Irisviel expected her flight to Japan to be very different, originally hoping to have an enjoyable flight with Saber. She did not expect that she had to spend 14 hours with only a sword for company. Sure, a sentient sword, but it's still fourteen hours spent talking to a sword. This is the biggest letdown she's faced in her entire life.
All it all it was a very awkward flight, and she's happy to stand on solid ground once more. Stepping out of the plane she sees Saber leaning against a car, casually throwing the keys of it up and down.
It's a blue racecar of a brand that Irisviel does not recognize, even though cars ae one of the things in the outside world that interest her the most. A one-seater with white rockers, bumpers and red rims, with two quill-like extensions on the back of the car as some sort of personal touch.
"I told ya I would make it in time!" Saber leisurely walks over to the airstairs and helps Irisviel get off like a true gentlemen.
"You are still late, Sir Saber!" The sword is still angry at his wielder for abandoning a woman. It is in his eyes a shameful act unbecoming of a knight, and Saber will have a hard time restoring his honor.
"Caliburn, please! There might be a reason for his dislike! He might be claustrophobic!" Irisviel tries to safe the name of her knight, but said knight doesn't let others do what he has to do:
"Nah, I'm not claustrophobic, it's just that I can't stand being constrained for long periods of time. If I joined you then the moment we step out of this plane I would've run to Berlin and back, unable to stop my urge of freedom. And leaving you alone on a battlefield sounds a lot more dangerous than letting you fly alone to this country. Anyway, check this out!" Taking out some photos from a pocket neither Irisviel nor Caliburn noticed earlier he shows them to his proxy master.
The first photo is a picture of Saber standing in front of a few nomad tents on a tundra, eating food with the locals; The second has him eating ice-cream in front of an Italian gelateria; the third has him driving his blue car along the Greek coastline, a few kilometers away from Athens.
"Yeah, I really had the time of my life during these 2 days without you! I've seen so many natural and human wonders that I have trouble naming them all! There's the Taj Mahal, the Forbidden Palace, The Mont Blanc, the Eiffel Tower, The…" Saber continued rambling on and on over what he did and did not visit during his travels. Irisviel and Caliburn look over all the pictures, the sword angry that Saber spend his time frolicking around and the woman slightly jealous of his servant.
"Which reminds me, I got some souvenirs for you two!" Running to his car and back in less than a second, he presents two gifts for his friends, one for Irisviel and one for Caliburn.
Irisviel quickly unwrapped his gift, and found a set of beautiful earrings. "Wow… thank you very much, Saber."
"Oh, it's nothing. I got it helping some reclusive Irish family. She said something about how these were created by some Irish dog of light… or so. They're quite beautiful, and you might be able to use them to summon a servant in the fifth war, who knows?"
"Saber…" Irisviel melancholy looks at his servant, who doesn't realize that his latter words hurt the soul of the woman who will not survive the war.
"Anyway, moving on to Caliburn…" Opening the gift for his sword, he packs out a…
"For Britain's sake Sir Saber, what kind of ridicule is this?!"
"It's a tiger strap!" Inside of Saber's hand is a small tiger strap, showing a cute tiger that's attached to an orange cord. "It's said that if it's attached to a weapon it will bring fear and despair in its enemies, even if said weapon is a wooden practice sword! I thought that it might empower you or something like that."
"FOOL! You want to alter the most famous sword in legend? That's something not even a knave would say!"
"Well… ehm…" Saber's at a loss for words, unsure what to say. In the end, there was only one possible answer: "Sorry."
The sword glares a few seconds more at the servant of the sword before calming down. "Very well, I forgive you this time don't make same mistake again."
"Yes, Caliburn." Saber looks once more at the strap. "But man, it was the last one there! If I knew this I wouldn't have had to buy this it could've made someone else happy. I wonder what that person is thinking right now…"
Meanwhile in the sports shop where Saber bought the strap two girls are shopping for new equipment:
"So Taiga, where's this strap you're talking about?"
"It's right over here Neko-ch…it's sold out! NOOOOOO!"
"Ah… too bad. But at least there have to be some good Shinai around here."
"B-But…"
"And hey, it's not like you are able to use it during matches. Just focus on that, Tiger."
"Stop calling me that!" And thus without the strap that would ban Taiga Fujimura from kendo tournaments she went on to become the world's best female swordfighter.
But back to the main story, where Saber is now showing off his car to his allies, bragging about its speed and power.
"Impressive, Saber… but let me up that a bit." Irisviel smugly pulls out a set of keys from her pocket, including one that is for a car. Pressing one of the buttons on it she watches a nearby warehouse door open, and with another button she makes the car drive towards the group, stopping right next to Saber's car. "This is my Mercedes 300SL, improved quite a bit to be the best in speed and beauty."
"Heh, you want to challenge the fastest thing alive in a race? That's gonna be sweet! Your 300SL against my Custom Speed Star; wanna see who's first at the castle?"
Irisviel smirks in return and the sword sighs deeply, not wanting the race to happen but not in any position to prevent it.
"Sir Saber, lady Irisviel; I will join milady's car, and give the starting signal for this bout. I will declare the winner as the person to first enter the Einzbern household. Would both parties place go to their positions?"
Saber hops in his cabriolet, and Irisviel gently opens the door of her car and steps in. Caliburn lies on the Mercedes' back seat, issuing the start of the race:
"Lady and gentleman, on your marks…" Both cars roar loudly, wanting to flash away from their starting positions.
"Get set…" The racers give each other one last confident smile, each sure of their victory. Seeing the other's reaction, both immediately return looking forward, waiting for that last word:
"Go!"
Kariya is currently moving through the Matou manor, trying to say goodbyes to little Sakura before going out in the war. From the four servants that were at his summoning only two are now with him, the pink-haired girl and the man with the jet black hair. The paladin and the dog have been replaced by two others of the party:
The first is a girl with short brown hair, goggles on top of her head and wearing a short dress in red and black. On one leg she carries a red sock with yellow stripes and a black shoe, while the other is covered by a longer white sock with a golden shoe. In her hand she carries a long scroll, and she is currently angrily staring at the second newcomer.
This person is a fishy looking man that's quite a bit older than the rest of the party. He has greyish-black hair tied up in a ponytail, and his face looks weary. Clad in purple coat, pink blouse and black pants he glares at the new girl, who had given him a smack in the face a few seconds ago. "Rita, why the hell did you hit me? All I did was just want to give you a free hug!" He complains.
"I think you just answered your own question, old man." The black-haired man known as Yuri replies.
"Old man? Stop calling me that or you'll really hurt this old man's pure heart."
"We can't hurt what doesn't exist." Rita adds to the mix, increasing the opposition against the old man.
"Why you little-" The trio continues squabbling for quite a while as Kariya and the last member are watching it all unfold.
"Hey Estelle, are those three always acting like that?" Kariya asks to the most… refined of the group. They're all whack jobs one way or another according to him.
"Yes, this is how they normally show their friendship." Estelle answers with a gentle smile on her face.
Kariya sighed, unsure how to make this group function. He has already met all nine of his servants: The four here, the two others at the summoning, the female pirate that's way too young in his opinion, the guild leader that's also way too young in his opinion, and that woman who dresses WAY too daringly! Kariya doesn't like her that much, he prefers women with a somewhat more… refined taste in comparison to… well… an armored bikini.
But still, it's a group of nine servants. A ragtag group of misfits, sure, but still, nine servants! That's more than the all of the opposition combined! The only way they can lose the war now is if Kariya dies while running out of prana, so all he has to do is to hang in there and Sakura will be saved!
He continues to think of happy and joyful ways in which the war can end, only interrupted by Estelle who's poking him to get his attention. He asks what's wrong, slightly unhappy that his happy train of thoughts is interrupted.
"Is there a reason why both you and this girl are infested?" She points to the little girl standing in front of the stairs, eyes blank from horrifying experiences.
"Yes…" Kariya looks down, remembering some horrifying events of the past. "It's a long story, but if you want to listen I'm willing to tell." Estelle wants to hear it and sits down on the stairs, putting Sakura on her lap. The other three stop their quarreling and also take place at this storytelling.
Kariya stands in front of his servants, who are all sitting somewhere on the stairs, and starts: "We are the Matou family, a family of magi whose magical abilities have been in decline for almost 200 years. We are friends with our neighboring magus family the Tohsaka, who are exactly the opposite of us, growing in strength every generation. In general we went along pretty well, and I'm considered the uncle by their child…ren…" Kariya explains the past with a melancholic expression, successfully conveying his emotions into words. "I was supposed to be the savior of this family. As the only one born in this family with magic circuits they expected me to carry on the legacy. However, I am so disgusted by their way of handling magecraft that I fled away."
"What's so disgusting about it, Kariya?" Estelle innocently asks to her master. She doesn't know what the answer has in store for her.
"Due to Zouken Matou's preference the Matou way of magecraft does not improve by study but lifelong continuous torture. We are implanted with his crest worms and constantly in pain, eating away at the nerve system by males and the females get constantly rap-"
"Okay, we've heard enough," Yuri said, anger in his eyes as he covers Estelle's ears from hearing anything more. Raven is doing the same, holding the same fury as his male companion and covering the other girl's ears…
Said girl calmly removes the old man's hands, realizing that now is not the time to bicker with others as something worse came up. "Is that man who created this system still alive?"
"Yes, and there's unfortunately nothing I could do to it. These worms are technically him, and they're capable of killing me whenever he wants to." Kariya sighs, unhappy that he is reminded of this. "So that's why I need to win the grail. If I get it Zouken will let Sakura here go." He moves over to the little girl, and pets her on the head, trying to get out a smile out of the almost emotionless human wreck.
"There might be a better option." Yuri proposes, his hands not covering Estelle's ears anymore. He taps her on the shoulders, asking he to try "that".
Estelle puts down Sakura and materializes her rod and shield. She starts chanting, a magic circle appearing under her feet. "Foul affection, begone! Recover!"
The magic circle disappears and some sort of light comes over Kariya, filling him with a surprisingly good sensation. As the feeling stops he notices something abnormal: The crest worms are all gone!
"What the… how is this… I…" He searches for words, perhaps ways to thank his servant, or perhaps trying to understand how this is even possible. But there's one thing much more important than all that: "Please do the same to Sakura." She needs to be rescued too. If Kariya survives without her… then he is no more than a shell that's dead on the inside.
Another spell creates the same effect for Sakura, who is now musing over her sudden loss of worms. Kariya smirks, thinking to have found a new solution to his problem. Perhaps he can… no, not perhaps, he can!
The thoughts are cut short as a hail of insects storm the servants, trying to devour the spiritual beings. Yuri slices through some of them, but finds himself hurt by several of these things, flesh and blood being eaten while he's alive. And he's enduring it the best. Raven cannot shoot these quick little buggers with his bow, and Rita has no time to cast spells without interruption. Estelle tries to hide behind her shield, but the bugs simply negate it, forcing her to resort to a different tactic:
She enters her overlimit, blasting nearby bugs a faraway enough distance to summon a certain spell: "Forcefield!" Surrounding team Caster is a field that prevents the bugs from doing any harm, letting Rita set up a decent spell to kill these pesky bugs. At the same time Estelle sets up a new spell to heal the damage dealt:
"O incandescent lotus,"/ "O brilliant angels,"
"annihilate the vulgar before me." / "grant us your favor."
"Spiral Flare!" / "Nurse!"
A searing fire blast burns its way through the bugs, killing most of the insects. The other spell heals the damage inflicted, and for some reason… it does more? The results of Zouken's extensive… training, so to call it, left several scars on both Kariya's and Sakura's body: Hair, eyes, functionality of certain body parts; all were altered by the worms.
But now these regain their original form and function, being healed by this angelic spell.
From beyond the blade worms Zouken looks angered at the servants. He never wanted to have Kariya summon a nosy servant, especially one who might undo his plans though magic or sheer force. And of course Kariya had to summon a Caster, paragon of magical wisdom!
And now that Caster has erased the worms in both Kariya and Sakura, meaning that he now lacks any control over them. It leaves only one solution: kill Caster, then Kariya, and reinvest Sakura with the worms. That way he might be able to salvage a place in the fifth war…
And killing a Caster might be possible if at close range and taken by surprise. Zouken has done both. Best of all, he used the servant's strength, the power of numbers, against them.
So why is it not enough? Zouken is powerful, yet why can't he beat them, even if he has the initial strike?
The area is now cleared from the flying worms, and team Caster set their eyes on newcomer Zouken.
"Say Kariya," Rita asks to her master, "That man over there, might he be the one who did all this?"
"Yes." Kariya tries to suppress his glee as he exposes Zouken's dark heart. "He is a being that only lives for the torture and pain of others, a vampire who gets drunk on other's suffering, and the creator of this hellish household, Matou Zouken."
"Damn you, Kariya…" More insects stream out of his body, but Neither Yuri nor Raven care about them as they rush straight at their foe, unleashing several artes upon the old vampire. Dragon Swarm, Azure Heavens, Lone Wolf Charge, The Wind's Howl, Shining Eagle; The moves performed are not that of a knight facing someone in honorable battle. This is two people quickly trying to kill evil. An evil that only lasts because it is absurdly resistant.
After all, it's multiple servants against a single quasi-vampire. What else did you expect other than a curbstomp? And even with Zouken's regenerative powers, he still has a limited amount of hitpoints. The Casters simply need to deal more damage than Zouken can heal to kill him.
After enough damage is done Zouken starts to spasm wildly, worms protruding from his body. "You… how can… this be…" With futile efforts he tries to stay alive, only to prolong the inevitable. "Where does it come from… this strength… how could I be beaten… so easily…? Is this the difference… between… a servant… and me…?"
"For a normal person the answer would be obvious, old guy." Yuri pitifully looks at the mess, giving him the answer to his question. "Of course, our weapons are swords and magic. But we have more, we have things that you lack. We have justice, and drive,"
"Love, friendship and kindness!" Estelle continues.
"And sexuality…"
…damn it Raven.
Kariya looks at his servant's ridiculous statement as he feels something welling up in his mouth: "Blaargh!" Blood flows from his mouth, being spit out as a some sort of defensive mechanism.
All others look at the master, with Rita finishing the post-battle quote in a very deadpan tone: "And apparently, blood."
"Ridi…cu…lous…" Zouken, having lasted long enough to hear the end, finally falls apart in a pile of dead worms. This leaves the survivors to concentrate on their master, whose coughing up of blood is not a good sign. Something is wrong, and they need to solve it fast.
A quick analysis from the team learns that his internal prana is nearly empty, and his health is slowly drained. The cause is easily determined: It's team Caster themselves. Now that Kariya doesn't have the crest worms in his body anymore he cannot handle the prana drain Caster puts upon him. If this continues then Kariya will die, and Caster will follow soon after.
The Casters switch their form, leaving only Rita in the main party, bringing the prana cost of the servant to the bare minimum.
"Caster, what can we do about this?" Kariya wants to help his servant, even if he has no reason to: Sakura is saved, his wish is more than fulfilled. If he kills his own servant and escapes the city with Sakura he will have created the best possible ending. But he won't. His servant brought him a miracle, granting his wish; now he should return the favor.
"Do you have any information that might help?" Kariya instantly comes with an answer to Rita's question:
"The library. Let's go." The duo sprint to their last hope, trying to keep Caster alive. The duo starts searching through books, hoping to find a solution. Kariya searches for books with possible answers and Rita skims each book to see if it contains a solution.
Seconds and minutes pass, but with no solution. The numbers of books they searched through reach in the tens to hundreds. After thirty minutes Kariya had looked at every book in the room, so he he joins his servant with reading the books. Another 30 minutes later the servant's prana start to lower into dangerous levels, but still to no avail. The last ten minutes are harsh on Caster, who starts to have trouble with simply flipping the pages. At the end of the furthest extremities she starts to disappear in particles of light. It starts at the fingertips, and is slowly going from her arms and legs to her torso.
"Is this it…?" She quietly ponders as she looks down with a glum face.
"No." Kariya shouts at his servant. "Not yet! I promise I will make you win the Grail. I will let you have your wish fulfilled! So don't give up!"
Rita looks at her master, giving a last wry smile at Kariya, ready to disappear, content that she at least saved someone in this war.
"Not… Yet…" A female voice booms up from the middle of the room.
"Patty?" Rita looks surprised, not suspecting anyone to interfere in her last moments.
"Me… Seifer… My friends… together we will let you continue…" Rita looks horrified, knowing exactly what Patty is trying to do. Loudly Rita shouts out her name, trying to make her reconsider.
A sudden burst of prana flows through Rita, causing her to regain her arms and legs. A few tears drop from her eyes, and solemnly she says the name of she who saved them once more.
"Patty…" Wiping away her tears she continues searching, trying to find a solution. She has to say goodbye to one, but no one else should suffer the same! The eight remainders must survive! Going over her limit she searches through the books at double speed. The answer must be somewhere! It must be-
"Got it!" Kariya shouts out from joy. He shoves his book into Rita's hands, showing the answer: Some sort of alternate way to transfer the prana supply job from the master to a second person. But the only nearby person who has enough prana to supply a servant is…
"Kariya, are you sure? Do you intend to bring Sakura into this?"
"I'm fully certain. You saved us, now we return the favor." Kariya doesn't waver, and they begin the magecraft.
It's an old Russian spell to transfer the prana cost from a weak host to a stronger one, and now it's become a lifesaver.
A small circle is draw on the ground, and blood from Rita, Kariya and Sakura is joined in the middle of it. Together with Sakura and Rita Kariya speaks the spell: "отделить текущую форму. Таким образом я создаю."
The circle glows, and the blood separates into two parts: Kariya's blood on one side, and the rest on the others. "Старый больше нет." It boils, just like the blood in the bodies of the three magecraft-users. But a weights starts to lift from Kariya's shoulders. "Только новые останки." The weight becomes lighter and lighter, only a few small pains remaining. Time to finish this.
"Сейчас новое нами!"
The circle glows once more before dissipating from existence. The spell succeeded. Caster will not disappear anytime soon, and the several from the group return to the main party. But the mood still lies heavy, for someone important died.
Only tears are left that day for team Caster.
Kirei still cannot accept what happened during the summoning, and how nobody seems to care that Tokiomi is a pink puffball now. Now the only logical thing to do is trying to convince Tokiomi that something is very, very wrong with how he looks now.
So his first try is the most logical approach to the situation, trying to show a contradiction between his current looks and the photographs of old.
Yet why does it seem like history altered itself to fit Tokiomi's new looks? Every single photo, both magical and physical, has that pink puffball on it! Does that Berserker's noble phantasm even alter history to its own convenience? What kind of terror could he be if he is summoned with its sentience intact?
"KIrei, what are you looking at?" Kirei looks up from the album and sees Tokiomi walking towards him, carrying a tiny glass of wine that Kirei sure as hell has never seen before.
"A few photo albums. I have the feeling that there is something off about this entire situation since the summoning of our servants, but I cannot figure out what." Kirei dodged the question with a straight face, and gave one more question to his mentor: "Also, do you know where our servants are right now? I am not informed of their current location."
Tokiomi awkwardly shifts his pose (which is quite the accomplishment, considering that his entire current being is awkward and embarrassing), and decides that it is better for Kirei to see it for himself:
Outside the Tohsaka manor are Rider and Lancer doing…squads?
Yes, the two are doing physical training. In broad daylight. For a reason that Kirei can't even begin to fathom. And to make matters worse Tokiomi's servant is now dressed the same as Rider, except that Lancer's colors are the opposite of his ally. He also still has his hood and scarf on, albeit now as green as his clothes.
The squads finish after a few moments and the duo start high jumping, both breaking official world records on their first tries.
This is also the moment that Kirei clearly sees the relationship between the two servants: Lancer is being taught by Rider. Is that why Lancer wears those ridiculous clothes? Kirei first dismissed it Lancer being… Lancer, but it might actually be a way of showing respect to a master!
While Lancer jumps to heights that not even the best of athletes can come close to it is Rider who steals the show by jumping to thrice the height Lancer jumps.
Lancer, Kirei, Tokiomi; All are awestruck by the jump. A jump made carelessly, yet still entering realms beyond human ability. This is a jump on the level of a Noble Phantasm!
…
Oh wait, never mind, one quick look at the servant status screen reminds Kirei that that jump is a Noble Phantasm. Kirei has found the answers for the problem he was trying to figure out, so there is no more need to continue standing next to the windows.
Kirei returns inside, leaving Tokiomi alone. He continues to watch the servants. Minutes pass, and before he realizes it he spend more than an hour watching his team jump.
Rider's jump, he has to admit, is amazing, a true work of art. But it is his servant that is the true star for him:
He starts out way worse than Rider, but slowly he's working his way to the top. Each new jump he makes is slightly higher than the rest, trying to catch up to someone so much higher and coming closer with each step.
Heh. Seeing his servant out there remind him of himself. How the Tohsaka are that "small, weak, follower of Zelretch that cannot even be called a second-rate magus family." But each generation got better, each one improving the family's ability, each one closing the gap between them and the Einzbern… and the Makiri of course, but they were beaten after only three generations and they're now almost non-existent.
And yes, this servant may be quirky and abnormal, but he continues struggling towards his goal with all his might, just like the Tohsaka. With his determination and might, nothing will stand between the Tohsaka and the Root!
"Hey Boss, training's finished, we're coming back in." Lancer telepathically talks to his master, an ability shared between all master-servant pairs. Tokiomi allows his servant to come in, who in a decent tempo appears beside Tokiomi together with Rider.
"Well boss, I'm back! And I got some great training together with Rider. But man, you really know how to pick your allies! I still can't believe I jumped together with a legend!"
A legend? Lancer, no, Gilgamesh, the king of heroes, the first hero known to man… he actually respects Rider as a legend? That's… that's incredible! Thus far Tokiomi thought of Rider as a failure, but if he really is as legendary as Gilgamesh implies… "Lancer, why is Rider such a legend to you? As far as we know you are the oldest legend in the world, how does he outrank you?"
All is quiet for some seconds, as neither Lancer nor Rider wants to answer the question. Eventually one has to budge, and Lancer answers with a loud grunt: "Look, master. I think you are looking at this from the wrong perspective. Even if I am the oldest legend, which I doubt, he is the most famous one. Without him and his friends, especially that little robotic buddy of yours, I might've never even existed!"
Rider looks at his friend, a combination of servants with bonds forged strong through jumping. "I agree that-a I may be the most famous of all heroes, but-a does that mean that I will surely win? I doubt-a that."
"W-What do you mean, Rider?" Tokiomi looks shocked at Kirei's servant. Both Rider's and Lancer's words show such respect, such authority of Rider… it's like he summoned the King Arthur of the servants if he really is that famous. And he still remains so modest?
"I-a am not alone. I've had my family and-a friends supporting me through my whole life. Without them, I am not worthy of carrying my legacy."
"The power of friendship, huh…" Gilgamesh looks sad, remembering somebody who isn't here anymore. "I had one too… but now he's gone, my only memento of him being one of my swords." He looks at Rider, grabbing his hand in a hard grip. "But I will make my new friendship with you, Rider!"
Both Rider and Tokiomi look at the servant of the lance, one flabbergasted and the other somewhat interest. "I hereby declare my oath of friendship with Mario, summoned under the Rider class in this Grail war! I will have his back and he has mine, and together we will honorably duel it out in the final match, where the winner of us two will get his wish fulfilled! Rider, no, Mario, do you swear to take the same oath?"
"I-a am honored, Gilgamesh. Let's-a work together!"
Kiritsugu does not like his servant. Their alignments are completely wrong, their ideals perfect opposites, and the best use Kiritsugu has for him is as a distraction. But this… this is like Saber's actively trying to annoy Kiritsugu! "How… how… just how did this happen?"
Kiritsugu continues his facepalm, one that he is holding for longer than normal, and looks at his servant, who is now in jail. Together with Irisviel.
"Hey master, can you believe this? These people have some sort of law that says that there's a maximum speed limit on the roads! Who created that stupid idea?"
Kiritsugu's anger reaches levels beyond normal limits, to the point where steam is almost literally coming out of his face. Words are not capable anymore to say how much he loathes his servant right now. "Iri…" Kiritsugu tries his best to keep calm, struggling to do it. "Iri, tell me why this happened, and tell that over there that speeds limits are normal in this world." Kiritsugu point at his servant thing, hiding his eyes in his other hand from shame.
"WHAT?!" Both Servant and… wait, Iri too? Both are unknowledgeable of this fact? "But how are we supposed to race then?" both say at the same time.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Kiritsugu shouts at his wife, both baffled and angered. "You… I… I thought I…AARGH!" He snaps. "I come here because you got yourself in trouble. I left Maiya to do the scouting all by herself so I could help you. And what is your problem? Not a servant, no, you got captured by the police. For speeding. In broad daylight. Tell me, did any of you ever think that the Grail War is, I don't know, a secret?! As in, secret? I spend time and resources to get you out, even though I have no doubt that you two can save yourselves? How did you even get captured?"
"Car crash."
"Iri, please tell me that my servant isn't incapable of protecting you from simple car crashes?" Silence. Very awkward silence that's not broken.
"Fuck." There's nothing really better to say. "If this command seal holds enough power to actually make a servant listen I would've made that clear from the start. Please convey this to the servant, Iri."
"You can talk to me right in person, master. I don't really like being ignored."
"How cute," Kiritsugu says sarcastically with a thick layer of cynicism on top of it. "our servant thinks he's more than a tool."
"Kiritsugu!" Irisviel shouts out, trying to make him listen.
"No Iri, Saber is even less than a tool." But to no avail. "If he is simply a honorable knight he would be useable as a tool. If he is incapable of fighting, he's just useless. But this, a servant who needlessly brings the lives of his allies in danger, who ignores their pleas to get his own satisfaction… that is a liability, a hindrance. I have no use for such a thing, and if I find him damaged beyond repair I will destroy it myself."
Kiritsugu gives his servant no mercy, and the favor gets returned. "Defect? You need to get your eyes checked. The only thing defect here is your inability to adapt."
"Irisviel." Continuing to ignore his servant Kiritsugu walks away from the cell. I'm sure that you can get out of here yourself. Don't let the hindrance bother you." With a last casual wave of his hand he walks out of the detention center.
"And that sore spot finally leaves the building. About time." Saber comments as Irisviel apologetically looks at the servant. He calmly tells her that it's not her fault. "He's simply someone that I'm going to clash with time and again. That's all. And besides, when he's with you he's more bark than bite."
Irisviel questions the last state, not noticing what Saber says.
"Don't you get it, Irisviel? He may say some nasty words, but he still cares for those around him. If he didn't then he would've simply used a command seal to get me out of here and leave you to die."
"So you mean…"
"Yeah, there's a pretty neat guy underneath that thick skin of his. Now do you want to do the honors of breaking the cell or should I get us out of here?"
Irisviel understands the hidden message that Saber's leaving: If I have to do it I might break it completely, so can you please do it for me? Irisviel lets out a small smile before chanting a few words that start her magecraft.
A bunch of wires that she kept hidden under her sleeves move outwards, hovering in the air as they take shape. These mesh with each other, forming a beautiful hollow key that perfectly fits the lock keeping them away from outside freedom.
The key automatically finds the lock, and with a simple click the door smoothly opens. The duo walks outside, past the bodies of unconscious policemen. They can simply walk away, but wouldn't that give the bad names? No, only Assassins sneak away from a scene, but Saber proudly walks away…
…or in this case, drives away. There is a part of the police station where they keep confiscated cars, and that's also where Saber's car should stand. But that isn't the only car they want to leave with. After all, it's a single-seater, and since Irisviel's car crashed during the police chase they need a new car.
Saber easily finds his own car among the thirty or so cars stored at the underground garage. And with the keys still inside he can drive away easily! Now he can join Irisviel on her quest for nice cars.
…
They… are all rather lam-hold on, is that…? Saber instantly retracts his statement as he sees the perfect car for Irisviel. A bright-red cabriolet that screams both manly and fast, it's simply amazing. Saber thouroughly inspects it, and finds out that this beauty is a Dodge Viper.
"Hey Irisviel, check this one out! I've found the jackpo…t?" Saber confusingly stares at Irisviel, who is eyeing another car. "Two pearls in only thirty or so cars? Man, my luck stat must be really high." Saber shakes his head before walking over to Irisviel. "So, like the car?"
"Of course I do! This is an Aston Martin DB5, probably my second-favorite car!" Saber looks at it and has to agree: the color's the same, and other similarities like shape and form are somewhat similar. Irisviel hops in, puts the engines on, and is ready to drive away.
"Hey Saber, can you check if all lights work?" Saber's currently standing at the back, where all the lights work. He then moves to the front, and sees that they-did two machineguns just pop out from behind the headlights?
Yes. Yes they are, and to make matters worse they fire directly at Saber. Still startled Saber is barely able to dodge the bullets, grazing them at best.
The Dodge however is not so lucky, receiving the full brunt of the impact before exploding with a loud boom.
Saber falls to the ground, shouting out his frustration and anger at the unknown forces that made him part so swiftly with the car. Irisviel steps out of the car and gives Saber a comforting and apologizing hug. They say nothing, just letting they feelings and emotions be absorbed by the other.
Saber thanks Irisviel, who lets him loose so he can stand up. "Want another race, Irisviel?"
Irisviel nods, happy to race again, even after what happened before.
They park their cars right next to each other, pressing the gas pedal deep in to let their motors roar. The two look at each other, both smirking widely.
"Ready?"
"Set…"
"Oh no you don't! Did you forget about me?" From the other end of the car park comes Caliburn hopping over, his face set in an angry frown. "Sir Saber, lady von Einzbern, I am sorely disappointed in you two. I wouldn't have thought that you would violate law like this, and to escape from prison like a pair of rats? You will…" Caliburn continues to rant on and on until both victims of it have grown weary of it. He eventually finishes, and threatens to give a new one unless both Irisviel and Saber drive home safely.
And so, in a tempo that is way too slow to be called driving (according to Saber and Irisviel) the trio returns home, this time hopefully without any more interruptions.
Food supplies… check. Power source… check. Familiars… check. Anything missing… nothing that comes to mind.
"Assassin, the preparations are ready." Waver turns to his servant, who's checking everything and taking a few items that he deems useful. His servant Assassin is an unique servant: He has pretty bad base stats yet a wide array of skills, and he even has a grand total of 4 noble phantasms!
The hoarded supplies are needed to make one of his noble phantasms work. A noble phantasm that comes with the nifty ability to use any gun in the world to the level that it might even inflict harm to servants and giving significant improvements to close-range combat, allowing him to make up for his sucky stats. And that's only the first of the four noble phantasms! Okay, the other one Waver understands is some sort of failsafe in case of the servant's death, but still, he might've pulled a rather nice servant! Perhaps he might seem like something of a joke, but with the right steering and guidance, he can become the most lethal enemy on the field! If this succeeds then it will be a victory by pure skill! That will show Ka-
"Velvet, did you check if every single one of these guns work? I don't want to end up fighting with malfunctioning weapons." Assassin calmly picks up one of the weapons, some sort of sniper rifle he stole from the local Yakuza family, the Fujimura. It was a great display of skill, infiltrating their manor with only a card box and a bunch of cigarette-ahem, cigars without being noticed. A feat that only inhuman beings can perform, and surprised Waver to no end. And that's only the tip of the iceberg!
Yet why does Waver feel so tired? It's like he ran a marathon and cannot recover from the fatigue. "Only the lighter pistols, Assassin. I cannot handle the bigger ones successfully, and they make too much noise to be used secretly. I could make a barrier that prevents the escape of sound, but enemies might discover the traces of prana that will be left when I'm done using it."
Assassin looks at Waver, a very small smile appearing on his face. "Good, you're learning. Keep it up."
Waver proudly looks at his servant. He's happy. Happy for being acknowledged by someone. Someone who realizes that even if people are useless now they can become better in time. "Assassin…" Huh, how strange: for some reason the world is starting to get blurry… "…" Words try to come out of Waver's mouth, but he cannot even hear what he says himself. Assassin seems to talk too, but no sound is hearable. And why is everything turning? No wait, the one turning is-
All is black for a time of lengths Waver cannot determine. Eventually it returns to him, flooding into him like a dam that's overflowing. It soon becomes too much to bear, making Waver shoot up from his current position. Now wide awake and with senses overflowing he determines his exact location…
…which is very easy to do, because apparently he hasn't moved an inch. "Assassin."
"At least you're awake, Waver Velvet." Telepathic communication. It means that Assassin is still somewhere around.
"Where are you right now Assassin?" Waver asks, noticing that he's in pain once more from the sudden energy outburst, and calmly lies down on the floor to prevent further agony.
"Astralized, so I don't have an exact location. However, were I to materialize I would be located next to you. You could say that my coordinates cross in this very room." The servant goes silent, but not a silent Waver likes. No, the incantation of his words are enough for Waver to know that something is wrong. Perhaps it has something to do with his sudden outburst. Or maybe it is some malfunctioning weapon. Or.. or… "I'm disappointed in you. Your magic reserves are even lower than I estimated."
"Maybe that's true. I'm only a third generation magus after all. But that shouldn't affect you too much, right? I mean, sure, your stats are probably the worst of all servants, but you have personal skills and noble phan-"
"The reason you fainted is because your body cannot supply me with enough prana to keep me materialized, let alone fight. If I come to blows in the next battle and the situation doesn't change then you will die. If you're lucky it will be painless. If you're not, well… let's just say that telling it wouldn't be allowed in a T-rated story."
"What?!" Waver's outraged. Does this servant make fun of him? How dares he! "I'm not some useless accessory! I can-"
"I thought of you to be useless, but with a few qualities that could help me in this war. Now that I know your actual worth… there's not much left. Listen kid, here are your options:" Waver listens to all Assassin has to say, all his ideas.
The first idea is to simply give up, flee the city or seek shelter in the church according to the rules, and let Assassin team up with a magus who actually can support a servant. It's rejected before Assassin could even fully flesh out the idea, continuing to the second:
Idea two: Use an item/ley line/souls that contain prana to fuel the servant without draining Waver himself. But Waver lacks an item that can function as a prana reactor, the only place containing a good amount of ley lines, Ryuudou Temple, is a way too obvious spot to hide for an Assassin, and Waver does not approve of the idea of using the weak and defenseless as fuel. At least the last part let him regain some of his honor in Assassin's eyes…
…but Assassin disagrees about one part: Using the Temple's ley lines is an idea worth trying, even though it will greatly endanger the life of Waver, exposing him to all his enemies and making him easy pickings.
"The last option is the exchange of body fluids between us." Exchange of body fluids, huh…. Well, Waver has to admit that it sounds possible… it might n-hold on a sec, exchanging body fluids? Isn't that, well… well… Waver turns red as a tomato, hurling insults at Assassin for even insinuating such a lewd and perverted thing. "You fail to understand it. Unlike your perverted thoughts I was talking about other liquids like blood. Consuming your blood should help me at least survive somewhat. But I recommend that you find a solution… soon."
"Ah? And there's of course no way that a great servant like you is going to help me with it, isn't it?" Waver snarks as if his life depends on it… which might actually be so, considering the situation. He tries to get some foothold in this conversation, something that shifts the odds against his servant in his favor…
But he doesn't need to. Assassin temporarily materializes, with a pen and paper he took from the supplies in hand. He writes a few quick notes down before dematerializing again, letting the small slip of paper fall next to the master. "If you ever find yourself in a situation you cannot salvage anything from, something so dire that everything you try is hopeless, you must read what is written down on the paper. But be careful: it might be your greatest boon, but if used in the wrong time, place or game it might become a killing curse. Or perhaps it does nothing and you get mocked for trying it. Use it wisely."
Waver looks at the sheet of paper. It tells him that the way of achieving this hidden power is to read the following sentence out loud: "Uhm…" It's not a sentence that makes sense. Eight arrows, followed by two letters, ending in start. "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Ri-"
"I repeat, only use it in the worst possible case."
"Oh, and why aren't you using it yourself right now? If you're stuck with someone like me who cannot even provide you enough prana than isn't that one of your 'worst possibilities'?" Waver mockingly declares, angry at his servant's lack of respect. They still don't get along very well.
"It is the player that inputs the code, not the character. Only the master can use it, not the servant."
"Hah…" Waver stands up and moves to the sleeping bag on the ground. "I've had enough of your rambling for today, Assassin. I'll get some rest now. Wake me before dusk, okay? I don't want to worry my grandparents, kay?" And instantly falls asleep.
"Velvet!" Assassin's stern words have no effect on the now-sleeping master. Deciding that it's for the best to leave him be, he silently watches over his master.
…
"Don't die on me, master. Even if you are useless, I still need you to survive."
"Thanks, Assassin." If Assassin wasn't astralized he would look surprised, somehow being taken by the moment for long enough that he couldn't realize the difference between someone sleeping and not sleeping. And does Assassin hear his servant… snickering? Yes, Waver is definitely mocking his moment of weakness. He underestimated his master. The only good thing it that it didn't leave any heavy damage, just a slightly trampled ego.
"Heh. Not bad, kid."
"ARRRRRRCHERRRR!"
It happens again. Kayneth is once again very, very angry at his wisecracking laidback servant. It has happened… how many times again? Six times, seven times, Kayneth already lost count. Considering that it hasn't even been a day since the summoning that's saying a lot.
"What's the matter, master?" Archer walks next to his master, looking in the same direction as his master.
"What is this, servant?"
"As far as I can see a rather normal refrigerator."
"No, what's inside of it?"
"Let's take a peek…" Archer peeks inside, listing off all the ingredients he can see. "I see strawberries, ice cream, strawberry jam, whipped cream… and a nice cup of strawberry sundae waiting to be eaten." He takes out the readied food and slams the refrigerator door shut with his foot. "Now I only need to grab a spoon. Let's see…" He walks over to one of the kitchen cabinets, and pulls one of the drawers open. With a casual flick he throws up one of the spoons, which lands straight into his ice cream. "Bingo."
"Archer!" Kayneth's budding anger only rises and rises, not looking like it gets better anytime soon. "What happened to the food inside the fridge?"
"Last time I checked it's still in the fridge, which was… a few seconds ago."
"Not that food you idiot! The original food, the expensive, real and good food! Not that… that junkfood you're eating right now!"
Archer sits down on the bank, thinking hard about this question. "Hmm… do you perhaps mean the caviar, truffles, foie gras, and whatever else was in the fridge before?"
"Of course!"
"Yeah, I remember. I made this really delicious pizza from it."
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Kayneth's anger is now flaring to the same levels as when he received his letter from Zelretch, and if not for something to calm him down he will probably rampage again, destroying another two floors of his fortress. "You… you wasted incredible and priceless food to make a pizza?! Out of everything you have done thus far this is probably the worst! And that's including the time you played a guitar in the dead of night!"
"Electric guitar, to be precise, and it was a rather decent concert I was giving. It's a shame you were not there."
"It seems that common sense somehow fails to penetrate your skull, servant. Perhaps I should use a command seal to make you listen? What do you say, servant?"
"I would say that that is a waste of a command seal. I don't think that with just one of them you can make me more loyal than very slight respect of your wishes."
Kayneth falls silent for a few moments, trying to think of a good way to change this conversation in his favor. Is there something he can manipulate? Wait a minute… "Perhaps that's true. But I don't think I'm going to use it anymore. How about a command spell that forbids you from eating your junkfood?"
Archer puts down his sundae and glares pure demonic evil at his master. "I would say that that command seal would make you lose your right as a master. You're going to need a second one to stop me from shagging your fiancé, another for stopping me from blowing this building up, a fourth one to…" Archer continues to list all sorts of possibilities he can do if separated from his food, enough things that will absolutely cripple any chance Kayneth has at winning the war.
"You… You… You!" Now raging like a madmen Kayneth screams at his servant: "Who do you think you are, servant?! Who dares to oppose me in such a mad way?!"
"Didn't figure it out, did you?" Archer casually remarks, "Don't you have that status screen thing to learn my identity?"
"Apparently some fool is foolish enough to not let that important information slip to his master." Kayneth goes beyond his rage, changing from a storm into tranquility. "So tell me: what is the name of he who dares to make a mockery of himself and his master? Servant, what is your name?"
"Don't you know? Then let me tell you:" Archer stands up and looks his master straight in the eye. "My name is Dante."
Dante… yes, the name does ring a bell in Kayneth's head, and tranquil rage is combined with something else: wariness and fear. There is only one person in history who has that name and went down a legend: Dante Alighieri. And while his combat prowess is lost to history, legend does stress one important thing about him:
You don't fuck with Dante.
Honestly, this is the guy who repaid the pope for Dante's exile by recording said pope as one of the greatest sinners in history! If you're on his bad side, then nobody will be on your good side.
And that worries Kayneth. If this is that Dante, then he might get into some problems if their relationship continue like this. But first he needs to-"Archer, what are you doing?"
In the time that Kayneth was thinking about the true identity of his servant said servant chugged down the rest of his sundae in one big gulp. "You see master," Archer answered after swallowing, "I really didn't like the way I said my name. It reminds me of something, or to be precise someone… unfortunate."
Not interested in the unfortunate stories of his servant Kayneth now tries to confirm his servants identity. "So, servant, if I'm correct about you, then you're the Dante who went to hell and back together with Virgil, correct? And how about Beatrice?"
"Yep, we've got a winner. I went to hell indeed, and sadly enough left Vergil behind. And Trish… she's probably fine. It's been a long time since I last saw her." That's enough for Kayneth. He is convinced of the origin of his servant… although…
"There is still something I find weird, servant. Last time I checked Dante isn't a wisecracking joker who's addicted to junk food. Shouldn't you be suffering in the third circle right now?"
"I blame the reboot for all those lies about me." Archer lies down on the bench, letting his head rest on a comfy pillow. "And for why I am not suffering there in hell… I would say it's because its guard dog is a little bit dead. I wanted him as a pet, he wanted to kill me… so I killed him. Simple, isn't it?"
"Yes… servant…" Ignoring the latter statement he mauls over Archer's first words: a reboot, huh… does that mean that his Divine Comedy, which will most likely be his noble phantasm, has been reworked over the ages? It would explain the differences between legend and reality. "And why are you summoned as an Archer? I personally expected a different class." Kayneth expected him to be a Caster, maybe even a Saber since he fought in wars as a knight. But Archer? No ,that's something he did not expect.
"Once again, I blame the reboot. There's not much they did right."
Kayneth sighs, having enough of this talk with his servant. "Let's just settle this peacefully, servant. I will not ban that stuff you call food, and you can fill a few of the refrigerators with it. In return I want you to leave the rest of the fridges with my and Sola-Ui's food, no playing of any kind of music when I'm sleeping, and absolutely no wooing of my fiancé!"
"Heh, don't worry, master, I'm not planning to do any of them if you wish." Archer stands up and with a small flick throws the glass he was eating his sundae from on the kitchen counter. It wobbles a bit after it lands, but this stops quickly, leaving an upright standing glass without any dealt damage.
"Good. Now let us discuss our plans for the upcoming war. Follow me servant." Kayneth moves out of the room, content that his servant's attitude and loyalty has been improved.
Archer follows his master to the door, and as he almost leaves the room he notices that he still holds the spoon in his hand. He can walk back to the counter, but that would be time wasting and worst of all absolutely not stylish. There's only one option left:
Archer casually tosses it over his shoulder, and without looking at the results he walks out of the door. Two steps out he hears the spoon tingling against some glass structure.
A small smirk appears on Archer's face as he continues to walk to the briefing room, knowing full well what he did.
"Stylish!"
When you learn that you've inherited your grandparent's attic junk you're not really happy. Most of the time you're just wishing to sell it to someone who is a bit more interested than you and move on with your life. In the case of Uryuu Ryuunosuke this is almost the truth. Almost.
He is one of those determined people who does search through all the rubbish for gold. And after lifting and pillaging a whole lot of uninteresting stuff he found a few nice things. Some old jewelry, antique curiosities, and he even found this really cool and gory painting of a beheaded woman! He could call it a day, having found enough to satisfy him. But he continued. Searching through some more boxes he actually hit the jackpot!
An old, half-worn manuscript, containing some sort of summoning ritual. A normal person would throw it away, not believing in this sort of stuff. A magus would keep it but also lock it away, being smart enough not to mess with what could possibly lead to death.
Uryuu is neither. He is a crazy, bored murderer, and more than overjoyed to summon some cool new way of murdering. This time on themurder channel: Real life demon summoning!
To succeed Uryuu continues his part-time hobby of creating killing sprees, catching the blood of the dead humans and using it to paint the summoning circles.
The first time failed, as he was unaccustomed to the painting, and so was the second time. But you know what they say, third times the charm!
So upon murdering another family Uryuu tries it once more, this time making sure to have everything ready: Summoning circle, check. Slightly sloppy, yes, but check nonetheless. Demonic chanting, check. Sure, Uryuu still needs to read the lines from the book, but the demon probably won't mind, right? Oh, and in case the demon is hungry Uryu left one of the family members alive as a snack, a young boy not even ten years old.
This time it will work. This time it will work. This time it will work! Chanting these five simple words in his mind he's ready to meet his demon! It will be super cool, no doubt!
And it's working! A breeze moves up, and lightning cackles from the sky. Smoke covers the demonic circle, and a bright light blinds the eyes of both summoner and sacrifice.
The lightning stops. The wind dies. The smoke falls. The light dims back to normal. Uryuu looks excitedly at the circle, only to see… nothing?
Okay, that's just wrong! Either have demons existing and answering to the call or be completely non-existent and have nothing happen! But not some half-assed answer like this!
Uryuu stomps on the ground, and wants to scream if not for the neighbors that will probably check on the house or call the police.
He checks the circle again, looking if there's something wrong, or maybe if the demon is simply invisible.
But no, he's quickly proven wring about his earlier statement: There is something in the circle: a black box that's around half an arm long, twenty centimeters width and twenty high. In the shade of the house it is barely visible, only the rolled-up parchment atop indicating that it is there.
Uryuu takes the box and shakes it, trying to see if there is something inside. Yep, something's rattling inside of it. The conclusion: He succeeded the summoning! But not for a demon…
Lessons from when he was younger taught Uryuu that when you open presents you first need to read the letter on top. Pulling loose the tape that's attaching the paper to the box he opens it and reads the context:
Dear Uryuu Ryuunosuke,
Today you should've been selected as one of the seven lucky candidates allowed to summon a supernatural being for personal use. You were going to get the final boss from Persona 2: Innocent Sin as your servant Lancer together with his demonic/mechanic legions of doomy doom; however, because of some incident there is someone who summoned two of these seven beings, leaving you, the last summoner, with zero.
To make up to you I gift you this box. While not a demon of the servant level it can eventually become something on par and even surpass them!
Now go out and have fun,
Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg
Uryuu skips all the crap he doesn't care about and goes right to the important part: Whatever's inside that box it can become even better than a demon!
The summoner turns to the victim, taunting him in his helplessness "Look kid, this thing will be even better than a demon!" A wicked smile appears on Uryuu's face, and he holds the box in front of the kid's face. "I wonder what it is… is it some sort of good? Is it evil? Will it eat you?" The kid tries to scream through his gag, and move through his bindings, obviously to no avail. "One way to find out. You may look what's inside." The box is opened, and the kid stares in horror… only to find a gauntlet?
The kid eyes look relieved once more, even though he is not out of danger. Uryuu however acts like he just got something incredibly lame: "A glove? That's it?" Deciding that it would be somewhat trilling to see if it works Uryuu put it around his left arm.
A beeping noise emerges from it, with several part of it sliding away to reveal a lit-up screen. Upon the screen a single green button sticks out like a sore thumb. To satisfy his own curiosity Uryuu presses it. Some sort of text appears, followed by a menu with five buttons:
Skill
Items
Equip
Status
Naoya
Upon opening Uryu figured out that most of these are… rather unimpressive. Skill is some sort of list that only contains "attack"; items has "kitchen knife" and "old document", with the latter belong to key items; Equip shows Uryu's clothes, and status is something about points or so.
But it's the fifth one that's interesting! Upon activating it a male voice greets him and introduces himself as Naoya, a mechanic being that resides inside the gauntlet. "Yo, I'm Uryuu Ryuunosuke. This letter said that you're some sort of demon summoning thing, right?"
"Correct." Naoya answers, "At the current moment there are two pre-made contracts with demons in your COMP. Do you plan on summoning them right now, Uryuu?"
"Wait a few seconds…" Uryuu turns away from his gauntlet and goes to the kidnapped child. "Because I first need to alert our little friend here that he's going to see demons!" The kid screams through his gags, trying everything to stay alive after witnessing the supernatural. Uryuu returns to his gauntlet, and asks for the two to be summoned.
"Commencing summoning." Two green circles appear next to Uryuu, who is smiling gleefully at the circles. But the over time this happiness disappears because of the lackluster demons:
The first is some being of three feet tall but shaped like a female humanoid. She has red hair in a pixie cut and wears a blue leotard, long gloves and knee socks. The only inhuman parts are the red sclera, pointed ears and fairy wings on her back.
The second is somewhat similar. She too is a humanoid demon of three feet tall, and she too has butterfly wings on her back. But her skin is red as clay, with blue eyes and yellow hair parted in twin tails. Her clothes are white and of oriental origin, making her something completely different from the first demon. But one thing is sure:
Uryuu isn't pleased with these demons.
"What the fuck? Is this really how demons nowadays look? You hurt me, Naoya, I'm seriously disappointed here! Are these even demons at all?"
"Yes. Their compendium description reads as followed: Pixie – A small faerie found in southwest Britain. It is cheerful and likes to play prank-"
"I don't want that kind of demon! I want something cool, a demon that actually looks and acts like one!"
"I would recommend geting stronger, then meeting with new demons and trying to recruit those to your side. If you want to try your hand at recruiting demons I would say that now is a good time to put it to practice. There's a demon nearby that can be reasoned with." As the word left the mouth, or whatever that machine uses, another demon entered through the hallway.
"Hee? Where am I? What am I doing here-ho?" It's another small demon of the same size as the other two, but clearly less human. This one looks like a little snowman, with short legs covered by blue boots, a blue pointed collar separating body from head and a blue jester hat covering the top. His eyes and mouth are black and hollow, overall giving a rather cute appearance.
"Seriously?" Uryuu rhetorically asks to himself with a flat expression on his face. "Another one? You demons keep disappointing me…" Sighing deeply Uryuu walks over to the little demon, still trying to give it his best expression. "Yo! Are you lost, little fella?"
"Yeah, I'm lo-host. Who are you?"
"I'm Uryuu Ryuunosuke; I don't have a steady income, but I murder as my hobby. Who are you, and what are your hobbies?"
"I'm Jack Frost, ho!" The creature introduces himself. "And I can hee where this is going! You're trying to convince me to ho-in you, right? So tell m-hee, why should I join you? What do you ho-fer me as compensation?"
Uryuu thinks, but can only think of one thing. "I… don't really have much, but you can take that kid over there as a sacrifice if you join me, 'kay? If you want you can even show me some cool murder!"
The demon put his comically shaped hand under his chin and thought of the offer. "Hmm… I als-ho want some macca, but I guess I can get those from t-hee kid." The demon walks up to the kid, and for some reason frees him from his binds and gags! Uryuu almost screams out a big NO but is silenced by the demon. "hee hee, kid-ho, wanna play?"
"But… that man…" He's still scared of the murderer who killed his family, but was slightly reassured when the icy monster extends his hand to the boy to help him get up. The kid stretches his hand to the benevolent monster, who's in his eyes a guardian and a savior. He find a hope spot…
That gets crushed instantly. When he touches the monster the kid's hand instantly freezes along with a big portion of his arm. "W-What? You-!"
"Life isn't fair, ho." Jack Frost lets out an icy breath, freezing the kid into a solid ice sculpture.
Uryuu's face shows great satisfaction, and he walks over to the ice being. "That was awesome! Look at this super cool piece of art you created! Hope, anger, despair; you combined it all in one masterpiece!"
Jack's blushing, and the other two monsters are simply watching everything occur, not seeing any way they could add to the situation by talking.
"I misjudged you, fella! You're super cool! Hey hey, want to kill more people together?"
"Hee-ho… I'm the fairy Jack Frost, ho. Let us go together." The ice monster almost melted from his warm and blushing cheeks, and feels the start of a great chaotic friendship.
"Congratulations, master, you successfully negotiated with a demon. By leveling up your current demons and recruiting new ones you might be able to become a force threatening heaven and hell!" Uryuu looks at his COMP and sees Naoya congratulating him, along with two new buttons.
One is obviously the list of his demons, but the other… "Hey Naoya, what does this button do?"
"Try it." Naoya mysteriously answers. Uryuu isn't sure if he should do it… can he trust this guy? Can he trust this guy who entrusts him with demons?
Hah, of course he can! Why would such a nice guy who entrusts him with demons do something mean? Uryuu presses the button with no regrets.
1 second passes…
5 seconds pass…
10 seconds pa-
A loud rumble interrupts the silence, followed by an earthquake. "Ragnarok activated." A fully mechanical voice says, one clearly not belonging to Naoya. "Commencing Conception. Creation of Vortex World starting in t+20 seconds."
"Hey Naoya, what did you do?" Uryuu screamed at his gauntlet. "What is this?"
"It's simple, master." Uryuu cannot see his face ,but Uryuu is certain that Naoya is smiling, almost laughing out loud, happy that his plans are brought to fruition. With a smirk he says one last line, the same line as the mechanical announcer:
"Peaceful days are over. Let's survive."
Outside of the Einzbern manor Saber and his proxy master are observing a weird phenomenon: some sort of weird purple wall of energy, running just past the manor with a very slight inward curve. If this curve is as constant as it appears to be then the entirety of Fuyuki is probably trapped inside of it. But what is it? It's energy yes, but for what purpose? Something this big and obvious is probably some noble phantasm from an enemy servant, but to what purpose? Is it a bounded field or so? Or has it some other purpose?
Saber does feel something familiar about it. Not as in something that he has seen himself, but more like this is the cause of a very, very far acquaintance. The duo continue trying to building a solid theory for this until something approaches them from the forest, some sort of purple electric mist that spreads at an alarmingly fast rate to Saber and Irisviel. Both cover their face to not breathe in any of this probably poisonous gas. Thankfully all it does is spread past them, not harming them in any possible way.
"Seems like we've just gotten lucky, Irisviel!" Saber announces as he rubs his nose. He doesn't know what it is, but if it doesn't affect them then the enemy has a worthless weapon. Irisviel however stays silent and gloomily looks at the castle. Saber looks concerned at the women, and asks what's wrong.
"The castle is void of live. Not even the homunculi that serve us are still in there." Saber focuses his senses too, and is also unable to feel anyone but Irisviel in close range.
"What happened?" Saber wants to sprint into the castle, if it weren't for something else catching his eye:
A white source of energy starts to shine from above Fuyuki, hanging high enough that Saber can see it through the forest. Both he and Irisviel stare at it, unable to say anything for a few seconds. It is Saber who breaks the silence: "I think that that ball of light is the cause of this wall, that mist and the disappearances. Want to go investigate, Irisviel?"
Irisviel nods, and they go to the cars… but halfway there an earthquake happens, causing both Saber and Irisviel to lose their footing.
"What is up with that thing, is it constantly creating new natural and supernatural disasters?" Saber stands up, puts Irisviel back up and stares once more in the direction of the light. "Irisviel, I'll go on ahead." He tells to his proxy master. "If that thing continues who knows what it… will… do…" Saber paused as he sees something even more unnatural:
The ground curls up.
The earth within the purple wall curls up, away from the earth, forming a sphere with the bright white star as the center. Saber stares straight ahead as all this happens, eyes filled with pure horror.
"No…" He realizes it. He realizes what is going on. "Not this! Out of all that can happen, not this… why…?" Tears start to stream out of Saber's faces, one tear for each fallen soul. "Ha…" the tears eventually seem to end, but Saber's abnormal behavior doesn't. "Hahaha…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A mad laughter of one who lost everything he fought for. Saber heads to the edge of sanity, jumping straight over it if nobody stops him.
"Saber!" Irisviel shouts her husband's servant's name, trying to open his heart with it. She hugs Saber, trying to make him return to who he is.
"Sir Saber!" Caliburn tries the same, and even though he has no arms he still tries to comfort Saber in the only way he can. "I do not understand yet what happened, or what you lost. But remember two important things: What you lost can be regained with the Grail, and more importantly remember what you still have!"
The last words trigger something in Saber. He looks around, and sees two important things to him: Caliburn and Irisviel.
"You… you're right, Caliburn." Saber sits down on the ground, slipping from Irisviel's hold. "I… sorry for what happened just now, but you're right: I can still fix this. I can, no, I WILL fix this!" Saber looks at his hands and contracts the muscles within them, folding his hands a few times. "As long as I can still run, as long as I'm still around… I can recreate this world. I can create…" Saber think for a few moments on his course of action before giving quick orders.
Standing up from the ground he takes Caliburn in hand and takes a few steps to the entrance. "Irisviel." Saber says in a clear, serious tone. "I want you to call Kiritsugu. First, check on Maiya's condition. She's most likely dead or missing, and in case she is, tell the following to him and say it's from me: "While I don't like your methods this situation is severe enough that honor has to be buried under results."
"Sir Saber, what are you saying?" Caliburn looks shocked, unable to comprehend. "This isn't like you at all."
"You should know that I never cared much for chivalry or honor. I just did things the way I wanted, and now I'll need to do it in an even more different manner. Because if I screw up this time… even I cannot tell how horrible the world might become." Saber looks saddened as he says all this, making clear how bad it has become. "But continuing on, Irisviel, tell him that I'm willing to try his methods, and that we should meet to discuss our strategy. Did you get all that?" Irisviel nods. "Good." Saber turns his attention to his sword, and tells him that they're going into the city, hunting for advantages. Saber rushes through the exit, leaving Irisviel completely alone.
She is left to think about what exactly happened, but she cannot imagine that which lies hidden in the dark depths of Saber's heart.
On one of the floors of the Hyatt Hotel Kayneth and Sola-Ui are holding each other's hand, scared of this new world they see. It's… earthlike, but shaped in a strange form. It's like they're on the inside of the sphere, and only a single star shines in the sky, acting as a makeshift sun. The surface area… if Kayneth has to guess he would say it's around the same size as a metropolis. All in all, it simply looks like a weird noble phantasm that the church will create headaches for the churchs as they are trying to clean it up… but why does it all feel so off?
"Yo, what's happening?" From the doorway Archer walks in, and without a replay he too looks outside. But he is not scared of it. No, it's the opposite. He's… tired of it? "This again?" Wait, he knows it? "I expected this war to be a little more original, even if all these servants use weapons and skills of the past." Both Kayneth and his wife turn back to the servant, who is now looking at an unfamiliar-looking seven-armed candleholder. With a small sigh he picks it up, holding it in his hand like an object he is all too familiar with. "And these returned too, huh?"
"Archer, what is that?" Sola-Ui asks to her husband's servant. Both she and Kayneth know for sure that that candleholder was not here before this freaky world-altering stuff happened, and are somewhat curious to this foreign object.
"This?" Archer feigns slight ignorance as he looks at the object. "It's merely something slightly useful. I'll take it with me for now, but isn't there something else you want to know?" Archer stuffs the candle away in the same pocket where he usually puts all his not-equipped weapons, giving his full attention to his master.
He has a point, Kayneth notices, there is something very odd. He didn't ask his servant about it… yet, but it might be good to ask it right now: "Archer, do you know what is happening outside?"
"Yes, I do. This is my second time being here, and honestly I didn't expect myself to return here." Archer looks out of the window, up in the sky at the bright star.
"So you are not responsible, servant?" Kayneth's anger is still quelled by fear. Normal outburst are replaced by calm observations that try to rationalize or hide away the fear. A single revelation enters Kayneth's mind, a few strings of logic chained together to form a horrifying truth: "Say, Archer… is this.. is this hell?"
"Technically this place is called the Vortex world, but don't get your hopes up too high yet. It's still a big demon-infested hellhole." Kayneth's face turns pale, and Sola-Ui already fainted. "The good news is that this magic fortress you set up is strong enough to hold most demons at bay. Stay hidden inside and you might survive."
"What do you mean, servant?" Kayneth's raging nature returned, once more directed at his servant.
"Forgot to do your calculations, master?" Archer sits down on one of the chairs, relaxing in the face of hell. "The servant you summoned is an Archer. I can move without needing a master nearby and beat every other servant without your help. There's a great amount of pizza in the fridge, and enough space inside to house a concert group. Just stay in here while I win the Grail war."
"Unacceptable." Kayneth's words contain rejection and anger, each negative emotion controlling the other from bursting out. "I am Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, head of several schools of magic, teacher at the most famous magic academy, one of the greatest prodigies to have ever grazed the earth. And you dare to make me act like a coward, lowly servant?! Know your place!"
Archer smirks, liking his master more and more. "If you want to be like that… then fine, I won't stop you. First try to clear the lower half of this building from monsters. 48 floors offer better protection than 24."
"Good. Now help me clear out this building servant, I need someone to guard my back when I clear these monsters and set up my territory."
"None can do, master. I have other plans for today."
"What?!" Kayneth rages at the servant. He still dares to disobey his master? "Listen here, servant! You-"
"Hold on a second, master, I think this might be interesting for you too. I think I know which stylish fiend is responsible for this mess. We have a small bit of history together, so I might be able to get ourselves a strong ally." Kayneth nods, understanding his servant's point of view. He asks Archer who exactly this servant is, and if he can explain what exactly this enemy can do.
"It's a half-demon named Hitoshura, and for what he can do… he's probably the Caster-class servant, extremely well-versed in all kinds of magic, commandeer over armies of demons, cause of this alteration of the world, and he fights with quite the style." He stands up and walks to the circle, looking outside. "But no need to worry, master. I can take him." He opens the door to the balcony, one that is part of the defensive systems of the building and filled with tons of traps.
Kayneth tries to stop him, not wanting to break his own weapon. But the defense does not even faze Archer, who simply walks outside and leans against the bulwarks. "So there are two options how that encounter can end: either we get a powerful friend on our side or there's one servant less in this war. I don't see a problem."
"Archer!"
"See ya. I'll make sure to turn this war into one hell of a party." Archer falls back over the bulwark, quickly moving down past the wall of the building. Kauyneth runs outside, just in time to see his servant land on the ground. His magecraft lets him see that the servant is still uninjured, but also not planning to stand still. He quickly moves away from the hotel, searching for a man who may or may not even be in this war.
So you thought that this is going to be some happy and wacky Grail War with child-friendly heroes? Hah! As if! 'tis a fine Atlus mess we're in, and you're going with me down the rabbit hole. Let's see how far it goes!
But hey, at least I'm nice enough to give you the stats of one of your favorite heroes, the servant of the bow who introduced himself in this chapter: Dante from Devil may Cry!
Base Statistics:
Name: Dante, son of Sparda
Race: Servant
Master: Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi
Alignment: Neutral Good
HP: 612 (C)
MP: 306 (C)
St: 50 (A)
Ma: 44 (B)
Vi: 44 (B)
Ag: 50 (A)
Lu: 32 (C)
Strong: Physical/Magic*
Void: Expel**/Death/Ailments
Drains: -
Repels: -
Weak: -
*When Magic Resistance is activated
**If Devil Trigger is not activated
Passive Skills:
Fall Negation: EX
The ability to lower damage received from fall damage. Dante will receive no damage no matter the distance he fell down.
Independent Action: B
The ability to remain independent even when rejecting the master's prana flow. Capable of remaining in this world for two days without active prana supply. Also capable of living on for some time after receiving extensive damage.
Instant Weapon Expert: A
The ability to use any weapon simply upon holding it. A skill for those who mastered many weapons. At this level Dante can use any weapon at masterful level simply by owning it.
Magic Resistance: C-
Grants protection against magical effects. All damage received from magical sources is halved.
Active Skills:
Devil Trigger: N/A
The ability to gain a demonic form. Upon activating Devil Trigger Dante will assume a demonic form and gaining a stat boost of 6 in Strength, Magic, Vitality and Agility. However, activating this form will drastically lower Dante's resistance to Holy/Expel and increase prana consumtion. Cannot be activated without proper source of prana.
Gunslinger: N/A
Upon activation Dante's compatibility with ranged weapons is raised while his compatibility with melee weapons drops. Only available when summoned under the Archer class.
Keepin' it SSStylish!: D~SSS
The ability to become stronger by making stylish combos. Upon activating the skill Dante loses 10 percent of his damage output and start off without any combo rank. Upon gathering new ranks he will gain a 5 percent damage increase per rank and a boost of all his stats with 1 per rank. This goes up to a maximum of 20% above normal output and a status increase of 6 in all ranks.
Taking damage, idling or not varying up attacks will drop the rank meter. The skill can only be deactivated outside of combat.
Noble Phantasms:
Ebony & Ivory: Jackpot!
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Unit
Targets: One
Dante's twin pistols Ebony and Ivory, a pair of modified M1911 designed to rapidly fire bullets instilled with Dante's demonic power. Because of this the guns never need to reload and can damage supernatural beings, but each shot will cost Dante 1 MP. Both guns have their modifications geared towards different goals: the white gun, Ivory, is built for rapid firing and quick draw times while the black gun Ebony is geared towards long-distant targeting, comfort and accuracy.
The ultimate skill of these two guns is a move named Jackpot. It charges Ebony with electricity and Ivory with fire, dealing severe physical-fire-thunder damage. The move pierces, negating resistances. However, this move does not work against monsters that repel physical, fire or thunder.
It is possible to do Jackpot with only one gun, where at the cost of halving the done damage it negates either fire repel or thunder repel.
Devil Arms: Usurped power of the defeated
Rank: E~A
Type: Anti-Unit
Targets: Self
A noble phantasm representing Dante's ability to collect weapons from the remains of demons. There is a fifty percent chance of weapon formation if the three conditions for this skill are fulfilled:
-The slain enemy is a demonic being.
-The slain enemy is considered a boss.
-The slain enemy will not have any important function in this or upcoming games/stories.
The weakness of this noble phantasm is that Dante must perform a cool act upon acquiring the weapon or else his contract with the weapon will be nullified. This must be something akin to giving a concert with a demonic guitar or making sexual innuendos with a demonic backpack. Those crappy scenes from the reboot are not allowed.
Wait a minute… did the status report just get Atlusified? Dang it Nocturne, always messing with what we love! Also, to give a good indication of how strong the demons are, here's the list of Atlus' cute li'l mascot, Jack Frost!
Base Statistics:
Name: Jack Frost
Race: Fairy
Master: Uryuu Ryuunosuke
Alignment: True Neutral
HP: 115 (E-)
MP: 73 (E)
St: 5 (E-)
Ma: 12 (E)
Vi: 6 (E-)
Ag: 11 (E)
Lu: 12 (E)
Strong: -
Void: -
Drain: -
Repel: Ice
Weak: Fire
Passive Skills:
Dark Might: D
An ability that alters damage output during lunar phases. User deals more damage during a new moon.
Connection: C
Ability to improve recruitment of indecisive demons. Gives a medium bonus to the recruitment of these demons. Works best when recruiting monsters of the same race.
Life Refill: E
Slowly refills HP over time as long as one is not fighting.
Active Skills:
Bufu: E
Deals small ice damage to one foe. Small chance of freezing the enemy. Costs 3 MP.
Mabufu: D
Deals small ice damage to all foes. Very small chance of freezing the enemy. Costs 8 MP.
Ice Breath: D
Deals small ice damage to random foes. Small chance of freezing the enemy. Costs 9 MP.
Yeah, that's about it. The main difference between servant and demon is that servants have stats equaling the strongest demons, and demons don't have noble phantasms. Low level demon like the aforementioned Jack Frost will have to appear in very large groups before any servant starts to even break a sweat, while two top-tier demons can probably best a servant in battle.
And for those of you wondering why Saber is able to realize what is happening… well, it will be explained somewhat at his servant status screen, but why shouldn't you figure it out right now, said relationship?
Happy hunting,
Tori Reiter.
