Chapter 28

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight's entertainment is brought to you by random acts of violence.- Mass Effect 3.

Rin watched the training cooly. She had to admit, to herself at least, that Emiya's skill with a sword was improving at an impressive rate. He was still considerably outclassed against a Servant, but in a fair fight against even a competent fighter, he'd be able to hold his own.

Saber slammed into Shirou and then delivered a rapid series of strikes that knocked his weapon away and sent him to the ground once again.

Saber stood before him, her face a calm mask. "I think it's fair to say we've done enough training for one morning, Shirou," she said, lowering her weapon.

"You sure are one cool customer, Saber," Rin told Saber as she stepped up beside the Servant. "You two have been going at it for three hours straight and you haven't flinched once."

"I suppose I've just learned to suppress my emotions the second I pick up my sword," Saber said. "It's not something I've given much thought to."

Interesting, Rin thought. "Perhaps that's what women have to do strategically to gain the edge in a sword fight" she mused, putting her hand to her chin in thought. "Instead of trying to overpower your opponent physically, you overpower them mentally."

It's certainly like that with mages, she thought. Battles between mages are all about who has the most imaginative or creative techniques and codes.

"I don't think that's it at all," Saber answered. "I've never once thought of myself as a woman. Nor have I ever been treated as one. The only reason I ever came to this era was to fight, not to be consumed by something as trivial as my gender."

Rin furrowed her brow at that. A few days ago, she wouldn't have even blinked at what Saber had just said said. Now though…

Her soul gaze with Harry had forced her to think of Servants in a brand new light. They weren't simply constructs with heroic shells anymore. They were… something else. Not quite human and not quite familiar, but some kind of grand mixture of the two generally contrary states of being. It was easier to think of a Servant as a tool to be used when you couldn't see the shape of their soul, have that image burning irrevocably into your mind.

She'd experimented when she'd been alone, trying to refer to Harry by Caster. She hadn't been able to do it once, much to her confused irritation. Caster was just so… bland. Missing the greatness she'd seen in his declaration.

Rin set aside those thoughts for now. She'd have to find time and seriously reflect on what she'd seen and experienced, but later.

"Okay then," she said and stepped up to Shirou, who was still sitting where he'd fallen. "Now it's time for your lessons with me."

"What?" Shirou asked. "Don't I get a break?"

Rin grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to make sure the full force of her words could reach into his skull. "You have a ton of stuff to learn today so stop slacking and get on your feet." Then she hauled him to his feet and proceeded to drag him out of the dojo.

She ignored his complaints and dragged him into her room where'd she'd set up a collection of oil lamps for him to reinforce. The best way to get him out of his magical ineptitude was simple practice.

Treating glass was one of the first things any apprentice mage was taught and there was no point in teaching him anything else until he'd mastered that basic skill. Glass let the energy flow easily and if he couldn't even do that then working with more advanced materials that would give resistance was pointless.

"We'll start where we left off," Rin said. "Try to strengthen each of these lamps."

"I've got to do all of them?" Shirou complained.

Rin ignored that. "Meanwhile," she said. "I'll be out for a bit. I expect you to be done by the time I get back." Then she left with a final: "Have fun."

She made her way toward the shed where Emiya tended to spend his nights. The faint traces of mana were enough to tell her this was where his workshop was. While it was normally impolite to look through a partner mage's workshop, she doubted that Emiya was skilled enough to have any actual magical information inside the shed, and that he would have anything worth stealing even if he had.

She opened the shed door and took a look inside. Unlike her own workshop, this one served multiple functions. There was a tarp set out with various objects laid carefully across it, likely where Emiya practiced his magecraft, but there were also other projects and containers stored in here.

Shirou had a reputation for being helpful, particularly with repairing damaged items and equipment.

This must be where he does repairs at home, she thought. If she did even a cursory search, she was certain she'd find more conventional tools to repair damaged objects. Rin found herself getting annoyed. Magecraft was supposed to be something kept away from prying eyes and away from 'normal' life.

The fact that Shirou kept his magic workshop in a place also dedicated to more mundane works smacked in the face of the tradition of studying magecraft.

On the other hand, Rin thought. Who'd think to look for a magic workshop inside an actual workshop? She certainly wouldn't have. Sure, the shed had the physical requirements to help keep magical energies contained, but it didn't have any of the trappings of a normal magic workshop, either. Ignoring the bounded field around the house, a full Association mage could take a tour of the entire building and probably never realize that a mage was actually living there.

She turned her attention to the collection of items on the tarp. They really weren't anything special. A square shaft of wood, a stone, a pocket knife, and a few other items that seemed to simply be random.

Rin grimaced at Shirou's gall. He couldn't even treat glass, yet he was using sturdier materials to try and practice on his own. No wonder he had so much trouble with glass. He was used to something that needed more power.

Rin picked up the pocket knife out of curiosity. The light streaming in from the open door was gleaming off the metal in an odd way. She rotated the knife and examined every surface of the weapon.

Her brow furrowed. The knife was… exquisite. It was clearly a pocket knife that could be found almost anywhere, but the quality of the individual parts far exceeded what they should have been.

Footsteps approached and Saber spoke up as Rin carefully unfolded the knife and examined the small blade. "What is going on, Rin? What are you doing in here?"

"Just who exactly is this guy?" Rin asked, more to herself than to Saber. The edge of the blade looked amazingly sharp and she didn't dare touch it. "This is unbelievable. Saber, did you know he was doing this?"

"What are referring to, Rin?" Saber asked. Rin held up the knife.

"This," she said. Saber took the knife and examined it.

"It's certainly a serviceable weapon," she said, looking at the knife before folding it and handing it back to Rin. "Far better than the outside would suggest." Saber met Rin's eyes. "What you suggesting, Rin? I am a knight, not a mage."

"Believe me, he's not a mage either," Rin said.

"I sense an insult coming," Harry said, materializing next to Rin and Saber.

Rin gave Harry a flat look. "And just where have you been?"

"Teaching Shirou how to reinforce glass," he answered in that annoyingly smug tone he used occasionally.

"You did what?" Rin asked. "How did you do that?"

Harry sighed. "Rin," he said, seriously. "Have you ever taught someone how to do magic?"

Rin's cheeks flushed. "What does it matter? I was taught by my father and I remember how he taught me. Kirei's methods were the same as my father's."

"Wasn't Kirei taught by your father?" Harry asked. "Of course his methods would be similar. But Shirou was taught by Kiritsugu, who, presumably, had his own method of teaching."

"What are you saying?" Saber asked.

Harry paused, as if looking for the right words. "Where I come from, practitioners have innate talents. Some people are better at certain forms of magic than others. I'm good at big stuff. Throwing and redirecting energies, sending out power to resonate with something similar, blowing stuff up, and so on. My apprentice, Molly, had a big talent for subtle magic. Illusions, veils, and mental magic. Stuff that really took a steady hand."

"Your point?" Rin asked.

"Just like how everyone has certain talents, everyone learns in their own way," Harry explained. "Repetition and lectures aren't going to help Shirou like they did you. His brain just doesn't work like that, and his affinity for magic certainly isn't going to work that way either. I think he learns better in more direct and pragmatic settings." He turned his attention to Saber. "When did Shirou start getting better at swordplay?"

"After Archer nearly killed him," Saber answered. Then she cocked her head to one side in thought. "You think that his encounter with Archer had something to do with that?"

Harry shrugged. "I think you get a lot more bang for your buck when you throw a jet of fire in a real battle than you do on a practice field. He's always performed well under pressure. I just got him to reinforce an oil lamp by giving him a fixed picture of what to do in his head. Once he had that his instincts seemed to help him the rest of the way. He does repair work, for God's sake, he spends all of his free time working with something directly and clearly in front of him."

Rin examined the pocket knife in her hand. "A clear picture of what to do," she muttered. Then she stormed off toward her room.

"Rin?" Harry asked.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this!" she said, putting the folded knife into her pocket and throwing open the door to her room. The collection of lamps she'd left on the floor still sat there, one shattered, one shining with the results of a successful strengthening. The rest sat there, untouched, and Shirou was nowhere to be found.

Rin started to get annoyed. "Harry?" she demanded. "Where the hell is Emiya?"

The wizard came up behind her and peered into the room. "Either he has Molly's talent for veils, or he's snuck off somewhere. Where the hell would he have gone?"

"I swear I'm going to kick his ass when I find him," Rin muttered and made her way to the kitchen.

When she entered the dining room to discover Shirou wasn't there either, she turned to Saber.

"Saber," she said. "You should be able to sense what direction he is."

Saber turned and pointed. "He's that way, that much I can tell." Then she narrowed her eyes. "Isn't the school that way?"

Harry made his way to the phone and started pressing buttons.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked.

"These things are supposed to keep a record of what calls have been made recently," he said. "If I can just figure out how to… There we go. The house got a call not too long ago." His face went hard as he read the caller ID. "Get Archer," he said.

His staff, coat, and other magical gear materialized around him and he raised one hand.

"Wait!" Rin shouted. Harry turned to face her. "It's broad daylight," she said. "We can't just go charging in wherever Emiya is. The first rule of mages is 'no witnesses'. That goes double for the Grail war."

"Rin, Shirou got a call from Shinji Matou. Whatever is happening, it's going to get messy."

"Even Shinji isn't stupid enough to do something blatantly obvious," Rin said, bluntly.

"Are you certain about that?" Harry asked.

Rin's face fell slightly as she considered the problem. "We'll hurry," she said, making her way to the front door. "But we're not charging in there ready for a fight. If Shinji is doing something, then you can beat him up when we're done stopping it."

The group made their way out of the house and toward the high school. They made it about 10 feet from the gate when Saber and Harry suddenly stiffened.

Then Rin felt something long and flexible wrap tightly around her throat, cutting off her airflow and beginning to suffocate her.

Adrenaline surged through her system and everything around Rin seemed to happen in slow-motion. Her hands moved instinctively to try and pry the constricting cable from her throat. The cable, however, refused to even budge, held there by an unseen will or force.

Lines of red soared through the sky from one side. Archer had let loose with a barrage. That confirmed Rin's fears. Only one type of person would attack her in the street: A Master who was either extremely foolhardy, or extremely clever.

In this strange slow-time moment, Rin could now sense the barest hint of a bounded field. It would have to have been fully empowered at just the right moment, when they were all inside the boundary and too far away to sense or escape it in time for it to matter.

Archer's arrows twisted and hurtled down to a target somewhere behind her. More lines of light shot out from somewhere else and intercepted each and every one of Archer's own arrows.

The second Archer, Rin thought with alarm. She twisted around to try and see her attacker.

Harry moved faster, a blur of billowing black, as he spun and pointed his staff at her attacker and shouted, "Arctus Spinai!"

Shards of ice coalesced in the air and shot behind her. She heard one heavy impact before there was a blaze of heat.

Rin completed her turn and the cable around her neck twitched and slid down her body, rapidly wrapping around her body and twisting itself to flow around her form effectively. In the blink of an eye, her arms were tied behind her back and her legs were bound together, forcing her to fall over. The cable also snaked around her chest and tightened, adding pressure against her ribcage, further complicating her situation.

Now that she had managed to turn around she was able to examine her attacker. He was older than she was, but not too much, maybe in his early 20s, and looked completely ridiculous for a mage.

He wore cowboy boots with honest to god spurs and black, denim jeans with glowing runes scattered across the tough fabric. His shirt was a plain black tee with more runes under what she suspected was a full tactical vest. Around his waist was a black leather belt with a pair of gun holsters, guns included, and a buckle in the shape of a 5-pointed star. The silver of the buckle reflected the sunlight from the noon day sun into her eyes.

His hands were encased in black, fingerless gloves. His right hand held a smooth wooden hilt of a lasso. The silver cord had blood red symbols spiraling around it. This was what was wrapped around Rin's throat and bound her body.

Blood ran down his left arm from a slash caused by Harry's spires of ice.

Dresden lifted one hand and unleashed a bolt of force at the man. The man, who Rin started referring to in her head as 'the Cowboy' since she saw his stupid boots, smirked and spoke, his voice heavy with a texan accent.

"Espejo de sangre," he incanted and lifted his left hand. The glove on this hand had a circular mirror sewn onto the back, the pane of reflective glass inscribed with blood-red symbols akin to the ones on the lasso currently strangling her.

The bolt of force struck the mirror and reflected back at Harry, who was sent flying off of his feet by the rebounded strike.

"Oops," he said, the insincerity clear in his voice. He drew the gun from the left holster, revealing an old-fashioned, six-shooter pistol and levelled it at Harry, who was already back onto his feet.

Odd, Rin thought. For a Caster he's awfully quick and resilient. His agility stat isn't all that high, so how's he moving so fast?

The lasso's cord suddenly tightened and Rin let out as much of a gasp of pain as she could.

"Move even a hair closer, Saber, and I set this lasso on fire," the Cowboy said. "It's always a shame when a great beauty gets killed. You can stab me if you want, but you can't move faster than a thought."

He thinks I'm pretty? Rin thought and then tried to figure why that thought would even cross her mind. That was when she realized that her body was screaming for oxygen and that her rational side was quickly fading away. Oh, that's why, she thought. My brain's decided to fall asleep on the job.

Saber, who had switched into her armor at some point, stopped moving, but didn't lower her concealed sword.

The Cowboy looked at Rin. "Now I know you're probly 'bout to pass out," he said. "So here's the deal. I loosen this enough for you to breathe, and you don' try an' go all punchy-punchy, stabby-stabby. Don't think I won't set you on fire to keep these guys back. Kay?"

Rin, somehow in her daze, managed to give the Cowboy a look that conveyed how idiotic she thought he was being.

He flashed her a grin and the lasso loosened just enough to let her breathe. She immediately gasped in air and began coughing. She was really, really tempted to try and pitch some magic at him, but was certain he'd follow through with his threat to kill her if she tried anything.

"Are you alright, Rin?" Archer asked in her mind. "Don't speak. Simply nod or shake your head." Rin nodded, hiding it in her coughing fit to keep it from the Master in front of her. "His Archer is very skilled," Archer continued. "I'm attempting to locate them, but this Master has planned this out enough to keep us locked in a stalemate for now."

"Now," the Cowboy said. "I figure I got the advantage of position, since none of y'all can do anythin' without the lady here dyin' pretty horribly. But, y'all got the advantage of time, since we can only stand here for so long before your buddy shows up. So how 'bout we keep this plain 'n simple?"

"Sure," Harry said, affably. His tone was certainly friendly, but his body language was aggressive. He was tensed, like a lion about to spring on its prey. Cold air seemed to radiate off of him in a constant breeze.

"Now, now, Dresden," the Cowboy answered. "Let's not go gettin' any crazy ideas. I've got a young lady hostage."

Harry went completely still, shock on his face. The Cowboy's green eyes lit with excitement.

"You know his name?" Rin asked, shocked into speech.

"Nothin's unknowable, Miss Tohsaka," the Cowboy said. "All you gotta do is know where to look. Imma big Butcher, fan. I didn' think you'd make a second coat for your Master, Dresden. Great thinkin'."

"What do you want?" Saber demanded. "You say we have the position of time, but you seem to be stalling for something. Are you, perhaps, waiting for the moment so your other Servant can get into position?"

The Cowboy simply rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "We can get to the point. Now, regardless of what you might think, I don't like leavin' messes, or killin' people that don' deserve it. So here's what I want: You have Command Seals, Tohsaka. Command Seals that I find to be pretty useful. You give me those, and I go away. I won' even take away your arm or magecraft. I will need your hands, sadly since I don't think you're just going to give the Seals to me, but them's the breaks."

There were only a handful of ways to strip Command Seals from a host. Someone could give them up willingly, they could be ripped out of a bearer; costing them at least the use of their arm, if not their magic circuits; or they could be removed physically by separating the body part they were attached to from the bearer's body.

"Cutting her hands off seems like a mess, John Wayne," Harry said.

The Cowboy tsked. "Never was a fan of John Wayne, believe it or not. He was a little too racist for me."

"Regardless," Harry said. "She kind of needs them."

"I'd be more than willin' to give 'em back when I'm done," he answered. "I ain't cruel, Dresden. Just practical."

The whip suddenly tightened around Rin's throat again. "Hey!" the Cowboy said. "Don' go pullin' in that much power, wizard. If I think you're pulling a spell or your Phantasm on me, I get all Occam on this shit and cut my losses."

Harry let out a breath that became a cloud for a brief moment. The Cowboy blinked in surprise at that.

"So," a woman's voice said in Rin's mind. "He doesn't know everything about my host. Good to know." Rin's eyes snapped around in alarm trying to find the source of the voice. "Relax, child," the voice said. "Surely you haven't forgotten the dream, have you? I just need to see with your senses for a moment." There was a pause. "The cord works with his will," Lash said. "We suspect that will be his method of removing your hands. That will also be the moment when he is most vulnerable. Should his Servants truly prevent us all from acting, I will shield you from the pain like I did from the dreams."

"Kinda creepy isn't it?" Harry asked. "Cutting her hands off and then giving them back?"

"If she's creeped out by it, then I'll pay for some new Association hands," the Cowboy said. He suddenly narrowed his eyes at Harry.

Rin, annoyed at the fact that they were talking about her like she wasn't there, struggled to try and see what had caused the other Master to become suspicious. She saw it a moment later.

Harry had relaxed his posture, and stood there much more calmly than he had a moment ago.

The Cowboy tightened his grip on the lasso, which caused Saber to tense.

"You're plannin' somethin', Dresden," he said. Harry smiled wolfishly.

"Maybe I am," he said. "But all it really comes down to is what you're going to do."

The man tensed and started to answer, when a massive wave of energy rushed past them. Everyone turned and looked over at the high school in the distance. A massive dome of blood red energy surrounded the collection of buildings and radiated a sense of utter wrongness.

"Oh, fuck me!" the Cowboy complained. "I was gonna mess with that thing tonight."

There was a series of detonations not too far away and a green and blue form flew through the air straight toward the group.

Words drifted through the air, alien and unfamiliar to Rin, but in a flowing rhythm that meant magic. The lasso around Rin went slack and rapidly retracted into the handle in the Cowboy's hand. Rin had just enough time to spin and look at the other Master in shock before a dark, thick cloud of smoke surrounded them all. She couldn't swear to it, but she thought she saw him wink at her as he vanished in the cloud.

"Ventas Servitas!" Harry shouted, and an arctic gale gusted around Rin and dispersed the smoke. The Cowboy and what had to have been his Archer were completely gone. So was Saber.


Author's note: So yeah, remember that first interlude? That's come back. Say hi to our new characters! The Servant is mine, and we'll cover her more later. :) The new Master is actually Warden Myst's.

Speaking of, here's a message from our sponsor:

Well, I finally get to make a note. How awesome is that. Warden Myst here, and I am so happy that the Cowboy finally gets some screen time. Sure, it was tying up our ever delectable tsundere but you can't win them all. As with most of the servants, both Nevada and I worked hard to make sure that our Cowboy was just as attached and a part of the war as the other masters. You'll just have to wait and see where it all comes together. Hope y'all continue to enjoy our delightful little tale and I'll be sure to comment again the next time our dashing Texan shows up. Question or comments? Feel free to DM either me or Nevada. Till next time!

So we actually have a ton of stuff going on in this chapter. The Cowboy and the second Archer (I'm curious if anyone can figure out who it is) are only one small part of it.

We've got some Rin and Harry development here, which was fun. Rin really hasn't taught anyone before, so it was certainly a student moment for her as well. Speaking of Rin, now she can hear the little bird's voice too. More on that later as well.

Oh, one thing I should probably bring up. The greatest weakness of the secondary Servants is the fact that the masters can figure out who they are, as shown by the Cowboy. Temporal displacement can mitigate this somewhat, but that is a distinct weakness in the secondary Servant system. I suppose I could have made the various fandoms not exist in the Nasuverse, but that honestly feels like cheating. Fate/Stay Night is a type of urban fantasy, after all, so it's only fair that I make use of the urban element. Fortunately, most Masters don't get out much.

And because I feel like dropping a fun fact: Our Cowboy here, if this were an animated series, would be voiced by the amazing Troy Baker.

Don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and leave a review! Seriously, I'd love to hear from you guys and it always makes me so happy when I get the alerts. Plus, if you have a question or comment that I can respond to, I'll do so in my author's notes at the end of my chapters. Or you can always PM me if you want the discussion to be less public.