The Gauntlet

//Present Day//

Heroic spirits, given form as servants, were stronger and tougher than any ordinary human can ever hope to be. Mana supplied by their masters gave them the hardiness to shrug off tremendous physical damage that no person could survive, move faster than any Olympic sprinter, and endure stress and exertion than someone running a double marathon. As long as they had adequate mana supply, a servant would never tire, weaken, or need rest. What is considered physically demanding for a human was mere child's play for a servant.

Or so the masters of Chaldea have whole-heartedly believed until now...

There they stood on-top the terrace of Castle Dunscaith; Gudao and Gabrielle stared down incredulously at their team of servants, having just been through Scathach's first day of training, and all looking like hell itself ate them and then spat them back out. Many were bruised and battered, sweating profusely and panting heavily for air. Some couldn't even stand up on their own two feet and either had support themselves against the stone wall or sit on the floor.

Mordred was carrying a barely-breathing Jekyll by her arm while looking extremely winded, resting herself and the Assassin against the fortress wall. Astolfo was lying on his back in front of them, limbs sprawled outward comically while having a dazed expression. Arturia and Jeanne were sitting down with their leg armor removed, trying to nurse what the masters thought was painful blisters forming on their feet. Emiya was standing up, bent-over and panting with his head almost between his knees. As for Mashu, she was on the floor lying on her side, clenching her abdomen and groaning from an unbearable muscle cramp. Never had the masters ever seen their servants so drained and exhausted outside of actual combat.

The only servant who was not too worse-for-wear was Cu Chulainn. He had ascended the many steps up to the fortress and was merely stretching, removing fatigue in his limbs while waiting for the others to arrive. Once he was finished, he eagerly blurted out:

"Well, I say we had a great session. Teacher sure hasn't lost her touch giving her pupils a workout..."

"Speak... for yourself... mutt," Mordred growled between breaths after gently setting Jekyll on the ground. She pointed a weak, shaking finger at the Lancer accusingly. "This was... YOUR idea..."

The Saber at last collapsed butt-first on the floor, still panting. Emiya looked up at the Lancer all while being unamused.

"Remind me again..." he said between breaths. "Just how this... is supposed... to help us...?"

"I feel like pancake batter right now..." Astolfo groaned out.

"I have to agree... with Shirou..." said Arturia, wincing while she tended her aching foot. "I fail to see what we just did was for our benefit..."

She carefully lanced a large blister while Jeanne beside her mutters with a groan:

"Oh Lord... grant me relief..."

Mashu struggles to sit up while fighting her agonizing cramping.

"You know something Senpai?" She said while looking up at the masters. "I rather go back to using the simulators in Chaldea..."

"Even I am going to need more than physical therapy after this..." Jekyll remarks, having just regained full consciousness. He could hear Hyde in the back of his mind relishing in the doctor's misery...

-"I'm so glad I'm not using your body right now... Sucks to be you..".-

"(grunt)"

Gudao and Gabrielle could only look on worriedly and anxiously as they waited for their host to rejoin them, and they could not fathom how their first day of training with Scathach went so hilariously pear-shaped. Needless to say, they did not know what to expect when they listened to Cu Chulainn and came with their servants to grow stronger from her teachings. The masters were sure nothing would be too much for their servants given how strong they were compared to ordinary mages, and yet their first day with the warrior queen proved them dead wrong. The siblings looked at each other in astonishment; their expressions reflecting what the other was thinking:

-How on Earth did things end up like this?-

//Earlier...//

Everyone was still reeling from Scathach's abrupt awakening. Mordred was nursing a headache after falling off her bed this early morning. She was dressed in athletic apparel recommended by the masters before their trip: consisting of red shorts and a white, form-hugging t-shirt while also opting to wear red sleeves over her arms. Looking around at most of the other servants standing in the meal-hall with her, the Red Saber could tell that she wasn't the only one who was shaken by the "explosive" wake-up call. The servants and masters gathered here as Scathach directed, dressed comfortably for the rigorous day ahead, with the Shadow offering some "nourishment" before their first bout of training. The warrior queen was walking the row of still groggy servants, handing out goblets of tea to each of them.

"Everyone, drink up," she instructed as the servants each took one, some savoring the aroma before consuming while others reluctantly obeyed. Arturia in particular had a nagging feeling that the Shadow had some ulterior motive for offering them tea, but not wanting to seem rude to their host, she eventually took a sip. After finishing it, the Blue Saber watches as Scathach then comes up to Cu Chulainn.

"You too, Setanta," she tells him with a bit more insistence. The Lancer remarks coyly:

"What if I don't want to play along?"

"Try me... I dare you," Scathach counters, raising an eyebrow in challenge. Lancer scoffs and takes some tea. Arturia could tell that Cu knew full-well what the Shadow had in store and wasn't even trying to hide that fact from her. She wondered if there was more between them than the Lancer initially let on. He knew what was about to happen more than the other servants could imagine.

-I hope the masters know what Lancer has gotten us into. We could be in for more than we expect...-

"Alright everyone," Scathach announced was everyone was finished drinking their tea. "Follow me outside."

As everyone then followed the warrior queen to the entrance hall, Arturia couldn't help but notice how "heavy" she felt after having Scathach's tea; like a weight constantly pressing down on herself, making even mere walking take effort. It was a feeling she hasn't experienced since the Fifth Holy Grail War while Shirou Emiya was her master. While he eventually would become a proficient mage, Arturia's first few days as his servant were extremely difficult as he was an amateur, barely able to supply enough mana for the Saber to fight and sustain her form. Even using her Noble Phantasm would come with the considerable risk of sapping her strength to the point of near-death.

What she was feeling now was eerily similar to that. The mana supply coming from her masters felt... minimal. Arturia wondered if the others were feeling the same thing...

They found the masters waiting for them by the exit doors, and once they were all gathered together, Scathach went in front as Gabrielle asked her.

"So what's the plan?"

"I thought we could start things simple today," said the Shadow. "For now, we're going for a run..."

Nearly everyone was stumped. Mordred for one thought this must be a joke after the servants' one-on-one with her golems the day before.

-You've got to be kidding me! A RUN? THIS is what we left Chaldea for?!-

The other servants were visibly thinking along the same lines as the Red Saber. Most of them expected something more refined than a simple jog through the forest, especially after their first trial and demonstrating their strengths as Heroic Spirits. A mere run seemed like child's play in comparison.

A sentiment shared by the masters...

"Is that it?" Gudao expressed to the warrior queen before trailing off. "Isn't that kinda...?"

"You've asked for my help, did you not?" Scathach finished as she turned to him with a stern gaze, making the master stiffen. "At no point should you be questioning my methods, pupil."

Gudao saw the glint in Scathach's eyes and decided to not criticize her further. Everyone, save for Cu Chulainn were now feeling uneasy as their new teacher continued.

"We'll be going through the forest by one of my old "trekking" paths. They'll be obstacles along the way, and how you all get through them is up to you. You might want to start stretching..."

Everyone reluctantly obeyed as Scathach waited patiently by the doors. It was apparent to them that Scathach had something else planned that she withheld from them. Jeanne in particular was deeply troubled as to what the Shadow had in store to help make them strong enough to stop Solomon.

-If Scathach knows what she's doing and is aware of how strong servants are, then I feel we're in more than just an exercise. What is she planning?-

"Are you nervous?"

Jeanne nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to find Uathach standing behind her, seemingly appearing out of thin air. What was disturbing that none of the Ruler's heightened senses as a servant seemed to pick up on the elusive girl. Jeanne stammers while meeting the little girl's innocent face of concern.

"Wha-? How did you-?!"

"You're far from the first..." Uathach said, ignoring the Ruler's surprise. "I've seen plenty of warriors reduced to scared mice just before mother first trains them. It's perfectly normal..."

"That's not what I meant!" Jeanne retorted loudly; she wasn't going to ask Uathach how she knew her mood. Calming down a bit, the Ruler continued. "I mean... didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to sneak up on people?"

Uathach visibly thought about it before she replied.

"Not really. You see, we don't get any visitors these days. Plus, it's not like she doesn't always know where I am in this place. I could never sneak up on her, even if I tried..."

The girl then gave the perplexed Maiden of Orleans a heart-melting smile.

"Anyways, I wouldn't worry too much about your first day training with mother. She doesn't demand too much from her students at the start. It's simply the first step of you bettering yourselves as great warriors. She'll make you into real champions!"

Jeanne was awestruck and flattered by the girl's honest words, and she felt most of her anxiety melt away by Uathach's reassurance.

"Why thank you. I hope you're right about this. We have a lot riding on your mother's tutelage."

Uathach answered her with a giggle.

"From what mother has told me, you and your friends have seen much action already. I'm sure you all won't end up like most of the first-day students that go through mother's gauntlet."

Upon hearing that, Jeanne's heart began to sink.

"Uhhh... what happened to them?" The Ruler found herself cautiously asking; to which the daughter of the Shadow happily answers.

"Oh, most fail to finish the run in-time and mother kicks them out of the forest, never to seek her again. Even some that do become too mentally traumatized for mother to train them anymore, for which she fixes their memories and takes them out of her realm..."

While Uathach was saying all this, Jeanne's face slowly morphs from one of anxiety to sheer horror.

"-and that's not even counting those who got lost in the forest or killed while trying to cross the obstacles. I remember there was one poor fellow who came down from the mountain so frostbitten and stiff that several others had to carry him back to the castle before he could be thawed-out. Mother even told me one time a giant Legless* crashed the course and made several run out of the forest after wetting themselves at the sight of it. They all probably became food for the Draugr before they made it very far..."

By the time Uathach finished, Jeanne's horrified face had turned completely white. Oblivious, Uathach perked up and said cheerily:

"But those were the outliers. Some like Cu Chulainn and Ferdiad have made it with no trouble. I'm sure you and your friends will fare even better! Perhaps this time mother will complete a run without losing any students!"

"W-W-Wait...!" Jeanne's voice was shaking and barely audible. "She n-never did this... w-w-without losing a student?!"

Before Uathach could answer her, Scathach opened the doors to the fortress and motioned for everyone to meet her on the terrace outside. Mashu hurriedly went to meet-up with her masters, who followed the warrior-queen outside and were in conversation while waiting for the others.

"You don't need to be here for this," Scathach assures them. "This is just for your servants."

"Are you sure?" Gudao asks. "I mean, we don't want to seem like we are exploiting you or anything. Me and Gabby came to train with you too."

Scathach chuckles lightly.

"Believe me young mage. You and your sister will have your time with me later tonight. If I were to risk the lives of humanity's last masters during training, I would rather have that done in a more controlled setting. The forest is not ideal for what I have in store for you two..."

"Alright," Gabrielle said cautiously. "So where are you taking the servants?"

"Just on the trail I use for my routine morning run. I want to see how much endurance your servants have."

"I doubt a run would be strenuous to them," said Gudao. "Servants are much stronger than regular humans by nature of being sustained by our mana."

"We shall see..." Scathach replied with a smirk forming on her face. "And to make sure there's no cheating, I've given your servants a failsafe that I brewed..."

"What kind of failsafe?" Gabrielle asks, but before she gets her answer-

"We're all here witch. Can we get this farce over-with already?"

The three of them turned to see an annoyed Mordred arrive just as the other servants join. Scathach looks at the Red Saber mildly offended and puts a hand on her hip just as Arturia walks up beside her knight.

"That was rude of you Mordred," she said to the Knight of Treachery, not pleased at the way Mordred was behaving. "You should apologize to Scathach at once."

"Why should I?" Mordred huffs and crosses her arms after being ousted once again by her "father". "We're wasting our time going on this stupid jog! I bet she never had a plan for us at all!"

"That's enough," Mashu arrives to break up the tension. She faces Mordred with a stern look on her face. "Give Scathach a chance Mordred. It's just our first day after all..."

Mordred glares at the Shielder, leaning forward to challenge her.

"You buying into this B.S too, Mash-mellow?" The red Saber taunted. "Of course... I always thought you were gullible."

"Mordred!" Arturia scolds. "You will cease this immediately!"

Mordred ignores her as the masters look on, unsure how to diffuse the situation.

"You should be careful of who you challenge eggplant," she says, stepping forward to invade the Shielder's personal space. Mashu does her best to stand firm despite the red Saber's intimidating aura. "Might find yourself out of your depth..."

Arturia starts to step-in before the Knight of Treachery began threatening the Demi-Servant, but a certain someone beats her to it...

"You always bad-mouth everyone trying to give you advice?"

Arturia stops when Scathach suddenly stepped between Mordred and Mashu. The Shadow looked down sternly at the red Saber as she towered over her. Everyone watches as the Knight of Treachery found herself in a new predicament and glares up almost angrily at the warrior queen.

"Get out of my wa-"

"I think not..." Scathach cuts her off, her tone almost frighteningly calm. "You're quite an unruly one, aren't you? Feeling like you have something to prove to everybody. I know just what to do with such troublesome students..."

Mordred narrows her eyes. Her pride would not allow for anyone to talk down to her like this, especially after she was already being challenged by another.

"Are you threatening me?" she almost growls.

"Perhaps," Scathach responds evenly and undeterred. "How about you follow your own words and pick your battles carefully. You can still walk away..."

"Tch!"

Mordred was left in a tough spot, remembering vividly of the last time she picked a fight with the powerful being before her. Against her instincts telling her not to, The Knight of Treachery had the nerve to give the warrior queen a piece of her mind. It would wound her pride to back down from the warrior queen asserting dominance over her.

"Mordred... no."

A whisper from Jekyll behind her snaps her out of her fighting-mindset, and Mordred's instincts screamed louder than ever that if she picked a fight with Scathach now, she would surely lose. Her clenched fist shaking, Mordred reluctantly stamps down her pride and takes a step back, casting her head down in defeat.

"Wise decision," Scathach commended before adding: "Never tell me my business again..."

Seething, Mordred walks away with Jekyll in-tow. She stops at a nearby railing away from everyone else. Scathach notices after walking away, Jekyll tried affectionately reaching out to Mordred's covered arm, only for her to jerk it away.

"Wow," Cu Chulainn remarks. "Sounds like you still got it Teacher..."

The masters were floored. This was the first time they ever saw their red Saber yielding to someone other than them. Scathach just stood there, watching the Knight of Treachery by-herself trying to ignore everyone. Arturia came up to her and spoke humbly.

"Scathach... I want to apologize for Mordred's behavior. She's always been abrasive towards authority."

The warrior queen turns to the blue Saber and assures her:

"You are not the one who needs to apologize for anything. However..."

Arturia watches curiously as Scathach looks back at the lone Knight of Treachery, who was now rubbing her arm slowly as if distressed.

"I do wish to understand her a bit more..."

---

The servants all began their run with the warrior queen shortly after. They made their way down the steps of the fortress and followed Scathach into the wilderness, following her for what seemed like an hour as day fully broke. The trail was rough and the foliage was thick, leaving the servants with no clue of where they were heading. What was more pressing was the fact that the Shadow was way ahead of them and seemingly leaving them all in her wake. The servants all had to hurry as to not lose sight of her, but in that came another problem that they were all slowly becoming aware of...

"(pant)… (pant)… (pant)…"

Jekyll was really struggling to keep up with the others. He could see Mordred and Astolfo ahead of him keeping pace slightly better than he was currently, yet even the more warrior-like servants were looking a bit winded.

-Maybe I should've let Hyde do this- No... bad idea...-

Something else wasn't making sense to the Assassin. Jekyll was by no means very fit like the Knight of Treachery or even the Hound of Culann, yet as a servant, he figured that even himself should be running this course with ease given the nature of being a Heroic Spirit. Under no circumstances should a servant become fatigued from just exertion...

Thankfully, Jekyll didn't have to keep running for long. He caught up to the rest of the servants who suddenly stopped in front of a stone gate. After catching his breath, he was about to ask what everyone was staring at until he walked in front of the group to where Scathach was standing.

"Meet your first obstacles everyone. It's one of my recent additions..."

On cue, she turned around and pulled a mechanical lever. With a rumble, the stone doors sank open, revealing what was hidden. Cu Chulainn whistled as the others stared with what could only described as a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"You've been busy, Teacher..."

The Lancer's understatement went unrefuted by the rest of the servants. Before them was a sprawling path of traversal challenges coming to life with the sound of ancient mechanical devices making the course feel perilous and always shifting. Massive gears, wheels, and water channels lining the surrounding stone walls powered most of the obstacles inside; be it a rotating climbing section, rolling balance bridges, dropping platforms and so much more. It was something that looked like it came out of some over-the-top, treasure-hunting adventure movie. Scathach stood proudly as the speechless servants took it all in.

-Unbelievable-, Mashu thought. -I'm sure if Da Vinci was here, she would want to dissect every inch of this place just to see how it all worked.-

Mordred and Astolfo stared at the complex with mouths open. The Rider slowly leaned sideways to whisper to the red Saber without looking away at the course before them.

"This Scathach probably doesn't sleep very much..."

Mordred slowly nods in agreement. Who knows how much time it took for the warrior-queen to build this glorified deathtrap before them, even if magecraft was somehow involved. All the servants have experienced movie-nights in Chaldea, and this temple-like obstacle course was something that could give Indiana Jones nightmares.

"That's enough sightseeing everyone," Scathach eventually said, grabbing everybody's attention. She turns around and gives herself a moment to stretch. "Your time starts now."

The Shadow then sprinted forward, diving into the first obstacle, and every one after that with blazing speed and coordination. The servants watched awestruck as Scathach weaves, leaps, and climbs through each element; perfectly timing her moments without getting obstructed or hit, her balance and footing precise, and with no moment of pause or waste of a breath, it wasn't long before she was halfway through the entire course in what felt like mere seconds. Arturia could tell that Scathach wasn't using any magecraft or any special strength for her to do it. Watching her mesmerizing movements, the blue Saber deduced that the warrior-queen was only using skill and dexterity acquired through a long time of training her body; honing her natural strength, speed, and flexibility until it was all as sharp as her spear.

Scathach could probably clear this with her eyes closed if she allowed herself to use her full potential. She's holding that side of her back to hone herself naturally; It's not her power carrying her through... she's actively trying to pass it herself. Scathach is not one to rely on any crutches...

Soon as the warrior queen cleared the course, it wasn't long until the servants followed suit. With the Shadow evaluating them, there was no time to waste. Yet, over a minute into the course, and the servants quickly realized that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

The struggle would become all too real...

Jeanne strains as she crawls across the side of a climbing wall; her arms and legs screaming in protest as she slowly makes her way to the end. The Ruler thought her strength as a servant would carry her through no problem, but ever since starting Scathach's training, she could tell something with her body didn't seem right. Despite her unexplainable fatigue, she hangs on as best she can while repositioning for a jump to the safe platform, marking the end of the obstacle. Taking a brief moment to catch her breath, Jeanne coils her legs and launches herself over the pit and reaches her hands out to grab the edge of the platform. Jeanne hangs while her fingers explode in pain, and she yells as her strength gave out and she starts to fall-

"Got you, Jeanne!"

Astolfo appeared above her and quickly grabbed the Ruler's hand, stopping her fall. The Rider pulls Jeanne back up with great effort until she could pull herself using the rest of her body. Jeanne rolls on to her back and panting heavily. She eventually sits up to get back on her feet while looking up at the Rider.

"Thanks..."

Astolfo gives her some assistance as the Ruler finds her footing.

"You alright?"

Jeanne catches her breath and looks at her aching fingers. She could see that they were red and beginning to form welts.

-This shouldn't be happening. Where did all my strength go?-

"Just a bit exhausted, actually," she replies while quickly hiding her hands so Astolfo wouldn't notice. Jeanne straightened out as she and the paladin look at the rotating set of obstacles ahead of them. It looked very complex with an emphasis on timing needed to pass it.

"I've got a weird feeling about this..."

To her relief however, Astolfo perked up.

"You catch your breath Jeanne, while I test it first. Then you can follow behind me!"

Jeanne was feeling elated that the Rider will test out the challenge first to make things easier for her. She supposed that it helped that Astolfo was naturally curious and, by-extension, reckless. The Rider preps himself before remarking:

"I'll breeze through this! This doesn't look very hard-"

And that was when-

(WHOOOOOOSH!)

Both Jeanne and Astolfo freeze in shock and horror as the rotating shafts before them suddenly shot fire out of vents in the floors. They could feel the searing heat even from where they stood, and both servants stood there, stunned as the flames eventually stopped. Astolfo started backing away; quivering reluctance evident in his voice.

"On second thought... you go first!"

Jeanne internally panics and nudges Astolfo back forward, much to the Rider's horror.

"Uhmm, actually YOU should go," The Ruler said as she pushes him further ahead. Astolfo swiftly sidesteps and pushes Jeanne forward instead; her face comically showing sheer terror.

"Nope! I'm not looking to be turned into a french-fry!"

"How do you think I feel?!" Jeanne turns the tables on the paladin, and it wasn't long before their verbal spar turns into a wrestling match of who would be the other's shield.

"Go! Be my hero!"

"Don't you think you're being mean throwing me in first?!"

Mashu arrives watching the two servants tussling each other, much to her confusion. She watches their back-and-forth for a while until she decides to cut in.

"What are you two going on about?"

They both stop and look at the Shielder, realizing how absurd they seem tangled with each other like they are. Jeanne quickly pulls away and points her finger at the Rider.

"Astolfo volunteered to test-out the obstacle. I'm just ensuring that he honors it!"

"Jeanne's trying to make me a martyr!" The Rider quickly counters, neither looking away from the Demi-servant. Mashu takes a brief glance at the obstacle before she face-palms.

"Oh stop it, both of you. This is just plain silly. If neither of you want to go first, then stand aside. I'll go..."

The Ruler and Rider look at each other and then back at the Shielder with enthusiasm, both exclaiming:

"Great!"

Mashu sighs before stepping in front of the obstacle, giving herself a stretch.

"Anything for the team, I guess... Seriously, I don't see what the big deal is. What's with all the drama-?"

(WHOOOSH!)

The flames appear again, making Mashu freeze in surprise and the servants behind her jump.

"Oh..." Mashu stated before she starts to take a step back. "Maybe I should let one of you-"

Before she could finish, Jeanne and Astolfo were already pushing her back forward, ignoring the new look of terror on the Shielder's face.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!"

//Elsewhere on the course...//

"Damn It..."

Mordred was having trouble clambering over a bare-wall, which for some reason she couldn't clear in a single bound like she normally would. She tried using the jutting sides as a slot to climb up only for her strength to unexpectedly give out and she would slide back down.

-This is stupid! Why is this thing such a pain in the ass?-

The Red Saber tries again to climb the wall in front of her, giving herself a running start to jump and vault over. Using her foot to push herself up the wall, Mordred reaches up at the ledge, only for said foot to slip and cause her to fall backwards on her butt.

"(grunt)… THAT DOES IT!"

Frustrated, Mordred decided she was going to demolish this pesky wall with Clarent. She holds out her hand to summon her sword when-

(bzttt...)

Instead of a sword, red sparks briefly arced in Mordred's palm and fizzled out, leaving her flabbergasted.

"Huh?!"

She tries again... nothing happened.

"What the hell-?!"

Something was clearly wrong, but before Mordred could figure out what was happening, a tall Emiya runs past her and clears the wall with ease, helped in no small part by his height.

"Show-off..." Mordred said bitterly. Emiya looks down at the Red Saber from the top.

"Need help?" The Archer said with a trademark smirk that only added to the knight's irritation.

"I'm FINE..." Mordred huffs and crosses her arms. Unconvinced, Emiya then proceeded to tell her:

"You know... you can always go another path and do a different obstacle. You're welcome..."

Mordred's eyes snapped open.

"Wha-?" she mutters before quickly correcting herself, not wanting to appear dumb in view of her fellow servant. "Uhm- I mean... I know that, wise-ass!"

Mordred then readies herself to clear the wall again. If that smug Archer can clear a measly wall, then so can she!

-That bastard's trying to make me back away from a challenge, well the joke's on him!-

She runs up, jumps, and clambers up the wall again, only to slide back down as the Archer watches on, doing his best to hide his amusement. Mordred stamps down her embarrassment and readies herself again.

"I'm gunna get this... Just you wait!"

Emiya keeps watching for a bit, while thinking to himself:

-She's so stubborn. She and Saber are more alike than I thought...-

Meanwhile, Arturia was ahead of nearly everyone and making her way to a moving, jumping puzzle. The blue Saber found herself panting and sweating profusely despite her progress so far. Scathach's course was surprisingly taking a toll on her body, and Arturia couldn't figure out why. She didn't have much time to think about it as she came up to her latest obstacle. Once she reaches it, the blue Saber briefly hesitates on the starting platform, debating how best to proceed.

Little did she know...

"Let's see... if I go there, then I can reach that one and maybe-"

Arturia gasps in surprise as the platform gives way beneath her feet, and she found herself falling into the pit below. That was until someone grabs her arm and quickly pulls her back up. Arturia looks back at her rescuer after setting her feet back on solid ground, who just so happened to be Cu Chulainn.

"Many thanks," Arturia said after taking a moment to catch her breath. Cu Chulainn casually shrugs-off as he then tells her:

"Teacher doesn't like it when someone hesitates. "Learn as you go," as she always used to say..."

"I'll keep that in mind..."

Cu Chulainn then went ahead of her as the obstacle resets. Arturia watches on, waiting for her turn while thinking to herself:

-I should've reacted faster...-

Arturia could tell since the very start that she seemed weaker than usual; her strength, speed, and endurance in no way helping her carry-through the Shadow's challenge. She should never have fallen into that booby-trap had she still possess her power as a servant and Heroic Spirit. Even just getting here seem to take a lot of energy on her part. It just didn't make any sense to the blue Saber, and she suspected that Scathach might have something to do with her diminished prowess.

-Merlin's training was never THIS hard... What did Scathach do to us?-

---

It took some persistence, but by now the servants escaped the death-trap that was Scathach's obstacle course and have found themselves in a valley behind the complex. They've stopped along the shore of a raging river, which was being fed by a substantial waterfall and turning massive water-wheels that fed the mechanisms and obstacles in the complex behind them. No one seemingly stopped to admire the splendor and feat of engineering of the sight before them, as everybody (save for a certain blue Lancer), was exhausted and were either sitting down on a log, keeled over or lying on the ground.

It was particularly bad for Jekyll, who looked to be in pain and dying of thirst. Jeanne, Astolfo, and Mashu were disheveled and were in covered in soot and ash. Emyia for one had his back against a tree and trying to relive a cramp in his leg.

Arturia and Mordred were sitting down, nursing their own set of scrapes and blisters on their bodies. They never bothered to acknowledge the other or even see how well the other was doing. To them, it was like the other person simply didn't exist. Speaking of which, Scathach was suspiciously absent from the party, having not bothered waiting for everyone to finish her first trial.

Where was she?

The servants heard the rustling of trees nearby, and all except for Cu Chulainn have stood up and turn in alarm. Most had the instinct to summon their battle attires, only to shockingly discover that they were unable to do so. Defenseless, the servants dreaded at what kind of beast was coming out of the woods. Their fears were soon alleviated however, as the body of a giant ogre tumbled through the overgrowth and collapsed in a lifeless heap on the forest floor before them; its impact making the ground shake. When the dust cleared, the servants spotted Scathach's spear imbedded in the back of its neck, along with several dozen red barbs that seemed to grow from the weapon and out of the dead creature's skin. Soon after they heard a familiar voice.

"Sorry if I scared anyone," Scathach spoke as she came out of the woods and climbed up the back of the ogre to retrieve her spear. The servants noticed that the warrior queen had changed into a more revealing attire; similar to what she usually wore except that her arms and legs were now bare. "I got a little bored waiting for all of you..."

She pulls out her weapon from the body of the dead creature and jumps down; the barbs vanish in a flash of smoke and the ogre's corpse eventually dissipated in ghostly mist.

"But now you are all here, we can continue..."

The servants watched as she casually made her way to the water's edge and gave herself time to stretch. They understood immediately.

"We gotta cross THIS?" Mordred almost exclaimed, eyeing the raging torrent of water with blatant trepidation.

"That's right..." Scathach confirms, her feet now in the water as she then turns to everyone. "In fact, we're following this down two miles to the next part of the run. Try and keep up."

Hearing that made some of the servants gulp nervously. It was apparent to them that without their usual strength as Heroic Spirits, braving the rapids before them now seemed daunting. Arturia for one was apprehensive; having the blessings of Vivian: The Lady of the Lake would usually make traversing water a non-issue for her. But with her powers handicapped, she wasn't sure if they'd be of any help in this case. She'd been on a date to a waterpark with Shirou back in Fuyuki, but even with that, Arturia wouldn't call herself a good swimmer.

She might learn the hard way if servants could in-fact... drown.

Scathach immediately dove in and disappeared in the white torrent, and everyone watched as she resurfaced and powered through the rapids leading down-river.

"I don't know about you guys, but..." Cu Chulainn said while tossing away his shirt. "Teacher won't like us just standing around. If I were you, I'd get our asses in that water."

Everyone looked at the Lancer like he was crazy, and sure enough, he jumped-in after the warrior queen. The servants hesitate to follow, now aware that their dulled powers could cause this endeavor to be somewhat, maybe, possibly... PROBABLY... life threatening.

"Him and his bright ideas," Emiya bit sarcastically. He was beginning to think that it was foolish letting the Hound of Culann carry out his cockamamie plan to help Chaldea get stronger. "I hope I get to kill him after this..."

"Shirou..." Arturia lightly scolded him, having a slightly more optimistic opinion on the Lancer's intentions taking them to train with Scathach. "I wouldn't dismiss him so soon. Our masters trust him, and so should we..."

"Hey Birdbrain," Mordred leans in and whispers to Astolfo. "Worse come worse, can you fly us over on that griffon-thing of yours?"

The Rider briefly ponders and then gives the red Saber an apologetic pout.

"Nope..."

"Huh?" Mordred nearly yelled in a hushed voice. "Why not?!"

"Wish I could tell you," the paladin shrugs while looking at her in apology. "But I can't seem to summon him for some reason..."

"So we are left swimming then..." Jekyll confirms.

"So uhh..." Mashu starts awkwardly. "Who's gunna go first?"

At that, no one answered her. Instead, everyone just looked at each other, seemingly unwilling to take the leap into the perilous river first. Silence hung in the air until the hum of magecraft caught their attention. The servants then gasped in surprise when the ground beneath their feet lit up with glowing runes, and before they knew it, they all found themselves thrown up in the air and into the river.

"wwwaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-!"

(SPLASH)

The servants resurfaced and got swept-up by the powerful current. They all gasped for air and treaded water in effort to avoid going under. The rapids carried them down stream, water splashing and thrashing the servants every which way. It was less about trying to swim and more of trying not to drown.

Arturia was especially struggling, flailing her arms as she tried to keep her head above water.

"Shirou!"

A few feet away, Emiya spotted the blue Saber and with great effort, orients himself to try and swim towards her. The current lets him meet her and they tangle together; holding on to the other for dear-life as the torrent seemingly got more intense. Mashu meanwhile tries summoning her shield to use as a raft, but to her shock and horror finds that she is unable to. At one point, Jekyll gets caught on a hanging branch, keeping him just above the raging rapids and treading his feet in midair. He's soon joined by Jeanne, who comes in screaming before landing on the same branch the Assassin was hanging on to.

"Oof!"

As white-water roared around them, Jekyll remarked loudly.

"Nice of you to drop in!"

Jeanne catches her breath and smiles at him.

"How's it hanging, doctor?"

Her pun was short-lived as a crunching sound made their faces fell. The branch soon snapped under the weight of both servants and they yell as they both fall back in the river, once again swept-up by the current. The rapids reach a steep drop-off, where Mordred followed by Astolfo both go over and fall for nearly 2 stories. Mordred lands with a splash, breathing a sigh of relief until Astolfo lands on her and they both go under.

With the rapids eventually calming down, the servants tread water as the current continued carrying them. Mordred and Astolfo both resurface and gasp for air. The Saber groaned as she rubs her head where the Rider landed on her, whereas the ever-oblivious Astolfo...

"Awww, my bows are ruined..."

The paladin was fiddling with the ribbons in his now soaked hair until Mordred gave him a scolding smack on the back of his head.

"Your bows are fine, idiot..."

The servants have regrouped, and Mashu looks back at the course of white-water hell they've just survived.

"Wow," she remarked as she turned back to look at the other servants with her. "Glad we made it out of there."

Everyone started laughing now that the worst seemed to be over. Still holding on to each other, Arturia and Emiya started laughing with them, until something became alarmingly apparent to them.

"Shirou..." Arturia spoke first, worry laced in her voice. "Why aren't we stopping?"

Emiya's face fell, and soon he and everyone else realized that the current carrying all of them was only speeding up. The servants' faces then shift to horror when they at last heard it.

(RUMBLE...)

Arturia and Emiya both turned and saw the river approaching an edge that no-doubt was the top of a very high waterfall.

And they were ALL heading towards it.

Ensuring panic followed...

---

//Several minutes later...//

"Where are they?"

Cu Chulainn was waiting with a modicum of worry while Scathach was patiently leaning against a tree nearby. The Lancer had just reached the shore over a mile from the start of the river and exited out of a riverbank right where The Shadow was waiting for everyone. The problem was, Cu had arrived some time ago after navigating the rapids, and he was sure the other servants would've followed right behind him. He was positive that they would easily take any challenge Scathach could throw at them, even with the handicap that she put on them (which he neglected to tell them, he will admit), but still; the Lancer had faith in his comrades would be proving him right to his former mentor, and that training them would not be a waste of her time.

So far however...

-This isn't good. I promised Teacher that the others wouldn't be like the other warriors she has trained. I hope they didn't go down the wrong branch in the river, otherwise they're making me look like a fool right now...-

"Setanta..." Scathach's voice caught his attention. Her bored tone made apparent to Cu that she wasn't pleased with how things were going so far. "Remember when you said this would be worth my while?"

"I know, I know," Cu Chulainn insisted, crossing his arms as he turned to face the warrior queen. "Before you start jumping to conclusions, keep in mind that my comrades have never endured your regimen, unlike me. I wasn't so different when you first took me on as your student."

"You were different enough..." Scathach said as matter-of-factly. "Certainly showed more promise than the others who joined you."

The warrior queen started walking towards him casually as she continued. Her eyes were fixated on his, but internally she was trying not to pay heed to the fact that her greatest student was standing before her topless, revealing the hardened physique of a legendary warrior that she had a hand in forging. If the Shadow was being honest with herself, seeing the Hound of Culann like this was... "nostalgic" to say the least. Not to mention his scent: a natural aroma like spearmint, yet undeniably masculine. It brought back a feeling she'd long forgotten.

She would not let him know that however...

-Damn him.-

She squashed that almost foreign feeling down as she continued.

"It was on this very course and early on in the trial where you've showed me that you were a cut-above the rest. So far, I haven't been seeing that from your comrades. Quite tragic for renowned warriors, wouldn't you say?"

She finally stopped in front of the Lancer as he responded back, stamping down his annoyance.

"I get it... you're not impressed," he stated. They were uncomfortably close now; Scathach having stopped in front of him by not even 3 feet. He had to keep a straight face while not being distracted by her especially. It was hard for him to ignore that even after all this time, Scathach was a natural beauty, yet at the same time a perfectly honed fighter and warrior. Such women like her were a rarity in his time.

Cu could've sworn that he picked up a hint of lavender emanating off her almost Gods-blessed body. He kept a straight face as they stayed fixated on each other, yet he could tell by Scathach's ever so subtle smirk of the effect being this close was having on the Lancer.

-Damn her.-

Composing himself, Cu then added:

"The others didn't know what to expect from this. Give them time..."

"If what your masters said is true," she explained as she crossed her arms. "Then time is literally acting against them. I've lived long, Setanta. I can be as patient as I need to be. I doubt Solomon would... your masters should know that."

"They do... I assure you."

Scathach made her skepticism apparent.

"If they struggle like your fellow servants are now... then I fear for the future of mankind. You better believe that I will not be lenient with them."

Cu then saw Scathach's attention shift back through the forest. An almost amused tone laced in her voice as she lets the Lancer in on the recent development.

"Speaking of which... your friends seemed to have gone too far..."

Soon after, they followed the river for about half-a-mile until they reached another large riverbank, and that's when they found the other servants; now just emerging from the water and in a very sorry state.

"Oh Gods help us," Cu Chulainn said bluntly as he took in the sight of his fellow servants lying wet, battered, and exhausted on the riverbank. Most were lying either sprawled or on the wet sand on all fours, coughing up and expelling water from their lungs. Even the hard-as-nails Mordred looked like she was on her last legs. Arturia undid the bun of her hair and twisted her locks in effort to squeeze water out of them like a towel. Cu could've sworn he just saw Emiya pull out a stray fish out of his shirt and chuck it back into the river. Astolfo meanwhile collapsed face-first in the sand.

"Ahhh," The paladin said in a daze with a hilariously grateful smile, before saying something that no Rider that can fly would ever say. "I love you, dry land. I'm never taking-off on you again..."

Cu takes a glance back at Scathach, who seemed to appear just as skeptical as ever. She shot the Lancer a look that clearly said "I'm not too sure about this," before resolving herself and saying to everyone.

"Pull yourselves together," she sternly announced to the still fatigued servants. "We've got a lot of ground to cover, and only your legs are going to carry you back to my castle. Walk it off and let's move it..."

Mordred was too tired and beaten to be visibly furious at the warrior queen, who seemed not to care for the fact that they all nearly died braving the river and the waterfall at the end. Instead, most of the red Saber's anger was directed at the Lancer beside her.

-I've had just about enough of this witch... damn that mutt for getting us tied-up with her!-

Arturia looked up and watched the Shadow leave as Cu Chulainn gave everyone one last apologetic glance before following her. They both disappeared as the Saber tried to recover, now thinking that maybe Cu's plan was foolish to begin with. It seemed all that Scathach was doing was giving the servants a rough time.

After all, what was putting them through this gauntlet without most of their powers is supposed to accomplish? What was there for the servants to prove to her by doing this?

-Maybe Lancer shouldn't have brought us here. We could be using our time in Chaldea formulating a strategy against Solomon. I don't see this bearing any fruit...-

---

After another lengthy jog through the forest, Scathach led the servants to their next obstacle. Needless to say, everybody was getting exhausted and wondered when on Earth this session was going to end. The servants in their weakened state were making the course take its toll on them, and their desperation as well as irritation was made all the worse when they at last made it to their destination.

"Now what?" Jekyll blurted out, sounding like he can't take anymore abuse.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." said Mordred as everyone's gaze was directed upward from where they stood.

"Quite the predicament..." Arturia remarked. Jeanne and Mashu were speechless and stared upwards with their jaws wide open in disbelief. A beaten and battered Astolfo groaned and said with agony and defeat evident in his voice:

"I think I'm gunna cry..."

Emiya was beside himself, stunned in silence until Cu Chulainn behind merely whistled at the sight.

"This is bringing back memories..."

"I am SO happy for you..." The Archer said sarcastically as Scathach went ahead and announced:

"Here's your next obstacle, and yes... it's EXACTLY what it looks like."

Before the servants was a tall cliff-face of a mountain; one that was well over several hundred feet in height. It was nearly vertical with a lot of edges and jutting rocks sticking out every which way; no doubt shaped from millennia of weather and erosion.

And apparently, they had to climb it...

"I'm sure that I don't need to explain this one. Meet me at the top..."

The servants watched as the warrior queen walked up to the cliff and started climbing. From how fast she was doing it, the servants could tell that she has done this countless times before. She stopped about 20 feet up and turned to announce to them:

"Are you all just going to stand there? Or do I need to give you a push?"

She casually continued climbing, leaving the servants all looking at each other. They all then looked down to see glowing runes beneath their feet, illustrating her point. Not wanting to risk the Shadow's wrath, they all made a mad dash to the cliff and started to climb.

After a while, the servants were scattered as they ascended the side of the mountain bit by bit. Arturia and Mordred were well ahead of everyone, seemingly racing each other. Cu Chulainn was keeping a good pace as well, putting him above the remaining servants; namely Emiya, who was several feet below him and clearly not having as easy a time as the Lancer; something Cu was quick to point out...

"(chuckle) How you holding up down there lad?" He teased the Archer as he looked down at him. "Not too good I see..."

Emiya heard him and was getting increasingly annoyed as he struggled to climb.

"Shut up," he grumbled. In response, the Lancer "accidently" slips his foot against the cliff, sending pebbles of rock falling at the Archer's head.

"Whoops..." Cu said nonchalantly as Emiya got pelted.

"Argh!" The Archer recoiled from the barrage. He did his best to stamp-down his irritation as he continued to climb.

-If this keeps up, I'm going to kill him myself at some point...-

Emiya then looked down just a few feet and saw Jekyll struggling to reach a ledge. The Archer stretches his arm down to give the Assassin some help, which the doctor gratefully took.

"Thank you," said Jekyll as Emiya pulled him up to the ledge beside him.

"Don't mention it..."

As Emiya continued on, Jekyll looked down at the servant who was behind him. He could see Jeanne just a few feet below and stopped moving. In fact, the Ruler was hugging the side of the rock for dear life and her legs were shaking.

"Jeanne, what's wrong?" He called down to her. When she answered, the Assassin picked-up on the quivering in her voice.

"I don't like heights..." she says while on the verge of hyper-ventilating, surprising the doctor.

"Really? But you've handled the plane without a problem..."

"Well, I never had a window to look out on," Jeanne explained, still frozen and unwilling to move. "It's because of something that happened to me during my time. It's stupid, I know..."

"No, it isn't," Jekyll calmly said to her. "You should tell me about it sometime. Just don't look down, you'll be fine..."

"Right," Jeanne nodded and did as the doctor said while quietly saying to herself: "Don't look down... don't look down..."

"Good. Now just focus on where you have to grab next-"

"Ouch! Watch It!"

"YOU watch it! I was here first!"

Distracted, Jekyll looks up and sees Arturia in a tussle with Mordred. They were climbing faster than everybody else this whole time and looked to have now crossed paths. From the sound of it, the doctor could tell that they were in a heated argument.

-Oh no...-

"Did you have to step on my fingers in the process?!" Arturia retorted as she caught up to Mordred and tried climbing past her.

"You were taking your sweet time!" Mordred shot angrily as she brushed the blue Saber aside and climbed ahead of her. Jekyll looks across towards Emiya with worry and could see that he was getting all of this as well.

"This can't be good..." The Archer lets out as the argument between the Sabers continue.

"What is it with you, Mordred?" Arturia almost yells as she and Mordred keep trying to climb past each other, albeit Mordred trying to muscle her way more forcefully. The knight's rudeness was really getting on her nerves. "You think this is a race?!"

Unbeknownst to them, their bickering caught the attention of Scathach above them.

"Uh FYI... I would like to NOT to be stuck on this damn mountain!"

Mordred pulls away, bumping Arturia aside in the process, adding to blue Saber's irritation.

"Were you prepared to make me fall doing it?!" The King of Knights said, quickly catching up and brushing past The Knight of Treachery. "You would like that, wouldn't you?!"

Mordred grunts at that jab. She climbs quickly and pushes herself against the blue Saber, catching them both in a deadlock. They wrestle as they try to climb past the other with no avail.

"I gotta admit, you're really giving me a good reason to!" The red Saber growled as she and Arturia meet forehead-to-forehead, trying to push against each other. "Why the hell am I stuck with you?!"

The contempt in Mordred's voice was palpable, but did not deter the King of Knights.

"I've had enough of this foolishness...!" Arturia retorted and broke the draw, slipping her arm from beneath Mordred and reaching up for a jutting rock on the cliff. "And wait your turn!"

Briefly stunned, Mordred responds quickly and reaches up for the same rock Arturia was about to grab.

"(Grunt) Get outta my way-!"

The Sabers grabbed the same spot at the same time, and-

(CRACK)

The rock breaks away from their combined weight, and to both their shock, Arturia and Mordred both found themselves in freefall.

"WwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

They both plummet; flying past the other, bewildered servants. Emiya and Jekyll look on in horror as the Sabers fall closer and closer towards the ground. Watching this unfold, Scathach simply let out a sigh and snapped her fingers. A rune appeared at the bottom just in time and quickly caught the Sabers until they were left suspended just above the ground. They were just about let out a breath of relief until to their surprise, the spell broke and they fell the remaining 3 feet. Both Arturia and Mordred hit the ground with a thud. The Sabers groaned from the impact while the other servants sighed, relieved in the fact that they survived.

Scathach however...

"Get back up you two," she spoke to them sternly through one of her runes. "No one moves on until everyone reaches the top, and you're wasting daylight..."

The Sabers were still reeling from the fall. They were both lying on their backs and looking up anxiously at the cliff that they have to climb all over again, much to their dismay. Without turning to even look at each other, Arturia and Mordred said bluntly:

"This is YOUR fault..."

---

Eventually, the Sabers made their way back up the cliff, staying out of each other's way for the most part. With great effort, Arturia and Mordred pulled themselves over the peak and collapsed on flat ground; their limbs aching and their lungs burning with every deep breath. Before any relief could properly sink in however...

"You've sure kept me waiting..."

They both looked up and find Scathach standing over them while the other servants were recovering nearby. The Sabers could tell that the Shadow was not at all pleased.

"But seeing as you're here now, we can continue," she said as she crossed her arms. "From here, we'll be making our return to the fortress..."

All the servants perked-up as if it was the best thing that they've heard all day. Scathach stops them before anyone got too excited.

"But... since Setanta made it up here before all of you, everybody except for him will be taking the long route back."

This announcement didn't sit well with everyone, except for a certain blue Lancer.

"WHAT?!"

Cu Chulainn had to stifle his laughter as Scathach continued, now her attention directly on the still prone Sabers.

"And since YOU TWO were the last to arrive, you'll be taking an additional detour back through my obstacle course. Plus, I will randomize the layout in case you had it memorized."

Arturia and Mordred both exclaimed in shock:

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"You better believe it," Scathach stated evenly, making both Sabers groan in defeat. She was not at all sympathetic, however. "Perhaps that will teach you both NOT to test my patience..."

The Sabers just sat there speechless as the warrior queen left them to their misery.

---

The path back to the fortress was agonizing for the servants. As the sun started to go down, most of the servants went down the path directed to them by Scathach. It was a narrower, rockier path through the forest with mud-pits and chasms that they had to traverse, with variable degrees of success. Everyone was so beaten and exhausted at this point that they just all wanted it to be over, all acting like it was every servant for themselves at this point.

To make matters worse, Arturia and Mordred had to go through Scathach's obstacle course again before they could rejoin the others. The Sabers have not said a word to each other throughout the ordeal as anger and frustration from the day's events just simmered beneath their indifferent visages. They bitterly struggled to clear each segment, internally still mad at the other servant for getting them into this situation. Whatever discouraging thoughts they had about each other, they were too pre-occupied and fatigued to even argue. They both just wanted this hellish punishment to end.

By the time the servants met back at the ascent to the fortress, Cu Chulainn was already more than halfway up and cruising comfortably, while the other servants were so physically and emotionally drained that they literally crawled up the endless steps in the hope that once at the top, they could all finally get some respite. It took them an hour, and the sun was starting to go down, but once they all did, one after another they collapse on the terrace, bruised, famished, aching, and completely spent for energy...

All for the masters to find.

//Now...//

As the masters stared bewilderedly at their team of servants, Scathach came up beside them.

"There you are, young masters," she greeted them calmly. Gudao and Gabrielle stared at her composed form. "I trust Uathach showed you around the fortress and extended you both her hospitality?"

"Yes she did..." Gabrielle said awkwardly, her and Gudao still focused on just how their servants came back from Scathach's session in such a bad shape. "What did you do to them?"

"Like I said, we went for a run..."

"But how...?" Gudao started but still lost for words as he pointed to the battered and exhausted servants. Thankfully, the warrior-queen understood his confusion immediately.

"Oh, that..."

Scathach merely smiled as the servants began to pay attention.

"Remember when I gave everyone tea this morning?" The masters nodded as she went on to explain further; "I laced each with a potion that limited their intake of mana coming from both of you. It nulled their abilities just enough for them to have put effort in getting through my test."

Gudao and Gabrielle mouths dropped in surprise, but as for the servants...

"YOU WHAT?!"

Everyone was shocked by this revelation and stood up despite their condition. Of all the servants, Mordred would've thrown a tantrum if she wasn't so spent for energy. The only one not at all fazed by this was none other than Cu Chulainn, who went on to say:

"Don't be so surprised guys. I told you Teacher doesn't mess around..."

His implication was not missed by the servants.

"You knew about this didn't you, mutt?" Mordred asked him accusingly.

"You're right. I'm NOT surprised..." Emiya told the Lancer, slight anger in his voice.

"Lancer..." Arturia said, still reeling from the surprise that her diminished strength was no coincidence. Now she was feeling as though her trust was misplaced. Even Astolfo shared that sentiment.

"When were you planning on telling us?!"

"Did you not think that it was important for us to know?" Jekyll asked sternly.

"Lord forbid if anything happened to the masters while we were in this state!" Jeanne scolded.

"That's right! How would we protect them?!" Mashu added, outraged at the thought that one of her own allied servants would deliberately leave her masters vulnerable. The accusations flew as Gudao and Gabrielle were stunned into silence as the servants continued to direct their frustration and ire upon the Hound of Culann, who was staying stoic to the tirade. The masters were equally shocked as they were and torn on what to do: they knew the Lancer was only trying to help them, but to keep this a secret from his allies...

"Well?" Mordred called out to the Lancer, getting impatient. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Cu did not say a thing, but that wasn't to say he was not feeling some modicum of guilt. He did his best not to show it, but that only prompts Mordred to continue admonishing him.

"Giving us the silent treatment huh? I would expect an ally to be a bit more forthcoming."

"Lancer is only trying to help us Mordred," Arturia stepped forward in front of the Knight of Treachery. "Besides, I don't think you of all people have any right to question someone's loyalty."

Mordred was irritated at that jab, and Emiya stared at his former servant in shock at the fact she would go on the offensive like she just did.

"Saber-!"

"Because I'm a traitor?" Mordred cuts Emiya off before countering to Arturia; "Remind me who has most angered the people... who turned a blind eye to their needs, and made Camelot believe that their trust was squandered. Now that sounds like an even worse betrayal."

That caused a ripple of anger to coarse through the usually stoic King of Knights. Arturia said in a threateningly low voice.

"How dare you..."

Jekyll stared at her in shock as both he and Emiya stood by at a loss of how to stop the Sabers' argument. Mordred was savoring the thought of provoking the blue Saber in front of her. Watching all of this, Gudao tries to stop the argument.

"Guys, we don't have to-!"

But it gets ignored as the Sabers glare at each other. Mordred cuts the master off as the exchange between her and Arturia grew even more hostile.

"It wasn't very hard either I have to say... Many of Camelot were glad to be rid of you..."

"Mind your tongue! You forget who you're speaking to, Mordred. Blood or not, I am still your king!"

"You haven't been my king since you've denied me my birthright! Don't act all high and mighty when you have no kingdom!"

"Would you two brats just stop already?" Cu at last blurted-out annoyingly. He knew what he just said wouldn't do any good as it gave the other servants an opportunity to berate him again.

"Oh look, the dog does speak..." Mordred remarked sarcastically, briefly looking away from an irate Arturia to point him out in front of everyone. She then glares at the Lancer. "Got any more tricks that you're keeping from us?"

"Mordred's got a point," said Jeanne before directing her anger to Cu Chulainn. "Why SHOULD we trust you?"

"Stop!" Gabrielle tries to cut in and diffuse the tension. "Can't we just-?"

It gets lost as Astolfo cuts her off to berate the Lancer.

"Jeanne's right! You're not off the hook you know!"

"You could've put the masters' lives in danger-!" Mashu scolded the Lancer, and before things started to escalate, a sudden spike in mana and the impacting sound of shattering stone made everyone freeze, followed by a booming voice.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"

Everyone, including the masters, turned to see Scathach standing menacingly with mana coursing through her circuits, eyes glowing, and her hair billowing. On top of that, she had stomped her foot down, breaking the stone floor. No one dared move or make a sound as the empowered warrior-queen stared-down at everybody. The servants and masters all stared in shock, awe and horror as they could feel all that magical power emanating off of her; absolutely staggering as it made the air crackle with static and make pebbles plus bits of broken rock to float weightlessly around her.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as seconds tick by. Silence, quiet as the grave hung in the air until Scathach at last closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her circuits go dim and her hair settles. The air around her calms and gravity returns to normal. The warrior queen slowly opens her eyes, now their usual red color, and composes herself.

"Finally... peace and quiet..."

She looked at everyone, who all just stared back in total disbelief. Cu Chulainn had gotten over his shock and gazed at her, wondering what she might do next. Scathach then addressed the servants in a stoic tone.

"Do not fret about the effects of my potion. It will wear off within an hour, and you'll all be back to full strength. On that note, I will NOT tolerate any more bickering, or arguments during my training sessions. So, I don't want to hear ANY of that going forward. Are we clear?"

The servants all nodded obediently, mostly out of fear for what would happen if they did NOT comply. Some of the servants were still horrified from the sheer display of power that she just demonstrated.

"Now..." the Shadow continued. "Masters, follow me to your first lesson. We have much to discuss..."

She directs her gaze to Gudao and Gabrielle, who she could tell were terrified and reluctant to go with her. Scathach smiles and beckons them over, prompting the two masters to cautiously approach her. Just before turning to leave, Scathach addresses the servants once again.

"Uathach will make sure you all comfortable. The Revenants can each give a pretty nice massage too..."

The servants all blinked and looked at each other before Scathach guided Gudao and Gabrielle back through the doors of Castle Dunscaith. Cu Chulainn watched as they travelled further away, still taken back by today's events, even more of the fact that he was reminded firsthand of how much power Scathach has. This wasn't the first time he had ever witnessed the warrior queen flex her strength like that, but it still scared him. As much as he wanted to hope that she would never have to demonstrate it again for something as mundane as silencing his fellow servants, their overall performance today made him pessimistic.

-Today has just been a disaster... the others have got to pull themselves together from here on out. Things are only going to get harder from here.-

And what worried him most was leaving Gudao and Gabrielle alone with his former mentor. From their talk in the forest and her outburst just now, Cu could tell that Scathach indeed hadn't had any normal human interaction in a long time. At this point, he was beginning to doubt if she was really up to the task of helping the masters get strong enough to face Solomon again. Scathach could end up going too hard on them...

-Masters... no matter what happens with Teacher; just bear with her...-

After a while, it became apparent that all the servants were still outside standing still and afraid to utter a word after what they saw of the Shadow. Astolfo had to work up the courage to whisper to everybody awkwardly:

"So... we can talk now, right?"

---

"You don't have to stay silent..."

Gudao and Gabrielle snapped out of their astonishment as Scathach lead them through the halls of the fortress. The warrior queen didn't bother looking at them as the masters followed behind her, and her voice was passive. They weren't sure if they were even allowed to speak given how much they've let tempers get out of control among their servants. They were half-expecting to get admonished given how Scathach reacted to end it.

"Scathach..." Gudao starts, unsure of himself. "We just want to say thanks for... you know..."

"No need," she said evenly with a harsh undertone. "It was not like you would have stopped them yourselves..."

Gudao was taken back a bit by that, and it made him feel worse for not being an adequate master. Gabrielle was feeling much the same way after their recent failure.

-Maybe Da Vinci had a point-, Gudao thought. -We're not acting like the masters we should be.-

"So..." Gabrielle begins before asking. "What happens now?"

"We'll see how well you can channel mana, as well as your knowledge of whatever form of magecraft you utilize. And we will go from there..."

Scathach's answers were short and straight to the point. She had used up most of her patience dealing with the servants today, and she nearly snapped when they all started arguing. She mastered control over her connection to the Void for over two millennia, but to restrain all that power to use it for a minute was exhausting and prompted her to move the masters' training along more quickly.

Besides, her even needing to discipline the servants as she did only confirmed what she had all along suspected:

They were NO team...

Scathach had not yet told the masters the real intent behind her capping the servants' strengths but having them endure her gauntlet was not the primary goal. Scathach thought by handicapping them, they would be more inclined to help each other through the obstacles, and while it was present at times, it was severely lacking in most others. On top of that, the revelation that Cu Chulainn knew about her potion since the start pretty much made the team's camaraderie go out the window. And it even magnified particular rifts between servants.

Namely the Sabers... the two Scathach really has her eyes set on.

She was right to suspect bad blood, and thanks to how things went today, the Shadow now knew just how deeply rooted Arturia and Mordred's incompatibility with each other ran. It was beyond simply personal... and was a torpedo ready to sink the whole team.

If Chaldea were to ever have a hope in saving humanity and vanquishing Solomon, Scathach knew that she had to somehow get these two powerful servants to co-operate. Rectify that, then the rest of the team will follow suit.

Hopefully...

As the trio walked on, Scathach let out a quiet, exasperated sigh. Her stagnation after all these centuries of being isolated slowly becoming apparent to her...

-I have my work cut-out for me...-

---

Zenith had closed his ring, having seen everything that's happened through Gabrielle's eyes. What he saw and learned was astonishing and made him excited. No doubt that the Crypters would like to know what intelligence he gathered on the Shadow.

And Zenith couldn't wait to stick that info in their faces too...

"Hate to say I told you so Crypters, but I think we've stumbled on a goldmine...!"