Are we really going through with this?

It wasn't that I did recognize the… logic behind Tristan's idea. Provided that everything he said held true, it was likely the only way one of us will win.

But that was the thing, wasn't it?

Everything he said had to hold true. Everything he thought had to be true. The last time he created a plan without full information-

"Master, it's time."

"Time for what though" I questioned Saber through the mental link. "Did you find Assassin, or-"

"No. Assassin is likely here, but I don't sense him. There is one presence besides that of our group, which I predict to be Assassin's master."

"Do you have clear sight on him?! Do you think you can take him out?!"

"…It is possible" Saber confirmed, but his voice sounded hesitant.

"Do you think it's probable?"

"…That I can't say. I don't know the capabilities of his servant. While I find it unlikely for Assassin to have a defensive Noble Phantasm capable of countering my own, should he have one which enhances movement, or can simply move fast enough-"

"Then they'll escape, and we would hand him the win, effectively."

"So, you have reservations of tracking him down on our own?"

"I-It's not that I don't think-"

"Relax, master. I too hold the very same reservations."

"Then… we really have no other choice than to go along with Tristan's plan..."

"There are always other choices. Lancer is likely the weakest of us servants, in terms of remaining magical energy. If attracting attention is too great a risk, dueling Lancer without use of my Noble Phantasm is another option."

"…Not that I doubt you'd win, Saber, but the amount of command spells we'd expend in doing things that way-"

"Could end up being as much or more than just starting with my Noble Phantasm with assistance from a command spell, yes. It also fails to guarantee the showing of Assassin or his master in the aftermath, not that the current plan guarantees such a thing."

I turned back to look at Tristan. Honestly, I'd expected him to be sitting down, getting comfortable while he waited for his show to start. Instead, I found him staring right at me, as if he was waiting to see exactly what I'd do.

…As if the only unknown variable to this plan of his wasn't Assassin or his master, but rather… me.

Sortiara and Lancer had wandered a far distance down the field by now. Yet something felt… off. Lancer was looking around, yes, but it didn't come off as… as genuine. Sortiara was even more obvious. Forget looking for Assassin or his master, all of her focus was directed towards monitoring me, regardless of where her eyes were actually looking!

…It was like I was the one caught in a trap.

I hate this.

"We could also wait for Lancer to make the first move" Saber suggested.

"That won't happen. You see it too, don't you? They're waiting for us to act. Monitoring us."

"…Indeed, they have made up their mind to follow along with this plan."

"So then what-"

"Hey, kid."

I jumped in fright at the sudden whispering in my ear, and the feeling of a hand on my shoulder.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it now. You're out of time."

"It's not that simple" I hissed back at Tristan.

"Nothing is simple in war, kid" he had the nerve to smile. "There are a million ways this could go wrong. For you. For Saber. For Sortiara and Lancer. For any unfortunate soul in the vicinity."

"Which is exactly why-"

"But rarely a plan is perfect" Tristan shook his head. "Plenty of my plans have failed, and I was called the God of Control because my plans never failed. Plans can fail, but there is something far worse in war than a plan with the potential to fail. You know what it is?"

"…"

"Indecision, kid. Even the theoretical perfect plan can fail, if you don't act decisively on it. Just ask Saber what happened to the most indecisive warlord of his time, if you don't believe me."

"…Much as I hate to agree with him, Yuan Shao is a good example for this" I heard Saber mutter through the mental link.

"Then what am I-"

"Whatever you can live with, kid" Tristan sighed. "If you can't stand the thought of even one more innocent soul dying in this, then stand down. If you can't stand the thought of being the reason that magecraft is revealed to the outside world, then stand down. You are fortunate to have such an option, seeing as you have Saber as your partner. I am sure plenty of other Heroic Spirits would not accept giving up their chance at the grail for such reasons, but Saber is one that will."

"…"

"But either way, you have to decide now. Go big, or go home. If you're not willing to fire off a Noble Phantasm now, then go home. Without using a Noble Phantasm, you're not creating a big enough scene, and you're just running a risk with no payoff."

I felt the pressure on my shoulder lift. Taking a deep breath as I mulled over his words, I closed my eyes.

"Your orders, master" Saber asked through the mental link.

…We're going... big...

"Saber" I shouted, raising my hand. "Take them out in one strike!"

"Yes, master!"

The back of my hand began to glow red as the command spell took effect. Mirroring my own action, Saber raised his swords, pointing it up to the sky as arcs of electricity began to dance along them. Above, dark clouds began to swirl and claps of thunder rang out.

That flashy showing, occurring over the span of no more than five seconds, caught the attention of both Sortiara and Lancer.

"For the sake of the people, I call upon the thunder" Saber shouted, barely audible from even this distance over the clapping thunder.

A dark purple bolt of lightning shot down from above, striking Saber's raised sword. The moment they did, Saber embedded them into the ground in front of him, then leapt back.

"O mighty dragon, answer our call" Saber continued as arcs of lightning shot up from the embedded swords, swirling and coiling around until-

RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

An extra loud clap of thunder rang out as the dragon roared to life, it's electrical form solidifying. Even from my distance away from it, I could feel the electrical currents in the air; tingling feelings running up and down the entirety of my body.

"Carve our path forward, towards our desired future!"

Lancer and Sortiara hadn't remained idle, naturally. The moment Saber had started, Lancer took off, charging not into the trees, but rather right at us. Sortiara was running too, though she was far from being able to match the pace of Lancer.

But it was too late.

Lancer wasn't going to make it in time.

It was already plainly evident he would not be in time to stop this.

"Soar: Benevolent Lightning's Roar!"

RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The dragon surged forward at, well, lightning speed towards Lancer, it's body coiling and the sound of lightning crackling. Behind it, Saber rushed forward, grabbed his blades, and charged for Lancer, no more than two seconds behind his Noble Phantasm.

Time slowed to a crawl. Despite the speed I understood it all had to be moving at, I felt as though I could see everything crystal clearly. Hear everything with crystal clarity.

It was over. Lancer had decided to charge, and it was too late for him to change course now. He must have understood this too, for he surged onward, not once looking for a way out of this head-on collision.

His spear outstretched, without even bothering to manifest his shield, I heard Lancer shout out above the clapping thunder and crackling lightning.

"Unleashing Noble Phantasm! Longinus-"

He's accepted his defeat then. It would be a valiant effort, but there was no way he could survive the deployment of his own Noble Phantasm. Even if it was enough to take down Saber's, he would never survive the follow up from Saber himself.

Assuming he didn't dissipate before Saber even reached him.

I watched on, adrenalin skyrocketing within me, as Lancer's famous lance began to drip blood from the tip, until the dripping turned into a single, flowing stream. A bright red stream of-

Wait, bright red? Wasn't it supposed to be-

"Blessed Blood of the Divine Prophet!"


A/N

Whew! Sorry this took so long to get out, but you all should know me when it comes to depicting Noble Phantasms by now xD

So yeah... Saber has a lightning dragon! I, uh, wanted to keep in the spirit of Saber class servants having "lasers" or "beams" as Noble Phantasms, without just straight giving Saber here a lightning beam (because, let's be real here, that'd be boring as fuck). This was... my ultimate conclusion, I suppose. Yeah... Hope it doesn't come off too poorly, and it gets the idea across. As for the naming of it... better left unsaid, in my opinion. It was the best I could think up, even after all this time. Sorry, I'm not good with naming!

Well, there was one other reason why this is so late. I originally wanted to finish editing this and post it a couple nights ago, but... recent global news tore me away from this for the past couple days as my political science friends dragged me into their world for a bit.

As always, thank you all for being so patient, and I'll see you in the next post o7