anymore nor that mess of mangled and damaged tissue that they had been previously.
They were blue.
The same ice blue as the womans.
"What… is it?" he finally said reaching out to touch the glass. Amelia looked at it with a pained expression,
"Morgan Le Fays Water Mirror….. its been broken since she vanished in the 8th century. That was the first time in the history that the Lafaires have had it that it activated… and it only activated when her mana was either pushed through it…. Or near it."
Jeanne watched as Micheal blinked as if suddenly aware of what he was doing. He pulled his hand back from the glass and rubbed his fingers together.
"Micheal… your saint origin was disguising what you are- Who you are…"
Jeanne shook her head, still trying to think clearly through the mana coming off the mirror,
"What and who is that supposed to be then?"
"That I'm the direct descendant of Morgan le Fay…. which makes me a Faerie…. and King Arthurs enemy." Micheal said quietly, staring at his hand.