Lancelot (Saber)
Knight of Demise
Narration:
...Britain has met its end.
Narration:
A most horrific of ends. Everyone and everything dead. But by happenstance, I was spared.
Narration:
All was sacrificed.
Narration:
The King of Knights, Gawain, Mordred, Kay... Merlin escaped to paradise...or was he driven there?
Narration:
The Round Table collapsed. Camelot is a land of ruin. Yet I survive...somehow.
Narration:
After my death, I ascended to the Throne of Heroes, gaining a second life as a Servant.
Narration:
And yet I feel as if I am still struggling to live in my homeland...
Shakespeare:
This is merely an analogy...
Shakespeare:
Let us make a play about the end of Britain.
Oh, please do not be vexed.
Shakespeare:
As a playwright, this is the only way I can express myself.
Shakespeare:
Lord Mordred plays the role of demise.
The knight of rebellion is truly the epitome of the end.
Shakespeare:
That knight gathered all rebels to her banner, splitting Britain in twain, and laid waste to the Round Table itself...
Shakespeare:
...Bringing our play to its conclusion.
Shakespeare:
King Arthur shall play the role of the sacrifice.
And so I beg your indulgence.
Shakespeare:
The king was, to be sure, used as a sacrifice.
Shakespeare:
The one at the center of Britain's tragedy, but retaining her composure as the King of Knights through it all... There won't be a dry eye in the house.
Shakespeare:
I suppose it may have ended differently,
but I confess that I would not know.
Shakespeare:
Now, for you, Sir Lancelot.
Your parts in this play will be mixed.
Shakespeare:
Your character witnesses the Round Table's split, and you will also take on the task of informing the audience of the play's conclusion.
Shakespeare:
You, the sole witness, watch in agony as the tragedy unfolds before your eyes.
Shakespeare:
You walked the path of the knight, and were charged with passing on the idea that knighthood itself had not perished.
Shakespeare:
Whether you succeeded in doing so... Well, I imagine that is a question you can answer better than I.
Lancelot:
I see. That's quite the merciless view of things.
Such could only come from the mind of a playwright.
Lancelot:
...In that case, I am a man past his time, yes?
Lancelot:
Quite upsetting, but I'm grateful, Shakespeare.
Shakespeare:
Yes...yes...
Shakespeare:
After overhearing your agony,
I simply dissected it as an author might.
Shakespeare:
While I do so, might I beg your assistance?
Lancelot:
I shall, to the extent that I am able,
and if Master approves.
Shakespeare:
Then let us be off! With Master in tow,
our destination is the Mist City, London!
Lancelot:
London?
Fujimaru 1:
Okay, why'd you drag me here!?
Lancelot:
My apologies, Master.
I thought you knew why we were here.
Fujimaru 2:
What the hell, Shakespeare!?
Shakespeare:
Hahaha!
Shakespeare:
Oh, nothing, nothing. I just thought it might be amusing to bring the knight to this evil version of the city, is all!
Lancelot:
Anyway, Shakespeare.
Lancelot:
What am I supposed to do here?
Sightsee?
Shakespeare:
When one calls upon a knight, it should be for battle, or to save a princess.
Shakespeare:
As I see no princess, it seems battle is to be the order of the day!
Shakespeare:
Before partaking in a bit of nostalgia for your homeland, it is time for battle! Look ahead... It seems we are about to be beset by foes!
Lancelot:
I hesitate to say that I understand,
but I shall fulfill my duties as a Servant.
Lancelot:
To battle!
--BATTLE--:
Lancelot:
That was a fine warmup.
Now, let's proceed.
Lancelot:
I know this is rather obvious, but this place is very different from the Britain I remember.
Fujimaru 1:
Mordred didn't seem to mind.
Lancelot:
Well, that is Mordred. She was never the most refined among us, and could be downright uncouth about things like this.
Lancelot:
I can only imagine she was barking like a dog,
trying to scare others out of her territory.
Fujimaru 2:
Well, yeah. It's been about a thousand years.
Lancelot:
I see humanity has come a long way to be able to build so many structures of this sort in this benighted land.
Lancelot:
I understand progress is progress,
but it is still somewhat jarring.
Lancelot:
Yes, this place was in constant strife. It had no chance to thrive, being ever ablaze in the fires of war.
Lancelot:
The people of this land...they put all their hope in the King of Knights.
Lancelot:
They all believed that the one chosen by the sacred sword would be able to save the world.
Shakespeare:
And yet, ultimately,
Britain's fate was destruction.
Shakespeare:
The best you could do was try to mitigate the damage for future generations.
Lancelot:
Now that I reflect back, that is probably true.
Lancelot:
They should have simply given up and accepted their destruction in peace.
Lancelot:
That is my opinion as I look back on it now, playwright.
Lancelot:
But for those who lived during that time...the knights who lived in that era...well, there was no way any of them could accept such a thing.
Shakespeare:
...Yes, I suppose that's true.
Shakespeare:
And that is why we fight now to prevent our own destruction!
Shakespeare:
It would, I suppose, be fair to say that I am simply watching, cheering, and writing.
Lancelot:
...Master, is there nothing that can be done about this writer?
Lancelot:
Were he a warrior, I would have him account for his words with his weapon... That would resolve so many things so very easily...
Shakespeare:
NO VIOLENCE!!!
Lancelot:
Have you forgotten the true nature of what it means to be a Servant!?
Shakespeare:
Hahaha...
Whatever do you mean...hahaha...
Shakespeare:
Had I been summoned in a normal Holy Grail War, it is Master who would have been doing most of the fighting.
Fujimaru 1:
Me!?
Shakespeare:
Yes.
My job is to wave a flag around to cheer you on.
Lancelot:
I'm relieved, then, that you're not involved in a normal Holy Grail War, Master...
Lancelot:
Doubly so, knowing that had you been in such a situation, Shakespeare might have been your Servant.
Lancelot:
But then again, I wonder what kind of Holy Grail War he would be summoned to?
Lancelot:
...Would they make him write a new book or something?
Shakespeare:
...Anyway!
We're heading towards the main event!
Lancelot:
Main...event?
Shakespeare:
Yes, yes.
The main event.
Shakespeare:
The last Knight in a foreign land...the divider of the Round Table: Sir Lancelot!
Shakespeare:
The individual whom you are to fight...is behind that bolt of lightning!
Altria:
...Are you a Knight of the Round Table?
Lancelot:
Wha...!?
Lancelot:
Impossible...impossible...impossible!
Lancelot:
Why...why of all places, would you be here!?
Altria:
That's obvious.
Altria:
I am the embodiment of destruction, a Servant who manifested through the aspect of annihilation.
Altria:
I will destroy it all.
Altria:
Through my Rhongomyniad,
thunderous clouds shall engulf all things.
Lancelot:
...I will not allow it.
Altria:
Why not, Knight of the Round Table?
Altria:
A fog surrounds your name in my memory as I am now,
but I still sense that you once served me.
Altria:
So sense my intentions, conform to my will, and obey my words. That is what it means to be loyal.
Lancelot:
No...
Lancelot:
My methods and actions may have been mistaken, but I still believe my intentions were true and just.
Lancelot:
At times, true loyalty may require a knight to bare steel against his lord.
Lancelot:
This rings all the truer when I face one who calls herself the embodiment of destruction! I can justly say that a person like you is no lord of mine!
Lancelot:
If you are the Wild Hunt, the King of the Storm, I am...
Lancelot:
The Knight of the Lake, who faces the storm down with his silent blade.
Altria:
If that sacred sword of yours moves as quickly as you flap your lips, you will make a worthy opponent.
Altria:
Come to me, dead spirits who gather here.
I will turn this demonic city into a charnel pit!
--BATTLE--:
Altria:
Just as dawn will always break the dark of night,
so too must a storm end.
Altria:
I am merely a remnant. Were this not the end of the world, I might simply have made a mark on history and disappeared.
Lancelot:
My king, you are...
Altria:
Stop right there, Knight of the Round Table.
I am not the king you know.
Altria:
This shining sacred spear is all that allows me to exist as a Heroic Spirit.
Altria:
Even so, I am no more than a remnant of that person. There is no need for you to bow to me.
Lancelot:
...No matter what form you have taken, you are my king, now that you have come to your senses.
Altria:
Well, I didn't come to my senses.
It is only that I have remembered something.
Altria:
The plains that I remembered are long gone,
as are the people we vowed to protect.
Altria:
But I still sense something. There are some human activity that has rooted itself in this city.
Altria:
Traces of the dream of a utopia... A dream that existed here long ago, and still exists today...
Lancelot:
If it wasn't for the guidance of the playwright, I might not have known what to feel in the face of this fate of mine.
Lancelot:
Shakespeare, was this your doing?
Shakespeare:
Hahahahaha, of course not!
Shakespeare:
I could never have summoned such a perfect likeness of the King of Knights!
Shakespeare:
Well, to think that she would manifest as a remnant, destroy London, and then simply disappear...
Shakespeare:
...would be a nightmare.
Shakespeare:
And so I felt compelled to bring the most capable of all knights to this place.
Shakespeare:
Ah, 'tis passing strange... These dreams of mine are no sooner formed than forgotten.
Fujimaru 1:
Good eye!
Shakespeare:
Thank you, Master.
Lancelot:
A capable knight...?
Lancelot:
Ah, to be referred to as such embarrasses me.
Lancelot:
In any case, I will accept your praise with pride!
Fujimaru 2:
Lancelot's the best knight!
Lancelot:
Master...
Lancelot:
Thank you. I shall cherish those words forever.
Lancelot:
No matter the dire situation I face,
those words will give me strength.
Shakespeare:
I must be honest. To think that the most capable knight is FRENCH is more than a little troubling.
Shakespeare:
Fortunately, modern man that I am, I consider myself to be quite open-minded when considering a nation's troubles.
Shakespeare:
So even though the critics of your country first called me “vulgar” and “cruel”...
Shakespeare:
I offer my forgiveness now!
Lancelot:
I don't see how that has anything to do with me!
Shakespeare:
I'm really just venting here.
Shakespeare:
Well, at least in modern France, people know my true worth, so all is well...
Shakespeare:
But know this: an author carries his grudges forever!
Lancelot:
By the way, you said it was all a nightmare, Shakespeare.
Lancelot:
Hm... No, it can't be...
Fujimaru 1:
What's wrong?
Lancelot:
It's nothing. I just remembered somebody...a dependable mage who has a deplorable tendency toward the ridiculous as well.
Lancelot:
If his hand is at work here, there's nothing for it. Annoying as it is, I can only accept it.
Lancelot:
After all, he is sneaky as a snake in the grass.
Lancelot:
Only our king could ever command that man.
Lancelot:
...I see.
He WOULD do something like this...
Fujimaru 1:
Ahhh...
???:
Ah-CHOO!
???:
Hmmm, did I catch a cold?
Or maybe someone's talking about me.
???:
Hopefully all that annoying stuff is done.
???:
And so, thanks to the Knight of the Lake, the remnant of the King of Storms in London vanished...
???:
And now his debt to the Round Table is paid in full.
???:
Yep. All's right in the world.
Happily ever after for everyone.