AN: Hello there my loyal minions! This is the story "Lancer du Loc" by the epic person Ashen Author which I have adopted. I have kept the first two chapters mostly the same, save for some changes of my own but it's mostly the same.

Enjoy!

"Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate," Kariya intoned in the basement of the Matou Manor. Behind him he could hear that foul monster whom he shared blood with shift. Kariya had come to Zouken to take back Sakura, and save her from the hell she had been dropped into, but he lacked the power and he knew it.

Zouken might be a monster, but he was an old, clever, and powerful monster. No one was even sure how old he was, but he had definitely survived at least one century, and had used that time to build up his power base in Fuyuki. Almost nothing could hope to challenge him on his home ground.

So instead, Kariya had made a deal with the devil. He would return to the family and take up his position as a magus to serve as the family's representative in the Holy Grail War. If he won the Holy Grail, Zouken would give him Sakura in exchange for it.

"Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Repeat five times." Behind him Kariya just barely heard Zouken lean forward, and a hiss of eager breath, and suddenly he was filled with misgivings. Just before beginning the ritual to summon a Servant, Zouken had given him an extra line to add, saying it would provide his Servant with extra power. An edge in the coming conflict.

But why should he trust Zouken's words?

The man was undoubtedly petty enough to sabotage their chances if it meant getting back at the prodigal traitor of the family. After all, he had time to spare. The old man had originally intended to sit out this War completely and wait for the next. He would lose nothing by sabotaging his chances, but would gain revenge as the ghoul watched him suffer and struggle unsuccessfully. The bastard would probably use the events as entertainment, with a possibility to get the Grail as a fringe benefit.

'If there really was a line that added power to a Servant,' Kariya realized, 'then why wouldn't it have been added to the chant from the very beginning? There must be a cost,' he concluded. 'No doubt it will give my Servant more power, but at a price that I cannot pay.' He decided to skip the extra chant and go to the last line as he had originally memorized.

"Let it be filled fivefold for every turn, simply breaking asunder with every filling," he finished, and the ritual circle activated. There was a blast of silver light from the magic circle, and a figure stepped forward, illuminated from behind by the moon. The effect was awe-inspiring, and Kariya found his breath taken away.

"What?" Zouken snarled viciously from behind him. "Why did you not alter the chant as I said?"

"...Because you're a lying, evil, child molesting, deceitful bastard who I don't trust as far as I could throw?" Kariya suggested innocently, and then turned to face his Servant.

"Servant Lancer, by your summoning I have come forth," the figure declared boldly, confidence rife in his voice. Not arrogance, but merely an assurance that he would prevail. His face was that from a schoolgirl's dream, gentle and handsome. His hair was the color of raven's feathers, and his eyes the shade of coal. In his right hand was a curiously dull jousting lance and a covered shield in the other. His armor was silver in color, with black connectors between the pieces. "I ask of you this, are you my master?" he spoke in a bell-like voice.

"Yes, Servant Lancer, I am your Master in this war. My name is Kariya."

"You fool," Zouken sneered "The Mad Enhancement of the Berserker class would have made this knight far stronger!"

"So that was your plan," Kariya mused, standing to face his father. "But I remember that Berserker uses massive amounts of prana in his fights. Such a burden would have shortened my life, no doubt, much to your amusement."

Zouken snorted. "Do as you wish, you fool," he said dismissively, walking up the stairs of the dungeon. "Begone from my house. But feel free to return and visit young Sakura if ever your dedication should start to waver," he added from the top of the stairs. "I'm certain that she'll appreciate the moral support in the midst of her training." Kariya turned his head and spat as Zouken closed the door behind him.

"I sense that there is much bad blood between you, Master," Lancer observed calmly. Then his face became grim, "And he leaves a foul taste in my bones."

"Yes," Kariya answered simply, before a coughing spasm struck. He felt the worms shift inside him, feeding to create prana as he hacked violently into his hands. When he pulled his palms away from his mouth after the attack had passed, Kariya saw that they were speckled with blood.

"You are not well, Master" Lancer said with concern.

"No, but I will survive the Grail war and win," Kariya said firmly. "Come, I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."

"You see, Master? There was no reason for you to remain in alleys and gutters like a rat when a safe bed was so close by," Lancer chided as Kariya settled onto a hotel bed. "Not only is it ill for a sick man to be exposed to the elements, but it leaves you far too exposed to the predations of other Masters." He paused as Kariya coughed and waited for the sick man to finish. "I do wish we had paid for the room, however."

Kariya was not a skilled magus, but hypnotism was a very basic skill.

"I have no money, sadly," Kariya admitted. "Due to my split with my family I won't receive any from them, and I wouldn't take it if I could." He coughed again violently. "It's filthy, just like their souls."

"All of them? You seemed quite endeared to that young girl we saw as you were leaving?" Said Lancer. A single tear slipped down Kariya's face, causing Lancer to be taken aback. What had transpired to force his Master into such a state?

"Yes," he whispered haggardly, "children are innocent. But more importantly, Sakura is not a true member of the Matou. That is the reason I joined the war."

"An illegitimate child, or an adopted one?" Lancer asked. "And how are you fighting for her sake? Do you intend to use your wish to give her a better life?"

Kariya laughed bitterly. "Something like that," he said, "but in truth I have no wish for the Grail. That old ghoul you saw is named Zouken, the head of the family, and he has promised to free Sakura from the Matou if I can obtain and give him the Grail."

"Free her from the family? In what way, and why? I may be a father myself, though admittedly not a very good one, but it seems to me a good thing that she has a family to be a part of," Lancer said. "Or is it that she is your daughter, and you want her back?"

"She is not my daughter by blood, but she is as good as," Kariya said with a touch of parental protectiveness, "and the Matou are not a good family to be a part of. Sakura is the daughter of the only woman I loved by another man. We were originally engaged to be married but I broke off the engagement and tossed aside my family name because of what the Matou are. We are magi of the worst kind."

"I knew of two magi in life, and I hardly think that you could be worse than either of them," Lancer said.

"You...are a knight of the Round Table, correct?" Kariya asked. "I would assume that you speak of Merlin or Morgana, then. Tell me, did either of them ever violate children using meter-long worm familiars?" Lancer stilled.

"What." Said Lancer, blank shock on his face.

"The Matou specialize in absorbtion magic, and our head uses hundreds of insect familiars, but worms are his favorites. Had I married Aoi, she and any children we had would have been trained in and bound to the Matou magic by being tossed into a pit of several dozen meter-long worms," Kariya said, seeming almost to take pleasure in horrifying his Servant. "The worms familiarize themselves with and alter your body by entering it, and while there are carnivorous ones that can chew holes into your skin, they usually prefer to use… pre-existing orfices," he continued, only for Lancer to stand up suddenly, pure hatred on his face. It was such a rapid change from the calm demeanor he had seen earlier that Kariya could hardly believe that this was the same Servant.

"Master, if you do not wish me to return to that den of sin and raze it to the ground," he snarled, "then you should use a Command Seal to that affect. Otherwise, I will go rescue that girl myself, and purge this world of that foul beast!" he said, spitting out the last word like it was a curse.

"If I thought that would work I would have killed Zouken myself," Kariya replied bitterly. "The thing is no longer human. His worm familiars are what hold his soul to this world now, and unless you can find and destroy every one of them-underground, in buildings, or even concealed in the bodies of other, innocent people-then he won't die when killed, and will return to take even more horrible vengeance. Assuming we can even kill him in the first place, Lancer. This is the center of his power, and he has been building it for over one-hundred years. Could you fight Merlin under such circumstances?"

A long moment passed, and then slowly the Servant sat down. "No," he said, his voice sounding defeated. "But what is there to do then?"

"Play his game and win," Kariya said simply, curling his hand into a defiant fist. "And to do that, we only need to kill six other beings as powerful as you, despite the fact that providing prana for your fights literally results in the worms inside me devouring my insides. Easy."

"Should I return to spirit form, then," he asked.

"No, I would rather learn your abilities first, and I prefer speaking face-to-face for that," Kariya said tiredly. "The drain is minimal for now, though that will change when the fighting begins."

"I shall endeavor to win with all speed," the knight promised, pounding his right fist over his heart.

"Thank you. Now, to begin, what is your name? I summoned you using a piece of the Round Table, but beyond that I don't know anything," Kariya admitted. Lancer stiffened.

"I...would rather not say," Lancer said cautiously. Was that… shame in his voice? "However, my name is not important. One of my Noble Phantasms allows me to disguise myself as other Heroic Spirits, so a fake name will be easy to use. I cannot use their abilities or weapons, but unless another spirit would know the fake one they should be unable to tell."

"And if they do know who you're supposed to be, that's useful information," Kariya said thoughtfully. "It will take planning, but we may be able to do this. You have another phantasm, though? You spoke of multiple ones."

"My second, Knight of Honor, allows me to claim and use any weapon as though it were my Noble Phantasm, including the weapons of others," he explained. "As long as I can lay hands on it, and it can be used as weapon, then I can make it mine. For instance," and here he paused to look around the room. It was very sparse, but his eyes fell on a lamp, which he picked up and indicated the cord.

"You can use a lamp as a weapon?"

"No. It has a higher purpose as a light source," Lancer explained, "but if I were to remove the cord I could use that as a D-class Noble Phantasm and strangling cord. It would not possess any special qualities, but it would be strong and durable, and could harm another Heroic Spirit."

"I see," Kariya breathed. "That...that is a rather frightening power. But you also have a jousting lance, hence your title as Servant Lancer. Is that a Noble Phantasm as well?"

"Yes," he confirmed, "but using it prevents me from using my other two skills, for it reveals my identity and true abilities. Thus, it is a last resort. But when activated it can destroy any weapon, shield, or armor on the third strike, and then I can attack my foe directly through the opening created."

"Interesting, but not very useful," Kariya judged. "You still will not tell me your name?"

"I will obey if you order me, my liege, but I would not reveal myself if it can be avoided," the Servant answered, his mouth set in a stubborn line.

"Very well then. You may return to Spirit form and watch over my sleep, please. We will decide on the first of your false identities in the morning."

"As you wish, Master." Said Lancer with a small bow. As he dissolved into astral form, he couldn't help but smile. What a man he had been given as a master. A truly selfless man, to have put himself through such things for the sake of a child that was not even his. To save a soul he had flung himself into Hell. In Lancer's own opinion, the man before him was as worthy as any of a place at the round table.

"That figure," Lancer whispered from where they hid in an alley, watching the duel between Saber, who possessed an invisible sword, and Berserker, a large Viking-like warrior wielding a greatsword that was nearly as big as he was. The Viking wore only animal skin breeches with a buckskin cloak. The only armor was an iron helmet upon his head. His skin was blackened and gray and his eyes blazing red, a sign of the mad enhancement. His hair was a fiery red, almost like fire itself burned on his face.

"You recognize one of them?" Kariya asked under his breath.

"Master, we may be able to gain assistance in your quest," he murmured. "Without a doubt, it is King Arthur himself who wields Invisible Air against the insane Berserker. And his Master appears to be a rather genteel lady. No doubt they will both sympathize with our plight if we should explain it."

"You mean the Saber with the invisible sword is King Arthur?" Kariya asked skeptically.

"Yes. I would recognize my Liege anywhere. We were comrades at the Round Table, and fought together for many years," he agreed.

"...Lancer, does your disguise interfere with your eyes?" Kariya asked.

"No, why?"

"Because that Saber is a girl! In a dress! Breasts! Long hair! Short and petite! Isn't King Arthur supposed to be more...manly? A beard at least? And wasn't he married to Guinevere?" The Servant shifted guiltily, but answered.

"The gender of the king is unimportant," Lancer said firmly. "His majesty was the greatest of kings, a dragon in human form, a force of nature on the battlefield, and a wise and just ruler for all his life!"

"...And a girl."

"Well, yes, but that was not widely known," Lancer hedged. "The truth of the king's gender was known only to the most trusted of knights: myself, Gawain, Galahad, Bedevere, Sir Ector before his death, and Sir Kay, of course."

"And Merlin and Uther Pendragon?" Kariya asked idly, watching Saber dance around Berserker, constantly adapting to his fighting style as Berserker switched between the four weapons he had.

"Well, yes," Lancer admitted a little awkwardly. "And that wretch Mordred, now that I think of it...and Morgana...and Guinevere herself, of course." He said quickly, another little flash of guilt in his eyes at the last name.

"Of course," Kariya said drily. "So it really wasn't that much of a secret at all, then?"

Before Lancer could answer, Rider appeared, crashing a large chariot drawn by bulls onto the battlefield.

"Ho ho!" The giant redhead in the chariot roared. His voice was so strong as to almost be a physical force, pushing Kariya to his knees. "I see before me some skilled warriors. Tell me, I know that we are in the Grail War for our own purposes, but would either of you consider surrendering and joining my army? You will be rewarded, and will have the honor of serving Alexander the Great, King of Conquerors, in his campaign across the world!"

"Hraurgh!" Berserker grunted, pausing his duel.

"...As a King myself, I could never bow to another," Saber said.

"Hmm, I can understand that," Rider agreed. "Still, I can sense that there are other Servants present. Come forth and I offer you the chance to swear loyalty to the King of Conquerors!"

"What is he doing? Announcing himself like that?" asked Kariya incredulously. "Is he just stupid or something? I would have thought Alexander the Great was smarter than this."

Lancer chuckled slightly. "Quite contrary Master, I believe that the King of Conquerors has actually made a calculated gamble." At Kariya's confused expression Lancer elaborated. "You see, even in my day many knew of the story of Alexander the Great. And now, in this day and age, his name is synonymous with victory. Rider is betting on the knowledge of his identity will provide sufficient fear in his foes to balance out any disadvantage of knowing who he is." Explained Lancer, looking impressed.

Kariya nodded in understanding. "A bit arrogant, but it makes sense." He looked back at the three Servants below. "But the challenge of Rider remains manly unanswered." He said.

Permission to show myself? Lancer asked.

"Go wild", Kariya agreed. Lancer quickly changed his appearance and leapt down into the fray.

"I am Servant Lancer!" he announced, leaping out of the shadows wearing bronze armor over a toga, a bronze helmet, and holding a spear in one hand. "Know that you have the honor of facing the Invulnerable Achilles!"

And he was wearing solid metal boots.

Rider's eyes widened in surprise and his face was overcome with admiration. "By the Gods above, Achilles truly! My childhood hero makes his way to this battlefield this day. Great and valiant Achilles, would you honor me by fighting beside me in this war?" requested Rider.

"I already serve another Master, I'm afraid," he answered easily, making efforts to keep from staring at Saber. "Still, perhaps the next time we meet something could be arranged. And you grant me the honor of testing my might against thee." Lancer was not certain what he wished for, but he knew that his Master's wish was selfless and noble. He would forfeit his own goals to save the young maiden, and if Rider would help in exchange for an alliance, then he would try to forge one.

But fealty he had sworn to his king, and to Arturia only would he kneel.

"Iskandar the Great," a voice echoed from the shadows. "You were the Servant I had originally hoped to summon, until my deceitful apprentice stole my catalyst. I had to summon someone else with the spare, and place him under Mad Enhancement in the hopes of offsetting the power difference. Tell me, would your Master by any chance be named Waver Velvet?"

"Eep!" squeaked a voice from the back of the chariot.

"I thought as much. Well, my poor student, it appears I have one last lesson to teach you: how magi kill one another, and all the pain and terror involved in this. Berserker, engage."

"Hrauror!" the mad Servant roared, and blurred forward.

"Via Expugnatio!" the chariot literally thundered forward, wreathed in lightning. Berserker flipped into the air mid-charge and swung his sword down.

Rider threw up his spatha and the air screamed as the two blades met, as everything seemed to slow down.

And then Berserker's other hand, a powerful Viking lance appeared, which lashed forwards towards the figure cowering in behind his Servant.

Time unfroze as a different spear flew through the air, thrown by Lancer, knocking the black and red lance off-course, while Rider roared and heaved, throwing Berserker into the air as his chariot continued forward. The insane soldier flipped, reorienting himself, and launched at Rider's exposed back the moment he touched the ground.

Saber met him, locking her blade with his to stop Berserker in his tracks.

"It is the height of rudeness to ignore an opponent you've already engaged," she chided stiffly. "Your duel with me is incomplete." She broke away from the lock when Berserker whipped the golden lance at her head, losing not a strand of hair as she ducked the blow.

Only to discover on Berserker's next attack that he had switched weapons, dual-wielding his lance and a short axe, sweeping the axe at her head. It pierced but did not dispel Invisible Air, and screeched when it slid off Saber's blade when she parried.

And he had switched weapons again, drawing the longer of his sword to replace the lance and slicing it at her head.

'His constant changing of arms makes him a difficult foe', Saber thought to herself, 'but at least his sword skills are below my own, so I can read his movements'. At which point Berserker, perhaps under instructions from his master, upped the ante again.

"Skraeling!" the mad Servant roared while he swung, and his blade flashed. A cut opened up along Saber's collarbone, beginning at her left shoulder and ending just above her right breast.

"Tch!" she hissed. 'I felt his sword hit mine and glance off! How didn't I block? ...That's his Noble Phantasm, but what does it do?' Her shock didn't keep her from parrying and blocking the next blow, but several exchanges later, he sliced his lance across her sword arm, though she gave him a gash across his stomach in exchange. Saber leapt back to gain distance, and that was all the invitation the watchers needed.

"Vio Expugnatio!" Rider roared again, this time clipping Berserker, who didn't quite dodge quickly enough.

"Get up you fool, and kill Velvet already!" echoed Kayneth Archibald's voice.

"Alicarl*," Berserker snarled, turning towards the once more exposed back of the King of Conquerors. But where the cowering mortal had once been, now there was only empty space in the rear of the chariot.

Saber did not take her eyes off of her foe, but addressed Rider. "I would thank you for the assistance, but we are not allied, and I prefer to fight my battles one on one. It is the way of honoring a strong enemy."

"I was merely expressing my displeasure that he attempted to attack my poor, defenseless master," Rider assured her condescendingly. "Naturally, I could not do so with his own Master without lowering myself to the same level, so I merely did what I could."

"Gruh," Berserker muttered, and charged towards the vulnerable newly located Waver Velvet, who was trying to hide in the shadow of a pile of crates. Halfway there a streetlight pole swept horizontally across the space, catching Berserker on his already injured mid-section and throwing him back towards the other two servants.

"Bull's eye," Lancer congratulated himself, letting the make-shift weapon drop.

"Vio Exugnatio!" Rider roared, aiming for a finishing blow.

"Berserker, return," Kayneth ordered, invoking a Command Seal. The servant vanished in a flash of light inches away from being mangled by Rider's attack. The three remaining Servants paused, eyeing each other uncertainly. Rider's attack had ended with him dangerously close to Irisviel, while Lancer was still within easy range of Waver, and Saber was injured.

The three eyed each other and, with their codes of honor, came to an unspoken agreement.

"It seems a shame to fight now, after all that," Lancer began, walking away from Velvet. "A truce? Until tomorrow night, perhaps?"

"Yes, that seems agreeable," Rider nodded, moving away from Saber's master and towards his own. "Having defended my master, I feel myself too deeply in your debt to fight right now, and I cannot bear to crush an already injured opponent."

"And you, your Majesty?"

"A truce seems most agreeable," Saber nodded. "I am far from at my best, and a wise warrior does not fight when they do not have to. Until tomorrow night then, gentlemen?"

"Agreed," Lancer stated, eyeing Saber, before dematerializing to return to his master.

"A Servant is approaching," Irisviel noted as the bounded fields around the Einzbern castle went off. She frowned, pulling up feed from the security cameras Kiritsugu had installed throughout the woods.

"A Servant? In broad daylight? I thought that the War would only occur at night," Saber said, and then noted, "not that I am a stranger to treachery in war, though. Is it Berserker? And should I go intercept them"

"I...wait. It looks like Lancer. And his Master?"

"Lancer? I would not have expected him to have ignoble intentions. Do you think they are here to pursue an alliance, then?"

"It looks like one of them is holding a white flag. Or injured. Do you think he's trustworthy?"

"He guarded another Servant's Master when treachery, or even inaction, would have removed a powerful player from the game. Rider may be the most dangerous of the Servants, aside from myself."

"So either trustworthy, or insane. Or..."

"Or?"

"Lancer and his master might have some motivation other than the Holy Grail. Either way, you should go greet them. I'll call Kiritsugu and stream him the video from the solar, you bring them there if they come in peace."

"I will," Saber affirmed.

The servant of the sword raced through the trees, putting her rank B speed to good use, and was at the location Irisviel had indicated in under a minute. She heard voices and footsteps approaching, and stepped onto the path.

"Come no further, Lancer, until you announce your intentions! Are you here as friend or foe?"

"Friend," rasped a weak voice. "We want to parlay. Make an alliance." Saber looked closer at the pathetic figure that was apparently Lancer's Master. He was thin and pale, and sweating heavily. One arm was looped over his Servant's shoulders for support, while the other held a makeshift white flag: a pillowcase tied to a stick. The magus's eyes widened and he broke into a coughing fit, pressing the flag he'd been waving to his mouth.

Saber's eyes were sharp enough to see spots of red when he pulled the cloth away.

"You appear ill. Do you require assistance reaching the castle? I can carry you," she offered, sheathing her sword.

"That is not necessary, your majesty," Lancer said. "I can carry my Master. We merely thought it best to approach slowly, on foot, until we were admitted into your hospitality."

"You have it. Unless my Master uses a Command Seal you will be safe beneath our roof, and if so he will need another to make me obey any other order he ever gives," Saber guaranteed.

"I would never doubt your hospitality, your Majesty," Lancer told her, picking up his sick Master. They raced back to the castle in silence to find tea and Irisviel waiting for them.

"May I offer you some tea?" she asked, pouring as they took their places at the table. The ill man answered, his voice weak and raspy.

"I...thank you. My name is Kariya Matou, Master of Lancer. I wanted to form an alliance with you." Said Kariya, flopping weakly into an armchair with Lancer hovering protectively over him.

"I am Irisviel non Einzbern, Master of Saber. What kind of alliance did you have in mind?" she asked politely.

"Before that," Lancer said, "I should inform you that this is not my true appearance, nor am I Achilles."

Saber and Irisviel both raised their eyes as Kariya gave a nod.

"A personal skill for disguise? Or is it a Noble Phantasm allowing you to conceal your identity?"

"The latter… my king," Lancer said, and his form shifted, skin paling, plate armor appearing, shoulders growing broader, and his hair lengthening as it changed color. Saber bolted to her feet in visible shock.

"Lancelot!"

"Precisely, my Liege," he agreed, kneeling.

"My dear friend, it is so good to see you again," she murmured, her voice teary, though her eyes were dry.

"Wait, Saber," Irisviel said with a frown, placing a hand on her Servant's arm to keep the blonde from embracing her knight. "I doubt they would come up with something this complicated for betrayal, especially since they would have had to recognize you first, but there's always the possibility that the same Noble Phantasm that allowed him to imitate Achilles is now letting him look like Lancelot. Is there some way to prove his identity?"

"Yes," Saber agreed. "What did I say after I first met the good Sir Galahad, if you are really my closest friend?" Lancelot shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you referring to when you swore to strip me of my knighthood for begetting a child out of wedlock, threatened to unman me with Excalibur, or allowed me to keep both these things on the condition that my son act as a 'tiny, exuberantly friendly chastity belt,' and ensure that I 'never again engage in my wanton rutting with any save thine own wife'?" asked Lancer, not rising from his kneel but looking up at his King dryly.

"It's him," Saber said dryly as both Masters burst out chuckling, before she threw her dignity to one side and embraced the Servant of the Lance. "Oh, my dear, dear friend," she muttered.

"The world is a brighter place that we have met again, your majesty," he agreed, a single tear coursing down one cheek. Their reunion was interrupted as Kariya's laughter devolved into a hacking cough, and Lancer moved to his Master's side. Irisviel grimaced at seeing bloodstains on his lips and the cloth he covered his mouth with.

"You're coughing up blood; that's a very bad sign for your health. Is that why you want the Grail?" she asked intently. "To heal yourself?"

"No," Kariya explained, "this is a side-effect of what I did to enter the war. The truth is, I don't want the Grail. That stupid cup can rot for all I care. Not for myself, at least." Irisviel motioned for the two servants to take their seats, and then for Kariya to continue. "To start with, what do you know about the Matou magecraft?"

"It specializes in absorption, which refers to taking an external power into one's self and controlling it. It also tends to rely heavily on familiars, I believe, and there is something odd about the Matou family Crest. Lastly, when it was known as the Makiri family the Matou helped organize and create the Heaven's Feel ritual; they developed the idea of the Master and Servant pairings, and were responsible for designing which classes Servant could be summoned into."

"Yes. But go back to what you said about familiars and the Crest. Rather than a regular Crest transplanted from the head to the heir, and made from past magi's circuits, we have Crest worms."

"Worms?" asked Irisviel, feeling an increasing sick feeling in her stomach.

"It's...easiest just to show you," he said darkly. Then a bulge grew up in his skin from the base of his collarbone. Slowly lengthening, Irisviel felt her gorge rise as the lump traveled half-way up the side of his neck. The bulge grew larger and sharper, pushing against the skin from the inside. Then, like an over-ripe pimple, it popped.

"Oh...oh, Root," Irisviel swore sickly as she stared at the pale green worm poking its head out of Kariya's flesh. The blunt end actually pointed at her, as though it could see, before it sank back into Kariya's flesh with a squelch, closing the wound behind it. "That's...that's..."

"Disgusting," the Master of Lancer agreed darkly. "Being trained as the Matou heir means letting the worms familiarize themselves with your body. And so would anyone who wished to marry into the family. It's why I originally left my home and name behind."

"Then why did you return?" she asked earnestly.

"The Matou are a dead line; it can no longer produce children with magical circuits. So instead Zouken adopted a child with circuits from another family and trained her as the replacement heir. It's barely been a year, and already Sakura has lost her ability to smile...or to cry."

"What knave would do that to a child?" Saber snarled, smashing her fist against the tabletop. "And who in their right mind would allow it to happen?"

"Tokiomi Tohsaka," Kariya answered, spitting the name out as though it were poison. "He only needed one child to inherit his Crest, so he threw away his younger daughter like garbage. But Zouken wants the Grail, and he swore that if I got it for him he would release Sakura from the family."

Irisviel bit her lip, tears in her eyes, digging her nails into her palms hard enough to draw spots of blood, and said, "I am a mother. The thought of any child, anywhere, going through that...it's unbearable. I want to help you."

"Indeed," Saber said, stone-faced. She could not yet fully accept the loss of her own chance at the Grail, but she had sacrificed her desires all her life. Once more could only hurt so much, and her honor would not allow this to continue. "To allow such a thing to occur, inaction is inexcusable! Lancelot, you serve my purpose many times in life, and this time..." she swallowed at the pain of the words, and the loss of her hopes that they represented. "...this time my sword shall serve you and your Master's purpose, and all who stand against us shall fall. We will free this girl."

"I cannot express my thanks enough, your majes-"

"But as I said, I am a mother," Irisviel cut in. Her eyes were closed, she refused to look at the others at the table, but both cheeks were wet. "My daughter remains at home under the care of my great-grandfather, who is also capable of terrible things. Our lives-" made for the sole purpose of containing the Lesser Grail, she thought, "-are worth no more to him than Sakura's or yours is to Zouken. I cannot, cannot endanger my daughter by betraying his orders."

"You...you won't help?" Kariya whispered.

"Irisviel-"

"My lady, please-"

"Tomorrow!" she said sharply, holding out one hand to stop the pleading. "I shall call home, discuss things, and if worst comes to worst I will try to arrange for my daughter to be taken safely out of Great-grandfather's hands, if possible. Return tomorrow, and I will answer whether or not I can rescue your little girl without endangering my own." She looked up at Kariya and held his gaze. "And know that either way, my hopes or prayers go with you."

"...I understand," the other master acceded, nodding. "I will take my leave now, and see you after tonight. Thank you."

"Saber, escort them to the perimeter and see them safely off," Irisviel ordered, and rose to find a telephone. She needed to speak with Kiritsugu.

She traveled through the winding corridors and opened the door to the room with the phone, and it immediately began ringing.

"Hello. Kiritsugu?"

"It's me, Irisviel. I just finished watching the footage."

"Oh, Kiritsugu, can we help them! I know you have your own wish for the Grail, but the thought of that...what if it were Illya!"

"One life, cannot outweigh the lives of the world, Iri, even if their help would go a long way toward claiming the Grail." Said the Magus Killer grimly.

"But Kiritsu-"

"I have a plan," he continued calmly. "I follow the path of least bloodshed, and I can see where I hope that path leads right now. I think you will approve, as well. This line might not be secure, so I'll come by in person to discuss it with you once the sun sets." There was a click as he hung up.

Saber walked down the street bathed in moonlight. Though she did not smile, her body hummed in excitement. Always before she had felt that her master was a coward, and likely a misogynist as well. 'Though given the era I come from, I am not one to throw such stones,' the Servant thought to herself, wondering if the word misogynist had been part of the download of the modern era her summoning granted.

She doubted it would have been used in her home time, as the sexes were not equal then, her own case notwithstanding.

"Wait. A bounded field," whispered the man walking beside her. Saber obediently halted as her Master went to work. For the first and possibly only time in the war, the most dangerous duo were openly cooperating.

Kiritsugu had explained his motives earlier:

There was no gain for anyone in what he wanted, Kiritsugu had said. If Zouken Matou is as twisted as Kariya claims, he wouldn't have given away the girl anyway. Or he would have, and then just taken her back after Kariya died. You could see that he doesn't have long left to live.

So instead of us helping him get the Grail, he's going to help us get the Grail. No, Saber, I don't intend to double-cross him. He'll help us out of gratitude, not hope or desperation.

I walk the path of least bloodshed. Kill ten to save one-hundred, one to save ten. He's not going to help us to rescue Sakura. He's going to help us because she's already been rescued.

Irisviel, stay here. I don't know everything he might have to play, but odds are Zouken's cards will be dangerous in the extreme. I know what type of magics would be used to stay alive as long as he supposedly has, and Kariya's description narrowed down the specifics a lot. We will need to hit hard and fast, with no distractions.

This time, Saber and I will act as a true Master and Servant, because this will need both our skills. There is no way to attack but from the front, so we will have to draw him out ourselves. Luckily, the older you are the more set in your ways you become. Zouken will not appreciate the attack on his home ground.

But old mages are also more powerful. It will take everything we have, but if we succeed, the Grail is all but assured to be ours.

"Done," he said softly. "Walk through the breech in this area." Saber nodded stiffly, drawing Excalibur as she entered the hostile territory.

No matter what, before the new day dawns, Zouken Matou would be dead come Hell or high water.

"What is our plan of attack?" she asked quietly.

"Through the front door, using shock-tactics to our advantage. Your magic resistance will neutralize any of his traps, and you can easily crush any physical threats. I will provide covering fire while you search for the girl."

"And what of the... creature?" she asked, refusing to dignify Zouken with a name or human title. It would be demeaning to mankind as whole to do so otherwise.

"Either he will flee, or he will fight. If the former, let him run. If the latter, engage and I will take over searching for the girl."

"What if he takes her as a hostage?" They were within sight of the door of Matou Manor. It had clearly once been a great house, but had fallen into disrepair, much like the family that lived in it.

"He will not. We simply need him dead more than we need her alive. If he kills her, which is what he would have to threaten to stop us, we can honestly tell Kariya that Zouken killed her, and he'll lose his chance at the Grail, as well as have two Servants after his head. Possibly three, depending on how important Tohsaka thinks she is."

"Not very," a decrepit voice echoed from above. Saber's eyes searched, but could find no target. Something rustled.

"Show yourself, coward!" she barked, readying her sword and fury flashing in her eyes.

"I prefer to call myself a pragmatist," the withered voice replied. "Giving you a target would be most unwise, young lady. I can match a Servant if I must, but would rather not have to. Now...why have you invaded my home? I am not participating in the Grail War, and the foolish boy refused my offer of hospitality, so there's nothing here for you. You wouldn't want the supervisor to hear of this violation, would you?"

"Saber, go!" Kiritsugu ordered, and the King of Knights put her rank A speed to good use, breaking through the front door like paper.

"I have protections against Servants, you know," Zouken's voice chided as a buzzing filled the air.

"Even ones with high magic resistance?" the Magus Killer countered. It went painfully against all of his usual modus operandi, but he needed to keep Zouken focused on him while Saber searched. 'Talking. Talking is good. Talking is better than killing.' He thought to himself. Luckily for him, Zouken seemed like a bit of a windbag.

"Well, in that case, the best thing to do is kill the master," the old monster replied. The humming in the air increased to a shriek as a swarm of insects rose into the air around him. More troubling, however, was the scores of worms breaking through the ground below and around him.

'Double Accel!' Kiritsugu activated his crest and raced across the few empty patches of ground to hop onto a car's hood.

"Five meter expansion. Fire barrier!" he chanted, invoking his thaumaturgy. Flame blossomed out from around him, incinerating all the insects within five meters, but he was already chanting a second spell. "Sub-maximum range field. Earth binding." He jumped off of the melting car and onto the scorched ground, hissing as the remaining heat sizzled at and began to melt his boots, and touched a hand to the ground. Prana flowed out, spreading around him for over thirty meters and lingering as the familiar worms found themselves unable to move.

Then Kiritsugu collapsed against the ground, not caring that it was mildly cooking his coat, panting. His heart was hammering insanely from the time acceleration, and then using not one but two spells was pushing his limits dangerously. His fingers felt numb as he pulled a bottle out of his pocket and swallowed two pills dry, his heart rate beginning to decelerate.

"What's happ-" The bullet he shot at the man who'd burst out of the ruined door holding a young boy cut his question short.

"Get out of my sight, you useless fool, there are important things going on here," Zouken's voice snapped. The man (a relative of Kariya's, Kiritsugu guessed) needed no further invitation, hightailing it as fast as he could and taking the boy with him. Kiritsugu took the slight distraction as the blessing it was, regulating his breathing and ensuring all of his guns were still in easy reach.

'Thank heaven for magus pride,' he thought to himself. Magi usually treated duels like they were alternating-turn video games. One side would make a move, and then the other would counter try to pick apart the mystery before making a move of their own, on and on in a loop until one ran out of tricks. It was a stupid tactic that Kiritsugu abused countless times to kill his targets. A select few were smarter than that, but they were few and far between.

Giving Zouken several interesting mysteries to pick apart would hopefully buy him the time to recover his pulse and catch a second wind. He was a sitting target, but he'd counted on the old man's pride to keep him from abusing that weakness until he'd sadistically picked apart the Magus Killer's secrets.

"Well," the voice mused, "the fire was rather average, if effective. But what did you do to my pets on the ground? Ah, I see. Ingenious. You mixed the idea of Binding with the earth element to bind to the ground everything touching it. Thus, all my worms beneath the soil can no longer move, and if I were to step within range I would find myself similarly stuck and immobile as well. I may steal that idea, if you don't mind. After all, binding and absorption are very close."

'Just keep monologueing you old vampire,' Kiritsugu prayed, getting to his feet. A shrill scream from within split the night, and then a window exploded as Saber burst out with a terrified Sakura under her arm. She hit the ground hard but recovered easily as the swarm of carnivorous insects descended on her. Even with one hand used to hold Sakura, who was also throwing off her balance, Saber cut the insects from the air ten at a time, spinning fluidly.

Then suddenly, the swarm pulled away. It hung about the three of them thick enough to blot out their view of the surrounding area, but not one insect came within five meters of them.

"Shh... Be at ease, little one. We are here to save you," Saber whispered to the quivering Sakura, who merely scrunched her eyes shut tighter and whimpered.

"I fail to see how you hope to accomplish that," Zouken mused, "or what you hope to get if you do. Any other time my heir might have been a valuable steal, but very little of our crest or mysteries are with her now. What few I did not entrust to the fool of a son of mine I kept for myself, to be used against such interlopers."

"Well, then," Kiritsugu suggested with mock levity, "why not let us take her when we go? She's obviously not important to you right now, so why bother stopping us?"

"Aside from the fact that you violated my home? I just don't feel like." Said Zouken, who was probably shrugging at the moment.

"A liar and a coward," Saber spat. "Knave is too good a name for you, pestilent dog! You wouldn't be so brave if you left your shadows, but you must know that the stars themselves would recoil in disgust."

"If you're trying to lure me out, you're not doing a very good job," Zouken countered.

"Point. Saber, do it." Kiritsugu prepared another fire barrier mentally, knowing that he could cast that and one more tonight. It all came down to this.

'Release the Wind King,' she thought to herself, and swung her sword in a wide arc.

The hurricane force gale scattered the swarm of insects in a frenzy, and she turned to face the mansion with her sword aimed at the sky. Motes of golden light were already shimmering around it.

"EX-" As her target was not a true fortress, and she wanted to limit the collateral damage, she did not need to charge for as long. At one third of the power it would be almost instantaneous.

The insects righted themselves and zoomed towards the Magus Killer with a shrieking buzz as Zouken realized her target. His house, which almost certainly held his workshop and the accumulation of centuries of research.

"Kill!" he commanded.

"Expand," Kiritsugu chanted, wreathing himself and Sakura in protective fire.

"-CALIBUR!" Saber roared, swinging her sword down. The blast of light from Excalibur, anti-fortress weapon and among the greatest of Noble Phantasms, simply vaporized the house it struck, leaving behind neither splinters nor ash.

"Mongrels!" shrieked Zouken. The flames around the two humans were snuffed out as Zouken absorbed the heat, adding the ambient prana to his own stores. "My worms' will devo-"

There were two sounds that cut him off: first the sound of a bullet striking flesh, however dead and rotten; second, the much louder sound of bullet striking wood, acting as a beacon for where the flesh was.

'Excellent work, Maiya,' Kiritsugu thought towards his assistant, who had made the shots at over 700 meters. He spun to face his 5 o'clock, drawing the Thompson Contender and aiming it at the wretch who had been shot out of the tree.

Zouken shrieked incoherently, the swarm of insects descending on them, and the Magus Killer squeezed the trigger of his mystic code.

In his fury Zouken had activated all of his worms and circuits to crush those who had set back his life's work beneath the weight of the swarm. Under the influence of the origin bullet they all twisted irrevocably, made useless or worse.

There was a screeching sound of pain, and a dry patter as hundreds of bugs rained from a sky. A few legs or wings twitched here and there, but it was obvious that they were all dead, and their master with them.

After more than two centuries of age and evil, Makiri Zouken was dead.

"A fitting end for such a monster," Saber said finally. "Is the child well?" Kiritsugu asked, gesturing to the girl he'd tucked beneath one arm.

"Either she's fallen asleep, or she's fainted. Likely the latter," he said checking her pulse and breathing. Both were present and stable. "Not that I blame her." She weighed almost as much as Illya, he realized idly. He felt a jolt of anger at the fate that had befallen her, and realizing that this could just as easily have been his daughter. "Let's get her to the castle and in bed. Though perhaps a bath and new clothes, first," he added, seeing the wet stain on her nightgown.

It was ten in the morning when Lancer and Kariya raced onto the Einzbern property and into the castle, meeting no resistance along the way. The former was concerned, the latter frantic with worry until Irisviel, meeting him in the hall as he babbled that the Matou mansion had been attacked the night before and some of the worms had acted up meaning Zouken did something and Sakura was missing, simply led him down the hall to a room and opened the door.

Kariya's frantic pleas for assistance stopped as though she'd hit mute.

Bundled up in clean sheets and a far-too-large nightgown from Irisviel, Sakura lay in a pool of sunlight, sleeping like an angel after the previous hectic night. Her uncle tottered over to her almost drunkenly and collapsed to his knees next to her. He wrapped his arms gently around her and she cuddled into him. Her nose scrunched up, and then her eyes opened gently.

"Uncle Kariya? I had the strangest dream," she whispered softly. Openly crying, Kariya pulled her into a tight hug which she returned as hard as her small arms could manage. Irisviel, Saber, and Lancer all merely stood in the doorway, content to watch. Finally, the older man pulled away and looked over his shoulder at the lady of the house.

"How?" He choked off, uncertain if this was real, or a sick and sadistic dream.

"I couldn't get permission to help you get the Grail," Irisviel began apologetically, but with an angelic smile, "so I decided to save her anyway and get the grail later."

The worm-ridden man pulled away from his honorary daughter and crawled over to Irisviel on his knees. She looked concerned and began to bend down, but he moved first, touching his lips to the top of each of her shoes, and then raising his head to look her in the eye.

"Ask of me anything in the world, and I will do it or die trying," he swore fervently. Irisviel smiled softly and helped him to his feet.

"Spend the day with her and have Lancer move your belongings into an adjacent room. Tonight we'll start winning the war."

Class: Lancer

Name: Lancelot du Loc

Alternate classes: Saber, Rider, Berserker

Strength: B

Agility: A+

Endurance: C

Mana: C

Luck: B

Phantasm: B

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: C

Riding: C

Personal Skills:

Protection of the Fairies: A

Bravery: C

Eye of the Mind (True): B

Guardian Knight: C

Noble Phantasms:

For Someone's Glory: Represented by Lancelot's covered shield, For Someone's Glory allows Lancelot to both conceal his true identity and disguise himself as other Heroic Spirits. He can alter the appearance of his clothes, armor, weapons, and body in order to do this, or simply conceal the details of their appearance from observers. It is canceled by the activation of Du Loc.

Knight of Honor: Allows Lancelot to transform anything he can get his hands on and use as a weapon into a D-rank Noble Phantasm for as long as he holds it in his hands. Even if it is a Noble Phantasm belonging to another Heroic Spirit he can use it flawlessly as though it were his own. He cannot uses something that has a higher purpose than being used as a weapon, but can repurpose items for use as weapons despite not usually being weapons (such as a pool cue by breaking it into a point). He loses the ability to use this in a fight after Du Loc is used.

Du Loc: This phantasm takes the form of a jousting lance, and is not representative of a specific deed of Lancelot's, but rather of the accomplishments of all knights at jousting combined with Lancelot's personal superiority among knights. After it activates it has a blunted point until it has struck something (the same thing) three times, representing the three rounds knights would joust with each other. With the third strike, whatever he has attacked, no matter what it may be, shatters along with the blunting on the tip, and Lancelot can use the sharp lance to instantly make a direct strike against his target.

AN: So what did you think? I changed the identity of Berserker to a certain Viking who will be revealed at a later date. But yeah, I kept most of it the same.

Tell me what you think!

*Viking for fatass.