The attack on Caster and Assassin went hideously, horribly wrong.
Arjuna had not even the slightest inkling of a problem. It seemed to be going just fine, with Robin and Junea attacking from one side while he and Karna took another. They ran into defenses, of course, but Arjuna destroyed runic bounded fields and Karna knocked missiles – missiles? – out of the sky with his spear. Everything was going perfectly.
Then Caster and his Master came out to greet them.
"…?!" Arjuna stared in shock as his brother smiled at him. It was a malicious, poisonous expression. "What are you doing here?" This was impossible. Their grandfather had declined to help and father had already decided they wouldn't participate unless there was an extremely good chance of success. He had only two sons and passing the Mage Crest to a girl was an act of desperation. The smile abruptly vanished, replaced with a sneer.
"The old bastard thought he could keep me at home! Well, screw him! I completed a summoning and came myself!" …Oh dear gods. Arjuna swallowed as he thought about what this meant. If he killed his brother holidays would be a nightmare. "My Caster might not be the strongest class but he'll take care of your stupid Lancer!" …Hmm. Arjuna suddenly realized his brother might not know Karna's identity. Their father never gave out information unless he had to and only Brynhildr would have told him… except… she would never have allowed him to do this. No, he didn't know.
"Master, please," Caster said, his tone gently admonishing. Runes on his clothing flared green and he met Karna's eyes. Flames began to gather around Karna. "Shall we do this?"
"Yes." Karna moved, his spear darting out in a quick motion that belied the weight of the weapon. Arjuna drew in a slow breath as he watched Caster dancing away. Understanding the disadvantages of hand to hand versus a lance, he seemed to be taking a defensive stance. He was fast though, fast and agile. Arjuna tore his gaze away from the two Servants to look at his brother. He was looking at Arjuna with that perfectly poisonous smirk.
"Are we going to fight?" Arjuna asked, hiding his trepidation at the thought. Chaos magic was ideal for combat and the Mage Crest of the family would put him at a horrible disadvantage. And his brother had been trained since he was very young… but his brother shook his head.
"Perish the thought! I can't upset your mother can I?" …Was he joking? Shanaya would only be upset that her failure of a son couldn't give her grandbabies. "I'll just bring you home to father, he was grumbling about the loss of income."
"I think I would much rather die," Arjuna muttered, wondering if he really meant it. Gods, he might. Well, even if they weren't going to fight it would still be prudent to use Perfect Alignment. "I am the silver that never tarnishes," Arjuna murmured the couplet under his breath. He didn't really expect anything to happen. Perfect Alignment couldn't tell the future, it wouldn't really let him help Karna in his battle, as quickly as they were moving. Looking back, Arjuna saw the golden spear lash out viciously before colliding with a shield of darkness. Karna leapt back and gathered fire in his palm before blowing it at Caster. Arjuna saw the shield flex, not taking the hits directly but shedding them like raindrops from a coat. No, his sorcerous trait couldn't help Karna.
Perfect Alignment, though, was all about seeing what was there. Arjuna's breath caught in his throat as he realized something. Caster was moving with perfect assurance, as if he had a plan in mind. Darting a gaze at his brother, Arjuna realized that his confidence was too firm, too certain. All of this added up to one thing and Arjuna knew.
This is a trap. We must abort and pull back, Arjuna said urgently to Karna. Blue eyes flickered towards him but then his Servant ignored him, attacking Caster with all his strength. Flames exploded from him like a star but Caster's fire runes flared with glorious strength. Arjuna had to shield his eyes from the explosion. Karna!
Do not worry Master. I will defeat him, Karna replied and Arjuna hesitated. His sorcerous trait was screaming at him that this was wrong, they shouldn't do it. Glancing down at his Command Seals, Arjuna seriously thought about using one. But if he did… Robin was fighting Assassin. Could they safely abort? And even if they could, was he being ridiculous? Trust me.
I… trust you… but… Arjuna started before stopping. He'd never disobeyed Perfect Alignment before. It was perfection, never wrong. But what trap could they have that could defeat Karna?
In a shocking moment of pure horror, Arjuna found out. Another flashing clash, fists against lance, and then Caster pulled out a dagger. Karna couldn't evade, the other Servant was too close, and the twisting thing scraped across his chest before raising a hair-thin line of blood. It was nothing, the merest of pinpricks.
And it was more than enough. Arjuna's eyes went wide as he felt the connection between them suddenly grow tenuous before snapping like an overstressed harpstring. Pain lanced through his hand and Arjuna gasped, gripping it automatically. Then he forced himself to let go and look. The seals were still there but pallid reflections of what they should be and before his horrified eyes, they quickly vanished. No! Arjuna looked up and met blue eyes, wide and full of shock and knew that Karna was lost for now.
Arjuna wasn't going to disobey Perfect Alignment a second time and even though his soul screamed, he turned on his heel and ran. Chanting the spell to reinforce his legs and increase his speed, Arjuna began to zig zag back and forth to avoid any fire. A fireball passed over his shoulder and exploded but he jumped over the inferno, evading it easily with the grace that was his sorcerous trait. Tears nearly blinded him but Arjuna did not once stop moving.
He had to get away.
Karna stood absolutely still. His body was vibrating slightly, but that was the only sign of the conflict as he struggled with all his will against the bonds that had been imposed upon him.
It was hopeless. He knew that instinctively. Karna's willpower was without peer but whatever this was, was controlling him on a more fundamental level. It was like a modified command seal and willpower was simply not enough.
"He got away! Curse it Caster, why didn't you use the Servant to kill him?" The Master complained and Karna felt a moment of shock, followed by outrage. Caster just lifted an eyebrow.
"I thought we had decided to take Arjuna alive, Master?" Caster asked before continuing in a reasonable tone. "Lancer can resist my commands to a certain degree. Holding him in place is easy enough, but having him chase his former Master… he would be slow and sluggish. Also, Master, if you intend to take your brother alive you shouldn't attempt to turn him into charcoal." The blast of fiery chaos magic had been from him. The young man huffed.
"Whatever! We have our prize. Force him to cough up his name," the Master ordered briskly and Caster grimaced faintly but obliged, turning to face him. Karna met calm brown eyes and hated the other Servant with all his heart as he heard his voice speak, slow and unwilling.
"Karna," he said, not fully introducing himself. Yet it was more than enough as Caster's eyes widened and the boy looked elated.
"Did you sense how his stats jumped?" Yes, knowing his name deactivated Uncrowned Arms Mastery. "He's perfect! He's really perfect! We can use him to kill Saber before we kill him!" Caster's lips tightened and Karna felt a deep disgust at them both.
"Master… he's not a fool so he would know our plans but must we discuss them in front of him?" Caster said and Karna did not think the other Heroic Spirit was speaking from any true concern. He only thought it unmannerly, discussing Karna's death in front of him. Then Caster cocked his head, his eyes going vague and unfocused. "I've advised Assassin. We should leave now, Master." Where would they be taking him? A backup base? Or was this, perhaps, the backup?
Karna was not going to disgrace himself by asking and when Caster ordered him to follow he did so, with movements that were slow and unwilling. As he did, a deep regret filled his heart.
I'm sorry Arjuna. I should have listened.
Robin Hood thought the attack on Caster and Assassin was going well.
Despite the danger Saber posed, Robin strongly supported this attack because Daud and Archer were sneaky little bastards. If you gave them enough time, they'd figure out a way to find the victory. And while they had no more motivation to grab the Grail than Robin did – Archer had given up on his wish a long time ago and Daud didn't even have one – it was all a matter of professional pride. They'd give it their all, just like they always did.
They'd made a mistake this time, though. Just a tiny little slip-up in their magic shielding, it had led Junea to their base. The damn thing was well-hidden, deep in the mountains and fed with Earth ley lines. The setting did mean that there would be no innocent bystanders. That would be very helpful.
Junea's cell phone buzzed and Robin didn't hesitate, lifting his bow and beginning the fusillade. That was his part in this. Junea had enchanted his bow and arrows, each one was equivalent to a mystical bomb. Not as good as Archer's broken phantasms, in his Archer class, but powerful enough that the wards would begin to shatter. If they didn't do anything Robin was going to break through and then, he'd manifest Yew Tree behind the broken wards and fill the base with poison.
Of course, Assassin and Caster knew that. So Robin expected the blades that flew out of the shadows.
Dropping his bow, Robin pulled out his sword and then they were going at it. Sparks rose from the contact and Robin's eyes narrowed as he fought with all his skill. It was too even a battle for his taste… Archer knew his moves, but Robin knew his moves too. Robin had better endurance but Archer had the slight edge in agility. Robin had the edge in strength as well, though, and thought he would win. Even if the Assassin Archer (so funny) was a tricky son of a bitch.
"Gandr!" Robin's eyes flicked briefly to the side as he saw his Master duking it out with the Tohsaka woman. His lips tightened for a moment as he registered her age. The girl couldn't be past eighteen. Putting that aside – Grail Wars were ugly business – Robin redoubled his efforts to get past Assassin's guard. They were going to win. Karna couldn't loose against Caster and that meant they were going to win.
In the middle of the melee, Assassin dropped one blade – it dissolved as projections tended to do – and pulled out a cell phone. Robin couldn't stop him from triggering the pre-set spell inside and cursed as he was very briefly caught by a mystical net. Assassin took the advantage to jump back and materialize his bow, peppering Robin with arrows. Robin managed to dodge just enough to avoid one, but had to take the other, a painful hit the shoulder. Then he shattered the binding and materialized his bow, responding in kind. Robin ignored the pain, the way the blood was seeping through his clothes, as they both ran in quick, darting movements and sniped each other. He was going to win. He was going to –
Robin, Arjuna just sent the panic code. Wait, what? Robin almost missed a step in surprise but quickly recovered. The panic code was a special cell phone notification, it made the phone scream. They'd come up with it so either side of the attack could easily let the other know that something was going badly wrong. He hadn't thought they'd use it though! Get her off me so I can call him.
"Fuck woman this isn't easy," Robin muttered but did his best, launching a powerful attack on the Master. Assassin immediately blocked his arrows, knocking them out of the way and Robin's lips tightened as he saw the bastard smirk. Then Assassin scooped up his Master and vanished into the woods, carrying the girl in his arms. Robin wanted to follow and shoot them both but he forced himself to stop and listen as Junea spoke to Arjuna.
"What the hell do you mean you lost him?!" Junea almost shrieked and Robin closed his eyes for a moment. Karna, they had lost Karna somehow. Robin breathed slowly as he thought. If they'd lost Karna then… this had been a setup from the beginning. There hadn't been a minor slip up in the mystical concealments, there had been a deliberate bait to bring them in. Robin bitterly blamed himself for not seeing it. That emotion quickly deepened into fury. Karna lost… "The little stinker? Are you serious? No, don't keep moving, we'll come to you." …Eh. Robin mentally shrugged before walking to his Master. She shut off her cell phone before giving him a hard stare. "Did you know they could do this?"
"No," Robin said shortly and saw a strange look cross Junea's face. (later he would realize it was fear and that his rage had been showing) "Let's get the kid and get out of here." From the way Assassin had taken off, Robin was sure they'd broken off and taken their prize with them. Karna wouldn't be easy to control, they'd have to break him in. Robin's lips tightened at the thought. Oh yes, he knew how that worked…
Robin forced himself to be calm as he lifted his Master in his arms, carrying her easily as he sped through the woods, looking for Arjuna. Junea directed him, using her magic, and soon enough they found the kid. He looked like hell, his face scraped up a bit from errant branches and his clothing torn and spotted with soot. There were no real injuries, though, and Robin was thankful for that. Arjuna was rubbing his face and Robin pretended not to notice the tears.
"We should get out of here. Ride on my back kid," Robin said gently. He wanted the story but he was unwilling to trust that they were safe here. Arjuna swallowed before nodding and climbing onto his back.
Giving up Karna for lost was painful, very painful, but Robin knew he'd suddenly gone from a position of strength to one of weakness. Why hadn't they finished him off? Robin already knew, Daud was struggling to control Karna. It wasn't easy, breaking another Servant to your will. But how had he broken the Master-Servant bond with Arjuna? Robin had no idea.
He found out when they got back to the Einzbern's castle, safely behind the wards.
"He used a dagger, a twisting dagger. The blade was almost iridescent and the hilt was gold," Arjuna said, concentrating hard as he tried to recall every detail. Robin felt a chill. He knew that weapon. "It just scratched him! But it… did this…" Arjuna lifted his hand and Robin reached up to rub his forehead, feeling another snarl of fury, not just at their enemies but also himself.
"Rule Breaker, it's the Noble Phantasm of Medea, the Sorceress of Colchis," Robin said, reflecting on it. He got on pretty well with Medea, actually. He'd allied with her a few times in various Grail Wars. Both the Masters turned to look at him. "Archer uses projection magic, I told you that. The bastard must have projected it and given it to Daud to use." For fuck's sake.
"What the hell? Projecting a Noble Phantasm, are you serious?" Junea demanded and Robin reached for a cigarette. He needed to calm down. "Why didn't you mention they could do that?!"
"I didn't know they could!" Robin snapped back before pulling out a cancer stick and lighting it, taking a deep drag. The taste of nicotine was soothing. "I've never seen them do that before." Yes, he knew Archer could project Noble Phantasms but he'd only seen him break them in the Archer class. As far as he knew, the only one's he actually used were his swords.
"What do we do now?" Arjuna looked at him like he had to have the answers. Robin wished he did. Although, he did have a good idea.
"We need an alliance," Robin said grimly. "Hector would be the best candidate." Arjuna was nodding but Junea looked skeptical. Robin directed his words at her. "He doesn't have any allies that we know of." Hopefully he hadn't allied with Berserker, whoever the hell that was. They still hadn't found him. "And he knows Daud and Archer as well as I do. He'll see what a danger they're turning into." This was making Saber look good. "Working together, we can get Karna back." Although… Junea filled in the rest.
"Hector will backstab us as soon as it's convenient." Yes, absolutely. Robin sighed a bit internally. "Do you think you can handle him?"
"Not sure but I'd have a better chance than I would against Daud and Archer," Robin said briefly. Against Karna alone his chances would be… bad, yet not horrible. Robin knew how he'd try to use Yew Tree and Tangled Thorns against him. Against Daud and Archer together though… with Karna supporting… he might as well give up and slit his own throat. "It depends a bit on his Master." Robin smiled coldly at Junea then. "The Master can always be the greatest weakness." She glared back at him but Robin didn't look away, letting them be pulled into a battle of wills.
"Can you both stop it?" Robin and Junea looked at Arjuna at the same time and Robin felt a bit of guilt as he saw how tired and hurt he looked. Poor kid. "Junea, do you have any idea where Rider is?"
"No, but I'll find him. Even just send him a message directly, it shouldn't be too hard," Junea said briskly and Robin wondered how she'd manage that. He knew diddly about things like that, though.
"And try to find their real base," Robin said gloomily. That was going to be fun. Maybe Hector would have some idea? He was a tricky bastard too, maybe he would. "But right now, Arjuna, you need to get cleaned up, healed and eat something." Robin said firmly, focusing on the kid. He was pretty scratched up. Arjuna looked rebellious and opened his mouth but Robin raised a hand. "You need to get ready for when we rescue Karna." Hopefully they'd be in time. Although Robin thought it would take Daud a while to really break Karna. He'd be able to do it, though. Robin thought about it grimly.
He'd been married to a witch. He knew the ways they could break a man.