I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Ben 10. They belong to their respective creators and not me. So don't go about trying to sue me for copyright infringements. If you don't like what you see then don't read it. I'm not forcing you to. For those of you who do enjoy the story, please enjoy and thank-you for your support.
Fate/Stay Night: Ultimate Master
By Ten-Faced Paladin
Chapter 4: War in the Moonlight
'How did this happen?'
Ben was staring up at the ceiling of his room as he tried not to let himself get distracted by the woman that was sleeping next to him. He tried to ignore the scent of her hair since her head was so close to his. He wanted to not think about the warmth of her body. He especially didn't even want to entertain the idea of how her body felt pressed up against his. Trying not to think about all of the things which proved that Avenger was nothing if not a prime example of femininity was pretty hard. Despite her claims that she was a Servant first and a woman second, Ben was having a difficult time trying to think of her that way. He just desperately hoped that Kevin and Gwen never found out. Neither would never let him hear the end of it, but Kevin would be teasing him while Gwen would be scolding him and in all honesty, Ben found Gwen to be scarier than Kevin could ever be even when he became that hybrid of the Ultimatrix aliens.
When Ben finally got some sleep, he awoke to find the sun hanging lazily over the horizon and Avenger snoozing softly. The blonde looked incredibly peaceful in her sleep, a far cry from her usual serious or professional looks. Ben knew he wasn't going to get more sleep now that he was awake with the sun peeking through the window, but he didn't want to wake Avenger either. She looked like she was truly relaxed for a change and he didn't want to ruin it for her. So, he gently tried to remove himself from her grip as slowly as possible.
"Nnn," the woman moaned softly as Ben disrupted her stillness.
'Don't wake up, don't wake up,' Ben silently prayed.
Slowly extracting himself from Avenger's arms without waking the blonde, Ben quickly exited the room to claim his clothes for the day. His shoulder was feeling much better from the previous night so it wasn't giving him any troubles. Thankfully the evolution option that Albedo put into the Ultimatrix healed the damage, even if it was probably unintended at the time he made it. Still, unintended or not it helped out Ben big time or else he would have been missing the majority of his shoulder if not lose his arm to Archer.
Snagging a quick shower and dressing, Ben decided that he didn't want to risk waking Avenger with noise in the kitchen or room service banging on his door. So he opted to eat out that morning. He still had the Ultimatrix and two Command Seals left so he was pretty sure that everything would be okay. So, pulling his jacket over his shoulders Ben wrote a short note before heading out the door.
Matou Estate
Zouken watched all of thee Masters through the eyes of his familiars, making strategies and plans now that he was completely immersed into the war with his servant True Assassin. The leader of the Hashashin waited silently and patiently just behind and to the left of the elderly magus. He naturally blended into the shadows even without using his Presence Concealment skill. To the untrained eye, the only way you could tell if the man was there or not was by the skull mask he wore.
Zouken's familiars were spread all over the area, eyeing all of the Masters so naturally he had caught sight of the battle in the park. It was quite obvious to the old man's eyes that Caster had purposefully lured Saber and Archer there by sloppily concealing her magical signature for the Tohsaka heir to trace. She had likely intended Berserker and the Master of Avenger to do battle with Saber and Archer with the hope they would eliminate each other. It was quite obvious that the plan didn't quite work out either.
He had seen how the boy had turned against his supposed ally Berserker so to prevent the deaths of the Masters. Ludicrous in Zouken's opinion. Obviously the boy didn't know what was at stake in the Grail War. Still, since the boy refused to go the distance it meant that he had a weakness which could be exploited, weakness which would be needed if the boy decided to transform into that giant again. Unless one summoned Goliath as a Servant or possessed and particularly potent Noble Phantasm then it would be child's play for the monster to strike down all seven Servants in one fell swoop. That made the boy a particularly potent threat and one that would have to be dealt with, swiftly.
"Assassin," Zouken spoke. Hassan-I-Sabbah's head perked slightly to indicate that he was listening. "This boy in green. He is your target. Follow him. Observe him. Then when the moment is right, strike him down. Show me why you were chosen as one of the 19 leaders of your clan."
"Your will be done," True Assassin nodded before he vanished into the shadows, his bone-white mask even vanishing.
Shinto—Streetside Café
Ben calmly looked over a menu at a small café he managed to discover in his attempts to find something for breakfast. So far everything looked appetizing, but he wasn't sure what to pick. Half of the stuff was more or less pastries while the rest wasn't what he considered to be a perfectly filling breakfast, being composed of mostly toast and coffee with something else thrown in for variety. Still, he could probably order refills or something if he was lucky or just get a pair of items.
It was during his fifth glance over the menu that someone began speaking to him, "Is this seat taken?"
Ben looked up…and he lost his ability to think for a moment. Standing in front of him was an admittedly gorgeous woman. Her face looked absolutely perfect, no visible flaws whatsoever. Her hair, blue of all colours cascaded down to her shoulders with a braid tied at the back. Her eyes were a pretty shade of blue mixed with purple, almost hypnotising in their intensity. She was wearing a simple black blouse which had a fashionable knot near her right hip and wore a denim jacket over it. Completing the ensemble was a brown skirt which reached down to her ankles with large buttons obviously helping hold it up rather than a hidden zipper.
"Uhh…," Ben blinked. "…N-no. Take it if you like."
"Thank-you," the woman smiled. Rather than take the chair like he assumed she was going to do, she instead sat herself down. As she did so, she brushed some of the hair from her face and actually revealed that her ear was pointed rather than rounded like a regular person's. Ben quietly wondered if this woman had any alien heritage due to the unusual ear-shape. As he continued to examine her though, he got the sudden feeling of déjà vu, like he had met her before but he would probably remember a gorgeous woman like this at first glance. Who was she and why was she acting so casual?
The waitress from before who'd given Ben his menu came over when she saw the new customer and handed her a menu. The woman gave the waitress a smile and a nod before the waitress asked Ben if he was ready to order.
"No," he answered. The waitress told him she would return once he was ready. His eyes went towards the woman who was looking over the menu critically. "Um…excuse me…but who are you?" Ben asked.
"Oh, have you forgotten?" the woman said, frowning, looking rather upset. "Have you forgotten about the skeleton party I had for you?"
Ben's eyes widened in realization. 'Caster!' What was Caster doing out in public like this, with all these people around?
"I see you finally recognise me, Master of Avenger," said Caster, smiling.
"What do you want?" asked Ben. He hoped that Caster wasn't in the mood to fight. There were too many innocent people around and since she was a legendary hero who wielded magic, she probably had a few tricks up her sleeve that would allow her to do battle with him in broad daylight. Ben had seen his more magically inclined enemies pull off things he could only do in his alien forms, and then some things he could only do as Alien X. It was already painfully obvious that Caster was leagues above Hex, Charmcaster, and quite possibly even Adwaita.
"To talk," Caster replied, setting down her menu.
"You didn't make too good of an impression of yourself last night," Ben replied.
"I don't suppose I did," Caster nodded. "But I wanted to truly kill either of you then, I have many more potent spells than to just summon my little toys to attack you."
"Then why come at us?"
"I admit…I maybe panicked," Caster answered, actually looking sheepish. "Surely by now you know of some of Berserker's abilities. His Noble Phantasm alone makes him a substantial threat to everyone. Your own abilities along with the mysterious Servant Avenger you possess makes you a not so inconsiderable threat too. Seeing you and the Master of Berserker getting along and her offering an alliance…I 'jumped the gun' so to speak."
"So, because you 'jumped the gun' you wanted to kill me," Ben reasoned. "Yeah, really nice."
"So, I wanted to talk to you so I may explain myself," said Caster.
Ben crossed his arms and Caster's eyes went to the Ultimatrix which was barely hidden by his jacket's sleeve. "Go on," he prompted.
"All I want, all I really want, is to live in peace with the man I love," she told him bluntly.
Ben cocked an eyebrow. That really wasn't something he expected to hear.
"Life has not been easy for me before or after I became a Heroic Spirit," Caster explained. "Back when my legend began, I was someone of high authority. My father was the one who taught me magic and I excelled at it. My home was prosperous, I was someone of importance, and everyone respected me."
"So what happened?" asked Ben.
"One day, a stranger and his ship of men arrived. They were after a special relic that my family had in its possession, but my father absolutely refused to give it up knowing the prestige and honour that came with holding such an item," Caster explained. "He was so handsome, so…incredible in so many ways." She shook her head ruefully. "I was in love at first sight with him. He told me that he needed to gain the relic or else many people were going to suffer. Seeing that my father was not going to let him so much as see the relic, I used my magic to remove its protections so that man could take it. He even took me with him when they left, knowing that I would not be safe back in my own home thanks to my actions."
"Sounds like quite a guy," Ben commented.
"In my eyes, he was the perfect man," Caster sighed. "When we returned to his homeland, I discovered that he was in fact royalty and need our relic to help restore him to the throne. Again, I used my magic to help him in his quest. In the end, we succeeded and he was restored to the throne. He even promised to marry me and make me his queen."
"Sounds like a fairy tale come to life," Ben spoke up. He honestly didn't see where Caster was going with this story, but he let her continue. A moment longer of talking meant a moment less at fighting.
"It does seem that way," Caster nodded. Her eyes then turned down as dark memories came to her. "That was when it all fell apart."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, after several years and I had given birth to two children for him I discovered him plotting behind my back," Caster frowned. "He was participating in a political alliance with another kingdom which was to be sealed with a marriage to the king's daughter." Caster's eyes turned dark. "He promised to marry me, I did many dark acts I am ashamed of for him, I bore two children for him, and he turns his back on me to marry some other woman he's never met just for political power."
Ben grimaced, somewhat understanding why Caster was a heroic spirit, helping restore a kingdom to a prince whom had it all taken away from him but to suddenly get the shaft like that? That just wasn't right, "So what happened next?"
"I admit I…didn't take the news so well," Caster replied. Well, that was a pretty big understatement for those who knew her legend. "I'm not proud of what I did after even if I did feel vindicated afterwards. Suffice to say, I burned a lot of bridges and had to flee for my life." She sighed again. "But it seemed the gods were not fond of me. I eventually found friends and loves, but none of them lasted. Either communities turned on them or I was betrayed. Eventually I was forced to return home with my son from another marriage. However, I found no relief there. My uncle had become the head of the family. In his lust for power, he imprisoned my son since he had a stronger claim, being the direct lineage of my father whereas my uncle hadn't even taken a wife to produce an heir yet. Since I was considered a criminal by many, I offered myself to be executed for his freedom."
"What?" Ben gasped.
"For my son's life, it was an easy choice," Caster replied. "However, I did not go into it dutifully. Before I died, I cast one final spell which ended my uncle's life and cleared the way for my son's inheritance. I died shortly after he did."
Ben was struck speechless at the tale.
"Are you two ready to order?"
Ben blinked and noticed that the waitress had returned while he was busy being enraptured by Caster's tale.
"Green tea please," Caster smiled.
"Uh…orange juice and toast please," Ben sputtered, trying to bring his mind back to the present.
"Coming right up!" the perky waitress smiled as she took the order before leaving, taking the menus with her.
"Now, where was I?" asked Caster rhetorically.
Miyama—Emiya Estate
Shirou once again was subjected to the breakfast hijinks of his friends as they all came to enjoy Sakura's cooking. The purple-haired girl had come over like clockwork and put her cooking skills to use and made breakfast for Shirou, Rin, and Saber. Taiga likewise appeared again, still very depressed over the damage done to the archery range and the school wasn't able to get an estimate on the damage since the investigation into the 'gas leak' was still ongoing. So the excitable teacher demanded extra shares and ate so much her cheeks became puffy. Of course, she had to fight with Saber over certain portions since the petite blonde was still eating her own weight in food. Rin calmly took the scene in, not wanting to get caught in the chaos while Sakura kept glancing insecurely at both her and Saber while they sat so close to Shirou.
"I don't see why I have to keep going to school. It's closed right now," Taiga mumbled over a mouthful of food. She was so depressed she wasn't even going with her usual spiel about Rin living under the same roof as him anymore. "But I still have to go in and do paperwork. It's not fair. My precious archery club…their skills will go rusty..."
"Sensei…ganbatte," Sakura offered weakly, trying to raise her teachers spirits if only lightly.
"Come on Fuji-nee," Shirou sweatdropped. "The school will open soon enough and you can have a big training session to get everyone back on track."
"I suppose," Taiga sighed, her mouth half filled by rice. Glancing down at her watch, she sighed. "I'd better get going."
Her cheeks still puffy from being filled with food, Taiga stood up and headed for the door, still in a depressed and lethargic daze.
Saber casually ignored the woman's departure as well as Sakura who mentioned something about having errands to run. Rin finished her own meal and headed to put her dishes away. Shirou went to clean the dishes, something he usually dealt with since Sakura was the one who made breakfast.
Saber's mind was instead trained on what she knew of the Grail War thus far. She didn't have to worry about archer for the time being since their Masters were in an alliance. Berserker was quite an obvious threat considering how powerful he was strength-wise. There was still the unknown Servant up at Ryuudou Temple which needed to be explored provided if Rider's Master was telling the truth and considering how Rin spoke of the boy's character and Shirou's reluctance to stop her from fighting Rider then it may not have as much weight as she once thought. There was also Avenger and her shape-shifting Master to consider. There were too many threats to consider at the time and they needed to either be nullified or removed. However, Shirou's reluctance to let her get hurt was inhibiting her actions. How was she to fight for him and claim the Grail if he wasn't going to allow her to fight? His naïve state if mind was going to get him torn apart by the other Masters if he didn't change soon.
Perhaps it was time to take action into her own hands.
Shinto—Streetside café
Ben and Caster were simply enjoying their respective drinks as they took a moment for Ben to digest the extremely edited tale of Caster's legend. It didn't tell him anything about who she was or what she was capable of. Edited as it was though, Ben could tell that it was a pretty epic story in itself.
"Not to belittle what you told me," Ben spoke hesitatingly. "But, what does your legend have to do with what you're doing here now?"
"I thought you would never ask," Caster smiled. "For a moment I thought my legend was too much for you."
Ben chuckled weakly, but Caster just took another sip of her tea and continued speaking, "I was summoned by a man from the Magus Association-"
"The what?" Ben blinked.
"You don't know?" Caster blinked, honestly surprised. She gazed at Ben for a moment and blinked in surprise a second time. "I see. Well, it's an organization of magic users. My first Master was to be their representative in the Grail War in hopes of claiming it so to reach Akasha, the Root of all Existence."
Ben blinked at the name. The Root of all Existence, Akasha, sounded quite similar to the Forge of Creation, the absolute centre of all existence. Ben could recall his adventures in the Forge where the Celestialsapiens called home. It seems that the existence of it wasn't as limited or secret as Ben or his allies wanted to believe.
"As I was saying," Caster continued. "My first Master was a member of the Magus Association and he seemed to believe that being selected and being the heir of a magic family made him…special."
Ben could already guess the type. He had met lots of guys who seemed to think just because they had special abilities, were smarter, stronger, or something along those lines then they could do whatever they wanted and expect to get away with it. Ben found it especially satisfying when he proved those guys wrong in the end and they ended up throwing tantrums or swearing revenge for how he 'wronged' them. It was a guilty little thrill he got when he fought bad guys like Aggregor or Vilgax and won, watching them sulk in their defeat.
"Yes, he was quite an arrogant one," Caster frowned. "So full of himself. He actually thought that since he was my Master and that he held the Command Spells, he could force me to do anything he wanted. He was actually going to use the Command Seals to force me to become his slave, tending to all of his needs."
The disgust in her voice was quite obvious in Ben's ears. A woman as gorgeous as Caster made it pretty obvious what one of those things the Master would make Caster do was going to be.
"So what did you do?"
"Simple," Caster replied. "I killed him."
"K-killed?" Ben blanched.
"I think it was an appropriate action," Caster replied, her eyebrow raised. "He was going to rape me after all. Don't you think I was in the right?"
"O-of course!" Ben gasped out. "I'm just…not used to talking about killing so…casually."
"The difference between our times I suppose," Caster shrugged, taking another sip. "However, in doing such I practically doomed myself. Without a Master to supply me with mana, I would have vanished before the Grail War officially began. Before it could happen though…" Caster trailed off as her face began to light up in a rosy blush. "I met…him."
"Him?" Ben blinked. "Your Master?"
"Yes," Caster nodded. "He didn't hesitate in helping me. I told him what I was and about the Grail War and he immediately offered to become my Master so I wouldn't disappear. He…" her blush became brighter. "He even concocted the story that I was his fiancée so that we could share our residence. We're…we're even going through all of the motions to make the ceremony official."
"Wow. Must be some guy," Ben blinked, rather surprised by her complete turnaround from casual killer to blushing bride.
"He is," Caster nodded with a smile, but her smile faded. "Unfortunately, my Master does not have the ability to use magic. He cannot provide me with mana to sustain myself. As such, I am forced to siphon off residual mana from the local population."
"Which is why those people in the park were unconscious," Ben frowned.
"Nothing permanent," Caster reassured him. "They will recover soon enough." She heaved a sigh and set down her tea. "That is why I fight for the Grail. I wish for a second chance at life, to be able to have the love that was denied to me back when I was alive. However, I am the weakest out of all of the Servants and…I do not wish for even a hair on my Master's head to be harmed. When I saw that it seemed like you and Berserker were going to make an alliance, I let fear not just for myself but for my Master get the better of me."
Ben had listened to Caster's tale. A part of him, which sounded like Kevin, told him, "She's just tricking you Tennyson! It's probably some sob story she rehearsed so you'll let your guard down and that's when she'll stab you in the back."
Another, more reasonable (maybe even naïve) side that sounded like Gwen, argued, "I think you should at least give her a chance. She doesn't seem so bad. Considering what she can do she could drain the people in the café and be on her merry way."
Caster did the wrong things for the right reasons. She was in love. Her first Master had been a sleazeball and her new one had shown her nothing but unconditional kindness. Seeing Caster's blush, which could not be made up, Ben wondered how much of her tale was true. Still, Illya had tried to appeal to him with her cuteness and this woman was trying to make him turn a blind eye to her actions. True, her skeletons hadn't laid a finger on the unconscious people in the park when she first introduced herself, but she was the reason they were down and out in the first place. She said they would recover, but Ben wasn't sure if he could take her word on that just yet. Not with so many other people having been drained into coma-like states according to the reports from the Plumbers.
"I'd like to believe you, Ms. Caster," said Ben politely. "But…"
"You doubt my words," she concluded. "Of course considering my actions it will take quite a long time for you to trust me, or trust me at all."
Yes, Caster would need to prove herself to earn Ben's trust but if she knew about Ben's past, then she would know that on more than one occasion, an enemy had become a friend. The most important one had been Kevin. Back when they were kids they had become friends until Ben found out how crazy he'd been. Then Kevin did something stupid and absorbed the Omnitrix, gaining his alien's powers and appearance. He used these powers to frame Ben and then Kevin mutated into a scary combo of his alien forms at the time and used those combined powers to try and kill him, time and time again, until their final fight ending with Kevin being sent to the Null Void.
Half a decade later, Kevin would resurface making deals with the Forever Knight as an arms dealer. He and Ben had fought again that night with Kevin wanting payback and showing a new ability where he absorbed matter instead of energy. Kevin would then become an ally, friend and even Gwen's boyfriend. The last one had taken Ben by surprise, but he had to admit that Kevin had become like the brother he never had.
However, during their fight against Agreggor in the Forge of Creation, Kevin had once again absorbed his aliens, this time from the Ultimatrix, and mutated again into another combo of his aliens and went power-hungry and crazy. Ben almost gave up on him and wanted to put him down. Fortunately, Gwen was able to talk him out of it.
And then there was Charmcaster. Now, she had been an enemy as well but when they had gone with her to her home dimension, the sorceress had become friends with Gwen, just like how Ben and Kevin had become friends despite their past animosity.
"Is it too much to ask you not to drain from people?" asked Ben.
"I need mana to remain in this realm," said Caster, shaking her head. "There is simply no other way."
"But what if there was a way? What if there was another way you could stay and not suck the life out of people?"
"Then I will be grateful, but how will that be possible?" she asked.
"I'll think of something," said Ben a little uncertainly.
"If you figure something out, then please let me know," Caster replied. She then drained the rest of her tea and set her cup down. "I suppose now that you know my circumstances and I've apologized for my transgressions, I'll get to the core of the matter. I am asking if you would consider an alliance with myself and my Master, or at the very least a truce."
And there was the heart of the matter. Caster wanted to convince Ben to join up with her or at the very least stay out of her way. While Ben wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt since she had probably some of the best reasons to fight for anything. Still, she was hurting a lot of people with her mana draining just to keep her powers going along with herself.
"I can't say that I trust you enough for a full alliance just yet," Ben reluctantly admitted. Caster wasn't insulted of course, but rather resigned. "Still, you probably know my stance in fighting this war."
"Servants are fair game, but Masters are off limits," Caster nodded. "I witnessed the battle the previous night. Your titan form was…shocking."
"Way Big tends to do that," Ben snickered. Sobering up, he continued. "Anyway, if you keep the battling between the Servants than I won't have a reason to fight you unless we're the last two or something. Right now I'm more concerned about Archer, Lancer, and maybe Assassin if he shows up anytime soon. Those red and blue lunatics aren't real picky of who their targets are so long as it gets them what they want in my opinion."
"Such is the nature of this war," Caster nodded. "Some Servants and usually the Masters do not hold much restraint in their tactics when such a prize is at stake."
"No kidding," Ben sighed, remembering how Archer seemed to disregard the civilians and admonished him for not taking the chance to shoot him as U. Humungousaur. Still he had to deal with Archer later. Right now, Caster was taking up his attention. "As much as I'd like to get this out of the way, I don't think a café in the middle of the morning daylight is a good place to talk about these issues. We should try and talk about this somewhere with some better security or something."
"I agree," Caster nodded. "This evening, please come to the Ryuudou Shrine. It is where my Master and I are living. Most of the monks should be in their rooms by then and if necessary, I can cast a spell which will ensure they stay asleep."
"Okay," Ben nodded. "Sounds good. I'll be there by dark then just in case an emergency comes up and we have to get rough." That was more or less Ben's way of politely stating that if Caster tried anything, she wouldn't be having an easy time with it."
"My Master and I will be waiting for you then," Caster nodded. Standing up, she bowed politely. "I hope we can reach a favourable agreement."
Caster then took her leave, placing enough Yen down to cover her own tea. Ben watched her go until she vanished into the crowd. Only then did he feel some measure of relief seep into his bones again. Shaking his head, he reached down to eat his toast. It had cooled down considerably, but thankfully it was still edible.
Miyama—Fuyki City Library
Rin hated going to the library. She really did.
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy books. One of her preferred activities was to sit down with a good thick book and enjoy her afternoon free of stress and distractions. However, those were all books from the Tohsaka private library and most of the subjects circled around magecraft and the like. No, what Rin didn't like about going to the library could be boiled down into two main reasons. The first was that this city library never had the kinds of books she liked or what few they did have were checked out and the waiting list was so long she was better off buying the book herself. The second reason was despite all of the organization which the librarians put into the book stacks and shelves, it was the computer room that got more action. Day in and day out it was filled with people who were too cheap to get their own web connections or just some NEET person who was behind in his payments but just had to keep chatting to his friends.
Yet it was for a computer that Rin journeyed to the public library in the first place.
Rin didn't really deal with computers if she could help it. Oh sure, they were useful and all especially when there was a subject in school she had to study and needed an answer quickly. However, she was raised as a traditional magus until her father died in the last Grail War and with her mother permanently in the hospital it was left to Kotomine to teach her the ins and outs of magic when she could stomach the man's presence. As such, Rin dealt with paper, ink, books, and practical experience rather than screens, emails, and recorded videos. She knew how to use a computer to some extent, but if she could use a book to get what she wanted then she would.
In her current situation, her books were no help at all. She had exhausted every book she had on shape-shifting, transformations, and everything between in hopes of learning just how that American Master was able to do what he did. Even though Avenger was a mystery in herself and a reasonable threat if she could match Saber in swordplay, the American was a whole different level. She researched, and researched, and researched but found absolutely nothing. With Archer recovering from being thrown into a tree and Shirou being as non-aggressive as ever, she didn't have much else to do with her time but research and try to figure out who this guy was.
So at her wits end, she relented and decided to see if a computer could help her out.
Entering the computer room and the stupid air conditioning used to keep the machines from overheating despite the time of year, Rin saw that some of the monitors were filled. At least they looked like serious people who were researching a subject rather than someone who was just taking advantage of the free web connection. Quickly snagging one of the machines which were far enough away for her liking, Rin moved the mouse and brought the monitor to life. Pressing the 'Enter' button to enter the password-less system, the screen came to life with icons and a toolbar. Scrolling the mouse, she clicked on the internet connection icon which opened a new window and brought up the ever so famous 'Google' icon.
Rin's theory was that since Avenger's Master was American, he may have been spotted somewhere in America before. Forms like his dinosaur or ultraman forms would bring a lot of attention. Since she really couldn't get in contact with the American Magus Association branch, she figured that a computer would be her next best bet for American information. With the screen for the famous search engine open, Rin brought the cursor to the bar in the centre and clicked on it, making the blinking line appear.
'Humungousar, Way Big, Big Chill, Water Hazard, Terraspin, and Cannonbolt,' Rin mentally recalled as she typed into the bar. The Master had a habit of yelling out a name of some kind when he transformed, assumedly the name of the form he had chosen. Both she and Shirou had put together a list of the names they knew and now she would see if they would pay off. With all of them typed in, she hit the 'Enter' button again.
Rin tapped her fingers as she waited for the next screen to load, 'If you're going to use computers, at least use up to date ones or else not even the researchers will want to use them and will go to internet cafes or something.'
When the new screen popped up, Rin began to read over what results she got. Looking at the top of the page though, her eyes bugged out when she saw what she had gotten. "No way."
'Welcome to the Official Ben Tennyson Website.'
Shinto—Ben's Room
"Ben, forgive me for my tone, but what you are planning is incredibly and utterly stupid," said Avenger. The blonde knight was not pleased to hear that her Master had met up with Caster again before negotiating a meeting to see if they could form an alliance or at least a truce until further notice. It served to make Avenger grit her teeth since she hadn't finished berating Ben for being so casual with Berserker's Master the previous day.
Avenger and Ben were sitting in the living room with Ben's book about the Servants in his lap. After coming back, he looked up Caster again to see if her story had revealed any new details about her. Unfortunately, she had been just vague enough to avoid any and all sorts of information being recorded into the book. The blue-haired woman was quite obviously skilled in avoiding giving out information.
"Relax, Avenger. We're just going to discuss and negotiate," reasoned Ben.
"But we will also be entering enemy territory, which means that they will have the home field advantage," Avenger argued.
"And I got this," said Ben, pointing to the Ultimatrix. "And you."
"Even so, we should be cautious," said Ben. "Personally, I disagree with this idea and would not go with you but since you are who you are you will go nonetheless."
"Darn right I will!" Ben grinned, but Avenger's sour stare killed his moment of goofiness in an instant. Sighing, he tried to reason with her. "Look at it this way Avenger, Caster said her Master would be part of the negotiations. That means we can find out who this guy is and maybe how he stacks up."
"But she admitted that he cannot use magic," Avenger argued.
"Doesn't mean they can't be dangerous in their own right," Ben retorted. "I can't use magic and here I am able to transform into dozens of different alien forms. Just because he's not the average Master doesn't mean he doesn't stack up in other ways."
"A compelling argument," Avenger sighed. Normally she would have argued that a regular human couldn't stand up to a Servant, but her Master had proven capable of doing just that. Truly she had been saddled with a stubborn and strange Master. Shaking her head, she glanced at Ben. "If you are set on seeing this through, then I will accompany you. I will not allow Caster to harm you under the pretence of peaceful negotiations. I've seen that happen too many times for comfort."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Ben nodded. "Having backup will make things a little easier to deal with. Especially if this is a trick."
"At least we agree on that," Avenger nodded.
Emiya Estate
WHAM!
Shirou flinched as he and Saber watched Rin drop a stack of papers onto the dining room table. The red-clad magi had an air of smugness on her which only a considerable achievement would bring. What it was, Shirou wasn't too sure.
"Uhh…Rin-san…what is this?" asked Shirou, not noticing he was using Rin's first name.
"Information worth its weight in gold Shirou-kun," Rin grinned happily. "I've got everything we could ever want on that shape-shifter! His name, home, heck, I even got his favourite kind of drink!"
"Really?" Shirou and Saber blinked in shock. Both master and Servant reached for the stack of papers and retrieved a sheet. Both sported numerous pictures of various creatures fighting off other monsters, beating up what seemed to obviously be criminals, or just apparently goofing off with some stupid stunt. They were a number of shapes, sizes, and colours but one thing that remained the same was the hourglass symbol their bodies sported.
"Where did you get this?" asked Shirou, looking at his classmate.
"The internet believe it or not," Rin answered as she took a seat. Shirou goggled at her, making the girl giggle. "I know. It surprised me too. Apparently this guy is some sort of big time hero back in America. He's super famous. I found all of this on a website one of his fans made up. It lists everything from who he is, how many forms he can transform into, what they can do, and best of all, how he can do it."
"Ben Tennyson. Hometown: Bellwood, United States," Saber read. "Has been an active power against the forces of evil since he was ten years old…impressive."
"If it's true," Rin pointed out.
"Seems like it to me," Shirou blinked as he looked over a picture of a green slime creature battling against some kind of robot. "Just how many forms can he transform into?"
"A bit over forty," Rin answered, digging out another piece of paper. "Gives them the most ridiculous names too. Goop, Diamondhead, Heatblast, Brainstorm, XLR8, Ghostfreak…I don't know where he gets them from. What's cool though is that it also lists some of the things they're capable of."
"That'll come in handy," Shirou admitted. "But what is he doing all the way over here? He doesn't seem to be the type that would know about the Holy Grail."
"He might have, but it's hard to say. I'd bet my Command Seals he knows about magic though," Rin frowned. Part of the information she gathered was a list of enemies he had collected. Two of the names which stuck out for her were Hex and Charmcaster. While Rin wasn't quite up to date on what the Magus Association was up to, her father had been until he died. She still had his old reports and notes which told that Clock Tower Enforcers were on the hunt for the pair with their rampant abuse of their powers and threatening the complete exposure of magi everywhere. Both were missing for the moment, but perhaps this Tennyson guy knew what happened to them.
"Man he's been around," Shirou commented, seeing pictures of Ben's various forms seen all over America, Rome, China, and even in Japan. One such picture involved his giant form fighting against a blue and black version of itself. "Hey, he was fighting something like this is Japan too? How come I never heard about this?"
"I don't have a TV so I never heard of it either," Rin blinked, eyeing the picture. "It was all the way in Tokyo so maybe it was only considered a rumour here. I certainly would have ignored it without proof."
Saber meanwhile was intently ignoring the pair in favour of a picture she was looking at. It showed the brown dinosaur creature battling foes once again, but what captured Saber's attention was the fact that he was fighting knights. She didn't recognize the armour of course, but she knew the symbol.
The symbol belonged to a self-proclaimed order of knights calling themselves the Order of Infinity. They were a self-righteous group who called Saber a witch and a monster simply because it did not appear she aged like a man normally would. They also called her a traitor to humanity for accepting help from the Lady of the Lake in accepting Excalibur. Of course, they proved to be hypocrites as well as zealots when they continuously attempted to steal her sword so they could use it for their own ends. She thought she saw the end of them when she had her men banish each and every one of them from her kingdom lest they be executed for crimes against the crown. It seemed they had managed to survive the test of time.
"Saber, what do you find so interesting about that picture?" asked Rin.
"Nothing," the blonde replied, setting the picture down. "Just examining this…Ben Tennyson."
Miyama-Ryuudou Shrine
Ben and Avenger were quickly onto the streets as the sun went down. Avenger was in her full suit of armour while Ben's fingers were already itching to hit the Ultimatrix. Both of them knew that Caster was ruthless if summoning an army of skeletons was any indication. Things were going to be tense since there was some bad history. If it was going to be a trap, they were not going to fall into it easily.
The stairway to Ryuudou Shrine was surrounded on both sides by numerous trees. It looked serene for a simple staircase, but knowing that Caster was there added an ominous air to it that neither Avenger nor Ben liked. As the first steps, they spotted a man at the foot of the steps leading up to the shrine. From head to toe, he was dressed in the garb of a samurai warrior. He had long dark hair which was held in a loose ponytail while his right hand was gripped on a sheathed katana. He was calm and collected, appearing every bit the warrior which Japan was famous for.
"Master of Avenger, welcome," the man bowed in greeting. "I am Servant Assassin, Sasaki Kojirou."
Ben and Avenger both blinked as the man, apparently the final missing Servant Assassin, casually revealed his true name to them. Granted, it didn't really mean anything to Ben since he wasn't exactly well-read on Japanese mythology or history, whichever Assassin's name came from. Still, a bit of research would reveal not only Assassin's name, but what he did in life and what he was capable of. That would be key to defeating any Servant so why would Assassin reveal his name so casually, and what was he doing there in the first place?
"My Master has been expecting you," Assassin continued. "Please follow me." Assassin turned his back to them as he walked up the steps, leading the way.
"I'll watch your back, Ben," said Avenger, still ever-so vigilant.
"Avenger, has anyone ever told you that you're a bit too high strung?" Ben asked. Avenger didn't reply as Ben followed Assassin with her following closely behind.
Ben's words may have been light-hearted, but inwardly he was agreeing. He didn't know why Assassin was at the temple, but he guessed either he was part of an alliance Caster made with another Master or Assassin was serving the same Master as Caster. Either way, he was getting the urge to attend the meeting as Fourarms or Diamondhead rather than his human form. Caster hadn't mentioned Assassin would be there, but then again he hadn't really asked what to expect at the temple.
The trio approached an ornate wall and wooden gate which surrounded the entire property. It didn't seem to be overly strange or intimidating in Ben's eyes, but he still remained tense since it signalled the limit of Caster's territory. When they approached the gate though, Avenger stiffened slightly like she had gotten a sudden chill.
"You-!" she began, growing angry.
"It's a boundary field my Master made," Assassin replied. "It hinders the abilities of Servants who enter without my Master's permission. She may have invited you, but she does not wish to make herself an open target in case you only agreed as part of a ploy to trick her."
"Your Master invited me?" Ben blinked. "It was Caster who did that."
"Indeed," Assassin nodded. "Servant Caster is my Master."
"A Servant summoning a Servant?" Avenger gasped.
Ben was likewise surprised, but he guessed that if any of the Servants could summon a Servant of their own, it would have been Caster. The book about the Servants explained that Caster was generally experienced with powerful magic the likes that is rarely seen or hadn't been seen since the hero's time. Likely someone like that would know a thing or two about summoning.
The trio entered the formal grounds of Ryuudou Shrine and Ben had to admit it was an impressive place. It looked a lot like what Ben expected a temple to look like, but so much more impressive. The grounds were clean and trimmed to perfection. Off to the side was a large Zen rock garden which was just as perfect as the rest of the temple, showing numerous hours of meditation and dedication. It was really very inspirational.
He just hoped this place wouldn't turn into anyone's grave.
Emiya Estate
Rin, Shirou, and Saber were pouring over the documents which outlined just about everything about Ben Tennyson, the now confirmed Master of Avenger. With that information, they now could prepare should things come to blows with the shape-shifter again. Shirou was boggled by the sheer number of various forms which Ben had at his disposal. Still, it was plain to see that Ben was trying to help people when he transformed into his monstrous (fans claimed alien) forms. Was this really the guy he had bumped into in the middle of the street?
"It seems Ben Tennyson's character is flawless, save for his ego growing too big," Saber commented, reading through the exploits of the American boy. "It seems that the people look up to him."
"Not according to this Harrangue guy," Rin commented, reading from her own smaller stack of paper. "Claims that Ben Tennyson is a menace to society and is more or less an engine of destruction whose own ego will be the undoing of the law in Bellwood and pretty much become a risk to every man, woman, and child living there and in America as a whole."
"What?" Shirou blinked.
"Do you think there is merit into what that man says?" asked Saber.
"Saber!"
"Pfft! Probably not," Rin snorted. "I recognize the type. He's just using Tennyson as a scapegoat so to advance his career and look like a champion of the people. If it wasn't Tennyson, he'd be saying the same things about the American military, or some politician. He's like Shinji in that way." Seeing Shriou blink with some confusion, Rin explained. "You and I both know Shinji puts himself on the top by flaunting his family name, money, and good looks right? Well in the end he's just using everyone around him to push him to the top. Harrangue does the same, only he makes the people who are better look worse so he can come out on top."
"You think so?" asked Shirou, relief in his voice.
"Well, that and when I printed Harrangue's stories off of his website, it was nothing but his smear campaign against Tennyson and shameless ads about his book trying to convince everyone else to agree with him," Rin snickered. "It was kind of obvious at that point."
"I know that type as well," Saber muttered under her breath. Putting her papers down, she looked to her Master and his friend. "Are we going to go on the assault then? This information could be vital in defeating him. Archer and I will both be able to use this information."
"I don't think this is a good idea," Shirou spoke up, reluctance in his voice. "Sure we know what he's capable of now, but knowing a way to beat him and putting it into practice are two completely different things."
"Master…" Saber frowned, growing agitated at his naïve mindset once again.
"No, I agree," Rin spoke up, making Saber turn to her in surprise. "Being told what he's capable of on paper is all well and good but it doesn't do us too much good in the real world if we don't recognize the signs that he's about to use those skills. We still don't know what Avenger is capable of either, which is really half of the problem when it comes to those two." Placing her papers down, she continued. "We can't just snap at shadows and rumours. Tennyson seems to be the same kind of guy as Shirou-kun. We can wait to deal with him. We should concentrate on who we know are enemies right now. Lancer, Rider, and Berserker for the time being."
"And the Servant supposedly at Ryuudou Temple?" Saber pressed, obviously not liking how the strategy was shaping up.
"We'll likely have to investigate sooner or later, but Shinji's not the most honest of individuals," Rin replied. "We'll have to step carefully since if there is a Servant there they probably turned the area into a fortress or it's a trap Shinji set to get us out of the way."
Saber heaved a sigh and resigned herself. It seemed that neither Rin nor Shirou were going to be taking the offensive anytime soon. Lancer hadn't been seen since they had done battle with each other and Berserker would come and go with the whims of his Master. Archer was out for the time being since his Master was in an alliance with Shirou while Assassin and Caster had yet to show themselves. The only constant opponents in the war were Avenger and her Master but now they had a solid strategy against him but neither of the two were going to go on the offensive. They also had a solid lead but because of unknown factors they weren't going to try for an assault on the temple either. It was a sound strategy if one was fighting regular opponents, but in the Holy Grail War, there was nothing that was considered ordinary.
Maybe she was driven by her own desire for the Grail mixed with her desire to protect her Master, but Saber's resolve to act independently was growing.
Miyama—Ryuudou Shrine
Assassin led the Master and Servant pair towards the main building of the shrine, not saying a word. As they got to the doors, he stood to the side and took a solitary position with no reason as to why. Before Ben could ask 'what next', the doors of the building seemed to open themselves.
"Welcome, Ben Tennyson," greeted Caster, appearing out of the darkness of the building. She was no longer dressed in civilian clothes but rather garbed in the robes befitting her class. "And Servant Avenger."
Avanger tensed but Ben raised his hand, a silent signal for her to stand down. "Good evening, Caster." Ben bowed politely, adopting the native gesture, "And thanks for inviting us."
"You're welcome, and I am surprised you accepted my invitation," Caster nodded back. "Your Servant surely would've tried to convince you that it would be unwise."
"She kinda did," Ben admitted.
"And I stand by my opinion," said Avenger, her eyes trained directly on Caster. "But I will stand by my Master, in spite of his decision, which I find foolish."
"Such loyalty," complimented Caster. It was perhaps a compliment, but there was a condescending tone in her voice. "Now, please follow me. My Master is waiting in the sitting room. We have tea and snacks prepared as well."
Avenger narrowed her eyes at Caster's back before she and Ben entered the building with her. Despite the creepy aura, it was a really nice place. He wondered how much it was worth on real estate. Not the proper thoughts for his situation, but it kept the shivers from inhabiting his spine.
Caster guided the group through the building before emerging into a well-lit sitting room decorated with mantra scrolls on the wall. In the centre of the room was a low lap table with pillows for the guests' comfort on opposite sides. Three of the pillows were unoccupied, but the fourth held a man who was kneeling stoically, wearing a green suit with short black hair and rectangular glasses. His face was stoic and showed absolutely no emotion. If Ben didn't know any better, he would have sworn the man was a statue painted to be a decoy.
'He's her Master?' blinked Ben. The stoic man didn't look like the type who'd get involved in the Grail War, but Caster admitted that he wasn't able to use magic like the other Masters could. He was quite literally dragged off the street into this mess. The man looked to Ben and the young man felt a chill. It was a kind of chill he had gotten when he had to face some of his most murderous enemies like Vilgax and Agreggor, but it also held elements of some of his skilled enemies such as Sixsix or Sevenseven.
"Caster, are these your guests?" asked Caster's Master.
"Yes Master," she confirmed.
The man stood up and Ben backed away a little and gulped. Despite being familiar with the chill running down his spine in comparison to his usual group of enemies, something about this guy set him apart from the others. Something which would make the liked of Darkstar, Albedo, and Rojo wet their pants in fear if they ever had to face this man.
"Please have a seat," Caster invited, gesturing to the seats across from her Master while she took a seat next to him.
Avenger and Ben took their own seats, but not before Avenger checked both for traps. When all four people were situated, Caster gestured towards the tea and snacks which were generously prepared. Caster's Master dug in first, bringing some measure of security about the food to Avenger's mind as Ben likewise dug in.
"Now, shall we begin the negotiation?" asked Caster.
Miyama—Streets
Rider watched patiently outside of the Ryuudou Shrine, crouched on the limb of a nearby tree. Ever since her Master had left the hint that another Servant was at the Shrine, he had her scope the place out periodically in hopes that the Masters of Saber and Archer would attack. The plan was that while the so-called Servant Assassin was busy dealing with the intruders, Rider would go in and kill Caster while she was defenceless and cut down on the competition, possibly with that Assassin killing Archer or Saber in the process.
It was times like that which assured Rider that her Master was an idiot. Yes, she had Magic Resistance at the B level, but that was against the standards of modern magi. Caster was capable of using magics that had long since slipped from the minds of man and were perhaps much more powerful than anything which could be used by the average magic user. Her Magic Resistance could help her survive Caster's assaults, but they would be a far cry from ensuring she could win. It was a fact that Shinji just couldn't, or wouldn't accept no matter how she tried to spell it out. So with no other course, she kept staking out the temple, waiting to see if anyone would rise to the bait.
"The boy has you here still?" a new voice spoke from behind Rider.
Rider grimaced and felt a slight chill run down her spine. From the shadows behind her, True Assassin emerged as he took a perch on a nearby branch. The lovely Rider knew of True Assassin's presence since that detestable man Zouken Matou managed to hoodwink the Grail War Rules and summon the Hashashin leader. Although, Rider had to admit that the Assassin guarding the shrine was definitely not what she'd call Assassin material. If anything, she'd peg him more along Saber Class than anything else. Perhaps it was the mysterious Avenger's presence which caused the loopholes in the rules to be used, but nonetheless the elderly Matou knew how to use them in his obsessive quest for the Grail.
Zouken had immediately ordered his grandson to keep Rider out of True Assassin's affairs and work with him when necessary. No one was to know that True Assassin existed, and thus would be a trump card. The casual way True Assassin seemed to view killing was definitely not what Rider disliked about him. What bothered her about him was how he seemed to consider no one around him to be humans, but just targets waiting to be selected and then taken out. Considering how Rider in her life had slaughtered countless men in the name of protecting her sisters and later her insanity, such as asinine reason to kill just didn't sit right with her.
"Master's orders," the purple-haired woman muttered. "Why are you here?"
"The boy is here," was the black-skinned man's response.
Ah, the boy, the mysterious shape-shifter who was proving to be a true wild card in the Grail War. His abilities Rider hadn't seen since her own time where beings could transform their bodies quite easily. However, the forms he selected were quite…odd. She hadn't seen anything like them before, but she was confident she could at least stand her own against them. However, she had only seen three such forms and fought against one so it may end up being down to luck if she was caught by surprise. The boy also knew better about her abilities and may be able to select a form better suited to combat her. Naturally the elderly Matou couldn't let a threat like that continue and because none of the current Masters seemed to be taking the shape-shifter seriously, True Assassin would do what the others would not.
"What do you plan to do then?" asked Rider.
"Wait," True Assassin replied. "Either an opportunity will arise, or the boy will leave. I will be able to complete my task then."
Rider nodded. She too would have to wait and see if tonight would be the night her patience in this regard would pay off. She just wished that she didn't have to wait it out with such a detestable being.
Miyama—Rooftops
Another section of Miyama was playing host to the blonde Saber as she leaped across the roofs of several homes dressed in her full battle gear. It had taken a while, but once Shirou and Rin had gone to bed she immediately left to deal with the lead on the Servant hiding in the temple. She didn't want to go behind her Master's back like she was, but Shirou's naïve mindset was going to get him killed by te other Masters if they didn't do something soon. As such, Saber decided that it would be up to her to protect her Master and win the Holy Grail under her own initiative.
Clearing the last house on her path, she landed in front of the seemingly peaceful entrance to the Ryuudou Shrine. She didn't pause to admire the scenery as she boldly stepped forward. Street and sidewalk gave way to pure stone and what felt like endless amounts of forests. The moonlight poked through the branches and the clouds in the night, making for a partially shaded set of stairs and numerous areas for an enemy to appear. Still, Saber kept her grip on her invisible sword and prepared for any sort of approaching conflict. She guessed she would either be facing Caster or Assassin, but she felt some measure of confidence with her Class traits. They would be invaluable in the approaching battle.
Continuing to run up the stairs, Saber came to a sudden halt when she saw a figure standing at the gate of the Shrine, not even trying to hide his presence from her as she approached. The moon slowly appeared in the night sky, revealing his form as well as the thin sword in his right hand.
Coming to a halt, Saber gazed up at the man, "You are…"
"Servant Assassin," the man replied. "Sasaki Kojirou."
Saber gasped at the blatant revelation of Assassin's name. She was quite understandably stunned as to what the man had said, but she grimaced as she remembered herself. Relaxing her battle stance but keeping her sword ready, she gazed at the man who would likely be her opponent, "You have me. Now that you've revealed your name to me, I can't as a knight in good conscience not return that courtesy." She steeled herself for the admittedly dangerous act she was about to commit. "You are Kojirou, correct? Servant assassin, my name is…"
"It doesn't matter," Assassin interrupted. Saber blinked at the interruption as the samurai began to slowly walk down the stairs. "It seems my opponent is the kind who will give me their name if I give them mine. I guess I was the one to be caught in a clumsy act."
Saber kept her eyes on the swordsman as he approached, stopping only when he was close enough to point his sword at her with only centimetres to spare.
"There is no point for us in revealing our names," he continued. "For ones such as us, only our swords need to know one another. That is what Servants are meant to do," his katana gleamed in the moonlight, reflecting Saber's crystal eyes. "Or am I wrong, Servant Saber?"
"Indeed, that is correct," Saber acknowledged. Leaping back, she came back down on the nearest landing which came with the constantly climbing stairs. Gripping her invisible sword, she took a battle stance.
"Indeed," Assassin nodded. "Then let us duel, Saber." He finished by taking a stance of his own despite standing on the stairs.
Both sword specialists stood at the ready for what seemed like a moment stretching into infinity, but in fact for merely a heartbeat. When it ended, both Saber and Assassin lunged at one another for their opponents. Their blades sang as they cut through the air and clashed against one another in a loud crash.
Back at the Emiya Estate, Shirou would wake up with a gasp and a pain in his chest. He would also wake with the feeling that something was happening to his Servant that could spell the end of her.
Miyama-Ryuudou Shrine
Negotiations to a truce or an alliance were off to a slow start since neither side seemed to want to give anything away by opening those negotiations. Still, it was Caster's Master who broke the ice by introducing himself as Kuzuki Souichirou although any further details were tight-lipped. Ben likewise gave his own name, but didn't say anything about himself either. Both Caster and Avenger were keeping an eye on one another in case someone tried to pull something funny.
"Caster tells me that you refuse to target the Masters in this conflict," Kuzuki commented, eyeing Ben analytically.
"That's right," Ben nodded. "The Servants are fair game, but…"
"Yes," Kuzuki nodded. "For one that does not wish to take human life that is sound judgement, but also foolish."
"What?" Ben blinked, feeling a little insulted.
"Strategy is about taking the easiest path to victory," the cold man replied. "Killing the Masters ensures the defeat of the Servants since they will not have a source of mana to sustain them anymore."
"Sorry if I don't agree," Ben frowned. "But if you feel like you can go that far, what are you fighting for? What's your stake in all this?"
"If you are referring to the Grail, I care nothing for it," was Kuzuki's answer. "All I care for is right here."
Avenger noted that Kuzuki's hand inched closer to Caster's as he made that announcement. It was probably the most subtle sign of affection she had ever seen, but it was there. Of course, seeing Caster struggling to hold in a loving smile made it quite clear she understood that sign as well. Ben had told her that Caster had fallen in love with her Master, but now she was able to guess that the feelings were at least mutual. Her more cynical side felt that a Master and Servant pair entering such an intimate relationship was a bad idea, but should they win the Grail, they could make that love come to fruition.
"So you fight for Caster," Ben summarized. Well, considering Caster wanted to use the Grail so she could live her life here and now, it wasn't a half-bad idea.
"I fight for anything that gives my life purpose," Kuzuki replied.
"Love's a good place to start," Ben nodded. Sighing he decided that they had been skirting around the subject long enough. "Okay, so Caster told me that she'd like to make an alliance or at least a truce for the time being. Since you two seem to be in this for a decent reason, I can safely say fighting you wouldn't be a very big priority at the moment. What I don't like is how Caster has to drain people into unconsciousness to keep her powers going. That's where I find myself having problems."
"I said before, I don't have any choice," Caster responded. "My Master cannot use magic…"
"And what about ambient magic?" asked Ben. "The residual stuff floating around? The Grail Wars have probably been happening for a long time here, haven't they? If the Grail came down before then it's probably left a boatload of stuff behind. These magi guys probably come from all over and stuff to compete right? They probably brought a buttload of magic artefacts you could siphon off of, or even ways to keep their magic up if they were actually part of the War. Your old Master probably had dozens of artefacts you could use as batteries."
"Caster?" asked Kuzuki, glancing over at his Servant in a silent question as to Ben's suggestion.
"My previous Master did bring just about every artefact he could lay his hands on," Caster frowned in thought. In truth, she didn't want to even give the man a second thought because of what he was going to try and put her through. Still, she would have to consider this idea if she hoped to bring the Master of Avenger over to her side. "Most of them were to help increase his chances of winning. Battle artefacts, pre-prepared spells, that sort of thing. It wouldn't be too difficult to drain the mana out of them. If some of them are as potent as I believe, they could keep me fuelled for some time."
"Then we have an alternate strategy," Kuzuki nodded. "One which can conceal some of our activities from the other Masters."
"Yes," Caster smiled. "It seems that siding with the young man was a wise decision."
Ben didn't show it, but inside he was giving a sigh of relief. He genuinely thought that Caster and Kuzuki were fighting for the right reasons in the Grail War, but with the way she kept harming people so to keep her mana topped off made her a threat that Ben wouldn't leave alone. If his idea of using magical items like batteries, then Caster could remain topped off so to protect herself and Kuzuki, but wouldn't have to drain innocent people of their mana so to do so. Maybe, just maybe he could at least help out the couple-to-be if they needed it
Before negotiations into an actual alliance could begin, Caster stiffened, "We're about to have visitors."
"What?" Ben blinked.
Outside
Rider and True Assassin leapt from tree to tree with the energy of the boundary field crackling across their bodies. Rider had Magic Resistance so whatever the field was supposed to do to intruders wasn't affecting her as seriously as it could have. True Assassin on the other hand felt a powerful weight being pushed down on him. No doubt the field was meant to inhibit other Servants who might be intruding into Caster's territory. It would make fighting more difficult, but that was fine with the black-skinned assassin. He wasn't here to fight the other Servants, but kill a Master.
Rider continued on ahead before she landed on the property near the rock garden. True Assassin remained in the shadows, using his Presence Concealment to hide himself. Not even Caster would be able to find him while he was using it. Once the boy came out, he would learn why this Servant was selected to become the next Hassan-I-Sabbah.
Saber's sudden appearance to fight the false Assassin was the perfect distraction. However, with the field reacting as violently as it did against Rider's presence thanks to her Magic Resistance, Caster would have to be a fool to not know that her territory had been invaded.
Rider eyed her surroundings, looking for any sign of Caster or of True Assassin's target. Things seemed to be silent momentarily, but movement caught her ears and forcing her to look up. Emerging from above the shrine and on the roof, several of Caster's skeletal minions had appeared. The beasts didn't even wait before they lunged at her with their weapons drawn. Rider was likewise not idle as she drew her spikes and chains before moving into action. The skeletons slashed and bellowed in their assaults, but Rider's agility allowed her to pass through the assaults like they were merely minor obstructions. At the same time, she was piercing the piles of bones
She had to at least try to defeat Caster…or else her Master would suffer. She also knew that True Assassin would be of no help because his mission didn't align with hers. For all intents and purposes, she was on her own.
Shrine Stairway
The clash between Saber and Assassin was going on strong as katana met invisible sword. Despite the enemy blade being unseen to the naked eye, Assassin was holding his own against it. Still, it didn't mean that he was having an easy time either.
Gaining distance from Saber, Assassin took another look at the petite blonde who was his opponent, "I never thought I'd have this much trouble against an invisible sword." Saber didn't move an inch, but Assassin didn't take advantage of it. Instead, he decided to satisfy the curiosity which he knew was burning inside of the woman, he need to know why he felt an invisible sword wasn't difficult but hers was. "You see, my techniques are quite evil. I'd cut down a person in a single slash if their skills were just average, even with an unseen blade. For you to resist me for this long…it pleases me very much, Saber."
Saber still didn't find reason enough to speak.
"Please don't disappoint me now and say that this is the extent of your skills," Assassin pressed. "That invisible sword isn't just for show, is it?"
"Shut your dishonourable mouth!" Saber snapped back, lunging at Assassin with a wide slash. As she moved though, Assassin merely twisted his body and let her pass. However, he did manage to feel the wind of the blade passing by him. Not close enough to cut him, but close enough to feel its passing.
"It seems I was right," Assassin muttered as he eyed Saber, "The sword is three shaku long and four sun wide by my estimation."
Saber stiffened at the words and broke away from combat again, landing several stairs downhill from Assassin. Her eyes were still trained on her opponent but now saw him as a greater threat, "Without the use of sorcery or a sufficient number of strikes, you managed to deduce the length of my blade. That's very impressive."
"If you think that's impressive, then don't you think it's time that you reveal your true skills?" asked Assassin.
Saber's eyes narrowed at the subtle slight, "Are you implying I have been going easy on you?"
"Are you saying that you weren't?" Assassin retorted. "I find it quite insulting that you fight me with your sword in it's sheathe." The taunt was supposed to get a rise out of Saber and perhaps have her reveal just what her sword was, likely a Noble Phantasm. Having her reveal her sword and thus her techniques was a possible hint into who the blonde might be. However, she didn't rise to take the bait. With Saber being as stoic as ever, Assassin merely nodded and began to descend. "Since you're being stubborn, I'll suppose I'll show my Hiken first then."
Reaching a landing near Saber, Assassin began to raise his blade with the tip pointing at his opponent, "Prepare your stance Saber, or else you will die." The blonde was immediately on her guard and prepared for anything. Her only concern was that if Assassin was giving her so much warning before he used his technique, then it must be a powerful and deadly move which she was going to be made the target of. She would have to be ready to move in a heartbeat.
"Hiken…" Assassin began. "TSUMBAME-GAESHI!
The strikes came fast and without so much as a warning before Saber found herself struck with an impossible attack. The attack composed of a slash going from her right shoulder to her left hip, her left shoulder to her right hip, and then a strike which would have hit her midsection. The timing of the strikes was almost simultaneous, which was a shock in itself since Saber never would have imagined that any man could move so quickly without sorcery assisting them. However, she didn't have time to admire the mechanics of the attack since she abandoned any idea of retaliation and leapt backwards, avoiding the last of the three slashes. With a cry, she leaped backwards and down several more stairs, hitting the rock hard and stumbling for the poor landing.
"Oh…so you avoided it," Assassin grinned.
Saber grimaced as she got to her feet again, now properly able to marvel at the attack that had been used at her, "What…what was that?"
"Swallows are tricky birds. They can change their flight pattern just be sensing change in the air," Assassin spoke up. "With one slash, you strike at the swallow and with the second you strike the evading swallow down. However, they are quite fast. So you would need to use those strikes almost simultaneously."
"But your technique is more than a simple slash," Saber frowned. "At that precise moment, there were two slashes of your sword. The multi-dimensional refraction phenomenon…"
Assassin closed his eyes, revealing utter disappointment not in Saber, but in himself for Saber being able to read into his technique so well, "A shame that my footing was not solid. Fighting on this type of terrain compromises my footing. If the step was just a bit wider, I could have bisected you with the third strike."
Saber grimaced, knowing that for that one instant Assassin was correct.
Ryuudou Shrine
Ben and Avenger looked up from the table when the roars of Caster's skeletons and the subsequent crashing of their bodies could be heard not far outside. It was plain enough for everyone to tell that a Servant had gotten onto the shrine grounds and was decimating the ranks of Caster's minions.
"It seems that our time here is up," Kuzuki commented calmly. "A pity. We seemed to be getting somewhere."
"Yes," Caster frowned before she glanced at Ben and Avenger. "I know I have no room to ask, but could you cover us while I escort my Master to safety? While I am certain I could fight well enough on my own, Rider is one of the fastest out of all of the classes and I fear if I try to fight her, she would target my Master. Because I am not at full strength, I would not be able to protect him as well as I could myself."
Avenger frowned slightly at Caster's plea, obviously not liking it. While Kuzuki was quite obviously not a mage in any sense of the word, something about him made her think that he wasn't as helpless as the blue-haired woman made him out to be. She wasn't quite sure if Caster was an immediate threat to her own Master just yet despite how well the negotiations were going, but Rider definitely was a threat on her own. The swordswoman also didn't forget how the blindfolded woman was going to try and kill her and Saber at the same time before Ben transformed and attacked her. At the moment, Caster could wait but Avenger knew better than to trust someone who constantly kept their face hidden.
"Right," Ben nodded, his noble side getting into the driver's seat. Getting up, he looked to Avenger, "Let's go Avenger!"
"Yes Master," the silver-clad knight nodded as she rose.
Both Master and Servant ran for the door out of the room and towards the noise. As they left, Caster and her Master likewise rose to their feet. Kuzuki looked as emotionless as ever, but a smile was on Caster's lips.
"It seems that things are turning out well."
Outdoors
Rider smashed another of the skeletons against a large rock before she turned to face the rest. The skeletons were not so quick to attack her, making the Servant believe that perhaps someone new was coming to the fight. If it was Caster, then Rider could make her attempt on the witch's life and then make her way back so she could explain all of the ways the assault was a bad idea with the idiot who called himself her Master actually listening.
The door opened and the skeletons immediately made tracks from the area. However, who emerged from the building was not Caster as Rider had been expecting, but the silver-clad knight she had come to know as Avenger. Sword in hand, the knight came running towards her with the metal gleaming in the moonlight.
"Hraaaaagh!" Avenger screamed, lunging at Rider with the intent of bisecting her down the middle. The violet-haired Rider immediately dodged the strike, as it struck the ground. Rider immediately gripped her chain tight, stretching it taut as she gazed upon Avenger.
"So, you're here," said Rider.
Avenger was poised and ready to strike Rider down. She didn't give a verbal response but her eyes spoke volume. She was there to strike Rider down and she didn't care how long it was going to take.
Rider was beginning to fee uncomfortable. Avenger at the shrine meant that she had likely entered an alliance with Caster. While not an uncommon tactic, it was not something Rider was enjoying being used against her. Still, what worried her more besides Avenger was the fact that where she went, her Master…
A sudden rumbling snapped Rider out of her introspection before she immediately moved into action, Leaping away before the ground beneath her feet exploded into dust and debris. From the centre of the explosion, a hulking being covered from head to toe in yellow of some sort appeared. It's arms and torso were huge compared to the rest of its body, but the arms looked like they had jackhammers built into them. The head looked like a Greek helmet without the ornaments with only a pair of armadillo-like ears decorating it. The face was hidden in blackness with one two beady eyes. The legs were smaller, but still stocky with sharp nails and a tail sticking out from the waist. The most giving sign of all was the hourglass-like marking in the centre of its chest.
"Man she's quick," Armodrillo grunted as he pulled himself out of the hole.
"You were expecting something less?" asked Avenger.
Rider landed on one of the larger decorative rocks and readied herself. It seemed that the mysterious Master of Avenger had adopted yet another new form, this one with earth-related capabilities. With the terrain of the shrine like it was, choosing such a form was a rather wise decision. Rider would have to stay on rooftops or trees to fight where Avenger could follow while the shape-shifter would attack should she land on the solid ground again.
Fortunately, she was not alone in this assault…
"Okay," Armodrillo frowned, smacking his jackhammer fists together. "Let's do this!"
Avenger and Armodrillo both charged at Rider with the intent of taking her down. Being faster, Avenger reached her first and came in swinging with her sword. Rider's natural speed and agility certainly made up for the difference in strength as she dipped and curved around the blows, or merely blocked them with her chains and daggers. Armodrillo came into the fight heavily, aiming with a downward punch which Rider easily dodged, but when the fist hit the ground, the earth actually shook from the blow of the impact. Landing on the ground again, Rider found her footing compromised by the vibrations lingering from the impact.
'I see,' Rider frowned in thought. 'Avenger has the greater chance of striking me, but on her own the chances are still low. By compromising my footing with those earthquakes through her Master, the chances of striking me increase.' It seemed that despite the bulk of the yellow creature, it was proving quite the asset in this fight.
Avenger once again rushed at Rider and the two began their fight anew, with the more agile Servant dodging the Avenger's sword as sharp steel sliced through the air, gleaming under the light of the moon. Rider then caught the sword with her chain, wrapping her weapon around it and then tugged to relieve Avenger of her weapon while kicking into her armoured gut. Avenger grunted as her weapon was forced from her hands. Suddenly, the ground behind Rider exploded and she turned only to be struck by a massive, metal fist as Armodrillo hit her, ambushing her from the ground. Avenger's sword went flying and Ben's Servant caught her blade.
Rider flipped over Avenger and tugged at her chains, slashing wide so to keep the pair away while she regrouped. Armodrillo and Avenger backed away from the wide area of Rider's daggers before the pseudo-Talpaedan went for yet another charge. As he dashed closer to Rider for an attack those, there was a sudden sound of cutting air. It was very faint, but for a species like Armodrillo who lived underground and thus needed the sharper senses it was enough. Armodrillo brought himself to a halt, but not soon enough for a dagger to fly out of the forests and hit the armour of his helmet, striking a hair's width from Armodrillo's eye.
"Woah!" the alien cried as he stumbled back, covering his eye out of sheer reflex.
"Master!" Avenger cried, running to cover her Master, despite his larger bulk.
"There's someone up-" Armodrillo began, pointing at the forest only to be interrupted when something black came flying out of the woods and was silhouetted by the moon. "There?"
The figure was an incredibly skinny, yet powerfully muscled person whose limbs were rather gangly save for the club-like arm wrapped in bandages. He only wore a raggedy black loincloth and a bone white skull mask over his face. He seemed to hang in the air like a spirit of death, a grim reaper. It was majestic in its own terrifying way. However, the moment quickly ended when the black-clad man came down from his flight, crashing heavily into Armodrillo while using his club arm as a blunt spear point to knock the alien off of his feet and onto his back.
"Oof!"Armodrillo grunted, somewhat stunned. Blinking, he looked up to see the black-skinned man straddling him while holding a dagger above him. The assassin didn't bother with banter or mocking insults and instead lunged for the kill, aiming to plant his dagger into Armodrillo's neck.
CLANG!
Armodrillo managed to survive the attack not by trying to avoid the attack, but lunging to sit up which had the dagger strike his armoured head instead. The man leaned back in an appearance to get some space, but he instead twisted on the spot for a horizontal stab. Armodrillo reacted quickly and punched the ground with one of his jackhammer fists, causing another minor earthquake. It served to disrupt the would-be killer but not enough to get away unscathed as the cold metal cut into a space near his collarbone rather than his neck.
"AUGH!" the pseudo-Talpaedan cried out. The alien was no stranger to pain, but he wasn't used to actually being stabbed by anything. However, it proved to be an incredible motivator as he slugged the skull-faced man across the face and sent him skidding across the dirt. Unfortunately, the dagger was left where it was inserted.
"Master!" Avenger cried, running over to the alien. "Master, are you okay?"
"Just help me get it out!" Armodrillo groaned. "I can't reach it with these hands!"
Avenger was quick to obey as she grabbed the dagger protruding from the collarbone, thankfully not too deep, and give it a good yank. "Ow!" The blade was free, releasing a dark fluid which was assumedly Armodrillo's blood. Still, it looked like a slight wound compared to how bad it could have been should the man in black have gotten his proper footing and his target right.
"Thanks," Armodrillo grunted. "Now let's take these guys down before they get any more bright ideas."
"Master…" Avenger frowned, her protective instincts beginning to come up.
On the other end, Rider and True Assassin were getting their wits back, or in Hassan-I-Sabbah's case, the stars out of his head. The violet-haired woman was all for a tactical retreat since her target was probably long gone thanks to the efforts of Avenger and her Master. True Assassin on the other hand wasn't about to leave when he had his target in sight. His pride in his title and Class wouldn't allow it, not during these circumstances. Rider had been ordered to stay out of his affairs, and she was going to be taking advantage of that.
"Do what you want, but I'm leaving," she muttered.
"I'm not leaving without that boy's head!" True Assassin hissed before he got back to his feet. "And if you don't want the idiot to hurt your Master, you'll help me and bring him back some good news!"
Rider paused as she clenched her teeth in outrage. True Assassin had struck a low blow but his words still rang truth. If she returned with bad news then her true Master would suffer for her failure. Rider simply could not allow that. Still, could she win against these odds?
"Time for a change," said Armodrillo as he placed his hand on the Ultimatrix icon and his entire body was bathed in green light before he called out his new name and new form, "AmpFibian!"
The new alien was composed entirely of a gelatinous blue substance. The torso looked like several layers of the substance all piled on top of one another with the bulge at the top acting as the head with a pair of green eyes. Under the folds of the torso came two pairs of plain tentacle-like arms with two more tentacles taking the place of legs. In the centre of the chest was the ever familiar hourglass icon which defined his transformations.
"Now, who wants some?" the pseudo-Amperi taunted, the grin quite noticeable in his voice despite not having a mouth.
Rider and True Assassin took the challenge and made their charge, moving at impossible speeds. Avenger and AmpFibian took up the retaliation as they picked their targets. Avenger went for Rider while AmpFibian flew at True Assassin. Rider unleashed her chains once more against Avenger's sword, making cascades of sparks and sounds of steel scraping against steel. Rider didn't just let the power struggle stand though, flicking her wrists she wrapped her chains around the sword before yanking it towards her, bringing Avenger with it. The sudden yank took the silver knight off of her feet and through the air before Rider twirled and used her momentum for a powerful kick that crashed heavily into Avenger's frame, making the armour buckle. The blonde knight was hurtled back from the blow, nearly hitting one of the decorative rocks.
True Assassin and AmpFibian had taken the fight to the rooftop of the shrine. The Hashashin leader was leaping and bouncing in ways that would have made contortionists and acrobats envious. Despite only having one usable arm with the other being little more than dead weight, True Assassin was just as skilled as his legend implied. Brandishing another dagger, he swiped and cut at the jellyfish-like alien. AmpFibian though wasn't making it easy. He ducked and swerved when the attacks got close, but when it came to retaliation he would shoot out actual bolts of electricity that would fry a roof tile or two when they would miss thanks to True Assassin's reflexes. However, far from enjoying the heat of battle, True Assassin was getting frustrated.
"Just die!" the black-skinned man hissed as he swung his bandaged arm at the pseudo-Amperi. On reflex, AmpFibian backed away to avoid being hit but he didn't notice that True Assassin had crouched for a leap and was thus unprepared for the sudden charge at speeds which excelled human standards. Dagger in hand, True Assassin buried the metal deep into his opponent's chest, letting it sink into the gelatinous fluid that made up its body. At first, he felt satisfaction for finally making his kill, but then AmpFibian began to move…
"Kind of hard to land a hit when you're intangible!" the alien snickered before he unleashed a powerful burst of electricity…
…and True Assassin went up like the Fourth of July.
Avenger smirked as she could sense that her Master was dealing with his opponent well enough without her aid. "Aren't you worried for your Master?" Rider inquired.
"It would be insulting of me to worry for him," said Avenger. "It would as if I had little faith in his skills."
"Such faith," Rider whispered. "How touching."
Avenger rushed forward, aiming for a finishing blow as her blade cut right through the air. Rider deftly dodged to the side and twisted her body around to elbow Avenger in the back of the head.
True Assassin moaned as he lay on his front, his body smoking from the electrocution caused by AmpFibian. The pseudo-Amperi stood, or at least floated, at the ready, waiting for True Assassin to make his move. AmpFibian, however, wondered which Servant this was. He had already seen Saber, Archer, Caster, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, and Assassin. He likewise was the Master of Avenger. There was no possible way this black-skinned killer wasn't a Servant as well. No human could fight he did without some kind of technology or biologic enhancements helping him out.
"Just who are you?"
"I am…the true Servant Assassin," the skull-faced man gagged as he began to recover from the massive electric shock. "The one at the stairs, is a fake summoned by that witch Caster. He's just some nameless samurai, while I am a true Heroic Spirit hand-picked for the Class Assassin," a particularly venomous glare was laid on AmpFibian as he drew another dagger. "And you are my new target!"
Before he could attack though, the air became alive with powerful white light…
Miyama-Ryuudou Shrine Stairs
Shirou was pretty sure he had never run harder before in his life, not even when he was trying to get away from Lancer that night he summoned Saber. When he woke up at his house feeling that Saber was in danger, he ran to check her room only to find her missing. He guessed in a heartbeat that she had gone to the Ryuudou Shrine since it was the only place that any of them knew without a doubt that a Servant was hiding. Saber had been pushing to try and attack them but now it seemed like she got tired of waiting for everyone to agree to it and had gone on by herself.
So he rode his bicycle like a madman before reaching the Ryuudou shrine before dashing without hesitation to the stairs leading up to the building. Part of him was quite eager to strangle Saber for this stunt, but his inherent goodness and extreme worry for Saber won out and he just wanted to get to her before something happened to her. She was still somewhat wounded during their meeting with Berserker and Shirou didn't want anyone to get hurt for his sake. Never again.
Dashing up the stairs, he saw two of the people near the top of the stairs. One was a Japanese man he had never met before, but the other was the very familiar form of Saber. Shirou immediately wanted to call out to his Servant, but he was suddenly interrupted by the onrush of powerful wind coming from her sword. The sheer force of the wind kept Shirou from approaching any further and was even rattling the tiles of the gate behind the other swordsman. How that man wasn't being blown away from the force was beyond the teenage boy.
'Is this…Saber's mana?' Shirou thought to himself in growing fear. 'She still hasn't recovered from Berserker's attack thanks to all of the fighting we've been doing! She's being reckless!"
"Saber!" Shirou cried, but his voice was being drowned out by the roaring winds.
In the middle of the growing hurricane, the glowing form of a sword could be seen in Saber's hands. Like at the school, it seemed her true weapon was about to be revealed and this time there wasn't going to be any interruptions. Shirou had been curious about what Saber's sword was capable of, but he didn't want her to risk herself like this! He had to stop her!
"SA-!"
"ENOUGH!"
The windstorm immediately died down as Saber's concentration was broken. In front of her, Assassin was standing, not even trying to raise his blade anymore. His eyes were trained solely on Saber, but it was clear he was agitated. He didn't want to stop the duel, but something was making him do just that.
"That's enough Saber," Assassin sighed. "Someone is trying to spy on your sword. If this battle goes on, it will no longer be between the two of us." Another sigh of disappointment sounded off before he turned and headed back for the gate.
"Wait!" Saber cried, running to follow the samurai. "Do you not plan on finishing our duel, Assassin?"
"If you plan on stepping through this gate, then we will finish this duel. That is my only duty unfortunately," Assassin replied, not turning back. Reaching the gate though, he glanced back. "Besides, wasn't it lucky that someone chose this moment to interrupt?"
Saber grimaced, obviously frustrated.
"Someone has even come to receive you," Assassin continued, taking note of Shirou. "It would be better if you left now before that spy decides to target the kid." Turning back, Assassin vanished from sight, astralized.
The disappearance of Assassin broke Shirou's silence, allowing him to run towards his Servant, "Saber! Hey, Saber!"
Saber didn't reply to Shirou's calls. Instead, she seemed to sway slightly before all of her armour began to glow. Before Shirou's stunned eyes, the armour dissolved into light particles that vanished into the night. What remained was Saber in a blue dress with an open front that revealed a white blouse. With the armour and her weapon gone, Saber wilted before she lost consciousness and began to fall backwards.
"Saber!" Shirou gasped out.
Miyama—Ryuudou Shrine
The blast of energized wind had distracted all four of the fighters on the temple grounds. However, Rider and True Assassin both knew that something big was happening and that they should not stick around for it. Rider immediately leaped away and into the forests in a heartbeat. True Assassin lingered a moment longer, but reluctantly did the same. He was professional enough to realize when he was in a loosing battle.
As quickly as the light show began, it ended which left Avenger and AmpFibian alone on the Ryuudou Shrine grounds. The Ultimatrix wielder eyed where the wind had come from and hovered back to Avenger before undoing his transformation.
"I think it's obvious that we need to check this out," Ben commented to his Servant.
"Agreed," Avenger nodded as she adjusted her helmet.
Both Master and Servant cautiously approached the gate where the massive windstorm had erupted. It didn't take them long to reach the gate, but as they got closer they heard a boy's voice calling out to Saber. Upon arrival, Ben saw the familiar form of Shirou Emiya holding Saber in a bridal carry with the blonde clearly unconscious. The redhead was trying to rouse her from her slumber, but it was a losing battle.
Avenger gripped her sword slightly, but Ben gripper her shoulder to keep her in place. Instead, he stepped forward and caught Shirou's attention, "Hey, is she okay?"
"Eh?" Shirou gasped, but then looked up at who had spoken. His eyes widened in surprise, not expecting to see the person whom was standing in front of him now.
"T-Tennyson-san?"
To Be Continued…
A/N: Well, that took a while to complete. Hope you guys enjoy the new chapter though. Caster begins her ploy and True Assassin makes himself known. We also see that Rider has her own reasons for fighting and now Shirou and Ben face off as Masters rather than just a passing meeting. What's going to happen next? Well, you'll just have to be patient.