Four-Way Clash – Saber, Archer, Lancer & Berserker
"Are you my Master?" asked Saber.
Shirou smiled and bowed to her. "Indeed I am, mighty King of Knights, Arturia Pendragon", he replied.
The ancient king raised her eyebrow in surprise. "You know who I am?" she asked.
Shirou nodded. "My name is Shirou Emiya", he informed her, "This is my younger sister Miyu Emiya", he continued, gesturing at said individual, "We're the adoptive children of your previous Master, Kiritsugu Emiya", he concluded.
"It's an honour to meet you, your majesty", Miyu said, bowing as she spoke.
Saber clenched up, clearly on edge at that announcement. Shirou smile sadly. He'd been expecting that reaction. After all, his father's actions in the last war were consider highly despicable to individuals who held honour and chivalry in high regard. And, all things considered, Shirou couldn't blame her, since Kiritsugu's actions reminded him to much of terrorism.
"May I suggest we move inside", he said, to break the silence.
The two ladies nodded in agreement and they quickly moved from the workshop in the kitchen.
Shirou went to work preparing a meal, while Miyu and Saber sat at the table. Saber's armour had disappeared to allow her to sit without its considerable bulk, leaving only her dress. Shirou noted they would have to get her some modern clothes so she wouldn't stand out so much.
"So, I imagine you are wondering why the Grail War is happening again so soon", he said.
"The thought did cross my mind", the Servant confirmed.
Shirou smirked in amusement. "Well, we can answer that but first, Miyu, can you get the letter for her", he asked his sister.
"'kay", she sang and scooted out of the room. She returned a couple of minutes later holding an envelope in her hand which she handed to Saber.
Saber opened it and began to read.
Arturia,
If you are reading this then I assume the next Grail War has begun. I don't know if it is my children, grandchildren or even great-grandchildren who will end up giving you this but either way it means my mission has to continue on.
I know you are likely furious at me for what I did but I hope this letter can give you some clarity into my actions. While you were battling Archer I confronted Kirei Kotomine and defeated him. But when I saw the portal I saw visions of what seemed to be a darker version of Irisviel. It led me to the conclusion that the Holy Grail was no longer the omnipotent wish granting device that the Three Great Families created. It is a container for all the worlds sins and if a wish is made on it, it would go out of its way to twist the wish so that as many lives as possible were taken.
This was something that I could not allow, so I did the only thing I could think of to prevent it from happening and ordered you to use Excalibur on it. I am truly sorry for forcing you to do such a thing but if you cannot forgive me, I understand.
Unfortunately the damage was already done. A great fire swept through Fuyuki and over five hundred people died because of it. The only two survivors were my adoptive son and daughter, Shirou and Miyu. I also paid a price for my survival in the form of a deadly curse that even now, as I write this is killing me.
I researched into the Grail and the Wars after the event and discovered the source of the corruption. During the Third War, the Einzbern's broke the rules of the war and summoned an irregular servant of what they called the Avenger Class, real name Angra Mainyu. But unlike the primary seven servants, a Servant of the Avenger Class is an entity of pure darkness. Even the purest of Heroic Spirits can be twisted if ever summoned as this class, though he is one of the few naturals of this class. Angra pretended to be weak and got himself killed early on in the war so his real plan could begin.
His spirit made its way to the core of the Greater Grail and took over, creating the condition that should a wish be made the wish would take as many lives as possible. I believe he intends to use these sacrifices to grow stronger and fully resurrect in the material world.
Saber as a last request from a dying man, I beg you, stop the Angra and the Grail Wars once and for all. For the sake of the entire world.
Forever your friend,
Kiritsugu Emiya.
Saber's eyes swam with tears as she finished reading the letter. Kiritsugu, the man she had hated for so many years, had sacrificed everything, his pride, his family, even his life, to save the world. And, now that she knew the truth, she felt overwhelming guilt and grief for her former Master.
A small pair of arms wrapped around her. Miyu had moved and was now hugging her, feelings of understanding and comfort emanating from the eleven year old in waves. Saber put her face into the girl's chest and sobbed.
A second set of arms wrapped around both girls as Shirou, who had finished his prep work some time ago, joined them offering his own comfort to the ancient hero.
It took her a bit to calm down but once she regained her composure, she looked directly at the Emiya siblings. They both smiled sadly at her. "So, your father died to save the world", she said.
"Yeah", Miyu replied, "He died peacefully but we both think his biggest regret was being unable to save our sister".
Saber cocked an eyebrow. "Kiritsugu tried to go back to the Einzbern's to explain why he did what he did", Shirou informed her, "but they had already locked him out of their estate and whenever he tried to get in their homunculi slaves and alchemy golems would attack him before he could get close. Because of that Illya has been in the Einzbern's hands for the last decade and knowing that old man Atch, he's likely filled her head with so many lies that she will view us as her primary target in this war".
Saber looked disgusted at that. She remembered Irisviel telling her that most modern mages viewed children as tools for their own gain, but this was taking things to far.
"Making matters worse", Shirou continued as he stood and walked back to the kitchen where he began cooking, "Illya has likely been made into the vessel for the Lesser Grail. If the war continues, she'll suffer the same fate as her mother".
Saber looked horrified at that thought. She remembered how much Irisviel had suffered when she carried the Lesser Grail around in her. The thought of her daughter suffering the same fate was not something she wanted to imagine.
"You have a plan to fix this problem, don't you?" she asked.
"Yes", Miyu replied, "Oni-chan, Sakura and I have spent the last couple of years researching the Einzbern's homunculi and we came up with a solution".
"The plan is to perform a soul transplant", Shirou informed Saber, "Kiritsugu secretly kept vials of blood from himself, Irisviel and Illya in case of an emergency. With some help from Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the fourth Dead Apostle Ancestor, we were able to create a clone body for Illya, free of alterations by the Grail. The plan is to use a soul transplant ritual to move her spirit into it", he finished.
Saber looked a little confused. "How is a clone body different from a homunculi?" she asked.
Shirou smiled. "I'm glad you asked", he said, "You see the key difference is that a homunculi is created using alchemic formulas on the original genetic materials, but because of that most homunculi suffer from some sort of genetic defect. Cloning however is different as it uses technology rather than magic. With the correct adjustments any genetic defects can be filtered out of the body when it is created. This way Illya can live a normal life".
Arturia frowned. "As far as I was aware ten years ago, such technology hadn't even been conceived", she said.
Shirou gave a rueful look. "That is true, but that is where I have a distinct advantage over most mages", he informed her. She looked confused at that.
He withdrew the Class Cards that he had and tossed them to Miyu, who withdrew her own cards and placed them on the table. "Those are the Class Card, an advanced and powerful form of Mystic Code. Each creates a copy of the powers, abilities and weaponry of a Heroic Spirit and allows a human to channel their powers through their own bodies. This temporarily transforms the individual into a Demi-Servant. And the Saber card is directly linked to you", he informed her.
Saber looked at the seemingly harmless looking cards with amazement. "How did you create these?" she asked.
"We didn't", Shirou replied, "You see for Miyu and me this is not the first life we have lived. In an alternative timeline, the Matou's, Tohsaka's and Einzbern's were all wiped out by a rouge group of mages known as the Ainsworth's. The Ainsworth's created their own form of the Holy Grail War using the cards in place of actual Servant's. Miyu was taken by them to act as the Holy Grail's vessel and I was almost killed when I tried to stop them. But thanks to the sacrifice of the girl I fell in love with, I was able to obtain the Archer Card and defeat the other Card holders. When I got to Miyu the only thing I could think of was to send her somewhere where she would be safe and happy, but in an unexpected twist the Ainsworth's Grail took Miyu's feelings of what would make her happy into account with my wish and thus sent us back in time to the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War".
"That is truly incredible", Saber said with some awe, "But still that doesn't explain how you have access to cloning technology".
"Ah yes. Well you see there is a unique bond between me and the Archer Card. It is a copy of a Counter-Guardian version of myself, so the card enabled me to access my future-self's memories, including information about technology that has yet to be invented", he informed her.
Understanding dawned on Saber's face. "I see. So because of that you were able to make the technology even though it has yet to be invented", she said.
Shirou nodded. "Yeah and it has changed me into a variation of a Demi-Servant, since I am now a human with the powers and abilities of a Heroic Spirit", he concluded.
Miyu giggled at that, causing the two of them to look at her. "Sorry, it's just kind of ironic that someone who for all intents and purposes is a Servant would summon another Servant", she said through her giggles.
Shirou snickered as well. "It seems I'm becoming like Medea", he agreed with her.
Saber looked at the two in confusion. Seeing her look Shirou went on to explain. "In EMIYA's timeline, the Caster Class Servant was the Witch of Betrayal, Medea. She bent the rules and summoned her own Assassin Class Servant. So in a way I'm copying her in this timeline".
Saber's eyes lit up with amusement. "I see".
"Anyway, I've already taken care of the Ainsworth's trying to kill the Founding Three. Most of them are now either dead or in captivity and the rest are on the run. Still I'm concerned they might try to take advantage of this war to complete their objective", Shirou said with a frown.
"And what objective is that?" Saber asked.
"One of the ones on the run is an immortal Mud-Doll named Erika Ainsworth. But to history she is known as Pandora", he informed her.
"PANDORA! As in Pandora's Box, Pandora?!" she yelped.
"The very same", Shirou confirmed, "She was found by Darius Ainsworth many centuries ago and Darius has the power of reincarnation and was reborn over and over through his descendants, until his most recent son Julian Ainsworth, the current head of their family, killed him permanently. In order to unlock Pandora's Box however, they require the Holy Grail to power it, thus in order to get it they will need to compete. They likely will try to take up the last of the freelancer slots in the war".
It was a well-known fact that of the seven Masters three were taken up by the Founding Three. The Mage's Association and the Church also got a position each as well, thus only two slots were left open for other mages to take. These were known as the freelancer slots.
Though, ultimately the Grail itself determined who was worthy as a candidate among the five other slots. The only exception to that rule was if one of the three families chose a representative of their own, like how the Einzbern's had chosen Kiritsugu in the last war.
"The good news is that just before I summoned you I contacted the former Master of Rider, Waver Velvet. He's current an acting Lord in the Clock Tower and is going to try to get the Association step in and stop the war. He is also having the Masters of Caster and Lancer secure the Greater Grail's location until such a time. So, until then we only have to hold Archer, Assassin, Rider and Berserker at bay".
"You make it sound so easy Oni-Chan", Miyu said sarcastically.
Shirou smiled in amusement. "I never said that my dear Imotou", he replied with equal sarcasm, "But don't forget we have one Servant, one Demi-Servant and a Class Card user, all of which are capable of using EX-rank Noble Phantasms, not mention Saber has all her equipment with the exception of her lance this time around and the ability to summon her knights to aid her, so I think that as long as we are careful, we should be fine".
Shirou walked out of the kitchen with the food he had cooked and set it down on the table. Miyu immediately grabbed the food and began eating with gusto, the days stresses having made her ravenous. Shirou looked at Saber who was staring at the food.
"Feel free to have some Saber", he said.
"Servant's don't need food to function Master", she replied in a monologue voice.
"None of that talk in this house", he said with a frown, "You may be nothing but a Servant to others, but not to us. You may think you are just a servant of my whims but you are as much human as the rest of us and thus deserve the common courtesies of everyone else", he stated with a passionate voice with Miyu nodding in agreement.
Saber looked a bit baffled by their behaviour. Most mages of the current era only cared about their own ambitions and disregarded everything else around them in pursuit of it. These two however were clearly different.
She reached over and grabbed some of the food before sampling it. The flavours that burst into her mouth exceeded anything she had ever tried as king. Shirou noticed how her eyes shone and smiled in amusement. Taiga often got the same shine when she ate with them.
"SHIROU! MIYU!"
Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Taiga came barrelling into the room only to freeze when she saw Saber.
"Hello Fuji-nee", Shirou said ruefully, "Food just been cooked if you want some".
The woman sat down and began to eat, however she wasn't so easily distracted from the other woman's presence. "Shirou, who is this?" she asked.
Shirou sighed. Taiga, like the rest of the Yakuza was aware of the existence of magic and the Holy Grail War. "Fuji-nee this is Arturia Pendragon, a Saber-Class Servant that I summoned earlier tonight", he informed her.
"Servant? Isn't that a term for the familiars that are summoned in the Holy Grail War?" she asked.
Shirou nodded. "Yes, she is one of the seven Heroic Spirits summoned as familiars to do battle over the Holy Grail", he confirmed, "Anyway that's not important right now. What is, is that the war has begun again and it is five decades early".
That caused Taiga to look alarmed. "I remember Kiritsugu telling us that the Grail was corrupted and the source of the curse that killed him", she said.
"It is", Miyu replied.
"I've already contacted Waver Velvet to help us deal with the problem", Shirou told her, "But we need you to alert Raiga to have his men keep their distance from any odd looking folk until this mess is sorted out".
Taiga grimaced at that. "It might already be to late", she said. Shirou gave her a 'go on' look. "Two weeks ago, seven high ranking Yakuza members and about a dozen other business partners were meeting together. My grandfather was supposed to be there but was late to their meeting. When he got there, everyone was dead. Care to guess the cause of death?"
Shirou however knew. "Let me guess, knives or some kind of bladed weapon".
Taiga snapped her fingers. "Bingo".
"Assassin", Shirou growled, "He's the only one who could do it without alerting anyone of his presence".
"But why would he go after the Yakuza?" asked Saber.
"There would be only one reason", Shirou said back with a confident voice, "Someone knows of my connection to the Yakuza and was sending a message. Because of what happened today, I doubt it was Zouken and Shinji isn't a magus so he couldn't have summoned a Servant, not to mention he's to much of a coward to try something with me. Rin Tohsaka is the last member of her family and I know she is not aware that Miyu and I are mages, not to mention that most of the jewels that she uses in her magecraft are bought from Yakuza owned franchises, so it makes no sense for her to do it. The only other people I can think of who would do that are the Einzbern's and Ainsworth's and of the two the latter is the more likely culprit".
"Why's that?" Taiga asked.
"Three reasons. One, the Enizbern's would never summon an Assassin Class Servant. They are to prideful for that. Two, they want to wipe the bloodline of Emiya off the face of the planet, but they want to do it in person. Three, if EMIYA's memories line-up accurately with this timeline, Illya is the Einzbern's representative and will have summoned Hercules as Berserker".
"Oh great, that's one of the worst Servants to go against", moaned Miyu, knowing full well the power Hercules possessed thanks to his Class Card.
"True", Shirou agreed, "But we have one of the three Knight Classes on our side. If we play our cards right we might even get Berserker on our side".
Saber gave him an impressed look. He was ambitious if nothing else.
"Anyway, back to Assassin", Shirou said, getting them back on topic, "Considering how in EMIYA's memories, the Assassin that was summoned by Caster to guard Ryuudou Temple was a fictional hero, I suspect we won't be up against him. The question then becomes, who are we up against?"
Miyu however frowned. "Oni-Chan, why didn't the Church send Assassin?" she asked, getting a look from him, "Tou-san said that the Church has always sent Assassin as their Servant before. So why stop now?"
Shirou's eyes went wide. Miyu was right, the Church always sent Assassin with an Enforcer or Burial Agent. So why stop now? Only one reason made sense.
"Their relic must have been stolen", he said, before giving a mirthless chuckle, "The Ainsworth's must have decided it was easier to steal one rather than find one given their wanted status. And since there is only one particular relic that the Church uses, it is likely we are up against Hassan-i-Sabbah".
Saber nodded. "Make's sense, Hassan-i-Sabbah has been the Assassin in every war before now".
Shirou looked down at the cards. "Given what we know it is likely that Lancer is Cú Chulainn, Ireland's Child of Light, Caster as I said is Medea and Berserker Hercules, Rider will probably be Medusa the third of the Gorgon sisters and EMIYA will likely be Archer", he frowned at that, "What concerns me the most is Gilgamesh".
Saber furrowed her brow in confusion. "Shirou that would make eight Servants", she pointed out.
Shirou looked up at her. Then he stood up. "It might be best that we go to the place where this began to explain it", he said. He turned his head to Taiga. "Fuji-nee, can you lock this place up for me when you are done? We're going to 'that' place", he informed her.
The woman in question nodded, not wanting anything to do with 'that' place.
"Thanks", he said with a smile.
Miyu and Saber then followed him out of the room and across the courtyard to the garage. Inside was a pair of motorbikes. A Yamaha FJR1300 and a BMW K1200LT. The BMW was his everyday bike, because it could carry two people, allowing him to take Miyu with him, whereas the Yamaha was the bike he had been keeping in storage encase they needed a quick exit.
He grabbed the keys and helmets from a nearby table. He put his helmet on and then tossed Saber the keys for the Yamaha. "I take it your riding skill is translated to these?" he asked as he snapped his fingers and magically changed his and his sister's uniforms into their more casual clothing, a pair of jeans, steel-toed boots, white shirt with long blue sleeves and a black trench coat for him and a sky-blue top, white short-sleeved jacket, short tan-coloured shorts and brown shoes for his sister.
Saber nodded enthusiastically at his question. "Good, the Yamaha is yours. Follow my lead to our destination", he instructed her as opened the door. He mounted his own bike and Miyu climbed on behind him. Sapphire, who had been hiding with Ruby in Miyu's hair the whole time, inserted herself into a carved out section her master's helmet, which was perfectly shaped for her. Ruby floated into Miyu's jacket.
They ignited the engines and took off out the door.
It took about ten minutes to reach their destination.
The Fuyuki Memorial Park was as desolate as ever.
"What is this feeling?" murmured Saber as they walked through the barren grounds.
"What you are feeling is the death and destruction that was left behind when the Lesser Grail imploded", Shirou answered, "This is where five hundred people died as a result of the actions of the Third and Fourth Wars".
He walked over to a bench and sat down. Miyu joined him and laid her head on his lap. Instinctively he started stroking her hair soothingly. Saber remained standing, looking around in disgusted awe.
"This land will never know life again", he said, catching her attention, "The leyline that once ran beneath here has been destroyed and as a result the land is unable to support even the most basic life", he explained, "And Angra wants to do this to the entire world".
He looked up at the sky. "Saber, you remember the Archer Class Servant from the last War?" he asked her.
"Ah, him", she said with a grimace.
"That was Gilgamesh, the one known as the King of Hero's", he informed her, "In EMIYA's memories of his Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh told the two of you that he was bathed in the corrupted mud-like substance that erupted from the Lesser Grail after you vanished. The substance allowed him to acquire Incarnation".
She looked confused at that. Seeing this Shirou went on to explain. "Incarnation, is the process where a Hero Spirit is given a second chance at life in the modern era. Their Servant bodies are made flesh and blood while they still retain all the perks of their class from the war and regain any sealed power they had".
Saber looked horrified at that. "That monster is still around, even now!" she exclaimed.
"It is a high probability", Shirou confirmed, "Still, if time stays on track, he won't appear until near the end of the war. Either way, he far from our most immediate problem".
As if on que, two people appeared at the side of the park that lead away from the river. One was a teenage girl with black hair tied in twin pigtails by black bows, pale skin and aqua blue eyes. She wore a red long-sleeved shirt imprinted with a white cross, a black mini-skirt, black stockings and brown shoes.
The other was a man in about his mid-thirties with white hair, gray eyes and tanned skin colour. He wore black body armour over a black sleeveless shirt with sliver accents and a metal plate on his collar. His black pants had two black straps on his thighs, and another two strapped around his shins. His black shoes had metal plates on them and appeared to be attached to his trousers. His red coat was actually a type of holy shroud, which were actually two separate sleeves connected by a metal plate at the back which covered his arms and was cut off showing his upper torso and midriff. He also had a separate red open skirt which ended above his shins.
"I was wondering how soon I'd meet you Tohsaka", Shirou stated, "Though here was one of the last places I expected you to come".
Said teen looked a little taken aback. "So Emiya-kun, you're a mage and now a Master", she said, "I'd be pissed if I wasn't so impressed by how you managed to hide under my nose this whole time".
Shirou smirked a little. "That's what happens when you get complacent. But then again, you were relying on that fake priest Kotomine to take care of your duties while you were training under him, and he didn't want you to know that the Magus Killer and his family were here, so I'm ultimately not surprised. In any event that is ultimately irrelevant at this point. I'm guessing the reason you came to this cursed place is that Archer spotted us as we rode through the city and informed you of where to find us".
The Tohsaka heiress' jaw dropped.
"How'd you know he was an Archer?!" she demanded.
"Easy, I know who summoned the other Servant's in this war and their classes", he informed her, "The Association and Church sent Caster and Lancer, respectively, the Einzbern's have Berserker, the Matou's Rider, Assassin is AWOL and I have Saber, so Archer is the only class left. Not to mention the Tohsaka's have a bit of a connection to the Archer class, having summoned them in each previous Grail War".
Both Master and Servant were dumbfounded by his statement.
Shirou however wasn't concerned. As good as EMIYA was, he was no match for Arturia. Unlike actual Servant's, the Class Cards were limited by the users understand of the skills they wielded and because of his unique connection to the Archer Card he had been able to defeat the Saber Card wielder, who had little to no training with it.
His Saber on the other hand was the original, so she would beat Archer easily despite the class disadvantage.
Shirou tapped Miyu's shoulder and she sat up, before the siblings stood and joined Saber. The Servant of the Sword had her hand clasped around the invisible form of Excalibur, clearly ready for combat against the Servant of the Bow.
Miyu tapped her coat and Sapphire flew out of it. Her wand handle extended out of her and Miyu grabbed it. In a flare of sapphire light, her clothes changed into a blue and black outfit with a white cape and boots.
The younger of the siblings drew a Class Card from a cardholder on her left thigh. "Install: Saber!" Miyu shouted slamming it to the ground. A blue magic circle appear beneath Miyu. Her outfit changed again in flares of blue light.
Miyu now had Saber's dress without the chest armour. Her mid-drift and forearms were also bare. In her hand, Sapphire had changed into an exact replica of Excalibur, which like the original, was sheathed in 'Invisible Air'.
Ruby then floated into view. Miyu drew another card and tapped it on the floating wand. "Include: Lancer!" she shouted. Ruby transformed into a copy of Gae Bolg and landed in Miyu's left hand.
This was one of Miyu's favourite combo's. While the Saber Card didn't come with a copy of Rhongomyniad, her skills with the lance were still accessible, so Miyu could use Gae Bolg as a substitute.
Rin and Archer gawked at the girl.
Shirou would have roared in laughter at their faces if the situation had not been so serious. Even so, he cracked a smirk.
"Oi! I find that slightly insulting!" came a voice from the right. Everyone looked up at one of the dead trees to see a man with blue hair tied in a ponytail and piercing red eyes. He wore a set of tight marine-blue coloured armour, with grey metalic pauldrons on his shoulders and a metal plate over his abdomen. In his hands was the original Gae Bolg.
"Nice of you to join us Lancer", Shirou said, "Tell me, has your Master received her orders from Lord Ell-Melloi II yet?" he asked.
The man looked slightly confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about kid", he told him. That caused a feeling of unease to emerge in Shirou's gut.
"Strange, both yours and Caster's Master should have been contacted by… now…" he trailed off as understanding dawned on him as he remembered the fate of Lancer's Master, Bazett Fraga McRemitz, in Archer's timeline. "Lancer, has your original Master been killed?" he asked.
Lancer's eyes lit up with shock.
"You know?!" he yelped.
Shirou sighed. "I had my suspicions", he confirmed, "Where is her body?"
The Servant of the Spear scoffed. "Probably where that bastard left it; in the hotel room we were staying in", he said.
Shirou nodded in understanding. He would have to retrieve the body later. "Trace On", he murmured. A rainbow coloured dagger appeared in his hand.
"Saber", he called, causing his Servant to turn to him. He tossed the dagger to her. "If you get the opportunity, stab Lancer with that", he instructed her. She nodded. "Understood", she said, before refocusing her eyes of Archer and Lancer.
In a flash of prana, Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his hands. Archer's eyes went wide when he saw the weapons. This was Shirou's way of sending a message to the Counter-Guardian Heroic Spirit, telling him that Shirou knew who he was and wouldn't hesitate to reveal that information if he could gain an advantage.
Then, the sound of childish giggling echoed across the air.
Everyone turned to the pathway that Shirou and Miyu had originally used to enter the park.
Standing there was a girl who, looked about Miyu's age. Her pale skin spoke of a life that was mostly lived indoors. Her white hair reminded Shirou of snow and her eyes were ruby red. She wore a collared, purple long-sleeved shirt with a light purple scarf, a furred hat, a long white skirt and purple boots.
Behind her stood a hulking man who Shirou guessed stood about ten feet high. His body was rippling with powerful muscles. His skin was only several shades lighter than his long black hair. He also had mismatched eyes, one yellow and one red. His only clothing was a brown loincloth and a pair of bracers. In his right hand was a massive blade that was almost as long as he was tall and looked like it was made of a mix of rock and metal.
Shirou, Miyu and Saber all knew who they were instantly.
"Onii-chan, is so funny, thinking he can take on a Servant", the girl giggled.
Shirou however let his blades drop to the ground, his eyes tearing up. "Illya?" he breathed. The girl's expression turned from amused to surprised. "Onee-chan, is that really you?" he asked, almost desperately.
Her expression told him that this was not the reaction she had expected.
Miyu however wasn't as restraint as him. She surged forward, her transformations deactivating as she went, and engulfed Illya in a tight hug. "Onee-chan!" she sobbed into her arms. Illya's looked completely overwhelmed by this and Berserker, who had watched the whole thing, seemed confused, or as close to confused as a Servant under Madness-Enhancement could be.
"You're… finally home… Nee-chan", Miyu croaked out between sobs, holding her sister close.
There was sudden movement and two maids, clearly Einzbern made homunculi, jumped out of the trees. Each wielded a battle-axe that most men would have had difficulty lifting, much less wielding. "Get away from the mistress!" they shouted in unison.
"RUBY! SAPPHIRE!" Shirou shouted.
The twin wands flew forward at supersonic speeds. Miyu grabbed Sapphire, while Ruby landed in Illya's hand.
Miyu returned to her transformed state in a flash of blue light.
Illya however was engulfed in red light, as she grabbed Ruby's handle on reflex. Her outfit changed into a pink, sleeve-less top with a pink mini-dress and a red underdress, a pair of pink boots that reached all the up her thighs and a pair of white gloves. The cape was pink with a pair of golden crosses attached to the corners. Without her hat, Illya's waist-length hair now hung freely save for a pair of small pigtails on the top of her head. They were held in place by a pair of bands that had two feathers, which looked like Ruby's own feathers, each.
Before the maids could react any further Miyu tightened her grip on Illya and with a burst of wind magic, propelled them away from the attacking maids.
Shirou also reacted by slamming his hand to the ground. "Chains of Heaven!" he roared. Golden chains burst from the ground and wrapped the maids and Berserker up. The maids landed in a heap on the ground. Berserker roared in anger and tried to rip himself free, but the chains held fast.
"Don't bother Berserker", he said in a calm anger, "Those are the chains that Gilgamesh and Enkidu used to bind Gugalanna during the seven year famine in ancient Uruk. They are meant to bind gods. The higher one's divinity, the tighter they hold. So even a demi-god like you is completely helpless against it".
Other than Archer and the ever furious Berserker, everyone was shocked he possessed such a weapon.
Archer however took advantage of the distraction and materialised his bow and a copy of Hrunting, which he altered to look like an arrow. He drew back his arrow-like sword and fired directly at Shirou.
Shirou however sensed it. He turned and faced the Servant. Thrusting his right arm forward, he roared, "RHO AIAS!"
The seven-layered conceptual weapon, based off the Shield of Ajax, materialised in front of his outstretched hand and blocked both the shot and the explosion that erupted from it afterward. As the dust cleared it revealed that two of the ethereal shields layers had been destroyed but the third held true.
Saber also took advantage of the confusion to leap high and hurtle over Archer, landing right behind him. Shirou reached out through the link to Saber. 'Saber, make sure not to kill him just yet. Having Servants in the Grail will complicate things', he instructed her telepathically.
'Understood', she replied and lunged forward at her opponent. Archer leapt to avoid her strike and materialised three more copies of Hrunting. He loaded and fired in a split second.
Saber reacted just as fast. Pridwen materialised in her left hand and formed a golden barrier that blocked both the shots and the explosion afterwards. Archer was caught off-guard by this and was thus unprepared for Saber's counter-attack. She burst from the smoke, sword in both hands having dismissed her shield, and slashed at him. His bow shattered and a huge gash was left behind from the sword.
In the chaos, Lancer had jumped high and came crashing on Saber. She managed to deflect Gae Bolg away from her and kicked him away, before having to turn and parry a pair of blows from Archer's twin blades.
Realising that two on one was not good odds, especially again her fellow Knight Class Servants, she leapt back from her opponents using one of her skills, Mana Burst.
Shirou gritted his teeth in frustration. Despite having finally found Illya he knew that if he took her by force it would make her despise them. And having four Servant's clash in the one area was bound to attract unwanted attention. Despite how hard it was, he knew what he had to do.
"Miyu, Saber, we're leaving", he ordered and the two girls leapt to his side. "Ruby, stay with Illya. She is your rightful mistress after all", he ordered the wand. He snapped his fingers and the chains he had conjured vanished, before he thrust his arm skywards.
"Trace… On! Come, Ig-Alima! Sul-Sagana!" he shouted.
The two three hundred meter Divine Constructs materialised in mid-air and began falling like meteors. Normally with Divine Constructs he could only make hollow copies of their physical structure, but unlike the ones he had used again Angelica Ainsworth these ones were on the same level as his replicas of Avalon. The reason being during their battle, Angelica had left the originals of them laying in his Reality Marble and as a result he could create near perfect replications of them as they were embedded directly into the world of his mind and soul.
Of course they weren't the only weapons she had left behind.
In the final blast of their battle her attack from Ea had collided with a storm of Shiro's weapons and the final two weapons that had hit it were Caliburn and Excalibur. The results explosion of power had knocked the Anti-World Noble Phantasm from her grip and it had remained in his world of swords after the Holy Grail had sent the Emiya siblings back in time.
Ea was a sword of extra-terrestrial origin and even Shirou couldn't normally replicate it but like with the other blades, now that Ea was in his Reality Marble it was within his power to replicate and use.
Shirou however was saving it as a trump card to blast the Holy Grail/Angra Mainyu with.
"If you want to live, I suggest you run", he stated as he and the two girls with him leapt away and headed for their bikes.
'Are you sure that was wise Shirou?' Saber asked mentally, 'Those blades will leave evidence of the existence of magecraft'.
'No need to worry Arturia', he replied back, 'Those blades were set to dissipate before they hit the ground and Kiritsugu set up a bounded field in this area that prevents non-mage from remembering about the existence of magecraft should they try to investigate or if magic in this area. So no need to worry', he informed her. He sensed her doubts dissipate.
They reached their bikes just as the blades dissipated in blue mana particles.
"Saber, do me a favour and go to this address", he said to her, passing a mental image of a hotel and directions to her through their connection, "You should find the body of Lancer's original Master there. Clean up all evidence and bring her to my place".
"Understood", she said with an approving nod. Keeping the existence of magical society as secret as much possible was still a priority despite the war. They revved their bikes up and took off in different directions.
Shirou glanced back at the park for a brief moment. One thing was for sure in his mind; this war was truly going to bring a great amount of chaos to Fuyuki.