Chapter 15

Jim opened his eyes at the sound of his alarm clock. He slowly sat straight up and turned the alarm off, breathing in the cold air inside the room. "Today is the day." he muttered plainly before glancing at the side table where the Spiritron Kaleido lay. Its surface glowed in an orange hue as it displayed the timer.

00:00:18:24:30

Eighteen more hours. The boy before would always rattle in fear and nervousness for another bloody battle between Servants. However, he was no longer afraid. Jim stood up and walked to the bathroom. He opened the faucet and let the hot water fog the mirror in front of him. "I no longer need the Grail," he said with a determined voice. He wiped the fog off the mirror and his face reflected back at him. A steadfast look formed on his face. "Instead, I will stop this Grail War and prevent Mark from destroying mankind."

Saber appeared behind him and stood by the door. The same persevering smile was also on her face. "Jim, I'm as ready as you are." she said as the boy turned to her.

"Let's eat breakfast, Saber." he said with an inviting smirk. The two walked out of the room after they prepared themselves for today's activities.

Jim and Saber walked along a sidewalk towards the diner downstairs. They stopped, however, when they saw Ishtar and Rin exiting the diner. The two paused as they noticed Jim and Saber. "Jim, Saber, good morning. You two should eat breakfast now." Rin reminded the two as the Mesopotamian Goddess pouted behind her.

"I still haven't eaten that mint pie." she protested but the girl grunted in irate at her bickering.

"No, you'll get fat. Besides, we still need to prepare for tonight's battle." she said before she turned her attention to the two. "I'm going back to my room to prepare for the skirmish." she said and walked closer to Jim before adding with a hopeful smile. "I hope you're correct about saving Mark, Jim. I also don't want to kill him." She patted his left shoulder and moved away.

The Trollhunter smiled in gladness from her show of support.

Jim and Saber entered the cozy diner. The restaurant was almost empty, except for a staff member behind the counter and a couple sitting on a stool by the window. He looked to his left and saw Emiya and the other Maguses sitting in a booth. "Good morning, you two." Emiya said with a kind smile before he took a sip of his coffee. Waver and Kairi greeted them by raising their cigarettes.

Those two love to smoke. "Good morning, everyone." Jim and Saber sat beside Kairi as the Mage Bounty Hunter looked at his phone. The news was playing, the headlines were flashing on the screen.

'Venice attacked by Invincible? U.S. Government suspended Guardians of the Globe on suspicion of treason.'

'Another Vultrimite betrayal. Public trust wanes on the alien nation and the peace accord of Akiridion-5's Queen Aja.'

'Omni-Man incident repeated again. Invincible is the new Omni-Man!'

"Tch...the Magus Assoc and the Church are at it again, spinning the news in accordance to their liking."

"Don't forget the politicians in America. They love fear mongering." Waver said plainly as he took a sip of his coffee. As for Jim, however, the Trollhunter felt saddened by the news. Invincible was being painted as a villain and the people would hate him for the things he had done. Only their team knew that Mark hadn't done anything wrong other than attack Jim. The hero was clearly lost and redeemable. He must save him.

"We have to save him and explain to the world that he wasn't the villain." Jim said in a worried manner making Kairi and Waver smirked in agreement.

"Now then, there are some things that still puzzle me." Kairi began with a puzzled expression. He took a bite of the meat pie in front of him and chewed silently. "Does the Holy Grail War really need to happen in different countries? This is the first time that I've seen this war take place in different places."

"No. Which is why this war is very special. It's weird." Waver explained and took out a black notebook. He flipped the pages and added more to his explanation. "The Holy Grail War, originally, only takes place in Fuyuki City, Japan. The reason for that was because the activation site for the Greater Grail was there."

Emiya nodded to him and took a sip of his coffee and said, "Indeed. However, there might be an explanation to it – the Whydunnit part."

Waver flipped his notebook again and glanced at Jim. "Jim, do you remember when I explained to you about Justeaze Einzbern and how she traveled all over the world for her research?"

"Yeah. I feel bad for her though."

Waver smiled at him as he explained further. "It turns out that the Homunculus girl had built hundreds of workshops during her travels in different countries." The Magi looked down at the page, showing a drawing of the first Homunculus standing on a grassy hill that overlooked the San Francisco Bay. "The Einzbern always use their Mage Workshops as the activation sites of their Greater Grail. However, most of them were already dead and dormant of mana." He paused and fixed his glasses, his eyes forming a serious inquisitive look. "Except for three."

"Three?" Jim raised his right brow and made a questioning glance at three Maguses.

Emiya cleared his throat and answered him. "San Francisco, California. Vienna, Italy and then this country, Moscow, Russia. Justeaze had built a workshop in this country."

Jim's eyes widened in realization. Those countries...Those are the stages of this Holy Grail War! The Trollhunter recognized those places. It was what the Spiritron Kaleido had listed as the official stages of the Holy Grail War. Now, he knew the reason why.

"Those places, including this one, still have a functioning workshop." Emiya said as his eyes became serious. "If they continue, they will run out of places to hold this war, which can only mean one thing." Jim listened to the terrorist's words and realized what the Magi had told him.

"This is the final round, isn't it?" Jim said with a foreboding feeling on his chest. Emiya nodded with a strenuous frown. The Trollhunter felt heaviness on his guts. The coming third round could become the final one, which meant they mustn't lose this round. He had to save Invincible in this round.

Kairi noticed the boy's contemplative silence. He knew that the boy was thinking hard for strategies. An excited smirk formed on Kairi's lips as he blew his cigar. "Jim, I'll support you from behind with my gun. You're not alone on this, kid." he said in a supportive manner, making the boy glance at him.

Emiya also made the same reaction and rested his back on the chair. "There's still a chance that a Rider or Assassin-class Servant will appear tonight. You're gonna need all the manpower you can get, Jim." He paused and leaned on the table and said to the boy. "I'll dedicate my blade for you tonight, Trollhunter-san."

Guys. Jim couldn't help but smile in happiness. He was getting so much support right now and he felt that he wasn't alone. He then felt the hand of Saber holding onto his hand. He turned to his Servant and saw an unfaltering smile on her face.

"Again, Jim, I am your blade until the end of this war."

"Thanks, Saber." he said with gladness in his heart.

Ishtar hummed a Sumerian song as she took a bath. Outside the bathroom, Rin glared in frustration, sitting on the chair beside a nightstand. She didn't like what the Servant was humming so she made a grunt and walked outside of the room. The Magi rested her forearm on the railings and took out her phone. Well then...just in case. She calmly breathed the air around her and dialed a number. Her eyes suddenly hardened and tensed as she read the number. She felt that she would regret calling this person, but then she brushed her frustration off and pressed the call button. The line rang to her ears many times before a deep voice answered her.

"Hello, Mr. Musik. Yeah, it's me, Ms. Tohsaka." Oh boy, here it goes. Rin braced herself as the man started to berate her with anger and fury. It seems he was waiting for her to call him for a long time and the girl couldn't help but cringe slightly. "Do you remember the offer that you gave to me?" she said and regained her composure. "My cousin will surely love to see me work there." The man on the other end of the line went silent. Now for the bargaining part. The girl took the man's cordial silence as an opportunity to say her true intentions on calling him

"Yes, in exchange, however...I would like to borrow with one of your Servants. I have a feeling that Moscow might get ruined tonight."

-Moscow, Russia - Building XXXX-

Night had fallen fast on the city of Moscow. The city began to take life as lights from every building, sky scraper and home lit up the roads. People were walking around the sidewalk. Some were just going home from work. Others were tourists, enjoying the foreign air of this foreign city. But to Jim, this city was something else. Within hours, this city would become a battlefield. The city would be rocked and turned upside down, just like Venice.

"Over here," Emiya said to Jim and Saber. The two were following the terrorist Magi as they both entered a tall building, avoiding the crowd.

-Building XXXX-

After traveling through the elevator for a minute, Emiya opened the door of the building's rooftop. A cold gust of wind immediately hit the Master and Servant as they both walked into a helipad. The view of the whole city greeted the Trollhunter. He couldn't help but feel astonished at the beautiful view and saddened at the same time. This place would become a battlefield soon.

"Oh, you've arrived." Rin greeted all of them with Ishtar behind her. Waver and Kairi were also standing on the railings, their eyes looking down at the world below, scouting for the familiar figures of Servants.

"We've just finished scouting and I concluded that this building is a perfect vantage point for sniping." Ishtar said with an excited voice. The Mesopotamian Goddess hovered behind the girl with her trustee weapon, Maanna. She was ready for combat. The Trollhunter then took out his pocket watch and looked at the time.

00:00:00:05:60

"Five minutes." Jim muttered.

Emiya stood beside him and asked him in a worried manner. "Are you scared, Jim?"

The boy glanced at him and shook his head. A bright smile appeared on his face before he answered the Terrorist mage. "No. I will save Invincible."

I'm glad that you're kind, Jim. "You're smiling. It means you're getting stronger, Jim." Emiya said with clemency, making the boy blush to his praise.

"Five minutes everyone!" Waver said as he threw the cigar over the railing.

The Mage Bounty Hunter grinned menacingly as he moved his hand and unlocked the holster on his right thigh. He slowly took out and brandished a sawed-off shotgun. Its barrel glint the moonlight from the night sky. "It's been a while since I've used this."

"Indeed. Now please point it away from me." Waver reminded the Bounty Hunter, who only made a confident smirk.

-High Above Moscow-

High above the glittering city at an almost unattainable altitude, Invincible hovered silently. His face was expressionless as he looked down. The lights reflected from his mask and it made him look ominous.

"This is the place. This is where the third round will happen." An onus frown formed on his lips. He took out the Spiritron Kaleido and looked at its surface.

00:00:00:00:20

Twenty seconds. "I'm sorry...Let this be the last evil act that will happen in this world." he said with a stigma in his voice. 10…9...8...Mark pulled off his left glove off, his new command spells glowing crimson red. 7...6...5… The Hero stared down at the city first, shame and guilt in his eyes. 4...3...2...1...And then the pocket watch rang out. The Hero hovered still for a moment, and then with hesitation, he shouted his command with a loud booming voice.

"By all of my command seals, I order Rider Servant to unleash your Noble Phantasm...in this city!" The command seals of the Rider-class slowly disappeared one by one until nothing was left. Invincible watched as a thunderous flash of blue light sparked brightly below him.

"I'm sorry, Jim...but I will win this round." he muttered with his frown darkening more into a doomed one.

3...2...1...

Battle Start!

"It has started!" Jim announced as Saber donned her armored clothes, her swords glinting at the ready. Emiya stood behind him and readied his Kanshou and Bakuya. Meanwhile, Rin flashed her gems between her fingers. Ishtar hovered above them, her Maanna glowing in gold. Waver and Kairi also took a stance, the Bounty Hunter Mage moving the lever of his gun. The group were all now prepared for battle.

However, the wind was the only thing that they heard.

"Strange...shouldn't there be a Servant by now?" Ishtar asked as everyone looked around.

"Maybe the Servant is tiny and got lost...or Invincible and his big oaf of a Servant is still in hiding-" Ishtar was suggesting, but her words were cut short.

*CRASH!*

A loud thunder came crashing down and hit the ground beside the building. The group almost fell as the rooftop shook wildly as if the lightning had caused an earthquake. "What on earth is that!?" Rin asked everyone as they slowly regained their balances.

Ishtar darted her eyes everywhere, searching for the cause of the lightning, and then she saw it. Her red eyes widened in pure shock. "Wh-what the hell is that!?" Everyone looked to where she was pointing and all of them froze.

"I-Is that-?"

"That's a fucking mammoth!" Kairi shouted in astonishment as all of them looked at a creature. A behemoth had appeared in front of the skyscraper. It was large as a mountain. Its body was nothing but fur of grey. It bore a pair of terrifying tusks that matched its horrifying eyes. Its trunk was massive with a hook-like weapon attached on its end. With the appearance of such a huge Mammoth in the middle of the city, buildings around it had started to collapse.

What the hell-!? Jim couldn't believe the sheer size of the creature. He felt very small and weak all of a sudden, and it made him gulp down in terror.

"Don't get discouraged, everyone!" Saber shouted at all of them. The King of Knights didn't show any fear, a steadfast look on her face as she readied her sword. "We can defeat this thing and stop the war once and for all!" she said and pointed her sword at the gigantic Mammoth. "I am King Artoria. Saber-Class Servant! I am your enemy! Announce yourself to me!"

The Mammoth gazed its demonic eyes at her and her group. Then the group watched as the top most portion of the creature's head opened up, revealing its flesh and another figure that slowly emerged from the inside. That must be...the real form of the Servant. Jim observed and concluded. The Servant had light blue skin, a similar pair of tusks extending from the back of his head. He held a staff in his right hand and a crown in his head.

"Saber-!"

It spoke in a male's deep, demonic voice. "I AM IVAN THE TERRIBLE – A RIDER-CLASS SERVANT!"

Rider...and he's Ivan the Terrible. Jim didn't need his notes from Strickler's history lesson. Everyone knew who Ivan the Terrible was. The Tyrant Tsar of Russia was a ruler who terrorized his own people during his reign. "Saber," the Trollhunter called his Servant as he took out his amulet. "For the Good of Everyone...the Eclipse and Excalibur is mine to command!" The boy's figure changed to his troll form and new armor. However, it startled the Servant. Jim's normal silvery armor was gone and was replaced by obsidian-black with red glowing lining on the surface. The group were all astounded by his appearance.

"Jim?"

"Heh, now that's a hide of morph magic." Kairi and Waver stared in amazement at the boy's Troll appearance and armor while Ishtar, Rin and Emiya smirked, praising the boy's magic.

"ROOARR!" The Mammoth roared in anger, snapping the group back to reality.

"We can do this, guys! We have to win this round!" Jim shouted a rally cry and everyone responded with battle stances. It's now or never! The Trollhunter thought hard before he raised his Excalibur and howled. "Charge!"

The group rushed towards the Mammoth, who looked down on them as if they were nothing but insects to be squashed.

The Third Round had officially started.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Fate/Stay Night, Tales of Arcadia and the cartoon Invincible. Names, places and events are completely fictional, if one exists in real life then its purely coincidental.

Special thanks to Pure Red Crane for beta-reading.

Hello everyone welcome to my new chapter. This chapter is short because it was actually a prelude to the Third Round. I promise you this however...the Third Round is gonna be shocking! I would like to thank everyone for reading this fanfic, knowing this I contribute much on alleviating everyone's boredom. I hope everyone is alright! If you like, leave some reviews for this chapter so I can improve myself on my writing skills. Also, if you have suggestions for this story, please do lave some comment. Any ideas is welcome. Thinker out!