Chapter 9: Catching Up

"Well this sucks," said Sun, flipping through his wallet. "There goes my lunch for the rest of the month."

"Well, wish for a million dollars when we win the Holy Grail," Lancer suggested, sipping his strawberry cocktail.

Sun scowled. "You know, Nep, you say that, but we haven't done jack about this Grail War thing because you were too busy nerding around on your ass all day. We didn't even go to that chapel thing last night because you were watching TV!"

"First off, if we went, we would've gotten massacred by all the other Servants. Dunno about you, but I don't want to lose right off the bad, And second, it's not being nerdy, it's being intellectual!" insisted Lancer, waving his issue of Halo: Initiation in his Master's face. "Seriously dude, I didn't know this world had so much cool stuff in it! Anime, Oculus games, YouTube-and there's, like, those Rooster Teeth guys-they've made Red VS Blue, Camp Camp, and…uh…what was the name of their other show again?"

"You're literally the worst," grumbled Sun.

"Yeah, people say that a lot about me."

Sun groaned, stretching his arms out lazily. "Wheeeeelp, I have NO idea what to do for the rest of the day. Time to crash at home and rethink my miserable existence." He got up in his chair and turned around only to bump into another young man, and stumbled back onto the pavement butt-first. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Classy," chuckled Lancer.

"Sheesh. Pay attention, you stupid Faunus!" the man called back at him, walking into the sports bar.

Sun stumbled back to his feet. "You alright?" A dark-haired girl wearing a bow helped him up. "Don't let those types of people get you down-it just shows pathetic they really are." She flashed him a quick smile and walked off. Sun stared at her.

"Hey, I know her," muttered Lancer. "That's Blake, I think. She knows you in the world I came from, you're…well, you're friends over there."

Sun was quiet for a moment, then said: "Hey…I think, uh, she might be a Master."

"…What?" asked Lancer, looking taken aback.

"Uh, well, y'know," said Sun, struggling for an answer, "she's wearing gloves, see? Like she's covering up her Command Seals, right? That makes sense!"

Lancer stared at him incredulously. "Dude. You're actually serious? That's your reasoning? Because she wears gloves?"

"What, you got a better idea?" retorted Sun.

The supposed Master walked up to a table where a dark-skinned girl wearing shorts and a tank top was drinking a cup of green tea. The two began talking about something; it seemed they knew each other. Lancer snuck a glance at the second girl. "Hmm. Y'know, you might have a point after all…"

The girls looked like they were arguing, but eventually the black-haired girl simply sighed and pointed vaguely somewhere in the west direction. The other got up, and the two of them walked away.

Sun and Lancer glanced at each other. Without a word, the two boys nodded, and followed after them.

A few tables away, a man in a dark trenchcoat took a long, indulgent gulp of his whiskey. On the other side of the table, a short young woman was happily gobbling down a bowl of baked Alaska ice cream. She's got one hell of an appetite, he thought.

Roman Torchwick fidgeted with his false beard with one hand and wiped his sunglasses with the other. He'd really pulled out all the stops, he had to admit. Had to, when you were a nationally wanted criminal on the run from the authorities. Even dear old mum wouldn't recognize me in this getup, he thought gleefully.

He glanced at his Servant, who was still stuffing her little face. "Oi, Neo, try not to eat all that at once, you'll get a nasty brainfreeze. Trust me. Been there."

Berserker just smiled contentedly at him and made motions with her hands. "Now, come on, don't give me that crap, kid," Roman grumbled. Thankfully, he'd picked up some sign language in his many, many years terrorizing the streets of Vale. Otherwise, he wasn't sure how he'd ever deal with the little brat.

From what he could understand, this Neo girl was a traveler from another dimension, who had come to this world to participate in some absurd war of sorts. As he'd (accidentally) summoned her, she was now his Servant, and together they were supposed to work together to fight for some Holy Grail that could grant any wish.

Idiocy. Fairy tales to awe children. That was what Roman had thought. But his eye couldn't deny what had happened the night she'd appeared out of nowhere, and had saved his sorry behind. Neo was not a normal girl-that was for sure. And she was useful. Whatever else Roman was, he valued useful people.

With her powers, they'd robbed several banks in the last twenty-four hours, almost breaking Roman's personal record. It wasn't as much as he'd hoped, but money was a little tight at the moment, so he appreciated anything he could get his rose-scented hands on. He casually leafed through his wallet. "Hmm-hmm, five thousand, six thousand…"

"Hey, hey, mister." The irritable voice of a young man interrupted his reverie. Carrying a large suitcase, the boy waved a business card obnoxiously in his face. "I've got a crazy good deal for you, and it's a one-time offer! This is your only chance!"

"Piss off, mate." Roman waved him away. "I'm not interested."

"Ohhh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, good sir…" the young man's voice was still jovial, but there was a sinister edge to it now. "Why not take a closer look, eh?" He shoved the business card in Roman's face.

Roman's heart nearly stopped for a moment. This was his card. His picture, full name, personal information, and the name of that godforsaken toy store he worked at once were all written on it, plain as day. "Where did you…who…" he began. It had been quite some time since he'd been so lost for words.

"Oh, we have our ways. Not me, though, I'm just the messenger," the boy shrugged. He smiled at Berserker. "Hello, Neo. The two of you are inseparable no matter where you are, huh?" Neo stared at him in shock, anger filling her heterochromatic eyes.

"You know her?" asked Roman angrily. "Just who are you?"

"Well, right now, I'm a Servant of the Holy Grail, carrying out my all-mighty Master's will-just like your little monster over there," the boy replied, in a voice suggesting he didn't have a very high opinion of his 'master'. "The Assassin-class Servant, to be precise. Name's Mercury Black."

Assassin. How subtle. Well, at least the name gets the message across. So another one of these "Servant" people had found him. Were they here to kill him? Roman wasn't sure how he was supposed to get out of this situation unscathed. He bloody well couldn't take out his pistol and shoot the damned boy, not in public anyway.

He might have to if it came to that, however. Roman did not want to die like this. When he thought of his own death, he always imagined himself as a ripe old man, lying on a warm silk king-sized bed in his mansion, surrounded by money and whores. He slowly reached into his pocket.

"I wouldn't do that," cautioned Assassin. "Besides, Roman, you still haven't listened to everything I've got to say."

"…Alright. Carry on," said Roman cautiously.

The boy smiled. "I'm sure you've heard of the White Fang, right? Preachy activist-slash-terrorist group, all over the news these days. Well it just so happens their leader-my Master, FYI-is willing to make you-yes, you-an incredible offer. Specifically, you're supposed to steal something for them."

"'Something'?" That didn't seem so bad. Stealing was right up Roman Torchwick's alley. "And what would this 'something' be?"

Grinning, Assassin retrieved a roll of paper from his pocket and presented it to Roman with a flourish. Some sort of blueprint, he thought, unrolling it suspiciously. After glancing at it for a few seconds, he felt like he'd just taken a frontal dive into a pool of chocolate ice cream. "What…this is impossible. Do you really expect me to pull off something like this?"

"Not just you, remember? You've got your Servant." The boy nodded at Berserker. "With her help, and your skills, this job should be a breeze, shouldn't it?"

Roman narrowed his eyes. "And what, may I ask, do I get out of this?" A stupid question, but it was a custom for him to know just what he was getting into.

"Not having your personal info leaked to the police. And not dying right here and now, naturally," replied Assassin. "But if you're half as stubborn as I remember, you'll need a bit more motivation. So here." He opened the briefcase he was holding.

Roman's heart skipped a beat. The briefcase was filled to the brim with money-he was fairly sure he'd never seen so much money in one place. Stacks of bills upon bills were placed in neatly organized piles, and there were even rare crystals of Dust, which were no doubt worth even more.

Still, Roman wouldn't be so easily swayed. He swallowed his excitement. "Sorry, pal, but the two of us are alright as far as money's concerned. You'll have to do better."

"Haha! You really are a master bargainer!" Assassin laughed. "This whole stash'll be yours the moment you take on the offer. But trust me, there's a whoooooole lot more waiting for you once you've completed the job. And seriously, the full reward will make this look like lunch money in comparison."

Wordlessly, Roman leafed through the money. Examining the bills, he could confirm that they were legitimate. These people really did know what they were doing.

He glanced at Berserker. Neo was staring at him, quiet as always, with a pleading look in her eyes, like she knew something he didn't. She motioned with her hands. Understanding what she meant, Roman sighed.

"Well, it's not like I had much of a choice to begin with," he muttered. He gave Berserker a comforting pat on the head. She was a little brat, but he couldn't help but like her, especially after she'd helped him. "Might be interesting to switch it up a little, hmm?"

Neo shook her head violently, but Roman had made his decision.

"Well…?" asked Assassin.

"You've got yourself a deal, Servant-you and your White Fang. I'll play your little game." At least I won't be bored, Roman thought.

Mercury Black smiled. "Alright, then. It's an alliance."

Sorry about the shorter chapter this time. I've been pretty busy lately, and I figured this would be good place to end the chapter anyway, just filling in the blanks for the characters who've been conspicuously missing. Next chapter will be longer, so enjoy for now!