Chapter Eight

The Flower of the Battlefield

Saber drove again. This time though, she was too preoccupied with what Caster could be up to to let the fact that Irisviel couldn't drive bother her like earlier.

She had memorized Maiya's directions perfectly, following them all the way across town to the Mion River. From the crest of the last hill before they reached it, she and Irisviel could already make out an aura of violet mana lighting up the sky.

"This looks bad." Irisviel's voice quavered with palpable fear.

If Saber wasn't driving and in such a hurry, she might have reached over and squeezed her hand on an impulse of platonic reassurance. Instead, all she could do was say, "That's why we're here," as she shifted gears and increased her foot's pressure on the Mercedes' accelerator.

Once they reached the bottom of the hill she could see a patch of grass that she could drive onto to get closer to the river. She fishtailed as she skidded to a stop and barely shut the engine off before she burst from the car, sprinting down the declivity that led the rest of the way to the riverbank below.

The sky was saturated with steamy purple mana, and its source was a tentaculous monstrosity frothily expanding in size, growing into a gargantuan behemoth that dominated the Mion River.

In Saber's time, they had had stories about dragons, and the brave warriors who slew them. Now it seemed, she would be give a dragon of her own to slay, in the form of this titanic terror. Despite how disgusting its appearance was to her, she still went slack-jawed at the sheer size of it, as did many of the very tiny onlookers gathering on both sides of the river. Like Saber, they too gawked, and many of them pointed and cried out.

This was really bad, teetering on the edge of getting out of hand. She was aware that non-mages and or anyone not involved in the Holy Grail War were not supposed to bear witness to its activity. Incidents could be explained away on a small scale, and of course, if there was one or two innocents who were to stumble across something like a pair of Servants in battle, they had to be eliminated without hesitation.

But this.

Nothing could explain this, no matter what the Holy Church or the Mages Association did. Whether or not they decided to just have all these witnesses killed.

A bolt of lightning nearby jerked Saber out of her horrified awe of the monster, and then Rider's oxen-pulled chariot appeared, Rider's Master accompanying him again in back.

"Saber! I see you've made your way here too." Rider drew up beside her and tugged the reins to make the oxen stop. "That's certainly an ugly sight." He nodded to the monster in the river.

"It is indeed, and Caster's doing no less," said Saber with contempt. She balled her gloved hands into fists. "We'll have to act quickly if we want to eliminate this creature."

Rider stroked his ginger beard. "So how exactly would we go about doing that? I don't think anyone can take this thing on alone."

"Saber!"

Saber turned and saw Irisviel making her way down to the riverbank. Saber met her halfway, catching her by the arms and giving her a chance to get her breath. She was already starting to look peaky again, and Saber was starting to regret bringing her with her.

"Irisviel, maybe…."

But Irisviel beamed at her, as if she already knew what she was going to say. "Don't worry, Saber, I'm fine." Her smile fell and she set her jaw, knitting her brows in a frown that made her red eyes flare at the sight of the monster in the water. "Caster."

Saber followed her glare. Peering closer into the depths of that cephalpodic beast, she was able to pick him out. Just barely. Caster, laughing maniacally in the bubbly folds of the creature, and in his arms, that damned Grimoire.

Rider's Master, unusually calm and collected (for the moment anyway), leaned out of the side of the chariot, addressing Irisivel. "Hey Einzbern, we heard that you guys already fought Caster once before. What can you tell us about how to fight him?"

Saber was admittedly impressed at the young man's initiative. She wondered if Rider's confident posture wasn't rubbing off on him, despite how small and lacking in experience he seemed.

"Just that that monster is a creature of Caster's own conjuring," said Irisviel with admirable determination. "We defeat Caster and the monster disappears."

"We need to strike that book of his," added Saber, turning back to Rider. "That appears to be the source of his mana. As for his Master, or his or her whereabouts, I couldn't say."

"Yes, Caster appears to be the wild card in all of this," Irisviel agreed.

"At this point though, I think it's safe to say that if we destroy the Grimoire, then all our problems concerning Caster are solved," Saber surmised.

"Good thinking," Rider complimented, and he actually raised his red eyebrows in appreciation of Saber's strategical ability. Even if he did refuse to acknowledge her as a king.

But Saber could leave that aside for the moment, at least until she could prove to him her worth. It wouldn't be the first time for her to have to do so.

"How will we get to it though?" Rider went on, examining the monster again. "I don't imagine those tentacles will just stay limp and let us in."

As he said this, said tentacles started to flail and wriggle more violently, and one or two of them smacked the edge of the river, breaking the concrete that walled it in. Several of the onlookers close to where the damage occurred cried out and leapt back out of harm's way, mothers tugging back their children, boyfriends tugging back their girlfriends, husbands their wives.

Saber considered her cursed left hand for a moment, as it occurred to her that Excalibur was in fact an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, which meant that—if she had the proper use of both hands of course—she could wipe out this monster along with Caster all in one blow. That would be the quickest and easiest way to deal with this thing.

However, seeing as how her left hand was impaired by Lancer's curse, she was incapable of using Excalibur in such a manner.

She had her own pride and that of Excalibur's to consider though. She was determined to lift this curse with her honor intact, which meant defeating Lancer in honorable combat. She'd be damned if she was going to resort to something akin to blackmail and just…find a way to force Lancer to lift the curse. And of course, given the direness of the situation, time was not on their side to allow her and Lancer to find a way to duke it out beforehand. Caster's defeat took priority over all else at this point, considering how badly this problem was hemorrhaging.

Luckily there was an alternative. It was a bit more difficult, but at least it wouldn't tarnish her nobility as the King of Knights.

"Listen, we'll have to work together," she finally said as she looked up, without even considering the possibility that other Servants would refuse the idea of teaming up to defeat this thing. "We'll need more than just the two of us, of course, but if we can coordinate our attacks right…."

Just as she was saying this, they were joined by a third Servant. Lancer himself materialized out of his Spirit Form in waves of mana, and picking up Saber's train of thought, he said, "We can draw Caster out, and leave him wide open for someone to strike that magic book of his." Then he gave a very debonair wink, one that left Saber to suspect with some amusement that it wasn't just the mole that had charmed women in his previous life. "Leave that part to me."

Then he threw Saber a knowing grin, and Saber realized they were thinking the same thing. Do like what they did in the Einzbern forest, but on a bigger scale. And this time, the power of Lancer's Gáe Dearg—the Crimson Rose of Exorcism—would eliminate Caster for good.

Rider glanced between Saber and Lancer, sensing the connection between them. "Ah, I see. This is not the first time the two of you have tag-teamed." His own grin was broad. "Well, then, allow me to be a third party in your alliance."

"Wait a second, Rider, what're you planning on doing?" demanded Rider's Master, his voice cracking as though he were on the edge of shrieking in panic.

So much for that calm and collected demeanor.

"Think I'll lead the charge," said Rider, as if his Master hadn't said anything. "Saber, would you permit it?"

Saber blinked, taken aback at Rider's deference to her, again, considering what he'd said to her when last they'd spoken. But she accepted his offer with a smile. "And I'll follow behind."

Rider frowned in confusion. "Quite admirable of you, to be sure, but I don't see how you'll be able to manage that."

"Eh?"

"Well, Lancer can no doubt throw his spear as an Olympian might throw a javelin, while remaining here on the shore, and hit his target straight and true when the time comes, and of course, my Gordious Wheel here can fly. But you. I don't see how you can overcome the obstacle of the river."

At this, Saber gave Rider a cheeky smile. "Ah, but you see, Rider, I am blessed by the Lady of the Lake, and can walk on the surface of any body of water."

Here Rider was outwardly impressed. "My, that is indeed a rare and admirable gift."

"After you then?"

"Ha! Naturally."

Now Rider's grin was manic, all teeth and full of the glee he clearly felt riding into battle. He shook the reins on his oxen again and spurred them into a gallop with a, "Hee-yah!" The chariot took off and climbed up into the air, Rider's Master wailing all the way.

"Saber," said Irisviel in a small voice.

Saber looked at her. "Irisviel?"

Irisviel was smiling again, but it was full of concern too. "Please, be careful."

Softening, and wanting to reassure her, Saber took her lady's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Don't worry. This ends here tonight." Then she relinquished her hold on Irisviel and turned to make for the river.

She sprang forward at a sprint, dashing over the waters of the Mion River, her feet skimming the surface of the water, light as a feather, smooth as silk. With a wave of her hand, she magicked her armor on in a flash of light and mana, the hilt of Excalibur, hidden once more by the steam of Invisible Air, coming into her hand. She flew over the little waves of the river, coming upon her gigantic quarry.

"This is where you meet your end, Caster!" she cried, before she flew forward and struck the blade of Excalibur down on the first tree-trunk-thick tentacle that reached for her.

Problem was though, no matter how many times Saber slashed and hacked at the monster's tentacles with her blade, no matter how fiercely Rider attacked the thing as he flew overhead in his chariot, the hewn flesh not only repaired itself, but multiplied. It seemed that as long as there was an active mana source, this thing could regenerate so rapidly that it made Hercules's fight against the many-headed hydra look like child's play. More than once, Saber had to come in and rescue Rider as the tentacles tried to strangle the chariot's braying oxen, but then Rider returned the favor readily when Saber found herself in a similar bind.

In the amount of time Saber and Rider took struggling to give Lancer the opening he needed, two jet planes had swooped in overhead. One of them was ensnared by the monster and eaten by means of it absorbing it into its body, pilot and all. The other appeared to have become…possessed as it started to fly about erratically. Perhaps the pilot in that one had gone insane after seeing the way his comrade had died.

Then again, even from down below, Saber sensed a flicker of mana that possessed a black and manic energy to it, and had a feeling that something really had possessed it.

Nearby, she also spotted what looked like an aircraft made of gold, floating above them all like some divine, impassive bird. She had a sneaking suspicion that that had to be Archer, for who else would helm such a garish vehicle?

But she didn't have time to ponder on it further.

Rider was calling a timeout. Saber nodded and sliced through three more tentacles in order to break free from the monster's reach and join Rider and Lancer back on the riverbank with Irisviel.

"This task is proving tantamount to rolling a boulder up a hill only to have it crash back into us," said Lancer miserably, holding out his Gáe Dearg. "I can't do a thing if I can't get a clear shot at his Grimoire."

"This is insane!" Rider's Master lamented. "What're we supposed to do now?" The young man furiously scratched his head and scowled as though he were actually thinking seriously, in spite of how panicked he'd been not a moment before.

"I've an idea," said Rider, "mind you, it's a temporary solution, a means to at least contain the situation long enough to buy us more time to think of a better alternative to our original plan." He glanced at his Master.

His Master caught his eye. "You mean…your Reality Marble? You think you can trap that thing inside of it?"

Rider nodded. "Not indefinitely, but I believe my armies can fend the thing off within the confines of such a sphere of space long enough to find a way to destroy Caster and his monster completely."

And before his Master could raise any kind of protest, Rider nabbed him up by the scruff of his shirt and lifted him out of the chariot.

"Hey, wait!" Rider's Master exclaimed, actually waving his arms and legs about in a futile attempt to free himself from his Servant's grasp. Though Rider did pause, letting him dangle over the ground. "So…that means you're leaving me out of it?"

"Of course," said Rider, as though it were obvious. "I need you here. You're the only connection I'll have to what's going outside the Marble. You'll be able to contact me. With a single thought, you can summon one of my soldiers here to relay information back to me. We both have our parts to play, after all. And I trust you."

Rider's Master blinked at him for a moment, and then nodded, again with that newfound sobriety. Rider did the same and then set his Master down in the muddy riverbank. After which he snapped the reins on his oxen with a rather wolfish grin as he took off into the air once more, and the rest of them watched as he cast the magic for his Reality Marble and swallowed up Caster and his monster inside of it, making them all vanish out of sight.

For a moment, the world felt stiller for Caster's monster having been plucked out of this space, but when it came back, it would only come back stronger and more terrifying.

But then, above them, another duel was taking place, one between the garish golden craft and the possessed fighter jet as the latter zigzagged erratically across the sky.

Then it swooped down low, and everyone had to duck as it swept overhead with a powerful gust of air. As Saber had taken it upon herself to take a protective crouch over Irisviel, she caught a glimpse of what exactly had control of the thing, riding it like a mad bull—well, if the rider were mad rather than the bull, so a mad bull-rider.

Berserker.

Having it pass by her like this, she felt again that thrill of the black, manic aura it gave off. It looked as though she'd been right to guess that the jet had in fact been possessed. Berserker had turned the thing into his Noble Phantasm, just as he had done with the streetlamp in the shipping yard.

In his wake, Berserker let out his roar of untamable fury, and something about it echoed deep in Saber's chest. Then she stood cautiously with everyone else as Berserker brought the plane back up to reengage with Archer's golden craft in their dogfight.

Rider's Master felt the need to summon a messenger from Rider's army within the Reality Marble to let him know what was going on, and worse still, the soldier informed them that the battle with Caster's monster wasn't going so well.

"So then," said Rider's Master in a mixture of pondering urgency, "there's got to be a better way to go about this. Obviously, hacking that thing to pieces won't work, not even just for the sake of providing an opening." He scratched his chin and then looked directly over at Irisviel. "Come on Einzbern: don't you have any ideas?"

Irisviel seemed to withdraw into herself, looking sheepish. Saber was admittedly crestfallen at this lack of strategic thoughtfulness on Irisviel's part, though it was here that she was beginning to see the little chinks in Irisviel's personage that revealed the "puppet" part of herself. Which made her consider the idea that much of the inspirational words that came from her mouth might have been fed to her by Kiritsugu when he'd been teaching her about the world like she'd said.

At the same time though, the earnestness behind those words was undoubtedly genuine. It was like she were trying to sing a song written in a foreign language that she didn't know how to speak. She knew the basic emotion that the song conveyed from hearing a native speaker sing it, but when she herself did it, she had no consciousness of the nuances of feelings provided by understanding the actual words.

At the very least though, she wasn't the only one who was at a loss as to what to do next.

Then a phone Irisviel had with her went off. Everyone jumped in surprise, but Irisviel seemed the most surprised even though she was the one who had the phone. She nearly dropped it went it started ringing, fumbled helplessly with it for a moment, and then, not knowing what else to do, held it out to the others.

"Um…I don't know how to use this!" she admitted miserably.

"Here." Rider's Master took the phone from her, flipped it open, and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

Everyone stood tense as they listened to Rider's Master's side of the conversation, but Saber knew it had to be Kiritsugu on the other end.

And he appeared to end the call abruptly judging by the way Rider's Master's stunned expression slackened and he pulled his ear away from the phone to stare at it perplexedly for a moment.

"So," Lancer prompted. "What's going on then?"

Rider's Master looked up at them, still a little baffled but managing to regain his presence of mind. He directed his words at Lancer as he handed Irisviel back the phone.

"He said…to give you a message…that Saber has an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm."

All eyes snapped on Saber.

"Saber, is this true?" Lancer demanded.

Now it was Saber's turn to be sheepish.

Damn it, Kiritsugu. There's a reason I kept that to myself. But you knew that already, didn't you? She even wondered if the man had already done something like sniped Caster's Master. Though if he did, it appeared to have been a fruitless effort, as Caster's magic was indeed hardly if at all dependent on whoever his Master had been to supply him with mana.

The way things were going though, that thing was just getting bigger, and soon it would need more than just mana to satisfy itself. It would begin to feed. On people.

Finally Saber admitted, "Yes, It's true." Then she met his nonplussed expression and found herself smiling, predicting what he was already thinking. "But Lancer," she told him, "my blade and my pride are the same. This wound you gave me—" She gave a faint flick of her left wrist. "—is a mark of that pride. I don't wish to tarnish that by cheapening the victory of Diarmiud ua Duibhne had over me. I intend to see this curse lifted as it should, with my defeating you in combat. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Lancer stared at her a moment before smiling rather knowingly. "And I would expect no less of the King of Knights. However…." He planted his Gae Dearg in the grass, and raised his Gáe Buidhe, the Yellow Rose of Mortality, taking the golden spear in both hands. "This vileness that Caster brings, I cannot abide it any more than you can. And if this will help us to achieve victory, then I will gladly perform the act."

"Lancer, wait—"

But it was too late. With one twist of his hands, Lancer cracked his golden staff in two, and broke the magic within it. The staff dissipated into the air after it burst into a dissolve of a golden light that released Saber's left hand from its curse.

Saber felt it as poison being drawn out from inside of her. Sensing the change, she shifted her attention from the light given off by the Gáe Buidhe's magic dissipating in the air and started to flex the fingers of her left hand experimentally, and couldn't help a rush of joy and gratitude at her regaining proper use of it.

With fresh determination, she gripped the hilt of Excalibur in both hands. "Thank you, Lancer. I will not forget what you have done here. Your sacrifice shall not be in vain."

Deep down though, she sincerely hoped that this worthy knight of Ireland would not come to regret the decision he had just made, mostly because if that were to happen, it would be because of her, because of what he did here for her when he didn't have to, when she had been prepared to spare him that. More than ever, she intended to pay him back for what he had done, even in defeating him when next they dueled.

Channeling the magic she wielded through her sword, she lifted it high, unveiling its glory for the others to see.

Everyone stood there, gaping with awe. Rider's Master murmured something about, "From the Arthurian legends…" with quiet admiration. A life he must have spend poring over books about this old sword of hers, summed up in just a few words.

Another one of those strange reminders of who she had been, and what her life had been in this world to everyone who didn't know her.

Then Saber turned to the river. Behind her, she heard Rider's Master order the soldier to tell Rider to release Caster's monster from the prison of the Reality Marble.

But just as the monster was appearing again, Berserker swooped down with the fighter jet again, this time aiming directly for Saber, leaving her with no other choice but to leap out of the way, leaping back out onto the water and escaping the oncoming collision by the skin of her teeth.

"Saber!" Irisviel cried out, reaching for her, but that just made Saber all the more determined to draw Berserker away from her and the others.

Damn you, Berserker, and just when I got the use of my left hand back.

Lancer leapt up and hopped on top of Berserker in midair, attempting to take the madman out himself with is Gáe Dearg, but to no avail as he was quickly thrown back. Though being the nimble Lancer that he was, he landed deftly on his feet like a cat.

Saber darted like a warrior fairy towards the middle of the river, and then skidded to a halt and turned about, lifting her sword, ready to face this other enemy head on.

"This ends here!" she declared. I don't know what you want with me, Berserker, but at this point, I really don't care. You're in my way.

Glaring up at Berserker as he dive-bombed her from above, roaring with the fury of the Spirit of Vengeance, something possessed her just as Berserker had possessed that plane. Possessed her…just for a moment.

Something darker, more sinister. Something born of years of regret and frustration. Something she had only felt whisper inside her once or twice before. Something that the thought of Kiritsugu tended to tease out of her, though without meaning to—it was just something about him that tugged at it, coaxed it to come to the surface.

This she now felt far more strongly, to the point that it threatened to swallow her up from the inside, that darkness of ambition, that ruthless determination to see her goal to the end, and cut down anyone or anything that tried to stop her without hesitation, without mercy.

I am a king who cannot understand others, her thoughts echoing the last words Lancelot had spoken to her before departing from Camelot, from her world, forever. Even I can't understand me sometimes.

She bared her teeth, relishing in the reawakening of the bloodlust inside of her.

Only for a blast of golden light to shoot right through the plane, breaking Berserker away from the jet he'd taken over, and both fell with a crash into the water some distance away.

Saber snapped her head up to where she'd seen the golden light come from, and her eyes met the red ones of Archer, standing predictably atop that golden craft. Just where she knew he would be.

Right in that moment, her bloodlust for Berserker transferred to the distaste she already held for Archer, and she really wanted to smack that smirk off his face with the flat of Excalibur's blade.

But then she became aware that Caster's monster had been fully dropped back into the river, and that the way for her was clear to take it out. She would have to leave Archer for another time, provided she lasted long enough (no, she would last long enough), and settle with begrudging gratitude for what he had done for her. Though something told her that for him there had been no selfless impulse behind it in the least.

She drew herself up to her full height and lifted her sword before her once again, stepping forward as light gathered about her in sync with her gathering up the power within her and channeling it into Excalibur again. This created a golden pool of light thrown onto the water around her, cast by that light.

And from afar, more lights emerged from the earth, like fireflies, like spirits from the grave. Every one of those lights was precious, and powerful, beautiful and so very golden.

As she raised her sword high with the point of its blade directed towards the heavens, and faced Caster's monster, she felt not a shred of fear. Instead she felt the power flooding within her…felt it as the hope that she had always seen shining in the eyes of her people every single day of her life, every time she rode out to battle and they lined up along either side of her to see her and her army off.

The hope that carried her through every time she watched a friend and comrade fall into death's darkness on the battlefield.

The hope that would always fuel their victory.

Had she been weaker in her heart, it might have brought tears to her eyes. But she kept her eyes dry, confronting her enemy with the kind of rage that was somehow angelic in its ferocity.

The word rose to her lips…and even though she couldn't see him, she could feel Caster quailing within the folds of his monster…he knew that his time had come, her light already overwhelming him.

And then she cried it out, and felt those ghosts of hope cry it out with her:

"EX…CALIBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUR!"

Then she brought the sword down in one mighty stroke, splitting the water asunder, as its power and light blasted through and swallowed up the entirety of Caster's monster with the brightness of a supernova.

And though Saber had used so much power all at once, when the light disappeared with Caster's monster, and Caster with it, she didn't feel the least bit drained. In fact, she felt stronger, lowering Excalibur's blade and standing before the place where her enemy had been erased from the earth, solemn and resolute, her golden hair caught in the dying breeze.

As the golden lights faded with Excalibur's power, Saber felt a fulfillment she hadn't felt in what felt like a very long time. All along the river, she could see the crowds of gathered people all cheering, waves of relief rippling through them. She caught that relief in her chest, that simple relief from not being too late to save those who were in trouble.

She smiled to herself, reveling in her ability to feel happy, even if just for a twinkling.

Then she sensed a pair of eyes on her…those eyes red with desire.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she lifted her gaze again. She tracked where she felt the watcher's eyes coming from, to the top of the bright red Mion River Bridge.

There was no one there anymore. But she knew there had been just a moment ago, and what was more, she knew who it had been too.

Archer….

Then she sensed a different pair of eyes, cold and somehow sadly familiar. More familiar than she ever could have guessed until that very moment.

Their stare came from the lower riverbank, closer to where she still stood upon the lapping water. She turned, and her green eyes found Kiritsugu's dark ones. He stood there, still and straight. In one hand he held the rope to a raft he seemed to have been dragging along with him. Had he watched her as she had unleashed Excalibur's power? Watched as the magic she had earned through her years of living a chivalric life paid the price for a noble victory?

Though he had vowed, it seemed, not to speak a word to her, at this very moment, he did not look away. So Saber didn't either.

They both stood where they were, gazes locked and unwavering.

Saber wasn't sure how to describe it…but she felt…something between them. Part of it could have simply had to do with their pact as Master and Servant, yet she had a feeling that there was a little more to it where the two of them were concerned. Something that bound them at their cores, even when everything above was so frayed and distant.

She could see, in those eyes, how they had once held such sparkling vitality, how they had been that scared boy on that island, his life forever changed by one trauma, a happening that would decide the path he would walk for the rest of his life.

Saber knew a thing or two about happenings like that.

She could almost hear the shink of Caliburn's blade sliding out of the stone when she'd pulled it out. No. She could hear it, clear as a bell, and ringing between her and Kiritsugu.

She supposed that if he were the sort of Master who would do so, this would have been when he would have said, "Good job." Or something like that.

But of course, he said nothing.

Yet there was an air about him…one of sobering nostalgia…like a dream fading from memory, leaving behind only the emotion stirred up within the dreamer.

Then he turned away, tugging the raft with him and melting into and becoming one with the shadows.

Saber stared after him though, just a bit longer, finding herself suddenly on the precipice of the light that surrounded her, peering over the edge, and into the darkness below.

Such a precarious place to perch.

Then she broke from her reverie at the call of Irisviel's voice from the other bank, and all the sadness for Irisviel that had been pressing on her heart earlier came crashing back into her, like water violently flooding. It washed over her heart, and she could only think more sadly of how the flower was wilting, and its lover was leaving her alone again.