I don't own Fate. Fate is the property of Type-Moon, and no financial gain is made from this or is sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Before the Dawn

Chapter 8

The two-handed sword shone bright silver in the light of the Moon, crimson runes shimmering with power as Berserker swung it in an arc. It shattered Kanshou and Bakuya like a hammer striking an egg, Berserker taking a step to steady herself before swinging it down to cleave her foe in half. Archer cursed as he barely avoided the would-be killing blow, already tracing another pair of blades.

Unlike the previous pair though, these ones were altered to optimize their offensive power, the twin swords now closer to feather-like longswords as opposed to their original falchion design. Archer swung them up to counter another two-handed blow from Berserker, and he ground his teeth as the blow staggered him and cracked his swords. "She's strong!" he thought as Berserker pressed the assault, hammering him back with fast and powerful blows.

The first strike caused cracks to spider-web throughout the blades.

The second strike shattered Kanshou.

The third strike shattered its twin, and a follow-up punch with an armored fist sent Archer tumbling back after he blocked the blow by crossing his arms before him. Berserker resumed her stance, her sword held in a high guard before using prana burst to close the distance.

Archer's eyes widened as the silver-armored knight closed the gap between them, and then time seemed to slow down as he shifted his gaze towards the sword. It took only a fraction of a second for him to read its history, and he narrowed his eyes as he realized what the sword was and who was wielding it.

Clarent: Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword…a sword meant to be wielded by the heir to the British throne…and stolen by the most infamous traitor in history: Mordred.

As Berserker closed, Archer reinforced his legs while jumping back to open the distance, a fresh pair flashing into existence in his hands. Both swords were immediately thrown boomerang-like, black and white spinning towards his enemy's neck. Clarent shattered one with a backhanded blow, while Berserker caught the other and crushed it with a hand.

However Archer had already achieved his objective to buy time, taking a stance and tracing a new sword as a memory flashed through his head.

"Caliburn…?" the Golden King said mockingly. "The Sword in the Stone Which Chooses the King…? But that sword is a copy of the Sword in the Tree Which Grants Sovereignty, which in turn was a copy of this sword. And that means that you're using a copy of a copy of a copy…and when all is said and done, originals are ALWAYS better."

Clarent clashed against Merodach: the Original Sin, and behind her helmet Berserker's eyes widened as she took in the sword's form. "That sword…" she whispered. "…it resembles Caliburn…but how? Where did you get that sword?"

"I've really fallen so low." Archer said self-mockingly as he and Berserker locked their blades. "To think that I've been reduced to taking 'advice' from that arrogant bastard…"

"You dare ignore me?" Berserker growled, and Archer grimaced as he was forced to give ground as Berserker launched a fresh attack. "Very well, in that case I'll just have to force an answer from you!"

As Berserker continued to press Archer, Illya turned to look at Luvia, who was also warily watching their Servants cross blades. "An Archer mimicking a Saber…" she said. "…now there's a surprise among other surprises. He's doesn't seem to be an incompetent either."

"I'll be having a talk with him later." Luvia growled, her eyes narrowing as she remembered the sight of Archer's 'Noble Phantasms' breaking, only to be repeatedly summoned to his hand several times. They are not supposed to function like that. And now that sword…from Berserker's words it was something from the distant past, whereas Archer was supposed to be from the far future. "He's been keeping things from me it seems."

Illya shrugged. "So it would seem." She said. "But it seems that both our Servants have gained each other's measures. Shall we begin our battle then, Edelfelt magus?"

"Yes, I suppose we should." Luvia said with a nod, raising an arm and pointing a finger at Illya. Her crest came to life, and Illya raised an eyebrow. "No doubt other Masters are watching. Shall we give a good show, worthy of our lineages?"

Illya smiled in agreement, and Luvia smiled as well before firing a barrage of Gandr rounds at Illya. The shimmering black orbs struck her body…only for the spell to collapse to no effect. Illya tilted her head. "Is that the best you can do?" she asked mockingly. "I'm a homunculus. You should know that my magic resistance is higher than most magi."

Incensed, Luvia threw a gem and then fired a Gandr at it. The gem shattered as the Gandr hit it, and Illya's eyes flared wide as she narrowly dodged the augmented spell. The Gandr round flew past her and across the park before slamming into a stout tree, blowing a large chunk out of the trunk and causing it to topple over a moment later.

Luvia laughed high and loud. "I certainly didn't forget that it has its own limits." She said mockingly, and Illya growled menacingly. It was her turn to be made sport of, and she didn't like it one bit.

She raised a hand and lightly-clenching it, aimed it at Luvia. Luvia narrowed her eyes, and then she expertly jumped and rolled to the side, avoiding three glowing, fist-sized spheres of prana that blasted out from her enemy's fist. The first shot blew a lamppost into two. The second shot ruptured a fire hydrant and sending water pluming into the air. The third shot deeply-cratered a wall on the other side of the street.

"What the hell?" Luvia said in shock from where she was kneeling, her body tense like a cat.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is Gandr!" Illya shouted triumphantly, firing off a fresh barrage and sending Luvia dancing and dodging for her life.


"A homunculus…" Cattleya said while watching the distant battle from a rooftop, her eyes reinforced. Rider stood beside her, Gordius Wheel waiting behind them. "…I shouldn't be surprised…typical for Einzbern. I'm surprised that she's giving my cousin trouble though. Luvia should be stronger than that."

"That blonde in the blue dress is your cousin…? Rider echoed, and Cattleya nodded.

"She is." Cattleya confirmed while thoughtfully tapping her chin. "I don't think we need to worry though. Luvia might have underestimated the situation, thinking that no magus would go all out so early, and thus might not have predicted facing someone this strong, but…"

"She can take care of herself." Rider finished, and she nodded.

"…that she can. However she'll have to catch a breather before she can counterattack, so for now I suppose all she can do is to buy time and perhaps…ah, there she goes."

"She's opening up the distance." Rider noticed. "She probably intends to engage at range."

"What an unusual decision…" Cattleya mused. "…she's very good in close-quarters combat. I know for a fact that she's been practicing wrestling since she was a child."

Rider grinned as he glanced at Cattleya. "A rival…?" he teased, and Cattleya scoffed.

"Root no…" she said, appalled by the very suggestion. "…I've no interest in such a field of study. I exercise regularly yes, but that's the limit of my heavy physical exertion."

Rider laughed uproariously. "A scholar I see…" he commented. "…you're just like your brother."

"Great minds think alike." She said with a smirk, and Rider laughed again.

"What do you think of their Servants?" he asked seriously, and Cattleya's face grew serious once more.

"Berserker seems too focused for his class." She said after a few moments' thought. "His movements are too controlled…it's almost as if Mad Enhancement isn't active."

"Maybe his Master didn't activate it?" Rider mused.

"That's a possibility." Cattleya agreed with a nod. "But that makes no sense. Mad Enhancement is the Berserker-class' trump card, boosting all their stats to higher than they would normally be. I suppose they could just be respecting their Servant, but most magi wouldn't care less."

"Do you have any other ideas?" Rider asked, and Cattleya nodded softly.

"I do." She said. "That Servant might have the skill Mental Corruption. They would already be insane in their own way, enough to cancel out the mind-robbing side-effect of Mad Enhancement. If so…"

"What a dangerous fellow…" Rider said grimly. "...judging by the way our silver and red friend over there looks like, he'd probably be a Saber otherwise. If what you say is right, then we'd be facing a Servant with the aspects of both Saber and Berserker."

"…it does however give us an opportunity we would not otherwise have." Cattleya pointed out, and after a moment Rider began to smile slowly.

"That's true." He said with an eager nod. "It means we can offer our hand to Berserker as well."

Cattleya nodded, and with a laugh Rider gave her a congratulatory pat on the back. "What about the Archer though?" he asked afterwards.

"He makes me rather curious." Cattleya said. "His weapons don't function as Noble Phantasms should. In fact…"

Cattleya trailed off, and Rider looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"…it doesn't make sense." She replied after a moment. "Going by the way he brought them out, those weapons of his appear to be similar to projections, except that projections do not work like that. What the hell is he doing?"

"A mystery then…" Rider said with a nod. "…even more so than Berserker it seems."

"I'll have to agree." Cattleya said with a nod, and then she glanced at Rider as the giant turned and strode back to his chariot. "We're going to introduce ourselves now?"

"Now's the best time before the fighting gets too far, and spirits get too fired up." Rider said while stepping into the chariot. "Will you be staying here? I wouldn't mind coming back for you later."

Cattleya scoffed before joining him in the chariot. "No thank you…" she said. "…my brother would never let me hear the end of it. And I'd never forgive myself for it either. As your Master I've an obligation to join you on the battlefield, so how could I possibly not stand by you here and now?"

"Forget about responsibility, just stand by me as a friend…" Rider said while driving his chariot back into the skies. "…that's all I ask. By the way, any thoughts on long-term strategy…?"

"Assuming that most if not everyone rejects our offer – which is quite likely – we should try and open negotiations with the Caster." Cattleya offered. "It worked well the last time, so why not try it again?"

"Good point…" Rider said with a nod. "…I'll keep that in mind, but for now, the battlefield awaits!"


Luvia jumped and somersaulted back, landing cat-like on her knees. The ground she'd jumped over erupted into the air, Illya's assault sending clods of earth and shredded grass into the air. As the dirt fell back to the ground, Illya narrowed her eyes and lowered her arm as she spotted Luvia drawing a dagger from behind her.

She smiled, noticing that the other blonde had also opened up the distance between them. Meanwhile the battle between Archer and Berserker continued, the former staying on the defensive as Berserker continued to hammer away. A series of lightning-like slashes chipped away at Archer's stance, and a two-handed blow cracked the traced sword, Clarent coming to a halt hallway through the blade.

Archer gasped in shock and surprise, while behind her helmet Berserker smiled before she twisted her blade, shattering the fake sword into sparkling shards. She then rammed Clarent's pommel into Archer's torso, and sending the other Servant staggering back several steps with a grunt of pain.

Prana surged through the air as Berserker reversed her sword and charged. Archer swore and made a chopping motion with an arm, sending a pair of gleaming Noble Phantasms lancing towards Berserker. The silver knight parried them to the side, but her charge was halted in its tracks as five more Noble Phantasms lanced down at her.

"Who are you?" she roared in frustration, only to swear in her turn as Archer swung a gleaming halberd – just one of the many Noble Phantasms he's seen and copied from the King of Heroes' treasury – at her neck. She parried, but the force staggered her for the first time in the battle.

Archer smirked and pressed the offensive, driving Berserker back with a series of stabs and slashes. A particularly heavy blow scratched one of her armguards, and she gave way with a curse, only to leap forward with prana burst in a fresh counterattack.

Harsh laughter echoed in the night air, Berserker's mixed bloodlust and amusement resounding with every peal. "Now this is a fight!" she said with glee.

Elsewhere Illya spread her arms invitingly at Luvia as the other blonde chanted in Finnish. "It's a free shot Edelfelt." She taunted. "Don't disappoint me."

"…the Gates of Heaven open…" Luvia continued to chant, light building around her from the glowing magic circle at the tip of her dagger. "…the blessing of the Wind King is given…the wind that blows through the mountain passes is given to me…"

She paused and aimed at Illya. "…Storm Breaker!"

Illya's eyes widened to their utmost in shock as the five-count spell actualized, a horizontal whirlwind ripping towards her at breakneck speed. She managed to avoid taking it directly, but even then she was buffeted badly and sent tumbling several meters to the side as the whirlwind slammed into the bounded field around the park, and punching a hole through it.

This also had the side-effect of collapsing the spell, but even then the out of control winds tore the street beyond and the surrounding stores apart even as the bounded field mended itself. More importantly for Illya however, was the blue and white figure leaping high up and somersaulting down from high overhead. "Scheisse...!" she barely had time to swear before Luvia delivered a powerful blow to her abdomen.

Illya explosively gasped out, doubling-over from the blow, before a second blow to her solar plexus sent her to the ground. "It's over Einzbern!" Luvia shouted while raising a leg to stamp down on her back.

"Time Alter…" Illya whispered. "…Double Accel…!"

Time slowed to a crawl, everything from Luvia's finisher to Archer taking advantage of Berserker's distraction from her Master suddenly getting overpowered. Illya rose to her knees, well aware of the metaphorical ticking clock, and then ran forward and put a good distance between her and Luvia before the spell collapsed.

Luvia's eyes widened in shock as her struck the ground instead, but she was already turning, instinct and motion-perception alike drawing her attention to the purple and silver blur moving away. They narrowed with perceived danger as it resolved into Illya rising to her full height, an index finger rising to point at her.

Crimson light began to build at the fingertip, and Luvia registered with a shock that her enemy was verbally-casting her spell. "Walkure…" she began, and Luvia tensed, preparing to dodge whatever mysteries the homunculus was about to invoke.

One of her single-action spells surpassed Gandr in effect. How much more a single-line spell?

Everyone was caught by surprise though when lightning fell from the sky. The two Masters shielded their faces as dirt was blown into the air, and both Servants broke off engagement to protectively stand before their Masters.

Did the Caster see fit to intervene?

"Who dares…?" Berserker challenged in an angry shout, outraged that her battle had been interrupted.

"THE KING DARES!" the reply was thundered back, and to her surprise, she found herself biting back the retort at the tip of her tongue. There was authority there, an authority different to that of her father, as it did not grate on her nerves like hers did.

Perhaps this king is a true one…if so, then as a fellow true king then I should let him have a chance to speak his piece.

"Fellow heroes…" Rider loudly declared, emphasizing his words with grand and sweeping gestures. "…I bid you to hearken, for I am the Rider of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Iskandar the King of Conquerors!"

Mouths fell open at the sheer insanity of his words, although in Illyasviel's case it was less from him exposing himself – she intended to unveil her Berserker's identity as soon as possible – but at the fact that the man was actually challenging all present or watching to listen to him. "Fate has brought us together for the sake of the Holy Grail, but I ask of you, is all this bloodshed really necessary?"

Grinning at his audience's stunned expression, the giant continued to declaim. "As you ponder that question, I ask a second question: will you not forfeit your claim to the Grail, and join my army instead? Should you choose to do so, then I shall consider you as worthy friends and allies, and together we shall share the blessings of the Holy Grail!"

Complete silence fell over all present, Archer positively dyspeptic at the sheer insanity of it all, while Berserker was so astonished at the man's sheer audacity that he would ask her to surrender the Grail that she couldn't bring herself to get angry. Illya and Luvia looked at each other questioningly, the two women who were trying to kill each other just moments ago now trying to make sense of it all.

Luvia was the one to break the silence. "Was it really necessary to reveal who you are?" she asked lamely, but it wasn't the Servant who answered but another but very familiar person.

"I think the logic there is that true kings or heroes have no need to hide who they are." Cattleya said, poking her head out from behind Rider and stepping to his side a moment later. She waved at Luvia who was palming her face. "Hello cousin."

"Cattleya…" Luvia moaned, raising her face to expose an exasperated expression. "…why am I not surprised? A most unorthodox Servant…to be summoned by an unorthodox magus…and isn't he the same Servant your brother had ten years ago…?"

Archer for her part was struggling not to gape at the girl standing beside the giant. "The hair and eyes are different in color…" he thought. "…but that face…I've seen it so close before more than a few times…I could never forget her…though everything else would burn away in eternity…I can never forget her…but how? Could it be that Rin was the one who was sacrificed? But then why is her name different…why? What…? How…?"

Luvia began to massage her temples while Cattleya smiled sympathetically before giving a shrug at Rider who just laughed. "Come now, fellow heroes!" he shouted again. "I will not ask that you name yourselves if you have no desire to so, only that you consider and answer my questions!"

Silence fell briefly once more only to be broken by Berserker as she laughed loudly, but without any bloodlust this time, and with respect and amusement. She grabbed hold of her helmet and glanced at Illya who gave a shrug. And then she pulled it off, and this time even Rider and Cattleya were surprised at the face that was revealed as Berserker's helmet vanished into prana.

Blonde hair…green eyes…a youthful, androgynously beautiful face…the face of the King of Knights faced them, adorned by a grin that was most unlike her…for it was not her. "You girl have a point." She said, pointing Clarent at Cattleya. "A true king has no need to hide their identity, as the King of Conquerors has just demonstrated."

Cattleya glanced uneasily at Rider, who didn't seem the least bit concerned about facing the most infamous traitor in history once the surprise had faded. "From your words I assume that you consider yourself the rightful king?" he asked, and Berserker's grin widened.

"Of course…!" she shouted in reply, and Rider laughed.

"Fiery aren't you? I like that." He said with a smile. "But you can't really claim your throne unless your 'father' gives it to you, or by claiming it with your own hands."

"Oh I agree." Berserker said with a sage nod, before planting Clarent point-downwards before her, both of her hands resting on the pommel. "And I intend to finish things with the opportunity this war presents."

Berserker paused, and then briefly closing her eyes took a deep breath. And then she began to shout a challenge into the night.

FATHER! KING ARTHUR! WHERE ARE YOU? MORDRED IS HERE! I CLAIM THE THRONE OF BRITAIN, AS IS MY RIGHT BY BIRTH AND CONQUEST! IF YOU WOULD STILL CALL YOURSELF KING, THEN PROVE YOUR CLAIM! FACE ME! FACE ME IF YOU DARE!


A/N

Sorry but Gil won't be making an appearance in person here. But there's no reason that he can't make a cameo or two, even if it involved him teaching Archer in his youth the difference between copies and originals.

FoxOnPie: that's the general rule yes, but it's not absolute. Saber's case aside, at one point in Fate/Zero I recall Gil mentioning that he remembers being summoned for '…other…equally farcical battles…' other than the Grail war. And there's Lord Waver El-Melloi II marching with the Ionian Hetairoi…for all we know, the world really did seal Rider's memories so he won't cause a temporal paradox. So I think I'm justified in invoking suspension of disbelief here.

Once again, I hope I didn't make anyone too OOC.