Chapter 11: The Great Train Battle
As response to some reviews, note that the actual winner of the Grail War has still not been chosen. However, factors are going to include details about their personalities, wishes, history, and any requests that may have been made over PM over character development and possible mini-plots. After all, this is a story after all, so the wish that is best granted has to feel the best story wise.
That said, I wont say who, or how, or why, but I have been eliminating possibilities as I go, and the pool is getting narrowed down.
Glug glug glug.
"""Ahhhhhh...""" the three boys exhaled, as they drank some of their coffee milk. The vending machine was in a waiting and resting area connected to the baths, so it was easy to access. Especially after going through the experienced of being bathed by Suzuki. It would probably be more okay, but she always does it with such energy...even Horus got embarrassed, and Horus doesnt even get embarrassed just when he himself is naked around people, let alone all three of them.
That said...
"Is it me, or does it feel abnormally peaceful today?"
"Everyone is probably just tired. Lets just appreciate it while we can".
"That said...I dont sense Lancer, Castor, or Berserker...I wonder where they went?"
Right as the group arrived at the Train Station, they were immediately attacked. Not by Servants, or Mages, or even people...
Ruler managed to arrive right behind them, and instead saw what was in their way as weird humanoid blobs of red. They looked unfinished, weird, and disgusting.
"Activate Noble Phantasm! Warrior Priest Servants!" Set announced, as several Warrior Priests, both men and women, wearing revealing clothing one would expect from Ancient Egypt, a Desert Empire, to have, along with weapons.
"Activate Noble Phantasm! Twin Hunters: Apollemis!" Icarus also announced, summoning his two bows and attacking them with full force. He had also re-equiped his normal fighting clothes.
"Berserker, we need to get on that train before it leaves!" Lobo announced as he ran forward towards the train. "We cant let it leave! The kidnapped are definently on board!"
"There you are Ruler! Come on, you are a Servant, and this is your task, so keep up!"
"Hmf. I may be a Servant, but I am still Sherlock Holmes. I never go in without a plan".
"Uhhg...what the hell is that loud racket..." Ren complained, as she began to wake up. Wherever she was though, it felt chilly...chilly and cold, and when she opened her eyes...
"Ah. Dont look at me. This was not my idea".
There was a boy in front of her, with his hands bound behind his back and his ankles bound in front of him, with his knees curled up as well. However, he also didn't seem to be wearing any clothing at all...and in fact...
Ren tried to struggle as she realized it, but could not move in the slightest. There was also another man, older then both of them, in the same way.
The way they were stored at least prevented anyone from seeing anything, as everyone's knees were raised in front of them, but it was clearly uncomfortable. But then, what was even more noticable, was their right hands. The Command Seals felt like they were burning, and they were also glowing a little.
"Don't bother. Whatever is going on with them, we cant use them to summon our Servants. My name is Simon Agravain, by the way".
"You can call me Luca. Luca Jones".
It appeared those two woke up first, given that they had already calmed themselves down. It appeared they were in some sort of train car though.
"What the hell happened?! I was just walking back, and then...and then..."
"And then I stopped you" the hooded figure said, as it seemed to suddenly appear in the room. Or maybe it was always there, and somehow no one noticed.
"What the hell! Who are you!? What did you do to us?! Why are we naked?! What is going on here?!"
"Well, it is quite simple" the hooded figure said. "I own you now. And as pets, you don't really need clothing right? Not if I say you dont, because you are my Servants. You and those Heroic Spirits, all belong to me. I am the rightful owner of the seals on your hands, and the beings you have summoned. And this way, you wont ignore me. Don't worry about freezing to death though, this train will keep you properly heated to survive the trip through the snowy mountains".
"What the hell are you, to be able to disable Masters and Servants like that? NO normal human could be capable of it".
"Who the hell said I was normal?!"
Even though the grey robed figure seemed calm and composed, it was becoming very clear to Ren and the others it had some issues. Whether they were issues that could be manipulated, or issues that could get them killed if they brought up, was unclear though.
"Besides, its captive taking 101. Strip them naked, and you can psychologically dominate them always, plus there exists zero chance for them to have hidden Magecraft and weapons they might use against you. Not that you could actually harm me that is. Simon, stand up, do a spin, do all sorts of stretches for one minute, and then sit back down into position. Everyone else, watch without looking away".
Suddenly, their bodies seemed to move and act on their own, as Simon was forced to do as he was told, before finally being allowed to sit back down.
"See? Even your Servants cannot resist my command. Lancers, appear. Berserker, appear as well".
Suddenly, the two Lancers, and even the Berserker that should have died, appeared.
"By the way, Simon. That was an interesting Noble Phantasm I witnessed. I bet no one saw it, you taking out a Lighter for a split second, igniting a spark, and using a Command Seal with that to activate Berserker's Noble Phantasm...no, I should use his True Name, Amirani".
"How do you know all this?!" Simon said, a little freeked out. As carefree and casual as he usually was, this situation was bizzare even for a Grail War.
"Well, it is really quite simple. I am better then you. Better then everything. And once I obtain the Greater Grail, I will have everything I desire".
"How are you going to do that? Even if you have some weird magic to stop us, and our Servants, if you had the power to manipulate the Greater Grail, you would have done so. But there is no such power, because nothing is more powerful then the Greater Grail..."
Luca started to antagonize him, much to the dismay of the others. None of them could even do Magecraft, so neither Ren nor Simon understood why he was risking their lives like this.
"Lies! I shall prove I am better! I will not allow myself to be ignored any more!"
"So, you are upset because you were never allowed to be in a Grail War? Because you were never given Command Seals?"
"I dont need to be given Command Seals! I have plenty of my own!" the figure declared, pulling up the arm of his robe and revealing his arm, which was littered with countless Command Seals. More then they felt like counting.
However, this did let Simon learn something.
So that is why Berserker is here, even though I still have two Command Seals back. It seems he is able to seal our ability to use them, and even take control of our Servants, but he cant make us use our own Command Seals...that said...I can still feel Berserker's spirit. The control, its not complete. Although it appears he took full control, it seems limited. Likely, he sealed our Command Seals so we cant use them to take our Servants back...
Simon was already trying to think of a way out, although things did not look very good. An unknown enemy with unknown power, capable of manipulating Servants and Command Seals. Whoever this was, it was Servant Class Strength on his own at least. Or Servant Class Danger anyways...
"Well now, that is certainly a large number of Command Seals" another voice said in a british accent. They three turned their heads, which was about the only thing they could move, and saw the others.
"Serdtse-sensei! Sanchez-sensei!" Ren shouted in genuine happiness, though as she remembered why, her face turned red. "Don't look at me!"
"Is now really the time? Please, feel free to look at us if it means you can rescue us!" Simon shouted.
Ruler suddenly took out a firearm created with Magecraft, and shot it at the cloaked figure. This caused the figure to open the train door, and then jump and escape onto the roof!
"Everyone, hurry! We cant let it get away!"
"Please untie us first!"
"There is no time! Everyone, leave them here for now and chase them! Come on Watson!"
The group followed Ruler, listening to the dangerous situation, heading up to the roof as well, with two singular exception. While the ten others went up, they remained behind to help. It was Serdtse-sensei and Castor remained behind, and began to help Ren, his student, and the others out of the magical bindings, taking out what appear to be automated tools they held to their magical bindings to help open it.
Meanwhile, the others emerged. Castor of Red took position in front of Marco, to protect the boy as he focused on a singular Magecraft: A barrier that would protect them all from harm. Lobo and Berserker took the first step forward, but then felt a strange pulse inside their bodies as the hooded figure had raised their hand, and caused them to stop in their tracks.
"Tell me, why do you think I did not command those three Servants to attack you? Do you not understand yet? You cannot defeat me, and Ruler lacks the power. And to think, the Ruler was Sherlock Holmes of all people. I thought it might be someone bothersome like Joan of Arc, but to think it was just you..."
"Although it is true Joan of Arc is the best choice, I believe I understand a few reasons why I was chosen...such as being able to figure out who you are, without even using my Noble Phantasms!"
"What the hell was that?!"
"I heard everything before we arrived you see, and based on what you said, I know exactly who and what you are, as well as what your plans are!"
"How could you possibly!? That train sealed with my ingenius power!"
That was when Rune held out his hand with his fingers making the V for Victory while sticking his tongue out.
"You see, I actually placed a Rune on Luca that let me listen in on everything".
Indeed, flashing back to last night, Rune had done exactly that the moment Luca ran off. Luca was unaware of it too, so even if the cloaked figure had scanned his mind, he would not have known about it.
"Yes, and from the information relayed, I have come to realize something. You despise them, Masters and Servants. It was not just for safety reasons, or really for psychological dominated. You just wanted to humiliate them. You hated them, despised them. Because they never satisfied you, because they ignored you...because they even attacked you before, correct?"
The hooded figure seemed to growl in response to that, a growl of anger and rage as it was reminded of that.
"So much hatred, you have been corrupted so much, that you dont care what you do to make them squirm and suffer".
A bloodlust could be felt coming from him, powerful and dangerous. Set prepared his daggers, Icarus his bows, and the others all started to prepare their own attacks and tricks.
"You think you can defeat me with your petty Noble Phantasms and abilities?!"
Ruler however seemed to motion to them to stand down.
"Of course not. Aside from me and Watson, I doubt the others can actually harm you. After all, from everything I said, from all the details I mentioned, and then adding in your ability to manipulate Command Seals, the Masters with them, and Servants...from what you said, you can only be...the Lesser Grail!"
Suddenly, the wind whipped away the figure's hood, and Kirei Kotomine...or rather, his corpse, with a weird melted golden circle on his chest, possessed by the Lesser Grail...was revealed there. "I suppose it makes sense you would possess that person out of everyone you could..."
"I am not the Lesser Grail! I will not be neglected! I will not be discarded! I will not be ignored!"
"Ruler, what is going on?" Inuzuka asked, as not even he was quite sure what was going on. He had pieced together most of it, but he was still missing some pieces. Everyone else however was entirely lost and surprised.
"Simple. In the first three Fuyuki Grail Wars, the Grail War was never really concluded in time, and a wish was never granted. In the fourth and fifth, two different people, though both with the last name of Emiya, ended up attacking and destroying the Grail. And now, with the Greater Holy Grail Wars, the Lesser Grail was bypassed all together. It seems, that as it was unable to complete its wish, and after being as it saw as 'Neglected', 'discarded' or 'attacked', and then 'ignored', its spirit possessed Kirei Kotomine and his Command Seals, and decided to take action. Thats why it can do everything it can. Thats why its impossible for any Masters or Servants to fight it".
"Yes! I shall not be defeated! Not be the likes of you, or anyone else!"
It raised out its hand, and the Masters began to feel their Command Spells burn while their Servants also felt crippling pain.
"We have to do...something...what about you and Watson...wait, when did..."
That was when everyone, even the Grail, finally noticed there was an extra person there...the one that had been called "Watson".
And in that moment, as the train began to turn on the tracks around a mountain, a sniper bullet shot the hand off of Grail.
And from hundreds of meters away, Hanaba Kyouske-kun looked through his scope at Grail.
"Operation is a go! Now, Reika, Uzumi!"
And on the train, the mirage of "Watson" disappeared as Reika and Uzumi appeared in its place. Reika had a bow out, and fired several arrows at it, while Uzumi drew dual swords and charged at Grail, slashing at him.
"What the?!"
"As I deduced, the ability to capture both Masters and Servants meant you had some way to manipulate and disable them. So, learning these three were here, before I left I decided to recruit them as my assistants".
Flashing back to before...
The reason Ruler was the last to arrive was because of this...
"You want us to gear up and follow that plan?"
"You can do it right?"
"Yeah, we have the tools ready, and Black Faction already prepared some things for operations in this area, just in case".
"Then, I want you to cover us with sniper support, Kyouske-kun, while Reika-chan and Uzumi-chan use a special magic tool to imitate Watson and follow us discreetly. Rather then this culprit being powerful, I think he might just have some specific abilities. So...its possible the ones who would threaten him the most are people who are not Mages or Servants, which is why he targeted those who were alone, nowhere near the students or Mages Association support staff".
"Got it, you can count on us Ruler!" they said, giving a childish salute, before remembering they were still naked and covering up again with red cheeks.
And now, the result of that plan was being shown.
The three of them were currently dressed in specialized cold weather battle gear, instead of their school uniforms, although the gear had the school logos on them. Reika would fight both in close quarters and at range with a bow, while Uzumi focused on close range attacks and using magic items as support.
Meanwhile, Kyouske was using pre-established teleportation markers across multiple points in the mountains to keep being able to target Grail, even as the train moved forward. And this also let him attack at random and unpredictable angles.
Although Ruler felt it was somewhat silly, to have a battle in a Grail War that did not involve Masters or Servants, there was absolutely...
"What the?!"
And suddenly, several arrows came out of nowhere and hit Grail. Inuzuka just let out a chuckle.
"Another thing we both probably noticed, is that it seems he has a certain range in which he can do that. And right now, Icarus is well out of his range".
It seems Red Faction was raking in the achievments right now, or rather Inuzuka and Icarus mainly. Even if Inuzuka was in pain, Icarus was well out of range of Grail's abilities...or really, almost everyone's range in general.
And with that opening, Uzumi ran up and slashed his legs, sweeping them immediately after to trip him up. Reika then moved in, and kicked upward while he was falling to send him up into the air, where Kyouske shot at him more while Uzumi jumped up and downward kicked him right into the train car, for Reika then to kick right in the stomach as he bounced back up from recoil and Kyousuke shot him in the head.
Reika then fired several more arrows at him, while Uzumi ran up and went to stab downward into him...
"Enough!" Grail shouted, created a shockwave to knock them back.
Grail, who had incapacited Masters and Servants with ease, was now being beaten back by a bunch of kids without Servant Class powers or Magecraft. Maybe if it was one, or even two, it would be fine. Icarus was helping for sure, but the real reason he was getting beaten back...was the teamwork between those three. They were comboing attacks and acting like a well trained military unit rather then a bunch of kids. In retrospect, they probably would have very promising careers if they worked together as a mercenary group.
And creating that shockwave did not even help, as it left him open for Kyousuke to shoot at some more. He created a barrier to try and block it, but Kyousuke was using a sniper rifle made from and enhanced with Magecraft. The barrier was not going to hold for long.
"I will not be defeated by a bunch of brats who are less then me!"
It seemed the battle had only just begun...
AN: Haha! I bet that really shocked everyone, learning who the hooded figure was! His name will now officially be Grail BTW. And wow, he really is holding a grudge...
Also, I considered others ways to display this, but I thought it might be a bit mean to brutally torture three characters through pain and blades at this stage. :3