Fate/Division by Zero
Chapter 4
Boss Fight – Part 1
1am
Mion River
Waver had more or less settled for his evenings with Rider to be lazing beneath the stars. Although he had stayed with an elderly couple, pretending to be their grandson using hypnotism, he chose to leave them in order to protect them from the Grail War. Though he didn't use a lot of their food and resources, he left them some money in a drawer as a way of saying thank you, not to mention wiping their memories of him.
Ugh, the headache was back, thumping loudly in his head, drums, beats, chants, all churning around his temple and spreading further. The burnt grass around him reminding him why he felt this way.
He knew that he was privileged back in London. His family name of Velvet, whilst not as old other Magi at the Association, still garnered respect in some ways. They were affluent enough to ensure there would be no financial problems as long as he lived, provided he maintained respect for what he purchased and didn't make any outrageous demands.
His life was quiet, filled with study and learning from his mother the way of the Velvet family, and he did so in comfort. Though she wasn't as dedicated to to the way of the Magus as he, her lessons helped little-by-little.
Camping trips, the great outdoors, none of that mattered to for Waver's development, and thus it was ignored in favour of seminars and crest decoding. He never had to 'rough it' in his entire life.
Yet, with Rider's help in learning how to pitch a tent, making a camp-fire using non-magical means, and cooking food gathered with the local flora and fauna, he found out that he was a natural. The way his fingers flowed through the earth, growing dirty with soil as he dug a small trench, plucking feathers from the poultry after wringing its neck to then roast, he felt his soul glow warmer each time.
To get to the Root, that was the ultimate goal of all Magi. Some chose to defy this convention by improving themselves and their abilities, and whilst it wasn't frowned upon, it was odd to devote your life to self-improvement. Each Magus had their own method to reach the root, Akasha. Some had family traits which had been honed over generations implanted into their Family Crest, others sought shortcuts via forcibly increasing the chances of reaching the Root in one's lifetime.
And then there were those who decided the Root could only be obtained by becoming a Dead Apostle.
Waver was none of these. His family had yet to start in their approach, and he tried different variations, but none were remotely successful. It was here that he acknowledged that Kayneth had a point in his objection to the theory of gaining power. In the end, experience and generations of attempts were needed to increase possibility of success, one that his family with exponentially fewer tries would not be able to do as well as Lord El-Melloi.
Regardless, the Master of Rider could see his limitations, and accepted them the way they were. As he finished digging the trench in the earth for him to roast a potato in tin foil, the way the dirt fell off his hands revealed a new strategy.
"To get to the Root, one must feel the source of Earth's power. To feel the source, one must feel the Earth as she was, is and will be." He looked up at the stars, "By enclosing ourselves away in darkened laboratories, conducting experiments, even on ourselves, we are turning away from the Earth and focusing more on Man's connection to the Root. There must be a way to combine these attempts to allow the Earth to assist in Man's journey to the Root. We are all citizens of the planet; we all die on the planet. How can Earth not be a driving force to the Root?"
As he mumbled away his own theories, Rider sat and watched his camping assistant with amusement, but was mostly impressed at how quickly his retainer absorbed new ideas and techniques.
"Waver, I believe the meat is ready now." Pulling out a wooden plate, Rider handed him a grilled chicken leg, "Eat heartily and be merry."
"Rider..." Waver took a bite and licked his lips as how juicy the thigh was, "I've been meaning to ask you, what is your real name?"
"Hmm..." He though loudly to himself, and spied his helmet on the ground, rubbing the smooth metal, he spoke quietly, "I go by many names, which is why you must be confused. I have been a female Dunmer Mage, and yet an Argonian thief at the same time, and this time you meet me as a Nord Warrior. My true appearance and name are as numerous as the stars in the night sky, and no two are alike." He then looked directly at Waver, "There is only one truth in all of these realms. I am Dovahkiin, the Dragonborn. I command the Thu'um, the voice of Dragons, and can command those beings too. That is all you need worry about, Master."
With his final word, Waver smiled widely, only to snap to attention.
"A bounded field has been set-up around the bridge. It's powerful and blocks all sound and visuals from within aside from the land itself." He looked up, "We are also inside the field, as my barrier is only for the camp-site."
Rider grabbed his helmet and stood up, holding his hand down, "Then, we must fight, Master. There can be no other reason for this. Someone knows we are here, and wishes to battle."
"Right." Accepting the hand, Waver pulled back his sleeve, the reassuring red Command Seals in the shape of a dragon on his arm reminding him of his status, "Rider, summon your steed."
"As you wish, Master." Turning to the river, as he put on his horned helmet, his armour forming around his body in place of his modern clothing. The rumble in his chest grew, and he bellowed outwards, "Come to me, my noble companion, Mey Ont Paak!"
The waters writhed and bubbled as steam rose, and soon a purple wind grew outwards and coalesced into bones flesh and scales.
Her roar of delight was deafening, the winds buffeting the area around them. The beating of her wings and her landing on the banks of the river sounded like a jet flying overheard only to slam into the ground.
Lowering its head, Rider moved closer.
"Come Master, it is time to welcome our foe."
"Gladly..." Running towards his Servant, Waver felt his magic circuits burn with excess energy, the herbs and spices from the meal boosting his prana regeneration.
Five seconds is all it took for Meyontpaak to land on the bridge above them as they faced the opposite end.
Waver's face fell as he saw who it was, "Kayneth..."
Using his enhanced vision, he could see that his former teacher was furious, the veins in his forehead bulging out and his thinning hair accosted by the high winds.
"Waver Velvet." His voice was loud and echoed around them, "I have found you at last." The Servant next to Kayneth materialised as the bulky male Lancer, "There will be no more dawdling, no more interruptions, no more chances for you to escape."
From behind Kayneth, a silver globe moved to his other side.
"This is your last opportunity." His voice grew high-pitched, "Bow down to me, and accept that you were wrong! Accept that I am your better, and that you will never practise magic again. If you swear this oath to me, I will not torture or kill you during or after this War, and you can go in peace."
The words reverberated in the red girders of the bridge.
A bead of sweat left its trail on Waver's cheek as he thought of the possibility.
He would be allowed to live and not suffer, being spared a painful, drawn-out death from his teacher. He could leave this all behind and never look back in fear.
Yet, to live without being allowed to further partake in any magical research or experiments? He would be dooming himself to that of the normal people, forever having to work in normal jobs to earn money and be denied access to the best facilities around the world. Kayneth would no doubt ensure that Waver's name be known in order to reject him from even making a simple query. The Clock Tower would see to that.
A magical contract is one that is life-binding, if Waver were to betray it, he would die.
But, he could live on...
Fists clenched, he stood there shaking, feeling the heat from the dragon behind him exhaling lightly, warming his body. Rider stood silently next to him, only to angle his head at him.
"Waver..." He spoke quietly, "This is your decision to make as a man. I am merely your Servant and will do as you bid. Whatever choice you make is what your soul desires. Do not let yourself down."
That's unfair, Rider... The boy thought to himself. His own Servant would not take responsibility, he left it all up to Waver.
Was he happy with living his life in his teacher's wake, being mocked at by the other students? Would he allow himself to continue to live on when everyone was against him?
Wouldn't it be best to just leave while he still had his whole life ahead of him?
Lowering his head, his fringe kept his eyes in shadow.
Raising his left arm, Waver spoke with a resigned tone, "Rider, by my Command Seal..."
Meanwhile
Tohsaka Manor
Archer stood guard in the window, his eyes keenly scanning the view.
"It's time, Master."
"Yes." Tokiomi stood downing the last of his bourbon, "If the Magus Killer is working with the Einzbern family, then he would no doubt advise them to eliminate Lancer's Master."
"Once their battle is over, we can deal with the winner." Archer removed his dual Beretta pistols, ensuring their condition was perfect before holstering them.
"If there are any complications, we will take them as they come." Tokiomi opened the balcony window as Archer came alongside, "Retreat is always an option."
"Very well, Master."
Placing an arm behind and under his shoulders, Archer leapt into the air, Tokiomi mumbling a silent incantation to seal his home at the same time. In a few minutes, something caught the Magus's attention.
"I'm sensing a large boundary field centred around the bridge." Tokiomi noted aloud.
"Then, let us head there..." Archer changed directions and leapt off another rooftop towards the river.
Two minutes went by before they finally reached it, only to stop at the roadside leading to the bridge.
"This is powerful..." Tokiomi muttered, "It will not allow any entry..."
"Are you sure?" Archer pulled out his pistols.
"I'm sure you can break in, but this is odd." Tokiomi thought back to the first battle at the port, "This magic isn't reminiscent of the Einzbern, but bears a remarkable similarity to that of Kayneth, the Master of Lancer."
"Could it be he is already battling Saber?" Archer spoke, his disappointment evident in his dejected tone.
"No, they are not fighting us."
The twosome turned to find the white haired Master with her elfin warrior, Saber, beside her.
"So, my intelligence was right..." Tokiomi smiled to himself, "You wished to take out Lancer and his Master whilst there was a still a chance."
"Yes... However he had other plans and sought out another Master for himself." She put a hand to her heart, "We haven't been formally introduced. My name is Irisviel Von Einzbern, and this is my Servant, Saber."
"A pleasure my lady." He bowed lightly, "I am Tokiomi Tohsaka, and my Servant, Archer."
Her red eyes seemed to read his soul, "Shall we take this to a more secluded spot?"
"Very well..."
And so, carried by their Servants, they left the bridge area and retired to a cemetery on the outskirts of Fuyuki.
"I will cast a Bounded Field here to prevent entry, you may do so as well if you wish." Irisviel said.
"That I shall."
Both of them speaking in their own tongues created a joint field to prevent any unauthorised entry and to hide any noises or visual difference to the surroundings for those outside.
"Let us battle, Lady Einzbern." Tokiomi bowed slightly.
"To the victor, the spoils, Lord Tohsaka." Her smile grew.
One second is all it took for the explosion of energy to hit the centre of the cemetery, as Saber clashed with Archer, his blade blocked by the golden shotgun of Archer.
"You're naive that I haven't planned to battle against swordsmen without taking precautions of my own!"
Pushing him back, Archer fired the gun three times, twice deflected by the blade and the last scattered by the shield.
Only for a purple boomerang to hit the back of Archer's head, knocking him off-balance.
"What the -?"
He leapt back to avoid two arrows crunch into the soil in front of him, only for Saber to nearly fly at him with his sword outstretched.
Ducking to prevent his head from being cut off, he saw the hookshot held by Saber pulling the green-clothed Servant towards the tree behind him, hence why he was so fast.
"No way..."
From within his backpack, Saber threw a large black ball at Archer. It was oddly familiar, like something Archer recalled watching in cartoons when he was young, with the comical lit fuse growing smaller.
Slashing his sword thrice, circular sparks flew from its tip towards the bomb, just as Archer raised his dual Berettas.
"Clever..."
He grinned wider as he fired, setting off another explosion allowing him the chance to dodge backwards, but not without injury as the burns to his chest attested to. The rubble in the air grew from the cement and stone shattered by the blast.
"So, you have an arsenal of your own?" Archer spat out some blood as he pulled out a pill box, downing four of them at once, "Let's see who will run out of weapons then..."
When the air cleared, even he had to marvel at the sight.
Saber had on a special glove with blue and red markings, and was holding up a massive rock from the corner of the cemetery, easily ten times his size.
Throwing it at Archer, the trajectory was easy to follow, but its speed was something else, and it didn't help that Archer needed to activate his Noble Phantasm to escape.
"Bullet Time."
Leaping to the side, he peered closer at the other Servant. The shotgun wouldn't be useful at such a distance, the pellets scattering too far. Discarding the gun, he chose his Berettas and fired both of them, emptying both magazines before he hit the ground.
The bullets were true, aimed directly at Saber, but now the swordsman was travelling at a high speed. Once he was back on the ground and watching, he could see how Saber was darting between the gravestones faster than his vision would allow. Perhaps it was to do with the new boots he was wearing, it increased his agility, but had a fatal flaw.
It required half a second of running on the spot before he got to maximum speed.
Waiting for the opportune moment, Archer raised his guns, aimed, and fired right when Saber was preparing the next boost.
Only for the bullets to be batted out of the way by an orange hairdo.
"Stupid boy, you think you can get by me?"
The words were translated into English in his head, even though he knew they weren't a human tongue. He thought back to the port battle, when he was hiding in astral form, and narrowed his eyes at the new enemy.
"Midna..."
No chances this time, if the Berettas weren't powerful enough, then he would need to up the ante.
Dropping the pistols, Archer pulled out two Ingram sub-machine guns, and sprayed indiscriminately towards the two of them, whilst moving closer. As expected, Midna was helping Saber deflect the majority of them, but even she could not withstand a constant assault. Archer used up the three magazines for the Ingrams, their barrels smoking from the heat. Dropping them, he prepared the next gun in his inventory.
The blue familiar was panting, her exertions getting to her, as she turned to face the stern Servant.
"Bullet Time."
Only to see a huge pistol in her face within the blink of an eye. Having used his power to quickly close the distance between them, he was ready.
"Sorry."
A direct hit from his Desert Eagle impacted with her head, cracking her mask. Blood trickled from the hole in the mask, and the hit's momentum carried her back into the air, landing in Saber's arms.
"Ouch... That stings..."
She looked at Archer before turning her gaze back to Saber.
"I'm out for now... Good luck..."
Closing her eyes, she faded away into the winds as the green-clothed swordsman stood up, holstering his blade. Withdrawing a blue wand he started to spread ice on the ground.
"And so it goes on..." Archer raised his high calibre pistol, "Bring it!"
Several metres away on bare land void of gravestones, the magical ice blasts and gunfire were muted as Tokiomi and Irisviel faced down each other.
"The three families, we could all cooperate to win the war together..." Irisviel said.
"If that was possible, it was prevented generations ago in the First Grail War." Tokiomi flexed his muscles, and readied his cane which served as a staff to hone his magic.
"I suppose..." Irisviel sighed, plucking a few hairs from her head and letting them float in the air before forming two silvery eagles.
"Why you would form an alliance with the Magus Killer is unknown. Jubstacheit must determined to win this year."
"I simply want this war to end." Her eyes glowed further in the dark, "I care not about the Root or the Third Magic, but for the people involved to not suffer any more."
"That is foolhardy, if you pardon my saying so..." Tokiomi bowed again, but not taking his eyes off her, "Risk is always needed to progress in life. Suffering is part of that risk."
"I see..." She nodded, "Then we do not think alike." She spread her arms wide as the eagles opened their wings further, "Prepare yourself, Lord Tohsaka!"
Holding the staff horizontally in front of him, Tokiomi smiled, "Same to you, Lady Einzbern."
"Shape ist Leben!"
Flashing out to him, the eagles screeched, leaving strings flowing in the air. As they encircled Tokiomi, he spun the cane once, and a gust of flame blew out from his body, pushing them back, but not setting them alight.
Moving to the side, Irisviel threw out another two hairs, this time forming large bolts.
"Degen!"
Flinging them at him from mid-air, they were faster than bullets and struck a fiery barrier generated by Tokiomi at the last second.
His flames were burning the arrows slowly, but his own shield prevented him from moving. Turning his staff vertically, he slammed it to the ground pushing himself up, allowing the shield to vanish and the arrows to miss their mark. With this extra burst, he used a boost to leap upwards into the air, breaking free of the stalemate.
Pointing the cane at Irisviel, he sent out a multitude of fireballs towards her. Though she could redirect the eagles upwards to attack him, she needed to recall them to defend herself. They expertly snuffed out the flames, preventing her from getting hurt.
As the smoke grew, she coughed harshly, only to see his face extremely close to her.
Before she could react, he thrust out his cane into her stomach, the tip red-hot and burning her skin badly.
"Kyaaa!"
Her flesh started to smell as if she were being cooked alive. Covering her face with her arms, the eagles returned in force, surrounding her with strings.
Tokiomi escaped back just in time before they reached him, but he was satisfied at seeing her injury.
"Now it's my turn..."
His eyes widened when he saw her materialise to his side, as she pummelled him with her light fists, covered fully like gloves with the silvery hair to bolster her physical strength. Each strike was pitifully weak to him, but left marks not dissimilar to mercury on his chest and arms. He was surprised at how he was unable to block her attacks, and the speed at which she moved. Thinking back, she probably had some training from the Magus Killer.
"I see..." He glanced back at where he struck her, seeing no injury there, "It was a decoy, a clone made from your puppetry."
Her smile was the only response as she continued her attack, the eagles also coming in and nipping away at his clothing and skin.
Tokiomi frowned. Her physical attacks were the strength of a child, but with the reactions of a seasoned master of martial arts. His cane could not stop her attacks, since she expertly weaved her palms and fists around the smooth metallic wood. Parrying and blocking could be trained, but strength would need a lot of time to bulk up to put force behind her punches. Even if he allowed her to hit him normally, he doubted that he would be injured at all, like Rin when she had one of her tantrums.
His research on the Einzbern family was extensive, and yet lacking in real breakthroughs. Due to their highly secretive nature, it was difficult to ascertain what skills they all possessed. Aside from the head of the family, Jubstacheit, who was infamous in his determination to reach the Third Magic, and the Magus Killer's horrific accomplishments, Irisviel was a relative mystery to him.
Having seen her in action the first night, and the data he could gather, by all accounts she appeared to be a passive Master who preferred to stay back and support her Servant with a consistent prana flow whilst it fought. This was the normal way of a Master, but she differed in one vital aspect.
She would choose not to attack, nor take advantage of any opportunity if it could benefit her in some way. Overall, she was a powerful Magus, but a weak Master.
Yet, here she was, attacking with all her might, sweat pouring down her face, lips pursed with purpose, and her strikes unerring in their task to reach him. She was not even fighting to defend herself, but attacking offensively to defeat him and win. Her magic was a beauty to behold, and were they not battling to the death, he would compliment her on the puppets' meticulous design and movements.
Irisviel refused to back down, even in the face of certain failure. Her bravery and courage were beyond anything he would expect from a human, unnaturally so in fact.
Tokiomi was just about finished in gathering the prana needed to cast the spell he was storing up for such an occasion, when he was cornered and unable to gain an advantage.
Only to suddenly find his prana drain away faster than he could produce it.
Seeing the renewed smile from Irisviel, he knew this was intentional, and tried to fight against it. It was too late before he realised that the majority of his upper body was now covered in the silvery substance. He noted that it was foolish to believe that it was merely a side-effect of her punches, but an intentional long-term game to coat him as much as possible and then trigger it to prevent him from using his prana.
One final punch from Irisviel, and she spun her arms backwards and forwards, as if whipping Tokiomi. The effect was similar, since he was struck, but this time with the eagles wrapping themselves around his limbs and chest. Now essentially tied up, he bit his lower lip, feeling the cold magic of the Einzbern siphon away his energy.
"Do you submit?"
Her eyes were calm now, as she breathed heavily, ignoring the salty droplets streaming from her forehead.
Tokiomi smiled and laughed out loud.
"A fantastic battle, Lady Einzbern..." His eyes narrowed, "Your refusal to deliver the final blow will be your undoing however. Not everyone in this war cares about the lives of innocents, like you and I do."
"I do not believe in killing those who abide by the rules set out by our families. If anyone should break them, then they will be punished accordingly."
"I see..." He lowered his head, "Then, I will make you submit by choice, not by your death."
As he was still holding his cane before he was constricted, he clenched the top of it, and the bright red gem glowed brighter.
"GANDR!"
Cracking.
Then, conflagration...
It steamed outwards from his cane and his body, a purple hue imbued with years of prana storage. It scorched through the threads binding him, and seared the very ground he stood on, yet leaving no trace of damage on his body.
With the simple application of the keyword, though it was often associated with a bullet-like projectile capable of creating severe flu-like symptoms, with the right incantation, it could be used to unleash the power within his gems and activate whatever he needed with that refreshing strength.
The Tohsaka family was not rich when compared to most families. They did earn more than enough money to survive and live life well thank to their magical patents, but they poured all their available funds into purchasing flawless gemstones of all kinds, emeralds, diamonds, amethysts, rubies and the like. Even in the non-magical world, such stones are prized amongst all others, and thus demand a high price to own them. Auctions, flea markets, the burgeoning online world, all were used to research and locate such precious items for the Tohsaka household for the new addition to the collection.
Every evening, the head of the family would pour over half of his prana into a gem. By the next day, his prana would be restored to normal after a night's rest. This continued until the Magus felt his prana being pushed back through the connection, meaning the gemstone itself was filled to the brim. The next evening, he would move onto another gem, and so on. They had to be flawless stones to ensure no deterioration in the power of the prana held within, as a single imperfection could result in a catastrophic implosion.
Most of these gems could lie dormant for decades, their hidden power thrumming inside the atomic structure of the gems, ready to be used for a massive burst of energy.
This was the Tohsaka method to reach the Root, by storing generations' worth of power in gems, only to unleash them all in one instance to break through the barrier protecting the centre of all things. Any time a Magus wished to use a gemstone with an activation word, the stone would be consumed, shattered and irreparable, rendering it worthless for future storage.
Tokiomi was no exception to this rule, each night allowing himself two hours of pouring his prana into the various gems collected in his lifetime. The only time he stopped in his lifetime was during the Holy Grail War, since every available gram of prana could be the difference between life and death.
While the loss of a gemstone was tragic, there were times when they would need to be used.
Besides, what's the loss of one stone when you have another hundred at your disposal?
The sacrifice of his precious ruby, embedded in his cane, gave him the power to let loose the power of a hundred Magi, to produce flames like no other, and heal his injured body within seconds. Such raw power could only be contained for less than a minute, unless it was used in a bomb-like detonation wherein the gem acted as a modern day grenade, so he would need to use it to its full extent.
"Now we begin, Lady Einzbern."
Feeling the prana coalesce around his arms and legs, he dashed in, ploughing his fist towards her chest, punching her with such power that she flew backwards, crashing into and then through a tree, only to land in another.
Blood spattered in the air as the wind left her lungs, and her vision became hazy, stars dancing in front of her as the purple figure ran towards her, his smouldering arms glowing brighter.
"Ouch..."
Delicately touching her top, she could tell that he had fractured four of her ribs, serious injuries which needed time to heal, time which she was not permitted to have right this moment.
Wordlessly using her hair again, it plucked itself from her head, and wrapped around her chest, sealing the wound for the time being. More unravelling of hair and they grew wings from her back, making her resemble one of the eagles.
"Only a moth ventures close to the open flame, Lady Einzbern."
Tearing through one wing using his fist at his top speed, Tokiomi used the momentum to turn and kick away the other wing with a similarly enhanced foot, destroying their constructs within moments.
Sensing her prana levels suffering from the hits, Irisviel spun to face him, arms prepared to defend, only for Saber to interject and smash away Tokiomi with a bash of his blue shield.
The head of the Tohsaka household was no fool, all the power in the gemstones would never compare to that of a Servant, a person steeped in legend and forged from the Holy Grail. Tokiomi knew that in a direct fight he would be dead within moments.
He thought quickly; if Saber was here, that meant that Archer was...
No, the connection was still there, but Archer was gravely injured and bleeding out fast.
"If I can't fight with this power..."
Tokiomi gauged the distance, and using the reserves, leapt to the Servants' fighting arena, finding Archer on the ground near death. Plunging his hand into the Servant's open wound on his stomach, Tokiomi sent the gem's remaining prana into Archer to heal him.
All it took for Archer to regain his health was two seconds, thanks to the massive influx of clean, healthy prana.
Even though the Servant was restored, his Master was worse for wear, needing to regenerate his own prana overnight. Looking to the other end of the battlefield, Irisviel was exhausted and buckled over in pain, coughing up more blood. Saber seemed unharmed, and so chose this time to pick up the white-haired homonculus and leave.
Archer growled, and then took a look as his Master, "Good battle?"
"Yes, she was formidable, and I had her 'on the ropes' as you would say, until Saber's interference."
"I apologise, he possesses a similar ability to my own, and has numerous weapons to his name, aside from that sword." He held his stomach, "Though none were truly as powerful as his blade, they all helped to support his fighting style. That last hit from hit sword actually stopped me cold, and I couldn't even take my pills to heal me up."
"No matter, we found out one thing at least, Lady Einzbern is weak, but her Servant is very strong." His eyes were gleaming, "Our next target will be her. I won't kill her, but I will force her to yield and surrender her rights as a Master."
"I understand." Archer helped up Tokiomi, "Let's return home for now. We are in no condition to fight the winner of Lancer's battle."
"Agreed."
Leaving the cemetery, the ruined stone plinths and gravestones now just rubble, the bounded field lifted allowing normal folk to return to see the devastation.
It would be a whole day before the general public would find this out, due to what happened at the bridge…
Author's Notes
This was a joy to write. The next chapter was actually the same as this one, but I chose to split them up since it would make the word count huge (over 12,000).
Tohsaka and Einzbern never really fought against one another properly in the anime, hence I sought to remedy that with this little battle. I doubt they'll meet again like this.
Now, instead of some Servant stats, since something special is changing next chapter, I'll show you something new...
Alternative Servants – Archer
The first shed snake skin, the first symbol of change and renewable youth. This would always be associated with the King of Uruk, given the writings on his life.
When the winds died down, the Tohsaka head took a step back.
Gilgamesh was considered to be the greatest king, and would only allow himself to be clad in the most elegant and exquisite of clothing and armour.
True, the person in front of him wore armour, but it was not something you would associate with antiquity.
In fact, if Tokiomi had to place him, the clothing was not dissimilar to that from the future. The metallic plating had the appearance of muscles sinews and were tightly bound around the body, accentuating the muscular physique of the owner. His helmet covered the entire head, and presumably the man's vision came from the red area around the eyes.
"I am Archer, called by your summons. Are you my Master?"
The voice came out distorted and slightly monotone from within the face-mask. Tokiomi righted himself and nodded, "Yes, I am your Master."
As he bowed lightly, the statistics of the Servant came to him, and even he was surprised.
An Archer with Presence Concealment was unheard of.
Returning to his full height, the bow was clearly visible behind Archer, and while it shared the shape with its forebears, that was where it ended. The material was smooth, silvery, with modern attachments including a laser and sight. The arrows were something else too, copying much of the style from the armour and bow.
"May I ask you of your name?"
"My real name is of no importance." He spoke tiredly, "Now I am simply known as Nomad."
"Judging by your outfit, am I to assume you are from the future?"
"You are correct, though I get the impression that this future is from another world, since most of the facts here do not match up with what I know." He stood to attention, "I will ensure your victory in the war, Master, make no mistake."
The soldier who fought against CELL was now tasked with eliminating the Servants. When compared an entire army's worth of enemies, six people would be child's play.
One-by-one, they would fall when he would engage his cloak and shoot them from a distance, his bow deadly in the dark and silent. Augmenting his speed to rush to any destination, strength for the physical duress of close-quarter combat, and armour to charge his energy and reduce the damage taken from any hit. His Nanosuit would ensure that his own body would never be his downfall; his training in Delta Force would never fail him.
Maybe with that wish from that stupid Grail, he could save his world from the hell it was living through...