Going be busy as all hell this weekend so I got this one done to update early.
Also, this story is officially tvtropes recommended. Yay! Thank you guys so much for reading this story and making this happen! I have dreamed of a tvtropes page ever since I learned of the site. Also, those of you haven't visited that site should check it out, it is one of the most awesome things ever. Though since you are reading fanfiction, that's what, five of you? Maybe?
Anyway, on with the show!
Archer narrowed his eyes as he fervently scanned the tree line, spying only an innocent raven among the foliage. Their group's time traveling Anima had been mostly quiet, with what Grimm they did encounter being easily dispatched by him, Mordred, or Qrow.
Still, his instincts did not allow him to remain calm. What faint memories he maintained from his own time in the Holy Grail War were frantic, with one battle always bleeding into the next with little time for rest in between. Here, despite their time in this world surpassing the entire duration of his war multiple times over, he had yet to encounter an enemy master, other than Jaune Arc.
The all too familiar clang of clashing swords reached his ear. Since the only thing in the trees was a single raven, Archer spared the commotion a glance.
Saber and her master were practicing once again, the Servant very obviously holding back as to not hurt the poor boy.
Archer hadn't been sure what to think when he'd met the children of his Saber. Neither one measured up to her, but few people in any world could, so there was no shame in that. Individually though, they were both disgusting to him.
Mordred was a disappointment in every way. He had heard tale of her in the throne of course, the devilish Knight of Treachery who toppled the greatest kingdom humanity had ever known. He had expected Saber's version of Kirei, a cunning, methodical mastermind, unflappable in the pursuit of her goals, someone who he would have to deal with in the end but would be useful in the meantime. Instead, he got a loud-mouthed oaf with the emotional stability of a two-year old. She boasted on and on about how she was the only knight to ever surpass her father, but just a cursory trace of Clarent had informed him of just how miserably her final duel with the King of Knights had gone. Her fighting style, though admittedly rooted in an impressive form, was sloppy and relied far too much on brute strength.
Ultimately, Archer was left not with a cunning ally, but a giant stick that might snap and start attacking him because he was too busy fighting his own battle to watch hers.
Jaune Arc was a lost, selfish child, suppressing his grief for those he'd lost to pursue the vain hope that he could get them back. Despite his admirable resolve, his goals were pathetically misguided. Changing the past was dangerous and foolhardy. Whatever events had occurred, they had allowed a future to exist, and for life to go on that was all that was necessary. People made their own choices, and whatever those choices may lead to, people must be allowed to make them. That was the lesson his Saber had come to understand and even Mordred grasped the concept. The boy was so racked with self-loathing that he could never move forward.
He was a mewling newborn, desperately trying to crawl back into his mother's arms instead of facing the world with what she had taught him.
Perhaps he was being too harsh on them. After all, were they not Saber's children, he would have dismissed them as simple human beings. Flawed, but ultimately not offensive.
But they were Saber's children. Which meant now that she was gone, they were her legacy. They needed to either shape up, or stop prolonging their insult.
"Archer" a high voice piped up. "Uncle Qrow says the way to the safe house is clear. You don't have to be so tense."
Archer nodded. "Thank you, master. Still, I've learned you can never be too careful in a Holy Grail War."
His master raised an eyebrow at his remark, but seemed to let it go and trudged over to stop Mordred from impaling her brother.
Archer smirked. At least one thing was going well.
Perhaps he should have felt guilty for shattering Ruby Rose's ideal view of the world. The girl's intense care for her friends was a comforting condition and her love and care for weaponry was amusing. Despite how her similarities to that boy infuriated him to no end, she was only a simple soul, not a broken one. A human, not a sword.
Which was all the more reason to break down any foolish notions of being able to save everyone before they consumed her. Like the memory of the smiling man in the fire, his master was chasing an impossible goal. She wanted to be close to her mother, but her mother was dead. Flying to the battlefield to seek a connection with her would only doom the young huntress to join her.
And he knew from experience how one could be overwritten by the path towards an unattainable dream.
No. He was doing Ruby Rose a favor. She had to understand the unshakable nature of the world. Saving someone meant choosing not to save someone else. The old man had at least been right about that.
The sooner he got the girl off the road of a hero of justice, the sooner he could prevent her from becoming like him. After all, just because he couldn't sense Alaya didn't mean the Beast of Humanity wasn't there, watching in the wings for another soul idiotic enough to accept its bargain.
Archer would do anything to keep anyone else from making the same mistake he did.
He ripped himself away from his observation as the raven flew off. He trailed behind his master as the rest of the group tread carefully through the woodwork. On every couple of trees there was an arrow carved into the bark, pointing out the next step in their unseen path.
Eventually, they came to a small hill, surprisingly bare in comparison to the thick forest surrounding it. At the top, Qrow Branwen stood in front of a charred ruin.
"Uh, Uncle Qrow, where's the safe house?" Ruby asked.
Qrow sighed, his hand smacking his forehead. "This is the safe house" he informed them.
"This place?" Mordred snorted incredulously. "It's a ruin. Not fit for a commoner to take shelter in, much less a knight."
"Well I'm sorry, your majesty" Qrow spat back. "But these things haven't been maintained since the last war. Frankly, we should count ourselves lucky this is the first one we've found like this."
"Wasn't the last one missing a wall?" Jaune remarked.
"At least that one had a wall" Mordred joined in with a smirk, giving her master a small nod of approval.
Qrow snagged the flask from his hip. "I hate teenagers" he declared before downing a swig.
Archer walked forward to the remains of the site. Mordred was not wrong about the walls, or lack thereof. What little remained of the structure's supports were but a few charred logs, stacked in a vague pile. There was no roof, and the blackened floorboards were filled with quiet a few significant cracks, allowing the Servant to glimpse the dark basement underneath.
He stuck out his hand into the space, and felt a sharp tingle throughout his body.
"This will do" he stated firmly. "Whatever damage the main house sustained, the bounded field remains intact. Saber and I will not be able to exist in spirit form within its confines, and no other Servant should be able to sense us."
Which was really quite impressive. If the house had truly been abandoned for nearly nineteen years as Qrow said, that meant the bounded field was still functioning properly despite not being properly maintained for nearly two decades. Whoever erected it must have taken quite a bit of time to get it right.
Mordred remained unconvinced. "I would rather face the other Servants that dirty myself in that hovel."
"Your battle lust is well lust is well known, Saber" Archer dryly remarked. He walked onto the charred floor, examining the remains. "This isn't actually that bad. The structure itself still seems to be sound, the surrounding forest provides plentiful wood…"
"Um, Archer" Ruby inquired, "what are you talking about?"
Archer scratched his chin in deep thought. "With enough time, I should be able to fix this place up. I can create the necessary nails by modifying nameless blades, and stripping the forest shouldn't be too difficult…"
The rest of the group raised an eyebrow. They had never seen him care so much about… well anything.
"Archer, no offense, but this place is a dump" Ruby remarked shyly.
"Is the Jester a stone mason now?" Mordred insulted. "Perhaps your Noble Phantasm is Sophroniscus' chisel."
"Who?" Jaune asked.
"The most well-known stone mason of Ancient Greece. The father of Socrates."
"Again, who?"
"Did father teach you nothing?"
Archer ignored the others' squabbles as he rubbed a finger across one of the remnants of the walls. Along with the everyday housework, he had done a significant amount of renovation on his old home during his life… perhaps. His memories were incredibly faded at that point. The most he could recall was something about a tiger? Still, with the proper application of his reality marble, he was confident he could affect repairs.
Not that he would enjoy doing it all. Housework was something that boy took pleasure in. He had grown beyond such foolishness
Though with a bit of dusting…
Qrow came onto the floor next to him. The drunkard frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Sorry to disappoint, silver top, but we can't stay that long. We're only stopping to rest."
Archer sighed. He knew the huntsman was right. The safe houses were only meant to provide them protection during the night and keep off any tracking spells the other masters could be using. Fixing it up would not help them reach their goal. It was only a selfish indulgence.
And a sword had no use for indulgences.
"You are correct" he agreed, rising to his feet. "We should step up camp as soon as—"
The burnt-out floorboards beneath his feet suddenly crumbled, and he went plummeting through the floor. He soon found himself up to his arms in the black wood, his legs scraping the stone floor of the basement.
"Archer! Are you okay?" Ruby yelped. She and Jaune ran over to help.
Mordred pointed at him and laughed.
Qrow grimaced. "He has E- Rank Luck. Why do I keep hanging around guys with E-Rank Luck?" he muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Archer inquired.
"Oh, nothing" the huntsmen assured him. "Just my semblance being more annoying than usual to people like you."
Strange, if he was referring to Servants, Mordred didn't seem to be having every single wooden structure fall out from under her. Though given how her fit of laughter had driven her to the ground, perhaps it was affecting her differently.
"Do you need any help getting out?" Ruby asked.
"No, it's perfectly alright master." Archer quickly placed his hands on the more stable floor and pushed himself out of his hole. Once he was standing on even footing with the others again, he dusted himself off. "See, nothing to it."
Ruby smiled softly, her gaze barely meeting his own. Perhaps before their discussion the other night, she would have been fawning all about him like some rabid fan girl with a look of awe in her eyes. It was good that she had matured enough to not act like such a simple act was the labor of a hero.
Jaune kneeled down, observing the dark hole left behind. His eyes narrowed at something in the darkness. "What's that?"
Qrow squinted at where the blonde boy pointed and then leaped down into the pit. Soon after, he hefted up the item within the shadows. It was a sizable steel crate sealed with a series of elaborate runes and a bulky gray padlock.
After lugging it onto more solid ground, the group, minus Mordred who still rolling around in the grass, examined the unexpected find.
"Maybe it's buried treasure" Jaune suggested.
"It's not buried treasure" Qrow rejected.
"But what if it is?"
"No, Uncle Qrow's right" Ruby supported. "Mom would never keep buried treasure to herself."
Qrow sighed. "That's not wrong" he admitted. "Though these markings look like magic stuff. More than likely we can't get in without the key, otherwise something bad—"
Archer conjured Kanshou into his hand and casually slashed the padlock off.
"Or we could just do that and hope it doesn't kill us all" the huntsman growled.
"Relax Branwen. Any competent mage could tell there was no prana in those runes" Archer informed him. "Though it is admittedly a curious style of distraction. Other than a mage, I can't imagine anyone understanding the symbols well enough to be stalled by them."
"Salem's lackeys probably" Qrow suposited. He had a disgruntled frown on his face. "Still, what could Summer have wanted to hide from them that she wouldn't trust to me and Tai?"
"Only one way to find out!" Ruby declared, rushing over to the chest. She flipped the lid open and dug around through its contents. She lifted out a small ammunition bandolier, short enough to be worn as a belt. It was filled with a dozen rather large bullets. The silver-eyed girl grinned. "Oh, these look cool! And they're just around Crescent Rose's size!"
Qrow's eyes widened. "Careful Ruby! That's no regular ammo."
"What do you mean?"
Qrow came over and gently put his hands over his niece's. "They were your mom's trump card. They're called Origin Rounds. They're powerful enough to—"
"Take down a Goliath in one shot" Ruby whispered, fear shimmering in her eyes. She carefully set the bullets down on the grass.
Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, they are. But the real nasty part is what they do to someone with aura."
"Of course, it is" Ruby muttered dejectedly. "After all, why would he take something that only hurt Grimm."
There was a story behind that. Unfortunately, Archer was too distracted to inquire about it. He was sure he had heard the term Origin Round used somewhere before, but he couldn't put his finger on where.
Jaune walked over and gave Ruby a comforting pat on the back. The red hooded girl gave him a grateful smile in return. "How about you take a look, Jaune?" she suggested. "Maybe you'll find something not creepy."
The blonde boy's eyes widened in surprise. He looked to Qrow for further permission, but the drunkard simply waved him towards the box. It wasn't as if he wasn't already going to see what was in it.
Jaune gulped and leaned over the chest. After a moment of shuffling around, he remerged holding a magnificent golden scabbard, inlaid with enamel of the deepest blue and practically glowing with heavenly authority. From Archer's point of view, it even radiated a faint, but unnaturally pure mystic signature, shining like an ancient star. It could not possibly be an object made by mortal hands. In fact, it almost reminded him of—
"Mine!"
Mordred shot up from the ground and snatched the sheathe from her master's hands. She gazed upon it in awe for a few moments before reverently cuddling it against her chest. "Mine at long last" she whispered, a grin the size of Gilgamesh's ego painted across her face.
"Um…okay? What is it?" Jaune inquired.
"Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia" Archer declared. "Your mother's greatest Noble Phantasm."
Mordred's reaction proved it. The sheathe was Saber's ultimate weapon, a healing agent so potent that, with her prana, it possessed defensive powers capable of surviving even the greatest of Noble Phantasms. Somehow, Excalibur's legendary scabbard had made it to Remnant.
Perhaps that wasn't surprising given that Saber had as well, but Qrow had said that whatever brought her, Gilgamesh, and Kirei Kotomine to this time had occurred at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War. To the best of his knowledge, at that time it had been in the possession of the Mage Killer, who used it to save that boy from the resulting fire.
But if the fire had never happened, replaced with the catastrophe that led to humanity's near extinction, then how had the holy relic arrived here? And what was it doing in the ruins of Ruby's mother's safe house?
"It is father's greatest possession, even more so than his holy sword. A symbol of true divine kingship" Mordred raved, squeezing it to her chest. "And now, as his rightful heir, it passes to me!"
Jaune still looked confused, but he managed a genuine smile on his face. "That's great, Mor—" Archer glared at him, "—Saber. I'm sure she'd be proud that you have it now."
Mordred stilled, a light blush rising in her cheeks. "Well, yeah, of course. Of course, he would be" she stuttered. "But I don't need his approval. Avalon is mine now."
"You do realize it won't work for you" Archer reminded her. "It needs King Arthur's prana to power it, otherwise the most it will do is hold your sword."
Mordred growled at him like a feral lion. "Shut up, Jester or I'll shove it up your—"
"Well, well, well" Qrow chuckled. "Haven't seen this in a while. Take a look at this, pipsqueak."
Archer turned back to the scythe wielders and his heart skipped a beat.
"It is that…mom?" Ruby asked hopefully.
Qrow smiled as he handed her the faded photo he'd retrieved from the chest. In the picture was a young girl who looked almost exactly like Ruby, except she had red hair instead of black and a white cloak covered her body. She was hugging a figure Archer knew intimately.
"Yup. This was taken on her thirteenth birthday" Qrow revealed. "According to her, it was when she got that white cloak of hers. She never took the damned thing off."
"Cool" Ruby whispered in awe. "Who's the other guy?"
"Him?" Qrow chuckled. "That's her dad. Your grandad—"
"Kiritsugu Emiya."
Archer barely had enough time to realize the name had left his mouth before the rest of group whirled on him, their stares ranging from befuddlement to intense suspicion.
"How do you know that?" Qrow inquired, his hand subtly inching towards his weapon.
Jaune and Mordred took a worried step back from him. The Knight of Treachery even strapped Avalon to her side and conjured Clarent in her hand.
Archer couldn't say he blamed them. Even now, his hands uncontrollably clenched and unclenched into fists, unholy fury radiating off him in a merciless killing intent.
Why should it not? Kiritsugu Emiya was the root of all that he was. The winner of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the man who caused the Great Fuyuki Fire, the man who saved that boy from the hell he should have died in. He was the source of the ideals of Emiya, the one who instilled that infernal dream of being a hero of justice. Every arrow, every bullet, every sword that had pierced Archer's flesh, he was at fault for all of them.
As well as every life he had taken in his asinine quest for a world where no one cried.
"Archer?"
The counter guardian was roused from his rage by the plea of his master. Ruby stood before him, her hand held placatingly in front of her trigger ready uncle. Her silver eyes stared at him imploringly, not with desperation like they had the other night, but with pity.
He recalled the same look in the eyes of two different women. Both strong and valiant, both loved by him dearly.
And both dead.
Dead while he lived undying. A dog of Alaya.
"How? How did Kiritsugu Emiya meet your mother, master?" Archer meticulously spat out.
Ruby turned to Qrow, who shrugged. "Summer never went into details about it. She just said he saved her from a fire after Grimm attacked her village."
A fire. In every world, in every timeline, there was always a fire.
But it seemed that boy was not the only one who was ever found.
"I see" Archer replied, taking a deep breath to calm his fury. "I will check our path to ensure that we cannot be tracked by mundane means."
"What?" Ruby cried. "Archer, wait—"
He had stepped off the floor boards and dissipated into spirit form before she could finish. Before long, he had floated far beyond their sight. He needed time alone to examine this new information.
Summer Rose was raised by Kiritsugu Emiya. It explained so much. In a world filled with the creatures of Grimm and the old man's strength fading from the grail's spiteful curse, the Mage Killer would have no choice but to pass on his combat expertise to his only remaining daughter in order to protect her, the only one left he loved. And when he passed, that daughter would easily be able to make it into a huntsmen academy, desperate to achieve the dream he had no doubt passed on.
To be a hero of justice.
That childish drivel was admittedly more feasible in a world where literal soulless monsters hounded humanity, but the devils of the species' own nature were as implacable as ever. It was still a selfish, impossible dream. One Summer Rose evidently died seeking. And then passed on to her child like her father before her.
No more.
Archer's centuries as a Counter Guardian had left him ruthless, but not merciless. Normally, he took the surest path to success, as any less would disgrace his ultimate goal. However, Ruby Rose had shown the potential to change for the better. It was possible that he could guide her off the path her mother had damned her to. Besides, he didn't have any other stake in this timeline, and it would be good practice for when he finally encountered that boy.
None the less, should Ruby refuse to change, should she remain stalwart and stubborn on the quest for a world where everyone lived happily ever after, Archer would not hesitate to strike her down.
Those foolish ideals could not be allowed to infect another generation.
RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE
A raven flew North through the treetops, gliding away from the party of masters and Servants. Once it was several miles away, the bird transformed into a black-haired woman. The woman slashed her sword through the air and stepped through the resultant portal.
Raven walked into her tent to find Vernal waiting, a map of Anima laid out across the table.
"So, how did the tip about the horned knight who single handedly saved a town from a Grimm horde with a lightning sword pan out?" the bandit lieutenant inquired.
Raven frowned as she sat down. "Your scout was right. It was a Servant, two of them actually."
"With their masters?" Raven nodded. "That's fantastic" Vernal exclaimed. "We can mobilize the tribe, be in the South in a few days, catch up to their trail, and while the Berserkers handle the Servants, we can pin down the masters so you can take their Command Seals."
"It's not that simple" Raven proclaimed. "Qrow was with them. One of the master's is Ruby Rose."
"Your husband's—"
"Yes" she confirmed quickly. She didn't blame Tai for moving on with Summer, she had left without a word, but it wasn't a fact she wanted to linger on. Besides, Ruby Rose was far more important than merely her relation to Summer. She could not be allowed to die. And even with her Servants overwhelming power, with two others to match them, and Lancelot's general uncontrollability, there was a great risk that she could.
Of course, her plentiful scouts across the continent, and her time discreetly watching over Yang in her bird form, had made her aware of other avenues of assault.
"Where is the Belladonna girl's group?"
"Relatively close. They should be hitting the ruins of Oniyuri soon enough. Their White Fang shadow isn't too far behind" Vernal informed her. "What do you have in mind?"
Raven smiled as the plan came together. "I'm going to have a little chat with my brother and his foot soldiers. See if I can get them to surrender without a fight." Gods know she needed as many Servants as she could get with Gilgamesh on the hunt. "And if not, I will handle him while Berserker has a chat with the children and their Servant."
"Servant? What happened to the other one?" Vernal inquired.
"They'll be off dealing with Lancelot. Best if he isn't nearby to disrupt the negotiations."
"How are you going to get them to chase after him that far away? Don't Servant fights tend to have a blast radius a mile wide?"
Raven smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I don't think any fighting in Oniyuri will trouble us."
Ooo, Archer's anti-hero side is slipping into anti-villain. He is denying his love of housework!
Oh, and Raven is preparing for the first big battle of the war. Probably still a few chapters away but it is nearly there.
Honestly, with how Archer was in Unlimited Bladeworks and Ruby's similarities to Shirou, how could I not do this? Archer is still a good guy (buried under mountains of cynicism) so he isn't going to jump the gun, especially when he knows killing Ruby won't change his own fate, but he is more than willing to pull the trigger if she fails to live up to his expectations.
As for Raven, I feel like she'd definitely have feelers out for anything Servent-y once the war started. And Mordred saving that town in Chapter 21 was hardly subtle. Add to that the benefit of a bird's eye view and tracking down the group wasn't difficult, simply a matter of time.
Also, AVALON! How else do think Kiritsugu saved Summer?
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed!