Hello, everybody.
Just going to start off by saying to those of you who are following my other stories and wanting an update, especially Black Birds, Slaying Moon, that those stories are far from dead, rather I'm dealing with some small problems in my own life and haven't been too inclined to write lately, but I hope this changes soon for I do have great ideas I would like to share with you :D
With that out of the way, welcome to Servants of the Multiverse, a one-shot series featuring characters from different movies, games, books and so on being summoned to fight in the Grail Wars. With the internet at my disposal, I will attempt to balance the power of these new Servants while still retaining the epic elements. Updates and chapter length will be irregular, but I will try to keep a quality standard. Lastly, I encourage SUGGESTIONS to this story. That's right, if you have an idea about a Servant that you want to see brawling in the Grail Wars then leave it in your review along with a brief description of the setting (which War, Master, fight to be featured and so on). Just be aware that I retain the right to choose whether to accept the suggestion and even if I write it I may change things in it.
Let the carnage begins.
Disclaimer: All copyrighted characters, stories, and materials belong to those who own it. I'm only borrowing it :-)
From the cradle of Holy Terra mankind rose up and through many millennia of struggle and discovery reached the stars. There they build wonders and forged a great interstellar civilization. But tragedy struck and the once great human race, who had stood as giants among the stars, was reduced to crawling like vermin in the dirt. It was here, during this dark period in time that a great man came forth and through his strength, intellect and vision mankind became great again. To protect this new empire superhuman warriors were made, soldiers who could fight what ordinary men could not. Led by these warriors, mankind again sought to conquer the galaxy. But tragedy struck again and many of mankind protectors fell to dark temptations. Among these fallen warriors was one whose lust for knowledge could not be sated, whose wisdom few could comprehend and whose ambition would drive him towards a goal none had ever dared think possible before. And where he walked, Chaos followed.
Fate/Zero:
Ryuunosuke Uryu was something of an oddball
From the perspective, those who measured themselves and others by their degrees of financial success, position in the company and level of education Ryuunosuke was a failure who would never amount to anything.
To those more relaxed and focused on enjoying life Ryuunosuke was a free spirit who couldn't be bothered with the future and instead lived in the present.
Though both parties would most likely agree that he was a soulless monster without any chance of redemption if they learned what he did in his free time.
Ryuunosuke Uryu was really excited, which usually spelled the grisly end for someone else.
Its beginning was almost unnoticeable. A sudden shift in the air, like a surge of static electricity that left the hair on the back of Ryuunosuke's neck standing up...
Ryuunosuke, recently losing the "spark" in his work, had by chance come across an old tome which described how to summon demonic entities. The writer had clearly been mad, constantly praising the "Great Four" whoever they were, but his work had been surprisingly tidy. Seeing the chance to kill in thrilling new ways and maybe learn a trick or two from a real life demon, Ryuunosuke had gone on to murder family after family and perform the ritual in their blood. Now he was trying again and had even spared the child in case the demon wanted a snack.
…When next a faint light, which had no source, weakly illuminated the room and indescribable voices began to whisper in inhumane languages all around him Ryuunosuke took notice as did the boy, tied up on the floor, who intensified his struggles.
Wow, this is getting intense. Thought Ryuunosuke. All that was missing was a group of hooded people chanting and it would be exactly like some of the movies he had watched.
With a clap of thunder, which shook the room, something opened like a flower in bloom before him.
Something was the only word Ryuunosuke knew and he couldn't even sure it was nothing or everything.
It was an anomaly to reality.
Humans could only perceive light in a certain electromagnetic spectrum and could only comprehend space of certain dimensions.
This… thing, it's colors were impossible and its dimensions warped in ways the human mind wasn't meant to witness.
Ryuunosuke, somewhat protected by his own madness, was forced to shut his eyes in agony while the bound child's mind broke under the strain and he foamed at the mouth.
When the pain abated Ryuunosuke opened his eyes to see what had happened.
A thick layer of mist had spawned in the room and cloaked the result of the attempted summoning from sight.
"Mr. Demon? You there?" Ryuunosuke called out in question.
For a moment, all was silent and Ryuunosuke worried for the disappointment of another failure.
But then, footsteps, heavy footstep that shook the ground.
Ryuunosuke's excitement grew as two balefully glowing red orbs pierced the mist, coming closer along with the footsteps.
By some unknown force, the mist was dispelled.
It was giant, near three meters in height and over double the width of a man, dressed completely in thick midnight blue armor with gold edges and robes a mix of dark and pale blue with gold embroideries. On its head was a golden helmet with six horns and a red jewel embedded in the forehead while two identical animal skulls hung around its neck. Lastly was the golden staff it held in its right hand, two horns and a crimson stone decorating its top.
They looked at each other for a moment.
"…you aren't a demon are you?" Ryuunosuke said confused and scratched his head.
The being looked at him or more specifically the markings on the hand he used to scratch his head.
A giant gauntleted hand reached towards him.
It was good, Saber thought, that Irisviel could take some time off and enjoy getting outside the castle where she had lived her whole life.
Now if only she could slow the damn car down. Saber grimaced as they narrowly rounded another turn on the road.
After the fiasco of a duel turned free-for-all at the docks, where three of the seven Servant's identities were revealed and three Noble Phantasms used, four if counting Archer yet unknown Noble Phantasm, Saber had allowed Irisviel a chance to calm down before returning to the mansion to plan with Kiritsugu.
Going for a drive sounded so innocent. The knight thought as she held on for dear life while mentally calculating Irisviel's Riding Skill.
"Of all the toys Kiritsugu has brought me over the years this is my absolute favorite." The madwoman at her side exclaimed joyously.
A toy?! Saber thought nervously, thinking what other 'toys' the famous assassin might have bought his wife. Did Saber had to worry about Irisviel suddenly pulling a rocket launcher out of her purse when next they did battle?
They came to a section of twisting road and narrowly managed to not drive over the edge. Saber trying to subtly convince Irisviel to 'hire a professional drive' a.k.a. never drive again.
"…what if the enemy was to suddenly launch an attack against us?" The Homunculus deflected.
"Well, I suppose you have a point." Saber forced out before trying to counter. "but-Stop the car!"
Saber grabbed the steering wheel and went to smash her foot on the brake when suddenly her instincts screamed at her and she instead turned car violently to the left.
The car carried a lot of mass and had been accelerating along the now straight road for a few moments and so, by the laws of sir Isaac Newton, it carried enough force to rip metal.
The car struck the traffic barrier, metal warped and airbags were released as the vehicle drove off the road and started its descent down the cliff.
The road exploded in a blast of multicolored fire, the cliff caving under the unnatural force as stone splintered and fell along with the automobile.
Faster than a man could blink Saber had equipped her battle dress and pulled Irisviel out of the airborne wreckage and with a burst of enchanted air put several dozen meters between them and the car.
They landed safely, thanks to the Servant superhuman strength, as the car exploded behind them.
Saber was on high alert, her senses perceiving everything around her.
An enemy Servant? Here and now?! It's most likely Caster through Archer might also have a weapon in that Noble Phantasm of his who could do that. The small king thought frantically before she looked over at Irisviel who was in shock.
Saber looked forward. Damn it. With Irisviel here I can't fight properly without putting her at risk and I don't trust Caster not to simply attack her directly.
"Come out coward and face me fai-oomph," Saber grunted as she was forced to deflect a series of flying objects before she managed to grasp Irisviel by the collar of her clothes and pull her along to cover.
"Kyaaa," the albino woman cried as she was forcefully moved again before coming to an abrupt stop behind a large boulder.
Are those… bullets? Saber thought shocked.
Indeed, the objects flying through the air was accompanied by loud bangs from the among the trees, but what caused the disbelief in the Servant was the sheer size of the projectiles and the fact that they were rocket propelled. Each bullet was far larger than anything Kiritsugu used and were very fast, even to her spiritual enhances senses.
While Saber didn't have the natural hawk-like vision of the Archer class she was nonetheless a hero from the day's terrible monsters roamed the world. It was child's play to pick out the shapes of her attackers even in the faint moonlight.
There were about nine from what she could see. Large figures who, despite having armor perfectly for night camouflage, stood out in the open and fired at their position.
Familiars most likely, through the use of firearms is rather strange. Thought Saber.
"Irisviel stay down, I don't know who this Servant is, but I will not allow this provocation to go unanswered." The Servant of the sword spoke with conviction.
The white-haired woman looked distraught for a moment before she gathered her courage. "Very well Saber, show the enemy their folly in attacking us." She said with steel in her voice.
Arturia smiled. "Gladly."
In a rush of air, the swordswoman shot out from behind the rock and charged the position of the familiars.
In a display of impressive reaction time they shifted the arc of fire towards her, but by then she had already crossed over half the distance and simply deflected the bullets as she ran.
Some, however, managed to bypass her defenses and struck her armor and when they did they released strange energy which exploded against her.
She ground her teeth in slight pain. The magic bullets had surprised her, but they hadn't been able to penetrate her armor or magic resistance and had only jarred her with their kinetic energy.
Within microseconds, Saber was in range to attack and unleashed a devastating diagonal attack from below-
CLANG
-which was blocked as the familiar dropped its firearm and drew a blue serrated sword which pulsed with strange energies.
Saber showed no surprise at the change in weaponry and broke the sword lock, slipped under the gauntleted fist coming toward her face, and jumped to perform a flying decapitation.
The strange material was tough, but Excalibur's perfect edge cut it nonetheless.
As the helmet fell to the ground Saber also landed and prepared to charge the next target, but stumbled as she was forced to parry an attack from an enemy she thought defeated.
What!? Saber thought as she defended herself from the headless enemy, bullets slamming into her all the while.
She executed a feint that caused her opponent to miss timed its attack and slashed her sword diagonally downward, splitting the pauldron, and buried the blade a third of the way through the breastplate before she lost momentum in her strike. She was forced to pull her sword out when the familiar brought its own weapon to bear and their duel resumed.
So, the armor it empty and animated by magic? Impressive, it will not be easy to deal with the enemies if I have to dismantle all of them completely. If only I knew where Caster was hiding. Saber thought as she finally managed to slip under her opponent's guard and, with a horizontal attack, finished cutting the familiar in half. As half the armor's upper body and a single arm detached from the rest Saber was already on the move, though not unscratched from where the bullets had glanced her unarmored areas and drawn blood. She had just finished removing another armor from its legs when her eyes grew wide and the forest lit up like daytime.
From the shadows of the forest, a huge mass of color changing lightning flew through the air, breaking the ground apart and setting passing trees on fire before striking Saber's unprotected side and sent her flying.
The King of Knights was no stranger to pain and had dealt with magic before, but this was like nothing she had ever felt before. Besides the obvious cramping of muscles and the feeling as if her blood was on fire, the lightning seemed almost sentiently evil, stabbing her flesh and clawing her skin in ways no ordinary electricity should be able.
Skipping over the ground a few times, Saber righted herself, but by then she had already several hundred meters. The small knight quickly returned to her stance, but despite her not showing it she had not escaped that attack without a wound.
Tch. She ground her teeth. That must have been an EX-rank spell at least, no way anything other could get through my Magic Resistance otherwise. While still standing, Saber was burnt in many places and her armor had been scorched, blood ran from the burns dying her once pristine blue dress dark red.
BANG!
Damn it, forgot about the familiars. Saber thought as she deflected the bullets while straining her vision to catch a glimpse of the Magus.
First things first, I've got to get Irisviel out of here. With Caster and so many foes it's not saf-. Was all she managed to think of before a wall of black, blue and violet flames rushed towards her position.
No longer willing to be distracted by the moving armors Saber was more than prepared to dodge the spell and when she cleared the killing zone she finally got sight of Caster.
Standing flanked by two of his familiars the sorcerer actually caused Saber to blink just to check if she was seeing wrong. Compared to the extravagant but otherwise human looking Magi that were Merlin or Morgana, Caster looked more like a half giant dressed in expensive armor and clothes. However, now that she had eyes on him there was no denying the extremely potent mystical aura that surrounded him, actually manifesting as colored lightning striking endlessly in the air around him.
A shout of: "Saber!?" Was heard from behind the knight and without taking her eyes of the Servant, Arturia looked at Irisviel from the corner of her eye.
"Irisviel!? Stay back, this Servant is extraordinarily dange-" Another discharge of lightning sought the sword Servant out, but she dodged to the side while trees and rocks were vaporized. "*Gasp*. He's dangerous. I need for you to retreat into the forest and get to safety."
The albino woman looked afraid, but with a deep breath steeled herself. "Saber, have faith in that your master will stand by your side." She said with conviction.
When she said that Saber took note of the cell phone in her hand. So, she has contacted Kiritsugu? I would rather not put Irisviel in danger but if Kiritsugu thinks that we should take this chance to eliminate a Servant then so be it.
"Very well, I will show this Servant the error of his way, but first I require healing." Saber proclaimed with a smile while she deflected bullets and dodged the occasional spell.
The woman smiled. "Thank you, Saber." Before she closed her eyes and focused her Prana towards healing the blond Servant before her of her current injuries.
Saber felt a fleeting cold run through her body as the burns and wounds covering her body disappeared, but before she could re engage the mysterious Servant she heard Irisviel cry out in pain and shock.
"Irisviel?" Saber cried as she whirled around to see what ailed her master's wife, but was met with a most gruesome sight.
The inhumanly beautiful woman clutched her left arm in wide-eyed shock even as it mutated before her eyes. The formerly pale and dainty limp grew thinner and longer till she could grasp her shin standing up. Midnight blue feathers sprouted along the arm and claws took the place of fingers leaving her with an oversized, bird-like arm in place of her own.
Saber could only mirror Irisviel's shock. "What in the worl-" She managed before her attention shifted to behind her and the mass of fire and lightning coming her way. Having been distracted again the Servant didn't have time to dodge normally, so she was forced to use Invisible Air to propel herself to the side.
What!? Saber could only think as before her eyes the ground left in her wake froze solid and large spikes of ice sprouted only to instantly evaporate as the fire reached them.
She cleared the attack and prepared to charge but a man-sized boulder was telekinetically there to greet her. Despite having the momentum of a supersonic fighter jet it only jarred Saber and she sliced it in half a millisecond later and charged again. Dodging enchanted bullets and sorcerous fire Saber was a blur to the human eye as she advanced. She quickly approached striking distance of Caster, but one of the familiars besides him stepped away from its position and counter charged her.
Can't afford to stop. Saber concluded as she pointed her blade forward and drew the handle to her chest as if to thrust.
"Strike AIR!" And with those words, the wind that had been circling her sword multiplied in width and shot out like a tornado towards the armor with enough force to crush concrete. Mid-flight, however, the cyclone of air sparked and became a typhoon of crimson fire. The armor in front of it was immediately reduced to molten slag as was the armor behind it, the sorcerer narrowly saved by him teleporting away. Yet, Saber had not gotten away scot free either, her hands horrifically burned by the scarlet flash fire.
How?! What's at work here? Caster was almost engulfed in that attack so it can't h- Wait… First Irisviel's arm, then the ice and now the fire. Could it be like Diarmuid's love spot? Some part of his legend that unintentionally makes magic not his own produce random events around him? In that case… "Irisviel!" The knight called out as she looked for Caster.
The woman, obviously still in shock at the transformation of her arm, managed to meet the Servants gaze. "Y-yes Saber?" she responded, pain in her voice.
"This Servant has some skill or Noble Phantasm that cause random effects when magic is used in his presence. Whatever you do don't cast any more magic or there's no telling what will happen. It is best if you retreat while I hold him, I will join you later." The King proclaimed confidently despite the doubt in her heart, never looking to see if Irisviel had followed her command.
Her arms burned to the point where they hurt to move. Unable to release Excalibur due to Lancer's curse. Unwilling to risk using magic for fear of some lethal effect befalling her. Outnumbered and outgunned.
Still, she charged ever onward, for the King of Knights would not let doubt of fear paralyze her from taking action.
Forward. Block the bullets. Forward. Attack the familiar. Forward. Counter the flaming sword. Forward. Dodge the stream of lightning.
FORWARD
She charged relentlessly. Never stopping and only dispatching an obstacle or pausing to move out of the way of an attack before continuing. Closer and closer to the sorcerer until he was just over a hundred meters away. He launched another stream of lightning as his staff began to glow. Saber dodged again and continued her charge...
Into a trio of bolts composed of dark energies.
Even as her magic resistance triggered, reducing what would have been a fatal blow to near crippling injuries, Saber was blown off her feet, but Caster didn't relent and in the blink of an eye otherworldly chains materialized and bound her while fire erupted from the ground.
No… it can't end like th-. Saber managed to think while she was bombarded by fire and magic, but, finally, the sheer amount of hostile sorcery overwhelmed her magical defenses.
In a flash of golden light, King Arthur returned to death, much to the shock of her master and the other Servants.
That... had not gone like Caster had planned.
It had been his hope to catch Saber and her master by surprise, eliminating them before they had a chance to react.
He had observed to battle at the docks through scrying and had observed the duel that took place earlier this evening. Lancer, with his magic negating spear, was definitely a grave threat and targeting his master would be the best way of dealing with him. Perhaps taking control of his fiancé and having her do the deed before having her kill herself might be a possible solution. After all, she would be dreadfully unguarded while Lancer and his master ventured out.
The most interesting outcome of the duel, however, were the injuries Berserker and Saber had taken. It provided him the option of eliminating a weakened competitor and that was just too good to pass up. In the end, the threat of Saber's Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, should she regain it, proved greater than Berserker's anonymity and ability to turn ordinary objects into Noble Phantasms.
He had calculated that Saber might react to his first attack in time, but he had hoped to kill the master with his Rubric Marines hidden in the forest. Unfortunately, the Sword Servant had good reactions and what should have been a quick ambush had turned into a slugfest where he had been forced to use all three of his Noble Phantasms, one of them always being active, to finish the fight.
The sorcerer looked at his "master", the young man standing unmoving at his side, eyes glazed and drooling slightly, the psychic mind control completely dominating his mind.
In retrospect, it might have been better to have retreated after the second failed ambush. While he had successfully vanquished a Servant, reducing the roster to five remaining Servants, it had not come without its costs. All of his Rubric marines that had been cut to pieces could be restored, but the two which the flames had reduced to slag were gone, leaving him with two guards less. Saber's master, now Servantless, knew his capabilities and could still gain a Servant if one of the other masters died. And finally, the other Servants had no doubt felt their engagement and, with the amount of magic expelled, knew he had killed Saber which would only paint a target on his back. These things, however, was not the greatest problems right now.
His master was not a proper magus and could therefore not provide him with enough Prana to sustain him, let alone allow him to fight. Caster had spent the days harvesting criminals for Prana as to avoid suspicion from law enforcement and the War's mediator. Now, with the sheer amount of magic it required to slay Saber, he would need to go out hunting again and this time spending time looking for the scum of society would take too long.
Nonetheless, he was still confident. Ahzek Ahriman would not suffer defeat easily.
AN: The typemoon and warhammer40k wikia helped much in this part:
Character is from: Warhammer 40K
-Basics-
Class: Caster
Master: Ryuunosuke Uryuu
True Name: Ahzek Ahriman
Titles: The Exile, Former Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons
Sex: Male
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
-Primary Statistics-
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: D
Magical Power: EX
Luck: B
Noble Phantasm: B+
-Class Skills-
Territory Creation: Lost in favor of the Warp Rift Noble Phantasm.
Item Construction – (D): Caster can manufacture magical weapons of D rank if given the proper components.
While educated in all principles of sorcery, Caster focused more on pure sorcery and the casting of spells rather than the creation of magical tools. However, Caster can still inscribe items with blasphemous runes to make them carry Warp magic and bind lesser Daemons into weapons to greatly enhance their lethality.
-Personal Skills-
Masterful Channeling: Allows Caster can cast A rank spells in quick succession:
As one of the greatest sorcerers of his time, Caster channel the Warp like few others and he can channel Chaos into mighty spell quickly without worrying about losing control or being devoured by daemons.
Warp Sorcery: The opponent's Magic Resistance counts as being reduced a rank when defending against Caster's spells.
Caster's magic comes from the parallel psychic realm of the Warp and is channeled into the material world. Not fueled by Prana or conducted as traditional Thaumaturgy, the Magic Resistance of other Servants is less effective.
-Noble Phantasms-
Rubric of Ahriman – (B+): Allows the summoning of Rubric Marines as familiars.
Lore: The spell that's Caster's greatest achievement and failure, his attempt to cure his legion of the ravages of the Flesh Change which lead to the creation of the Rubric Marines, mindless automatons that inhabited the armor of his former brothers.
Info: The Rubricae are puppets, an extension of the will of the sorcerer that control them, but they are very effective in a battle where they regain a semblance of sentience. Furthermore, they are nearly indestructible and only completely destroying the armor that binds them will undo the familiars. As their creator Caster can summon a platoon's worth of these high-class familiars to battle alongside him to tear at his enemies with their enchanted weapons.
Black Staff of Ahriman – (C+): Potent combat staff that enhances Caster's sorcery and allows for the casting of multiple spells simultaneously.
Lore: The Force Staff of Caster, enhanced with many exotic, psychic amplifying parts, is a potent weapon in itself, but in Caster's trained hands it's especially deadly.
Info: A Force Staff that enhances Caster's magic, but it also makes it possible for him to cast many high-rank spells at the same time, which otherwise would require the sacrifice of a Thrall Psyker.
Warp Rift – (C): Magic can have an unintended side effect when performed around Caster.
Lore: Caster has dwelled into the Warp to an incredible degree and has been described as a "lightning rod for the Warp". As such he now acts as a conduit into the Warp and has been known as the herald of Warp Storms and tides of Daemons wherever he went.
Info: Casting spells or using magic in Caster's presence carries the inherent risks that channeling the Warp does, absolutely random magical effects that scale in power with the spell. These effects can be either detrimental or beneficial, there's no way to know until they manifest. This Noble Phantasm effects all magic and also Skills and Noble Phantasms of magical nature with rank C or below.
About Caster (against the general Servants Classes):
Caster defies many of the predefined expectations of his class. Firstly, Caster's higher physical statistics and EX rank Magical power, but weak Class Skills results in that he's more suited to direct confrontation than the traditional Caster class and with the Warp Sorcery Skill he has less to fear from the three Knight classes' Magical Resistance, which is normally the undoing of the Caster class.
Strong versus: Caster is strong vs. the Archer class of the heroic spirits. As he's more mobile than the usual Caster class he can afford to go outside his base and hunt Archer down. With a strong magic defense and offense that require no preparations, he can defend himself from Archer's ranged attacks while sending punishing sorcery attacks back. His Rubric Marines would also be able to defend him should Archer decide to close the distance.
Weak versus: Caster is weak vs. the Lancer class of the heroic spirits. While normally it's the Saber's high Magic Resistance that's the greatest threat to the Caster class, because of the Warp Sorcery Skill Caster has an easier time dealing with them. It's the Lancer's speed has the greatest potential for weaving through Caster's powerful spells and high-level familiars that would block the way of others and engage Caster in close range where he's at his weakest.
And that's that. Sigh, glad to finally have this one out. It has been done forever and I only needed to brush it over. Not really sure if I completely like the Servant profile, but it was the best I could do. I do not claim complete knowledge of the Fate series, having only enjoyed some of the anime, so there may be mistakes, I hope you can forgive me if that's case. Give a review and tell me what you think.