We'll be having a little downtime for this chapter. Basically each Master reacting to the Servants summoned by their opponents. Things should get interesting. Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Zero, Kill la Kill, RWBY, Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Overlord, Persona, or Hellsing Abridged.
Chapter 10: Aftermath
"So Assassin still lives," Kiritsugu said, "Which means Kirei dropping out of the Grail War was just a ruse to spy on the other Masters." "Caster named him as Ren Amamiya," Saber noted, "With a code name of Joker." "He didn't look at all like the DC villain," Iris pointed out. "I got more of a Persona vibe from him," Saber said. She then noticed the confused looks. "Oh right, Atlas won't release that game for another two years. It's basically a future installment of the Megami Tensei series. In my time they released four games with the Persona label, and apparently Assassin comes from a fifth."
"Then we can expect Assassin to utilize demons common to the Megami Tensei series," Kiritsugu noted, getting the gist of what Saber was talking about, "He also styles himself as a phantom thief. Even Berserker, with his vampire senses, couldn't pick him up until Caster pointed him out. But that makes Caster just as dangerous. His appearance definitely invokes the image of some sort of undead being. Perhaps an elder lich, or even the rarer overlord." "Come to think of it," Iris said, "Berserker and Assassin did say Caster was from something called Overlord."
"There's also the fact that Rider and Archer seem to be from tokusatsu," Kiritsugu noted, "I heard Assassin suggest Archer comes from Super Sentai and Rider appears to be some sort of Kamen Rider. But the only thing Kamen Rider got this year was a movie called Kamen Rider J. And the current Super Sentai is Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, but Archer had more of a pirate motif going for him. Still, that could simply mean the series they came from haven't been made by Toei yet."
"Then there's Lancer," Saber noted, "At first I was confused, since in RWBY Pyrrha Nikos died near the end of the third volume. But not only did this version seem better trained, she also had the Fall Maiden powers. It wasn't until Berserker mentioned she came from a fanfiction that everything made sense." Kiritsugu nodded. "Getting to the Masters one way or another will be difficult until we get a sense of what the Servants are capable of. We know Assassin's Master is Kirei Kotomine, a former Executioner of the Church."
"But we can't enter the Church and interrogate him," Maiya pointed out, "That would be violating the treaty." She then remember something. "You said earlier that Berserker reminded you of a pet vampire the Hellsing Organization had." Kiritsugu nodded. "The personality is completely different, but beyond that... Berserker is clearly Alucard, and likely has a lot of the same abilities. Out of all the Servants, he may be the most dangerous. And the most insane." "Which would explain why Mad Enhancement didn't degrade his intelligence," Iris realized, "He was mad to being with..."
Back at the Hyatt Hotel, Kayneth was assessing the scenario. "All things considered you performed admirably, Lancer. If not for Rider's untimely interruption, there's a good chance you could have successfully taken out Saber. But to think Waver Velvet would be his Master..." "You seem perturbed by that thought," Lancer noted. "He made some ridiculous thesis about how lower generation mages could gain greater strength through training," Kayneth explained, "I tossed it out after reading a few sentences."
Lancer raised an eyebrow. "You... Didn't even read his full explanation?" Kayneth realized he was getting serious glares from both Lancer and Sola-Ui. He cleared his throat. "Yes... I can understand in hindsight how short-sighted of me that was. I probably should have read further first. Sadly I disposed of the manuscript to humiliate Waver in a misguided attempt to teach him a lesson." "Actually," Sola-Ui said, "I did find a second copy of the manuscript in Waver's dorm room. I was looking for the original catalyst he swiped when I came across it."
'That's fortunate,' Kayneth said, 'I'll take another look at it later this evening.' "There's something I need to ask," Lancer said, "What exactly are you hoping to get out of this war? I mean, honor and prestige are likely to occur just by participating. But what about what you actually intend to wish for?" That question hit Kayneth a little hard. He had been so excited to participate in the Grail War, that he never even decided what he was going to wish for should he win. 'I mean, the top thing on my mind is getting Sola-Ui's love, but that's something I'd rather get for myself.'
He rubbed his chin. "I must confess... I never gave it much thought. I'll see if I can't find an answer before too long." Lancer nodded. "Oh yeah, I also found and disabled several of these." She held out an explosive device and handed it to Kayneth. "They were placed at critical structure points throughout the upper floors," Lancer explained, "My Semblance of Polarity was able to detect and remove them." Kayneth looked at the device. "So... The infamous Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya is involved in the war. But is he one of the Masters, or merely helping one of them?"
"Titans," Tokiomi said, "That's what we've summoned. Nothing less than titans." There was a lot on his mind lately. Berserker had paid his estate a visit a few hours before, letting him know Zouken's plans. Though his face didn't show it, Berserker and Archer could tell Tokiomi was furious at the deception Zouken had propagated. But beyond that was the fact that all seven Servants, if they were to try and fight right at the warehouse district, could easily level all of Fuyuki.
Still, at least the Archer he got was more sociable than the King of Heroes would have likely been, so Tokiomi was willing to take the good with the bad. 'Besides, Gilgamesh may have founded an empire, but Captain Marvelous toppled an empire.' As if reading his mind, Archer chose that moment to enter Tokiomi's office. "Sorry I was gone out so late," he said, "I spotted an ad for a new curry place in the paper and had to try it out. It was so good I think I broke my previous record of five plates."
That was the humor Tokiomi needed to calm himself down. He shook his head. "Where on earth do you store it all?" "The people of my planet are born with stronger metabolisms," Archer explained, "Which in turn increases our physical strength. And don't worry about people seeing me. I only got a few passing glances, and everyone seemed to mistake me for a cosplayer." "Good," Tokiomi said, "That'll be an excellent cover story. Unlike Assassin, you don't seem to have the ability to change outfits."
Archer then noticed the subtle crease in his Master's eyes. "Still thinking about what happened to Sakura?" Tokiomi nodded as he sat down. "I knew about the Matou family Crest Worms, of course. But Zouken assured me they were only going to be implanted to expand Sakura's Magic Circuits, before teaching her the old-fashioned way. All under Kariya's tutelage. Instead I find she's not only been getting those worms forcibly injected into her, but also... Violating her. And Kariya had actually abandoned the family years prior out of disgust for Zouken's practices."
He shook his head. "I blame myself for missing a vital clue. My wife, Aoi... Kariya loved her as well, so I always wondered why he never fought for her when I declared my intentions to marry her. Now I have my answer. He didn't want Aoi subjected to the same horrors Sakura was." "Why send Sakura off to be adopted in the first-place?," Archer asked. "It might seem strange to an outsider," Tokiomi admitted, "But in the older magus families there can only be one heir. However, my first daughter Rin got so sick I feared she would die, so me and Aoi bore a second child. When Rin pulled through after Sakura's birth, that created complications."
Archer nodded in understanding. "You were afraid they would have to compete for the right to be heir to the Tohsaka family and come to resent each other." "That or be used against each other by my family's enemies," Tokiomi said with a nod, "This latter reason was why I didn't give them the option to simply not become mages, the same way my father gave me that choice. Since the Matou family had no real heirs it seemed the perfect choice." He paused. "That should have been another red flag that Zouken was deceiving me, since Kariya has plenty of magic potential."
"But Byakuya has no magic potential," Archer realized. "Actually, that's not entirely true," Tokiomi clarified, "He has some, but Kariya is by and large his superior despite being the younger brother. However, Byakuya's son Shinji is completely devoid of Magic Circuits. With Kariya having disowned himself from the family, and Zouken now dead, Sakura is the only one to carry on the Matou lineage." "But Kariya never learned magic, so he can't teach her," Archer noted. He then got a thought. "But you probably could." Tokiomi realized what Archer was suggesting, and it sounded like the prefect idea. "Very well. I'll call Byakuya in the morning."
"That... Was crazy!," Waver called out. He and Rider were at a burger joint in the middle of Fuyuki. "It wasn't so bad," Rider assured him, "And now that I know who each of our opponents are, our chances of victory increase." "Yeah, but one of the other Masters is Kayneth!," Waver said, "My old teacher, whose catalyst I stole! And now he knows I'm in this war, so he'll probably kill me! No scratch that. He'll torture me first, then humiliate in public, and then he'll kill me!"
"You're exaggerating," Rider said, "You were chosen for this war same as him. At worst he'll berate you for stealing his property. Besides, even if you are right, I'm sure Lancer will talk him out of it. She's the level-headed sort, and not afraid to criticize anyone who acts rashly." He grinned. "Besides, who was it who rushed right into the thick of battle while his former teacher hid behind a concealment spell? You only hid because I suggested it. So tell me, would you have hid on your own?" Waver thought about it. "Well, I guess not. I mean, you were right there, so there's no reason to think I wouldn't be safe while you were close by."
"Exactly," Rider said, "The Grail picked you for this war for a reason. And not even Kayneth can take that away from you. The worst he can do is get you eliminated from the war, and that's the same goal as the other five Masters who oppose you. So don't worry. Remember, you have a destroyer of worlds on your side. Sure some of the other Servants are strong, but I've taken down larger enemies. And I haven't shown half of what I can do." Waver smiled. "You know, maybe it is good that I got a Servant like you. They way you talk, I actually feel like things will work out alright."
"So this is what it feels like to feel fear," Ryuunosuke said, "Is this what I was giving all my victims?" "Likely, yes," Caster said rather bluntly. Ryuunosuke sighed. "Now I understand why you're trying to steer me away from that." "When you plan to kill someone, you must understand their feelings in addition to your own," Caster noted, "It prevents you from killing needlessly. It's also best not to kill the young. A predator must never stalk the young of a species, lest they run out of prey."
Ryuunosuke smiled. "You know, you're very philosophical. Do you have a god in your world?" "To the denizens of Nazarick, I am a god," Caster said, "But the New World does have its fair share of deities. Are you saying that, in spite of your obvious psychopathy, you are a believer in God?" "Yeah, actually," Ryuunosuke admitted, "I've always believed that God must be a malicious entity to allow beings like us into it." "That's quite a claim," Caster said, "But it's also a biased one. Too many times I've heard so-called priests and devout believers give their own idea of what God is, and the tales are as numerous as the grains of sand in the desert."
Ryuunosuke frowned, but then brightened up when he realized something. "Hey, I just found it!" Caster seemed confused. "Found what?" "My reason for participating in the Grail War!," Ryuunosuke said, "You said the Holy Grail can grant any wish, right? So I'll just win the war, then wish to speak with God directly. And I'll just ask Him about His disposition!" Caster gave a good-natured laugh. "It's good to see you finally invested in this war, Ryuunosuke! Now I believe we can truly start to enjoy this contest!"
"I never expected to get spotted so easily," Assassin said, sitting in the church pews with Kirei. "That speaks more to Caster's abilities than any failure on your part," Kirei assured him, "You were even able to conceal yourself from Berserker, a high-level vampire. Clearly, Caster's Presence Detection is a level higher than your Presence Concealment. The bad news is now the other Masters know I am still a participant in the war." "But not that you and Tokiomi are working together," Assassin pointed out, "Our plan can still proceed as intended."
Kirei nodded. "I'm glad all seven of you decided to back off. None of us had to waste our Command Seals." Assassin looked over to Kirei. "There's something I want to know. What do you want out of all this?" Kirei looked confused. "If all our plans do succeed, that will leave only me and Archer left to fight," Assassin explained, "And while we were playing it up for the watchers, if both of us fought to our full potential, there's a chance I could be the victor and leave you the prize of the Holy Grail."
Kirei had to admit, the possibility was there. He thought about it, and only one thing came to mind. "Answers. To just what I am. I wasn't born normal. I can only seem to derive joy from sinful acts. I thought that perhaps I could get those answers from Kiritsugu, who seems to be the same as me. But if you're right, I probably won't find those answers from him. So perhaps I could get them from the Grail instead." Assassin chuckled. "When you say sinful, do you mean from a moral perspective... Or the church's perspective? I mean, your father is a priest too, so maybe you're just lacking context for what real sin is."
"All the more reason to use the Grail to find answers," Kirei pointed out. He turned to Assassin. "What of you? The Servant is also allowed a wish, as consolation for aiding the magus in obtaining the Grail." Assassin was silent for a time. "Throughout my life I've had little regrets. What few there were only enabled my legend. If I really had to pick a wish... It would be to have Akechi Goro back in our lives. Say, right after we defeated Yaldabaoth. Akechi... He really proved himself a friend at the very end. Right up to the day our lives ended, decades after our legend was over, we never learned what truly happened to him." Kirei smiled, the first genuine smile he'd had in a long time. "It's a good wish."
Kariya had just gotten finished reconnecting with Sakura, who seemed more cheerful now that she wasn't being tormented by Zouken's poor excuse for training. Before she left, she turned to Berserker. "Thanks for helping to save me. Please continue to look after Uncle Kariya." Berserker gave her a good-natured head pat. "You bet, kid. Just leave it to old Uncle Alucard." Byakuya, Sakura's adopted father, was also there. "I'm sorry for all this. I tried to defy Zouken, but after what he did to my wife in retaliation..."
Kariya couldn't help but feel sympathetic. Now that Zouken's shadow was removed from the Matou household, all feelings of animosity the two brothers had for each other seemed to disappear with it. "Believe me," Kariya said, "If Zouken hadn't based his entire magecraft around those worms I'd have never left. It was just bad luck your son was born without the gift for magic. I'd imagine if he did have the potential your wife would still be alive." Byakuya gave a sad smile. "Maybe..."
After he and Sakura left, Berserker turned to his Master. "So I didn't want to say this while they were in the room, but what's up with your niece's hair?" "A side-effect of the Crest Worms," Kariya explained, "One that's not likely to go away, unlike the rest of the damage done to her. Though to be honest, that may be the most benign change to her body." "Yeah no kidding," Berserker said, "That's like anime hair right there. She's bound to be the talk of her elementary school playground in all the right ways."
He sat down near Kariya's hospital bed. "So... Now that you don't have to give the Grail to Zouken, what are your new plans?" "You said the Grail was corrupted, yes?," Kariya said, "Then my wish is obvious. Erase the corruption altogether. That way whoever wins the Fifth Holy Grail War will be able to have an uncorrupted wish." "Then I'll let you make your wish first," Berserker said, "Because my wish... Would be to resurrect Alexander Anderson for a true, one-on-one fight without resorting to becoming a monster."
Kariya nodded. "The guy meant a lot to you, didn't he?" "Fighting him was like fighting Abraham van Hellsing all over again," Berserker admitted, "Only with more holy artifacts. I always thought that if anyone could kill me it would be him. That's why it broke my heart when he stabbed his with Helena's Nail, one of the nails that pierced Christ's flesh when he was crucified. I know a version of the events I experienced will happen again in this timeline, and there's likely nothing I can do to stop it..." Kariya noticed a tear of blood escaping from behind Berserker's glasses. "Doesn't mean I have to like it..."
Kariya decided to lighten the mood. "So what was that hellhound you summoned?" Berserker seemed to waiting for a chance to cheer up as he quickly replied, "Oh that was the Hound of the Baskervilles." "The same one from the Sherlock Holmes story?," Kariya asked. Berserker cackled before calmly saying, "No. No, that was an ordinary dog painted with phosphorus. However, Stapleton did try summoning a legitimate hellhound at first. However, the Hellsing Organization, which was in its infancy at the time, caught wind of this and sent me to deal with the demon dog. And did I."
"After which you devoured the beast and claimed it for yourself," Kariya noted. "Satan's still trying to get me to return it," Berserker said, "Anyway, Stapleton learned half his lesson after that. He still wanted to kill the Baskervilles and take their fortune for himself, but decided it would be wiser not to summon another hellhound. So he bought an ordinary dog, trained it, and painted it with phosphorous to look like a hellhound. And it worked... Until Sherlock Holmes stepped in." Kariya laughed. "You've had an interesting life."
Meanwhile, a secret group was meeting to discuss matters. "Gentlemen," a deep voice said in the shadows, "The Holy Grail War has started. But the Servants summoned are stronger than anticipated, leaving both the Association and the Church scrambling to keep the war covered up. And while that is going on... We have a chance to slip in and grab the Grail for ourselves." "And what if the Servants catch wind of us?," a younger voice said, "I doubt anyone involved in the war will be against them eliminating those attempting to interfere." "I have a plan for that," the deeper voice said, smirking in the dark.
To be continued...
It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!
"Here we are again!," Taiga said, "And it looks like things are talking an odd turn. Now we have a group lurking in the shadows." Illya looked confused. "But... These people aren't canon to Fate/Zero. I mean, it's kinda moot since this is a fanfic, but still." "Oh, the author just needs a way to fill in twenty-five chapters worth of Fate/Zero," Taiga said dismissively, "He'll probably do something similar with Fate/Stay Night." Illya brightened up. "Oh! That's means we get to do more than just this dojo!" "Speaking of which!," Taiga said, "Let's introduce our new Archer, Captain Marvelous!"
Marvelous jumped down from seemingly out of nowhere. "Greetings. It's nice to be invited here." "I gotta say," Illya said, "You're much more sociable than Gilgamesh ever was." "I wouldn't be an effective captain if I wasn't a people-person," Marvelous pointed out, "To captain a crew, one must have full trust in their crew. Whether sailing the seas or the cosmos, you're treading dangerous waters, so having a trustworthy crew that trusts you in turn is essential." "Words to live by," Taiga noted, "Stay tuned for the next chapter, The Missing Catalysts!"
Yep, I decided to include an actual bad guy, or group of bad guys, for this fanfic. We'll learn more about them as the story continues. Read and review.