In The Core of the Jewel

Chapter 35: Giving up, For someone Important

Author's Note: Based on the Unlimited Blade Works Route

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Original Game: Fate/Stay Night

Original Concept: Type-moon

Written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: IRL is causing me to have intense bad dreams.. mostly about work.

I has a blog nao =w=" It's for releases of Older work that I did. But it's a work in progress

R&R though

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Landing a terrific right on Kuzuki Souchirou's face was pretty much a combination of Lancer's dirty fighting techniques as well as Souchirou being complacent while fighting an opponent like him. It wouldn't be the first time, nor the last time hat Lancer would engage in fisticuff combat. Of course, he would prefer not doing so in the first place if he could help it.

He was a spear user after all, but unfortunately here are times when he has to get his hand dirty while in a tricky situation like this one. One can never be prepared and he recalled that there is actually a term for it in this world, 'crazy prepared' they call it. This world never fails to surprise him with it's uniqueness's and culture.

Lancer was a person like that, crazy prepared as he knew different degrees of different martial arts and thus is quite hard to surprise even if he is unarmed or taken by surprise.

Living in the shadow of being assassinated was probably a reason for that and he took a cheapshot when he saw an opportunity for it, Lancer kicked Souchirou in the knee before attempting to poke him in the eye as a feint.

He was not the most honorable of fighters, unless it was a duel that was agreed upon by both parties before hand.

But it wasn't a duel, this is simply a fight to determine who would get the two girls that he viewed as important. If they somehow managed to obtain Saber, a feat that was not impossible as Lancer recalled Caster offering him a chance to join her.

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As a servant, it was impossible for him to sever the contract with Rin, not that he wished for that, but it was impossible for him to achieve that unless someone killed Rin and forced him to take a contract with the killer.

It is possible as one prime example of it happening was how he became Rin's servant in the first place, was it not?

It would not be implausible for Caster to actually have a way to kill Rin from afar or to eliminate that boy with her as she is a witch…

Witches, like mages, are not restricted by something silly as distance or location. As long as a magical circle is set up, the key question is when would it go off.

For Caster to blow up half the town to gain Lancer and Saber as pawns… she might even think of it as a bargain to gain the power of two fine warriors like themselves.

Thus, it is of utmost priority that the two of them finish this battle as soon as possible.

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'!'

For his benefit, Kuzuki Souchirou is not a bad combatant for a human… his secret and unique technique was probably the most efficient assassination technique involving nothing but the human fist. But he still can't compare to a survivor, a 'Heroic' spirit like him… especially when he has tossed pride out the window in this scenario.

A quick jab to his nose to stun him, following with a nasty kick to the vulnerable part of his leg, aiming at the exact same spot and he has him in the ropes, stumbling backwards and earning a cry of surprise from Caster.

She probably did not expect her master to be knocked back so suddenly.

'Come back here, coward!'

Trying to taunt him to continue fighting, Lancer willed his spear back to his arms and charged forward, matching footsteps with Saber, who has finished dispatching the last of Caster's minions.

It looked like a coup was in sight, once they finish either Caster or her master off, it will be all over!

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'!'

Saber suddenly stopped in her tracks as she took a quick and panicked glance behind her in the direction that they had came from.

It was only a split second, but Lancer could see that the young girl that was befitting her image had broken through that image of a composed warrior to show her worry for her Master.

A split second later, it was Lancer's turn to feel the command seal flashing and burning his skin, showing the urgency of the situation.

It was a technical dilemma, do they retreat now and come to their Master's aid? They must surely had encountered some trouble or to press on and kill Caster and her Master immediately.

It was probably their only shot they had to defeat Caster without any collateral damage. Even if Lancer is a dirty fighter if he wishes to be, he still has some pride as a warrior and loathes getting innocent involved in a fight.

Bystanders should not be killed unless they are interfering…

But… what is this sinking feeling that they simply cannot afford to ignore the threat posed to their masters?

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He has sufficient confidence in her Master, Tohsaka Rin, in handling and coming up with a strategy against any opponent in an instant. Let's leave Emiya Shirou aside, although he likes and admires that kid for his guts, he's not really cool headed enough to last long in actual combat.

But… sometimes, luck itself counts in actual combat and that boy has the ability to pull luck towards him.

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'…'

He can't hesitate, not now and he must have faith in her master!

Dashing forward, Lancer simply swept apart the magical blasts that Caster flung at him as he had taken a route that would have his front partially, if not fully covered by her Master and it was making Caster jittery, unable to have a clear shot at him.

'Die!'

Thrusting his spear forward a few lengths away, he was ready to use his Noble Phantasm, Gae Bolg to end this encounter once and for all!

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But again, fate intervened and this time it took the form of Saber letting out a horrified cry. A warrior does not shriek, nor does one display a moment of weakness as a single second can turn the tide of a battle. He had admitted that Saber is a fine warrior, a true and noble warrior with pride and honor in her skills.

Someone like that would never give out a cry like that unless she was in the drink of death, and that was only him guessing what she would 'logically' do.

Saber might be a person that would die without lamenting or cursing her foe that vanquished her and she probably would not spend her last moments screaming like that.

Unless, that fate was worst than death and Lancer pulled back to look at what had befallen Saber for her to shriek like that.

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It was not a moment of weakness, it was just that she did not expect to see Caster materializing beside her all of a sudden. She had heard of this trick done by Caster as while rescuing Shirou from her clutches in the Temple, she had the opportunity to see her use it in action, disappearing into thin air as soon as she swung her sword at her.

But that was not just the surprise, the surprise was when she dismissed her easily, carelessly swinging her sword to dispel the illusion when the blade struck true and it buried itself deeply into Caster's shoulders.

Watching with wide eyes as Caster let out a cry of pain, fighting hard not to scream out loud as Saber's sword just ripped into her shoulders, threatening to completely decapitate her.

But that was not the surprise yet again as Saber knew instinctively that it was a trap, she had met Morgan Le Fay before and that sorcerer has it out for Saber ever since she met her.

This was surely too good to be true and Saber pulled back, pulling the sword away from her just as Caster leaned forward in pursuit.
it was too odd, Caster should be at her best in a ranged confrontation, why would she choose to engage Saber in a close ranged combat?

She has an A rank in Magical Resistance, unless it is a magical attack of the highest grade, they cannot penetrate her armour.

Even if Shirou is not providing her with sufficient prana, she was still able to withstand most magical attacks save for the strongest of attacks.

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Thus, there is no way she can manage to hurt her in close range. But she still instinctively dropped her sword and took up defensive measures when Caster glided forward and collided with her, tackling her with her body.

In retrospect, she should have dodged her advance, in retrospect, she should have never hesitated to kill her when her holy sword sunk deep into her shoulder. But her inner instincts screamed at her to stop thinking right now and run!

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For in the next moment, she felt the magical dagger stuck itself into her body, causing her intense pain as to her horror, the command seal on her faded away, destroyed by the dagger and the triumphant smirk on Caster's face sickened her so.

'I've got you now, Saber!'

And Saber, despite herself, let out an uncharacteristic cry of pure horror and fear, not knowing what that witch would do to her as she felt her entire body being forced down due to a command issued by that devious woman.

'C-Caster! Y-you!'

Weakly she tried to resist and stand up, but the command was given and she cannot fully resist the Command Seal that was not forcibly written into her body.

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It was probably over, the battle between them was no longer necessary. At least, that was what Archer believed as he looked at the conviction in the boy's eyes.

He has something different from him, his values might be fundamentally the same, but there was a change in who he was protecting and what he is protecting. Something in him was wired differently from what he was in this time.

One can say he is less 'ambitious' but he is still protecting the 'world' that mattered the most to him. If he was right about what he wanted to protect, what his dreams lie and not stray from his path, he could probably leave him alone…

As he would not make the same mistake that he did… the mistake that he was determined to erase..

Even if the dream was spectacular, even if it seemed beautiful and awesome now…

This Emiya Shirou… might, might not follow the same he did.

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Thus, Archer stopped firing and looked down at him silently, the boy covering for the girl behind him even as he dropped to one knee in exhaustion. His body should be all torn up by now, the insides and outsides damaged from using that magic that is forbidden to him.

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He has not realized the true magic that he should and could use. The one magic that he can only use… His and their only weapon.

'Tsk…'

Shaking his head, he turned around when he suddenly felt a change in the air, something dangerous approaching them and he focused his eyes, reinforcing his eyesight to see an explosion racking the Matou Family mansion a distance away.

Following his gaze, the two magus in front of him gave a gasp as more explosions followed the initial one, getting more violent from the upstart.

At a point in time, a spiral of black and red energy simply blasted a portion of the floor away, shooting towards the sky before the energy dissipated away.

That energy, it jolted a distinctive and annoying memory deep inside him and he smiled grimly. That's right… there's still one more enemy he has to take care of… the enemy that he rather not face right now.

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He has a job to do and despite him throwing away those responsibilities, he felt that he should intervene… especially if Sakura was involved, even if another one of his 'associates' was there. Matou Sakura… a person that the boy had ignored as well… if he was with her now, would the horrors that she had to go through be lessened?

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'Archer… yo-you!'

Accusing him of the crime, Archer turned to the pair, who were clutching to each other for comfort. It hurts a little to see them physically so close to each other despite them being oblivious to it and he smiled grimly before looking away again, dismissing and accepting his accusations at the same time.

Then, his eyes narrowed as the inevitable happened, something that should but never have happened but it still did… exactly like how he had witnessed in the past, the command seal on the boy started to disappear, causing him to give a cry of surprise at that and he turned to stare at the girl, who too was looking at it with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

To guide them in the right direction, Archer spoke aloud for their benefit before taking off to the other direction, towards the Matou residence.

'Caster… she must have done something. Go, Emiya Shirou, Rin… if you wish to protect the things that you hold dear in your hands now.'

Then, as mysterious as he appeared, Archer disappeared in a flash of red, causing the two of them to stare at each other and to ask the same question:

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Why… why did he come in the first place?

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'Tsk…'

It was as he expected, Caster had a trump card under her sleeve but he did not know how lucky he was to guess that in the first try earlier… No wonder Caster had asked him to join her, she could sever any bond with any servant and force them to be hers with that knife…

With her dirty tricks to siphon prana from everyone, she can hold any number of servants around at her beck and call.

'Talk about cheating on each servant…'

That's why he dislikes women, especially witches as they are all crafty bitches with ulterior motives… Magus are different of course!

He wouldn't be surprised if Caster ended up having 4 arms and 6 legs, if it was even possible at this stage as he fought his way through another crowd of skeletons that Caster had raised up defend her position.

That girl was strong, mentally and physically as well as she was still resisting the command given to her by Cater while enduring her kicks of frustration.

'… are you a domme or something?'

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Raising an eyebrow as he commented, he smirked when Caster turned red and paused for a moment, giving him the edge to crash through another wall of skeletons without a beat.

To see her still struggling to resist shows and speaks volumes of her dedication and affection towards the boy and that made Lancer feel a little awkward. He's never been in a relationship with another woman that was not for political reasons or it being nothing more than a fling.

'Damnit…'

But why was he getting disheartened at that?

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Crashing through the ranks with ease, especially after his remark that made Caster lose her cool, Lancer appeared swiftly in front of Caster before ramming his body against her, taking care to avoid the dagger and tossing her aside like a ragdoll before reaching out and grabbing Saber by the waist, pulling her up like luggage.

He can't eliminate Caster now, not when Saber is under her command as she might disappear if Caster was killed.

She was light, way too light for someone that had bested him before and it took him a moment to realize that she was really a young girl behind that guise of a warrior.

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Perhaps that gave her the right to yearn a love from a person she had cherished.

'Saber! Finish Lancer off now!'

Giving the command to her, Lancer smirked when he struck Saber in a particular spot behind her neck, effectively knocking her out while she struggled within herself to not raise her sword at him.

'I know plenty of tricks to make women fall to their knees willingly in front of me~ I'll be glad to show ya some of them~"

Grinning and winking at Caster, he was awarded with her screaming insults at him as she ordered her minions to attack them.

His instincts were sharp and he noticed Caster's Master behind them, ready to strike when he was engaged and he grinned.

'Hmph…'

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But he still has an ace up his sleeve. He'd rather NOT use it, but in this circumstances, it's better to beat a retreat before they get captured.

He'd be DAMNED if he betrayed yet another Master and Lancer crouched down in a prowling position before leaping into the air.

'So Long!'

Feeling his Master's prana, hot and energetic flow into him as he activated his Noble Phantasm, Lancer roared a battle cry as he flung his spear like a javelin into the ground as he declared:

'Gae Bolg – Death Flight!'

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His cursed spear flew straight as an arrow towards the gathering mod and from it came that signature smell of blood, accompanied by a red hue till it struck the ground.

Then, a brilliant red explosion ripped through the entire courtyard, blinding and covering Lancer as he made his getaway with Saber in tow.

A tactical retreat, but in the face of such an attack, he knew that even Caster would be hardpressed to come out of that unscathed.

'So things ARE getting interesting after all!'

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Clutching his right hand, Emiya Shirou looked at the disappearing command seal in his right hand and he turned to Tohsaka Rin for help, for advice… anything, something to stop this from happening.

'Tohsaka! What's happening… I didn't dismiss Saber nor did I use up all of the command seals… Is Archer saying the truth?'

He had felt the link between him and Saber disappear long before but he had hoped it was a fluke, a lie.

But when Tohsaka Rin lowered her head, he felt his heart plummet.

'Something must have happened…'

Her legs wobbled again and Shirou caught her before she fell, holding her firmly as Rin pressed one hand against her forehead as beads of sweat started to form from the stress.

'Tohsaka?'

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'Lancer… he must have used his Noble Phantasm… I'm fine Shirou, but we should get ready to be taken away-'

Just as she said that, Lancer made his entrance cue by crashing and rolling on the floor till he stopped a few feet away from them. He was all torn up and Rin was about to ask him if he was alright when Lancer sprung up, ran forward and grabbed Rin by the waist, just like what he was doing with Saber and he placed her over his shoulders.

'Bear with me for a bit, Master~ Kid, we'll meet you back at the safe house we went earlier. Carrying women is fine, but if I carry a guy, sorry… it's just not my style.'

Earning a slap on the back of his head as Rin sniffed unhappily, Lancer grinned before turning serious again.

'We need a new base and we need it now. Is Ojou-chan's house fine? We can't go back to that safe house as Kotomine knows about it… either way it's just for one night… I kinda demolished the Kid's courtyard… ahaha~"

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Author's Notes: Ah Lancer, always the joker..