What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter to Dissidia/Apocrypha. It just started and there's already people liking it. I'm quite proud of myself.

Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OC, the Fate series or the Final Fantasy series. All rights belong to their respective owners.

Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!

Dissidia/Apocrypha

Chapter 1: The Holy Maiden and her Saver

[France]

After possessing the girl known as Laeticia, the Servant called Ruler quickly dressed out of the nightgown and into a set of traveling clothes (which consisted of Laeticia's school uniform). She took out a travel suitcase and began to pack a few essentials for her journey to Trifas. Those items being extra clothes, toiletries, and a few school supplies.

Though she knew how to read and write when she was alive, Ruler felt apprehensive in 'studying' and 'homework' but if she was going to use Laeticia's body as a vessel for the remainder of the Holy Grail War then she had to also accept the responsibilities that came with it.

She had felt a disturbance from the Holy Grail. It was partly the reason why she was summoned in the first place. However, she had nothing to anchor her spirit in the Physical World so she searched for a suitable body to act as her vessel. Luckily, Laeticia, who strangely bore a resemblance to her, gave Ruler permission to use the girl's body as a vessel.

Ruler checked 'her' wallet to make sure it had an adequate sum of money inside. Once she placed the letter on the desk saying that she was taking a few days off from school to visit relatives, the Servant grabbed her suitcase and made her way to the bus stop.

The journey to Trifas would take almost a day to reach by automobile and the bus had a limit in which it could drive. She'll have to flag a passerby down to continue her travels to the site of the Great Holy Grail War.

The blonde thought back to the information she received from the Grail. Seven Servants battling seven other Servants. A true all-out war…

...and her role in all of this was to be a mediator. To enforce the rules of the Grail War if any Master or their Servant were to violate them. Then there was her supposed bodyguard...

A Servant placed in a Class that she had no knowledge of. The Grail hadn't decided to fill Ruler in on what sort of Heroic Spirit they would be but she would meet them soon enough at Trifas.

As she sat in the bus, looking out the window with an aloof expression, she closed her eyes to allow herself to rest for the journey.

[Millennia Citadel]

Caules and his own Servant were outside in the castle's garden. The Master was busy setting up a few disposable golems to be used as target practice for Berserker.

Meanwhile, said Servant of Madness was busy guzzling himself with a few bottles of wine that he pilfered from the castle's wine cellar. A few of those bottles came from Darnic's personal stash.

Honestly, Caules wanted to slam his head repeatedly on his desk because Jecht had proved to be nothing more than a drunken, uncouth meathead who'd rather drink and sleep all day.

"Come on, Berserker," The young man sighed. "This is important. I have to gauge on the strength of your Noble Phantasm!"

"And I told you, brat: That using my Noble Phantasm is a big risk. Not only would I lose the sanity I have right now but I'd run the risk of killing you. I can't have that. Besides, who else am I gonna kick around while I have some fun in this world?" The muscular oaf exclaimed while downing a bottle of wine then released a loud burp that grossed Caules out.

The young magus sighed, "Great… how the heck am I supposed to know how strong you are if I don't see the results of your Noble Phantasm?"

"Kid, even if I don't use it, I'll still be the strongest Servant here. After all, nothing's remotely come close to beating me yet." Berserker boasted as he grabbed another bottle of wine then proceeded to drink it in front of Caules.

The Master of Berserker released a sigh, 'I wonder if Fiore is getting along with her Servant better than me…' He thought.

[Meanwhile…]

Inside the castle, Fiore was wheeled to an empty table while her Servant took an empty one across from her. A homunculus maid brought in two cups of hot tea for the Master-Servant pair.

The girl took a small sip from her tea then set her cup down, giving the man across from her a gentle smile. "Let's start over. I will be your Master for this War. I am Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia."

The vampiric-looking Servant nodded, his face an unreadable visage of calm. "Understood." He replied.

Fiore almost winced since Archer sounded as if he did not like to make conversation unless it was necessary.

The Servant noticed his Master's reaction and his expression turned soft, "Forgive me. Conversation has… never been my strong point."

Fiore's smile returned soon after, "It's alright." Her eyes lingered on the blood-red orbs of the dark-haired man. "I must ask. I heard the Grail grants a Servant knowledge of the modern world. I find that to be incredible."

Vincent allowed himself a small grin, "If we did not share the same language then that would make communication difficult."

A tinge of pink formed on the girl's cheeks. "I-I guess you have a point, Archer." She fiddled with her hands rather nervously.

"Is something wrong, Master?" He asked.

"Oh, um," Fiore's blush grew as she stumbled over her words. "W-well, don't take this the wrong way, Archer. But… I…" She trailed, unable to form the sentence she wanted.

Archer noticed this. "You were expecting a different Servant, is that right?" He inquired. The crippled girl made no move to answer but Vincent understood her silence. "I understand. Rest assured, I am not offended that you wanted to summon the Heroic Spirit that you wanted. I'm sure they would've been a great addition to the Black Faction."

"I'm so sorry," Fiore said softly.

Vincent froze when his Master said that. It reminded him of another woman… a woman he would've given his heart and soul for without question yet failed to protect.

"Lucrezia…" He said under his breath then focused his sight back on the girl, who had yet to look at him.

Fiore kept her gaze down to her hands, unable to look into the eyes of her Servant after she blatantly said that she wanted a different Servant. She wanted to say that she didn't mean to hurt his feelings or that she didn't want him to go away but all she could manage was a meager apology.

Before she mentally scolded herself, Fiore felt a leather-clad hand gently hold her hand. The action surprised the girl as she looked to the side to see Archer on one knee. From the way he was positioned, he looked like a knight kneeling before his princess (a thought which made her blush).

"Archer?" She spoke softly in confusion.

"Master," He said. Fiore felt her heart skip a beat at how gentle and warm his voice sounded. "I swear… that I will protect you with my life even if the whole world becomes your enemy. I will never abandon you." He vowed.

Even though the Servant said it in a way that embarrassed the girl and made her cheeks burn, Fiore couldn't help but smile beautifully at the man's promise.

She really lucked out on a wonderful Servant.

[Dungeon]

If there was one thing that Rider hated more than anything right now… it would be her so-called 'Master'.

From the moment her eyes landed on Celenike Iceholle Yggdmillennia, Rider instantly hated the witch. Her mere presence was enough to make her killer instincts flood her brain and cut her down right then and there. However, she stayed her hand. Rider knew that she needed the woman to keep herself stable in the physical plane. Unfortunately, she had to deal with Celenike's… antics…

A soft, pleasured moan left the lips of said Master as she licked away at her Servant's bare midriff. Lightning was ordered to lay on a wooden table with her arms chained over her head while Celenike had her way with the Heroic Spirit. Obviously, the Rider-class Servant could break out of the chains anytime she wanted and simply shove the woman off of her. Then again, Celenike would just use a Command Seal just to have her fun… that's the kind of monster she is.

"Are you done yet?" Rider asked in a half-angry/half-bored tone.

The woman ceased her sexual assault on her 'defenseless' toy with a lustful, crazed grin. "Am I done yet?" She repeated then stared down at the rosette. "Hardly!"

Lightning rolled her eyes then used her supernatural strength to break out of her 'bindings' then pushed the witch off from her body. Celenike released a small yelp as she landed on her butt while the Heroic Spirit began to fasten her chest piece back onto her body.

"To think I've been reduced to some crazy woman's plaything…" The pink-haired woman said under her breath.

"Where are you going?" Celenike asked.

"Out on patrol. I can't stand another moment in this castle." Lightning answered, which was partly true but the real reason was that she wanted to get as far away from her 'Master' as possible.

After Rider left, Celenike licked her lower lip like she had found a new tasty morsel to eat. "I won't ever let you escape me." She said to herself while disturbingly grinding her body against the table. "Even if you're not the Servant I wanted… I'm determined to turn you into my plaything."

Even though she left the castle, Lightning felt a chill run down her spine.

[Meanwhile…]

Gordes sat on a luxurious couch with a bucket of ice on a coffee table and a bottle of fine whiskey right next to it. He brought up his right hand and snapped his fingers. "Show yourself, Saber!" The portly man ordered.

The black-garbed youth materialized out of thin air. His expression aloof and bored at the same time. "What is it, old man?"

The portly Master felt his eye twitch in annoyance at the Servant's disrespect but didn't allow himself to rise to it. He gave the Heroic Spirit a small glare, "From this moment on you will only focus on fighting. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, yeah," Saber of Black replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You are simply a Servant!" Gordes pointed out sternly. "A minion! Don't forget that and just do your job."

Noctis frowned in annoyance but sighed, "Alright, I get it."

'It's like I'm dealing with a child…' Gordes thought with irritation written on his face before he closed his eyes, "Well, now that we have that settled. Feel free to tell me your wish."

"Wish?" The Saber-class Servant repeated.

"That's right," The portly man said harshly. "You were summoned because there was a wish you sought from the Holy Grail, right?"

"Huh…" Noctis rubbed his chin in thought. "Never really thought about it before. I guess… if I wanted to wish for something then… it would be to see those I care about again."

"Care to elaborate on that?" Gordes inquired.

"My 'brothers', I guess you could say. They were my traveling companions when I was still alive but I don't know what happened to them after I passed away." Noctis answered.

Gordes could understand that. After all, he had a wife and son back home as well. The portly Master had no absolution that he would survive this War but he would be damned if he didn't go back to his family.

"So your wish is to be with your friends and family then?" Gordes asked.

"That's right," Noctis nodded.

The Yggdmillennia Master was silent for a few seconds. "That's enough for now. Begone!" He ordered as Saber returned to Spirit Form. Gordes took hold of his glass filled with the expensive alcohol on the table and gave it a good gulp, allowing the burning liquid to fester in his belly.

'I have no idea who that boy is but there's something he's not telling me.' Gordes thought as fuzzy images from Saber's past filled his head. 'The land he comes from is vastly different than our own yet he possesses magic or something akin to it anyways. When the Dream Cycle happens, I'll learn all I need from him soon enough.'

[Church]

In Sighișoara, Kairi and his Servant approached the church that housed the Mage Association's contact from the Vatican. It had taken a while for the necromancer to find it but the written map he was given plus a few helpful guides from the locals made the trip bearable.

Saber of Red had gone into Spirit Form to conserve energy as he followed dutifully behind his Master. However, there was a sense of unease from the blonde Servant with each step they took towards the church.

When Kairi pushed the door open, he was greeted with the sight of a young priest, who was kneeling before an altar in prayer. The mercenary decided to get the priest's attention by tapping his knuckles on one of the many pews.

"I had an appointment arranged here," The Red Master of Saber spoke. "Are you the person I'm supposed to be talking to?"

The priest stood up then faced Kairi, who looked a little surprised to see a Japanese young man, possibly in his late teens to early twenties, with spiky white hair, bronze skin, and amber eyes. Though he looked young, the necromancer felt… uneasy about this man.

"This is correct. I'm sure you've guessed but I am the director," The young priest replied with a friendly, heartwarming smile. "My name is Shirou Kotomine."

"I'm Kairi Shishigou," The burly man greeted. "Mind if we just skip the pleasantries?"

Shirou approached the necromancer, his smile still present on his handsome face, "No, I don't mind at all." When he came to a stop a few feet away from the other Master, his amber gaze landed on the being standing next to Kairi. "And your Servant there?"

Before Kairi could speak, Saber of Red appeared beside the mercenary in a burst of blue light. "Hey-" The man was about to scold his Servant for appearing out of nowhere when the blonde held up a hand in response to silence the Master.

"Something's not right. I think I should stay out just in case." Cloud mentally said to his Master.

Shirou, seemingly unaware of the mental conversation, spoke again, "Now I'll reveal mine." He glanced to his left as a new Servant appeared beside the young man.

The Heroic Spirit is revealed to be a bewitching yet beautiful woman. She wears a skin-tight red gown with a plunging neckline that exposes her neck, chest, stomach, and abdomen, and only partially obscures her breasts. A black collar extends down the neckline to her waist; the collar rests over her shoulders and covers the junction of her black feathered wings. Her skin is tattooed with lined patterns. She wears a gold necklace, earrings and hair jewelry among a headdress designed to pull her long silver hair up to resemble horns; silver bangs are left to frame her face. She has yellow eyes surrounded by purple eyeshadow and she wears deep red lipstick. She has no eyebrows, instead having tattoos. Her hands and feet also seem to take on the appearance of a beast complete with claws.

Kairi felt all of his instincts kick into overtime at the sight of the new Servant. There was something about her that was both enticing yet dangerous at the same time.

"Greetings," The woman spoke in a sultry tone that held a small, barely noticeable amount of poison in her words. "I am the Assassin of Red. My True Name is Ultimecia."

Cloud narrowed his glowing blue eyes at the woman, who merely smirked right back at him. His hand drifted onto the hilt of one of his many swords but Kairi used his own arm to hold the Saber-class Servant back from attacking an ally. The blonde SOLDIER reluctantly removed his hand from the sword's grip.

"Well, shall we exchange our information?" Shirou said in bemusement as if the brief momentary flux between the two Heroic Spirits hardly happened in front of him.

The two Red Masters sat on a pew while their Servants stood dutifully behind them. Even though they were allies, they had no reason to trust one another.

"Most of their Servants have assembled," Shirou informed the mercenary. "While previous reports would've detailed that the Black Faction's Lancer would've been Vlad III, we received new information that the Servant is a knight clad in dragon-like armor."

"Then I guess it must be a Servant related to dragons." Kairi theorized.

"That was my theory as well. However, our information on the other Servants of the Black Faction remains a mystery." The priest added.

"And what about our Servants?" The necromancer had to ask.

"In terms of quality, they are simply outstanding Heroic Spirits," Shirou answered with his smile still present.

Kairi looked at Ultimecia, who merely folded her arms under her breasts, making the burly man focus a bit too much on those particular assets from behind his sunglasses.

The Assassin of Red felt another pair of eyes on her and glanced at her fellow Red Servant, Saber. The blonde man's gaze was neutral but there was an underlying bit of suspicion hidden in those glowing blue eyes of his. The bewitching woman merely gave the swordsman a bemused smirk.

"Also," Shirou spoke up. "A summoning of a Ruler-class has already been confirmed."

"So there's a fifteenth Servant out there, huh?" Kairi remarked.

Shirou nodded, "Ruler is the Class that organizes a Holy Grail War. Naturally, one would be summoned for this Great Holy Grail War."

"Can't say I'm thrilled with the idea of them watching me," Kairi admitted while messing with his mane of brown hair in annoyance.

The young priest released a small chuckle then stood up, "Now then. Why don't we go and meet with the other Masters?" He suggested.

Cloud looked down at his Master with a cautious look in his eyes. Kairi noticed this then looked down, "I don't need to meet with the other Masters." He replied to the Overseer.

"You don't?"

"We're just gonna handle things on our own," The mercenary stated. "Since Saber has enough power to handle battles solo, I'm sure we can handle anything that the Black Faction throws at us."

Shirou, keeping up his polite facade, spoke again, "Do you not work well in groups?"

Kairi had a stern look on his face, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

With nothing else left to say, the necromancer and his Servant began to leave the church. However, before they left, Assassin of Red spoke up. "The enemy has completely established itself as an army. If you move of your own accord, our own Faction would suffer from inconveniences. And you still intend to leave?"

"That's right," Kairi replied as he closed the door but not before saying. "My apologies."

As the Master-Servant pair leave, with Saber returning to Spirit Form, the invisible blonde Servant kept a watchful eye out for any trouble while his Master spoke to him.

"Are they following us?" Kairi asked.

"No, we're good. An Assassin would need to materialize in order to attack. Something like that would be hard to miss." Cloud answered.

"Good," The necromancer said.

"Boss, why didn't you join forces with them?" The Saber-class Servant inquired.

Kairi smirked as he glanced back as if looking at his invisible Servant. "You didn't want to, right?"

He could almost feel the inquisitive stare on his Servant's face, "I don't know why but there's something about that Ultimecia woman. I could smell death upon her and she seems to enjoy it as well. In other words, she's someone that should never be trusted."

"Then I made the right decision," Kairi said with a smirk. "Glad your Instincts could be trusted."

"Hmph, as long as you're not an idiot to be fooled by a woman then I've got nothing to worry about," Cloud remarked.

"Well, thanks, Saber," The necromancer said as he came upon a street with a few local townspeople, who hardly gave the man the time of day. "Now, let's head out to Trifas."

"By the way, can you do me a solid?"

"A solid?" Kairi repeated in slight confusion.

[Meanwhile…]

"It seems they do not trust us," Shirou Kotomine said from within the church.

"Surely, you do not believe it to be my fault, Master," Ultimecia stated.

The priest lightly chuckled then began to idly play with one of his snow-white bangs. "Though we were unable to learn Saber's True Name. A Noble Phantasm or a Passive Skill perhaps."

"I propose we eliminate both of them." The Assassin of Red suggested with her arms folded beneath her breasts.

"Not yet. They seek the Holy Grail so they are allies… for the moment," Shirou said to his Servant.

The bewitching woman hummed in response, "Then I must hasten preparations for my castle."

With his smile still present, Shirou glanced at his Servant, "I had heard that the ritual for it will be completed in a few days."

"Correct, there are no-" Ultimecia was cut off when the door to the church opened, allowing a new occupant to arrive.

"Pardon me. I've just returned from the market." A youthful, feminine voice spoke, drawing the attention of Assassin and her Master.

The newcomer is revealed to be a beautiful young woman with shoulder-length brunette hair and heterochromia eyes: the left being blue and right being green. She wore a purple pleated, flower-patterned skirt; black boots; a black spaghetti-string camisole under a white sash that wraps around her neck and over her chest; and a yellow patterned obi with a chōchō musubi knot and a decorative obidome to clinch the cords. Two separate, kimono-like pink and white sleeves secured by purple cords complete the outfit. She wears a blue-beaded earring on her right ear, hidden by a lock of her hair, woven into blue beads with gold rings around the larger, middle bead. She wears a silver necklace of a hibiscus flower along with a matching ring on the pinky of her right hand. She also wears a silver ring on the middle finger of her left hand and two bracelets, one beaded and one silver, on her right wrist. In her hands, she carried a staff based on the Khakkhara, a staff used by practitioners of Buddhism.

"Caster, so good to see you," Shirou said with his smile present.

"Forgive me, Sir Shirou. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation with Assassin." The newly arrived Caster of Red said to the priest.

"It's alright. Is there something you needed?" Shirou asked with a smile that drew a small tinge of red on the young woman's cheeks. Assassin of Red noticed this and scowled at her fellow Servant.

"Um, yes," Caster shook off her embarrassment and looked into the man's amber gaze. "Berserker has taken off for the Black Faction's stronghold."

"Hm?" Shirou inclined a brow with interest.

"Do you jest?" Ultimecia inquired.

"I do not. He has gone off to attack the enemy. He said something about "hunting new beasts" or something along those lines." Caster replied.

"Do you perchance know as to why Berserker went off on his own?" The red-garbed woman questioned.

"I do not." The Caster-class Servant shook her head.

"Worry not, fair Yuna. I'll be sending Archer and Rider to recover him." Shirou assured the girl, who looked away in embarrassment. "In the meantime, we'll just wait and see as to how these events progress."

[Forest of Sighișoara]

Gheorghe Agarici had lived in Sighișoara all his life. It was where he had been born, where he grew up, apart from a few years in America going to College, and it was even where he had met his wife with whom he had been married to for thirty long, happy, and invigorating years.

Their anniversary was coming up, and he wanted to surprise her with a nice dinner of freshly caught venison, which was why he was now out here, in the early hours of the dawn, with a rifle, so as to bag their anniversary dinner meal. He figured it would be paired best with some wild rice and fresh greens.

It had taken Gheorge a while, but thanks to the lessons his own father had taught him, he had finally managed to find a nice deer. Not too old, but not too young. This one did not seem to have any progeny, which was good, for he too had cried during the part of that American cartoon film with the deer, where his mother had died.

He lined up his shot… flicked off the safety… readied the trigger… aimed…

Thud, Thud, Thud!

The sudden shaking of the ground and trees behind him threw off his aim, making him fire above the deer, thus causing it to run off in fright.

"Futu-i! Doamne, nenorocitule!" he exclaimed, swinging his gun around to aim at the source of… the… footsteps?

Now standing in front of him was a veritable giant, dressed only in armor that resembled a cross between a demonic knight and a Japanese samurai. The giant wore a full-plated armor colored in burgundy, with winged motifs on his shoulder pads. He wears two separately colored sashes; a red sash that also can be seen wrapped across his body and arms, and an orange sash wrapped around his waist. His helmet resembles a mask with four horns; two smaller horns extending from the crown, while the two larger ones extend from the side. The mouth and nose of the mask match the color of his burgundy armor, while the forehead and eyes are white with a skull-like motif and a large orb. On his hip was a large barrel-shaped holster with three different swords of Far Eastern design resting within.

The large man looked down upon the now petrified Gheorge, and seemed to almost smirk at him in amusement despite the mask covering his face.

With a rumbling chuckle, it slowly jogged past him, each step shaking the ground.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

Idly, he noted that the gun had fallen out of his hands. At least he did not piss his pants, though, he felt very close to doing so. He would later discover that he had actually had a bit.

Maybe he should just serve fish or a nice goose instead. Yes, that would be nice. Deer was sometimes too gamey anyway. Yes, in fact, maybe he should not come back into the forest again for a bit…

So wrapped up was the frightened man in the mental act of calming down his frayed nerves, that he did not hear or registered the slight ruffling of a tree as two armored figures leaped off the branches, following in the direction of the stomping behemoth.

[Trifas - Night]

The sun had set, and night had now spread its velvety wings upon the city of Trifas. Oddly though, the streets seemed near-deserted, despite the fact that many lights were lit from each building. As such, To Kairi, it felt as if he and Saber were the only residents of the town. Out of the corner of his sunglasses, he studied his servant's new appearance.

His favor had been to procure some new clothes since the Servant's battle attire would give away his Class. That, and he didn't like astral form so much.

So, after the shopping trip, and a large dinner, as he had promised earlier, Saber was now garbed in a long-sleeved white collared shirt with a black leather vest, brown pants with a black leather belt, and white running shoes with black wolf designs.

"Not a bad choice in clothing, Boss." Saber of Red complimented as he admired his new attire. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it. It was a necessary expense."

In the near distance, Millennia Castle loomed ominously from atop its large hill. Unbeknownst to the walking pair, flying overhead was a strange, rocky thing shaped like an owl, a single eye dominating its entire head, which was currently centered straight onto them.

Saber scanned the area, "It's strange. Here we are, as bold as brass, walking through the heart of the enemy's territory, and yet nobody has attacked us yet."

"Rest assured, this town is definitely under the control of the Yggdmillennia," Kairi said to his Servant.

The blonde man glanced at the necromancer, "And what do you mean by that?"

Suddenly, the pair stopped walking. Standing in front of them was a large group of Yggdmillennia homunculi, each armed with, and armored in, high-quality-looking weapons and light armor. Alongside these blank faced warriors were large golems made of steel and stone, each which looked like they could crush Kairi's skull with little to no effort.

As Kairi un-holstered his sawed-off shotgun, Saber released a brief chuckle as he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. "I get it now. I believed it was just me but you used yourself as a decoy as well. You're a crazy man, Boss." His lips curved into a brief smirk. "Though I've got no problem with that."

Atop the rooftop, homunculi snipers took up positions with bows and arrows.

Despite the fact that they were being surrounded, Kairi remained oddly unperturbed about their situation, at least on the surface, while, internally, he was understandably a bit wary about their situation. "You take care of the golems. I'll focus on getting rid of the homunculi."

"Understood," Cloud said as he popped his neck.

"Right. Show me the extent of your powers, Saber!" As he exclaimed this, Kairi rushed forward towards their attackers, shotgun at the ready.

As his Master ran off, Saber turned and looked at the approaching golems with boredom, not even moving as one slammed down its massive club upon his head. At least this should be fun.

Suddenly, it stopped. Saber had managed to block it with a glove-covered hand. As golem and Servant struggled against each other, Saber smirked. "You got it, Boss!"

In the next instant, he sent the golem crashing into the building on his right with a large explosion of stone and debris.

As another rushed towards him, the Servant of the Sword dodged its club by dashing backward in a burst of wind as his black attire replaced his previous outfit. He outstretched his arms, allowing his main sword, First Sword, to appear in the right hand while the Hollow Blade appeared in his left hand.

The first golem tried to crush the Servant under its club but Saber slashed with the sword in his left hand, removing the golem's arm then proceeded to cut it in four different pieces with the sword in his right hand.

Sensing danger, the swordsman leaped into the air, twirling and flipping as if he were an Olympic gymnast as a second golem that tried to sneak up on him slammed its club into the ground on the spot that Saber previously stood. Landing on the wall of a building, he kicked off the brick wall and dashed towards his next target, slamming the edges of both swords into the stone golem with enough force to shatter it into pieces.

As more of the stony brutes came rumbling towards him, the Guardian of the Lifestream glanced at each of his opponents with his eyes shining with the ferocity of a hungry wolf.

This was almost getting interesting.

It was through a combination of instinct, speed, and pure dumb luck that Kairi had not been sliced to ribbons yet by the homunculi, and thus had to be continuously moving backward, without firing off a shot as of yet. To be fair, it was not like he had any experience fighting against people who used freaking halberds before!

With adrenaline pumping speed through his legs, Kairi turned and ran, scrambling and sliding across and behind a dumpster bin to avoid the three halberd-wielding homunculi who were hot on his heels.

As they attempted to flank him, Kairi spun on his heel, aimed, and let loose his gun's payload; bullets crafted from the finger bones of dead magi. Before they knew what had hit them, two of the homunculi were already dead, with their blood staining the wall behind them as they collapsed to the ground. The third one, though his neck was already leaking blood, somehow managed to remain upright. As he did, he gasped out, "Is… this… Gandr?"

It was, again, more through luck than anything that Kairi managed to notice, out of the corner of his eye, the arrows arcing towards him, and was barely able to scurry behind the dumpster bin for cover. As the sniping homunculi continued to rain down arrows upon him, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a curious object. It was what looked like a beating heart with a grenade pin mechanism attached to it.

Flicking off the pin, Kairi threw it up towards the archers. Although they managed to quickly perforate the strange grenade with their arrows, they had unknowingly fallen right into the Necromancer's trap. As the grenade exploded, a dark purple mist shot out of the heart's tubes and settled upon the archers. A second later, the ones caught in the blast radius began to choke and spit up blood as the poison swiftly entered their bodies, killing them through immediate multiple organ failure, while their faces contorted into expressions of agony as they died.

Meanwhile, Saber was swiftly finishing up the remainder of the golems. As another fell to his impaling sword, one with a large crossbow attached to its right arm took aim from the roof.

Thanks to his instincts, and without even looking, Saber sent his Hollow Blade spinning behind his back with a simple toss and through the air like a boomerang towards the archer, smashing it into pieces.

Despite losing one weapon, the swordsman didn't seem deterred by his only blade. With a swift flourish, Saber turned the last golem into a pile of rubble.

With that, the battle had ended.

As Cloud nonchalantly caught his other blade without looking, Kairi approached his Servant, bolstering his shotgun. "Looks like we're done here," he said.

"I'm surprised by your skill, Boss," Saber said, as he sheathed his two swords into their respective holsters on his waist.

"Heh. I've been in more than a fair share of scraps." He then looked around at the now quiet battlefield. "Odd. Why did they go all out like that?"

"All out? That was hardly worth our time. Not a single one of them sent a Servant to fight us."

"Well, let's retreat for tonight." As he spoke, the Necromancer bent down to retrieve one of the large purple gems that had acted as the golem's magical core. "At least it wasn't a complete waste though."

As he pocketed the gem, Saber lightly slapped him on the back, like they were old chums celebrating the victory of their favorite sports team. "Well, with that out of the way… Tell me, what did you think of my abilities?"

Kairi smiled as he looked at him. "I have to admit, you're quite good. Truly, I've ended up with a very magnificent Servant here."

Saber smirked, "And I seem to be fortunate that I have a Boss that can actually fight."

"Yeah, though, if I were to critique you…"

"Critique? What for? I didn't even break a sweat."

"Perhaps, but that last part, with you throwing your sword? That may have been a bit much."

"That was tame compared to my fights with monsters."

"Hmm. I think I can agree with that."

At that, the two began to walk away, leaving behind the demolished golems, and the dead homunculi.

Once again, the night settled was covered with a blanket of quiet and rest, and the hours continued to pass without fail. All the while, the flying, one-eyed familiar continued hovering and watching…

[Millennia Citadel]

Thanks to the flying familiar golem, the entirety of the Black Faction within the castle had borne witness to the battle, and, more importantly, to the prowess and abilities of Saber and his Master.

Darnic was the first to speak. "Hmmm. Strong indeed."

"Even putting aside the fact that it was done by a Saber," Y'shtola said, praise evident in her tone. "That was rather exceptional."

Kain Highwind looked at the image in thought then turned his gaze down to the Black Faction's own Saber. "Can you win?" The Lone Dragoon asked.

The Chosen King looked at the Servant of the Spear, and then gave a small nod of his head. "Yeah, I think I can beat him."

Coming from anyone else, this would have sounded like a boast, but, from Noctis Lucis Caelum, it was nothing more than a fact.

"Excellent."

Meanwhile, Archer had watched the entirety of the fight with a solemn look on his face. The moment that Saber of Red had engaged the golems in battle, he knew exactly the Heroic Spirit's True Name.

'I guess we were destined to be on opposite sides… But, it is good to see you again, Cloud Strife.' Vincent thought with a sad smile.

[Biserica din Deal]

Shirou kneeled at the altar, hands clasped in prayer. He was praying for many things, among which included success in his future endeavors, clarity of mind, as well as a sign that he was on the right path. As always, though, the Lord deigned not to answer in words. Instead, Shirou revisited the memories of his past... A burning city, people crying out in pain for salvation...

As he finished his silent prayer, he opened his eyes and smiled, since he felt that he was no longer alone.

"You kept me waiting," Shirou said to the newcomer, who appeared in a flash of gold sparks.

"I have received a command from my Master. I have been told that you are in charge of support." The newcomer, a Servant, spoke in a clear-cut masculine voice. He was clad in a suit of black armor with indigo and gold linings, complete with a spiked helmet.

"Yes," Shirou replied as he greeted the Servant. "Ruler is currently headed to Trifas. Her existence will serve as an obstacle to us. I want you to eliminate her, Cecil."

The dark knight looked at the priest with gleaming white eyes from his helmet. "As you wish," He replied.

[Meanwhile…]

After Saver had left the church he had been summoned in, the Heroic Spirit traversed his current surroundings, finding them interesting and quite magnificent to gaze upon. Apparently, he was in a city called "London" in a country called "England".

Though the sights were nothing like the land he hailed from back in his world, the Earth's humanity still had some wonders that enticed him.

Such as food, for instance.

Good Gods, he couldn't get enough of the delicacies known as "milkshakes" by the common man that worked the establishments of fast food. And the enriching flavors of "burgers" was most excellent.

Ah, but Saver had neither the time nor the stomach to indulge in this world's various cultures and people. He needed to get to Trifas and find Ruler immediately.

Thanks to the Grail for granting him information on a worldwide hub called the "Internet", Saver had tracked his current position and that of Trifas via a magnificent device known as a "computer". Though the map was small, the Servant had quite a journey to progress.

He idly wondered if he should take one of these metal airships as transport but realized that he had no form of identification for such a thing.

So, he settled upon using one of his own mounts for the journey. Though, maybe riding upon a dragon was a bit too much…

[Trifas]

While Saver used his own form of transportation, Ruler managed to arrive in Romania thanks in part to both her Charisma skills and a few kind-hearted people, including the nice man that allowed her to hitchhike on his pickup truck in the back. When he asked why she was heading to Trifas, the blonde girl merely lied and said that she was doing a school project.

So, here she sat in the back. Allowing the gentle breeze to caress her skin as her thoughts drifted on the upcoming confrontation between the Black and Red Factions. Though they did drift over to her supposed protector, who had yet to present themselves, the mysterious Servant known as Saver. Just the name alone sparked some measure of interest in the Saint of Orlean's mind.

Suddenly, she felt a presence approaching from afar… the sign of a Servant.

Jeanne leaned her upper body towards the driver's seat to speak to the older man, "Please turn back. It is extremely dangerous here."

The driver gave the girl an incredulous look, "And just leave you out on the dark road? I'd never do that to a young lady."

For some reason, the young lady's eyes gained a more lustrous purple gleam which felt oddly hypnotic to the man.

Jeanne spoke in a clear tone of voice with a slight boost by her Charisma. "Do it!" She ordered.

Without much choice, the mesmerized driver pulled the truck over, allowing Jeanne to hop out of the vehicle with her traveling suitcase. She watched in relief as the driver took off in the opposite direction back home while the mediator for the Great Holy Grail War turned to face the Servant that approached her.

"I take it that you are Servant Ruler?" A voice asked as Jeanne stared up at a street light and standing upon the metal was the black-suited Servant, Lancer of Red. "Prepare." He warned.

Ruler gasped as the black knight came down upon her faster than a normal human could react. He struck with his spear, sending dust everywhere. Jeanne emerged from the cloud in her battle attire as her boots loudly skidded across the granite road.

The blonde maiden could hear the dark knight's boots clink against the ground as he emerged from the cloud of dust. "Lancer of Red, Lunarian King of Baron," She spoke, glaring at the approaching Servant. "You must be Cecil Harvey."

"So you know my name. I'm honored." The Lancer-class Servant replied with an inclination of his head.

"I am the arbitrator of the Holy Grail War, Jeanne d'Arc. Do you understand the meaning behind bearing your fangs at me?" Ruler questioned her fellow Servant.

"Unfortunately, the answer should be obvious," Cecil said as he spun the wicked edges of the lance-sword, Dark Fang, between his fingers. "My presence here is a declaration of war."

Jeanne narrowed her eyes, "What purpose is there for you to eliminate me?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. However, my Master has decreed that you must perish and, as a knight, I am honor-bound to follow their commands." He stated. Cecil brings up Dark Fang as an aura of darkness shrouds the weapon, forcing Jeanne to prepare for retaliation.

"Lancer…" She spoke softly.

"It is time to end this. Forgive me, Ruler, but I must destroy you." The dark knight enters his combat stand as his helm's eyes glowed in the darkness like a demon from hell. "One attack should be enough to end this fight." Jeanne brought up her war flag in defense as the Lunarian King prepared to attack before…

"Saber, get him!"

Sensing danger, Cecil swung his spear to deflect the blade that narrowly came close to his neck as his assailant flipped through the air and landed in a crouch in front of Ruler. The warrior revealing himself to be Saber of Black. In the young man's right hand is a peculiar sword with an engine for a grip and handguard.

"You are the Saber of the Black Faction," Cecil spoke to his adversary.

"Got that right, Lancer of Red." Noctis replied as he stood back up, glaring at the dark knight.

Despite his face not being shown, Cecil allowed himself a smirk beneath his helm. "Well, since your arrival here… can I assume that you're here for the Ruler as well?"

Noctis smirked, "That obvious, huh?"

"That was a close one, Ruler!" A rather obese man with a thick blond mustache under his nose and a rather obvious combover jogged over to Jeanne. His hand was raised in greeting.

"I take it you are Saber of Black's Master?" Jeanne inquired.

The man panted from his run but had a proud smile on his face at Jeanne's words. "That is correct. I am Gordes Musik Yggdmillenia. It is a pleasure to meet you. Now then…"

He whirled on Cecil. "Lancer of Red! We arrived just in time to clearly witness you attempting to murder Ruler. Plotting to eliminate the Arbitrator of the Holy Grail War is in direct violation of the rules!"

"I do not deny it. However," The Dark Knight focused his gaze on Noctis. "Now that the Black Faction is here, I must attend with you two."

"Silence! Prepare to accept your sentence!" Gordes shouted at the Lancer before he glanced at Ruler with a confident smirk. "Which will be swiftly delivered by Saber and Ruler."

"Sorry," Ruler interjected, drawing a gasp from Gordes. "I've no reservations of you fighting here if you wish. Rest assured, a battle between Servants is not something I would wish to interfere with."

"What!?" The portly man exclaimed in shock.

"Lancer of Red making reckless threats on my life and a sudden battle between he and Saber of Black are two entirely different matters." Jeanne explained as she looked at the dark knight, who patiently waited. "As Ruler, it is my duty to uphold the rules of the battle before me."

Cecil leveled a small glare at Gordes, who flinched back despite not seeing said glare, "So you intended to fight me by instigating Ruler as an ally." He brought up his spear and directed it at his three adversaries. "It makes no difference. I shall defeat you all."

Gordes nearly popped a gasket and angrily shouted, "Saber, kill him! I want you to slaughter that Lancer of Red!"

Noctis brought up his Engine Blade, entering a combat stance. "You got it."

"Well then, it seems we can proceed with our duel, Saber of Black." Cecil said with an unseen grin on his face. "Don't hold back on me."

Noctis smirked at his opponent, "I should be saying that to you."

The Red Servant's grin grew into a smile. He would greatly enjoy dueling such a warrior. He spun his spear and entered his battle stance, "I am the Lunarian King of Baron, Cecil Harvey." He proudly declared his name and title.

"I'm Noctis Lucis Caelum, King of Lucis. Prepare yourself, Cecil Harvey!" The Chosen King declared as he and his adversary lunged at one another in a burst of speed, clashing their weapons against each other in a shower of sparks. The resulting attack elicited a powerful explosion that shook the very earth as Gordes and Jeanne watched, the former in slight trepidation while the latter watched in silence.

Noctis landed on his feet after recovering from the initial blast then reached behind his back to pull out a black ball coated in red energy. As Cecil approached the young prince, Noctis tossed the ball at the dark knight, who only had a second to dodge the ball before it exploded in a fiery blaze.

The Lancer of Red slid across the earth on his boots. His attunement with magic sensing the ethereal energy from the ball. "You store magic into catalysts. Effective and you hardly waste any mana." He praised.

"I thought we were fighting!" Noctis shouted as he dashed towards Cecil, slamming his sword against the spearman's weapon. The two locked weapons for a few seconds before breaking away and engaging in a flurry of strikes that blurred from the eyes of humans.

Their next clash sent Cecil up into the sky with Noctis following up with several slashes from his Engine Blade that forced the dark knight to block or parry with his spear. Having had enough of being on the defensive, Cecil released a dark purple aura that sent all of the Lucian King's instincts on maximum alert. Before he could mount a proper defense, the Lunarian King already unleashed a payload of dark energy orbs that struck Noctis, sending him crashing into the ground.

The Lancer-class Servant landed on his feet and stared at the dust cloud for a few seconds before he was forced to dodge a flying sword that nearly skewered his heart. However, his eyes widened in surprise when Noctis suddenly warped out of thin air, grabbing his Engine Blade and using it to slash at the Lunarian King, forcing him to bring up his Dark Fang to block the attack.

Both Servants broke the weapon lock between them as they skid across the earth, keeping their guard up but allowing themselves to smirk.

"So you can warp. I've never seen such an ability before." Cecil admitted. "You are certainly worthy to be a Saber."

"Thanks, I could say the same thing about you." Noctis replied.

While the two knights were engaged in their epic duel to the death, Gordes and Jeanne watched the conflict on the sidelines.

Gordes looked at Ruler incredulously, "So you won't assist at all?! Cecil is your enemy as well, isn't he!?" He explained to the young woman.

"It is as I stated earlier," Jeanne remarked as she looked at the Black Faction Master. "I simply cannot interfere in a battle between Servants."

Feeling his anger (and blood pressure) boil in annoyance, the portly man decided to shout out to the heavens, "Show yourself to me, Master of Red! I will take you on myself, you miserable Mages Association dog!" He frantically looked around for his unseen enemy. "You're watching, aren't you!? You're watching, aren't you!"

He received no verbal response from his mad rant, which only furthered his embarrassment and anger.

"Dammit! Dammit! I am a Master! I can do this!" Gordes snarled under his breath. He stared down his Command Seals, shaking whether from fear or rage, even he did not know.

Meanwhile, Noctis and Cecil made one last lunge, clashing their weapons against each other before they separated a few feet away. The Saber of Black looked ready for another fight but the Lancer of Red suddenly looked to the rising sun… then lowered his spear.

"It would seem I am being called back. Unfortunate, I was actually enjoying our battle, King Noctis." Cecil said to his opponent.

Noctis raised a brow in confusion then realized that if the two Servants continued their battle, it would draw the attention of the mundane. "Gotta admit… so was I."

The dark knight gave the Chosen King a brief nod, "I hope our next encounter will allow us to fight to our heart's content."

"Just so you know, I won't lose."

"Neither will I."

The two Knight-Class Servants gave each other a respective nod before Cecil began to vanish into his Astral Form.

"Lancer of Red, do not leave yet!" Jeanne called out to the Heroic Spirit that attacked her.

"Apologies, Ruler," The Lancer said, "I'll have to finish my prior engagement with you later." With that said, the Lunarian King vanished into motes of dark purple light.

Jeanne, despite not getting the answers she wanted, decided to praise Saber of Black for his performance. "Marvelous. What a splendid battle, Chosen King of Light."

"Meh, it was nothing," Noctis rubbed the back of his head in a rather laidback tone of voice.

Gordes approached the Ruler-class Servant with a smile. "Now that Lancer of Red is finally gone, will you please come with us to Millennia Citadel, Ruler?" He asked, praying that the young woman would be reasonable.

However, those hopes were dashed when Jeanne stoutly replied, "Negative, I must continue to remain impartial."

Gordes didn't give up in trying to persuade Ruler, "Yes, but our Lord's castle is a prime location for surveying the Great Holy Grail War!" He explained. "Please?"

"I appreciate your concern," Jeanne said to the portly man. "But my Skills allow me to perceive all of Trifas. So you need not worry."

The Black Master felt his left eye twitch in annoyance as he felt his irritation of being denied by a Servant reach an all-time high. However, he quickly kept his cool, despite gritting his teeth, "If you insist." He growled lowly then turned to leave. "Saber, let's go!" He ordered his Servant, who vanished into Astral Form while his Master returned to the black Mercedes with a homunculus driver waiting patiently for the man to return.

Jeanne watched silently as the Master of Black and his Servant left. Her thoughts drifted to the strange act of aggression that Lancer of Red had enacted due to orders by his Master. That alone should've told her that something was different in this Holy Grail War. Regardless, she would have to reserve her judgment until she arrived in Trifas.

Suddenly, she stopped as her gaze landed on the sight of Laeticia's luggage… or at least, what remained of it.

Ruler sighed in exasperation as she went about collecting each ruined article of clothing as well as the torn school books (which would no doubt get her host in trouble). Before she picked up a particular pair of underwear that Laeticia owned, she felt the presence of another Servant… one that now stood directly behind her.

Jeanne turned on her heel, war flag at the ready for battle, as her violet gaze focused intently on the new Servant. "Who are you?" She demanded.

The Servant in question is revealed to be a young man, who looked to be around Laeticia's age (or maybe a little older). He is of average height and weight with a muscular build usually hidden clothing. He has white skin, raven-black neck-length hair with blood-red highlights and trimmed with two fringes dangling on either side of his face, crimson red eyes, and a long scar over his left eye. He wore a red short-sleeved two-tailed coat of noble bearing with black and gold imprints, ash grey pants, black gloves, thigh-length black boots, and an earring on his left ear that seemed to be made of some sort of glowing blue crystal.

"I am known as Servant Saver," The young man greeted Ruler with a bow by placing his right hand over the area of his heart and lowering his upper body a bit. "I ask of you: Are you the Servant known as Ruler?"

Both Extra Classes stared each other down. Crimson red gazing into dark violet.

From then on, two legendary heroes met under the rising sun… their fates forever tied in this strange conflict of new and wondrous heroes.

A Ruler… and her Saver…

A/N: Finally! I finished the chapter. I was hoping to finish this over Labor Day but I got caught up in other business… mainly video games… and television… and college classes…

NOW! I bet all of you who have read this are about to ask me: "What the hell! That guy isn't the Warrior of Light!"

Well, you would be correct. That guy isn't the actual Warrior of Light naturally featured in the Dissidia games. He is actually the Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy XIV. Primarily, he is my own avatar in the game.

Allow me to explain. You see, in the world of Final Fantasy XIV, the player character is caught up in a series of events that turns them into the Warrior of Light, regardless of gender or race. In fact, my avatar is just one of the many faces for the (XIV) Warrior of Light due to their Saint Graph being widely altered as a result. Meaning that anybody that has made a character in Final Fantasy XIV has the potential to become the Warrior of Light and to be summoned as a Servant in the Holy Grail War.

Now with that out of the way, I have introduced a few of the Red Faction. Fans of the Final Fantasy series may already know about Lancer, Caster, and Assassin. If you can figure out who Berserker of Red is then you get a cookie and the chance to petition who Rider of Red or Archer of Red shall be in the story. Seriously, I have no idea who to add to those last two slots. Help a brother out, please?

Be sure to review and comment if you wish. Love it, hate it, but just know that you've read it, sucka! ;3

Peace out, everyone!