Saturday…
"You have a lot of guts coming back here, Grail War or not." Marcus said angrily.
"Before the raid, I was hoping that you dumbf***s were out of town." Harry admitted. "But since I saw you during that, I knew that this would happen eventually."
"Then why did you continue trying to hide?" Marcus questioned.
"Because I was hoping that when you found me, I would be in my car about to get the f*** outta here and not come back."
"You do realize that there is one very, very important thing you left here, right?"
"What?" Harry asked.
"Drop the act, we both know that you know who I'm talking about?"
"If you're talking about that psychotic b****-"
"Close, but not quite." Marcus replied. "Jenny died ten years ago. Casualty of the last Grail War."
"There was another one before this? But whatever. It's good riddance that she's not-"
Marcus then slapped Harry as hard as he could.
"I've had it with you talking about my sister like that." Marcus growled.
'Tch. F*** you."
"The one I'm talking about is your son, Ian."
"Who?"
"You don't remember? You don't even remember your own son!" Marcus yelled.
"Oh… That kid. Far too much trouble over one little bas-"
Marcus punched Harry in the face, prompting Lancer to materialize.
"Okay. That's enough." he said. "While I do kinda enjoy seeing this guy get what's coming to him, I still have to stop you there."
Marcus backed down as Archer materialized. "Honestly, I was considering making you see Ian, but you've become even bigger piece of s*** over the years."
"Why would you even bother?"
"Because Ian deserves to see his father at least once in his life, but you are really starting to push it."
"C'mon, Archer. Let's go."
Marcus turned to leave. Archer stayed behind a little bit to make sure Harry and Lancer don't try anything while his Master's back was turned. When Lancer dematerialized and Harry left, Archer entered spirit form as well and followed his own Master.
Fate/new dawn
Chapter 24: Be Sure That Your Sin Will Find You Out
"You're still thinking about what to do about Harry." Archer said.
"Yes." Marcus sighed. "I'm afraid of just how badly Ian will react to how much a s***bag his father is."
"Perhaps it's better that he not know in the first place." Archer suggested.
"Yeah, maybe."
Marcus then received a call and he answered.
"Hello?"
"This is Anderson. Confirmation code: 608." the voice on the other end of the line said.
"Confirmed. This is Wilkins. Confirmation code: 777."
"Confirmed." Anderson said. "How are things holding up on your end, Marcus?"
"Going well. We have the upper hand at the moment. Three of Omega's Servants are dead and one of their members has defected."
"Great. My group has just finished up with investigating the abandoned Tohsaka estate."
"What are the results of your search?" Marcus inquired.
"We have found nothing of note, unfortunately. It seems that someone beat us to the punch long ago." Anderson sighed. "Most books and documents were either missing or destroyed. Anything that was intact was completely ordinary."
"Additionally, the Bounded Field was disabled as well."
"I see…" Marcus frowned.
"We plan on moving on to the old Makiri estate next. Most of us are afraid to go, though. Afraid that old wormbag is still around."
"That would be troubling." The CEO said.
"The Makiri family were extremely prominent magi. Their patriarch, Zolgen, held incredible power." Archer said. "If you do manage to find him, it'll be over for you."
"But to think that such a vile monster existed…" Marcus scoffed in disgust.
"Fortunately, we have detected no activity around the estate. In fact, it's also deteriorating like the Tohsaka estate."
"Thank you. And good luck." Marcus said. "If you do find that worm b****** and have an opportunity to, send him to Hell where he belongs."
"Take of yourself, Marcus." Anderson hung up.
Jeffrey was watching TV in his apartment with Berserker in spirit form and Archer of Omega standing behind the couch.
The past few hours had been constant torment for Archer. Jeffrey took just about every opportunity he could to taunt her about her failure to protect her previous Master. This included making her watch the news report covering the murder.
"What was is that you wanted to do? Protect all children in the world, wasn't it?" Jeffrey said as he stood up before turning to face Archer. "How stupid. You couldn't even protect one little kid, so how can you protect all of them?"
Archer summoned her bow, pulled an arrow back, and aimed at Jeffrey's head. But she found herself unable to release the arrow. Jeffrey then started laughing at Archer's act.
"You really forgot about that Command Seal? Hahaha! I knew that this would happen, so I made sure that no matter how much you want to, you can't harm me."
Jeffrey used a Command Seal to ensure that Archer would make no attempt to harm him or herself. Archer glared at him as she dismissed the bow and arrow, pure hatred in her eyes.
"…I will see that you suffer." she hissed.
At that moment, Jeffrey then felt a sudden headache.
"That's enough out of you." Kylie yelled. "Shut up before you make her so angry that she manages to use that to overpower your Command Seal with it."
"It's an absolute order. How could she- AGH!"
"She is already extremely pissed with you! The only reason your Command Seal worked is because of my interference. I'd suggest not risking the low likelihood that a Servant can somehow override an active Command Seal order, you stupid boy. Now, get ready. You're going to be hunting Ruler starting tonight."
"Ian? Ian?"
"Yeah?" Ian said groggily.
"Are you okay? You don't look like you're doing so well."
"No, I'm fine. I just…couldn't get enough sleep last night." Ian shook his head.
It was lunchtime now. Ian had a hard time falling asleep after killing Louis the night before. It was the same deal as always; he saw someone get hurt and he enjoyed it but knew that such was wrong.
"D-Did something happen?" Lily asked.
"No. It's okay." Ian said.
"Okay. If you want to talk about, I'll be there for you. Just like you've been there for me." Lily said kindly.
Ian didn't want to. He knew that he was a psychopath and liked to hurt people. He knew that people would hate him if they ever found out. He didn't blame them actually, for he had enough sense to be ashamed of being one.
Assassin didn't understand why Ian was upset with himself. She legitimately didn't know that killing people was a bad thing. To her, it was the same thing as playing hide and seek. But she was a child, so she was relatively innocent. Once you got past that, you would learn that she's actually a surprisingly good kid but really needs to be pointed in the right direction. But given how the dream cycle showed him Assassin's memories, it was no wonder she was so messed up in the head after all she had been through.
"Defend my brethren, my banner! God is here with me! Luminosite Eternelle!"
Ruler raised her flag into the air and light began radiating from it as a rain of arrows fell upon her.
Ruler's battle attire consisted of a dark blue battle-dress, pieces of armor covering some areas, and a metal headpiece that vaguely resembled an 'M'. She held a flag that had a spearhead attached to the end and a sheathed sword was at her hip.
The banner, her Noble Phantasm, was able to protect Ruler from the rain of arrows. Watching the scene using his link to Archer, Jeffrey decided to send Berserker after her. When he appeared, Ruler was terrified when her True Name Discernment revealed that her new attacker was Heracles. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to stand a chance against a being such as he, Ruler decided the best option would be to retreat.
Right when Berserker swung his axe-sword down, Ruler quickly jumped out of the way to avoid it. But Berserker was too preoccupied with his target in front of him to sense that someone else was preparing to attack him.
Caladbolg II soared through the air and struck Berserker before exploding. Mordred then jumped down from a nearby building and plunged her sword into Berserker's back. Berserker then grabbed the False Saber and threw her aside. Archer of Omega continued firing at Ruler before Archer of Alpha interrupted by firing swords at her, forcing her to take cover. Reinforcing his legs, Archer jumped to the building where his counterpart was standing and summoned his favored pair of swords.
"Why are you attacking the Ruler Servant?"
"The traitor. He killed my Master and took his Command Seals…" Archer said sadly.
"…My Master offers his sympathies." the tanned man said. "But we cannot allow this to continue."
Meanwhile, Berserker of Alpha sensed a large amount of Servants nearby and materialized before taking off. Wesley was left behind, only able to futilely call out and demand that the mad warrior remember that the War is supposed to be a secret. But this only lasted for a few seconds before he gave up. Berserker was nigh-impossible to reason with and already too far ahead.
Mordred hated her luck. Of course she had to be the one stuck protecting Ruler from freaking Hercales because no one else was available at the moment. Archer was too busy distracting his counterpart and all of the other Alpha faction Servants were too far away at the moment. She wasn't even scratching that monster of a Servant while the maddened Greek hero was hitting like a truck.
Mordred then had enough and her helmet collapsed into her armor before she activated Clarent Blood Arthur.
"Clarent Blood Arthur!" she screamed as she unleashed blast of red lightning right in Heracles' face.
Unfortunately, that failed to kill the son of Zeus.
"What the hell?!" Mordred cursed. "That was point-blank! Point-blank!"
"OPPRESSORS!"
Mordred then sighed in relief. She had never thought that she would ever be so glad to see that crazy gladiator. Unfortunately, Berserker of Omega then proceeded to smack her with the flat of his axe-sword and knock her away.
So, Marcus is trying to figure out what to do about Harry, Jeffrey is being a dick to Archer and is now gunning for Ruler, and Ian is troubled by the fact that he killed Louis. Anyway, not much for this Author's Note, honestly. But I will tell you that character death will be more frequent now. Mordred is okay right now, though. Next chapter will reveal what happened to her after getting smacked by Heracles.
Now for reviews.
KnightOfZaku: In hindsight, last chapter wasn't some of my best work. But Jeffrey will definitely get his comeuppance, I assure you.
Devin sands: Thanks. As for your question about Archer, we'll see.
So, leave a review. Constructive criticism will be accepted. Flames will be used to make s'mores. Jyaa-nee!