Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.
Grand (Kamen) Rider in Chaldea
Chapter 2: Qualifications
The entire cafeteria was completely silent, save for the loud sipping noise from the new Rider Servant drinking from a can of soda. Where he got the soda was a complete mystery, as he didn't have it earlier.
"…How long will you all keep staring at me?" Rider's tone wasn't out of embarrassment, it was actually more out of annoyance than anything.
"You are… Grand Rider?" Ritsuka muttered in disbelief, "But…that's impossible."
"Speak up a bit, will you? You're not making a good impression for someone who is Humanity's Final Master." Rider crushed the empty can in his hand and toss it to the ground.
"I said that it's impossible for you to be Grand Rider!" Chaldea's Master spoke louder than before.
"It's also impossible for someone like me to be a Servant, but today's just full of surprises." Rider said, "Now then, I'm still hungry. You there, get me another plate."
"Master… Can you unsummon him?" Needless to say, Rider wasn't making a good impression on his fellow Servants…
"And lose your biggest chance at killing that wannabe-god alien? I doubt anyone here can do that." And Rider was continuing to add fuel to the fire.
"Impossible… Someone with a bigger ego than Gilgamesh…"
"Which one of you mongrels said that?!"
"Service is really slow around here," Rider complained, indifferent to how everyone was currently thinking about him, "My restaurant had better service than this place."
"Senpai, I think it's best we take…um, what's your name?" Mash asked respectfully, despite how Rider was acting.
"Decade." Rider replied dismissively.
"We should take Rider of Decade-"
"It's just Decade."
"Uh… We should take him away from here before something happens," Mash suggested. It didn't take a genius to see that a fight was about to break out unless they intervened.
"Right. Where's Holmes?"
Novum Chaldea, Control Room…
"A Grand Servant?" Now that was intriguing. Only the World could summon Grand Servants. Normally, Chaldea could only summon the candidates or those who have renounced their title as Grand Servants.
So when Ritsuka and Mash came into the control room dragging a new Servant claiming to be a Grand Servant, it naturally piqued Sherlock Holmes' interest. Sion had thought so too and left to analyze Rider's stats.
"And you're Sherlock Holmes?" Rider, in turn, was studying the detective's appearance, "What's with all the mirrors?"
"To be a Grand Servant requires the Servant to be both well-known and immensely powerful," Holmes stated, ignoring Rider's question, "What makes you think that you're one."
"First, my achievements in life don't matter in this World. As for power, Master here can confirm that." Rider pointed at Ritsuka. The former's comment about his life stuck out to Holmes. The mention of 'this World' implies that-
"That reminds me, why exactly were you trying to kill me?" Ritsuka interrupted Holmes' train of thought.
"I wasn't trying to kill you. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing here now," Rider said.
"Then why were you chasing Senpai for?" Mash asked the currently bored Rider.
"I was annoyed," He answered the Demi-Servant, "I wasn't even dead for 5 minutes before he pulled me here. Do you know how that felt? Dying only to be brought back in a few minutes? Oh. Wait. You're the wrong person to ask. Or are you the right one?"
"So you are also aware of who we are and what had transpired in the Temple of Time." It wasn't a question, but a fact. Now that threw a wrench into Holmes' theory. A small one, but a wrench nonetheless.
"Of course I am. I know everything." Rider smirked at everyone's surprised reaction, although Holmes was more nuanced.
"I'm back," Sion Eltnam Sokaris returned from wherever she was carrying some notes, "And you should look at this."
Outside the Control Room...
"Just who does he think he is?!" One of the several Servants who had followed their Master to the Control Room complained to the others who waited with them outside, "Trying to kill Master, eating his lunch, and then claiming to be a Grand Servant?"
"You just said it yourself; He thinks he's a Grand Servant."
"Don't get snarky with me, Merlin!" The Caster's reply only served to irritate Mordred even more, "At least make yourself useful and see what's in there!"
"And invading Master's privacy? No thank you." Merlin waved off the suggestion from the Knight of Treachery, "Besides, Grand Rider is in there. I rather not get into a fight with him." (Rider Caster)
"I'll go in there!" Summer Ushiwakamaru popped up from nowhere and instantly volunteered herself (Assassin Rider).
"But you have the Riding Trait," Merlin remarked, "Even as an Assassin, you wouldn't last a second against him."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Summer Ushiwakamaru (Riding A) questioned the Caster.
"What she said!" Mordred (Riding B) was much more demanding than the Assassin and was being much more louder.
"Fujimaru and the others are checking his stats right now," Guess Merlin didn't actually care about privacy after all…
"And? How strong is he?"
"All I can say is he's definitely a Grand Servant."
Inside the Control Room…
"…This is a dream, right? Mash? This is another dream?"
"No, Senpai. We're completely awake…"
"How does one have that much EX Ranks?!" The paper that Sion had handed to them contained information on the Rider. Even if he was just freshly summoned, and thus most of it was hidden/locked off, it was obvious from a glance that he was not normal.
"EX Strength, EX- Endurance, EX NP…" And those were just his Parameters! "You have five Class Skills?!"
"Just five? I thought that there would be more." It was very hard to tell if Rider was being serious or not.
"And all of the are EX Rank," Ritsuka had to blink several times just to make sure that he was reading the paper right, "Just who are you?!"
"Riding EX isn't a surprise, but Independent Action too?" Holmes was calmer than Ritsuka as he studied the information.
"Correct, Sherlock," Rider said, "So Master here doesn't need to worry about supplying me with Mana."
"I'm guessing that your first Skill is how you're able to knock out Da Vinci in a single shot." Sion theorized.
"His first Skill?" Ritsuka repeated before checking Rider's only unlocked Skill, "'Rider Hunter'?"
"It increases his damage against anybody with the Riding Trait," Sion explained the effects from that Skill, "It also increases his attack in general."
"Don't forget the NP damage." Rider commented, "Because that artist just so happened to be a Rider, she didn't stand a chance against me. I'm a Rider who hunts down other Riders." Plus Sabers.
"A hunter of his own kind then." Unlike Class Skills, Personal Skills were nearly unique to a particular Servant (Skills with unique names anyway). If he could find out more about it, then Holmes would be able to figure out Rider's True Name.
There was also two other Skills that caught the detective's attention; Memory of Humanity's Justice and Traveler of Worlds. He would need to investigate further.
"Are we done yet? I want to get something to eat. Your plate wasn't very filling." Of course, Rider didn't wait for an answer and was already on his way out of the room.
"I'm just saying, you should think twice bef-" The doors suddenly bursting open prevented Merlin from finishing his warning, with Rider coming out of the control room without a care in the world. Initially, at least. The second he spotted the small crowd of Servants that had gathered around, his mood immediately soured.
"…Move over a bit," Rider kindly asked them to get out of the way.
"…"
"Master is okay if that's what you all are worried about," Rider sighed before walking through the crowd, 'accidentally' pushing some out of the way.
After waiting for the new Servant to get out of earshot, Mordred spoke what was on everyone's mind, "What the hell's up with that guy?!" Maybe not exactly what everyone was thinking, but she got the point across…
"…"
"Senpai?"
"…"
"Fujimaru? What's wrong?"
"…I'm hungry…" Ritsuka sighed as he felt his stomach growling. It was only now when Rider was no longer around that he realized that he hasn't eaten at all yet, "Maybe Emiya could make me something…" He was already salivating at the thought of the Archer's cooking. Besides, he should keep an eye on Rider. The Servant had only been here for 30 minutes and he was already disliked by half of Chaldea.
"Master!? You still alive in there?" Mordred basically barged into the Control Room, closely followed by several other Servants.
"Yeah, I'm fine." The Last Master of Humanity was touched that all of them had came to check up on him. Especially Mordred, in her Mordred-like way.
"So, how was Grand Rider like?" Merlin asked, "Was he as grand as you thought he would be?"
"Actually, he reminds me a bit of you," Ritsuka answered truthfully.
"Really?"
"Yeah. He immediately got on everyone's nerve the second he arrived." The room burst into laughter at the burn at Merlin's character, completely at odds with the innocent smile that was on Ritsuka's face.
"Hahahaha! Nice one, Master!" Mordred managed to say in between her laughter.
"Master," Merlin grumbled, "I am completely different than Decade. I, for one, actually respect other people's privacy. You won't see me breaking into Avalon and turning it upside down just to find someone."
"Of course, Merlin. Whatever…you…say…What?!" It took a moment for Ritsuka to register what exactly the Caster said, "Wait? You know him?!"
"I do. I don't know his True Name, but I have met Grand Rider before," Merlin revealed to everyone in the room, "Actually, it was more like he walked into Avalon than breaking in. And he didn't turn Avalon itself upside down, just my tower. But my point still stands. I have at least a tiny bit of respect."
"Merlin," Holmes addressed the Caster, naturally intrigued at the chance to learn more about Rider, "What can you tell us about him?"
"Well, as I said, he has no respect for anybody…"
In a distant time, in a distant tower within a field of flowers…
"It happened not too long before the Incineration of Humanity…" Merlin narrated his story,
At the peak of the tower, a man…no, not a man. A half-human stared at what was lying on the floor in front of him…
"I was in my tower, doing as I always did."
"Sorry everyone, but that's all the time I have for you today!" A cutesy female voice came from the anachronistic laptop that Merlin was using, "Be sure to catch me next time!"
"Aaaaaaand, done!" Merlin snickered as he watched the many, many donations come in, "Hehe…"
*SLAP!*
"OW! What was that for?!"
"Just get to the part that matters!" Guess who said that…
"I was getting to it! Ahem, where was I?"
"Hehe…" Merlin didn't even have any use for all that money! "Now then, let's see what's going on Earth…"
However, before he could use his Clairvoyance to check up on Earth, somebody lightly tapped Merlin's shoulder.
"Hmm?" Initially, Merlin assumed that it was one of the fairies of Avalon who wanted to talk to him (Well, needed to talk. No one in Avalon wanted to talk to him for no reason…). Turning around, it was plainly obvious that the man did not belong there. He was dressed in modern clothes (specifically, a suit) and had an irritated expression on his face.
"Merlin." The man also already knew who he was, "Please tell me Yuri is here. This is the 7th Avalon already. Use that telescope vision of yours to see if he's in this one."
"Uh, excuse me?" Merlin had absolutely no idea who the man was or what he was doing here, "Who are you? How did you get in my tower?"
"Don't matter." The man ignored the questions and instead took out a strange photo from his pocket. "This guy in the robes. Is he in this Avalon?"
The photo the man showed Merlin was weirdly distorted; as if multiple photos were overlaid on top of each other. While the photo did show the person he was looking for, behind (or was it in front) the pictured man was a strange sword.
"Look around quickly." The man prodded Merlin to work faster.
"…Sorry, but this person isn't here." With no other choice, or rather, nothing better to do, Merlin relented and used his telesco- I mean Clairvoyance to check all over Avalon, "Now with that over… Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
"If you do see Yuri around, tell him Decade is looking for him." The man said, "And I have to move on…"
The man then turned around and was about to leave (somehow), only to be stopped by Merlin, "Wait, what do you mean 7th Avalon?"
"I mean-" *GRUMBLE*"…not again…"
"What are- Ahh!" Before Merlin could finish, his vision turned upside down within a single moment. The next moment, gravity took effect and the half-incubus was nursing a headache as he found himself on the ceiling of his balcony…
And that man, Decade, was nowhere to be seen…
"…"
"So? How was it?" Merlin asked for their opinion, "Does that answer your question?"
"I'm…confused." And Ritsuka wasn't the only one, "Who's Yuri?"
"I don't know either," Merlin answered.
"And he just appeared one day?" -Mash
"Yes."
"He mentioned 7th Avalon?" -Sherlock
"That's correct."
"And he was disrespectful of you from the start?" -Mordred
"Yup."
"Then he's just a normal person." -Mordred again
"Hey!"
"And your tower just flipped upside down after he appeared?" -Some random Servant (look I can only write about 4 people max, okay? Please cut me some slack)
"It took me a while to fix my tower…" Merlin sighed as he remembered what happened that day, "And no one else was willing to help."
"…"
"What? No sympathy for the old wizard whose home was flipped over?"
"No, not really."
"…"
*Growling* "…I'm hungry…"
Merlin simply sighed in response before a smile appeared on his face again, "Come on, we should return to the cafeter-" And the smile got even bigger, "Oh, no."
"Merlin?" The large grin the Caster had was not very calming. Quite the opposite in fact, "...What's happening in the cafeteria?"
Cafeteria…
"What's going on in here?!"
"Master! Stop them! They're out of control!"
Somehow, within the 5 minutes since Rider went off on his own, the cafeteria had turned into a battle zone.
On one side of the cafeteria was Rider, now dressed in a chef's uniform. On the other side was Emiya, dressed as he normally was. Both of them had a complete kitchen set laid out in front of them (stove, oven, microwave, the whole shebang) and the two (mostly Emiya, actually) were glaring at each other.
Seated at another table in between the two sides were Altria Pendragon (OG) and Beni-Enma along with an empty third seat.
"Master, you're here. Good. You can be the third judge." Before Ritsuka could even react, he suddenly found himself in the empty seat.
What kind of battle zone is it, you ask? A cook-off, of course.
At least Ritsuka won't be hungry anymore.
A/N: And that's a wrap for this chapter! True be told, this is actually the second version of this chapter. The first version was getting way too serious for my liking and I ended up rewriting most of the chapter to make it more fun.
In this new second version, I added Decade being a more massive dick and Merlin having met him in the past (and subsequently getting screwed over). And the ending? I'm sure you know what it's a parody of.
Another issue I had was trying to write a comprehensive guide to all of Decade's stats as a Servant. This meant that I had to go online and read every skill Servants have and pick the ones that I felt would suit him best.
It was a long list…
I managed to shorten it a bit by fusing some skills and giving them unique names such as Rider Hunter doing what Sion described. It's basically just a self-buff that lets him take down any Rider. I was tempted to add one more effect (Anti-Giant for J) but it was already getting too cluttered. Eventually, once Ritsuka does enough grinding, I'll reveal what his second and third Skills does.
The end of this chapter is just a list of his currently known stats. Effects will be described once it becomes relevant to the story.
Finally, I ask that you review and do all that stuff I usually ask.
(Grand) Rider
Information:
True Name: Unknown
Place of Origin: Japan (21st Century)
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Hidden Attribute: Man
Personal Information:
Likes: Unknown, showing off
Dislikes: Unknown, The Worlds, Unknown, Unknown
Natural enemies: Unknown, The Worlds, Unknown, Unknown
Image color: Magenta
Traits:
Servant
Male
Humanoid
Unknown
Unknown
Parameters:
Strength: EX
Endurance: EX-
Agility: A
Mana: D
NP: EX
Class Skill:
Riding EX
Memories of Humanity's Justice EX
Traveler of Worlds EX
Independent Action EX
Wide Specialization EX- (Normally a Personal Skill but manifests as a Class Skill due to reasons)
Personal Skills:
Rider Hunter
Unknown
Unknown
Noble Phantasm:
Unknown (EX Rank)
Unknown (EX Rank)
Unknown (B Rank)