"Hey. Are you guys done yet?"
We all are silent. Another person is here. A youthful one, judging by the voice alone. We all turn our heads towards her. She's right behind me, at least fifty meters away. Lancer looks over to her and so does Rin.
A young girl with white hair. She's at least half my height, maybe a little more. She has dark red eyes and pale skin, just like an albino. She wears a white scarf around her neck, a purple hat and a purple coat. Her outfit is elegant. Is she royalty?
As I move my eyes around her, I sense something that shouldn't be here. A large muscular being. That's not a human. It's a giant. It must be a servant just like Lancer. The eyes are different colors, its right eye being red, and the left eye being yellow. It wears some bracelet on both sides of its hands. I can see the veins of the being bulging out. The skin is dark, the color like lead. The only notable armor he's wearing is a armoured skirt. The weapon in his hand is simply some unknown axe-sword with no history, unlike Lancer's and Archer's weapons. To say this thing's a monster is an understatement.
"Berserker…"
Rin Tohsaka mumbles. Berserker? The servants I encountered were Archer, Lancer, and Caster so far. There are seven masters in this war. So this must mean that little girl is the Master of Berserker.
"Evening, Onii-chan. Remember our earlier meeting? This is the second time we've met."
She smiles at me. With that Servant of hers, they really are the opposite of each other, both of them looks out of place. The mere presence of Berserker is giving me chills.
"This Servant is stronger than Lancer in raw power. Archer, you can't take this Servant head on, especially in your condition. Use your bow."
Archer appears. A sleek black bow appears in his right hand instantly. So that's his bow.
"How will you defend against him? We can't do anything against his charge."
"We can do it. We'll try to hold our ground. Besides, we've got Shirou's Servant with us."
Lancer focuses on Berserker. Her spear was already out.
"Rin. Have Archer support me at range. I'll take on Berserker up close." Lancer speaks out.
"Way ahead of you."
Archer replies back as he leaps away with his bow out.
"Can I start now?"
She laughs. She takes a bow while lifting the sides of her skirt.
"Hello, Rin. I'm Ilya von Einzbern."
"...Einzbern."
Tohsaka's body stiffens. She recognizes that name. The young girl smiles. She must've liked how Rin reacted. Then…
"Get them, Berserker."
On command, Berserker leaps up in the air and flies towards us like a meteor. Lancer jumps to meet him and their weapons cross. A loud crashing sound echos throughout the air. Both of them land on the ground, facing each other. They both speed towards each other.
I notice Archer's arrows flying towards Berserker. With each shot, I take into account on how all of them met their target. From they way they flew through the air, the force behind them was staggering. They have no effect, however.
"What?!" I yell, surprise evident in my voice.
Berserker hasn't taken any damage at all from them. Lancer blocks Berserker's attacks. If he tries to move his weapon at a different angle, Lancer moves her spear to meet it. I'm surprised Lancer can even keep up with Berserker. They both have different builds and yet, she's able to match his wild rage. A few more arrows from Archer. Berserker takes them head on, but they're still of no use. How are we going to beat this thing when we can't damage him?
"Rin, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know…"
Rin is worried. She isn't sure what to do. I don't know either. If this keeps up, will we die?
"Ha. Berserker is keeping your Servant on the defense. You really think Lancer could beat him?"
Rin grits her teeth. Even though Lancer is doing well right now, if she's hit even once, she'd be down in an instant and we'll be left defenseless. Archer's arrows are quick, but they have no effect. At least they're good for distractions.
Lancer this time avoids Berserker's attack and takes a thrust at him. Berserker leaps backwards to avoid the attack. Taking quick steps, she drives her spear at him again. Berserker blocks the blow, and reacts by swinging his weapon at her. Lancer crouches to avoid the attack, and spins her spear in the air with her hands, doing a windmill-like attack. Berserker twists his body backwards, narrowingly avoiding the attack.
She's purposely leaving holes in her attacks so that she can counter Berserker. Instead of safely wearing him down, she's putting herself at risk to end this quickly. A dangerous tactic, only a warrior or someone who could analyze the situation well would do such a thing.
"Archer, back Lancer up."
A couple of arrows are fired. Berserker turns around to deflect them. This is it. Lancer lunges at Berserker, thrusts her spear into his shoulder, and leaps back, pulling out the spear. The sounds of flesh being pierced goes through our ears. The first attack that hit, Berserker's shoulder is now bleeding.
"You... you injured Berserker?"
The girl mutters, seemingly stunned at what just happened. I instinctively take a step in front of Rin, only noticing I had done so when I realize I'm not right beside her anymore.
Her eyes then narrow, glaring at us. It seems we've set her off somehow. Her gaze sweeps from me, to Rin, back to me, over to Rin, and then settles on me again.
"So that's how it is, onii-chan? Hmhmhm… Berserker, kill Rin."
I see a small faint red glow from Ilya. I don't know what she did, maybe she used a command spell, but I see Berserker heading towards us at a speed that surpass Lancer's agility. Lancer's fast, but I don't think she can make it to us, unless I use a command spell. Even though I want to use one, I can't use one this early in the war. I need to save Rin. Our distance is only a few meters apart. I run further in front of her.
"Shirou, what are you doing?!"
"Hang on, Rin!"
A weapon. I need a weapon. What can I use as a weapon? The only thing that pops into my mind is what Berserker is holding. Yes. I'll use Projection to copy his sword. I just need to do what I did when I reinforced the poster. I focus my mind. I need to do this quickly, so if it can survive a few hits, I should be fine. Lancer should come here by then if I can at least stall Berserker for for a split second.
"Trace, on."
Keeping my eyes on Berserker's weapon, I channel magical energy through my body. New information suddenly surge in my mind. Why the weapon was created. The basic structure. The materials for creation. How it was made. The history of the weapon. Techniques and skills which would take years to master. Creation of the weapon itself. A firing hammer goes down in my head. Using my brain to keep the structure of the weapon in mind, I pour mana with my left hand to make what's in mind a reality.
A flash of light. I did it. I replicated Berserker's weapon in my left hand. But my body feels warm. My mind can't handle all this info. It feels like it's going to break. This weapon is too heavy. I can barely hold the weapon with my left hand. Yet this also feels light. Who is this person that is holding this sword? Emiya Shirou cannot handle this thing.
"Onii-chan copied Berserker's weapon…?" Ilya says in response to my Projection.
A face of shock. I'd be shocked too if I saw someone did this. Berserker is right in front of me. He swings his weapon at me at a speed where normally I wouldn't be able to react to. I swing mine in response, being slightly faster. Our weapons collide for a split second. The sound of our swords clashing rings through all of our ears in an instant. My weapon breaks soon afterwards. Shards fly in all directions of my failed projection. I didn't project it well enough. I can't project another one in time. If I even try to defend right now I'll be cut in half. I failed. As Berserker raises his weapon to swing at us again...
...Two red spears zoom through the air. They produce a flaming red trail as they fly. Both of them penetrate Berserker's back, as Lancer quickly steps off of his back, pulling out both spears. I can see two large holes that appeared on Berserker's chest, along with some flames. The spears must've burned his insides. Berserker stops his swing and roars in pain. Ilya's face turns into surprise.
"Onii-chan...Your servant is interesting."
Ilya says to us. Archer wasn't able to damage Berserker but my Servant did.
"This is boring. Berserker, let's go home."
Berserker goes back to Ilya's side and they leave the area. I feel dizzy. I used high level magic which my body couldn't handle. But that split second was enough for Lancer to stop his attack.
"Ha...ah…"
I can only breath. My left arm is numb and I have a headache. Lancer and Rin look at me.
"Are you okay? "
They both say to me at the same time. That was the last thing I heard. My body falls forward. I lose consciousness.
Caster returns to the Church.
"What did you find?" Kotomine asks.
"Hmm, well. Assassin is quite an interesting servant. I can't find Saber anywhere. And as for Lancer…"
A frown appears on Caster's face.
"That boy who summoned Lancer...I don't know who he is, but the Servant he summoned will be an issue for us."
"How so?"
"She's known as a powerful warrior and a witch. There's only one person I know who has that weapon… And with her summoned, that boy is guaranteed to win the war. She's also known as a goddess in some places, you know. I'm pretty sure she's a partial divine spirit since she can't die. She isn't even supposed to be summoned as a Heroic Spirit, yet somehow he summoned her. "
"If you know who she is, then you should know her weakness."
"That's the problem. She doesn't have any that I know of."
"I see… Who is she then?"
"Can't say. I wouldn't want another master to find out if you're interrogated. I mean I could be wrong about my assumptions of her, but we have to assume the worse."
"Is that so? This war will surely be interesting… Although Caster..."
"Yes, Master?"
"You are a Servant. It is highly undignified and uncharacteristic of you to be quaking in your boots."
"M… my apologies, Master."
As Kotomine left the room, Caster slumped against the wall, giving a huge sigh of something similar to despair.
"… If only I could tell my Master how much trouble we're really in…"
I open my eyes. I'm on my couch at home. This is strange. I wonder where Lancer and Rin are? I look around and see them talking. They notice that I'm awake.
"Ah, you're awake Shirou."
Rin says to me. But there's a different tone to her voice than usual self. I get up from the couch.
"...WHAT WERE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT?! First of all, did you really think you could handle Berserker yourself? And secondly, what kind of magic did you do back there with Berserker? You said you only know Reinforcement and Projection!"
She's upset about earlier. Even though I saved our lives with my projection, I was almost killed. Not only that, what I did earlier was dangerous. That was the only idea I had at the time, I have no idea what she's so upset about it.
"Rin, I was just trying to protect you."
Rin's face turns red. She's embarrassed.
"Look Shirou. I know you wanted to save me but you could've just ran away. I don't want you to get hurt either. "
That's it. She wants me to know that she cares for my safety too. But I can't agree with her. Any life has much more worth than mine does.
"Sorry Rin. I can't guarantee anything. I can't control myself. I'll be in the shed thinking about today."
Rin sighs at me.
"You're really troublesome, you know that…"
I glance at the clock. It's around midnight. Today has been too much for me. I need to think everything over.
I walk to my shed. I see that everything is scattered. That's right. I still need to clean everything up after being attacked by a Servant. This is where I had summoned Lancer. My left arm feels numb. What happened back there when I tried to project? I was seeing things that weren't my own…
"Hey."
A man dressed in red walks in the shed. Archer. He wears a red overcoat which covers his arms and upper torso. There's also another piece of the overcoat which he wears around his waist and goes down to his foot. His black body armor looks to be made of something that's not currently found in our time, and it looks light to wear. His metal plated boots looks connected to his pants. His skin is tan, his eyes are gray and devoid of emotion, and his hair is white and spiked upwards. I see the injuries from his fight with Lancer all over his body, which are gaping holes. This man reminds me of something, but I just can't put my finger on it. I don't feel well around him.
"I noticed earlier when we were fighting Berserker that you attempted to project his sword? "
Archer plainly says to me.
"Yeah I did. I thought it was a good idea at the time."
I mean, what else could I do? Nothing? I can't read his face. The only expression I see on his face is a frown.
"Look. Emiya Shirou, that is your name right? Let me look at your body."
I don't know why I do so, but I take off my shirt and show Archer my back. A cold hand touches my spine. I feel a sensation all over my body.
"There. This should heal by tomorrow morning. You've been doing magic wrong this whole time. You don't create a new magic circuit. Today, you've opened something up which was sleeping for years."
When have I ever told him that I've been creating my own magic circuits? He's not wrong, I've been doing that for a while now. Today I managed to use magic successfully twice.
"You're wondering how I know? Well, let's just say I had a similar experiences like yours and had one of my arms taken away. That's what it means to learn magic. Sorry I wasn't able to help you and your Servant out much today. As I'm still injured, I couldn't use the more stronger arrows that I have."
Archer is strange. Can he read my mind? He crosses his arms and makes a smug look on his face. I want to punch him, but yet I can't. He turns around and tries to leave, but not before saying something to me.
"One question for you before I go, Emiya Shirou. Are you willing to give up everything to become a hero of justice?"
His question hits my mind. A hero of justice. The willingness to protect everyone even at the cost of my own life. Of course I am. Even at the cost of my life, if I could protect just one life, I'd be happy.
"...Yes."
"I see."
He takes a step forward.
"Sooner or later, you'll find yourself in a position where you can't save everyone. Which will leave you on a path of regret."
With that, Archer leaves the shed. His last words echos through my mind… Lancer passes by Archer, but not before taking a quick glance over at him. Lancer seems to take an interest in Archer. She walks over to me.
"Emiya. We need to discuss some important matters."
"Were you there the whole time?"
"Just in case Archer tried anything."
I nod. "So, what is it?"
We both sit outside. Our backs against the shed's wall. My legs are stretched out in front of me, while while Lancer crosses her legs.
"Emiya."
By her tone alone, I can tell whatever she's about to say, it must be serious.
"You should know that you cannot match a Servant. Yet what you did earlier is quite perplexing to me. Was it Projection? I've never seen anything like what you did against Berserker. Were you scared?"
The last one is a strange question to ask. Well, I wasn't really scared. I was just protecting someone. My head turns towards Lancer.
"No, I wasn't. I just wanted to protect Rin, even if Berserker killed me."
"I see…"
A small smile appears on her face.
"If you were to end up choosing between saving someone's life, or saving yourself, would you not save yourself?"
"I wouldn't. Any life worth protecting certainly isn't mine."
Lancer gives out a small chuckle.
"Is that so? That's an interesting answer."
Suddenly, something strange happens to Lancer. Lancer stops talking for a moment. Her eyes seem to be gazing into something far beyond. Her expression changes to bewilderment. What is she seeing?
"...Saber…?"
She whispers, her eyes returning to the present. She blinks her eyes multiple times.
"Lancer?"
"It's nothing, Emiya. Anyways, I've never had anyone give that answer to me. I have trained many students throughout my life. But this is the first time I've heard of someone who fight exclusively for the sake of others. That's what I like. Courageous people. People who fight for what they believe in. You do believe in that ideal, right?"
I wouldn't use the word courageous to describe me. Determined? Sure. But not courageous. Heck, I don't think that many people would consider me normal. There is only one answer I can give.
"Yeah. Always have, and always will."
My eyes gaze upon Lancer. I'm in close proximity with her, that our shoulders are touching. My heart is beating fast though. Why? This is my Servant, just a familiar. Yet this isn't just a familiar… I think she noticed, as she turns her head to face me.
"Emiya? Is the first time you've seen a woman from Ulster? Is that why you're staring at me intently?" She gives me a loving smile. This is really making me hard to dislike her…
"Wait what? No! I mean, yes! Agh..."
Gah! I'm an idiot. My face turns red. Lancer turns her head back, facing the front of her instead.
"Heh. Well, I can't blame you. That hair color of yours is quite uncommon around here as well. Did you inherit it from your parents?"
"I… I'm not sure. I'm not sure of who my parents are, actually. I almost died in a fire, and then I ended up being adopted by Kiritsugu, my adopted father."
"You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
"I guess you could say that." I shrug. That's a strange question to ask me.
"Well, it can't be helped. I know from just being with you for a bit that there's really not much you even know about yourself, is that correct?"
Lancer is asking some strange questions. She's asking about my sense of self. Can she read who a person is just by a glance? I do know who I am. I know what I want and what to do.
"I mean, I know I want to save people, but I'm not sure how I'll do so."
"Saving people… to achieve that goal, you must overcome some hardships. You know it's not easy to be a hero, right? I had a student who was protecting a whole nation yet he met his demise. Such an unsatisfying end for a hero… "
Lancer looks down and her smile turned into a frown after saying that. I don't know who she's talking about, but whoever it is, she must've taken his death hard. I know it's going to be hard, but I don't care. I'll achieve my dreams somehow. I put my hand on Lancer's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Lancer. I'll be a hero. I won't have any regrets, this is what I want to do. "
Lancer's frown turns back into a smile. Her head once again turns to face me.
"You must really want to achieve your goal. Is that what your father wanted you to be?"
"In a way. "
I've only known Lancer for a while, but I'm already telling her some details of my life. I feel safe around her, so it's no big deal.
"He told me I can't save everyone, and that you'll have to sacrifice others to save people. But I don't believe that. I think you can save everyone if you try hard enough."
Am I saying too much? Lancer is taking in all this info about me. She hasn't responded or interrupted me that much when I explained to her about wanting to be a hero. I wonder why…
"Hey, Lancer? Is something wrong?"
"No. It's just that you look pretty happy when discussing this, or your father so I figured I shouldn't interrupt you."
So that's why. Huh. We've been talking for a while now that I think about it. Lancer is someone that I could trust. In fact, the instant that I saw her fight against Berserker, any doubts I had about her capability was blown away. She can handle herself. And if that's the case, I need to be able to support her.
"Hey Lancer?"
"Hm? I think I know what you're going to ask me, Emiya." Lancer stands up and walks over in front of me.
"You're going to ask if I could train you, right? Well, let me say it for you. Would you like to be my apprentice? I see some qualities in you which I don't see in others. You're quite an interesting person, I must say."
She holds her hand out to me. She sees something in me which is unique. Ever since my father died, I've been training on my own. Today, I've been told my ways of doing magic was wrong, though I'm not sure if Archer was serious or was just joking with me. I'll take her up on her offer. How could this go wrong? I stand up and stretch my hand out to hers, before accepting it.
"Yeah, please make me your apprentice, Lancer. The more I can learn, the more people I can save."
I give her a smile. She smiles back at me as we shake each other hands.
"I do have a question, Lancer. It seems like you didn't have trouble with Berserker? You managed to get a few hits in and avoid his strikes. Why is that?"
"I've dealt with people like him, Emiya. If given enough time, I would of been able to slay him. But the area wasn't ideal for us to fight him. Not only that, I was holding back. After all, if you have a few tricks up your sleeve, you wouldn't want to reveal them early, no?"
She has a point. I still don't know Lancer's true power, but if what she shown tonight is just a small part of what she can do, I think I got this war in the bag. Though I do wonder why she didn't called me stupid for doing something suicidal.
"Also, Lancer? Why aren't you calling me stupid? Rin said so."
"Emiya. She may have called you that, but I think deep down she's thankful for saving her life. You gave enough time for me to stop Berserker. Many people I have known would not do the same as you if they were in the same situation. Instead they'd let that person die."
I think about her words. Other people would let the person die huh…
"You do seem to stick your nose into trouble though. Or should I say, trouble comes to you? Just promise me that you'll be more careful next time."
Ha. It's a combination of both. After all, it was my fault I got stabbed by Caster, yet because of that I somehow summoned Lancer. I'm both lucky and unlucky at the same time. I look up at the sky. The moon is out. It's a beautiful sight. Have we been outside that long?
"Yeah… I guess I should be careful about myself next time. It's getting late, Lancer. I better sleep."
I take a step forward, but before I am able to leave the backyard, Lancer puts both her hands on my shoulders.
"Emiya. How would our sleeping arrangements be? "
Huuuuuuuuh? At that instant my face turns red.
"W-what are you talking about Lancer?"
"In case an enemy appears in your household, I'll be right next to you. Tonight you showed me that you can handle yourself, but a Servant is still a Servant. You need protection. "
That's a weird way to put it. I'm too tired right now to argue with her…
"...Fine. Just sleep in the corner of the room or something. Not in the same bed. "
"So be it… Master."
...I'm honestly too sleepy to really deal with this… I just hope it doesn't come to bite me later.
We both leave the backyard. I take a shower to wash myself off. I throw away my old shirt which was still covered in blood. Hopefully Sakura or Taiga doesn't see that in the trash. Or ask about my table. I head towards my room. I see Lancer in the corner of my eyes, sleeping while sitting down with her legs crossed. That's a strange way to sleep. I turn off the lights and began to get some shut-eye. And in my dreams, I see a barren landscape of infinite blades...
A/N: This chapter took a while for me to type up. I kept rewriting both the fight scene and the Lancer and Shirou talk to try and get their personalities down. I think for all the lack of resources I have on Lancer, I did an okay job. You know how F/SN had some slice of life scenes right? Expect them to be in this story too.