I do not own Fate/Zero nor any other Servants depicted here.

Under The Streets

Tokiomi sat at his desk, swilling a bit of wine in his glass, while contemplating what he just planned with his apprentice and the mediator of the War. He was confident in his simple plan; to wear down Caster by having him battle the other Servants while Archer taking care to only dealing the finishing blow. With Risei declaring Caster as a risk and the prize offering of another Command Seal, there will be no doubt be a scramble to defeat the wayward Servant and his Master. He looked over to his Servant in mild curiosity; she was busy cuddling a stuffed panda close to her chest while seemingly staring into space.

"Archer, I must ask you this," he stated, "I do not recall you ever having that toy with you until now, so how did you get it?"

"Ah, that," she muttered. In the dark, she was thankful that her Master couldn't see her blush. "I got it as a prize. You... do not like it?" she asked, a bit scared that she might be forced to give up such a cute thing.

"Never mind, Archer," he said after a thought, "I suppose I shouldn't question what you do in your time of rest." Then, he asked, "Are you clear on the plan, Archer?"

She instantly stood up straight and said, "Yes, Master." And then, she slouched and sighed, "I wish I knew what Caster and his Master were doing earlier. Then, I would have taken action sooner."

"We could not have known," he admitted calmly, but genuinely surprised by her admission, "Be thankful that Assassin was able to discover them. If not, their actions would eventually reveal Magecraft to the world."

"What?! No!" she exclaimed, "I wasn't talking about that, Master! I was talking about stopping them from killing any more people! Don't you care about the people, Master?"

"Oh, but I do," he quickly replied. Of course, that was only partly true; he did care for his family, but did not feel the same way about the general public. "But how would you have taken action sooner?"

"I..." she trailed as the letter died in her throat. "I have a... Noble Phantasm... that could let me have the advantage..." she said slowly and haltingly, like she was whispering a dreadful secret.

"I see... well, I suppose I shall leave it up to you, Archer. But, you must strike the final blow, understood?" he asked.

"Yes, Master."


Waver sighed as he dipped his hand down into the water, drawing another sample in the test tube. Having the War suspended until Caster and his Master were taken out was interesting to say the least, especially when the prize was another Command Seal. It would be an immense advantage if he could get it. Hence the long time spent on the river bank taking water samples from multiple locations, from one end of town to the other. He was tired, having started collecting at mid morning. He would have sent his Servant, but with Rider's stature it would be quite hard to blend in, hence he had to collect the samples himself.

"Just one more spot left, then I can begin testing these," he thought to himself as he locked the bag he carried all the test tubes in and went to the final sampling spot.

"Hello, young man. What are you doing here?" asked a voice not known to him. He looked up and noticed a middle aged man in a worn, brown trench coat over an untidy white shirt with black pants and shoes.

"Er, hello sir," the young man said in surprise, "Er, I'm just collecting water for an experiment?"

"Ah-ha, you're doing some science experiment, eh?" guessed the older man, "I never did do well in that. Not one of my favorite subjects. I'd question you on why you came all the way to Japan to experiment on the water, but I'm on my break, so I wont. Anyway, be sure to be careful out here and don't stay out after dark. There's been a string of murders going on and it's been damn confusing too."

"Huh?" he sounded out in curiosity. He was motioned to come over. He went and he smelt the faint scent of alcohol on the man.

"Now, I know I shouldn't be telling you... or anybody this, but the police are confused by the new killings, you see," he whispered conspiratorially, "The killer keeps changing his M.O. a lot. At first he started out with killing the people in their homes, then he started drawing weird looking circles and stuff with their blood. Now last night, he kidnaps some of the people living in the house but kills the rest. We didn't even know the bastard changed his pattern. Only after one of our junior officers was investigating a complaint made by a neighbor that we knew. The poor kid found the whole house locked, but had fully freaked out when he looked in through the window and found the floor covered in blood. That's not the worst part."

The man paused, pat over his coat and fished out a pack of cigarettes. Taking and lighting one, he puffed on it a bit and continued, "The worst part is that, we found the missing member, the family's young daughter a whole ten blocks away. Nobody saw her messed up body appear in the middle of the road. The whole thing happens in broad daylight and nobody saw a thing? I can't believe it myself, but that's what happened. If you asked me if this was going to be the work of a serial killer, I would have laughed in your face. Never seen a killing spree like this since... ever. Plus, we've been getting reports that whole families have been gone missing in the neighboring district. I shudder to think that we have another bastard running around like that. Hell, what if that other guy decides to come here. One madman is bad enough."

The man let out a sigh before putting a hand on Waver's shoulder and said, "Anyway, glad I could talk to someone about it. You'd probably be out of the country soon enough for me to worry about you blabbing on the news. Thanks kid." With that, he left the attentive young man, alone by the river bank.

"What do you think Rider?" he muttered as he walked over to the final sampling spot.

"The Moderator of this War was right to put a bounty on Caster and his Master. To think they would do such foul deeds. They must pay for their crimes," declared the Servant through the mental link. Waver agreed wholeheartedly.


Archer wandered the streets in spirit form. While the plan was for her to land the killing blow after the other Servants had weakened Caster, it was well within her right to kill Caster on sight if she should ever find him first. Her mind kept drifting back to the number of people that had been killed already. While it was acceptable for a Servant to consume souls for replenishing their mana, it doesn't mean that it was right. So, even if there wasn't anything she could do for the already deceased, she could definitely make sure that justice is served for the living relatives. Then, she noticed someone familiar. The girl was wearing a white shirt with a red neck tie on it, red coat, red skirt and long black socks. She seemed to be staring at some sort of disc-shaped object. The Servant drifted behind her and materialized.

"Hello, Rin. Why are you out here at this hour?" she asked.

"Ha-a!? Oh, it's you," the young girl suddenly exclaimed out of fright, only calming down upon seeing her face. The frightened look turned into one of resoluteness as the young girl said, "I am trying to find Kotone. You remember right, mister?"

She wanted to start shouting there and then, but she calmed herself down and slowly took off her cap. "Actually, I'm a girl, Rin," she informed the young girl with a slight smile, who looked a bit surprised. That smile melted away as she replaced her cap. "I think you should go back home now," she told her, "It isn't safe to be out here at this hour. You know there are bad things happening around the city."

"I know that! But Kotone is missing and I need to find her," the girl half shouted back. Then, with a with a steely look, she said proudly, "If you aren't going to help, then leave me be. I can do this myself." And before the Servant could say anything, the girl ran off.

Archer sighed. "I was supposed to monitor the city for any signs of battle," she thought to herself as she shifted back to spirit form, "But it looks like I have to make sure this one gets back home safe and sound. I just hope she doesn't meet Caster or his Master. As much as I would like to confront them for their actions, I'd rather she did not get involved as well." With that thought in mind, she followed after the young girl.


Kariya stirred from his sleep. While he was aware of the Dream Cycle, he wasn't prepared for how weird it was. The memories of his Servant seemed odd; from what he can gather from the scattered fragments of memory he witnessed, his Servant did originate from an underwater city of sorts. A city that seemed to have a lot of fighting, as he witnessed his Servant fighting all sorts of... he wondered if he could even call them people anymore. They were like strange, twisted parodies of their former selves. It was also to his surprised that aside from the drill, his Servant could also use a variety of guns as well as multiple types of magecraft. Not only elemental, but also magecraft that had peculiar effects on electronic items. And then there were those strange little girls with glowing yellow eyes... To put it simply, it was absolutely confusing. He didn't know if it was all real or that it was his Servant's way of perceiving his own age and time.

Then, he could hear someone running past the alley he was in. All he saw was a flash of red, but something in his heart... or what was left of it told him to go and take a look. Grunting and heaving himself to his feet, he hobbled over as fast as he could to take a look at the running person. He was able to catch a glimpse of Tohsaka Rin turning round the corner.

"What!? No! What is Rin-chan doing here!? Did that idiot Tokiomi fail to notice her disappearance?" he thought frantically as he limped after her, "Is he blind?! He is not fit to be her father if he just lets her run around in the middle of the hunt for Caster like this. Stupid fool! Berserker! Follow me. Keep in spirit form."


"Yosh! Caster, you're the best!" exclaimed Ryuunosuke as he looked over the kids present in his lair. Ten in all, all frightened, bound and gagged.

"I am to please, Master. I suppose these will be enough for tonight?" asked the Servant. Caster had silently kidnapped them early this morning while they were still sleeping, way before the sun rose, while the Master was doing his day job. Of course, what he didn't tell was that he did take a few other people to craft his own... personal project of his.

"Sure is! Man, it feels like my birthday came early this year," he said with a grin. Turning to the children before him, he announced, "Hello kiddies! My name is Uryuu Ryuunosuke and I am an artist. My friend, Caster, has invited all of you to to help me in creating my art." Then, he squatted down close to them and asked with a grin, "So... can all of you die for me tonight?"

He laughed happily at their squirming, their terrified looks and muffled cries. "Man, you are so cool, Caster," he exclaimed as he got up to stretch, "I really am gonna have a blast tonight... and I didn't have to leave here to get it!"

"Yes, take your time, Master," the Servant started before suddenly turning around and observing around him. He held up his hand and said, "A minute, Master. Before you start, how about... an audience?"

"Eh? An audience? But you and the kids are the only ones here," he said, puzzled by the statement. He already got out a set of knives and scalpels he intended to use for his craft.

"Oh, you'll see, Master," Caster said mysteriously as he waved his hand over the children, causing them to fall asleep. "If I'm not mistaken... here," he stated and suddenly disappeared. A second later, he reappeared with a young girl held out in one hand, who was dressed in red.

"No way! So cool!" exclaimed Ryuunosuke as Caster bowed in acceptance of such praise.

"Now, now, let us not scare our spectator here... not too much" the Servant chided in amusement. Turning his attention to the wide eyed and terrified girl, he said, "Well, well... such fortune that I have here a young sorceror... a child of one of the Masters in this War. Tell me... oh wait, I already know. I believe you were looking for her, Tohsaka Rin." And he casually tossed her over to the sleeping group of children.

Very frantically, she crawled over to one of the girls, crying, "Kotone!"

"Ah, but that's not the only thing I found wandering around in the sewers, Master," he stated further as he suddenly materialized his Bedlam staff.

"Release them at once!"

Chuckling darkly, he turned to face the newcomer; another Servant.

"Welcome to my Master's humble abode... Archer," greeted the Servant. The serial killer's eyes widened a bit while Rin's eyes darted between both Servants, her eyes gong even wider as she saw Archer.

"I will not say it again. Release them Caster, that's an order," commanded Archer, already decked in her fighting gear, her pair of guns already aimed at the other Servant.

"Allow me to suggest something else, Archer. How about this?" said Caster in a patronizing tone, "Chains... of Torment..."

To everyone's shock, minus Caster, glowing yellow chains sprang up from a nearby pillar and proceeded to wrap around her, dragging and chaining her to said wall within a span of a few seconds. "How do you like my new suggestion? Isn't it much better than yours?" asked the dark Servant, amidst exclamations of how cool it was by his Master, "And that's not all... I have... changed the way the spell works. After an hour, the sharp thorns you feel digging into your flesh will suddenly enlarge and expand, perforating your body in an instant. Hmm, it seems my Master will get to witness the death of a Servant after all."

"Wow! Forget my birthday, this is like Christmas!" exclaimed Ryuunosuke in joy, "This is the coolest thing that ever happened to me! Ever!" He quickly got down and picked up a scalpel. Very slowly, he walked over to Rin with an eager look on his face. "You know, I think you're my first," he told her as he knelt down to her. She was absolutely petrified in fright, hugging her best friend closely. "This is definitely the first time I get to see the insides of a magic person," he continued with a grin as he brought the scalpel closer to her skin, "You won't mind dying for me, will you?"


Kariya could feel the worms pulsating in his body, reacting to his sense of urgency. He did his best to chase after Rin, ignoring the pain all the way, even after she unexpectedly went down to the river and entered a sewer pipe. It was then that he got Berserker to assist him in moving, allowing him to actually keep up with her. His Servant was actually quite stealthy, not only keeping up with her but also keeping out of sight. Then, Caster suddenly appeared and captured Rin. He wanted to run out to save her but his Servant held him back. After having himself calm down, they followed Caster back to his... workshop, as he believed it to be. It was a cavernous place, with many pillars holding up the surface above. There seemed to be a lot of dried blood in the center of the room, presumably because this was the Master's hideout. Off to the far side of the room, he saw a pedestal... made entirely out of bone. He felt sick to his stomach; he did wanted to throw up there and then. Upon the pedestal he also saw something that looked like a book. He was also taken by surprise that Archer suddenly materialized and unfortunately gotten herself captured. Then, Caster's Master proceeded in his attempt to dissect Rin there and then. Trying to be as calm as he could, he still felt furious; the worms felt it and began moving throughout his body, paining him greatly. But apparently, he wasn't the only one getting angry.

"Berserker?" he whispered in surprise as his Servant suddenly let out an enraged howl, the view port turning red. Without prior warning, his Servant charged into the room while aiming the drill at Caster's Master, only to get tied down by the chain spell Caster used.

"Did you really think you can escape my gaze, Berserker?" intoned the dark Servant, which suddenly became surprised and amused, "Well, well... is this what Mad Enhancement can do?"

The Mad Servant's anger only served to fuel him as he strained against the chains, actually causing a few to snap apart. Kariya quickly crept around the edge of the room while everyone, he assumed, was preoccupied.

"Nothing that couldn't be solved," Caster sneered as he summoned out more chains to bind Berserker, "You are none better than those Khornates. The class Berserker is truly befitting you." Then, he turned to the Matou, who had already had his Blade Wing Worms hovering around him. "Mere insects? Is that the best you can do, sorceror?" he asked with amusement.

With a yell, Kariya directed the Blade Wing swarm at the Master behind the Servant, who merely lifted up his free hand and a bright red and purple fire spewed out, totally incinerating all trace of the worms. "Such a pity. My warp fire is a lot more useful than these mere worms," Caster stated as Kariya doubled over in renewed pain.


Berserker howled as he strained against the chains; the ones holding onto the drill actually shattered and the angry Servant was now waving it around, trying to strike Ryuunosuke.

"Master, I think it would be wise to retreat," stated Caster as he looked over the place, "Seeing that these few could find your hiding place, the others will definitely soon follow."

"Aww, this is so not cool," complained his Master, "I haven't even started yet..."

"Oh? But the night is still young? There are plenty of houses for us to visit," he persuaded as he dismissed his staff.

"True," the serial killer admitted, somewhat begrudgingly, "I do have a house in mind..."

"Then, we shall be off," summarized the Servant as with a motion of his armored hand, the bone pedestal glided towards him from across the room. With great show, he closed the book he created and picked it up.

"Whoa! Is that human skin?" Ryuunosuke asked in wonder.

"Indeed it is, Master. But let us be off. I shall explain while you create your... art," said Caster as he placed a free hand over the young adult's shoulder. At that moment, the chains that were binding the other two Servants vanished while Caster and his Master teleported away.

Archer let go a sigh of relief when they left. She felt pretty sore all over; the chains were constricting and extremely uncomfortable. Slowly she got up and walked over to Rin. Squatting down, she asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

The scared girl nodded. The tense and terrifying atmosphere really had her there. She never in her wildest dreams imagine herself to be captured by a Servant. While she knew of the War her father was participating in, she never expected something like this to happen.

"Leave... Rin-chan alone..." grit out Kariya as he crawled over to her.

"Kariya-ojisan... what... ah, what happened to you?!" she stuttered out . She got a good look at him before she did and safe to say, the shock was too much for her.

"Rin-chan!" he exclaimed as he tried to assure her, reaching out to her as she shrank back "Please, don't be afraid! It's me! I'm still the same Kariya-ojisan that played with you in the park!"

"Please... we should settle this for later," reasoned Archer as she stood up, "I know we are enemies in this War, but there is no need to include these children. I don't know how long they will out, but we shouldn't be here when they do."

The man's face softened as he thought it through. "Maybe," he agreed, though with reluctance. Turning to Rin, he said, "Rin-chan... I... will wait outside for you. When you are done, I'll take you back to your mother... alright?"

The young Tohsaka did not reply; she mutely nodded her head. With Berserker's help, Kariya Matou limped into the darkness, making his way outside. Rin turned to Archer and after a moment of staring, she asked, "Are you my father's Servant?"

Archer closed her eyes and said, "I cannot say right now. This is meant to be a secret... your friend and the others will wake up anytime now. We can talk later if you want, but not now."

Rin continued staring at her before saying, "I... understand. I guess..."

The Servant let small smile appear on her face. "Make sure you keep them safe until they awake, Rin," she said as she disappeared, going back to spirit form.

Commentary:

Here we are again. Hoped you like this chapter. Rin's little adventure with a slight tweak here and there, so to speak. And once again, the most evil Caster has everything going according to plan... or is it?

And, at first I intended to put up Rider's stats first, but since he barely got mentioned here... sort off... I've decided to put someone else up instead.

Servant - Berserker

Identity - Subject Delta

Game - Bioshock 2

Strength - B
Endurance - A
Agility - A
Mana - D
Luck - D
Noble Phantasm - C+

Skills

Mad Enhancement - C

Instinct - B
Well, how else will he be able to use Plasmids under pressure?

Noble Phantasm

The Gatherer's Garden, Plasmids - B
Self-induced genetic tampering gifted the use of special abilities which to another magus will feel similar to thaumaturgy. Effectiveness can be reduced by Magic Resistance.

The Only One - A
Subject Delta is a superior version of the Alpha series Big Daddy. Endurance and Agility increased by one rank.

Power to the People, Drill Attachment - B (A), Anti-Unit Type
The only weapon available to Subject Delta as Berserker. Rank increases due to Protect Little Sister.

Offense is the Best Defense, Protect Little Sister - A+, Anti-Unit Type
Do not harm little kids in front of Subject Delta, especially little girls. You won't like him when he's angry...

And, as always, please read and review dear people. It is the lifeblood of the story.