FATE/CATBOX FICTION

Chapter 6: Summoned Servants

Rio de Madeira

Connla ran at Izo and twirled her spear upon the palm of her hand multiple times, parrying each of his sword blows with surgical precision. He attempted to slash at her belly, but she performed an awkward hop and side roll along the ground to avoid it. She got within range of his legs and whipped her right foot against his left heel, making him stumble. She then swung her blade in a rising arc at his face, but he did a jumping cartwheel to both avoid the attack and regain his footing. They took several steps away from each other and glared intently.

"Y'think y'can get away from me, kid?" Izo taunted with a sadistic grin. "When I set my sights on a target, I never let 'em escape."

To his surprise, Connla became unusually serious. "Escape? I'm afraid that's impossible for me."

"Impossible?"

"I don't think you'd be in the mood for a long story. Let's just say that I possess a curse that doesn't allow me to back down from any challenge. Either my enemy is killed or retreats, or I die. Those are the only possible outcomes for me."

"Ya don't say. Well, that works out fer me! I don't have t'worry 'bout ya runnin' away, and I never lose to any opponent! Looks like ya'll have to count the seconds ya have left t'live then!"

"I think not."

With a calmness that Izo had never seen before, Connla dashed in and swung her spear multiple times at him. Izo grunted and parried each blow as they came, startled not by her strength but by her deadly accuracy. Even though he blocked the deadlier strikes, she managed to get in a few cuts and lacerations on his arms and torso. He couldn't believe how talented she was as a warrior despite her age, and it made him lose his concentration for a split second. Connla leapt in front of him and delivered the strongest roundhouse kick she could muster, snapping his head back and sending him tumbling across the dirt.

The Lancer got into her combat stance and demanded, "What do you want from me?"

Izo brushed his lip of some blood, then stood back up and retorted, "What're ya talkin' 'bout? Yer the one who wanted me t'kill ya!"

"What!?"

"Ya summoned me and told me t'look fer ya in Akakor, and here ya are! How much simpler can it get than that!?"

"Oh, good grief," Connla groaned as she realized what was going on - it was the same mistake that Kiritsugu made. She was just lucky that the Guardian was reasonable enough to listen to her, but she felt it would not be so easy with the Man-Slayer. She didn't think Izo was too challenging of an opponent, especially when compared to Cuchulainn, although she didn't want to get complacent. She was stuck in a foreign world, and she was so afraid of getting Ritsuka involved with this deadly skirmish that she didn't want to call for backup.

While she was distracted, she heard Izo scream, "TEYAAAAH!"

She needed to snap out of her reverie and focus on the fight. She twisted her shoulder aside so his katana wouldn't carve her arm off, and quickly danced away from him on her toes. She reached a nearby tree, hopped backwards, then launched some small fireballs at him. He parried them with his sword while she did a reverse flip off the tree and stamped her feet upon his face, knocking him back-first upon a large tree root. She did a few hands-free cartwheels to hop over the furious samurai's rapid ground slashes.

Izo rolled back onto his knees. He didn't try to pursue her though. He instead stared at the ground so calmly that it unnerved Connla. She heard him mumble, "Sorry, kid, but this is work."

The air around him was intense. Then he glared at her with a murderous smile. Before she could react, he was directly in front of her. He slashed his katana at her a couple of times, then rushed around to get behind her and stabbed the blade into her back.

"This is…"

He slowly pushed his weapon upward through her flesh, feeling certain that he cut into some vital organs and blood vessels.

"DIVINE PUNISHMENT! HRAAA~AAA~AAAAH!"

He swung up and stood there in a crazed frenzy, expecting to be showered by tons of blood from Connla's torn throat and shoulder. This was his Noble Phantasm – Shimatsuken, or the Settlement Sword, capable of replicating any sword-fighting style that Izo witnessed. It also embodied the terror and gruesomeness that he represented as a renowned assassin.

However, he noticed something was wrong. He wasn't feeling any warm liquid spraying on him. In fact, Connla's body seemed to creak unnaturally.

"What the hell!?" Izo shouted as he realized he had not actually cut into Connla. Instead, he was staring at a bifurcated mess of tree roots that had shaped themselves to resemble her - he had been tricked into wasting his Noble Phantasm on a wooden dummy. It was a nifty trick that Cuchulainn Caster taught Connla during some downtime back at Chaldea. Although her Runecraft was far inferior to his, it was enough to get the job done for now.

The samurai suddenly felt a light brush of wind ruffle his kimono, and he clenched his teeth in fury. Acting on pure instinct, he raised his katana to shield himself from the leaf-bladed spear as it swung in a wide horizontal arc straight for his neck. He managed to save himself by inches, and sparks flashed right in front of his face as he glared into Connla's placid eyes.

"Shit! Ya Celts are really somethin' else!" he cried out angrily, yet he seemed a little amused by her tenacity. "Y'might be a brat, but ya'd make fer a good Man-Slayer yerself!"

"My spear is not for senseless killing. It exists only to strike down evil," she retorted. She then flipped onto the ground and leapt back to avoid being cleaved by his sword.

"Oh, please. Spare me that kinda saccharine talk, would ya? Whether yer an evildoer, a hero of justice, or an innocent man, murder is still murder. Even if ya wind up killing me, that just means ya'll be no better than me."

"I know that. The difference between us is how much we let our conscience be burdened by our actions. I honestly have a hard time understanding how you can brush off such brutality like it's nothing. Not that this is the time or place to debate such a thing."

"Well said! It'd suck if ya felt weighed down from killin' a good-fer-nothin' like me. Likewise, I'd enjoy the biggest thrill of my life if I murdered a pesky lil' bird like ya! Nothin' relieves stress like offin' an asshole who's pissin' ya off, right!? No matter what the outcome o'this fight is, there will be blood spilled! I'd rather it be yers, kid!"

Connla narrowed her eyes and scowled, "I'm not killing you. I still have a bunch of questions that you need to answer."

Izo laughed and his eyes dilated manically. "Keh hah hah hah! What are ya going on about!? I already told ya - yer the one asking me to kill ya! What else is there t'know!?"

"For crying out… Ugh, forget it! Looks like you'll only listen to me after I subdue you!"

With that, she engaged him in another close-range duel. For the next minute or so, both of them were whirlwinds of movement and blades that struggled to overcome the other. Their skills were so equal though that neither of them were making any substantial progress. That was fine with her though – her plan was to eventually tire Izo out so that she could switch to long-range Runecraft. It was taking longer than she thought to wear him down though, considering that he was quite livid for being treated like a fool.

"Now yer just makin' fun o'me, aren'tcha!?" he raged and smashed his katana over her blocking spear. She needed every ounce of strength to repel him, but her boots slid along the muddy riverbank. He suddenly slashed to the side, making her lose her momentum. He raised his foot and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to roll closer to the river.

"Stop wastin' my time and die already!" Izo shouted and ran at the fallen girl.

"Ungh!" Connla grunted as she got back on one knee and raised her hand. An Ansuz Rune that she surreptitiously planted while tumbling away shone beneath Izo's feet and detonated. The samurai was startled as he was flung straight into the air. He caught sight of the child warrior leaping above him, and a series of shining lights materialized before her. His eyes widened once he clearly saw the Runes.

"KEN!" Connla screamed. The sigils flashed, and a terrific blast of wind hurtled the Assassin clear across the grove for 200 meters until he slammed his back against a thick tree trunk. As he collapsed onto his feet, he heard the breeze whistling as she used some more Runes to propel herself toward him. He was so winded that he couldn't react to her foot slamming upon the back of his neck, smashing his face onto the dirt.

No matter how angry Izo was, there was no denying that Connla defeated him. For all of his ability to copy swordsmanship styles, he couldn't replicate things like Runes or ridiculously high agility. He had to admit that he made the mistake of underestimating her on account of her being a child. He never experienced fighting children anyway, so trying to beat a child soldier from the Ulster Cycle was unfathomable to him.

Groaning in pain, Izo slowly got to one knee and glared at Connla. This time, it was her turn to be angry. Small riastrad lines formed on Connla's forehead and cheeks. Her eyes shrunk into feral dots, and the whites of her eyes became bloodshot. She let out a horrific cry that made him shiver to the core:

"Stop screwing around and start talking! NOW!"

Izo was genuinely shocked to see how dramatically his young opponent changed once she became livid. He caught his breath, realizing that his heart was pumping erratically in response to his surprise. He wasn't really afraid of her – he was just astonished that a charming little girl could demonstrate such bestial ferocity when she was pushed to the brink. He was suddenly reminded of the analogy where even a kitten could become a lion when forced into a corner.

"Tch… Fine. Since ya kicked my ass good an' square, I'll let ya ask one question," he relented with a guttural scowl. "Don't go takin' miles when I'm just givin' ya an inch, though. My patience is at its limit as it is."

"That's plenty enough for me," Connla muttered and calmed down once she got him to surrender. "What did you mean when you said I asked you to kill me?"

"Ain't it obvious? When I was summoned to this world, I heard yer voice beggin' me t'put an end to yer life. Ever since I materialized, I've been lookin' around everywhere fer whoever owned that voice. Once I heard ya talking with yer Master, that's when I knew I hit paydirt."

"So you were just going by the sound of my voice too."

"Ya don't look that surprised. This ain't the first time someone tried t'kill ya fer the same reason?"

"Yeah. Even before I came to this world, another Assassin told me that he heard the same thing – a girl who sounded like me asking him to kill her. I don't think this is a coincidence. There's another 'me' in this world who is summoning Rogue Servants and giving them the mission to hunt down and kill her."

"Huh? Another 'you'? The hell does that mean?" Izo wondered, growing visibly perplexed.

"Servants are really just a 'copy' of the original Heroic Spirit inscribed in the Throne of Heroes. It's not impossible to imagine that there could be multiple copies of the same Servant summoned in a single world at any given time. Basically, it means that there's myself, and another version of me inside Akakor."

"Yer kiddin'…"

"I'm not. The one who's summoning Rogue Servants is not me, but rather my Akakor counterpart. I'm actually from Chaldea, an organization located in a parallel world."

"I see. I thought it seemed rather funny… Ya fought against me so viciously to save yer own skin, even though ya begged me t'kill ya at the same time. So it was a case of mistaken identity, huh?"

"I'm afraid so," Connla nodded. "You're on the right track, but it's my counterpart you should be looking for. To be honest, I'm searching for her too. I wouldn't be surprised if we wound up bumping into each other later."

"Feh. I'd rather we never meet again," Izo bitterly spat. "Ya remind me too much of that fetid snake bimbo who hangs around Ryouma all the time."

She wasn't sure who he meant, but decided not to ask him. He then smirked a little and said, "I'm kinda surprised ya haven't asked me anythin' about why yer counterpart's summonin' murderers like me t'kill her. Wouldn't that bother a goody two-shoes like ya?"

"I thought I was only allowed one question."

"Keh hah hah hah hah! Ya might be annoying, but yer also pretty funny! If ya were a few years older, I woulda liked t'gamble an' drink with ya! I think I'd die o'laughter listenin' t'ya! That's right, I only did allow ya one question! Now that yer satisfied, I can finally get outta yer sight like the miserable killer hound I am! If we ever do see each other again though, I promise that I will take yer head."

"…"

"With that said, here's to a permanent farewell, brat!"

The Man-Slayer turned on his heel and walked off deeper into the twisting rainforest. The child Lancer watched him leave, eyeing him like a hawk until she was certain he was gone. She eventually exhaled a small sigh of relief and relaxed her tense nerves. All she could mutter was, "Well that was something…"

Back at camp, Mini-Cu finally stirred awake and let out a large yawn. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was looking at the moon hanging in the night sky, rather than at the ceiling of one of Chaldea's living quarters. This perplexed him, so the doll's body shone red until Cuchulainn Alter extracted his Spirit Origin out of the plush and materialized into proper Servant form.

"Where the hell am I?" he groaned tiredly.

"You're finally up," he heard Mash speaking to him from behind, and he looked back to find her standing guard over the sleeping Ritsuka.

"What's going on? Are we in the middle of a mission?"

"Yeah. Sorry for the trouble, but we didn't want to wake you unless it was necessary."

"Hmph. Whatever. So what's the situation?"

Mash brought Cuchulainn a few feet away to a fallen tree so she could discuss the specifics without waking Ritsuka up. He narrowed his eyes and frowned darkly after hearing how they were dealing with an alternate Connla, and of the implications that came from her potentially losing control of herself. He wished he could help more, but since he didn't know anything about Akakor Connla, he opted to focus on keeping Chaldea Connla safe for now.

He looked around, then asked, "Where's the kid?"

"She's out on patrol. Emiya Assassin is also scouting out Manaus. I just hope they both come back with good news," the Shielder murmured worriedly.

"How long has she been gone for?"

"About a couple of hours. That's strange though – she said she'd be back in one hour."

"Knowing her awful luck, she's probably gotten herself in trouble. I should go look for-"

Right as Cuchulainn said this, they heard the trees rustling above them. They glared up and prepared their weapons, thinking it was an ambush. However, once they saw Connla land after leaping off of a branch, they calmed down. She approached Mash and said, "I'm back."

"Good to see you again. What took so long? I was starting to get worried about you."

"Sorry for the delay. It's actually a lot harder to navigate this rainforest than I expected. I managed to find a path that we can use though."

"Is that right?"

Connla stared up at Cuchulainn and asked, "Did you just wake up? You still look kind of groggy."

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. Once our enemies start showing themselves, I'll be ready to go."

He stared at her suspiciously for a moment, then wondered, "Did anything else happen while you were out?"

"Of course not. It was such an uneventful excursion that I actually felt kind of nervous."

Cuchulainn kneeled so that his eyes were level with Connla's. His expression was stony and fierce as he demanded, "Nothing happened?"

She became increasingly confused by his insistent behavior. "Yeah, nothing."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive."

He brushed his fingers around her unnaturally cut bangs. "Then what is this about?"

She immediately tensed up, realizing she was busted. "Ah! Well, um… Y-You see…"

"I sincerely doubt any regular animal could have done this to you. That tells me you were attacked by a Servant. Seeing how much of your hair was cut off, it was an opponent who was roughly equal in skill to you."

"Uuuh…"

"Out with it, young lady. You know better than to lie to me."

Unable to resist him any longer, she hesitantly explained what happened during her encounter. As he heard her description of the fight, Cuchulainn's skin prickled with goosebumps.

Mash murmured grimly, "Okada Izo… One of the most infamous assassins active during the Bakumatsu era. I can't believe someone like that would go after you."

"It was a mistake. He's actually trying to find Cliste, like what Emiya Assassin is doing," Connla said, then became pensive. "Now that there are multiple Servants with the same objective though, I wonder if we might wind up being attacked by more assassin-type Servants for the same reason. I'm afraid that if I stay with Master, my presence could actually cause more trouble for her."

Cuchulainn grunted and said, "If we know the possibility exists, then we just have to prepare for it. More importantly, that means you're not leaving my side, no matter what. If anyone tries to kill you, then I'll slaughter them before they can even get a look at you."

"I understand how you feel, but, well… I kind of don't want you to kill those Servants… at least, not yet anyway."

"Why not?"

"They could provide some useful information for us. Maybe Cliste will tell them why she wants to be killed. Even if I made contact with her again, I highly doubt she would want to divulge something like that to me on account of us being friends."

"Hmm…"

Mash interjected, "Let's consult with Master after she wakes up. We shouldn't make these kinds of decisions without her input."

The Celts nodded in agreement.

Clock Tower

22-S froze like a statue and inhaled sharply. Once 22-Q witnessed the stolen box and Gaelic poem on the table, 22-S knew that her sibling would become upset.

"Sister," the younger Enforcer implored, "please give us a chance to explain."

"No need to," 22-Q silenced her. "I can already tell you are both responsible for some serious crimes against the Mages Association. Not only is Waver Velvet guilty of stealing a catalyst worth 150 million pounds from the El-Melloi estate, but you flagrantly violated the terms of the L.I.S.A. by divulging Lancer's True Name to a Frame-rank Mage."

Waver balked when he heard the price, but then quickly asked 22-S, "What is the L.I.S.A.?"

She glanced back at him and murmured, "The Lancer Information Suppression Act. It's what's responsible for the higher-ups erasing all of Lancer of Akakor's history from existing texts. Only Brand- and Grand-rank Mages plus the Enforcers know about it though."

"No way… W-What happens if it's violated?"

22-Q summoned a long curved naginata in her hand, then snapped, "Everyone involved will be executed."

"Gwah!?" he stumbled back in fear upon hearing her cold response. The sight of the gleaming weapon didn't help matters either.

"Please don't kill him!" 22-S pleaded. "I'm the one who told him everything! I even offered to cover up his theft! If it'll satisfy the Mages, I'll go to the gallows for both of us!"

"Stop wasting my time with your meager efforts at protecting him," 22-Q firmly retorted. "Didn't Waver Velvet ever stop to think that Lord Kayneth might have torn up his thesis in order to protect his student from violating the L.I.S.A.?"

Waver couldn't believe what he was hearing. His jaw became slack as he uttered, "He did what?"

"Yet the boy's immature pettiness and fervent pursuit for the truth distracted you from upholding the law, Sister. A flawed Mage and a flawed Enforcer have no right to be among our esteemed ranks. Spilling your blood is the only way both of you can absolve yourselves of such gross misconduct."

"Don't be ridiculous! Covering up the truth with lies is not going to accomplish anything! Sooner or later, someone is going to find out!" 22-S shouted.

"It's been 50 years," 22-Q said plainly. "Given enough time, the truth will be lost to strict sanctions and mishandling of information… At least, that's what the Mages were planning. They were certain that the truth behind the South Hemisphere Extinction would be impossible to recover by now. To think that a student and an Enforcer worked in collusion to upend five decades' worth of secrecy simply cannot be overlooked."

Waver shuddered. "M-My curiosity… was that dangerous?"

22-S scowled, "If it's that important to you, why didn't you or Lord Kayneth tell Mr. Velvet to stop his research!? You did absolutely nothing, and Lord Kayneth humiliating his pupil only served to encourage him to keep looking!"

22-Q frowned harder than before. "We Enforcers are not mandated to control what each student researches. However Lord Kayneth decided to approach the issue was his concern. Besides, Waver Velvet would never have gotten far on his own anyway. If anyone is to blame here, it's you. If you possessed that poem this whole time, then you should have done the right thing and burned it."

"And go along with the Mages to frame Lancer for the disaster!? I don't think so! They're just warping her history to escape the justice they should be facing instead!"

The older Enforcer scoffed with a wry grin, "'Justice' is a concept beyond the Mages' comprehension. They are cowards who hide behind lies and immorality to get what they want, and they have the power and finances to circumvent the law. No one has the power to fight against such a society except for Mother. You should know what she's after, Sister. If you hate the Mages as much as I do, then you should have been patient and waited for her to declare that she was ready to make her move."

Waver raised an eyebrow, growing increasingly curious with what 22-Q was saying. Even though she was serving the Mages, she clearly harbored tremendous contempt towards them. She must have been holding back so much hatred that she would murder her own superiors without a passing thought, all so she could do her job as professionally as possible. Furthermore, what was this business about 'Mother', and her ability to fight against the Mages? What did the Enforcers know that not even the Mages did? Waver wished he could ask 22-Q for more details, but seeing the naginata in her hand compelled him to keep quiet.

22-S grimaced and stepped back. She slowly hid one hand behind her back and generated a small series of Runes. 22-Q knew she was plotting something and immediately attempted to get inside the dorm to strike her sister down. 22-S hurled the Runes onto the floor, blasting a thick plume of grey smoke all over the place. The older Enforcer couldn't see anything, and snarled when she heard the window breaking. Once the smoke cleared, she discovered that 22-S, Waver, the catalyst, and the poem were all gone.

Out in the courtyard, 22-S carried an astonished Waver beneath her arm as she used some wind magic to shatter the window and leap outside with a mighty jump. While hidden in the ashen plumes, her outfit transformed to a skin-tight grey bodysuit with a small skirt attached around her hips. She landed upon the grass, then set Waver down and shoved the wooden box with the torn cape into his hands. Both of them stared up at the nearby rooftops and balconies, where they spotted at least 20 more feminine figures wielding various types of spears. All of them had white hair and donned grey bodysuits similar to hers. 22-Q stepped through the broken window and glared at the fugitive duo.

22-S grabbed Waver's collar and forced him close to her as she whispered, "Mr. Velvet, please listen to me carefully. I'll go and fight the Enforcers to buy you some time."

"Buy me time? For what? Even if I tried to run away, they'll catch up to me sooner or later."

"I know. That's why you need to concentrate on summoning the Servant attached to this catalyst, then have them get you out of here," she said and shoved the wooden box into his hands. "You know the incantation, and possess plenty of magical energy. I'm sure you can pull it off."

"Wha-? But what about you!?"

"I'm an Enforcer. My destiny is to die in service of others. If it means giving you time to escape, then that's fine with me."

"That's insane! You can't win against so many of them!"

"I know. I'm the one who got you into this mess and ruined your dream of becoming a high-ranking Mage in the Association. My death should be penance enough. You should focus on surviving alongside your Servant, so that you can pursue a new dream."

Waver's heart broke when he heard this. 22-S had done so much to help him during his time in the academy. She did nothing to destroy his dream. It was this demented society that threatened to silence the truth he so wanted to discover. Everything that the Mages were doing felt wrong to him. If Lancer of Akakor really was innocent, then Waver felt he needed to exonerate her and expose the truth of the Akakor Holy Grail War. By doing that, he felt he could upend this world built upon a foundation of lies and cowardice, and create a better civilization for lower-ranked Mages like himself. If he couldn't do that, then elitists like Kayneth would continue to walk all over those who wanted to advance in the world of Magecraft, all because they possessed power, fortune, and a prized lineage.

Waver tightly gripped the box with the torn mantle, then clenched his teeth and ran off into the nearby grove. 22-S didn't look back at him. She instead focused her attention on the Enforcers who leapt from their positions and surrounded her in a half-circular formation. 22-Q landed in front of the pack, then pointed her spear forth and commanded, "Kill them."

Two Servants wordlessly charged at 22-S. She summoned a line of Ansuz Runes and hurled dozens of small fireballs, throwing her pursuers off so she could backflip away from an enemy who flanked her side and swung her pike at her head. Another Enforcer locked her trident with 22-S's boar spear, but the young Enforcer reversed her momentum and hurled the woman off. At this time, two more Enforcers tried to chase after Waver. 22-S tossed a large Ken Rune onto the ground and swept them away with a localized yet powerful tornado. She leapt back after an Enforcer smashed her Japanese-styled spear onto the ground where she was standing, then performed a series of aerial kicks that sent both of them in midair.

Another Enforcer who looked like a 10-year old girl used some platform Runes to catch up to 22-S. She attempted to punch her cheek, but she retaliated by locking the girl's face between her legs. She then used backwards momentum to throw her through a window leading into an unoccupied dormitory room. As 22-S fell, she spotted 22-Q running toward her and leaping, prepared to cleave her blade into her back. The younger Servant elegantly twirled in midair and spun her own spear against the falling weapon like a helicopter blade. 22-Q was stunned by her opponent's agility and tumbled aside after receiving a strong kick to her chin.

One Enforcer with a bardiche grumbled, "How is the youngest of us so strong? I thought her mandate was to keep the archives organized."

22-Q quickly got to her feet and retorted, "That's not it. 22-S has been modeled to be a protector for the students. Subsequently, her combat prowess increases the more she desires to keep the students safe."

"Should we take some of the other children hostage then?" the bardiche-wielder asked as she shifted her eyes toward the curious students who were watching the battle from their rooms.

The elder Servant snapped under her breath, "Are you insane? If you do that, we'll be betraying our true loyalties to the Mages. We have to keep being subservient to them until the promised time comes."

"Then how can we eliminate her?"

"Our priorities are backwards. We should be getting rid of Waver Velvet first. Once we do, 22-S' morale should drop significantly."

"Understood."

Meanwhile, Waver frantically cut his own arm with a knife he kept on himself, then dripped the blood around until he created a magic circle while chanting the words, "Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill! Repeat five times, but destroy each when filled!"

He gasped in shock when he heard the tornado detonate, and felt violent winds rushing around him. He squeezed his eyes shut and murmured, "A base of silver and steel. A foundation of stone and the Archduke of Contracts. And my ancestor, my great ancestor, Schweinorg. A wall to block the falling wind. The gates of all four directions close. From the Crown, come forth and follow the forked road to the Kingdom.

"And then… And then… SHIT! Why am I forgetting now, of all time!?" he cried out and tousled his hair in frustration.

"Relax, lad," Zhuge Liang psychically assured him. "I remember what the incantation is."

"How do you know about that!?"

"You think you're just seeing my memories? Guess what – it's been working both ways this whole time. I've been picking your brain to gather whatever information I can get about how this society works."

"Ugh…"

"You've got the summoning circle right, at least. Now you have to place the catalyst in the center."

"R-Right," Waver muttered and took the torn cloth from the box, then set it upon the bloody crests. The battle continued raging behind him, and he cringed when he heard several explosions go off.

"Focus! Raise your hand and repeat what I say!" Zhuge implored.

The student winced, but did as instructed. The strategist murmured some words in his head, which helped distract him from the bedlam happening just mere feet away. He closed his eyes and began the ritual:

"I hereby propose. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny."

"If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning."

"I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world."

"You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power…"

"Come forth from the circle of binding…"

"Guardian of the Scales!" they finished together.

22-S crashed onto her back after receiving a high-powered drop kick courtesy of 22-Q. The angered Enforcer descended upon her fallen sister and pointed her spear at her forehead. 22-S rolled back to avoid having her skull pierced. She noticed a pair of young girls rush past her toward the grove where Waver was hiding.

"No!" 22-S shrieked and feebly tried to stop them. She was ambushed from four sides, preventing her from chasing after them. While she could hold her own against four flailing weapons, she couldn't break free and rescue the student. Despair gripped her heart as she realized how powerless she was in the face of such overwhelming force.

Suddenly, the girls were caught in a surprise storm of lightning and disintegrated into ashes! Even 22-Q was appalled by this unexpected turn of events.

"Was Waver Velvet hiding some kind of Magecraft from us?" she wondered, then narrowed her eyes. "Or is it that-?"

Before she could finish her question, the lightning rushed toward the group surrounding 22-S. The other Enforcers were thrown back by the voltage, yet it miraculously left 22-S alone. She gazed around at the electricity as it drove the other Servants away. Then she stared at the grove. From within the cacophony emerged what appeared to be a massive chariot being driven by a pair of armored oxen. She couldn't make out the person commanding the vehicle, but he unleashed one hell of an epic combat yodel:

"ORA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RAAA~AAAA~AAAH!"

The chariot tore through the courtyard, leaving deep wheel indentations in the dirt. It smashed into some stunned Enforcers with the force of a giant's punch, tossing them a good 100 meters away. The astonished 22-S spotted Waver inside the chariot. He reached out as far as he could and screamed, "Grab my hand!"

Without thinking, she did so. Their palms interlocked with each other, and he hauled her into the giant-wheeled buggy. Once the new Servant was certain his Master and the young woman were on board, he snapped his reigns and shouted in a baritone voice, "GO!"

The oxen bellowed, and electricity crackled all around them, electrocuting any Enforcers who were unfortunate enough to be too close to the carriage. The chariot and its steeds suddenly took to the air and galloped along the skies like a retreating thunderstorm. It didn't take long for the trio to disappear within the cloudy autumn skies, well out of sight of everyone at the Clock Tower.