Fate/Stay Night: Out of the Black
"Do you understand Shirou?" Rin Tohsaka asked her red-headed classmate and fellow Master. Shirou, still looking like a dear stuck in the headlights, shook his head no. She has explained the basics of how a Servant worked and why he was at a disadvantage, but this entire thing was still completely insane to him. A fight to the death? Masters? Servants? It was making the boys head spin trying to wrap it around all of this new information.
Rin sighed. "Fine, I'll say it as simply as possible. You are a Master in a ritual where Masters summon Servants to fight. You happened to summon the strongest Servant, Saber." She explained, not hiding her frustration. "But, there also the other knight classes, Archer and Lancer, and the rest of the classes, Rider, Caster, Berserker, Assassin, and Avenger, The Irregular." Shirou raised a eyebrow at 'Irregular', and asked what that meant. Neither mage noticed how Saber tensed up at the mention of the final Class.
"It means that Avenger is just that, irregular and strange. The first Avenger appeared during the Third War being summoned by the Einzberns, and it was thought to be a one time event, however another Avenger appeared during the last War, as result, it's regarded as a official Class." She went to pour herself another cup of tea, but discovered the pot was empty and crawled to the one on the heater nearby. "Avenger doesn't need a Master to maintain itself in the world due to a special ability. They also have the abilities of two classes, and have an obsession with getting revenge. The Third Grail Wars Avenger was one of the first Servants to be eliminated, but the last one made it to the final three Servants remaining." She finished with a huff, before spying a jealous look at Saber.
"A nobody with almost no magical talent managed to summon Saber instead of me! The heir to Tohsaka family at the near peak of my Mana where the leylines converged!" She grumbled to herself, on the borderline of throwing a temper tantrum to get her frustration out. That was, until her Servant spoke to her through their link.
"Master, something's happening in the shed." Archer said simply, causing the Tohsaka to jerk up and run out of the dining room, and outside into the courtyard. Shirou and Saber instinctively followed behind her, Shirou still wondering on what the hell was happening. Archer stood in the center of the courtyard, standing in a neutral position with his two curved swords in his hands.
A loud crackling and a bright glow was coming out of his sheds open doorway. The glow was similar to when he had inadvertently summoned Saber, but it felt far more violent to him. As if his energy itself was being sapped from his body, and that he was staring into the Sun itself.
A sound that made him feel like hundreds of nails were being jackhammered into his skull followed, making him cover his ears and squeeze his eyes shut. He expected a boom or some other loud sound to happen afterwards, but it stopped at the flip of a coin, and a deadly silence settled over the area.
A faint murmuring could be heard from inside the shed, accompanied by light footsteps. When the figure walked out, his hands had been slung behind his head and he was taking large steps, but he had stopped with one foot raised, and a his mouth hanging open when he looked at the Masters and Servants.
The person who walked out was a giant, standing taller than Archer by more than a inch, wearing a torn up set of white robes with cloth wrapped around his hands and his bare feet. He appeared to be in his early to mid thirties, but the way he stood and the dumb expression on his face gave him a much younger feeling. His eyes were both covered, a black cloth on his right and a white one on his left. His white hair fell to his shoulder blades, and several strands were in his face.
After several seconds of him standing in that strange manner, he slowly put his foot down, and put his two hands in a T formation, and spoke with a surprisingly deep voice. "Timeout? If you could please? It's a tiny bit unfair for me to freshly summoned and have to fight two Servants in one go?" He pleaded with a weak smile on his face as he let out a nervous chuckle. He maintained that uneasy grin until he looked at Saber, and his face grew stern.
"If you still want to attack me, I will only fight the blonde, she and I have a score to settle." He pointed towards Saber, his voice turning dark. "You are still a devout believer in honor and glory, even though the last time we saw each other I thought I stopped your cycle of pain and suffering." A shortsword materialized in his right hand, and Shirou unknowingly took in every detail.
It was silver, with anti magic properties. The hilt was plain, a lump of metal covered in white cloth. The blade was heavily scratched, but it still seemed to be sturdy all throughout. The man swung the blade in two wide arcs, before aiming the tip towards Saber.
"As my role of Avenger, I will see that both myself and others are avenged from their deaths at the hands of fools." He said, before slowly stepping forwards, the blade dragging behind him. Saber slowly walked forward as well, her sword held out to her side. Shirou tried to stop her, but he faltered. He could feel the raw determination coming from his Servant, he knew that if he attempted to stop her he would get nowhere fast. She wasn't going to stop for anyone, not even for her Master.
Avenger bolted forward, stabbing at Sabers face, who narrowly blocked with her blade. Her blade slid down Avengers, sending a fountain of sparks flying. Her blade stuck fast into Avengers handguard, forcing the fighters into a stalemate.
Avenger had a strange expression on his face. Confusion, annoyance, and anger all were visible. Sabers face showed the refined look of a person who had fought in battles for years, her mouth in a thin line and her green eyes sharp.
Avenger flicked the wrist of his free hand, and another sword settled into his grip. He aimed for the small gap inbetween her chest and backplates, and buried his blade in her side. However, he didn't push the blade any further than only to draw blood. He gave the blade a quick twist before jumping backwards with the blades dissolving and a scowl aimed at Shirou.
"Boy, why are you not providing sufficient Mana to your Servant? If she was at her true strength she would have taken my head off. If you continue with this, I will refuse to actually try to fight." He said with his arms crossed over his chest, his glare burning a hole through Shirous head.
"How much mana is he providing her?" He focused his mind, and was shocked from what he saw. Despite the boy having a fair amount of mana circuits and enough mana to spare, not a drop was going to Saber. No Master was ignorant enough to completely cut off mana to their Servant, which could only mean that she… "An improper summoning?!" And on top of all that, she was tethered to a weak magus who obviously had no idea what was going on.
"Goddamnit! Shit Shit Shitty Shit!" Avenger swore loudly with his hands over his face, before letting out a yell of defeat that lasted for well over twenty seconds. "I can't kill you when you're this laughably weak! That wouldn't prove anything!" He yelled to the sky before starting another set of swearing that could make the Devil blush, while the Servants watched on blankly and the Masters stood confused.
"This can't be happening to me…" Avenger muttered to himself with his head pressed against the wall of the shed he had appeared from only minutes prior.
He jerked his head up before yelling to the sky in multiple languages, some of which was in German letting Rin gain some insight into what exactly he was saying, which was ranging from "Why!" to "Go screw yourself with a pitchfork!".
Archer felt compelled to eliminate the Servant during his deranged rant, however, he was far to intrigued by how already, this Grail War was differing from his own. In his there never was an eighth Servant, and he seemed to be…..special. Even though was now on the ground in a ball, crying. Not the "silent tears rolling down your face" crying, full on ugly crying. Snot, scrunched up face, the whole deal.
After Avengers multiple mood swings, he sat cross legged in the middle of the courtyard, no evidence that he had just cursed, cried, and punched himself in the forehead multiple times. He calmly looked at the two teenagers, prompting Rin to speak. "Well, now that your little temper tantrum is over, the next logical course of action would be to register both Shirou and Avenger for the War. Provided of course, that you don't seek to injure either of us or our Servants." Avenger cocked his head at "registering". There had been no mention of registering in the Fourth War, and it sounded strange.
The Holy Grail Wars were designed to be completely secret and to be unknown by anyone. Trying to find the Master that served in a War was difficult, finding a Servant was practically impossible if you didn't know first hand. So him having to go to a place and flat out announce that he was there sounded like they were begging for an ambush.
When he returned his focus on the group, he saw that Shirou seemed to be trying to win the World Record for Longest Confused Look on a Person's Face, Saber was glaring at him in such a way that made him feel like he was in a lions den, Rin seemed to be trying to figure who he was like her Servant, however her face showed little to no malice, unlike Tall Dark and Handsome over there, who had a fearsome scowl on his face.
Avengers sexual preferences and Archer/Beefcake aside, Avenger quickly clapped his hands together. "Alright, you heard the tiny mage, let's go!" He said pointing forward, before dissipating into Spirit Form.
"Tiny?!" Rin yelled to thin air, while Avengers distant chuckling could be heard. Saber still didn't care for a word that cane out of the Servants mouth, it was a farce and nothing more, all to lure her Master into a false sense of security so he could easily eliminate him when his back was turned. "Others will fall for his lie, but by my duty as a Servant and a knight I will eliminate this threat as soon as I am able." She thought with her hand tightening into a fist.
"You're very intimidating Saber, with your clenched up fist and stern expression, you have me shaking in my boots, but I recommend either covering up or replacing your medieval battle armor with literally anything else." Avengers voice rang out from the air, his voice echoing throughout the courtyard.
"Then again you could probably pass off as a cosplayer, I think that it's pretty popular in Japan. Or maybe we can just throw a blanket over her and have the redhead carry her over his shoulder. Just, just do something to hide the fact you are a hero of legend summoned to fight in a magical war." Avenger briefly materialized and shrugged, before vanishing again. Saber scowled and Shirou nodded slightly before walking into his house to see if he had a big jacket or something of the like.
"Okay, I know I said to cover her up, but that," Avenger said, jabbing his thumb at the bright yellow raincoat Saber now wore. "-just looks ridiculous. She probably would stand out less if she wore her armor." Avenger commented again as they walked to the Church, Rin sincerely wishing he would go back into Spirit Form and shut the hell up.
Even though getting a cab at this time was a slim chance it would have been nice if they actively looked for one, which the two magi did not. He never understood why mages were so anti-modern technology, didn't make a lot of sense in his opinion. Well, to give the boy credit he actually interacted with modern objects if the pieces of junk he stubbed his toe on when he summoned himself was any indication.
He then realized he didn't even know their names, he had just been mentally referring to them as "Dopey" and "Tsundere". "Hey, girl in red jacket. What are your names?" He asked bored as he slung his arms over his shoulders and clasped the back of his head.
The girl wearing red made some strange huffing noise before glaring at the Servant. "I am Rin Tohsaka, the current head of the Tohsaka clan. And that idiot there is Shirou Emiya." She said with a glare that could cut diamond aimed at Shirou and Saber, but more so towards the boy and she seemed to have a longing look in her gaze at Saber.
However, Avenger hadn't paid attention enough to see that, all he heard was those names. Tohsaka, and Emiya. The names shared by a coward mage who tried to justify their stupidity and the only man that even resembled Avenger in his ways. Avenger was ecstatic, he had proved the parents ignorance and stupidity, and now he could use all he knew to bend their children to his will.
He realized he was smirking, and quickly wiped it off to replace it with a yawn. "Aren't the Tohsakas a big deal or something? The name rings a bell or two." He said lazily, slouching forward with his arms now at his sides.
"They are a very big deal! They are one of the three founding families of the Holy Grail War." Rin yelled flustered. "Alright alright don't get your panties in a twist about it. I died before the Holy Grail even existed so don't blame me for not knowing the name of a single mage family, sheesh." Avenger grumbled back. "Also, how much longer do we have to walk! Do you not have a magical butler with a car or a flying carpet so we can actually get there this month?" Avenger said loudly with his arms waving around in circles.
"It's not that much further, and you're a Servant! You could have been there much earlier!" Rin yelled back.
"Well maybe I was trying to be a gentleman and walk the young woman to the place because it's the middle of the night!"
"I don't need a babysitter, I'm a Magus! And especially if the babysitter is my enemy!"
"Now you're just being rude! Who said I was going to attack you? Maybe I wanted a alliance that lasted longer than a single night? What do you have to say to respond to that?!"
Shirou looked on as his classmate argued with a man that stood heads and shoulders above her, and appeared to be actually winning. He glanced at Saber, noticing that she still wore a blank face, but seemed to be shedding glances at Avenger, who was currently standing with his arms in front of him like has trying to calm down a wild animal, the animal being an angry Rin Tohsaka.
"Alright Alright! Just calm the hell down before I have to take a eyepatch off and tie it around your mouth so you will stop yelling!" Avenger said, his terrified expression quickly changing into a snarky grin. "Oh, would you look at that. We are only a hop and skip away from the church now. I guess talking to a girl with anger issues is a great way to pass the time." Avenger said loudly before walking triumphantly forward singing some weird song in another language.
"Could you please go into Spirit Form until we are inside the Church! Someone is going to hear your voice!" Rin yelled even louder than Avenger had. He stopped, spun around on his heel, leaned down to Rins height, and looked into her eyes with a deadset expression. "No." He said seriously, before spinning around again and resuming his walk and song as if nothing had happened.
Rin growled and pulled her hair once he had turned around, making sure the Servant knew how much she was pissing her off. "If you want, I can eliminate him now. A quick arrow to the head and he's dead in the water." Archer said through their link.
"No, we still may be able to find something useful in an alliance with him. But keep watch, he may still be dangerous." She replied silently, wishing that she could order Archer to take the annoying Servants head off.
"As you command Rin." He replied, still giving Avenger a careful look. He move a inch to hurting Rin, he's gone. If he comes close to killing Shirou however, Archer may "accidentally" slip up and miss.
Avenger continued his song and walk, sometimes jumping up and clapping his hands with a imaginary chorus, but stopped at the gate and sat down. His goofy expression had changed to one more solemn than any face he had worn that night.
"You can bring Shirou inside, just tell the Overseer that I'm here. Churches and priests give me the willies." He said simply, a sword appearing in his left hand as he started to examine it, more so out of a need for a distraction than an actual need to check his weaponry.
"So be it, come one Shirou. The fake priest is inside." Rin said, earning a stiff nod from Shirou as he followed close behind her. Avenger glanced towards the two, before noticing Saber standing several yards away.
"Trying to avoid Kotomine too?" He asked, but he spoke before she could reply. "I'm doing the same. That man truly disgusts me, no regards for anything other than torturing others for sick pleasure. Probably why everything happened the way it did those years ago." He said, letting the Black Key he had been holding dematerialize.
He gave Saber another look, and saw that she hadn't responded or moved since he had started. He smiled slightly before continuing. "Sheesh Saber, didn't picture you as the type of person to leave someone hanging. I understand that you do have resentment towards me, with the whole killing Lancelot situation, but in my eyes I consider you an ally."
"We do have differing ideals and desires, but I do believe we could have something similar to a alliance or friendship during this War." Avenger said with the raise of his hand, offering it to shake. "Ever since I showed up I've had this feeling in my gut, that not everything is at its seems. The last time I betrayed by gut my adopted daughter was murdered and I was tortured half to death before being burned alive." He took off his left eyepatch, revealing his crimson eye.
"I never want to betray my instincts again. So all I ask is for the two of us to figure out if something is wrong with the War, and then the two of us can fight not as a knight and a Executioner, but as two Heroic Spirits." He offered, shaking his hand slightly.
Saber sighed before hesitantly grabbing his hand, shaking it slightly. "I suppose that would be fair." She said before her voice became stern. "Do not take this lightly, I only do this out of respect for my Master, and he needs as much assistance as possible." Avenger laughed slightly before freeing his hand to tie his eyepatch again. "Yeah, you kinda got stiffed in that department. But hey, maybe the little guy has a few tricks up his sleeve."
Avenger noticed the ghost of a smile on Sabers face, and smiled back. He heard footsteps approach, and turned to see Rin and Shirou walking back from the Church. "How it'd go? Did everything check out?" Avenger asked, which Rin nodded in reply. "He said he was disappointed that you come yourself, but I doubt he actually meant it." Rin replied, cringing slightly at the thought of her supposed "mentor and guardian".
"Thanks for going in on my behalf. If it comes down to it I'll avoid killing you until later." Avenger said while stretching his back out. "Man, asphalt is definitely not a good thing for your butt to be on." He said before walking down the driveway that led to the church.
"Oh, yeah and Shirou? I offered a alliance to Saber, but you have the final verdict in those regards." Avenger said, before stretching his hand out to Shirou. "Do you, Shirou Emiya, wish to enter a alliance with me, Ave-" Avenger said before snapping his head up the hill along with Rin.
Standing in the light of a streetlight, was a young girl with red eyes and white hair, wearing a purple winter jacket, skirt, and hat, smiling. Avenger tensed aromatically when he saw her. This girl was far more than she appeared, and something was coming. Something big.
"It looks like you finally summoned your Servant Onii-chan."