It was as if an earthquake had just struck the area. The blades tore up the ground on impact, churning and sending massive chunks of dirt flying in all directions. Behind the wind wall, we were safe though.

As the chunks of dirt smashed into the wall of wind, it managed to hold. The dirt was ground up and scattered by the wall, creating a brown haze and making it exceedingly hard to see what was happening beyond the wall. Like, I couldn't make out anything. At all.

The sound of raining dirt was deafening too. Were Saber and Lancer ok? Were they fighting Rider and the priest even as the massive chunks of dirt rained down and the haze reduced visibility? I couldn't say; all I could hear was the sound of dirt scattering, raining and slamming down into the ground beyond the wall.

Sortiara, for her part now done, collapsed backwards to the ground. She was staring up, wide-eyed, but at least they were now her regular eyes, rather than the green orbs of magical energy, or light, or whatever that had been. She was breathing quite heavily, and I couldn't blame her; I may have been completely oblivious to magic, but even I could guess that such a spell must have taken quite a bit out of her. I could only hope she wasn't completely out of gas though; not like the battle was over quite yet.

"I… actually did it…" I could just barely hear her speaking to herself. "Two blades… I managed two blades…"

But before I could ask her anything about that though, the sound of dirt raining down upon the ground came to an end. Right in time too, for the wind wall fell with it. The paper talismans fell silently to the ground, no longer aglow with magical energy. Behind me, I heard Johnathan yelp in pain, and I could have sworn-

"Hey! You ok" I turned around, immediately noticing him clutching his right arm to his chest. "We need that- Ok, is that supposed to be happening?!"

I was going to say we needed the wall back up for protection. That idea flew straight out my head when I saw his arm sparking. Blue lines, arcing like electricity, danced up and down his right arm, and Johnathan winced in pain again.

"I-I'm fine! Just need a moment" he spoke through gritted teeth, glaring at me.

"We don't have-" Sortiara began to say, before bolting upright and turning to face Johnathan as well. "No! No, you're not fine! Shit; I knew this would happen!"

"It. Will. Pass" Johnathan shot back.

"Not the point and you know it! You absolute imbecile!"

Through their shouts, I could hear the sound of metal clashing pick up again. So, the servants were back in action. I could only hope that it was Lancer now fighting Rider, but it was still too hazy to see properly. A few more moments though…

"Need that wall back up guys" I cut in to their shouting match. "Fight's still on and when the dust clears we don't wan-"

*Fwip Fwip Fwip*

Through the haze, the sound of three daggers came flying in our direction. Instinctively, I fell back onto my back. Bad idea, for I still had the dagger in my bag and shoulder. Especially because of that shoulder one…

"Fuck" I groaned as I felt the daggers get pushed into my body a bit further.

I managed to see the one aiming for me whiz overhead. The one going for Johnathan managed to graze his cheek, leaving a thin, red line as a scar. Evidently it didn't cause him too much pain, for he didn't even seem to register it, still clutching his right arm to his chest. Sortiara took a hit though, the one sent her way sinking itself into her left leg.

She winced in pain, but held it together fairly well. Better than me, at any rate, though that wasn't say much: I had a very low pain threshold. That, and I found it hard to believe that this had been the intended outcome. The haze must have been blinding the priest about as much as it was blinding us.

"Wall up! Now" I shouted over to Sortiara.

With a quick nod of her head and a shout carrying a bit of pain in it, a small wall of wind rose in front of us.

"Dome it like last time!"

"I can't! I'm still burnt out from- Wait, this isn't a black key!"

I had just heard the sound of things flying our way and had just assumed it had to be daggers from the priest. Or black keys, as they're actually called. Sure, I 'saw' one whiz overhead, but I had also sorta, kinda… well, dazed myself in the process of dodging it, so I really hadn't seen it clearly enough to make out what kind of dagger it had been.

But sure enough, Sortiara was right. The thing sticking out of her leg wasn't one of the priest's black key things. It was a dagger from one of the assassins. What the fuck?! Had Rider summoned new assassins already?!

Then, the haze finally died down enough to begin making things out with some clarity, and I froze in shock.

The most obvious thing was the change to the terrain. Where the assassins had been grouped was now a massive crater. Scattered all around us were massive chunks of dirt that hadn't hit the previous wind wall, sticking up from the ground like pillars, or spear points. We were no longer on an open field. Rather, this had effectively become like the forest I'd originally wanted to fight in; just change wood trees for dirt trees, and you were basically there.

But it was not the obvious that shocked me. No, what shocked me was that, through the remaining haze, patches of black cloaks and parts of white, skull masks were becoming visible, blending in and out of the haze.

The stood atop the trees of dirt, more of them coming to focus on the three of us with each passing second.

So that must have been why, then… The assassin had thrown them based on sound, rather than based on vision. It was only now that they, too, were starting to be able to see again…

Quickly, I went about counting every one I could get some sort of glimpse of. It definitely wasn't perfect, but… I was counting a solid 19 assassins, if not a couple more, even.

Rider summoned that many that quickly?! …That, or- Oh… Oh fuck…

"What the hell" Sortiara shouted. "Just how many of these things does Rider have?! How can he summon so many so quickly?!"

"…Because he didn't…" I muttered, mostly absentmindedly as I just stared at the assassins looming above us.

"What is that supposed-"

I'm fairly sure Sortiara was asking what that was supposed to mean. I was also fairly sure that Rider was fighting one, if not both, of the servants. Metal striking metal still rang out, though out of sight. Yet even that grew faint now.

We'd fucked up. We'd massively fucked up. I'd even mentioned this facet just last night! I'd mentioned we needed to take weather into consideration! So why didn't I draw that connection to this?! I should have?! I really fucking should have?!

But we didn't. I didn't. We fucked up. I fucked up. We'd just assumed Sortiara could use her magic and deal with them…

I just assumed that wind magic would work… but I didn't make sure… I didn't know for sure… I just… assumed…

The wall crumbled, ever so slightly. But it was enough. Enough… for the memory…


"Just how fucking stupid are you?!"

"I-I'm sorry! I just thought-"

"I don't care what you thought -an! How many times have I told you?! Never assume anything! Get this through your head already! It doesn't matter what you think: you're wrong!"

"S-Sorry!"

"I don't want to hear your apologies! I want you to stop being so damn lazy all the time! All you care about is your fucking video games!"

"That's not true!"

"Like hell it's not true! Have you done anything I've asked you to do yet?! And I mean properly; not your quick and lazy way so you can run back up to your computer!"

"W-Well, I planned-"

"No, you haven't! Save the bullshit; I already know the answer! It's because you don't care, -an! You've never cared about anything besides your fucking games!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Don't even have anything to say for yourself? Pathetic. But fine, whatever: go back to your stupid game there. Don't come to me for anything from now on."

I just stared back in silence as he turned to leave the room. Right when I thought he was going to leave, though, he stopped. Without looking back at me, he added a final remark.

"I never should have let you get that fucking computer."

Then, apparently having said all he wished to say, he left. The door closed behind him. I could hear the footsteps getting softer as he walked away from the room, and softer still as he descended the staircase at the end of the hallway.

But I couldn't bring myself to look away from the door. Compared to many other times, it had been short. Very short… When I'd first heard the door burst open and seen the look on his face, I'd expected much more. I'd prepared myself mentally for much more.

It wasn't to words that got me. I'd heard them all before, in multiple different ways. It was the brevity in of itself. I couldn't understand why it had been so… short… I was about to start pondering about it, but I chided myself before I got started.

"Never assume anything…" I muttered to myself under my breath, finally turning my attention back to the monitor. "Never assume anything… Never assume anything… Never assume anything…"

Never assume anything!


It was the feeling of being shook violently that snapped me back to reality.

"Nathan" Sortiara was shouting as she shook me. "What the hell is going on with you?! Don't just sit there! Say something!"

A quick, final count, now that the haze had fully cleared up. Looming over the three of us were 20 assassins. So, Lancer had killed five or so before the blast that should have granted us victory went off… Impressive, when you consider they were trying to avoid him at all costs.

"Rider didn't summon them" I spoke, eyes still looking out beyond the wind wall for any sudden moves. "At least, he hasn't summoned any since the battle started."

Thankfully, it didn't seem as though the assassins were in a rush. They must have been damned confident about their victory. I couldn't blame them either. We were done for, in this position. Game over. We lose. That wall would not help us, even if it was domed and anchored like before. Not when the assassins finally decided to walk through it.

Gauging their abilities as magi… That's why they didn't walk through it before: Rider and the priest were still trying to figure out just what the two of them were really capable of. So, keep tossing daggers; cause as much strain on the wind wall as possible, to see how long the boy can maintain it. Make a good target of oneself; see just what was her maximum destructive force...

"Are you saying I missed them all" Sortiara growled. "Because that's impossible! I saw it! That was a direct hit! My best work of magecraft ever! No way in hell it missed!"

"No, you didn't miss" I laughed slightly. "But it doesn't matter that you didn't miss. We miscalculated, is all. Ah well, at least it's nice to know that, even had we pulled off the original plan, it wouldn't have mattered. This would have still been the outcome."

The sound of Rider and their servants still fighting from beyond the forest of dirt trees became the only sound ringing out in the night.

"Wha-"

"Because" I continued, cutting Sortiara off immediately, knowing what she was going to ask. "The assassins are immune to wind magecraft. That's why you smiled, right at the end there. Isn't that right, Christopher?"

With a background of ringing metal, a slow clapping of hands broke out.

"Not fully, but close enough to the truth, to deem you have an understanding" the priest grinned right at me as he emerged from behind one of the dirt trees. "They may not be servants proper, but they aren't without their skills. Namely, the skills of Presence Concealment… and Protection from Wind."

It seemed to take Sortiara a moment to let that information sink in.

"Protection from… Wind…? But then, that means…" Sortiara stared back blankly at the priest.

"That you were doomed to fail from the start" the priest nodded in confirmation. "I confess, it was fun, watching you heretics squirm desperately for your lives. I almost jumped in myself, thinking you might actually have something up your sleeves for a moment there. But, if that truly was what you believed to be your best shot, then it appears I got worried for a moment over nothing."

Raising his right arm, he let out a twisted grin; wickedness gleaming in his eyes.

"So, this is how quickly the false god dies" his words directed only at me now. "Pray that the lord takes some mercy on your treacherous soul."

Three black keys manifested in his raised arm, bursting to life, bathed in flames.

"Now, perish in holy fire!"

At his triumphant shout of victory, time slowed to a crawl. The assassins lunged from their perches. A new wall, one of black cloth and white masks, was descending on us from above.

…Beautiful…

I would die here. Now. And that was ok. I could accept death. Death was required for my victory, after all. With my death here, I would win the game known as life. So, I didn't look away. I stared on, eyes wide, trying to absorb all the beauty I could from this black mass falling upon me. The black mass that would grant me victory…

…Absolutely… beautiful…

Then, from behind the wall of black cloth. Then, from behind the priest, still smiling, unaware of what had caught my attention, engulfed in his victory. Then, from the top of the dome the priest had locked us in… came a flash. Shooting straight down, disappearing from sight behind the wall of black cloth and the dirt trees. A flash of lightning. A flash of purple lightning.


A/N

Hoo boy... Man, trying to write this was tough! Shit y'all not, I wrote and deleted everything for this chapter not once, but twice! Writing the stuff for the fight scenes is always so weird for me. It doesn't help that I envision things looking a specific way, yet feel as though I have no real way of... showing that off. Like, man, I wish I was good at drawing, if only so I could draw up some of the scenes and post them as screenshots somewhere; link them in my profile or down here in the A/N section. Something! Anything!

That, or I'd just make, like, a fan-made V/N or something, maybe LOL :) I always thought the medium has so much potential; shame that it really feels like only Japan taps into it, and not for things I tend to enjoy...

But yay! This bit is finally done! Now onto the next... xD

As for interesting fact of the post... Well, I learned, oh... about two days ago now, I'd say, just how messed up the mana system is in the nasuverse, not even just FATE. So, without further ado, allow me to try and explain, poorly xD

Basically, there are two sources of mana. There's, well... mana, which formulates in the world via leylines. Then, there's this thing called 'Od'.

Od is the energy of the lifeforce of all living creatures within the nasuverse. Basically, it's magical energy formed within a person or animal via their soul, rather than by a leyline. It serves as a small, portable supply of magical energy if needed.

Of course, mana is typically far more plentiful and is therefor used far more often by magi, as it provides enough magical energy to cast lager works of magecraft. That said, the start-up of large-scale magecraft is typically done with Od, and then continued via the use of mana, rather than just purely by mana.

Od itself though can be used to casts small scale spells that, typically speaking, don't interact with the environment. So, yep, you guessed it, Shirou's magecraft of Reinforcement is considered small scale, and therefore can be done purely with Od (because, you know, why wouldn't he be able to...).

The... 'typical' storage capacity of Od also differs from V/N to V/N in the nasuveres, weirdly enough. Like for FATE, it's usually stated that the normal storage amount of Od is equal to 25 'units'. But for Tsukihime, the average amount is stated to be at 40 'units'. Yet, both are part of the larger, extended nasuvere, so... which one is it o.O I have no fucking clue!

I also found some listings for Saber's magical energy consumption in the fifth grail war. It's... um... well, I'd say calling it a shit show would be putting it kindly, LOL

In short, the nasuvere has a whack-ass, 2-type 'mana' system, and has hard numbers for things that I'm sure they've completely ignored whenever it was convenient for them to do so.

Why do they insist on doing this?! First it was with parameters and skill ranks and shit! Now it's with mana, and Od, and magical energy consumption per magecraft cast and how much a certain number of magical circuits of 'X' quality (oh yeah, magical circuits are BS complex as well; maybe that'll be next post xD) can actually convert into magical energy to be used for magecraft and I'm just sitting here, crying to myself in the corner, asking the only important question.

Why? Just... why?! Why create these hard rules and numbers and shit?! I SWEAR they never actually take ANY of this into account anyways!

...As always, thanks to all my readers who made it up to this point. I would say sorry about the delay, but at this point it's become more the rule rather than the exception, I fear it will only get worse as school starts up again for me in 2 weeks time, and, even though I'm Canadian, even I tire of saying sorry xD

See y'all next post!