How's it going all?
Figured I'd continue touching up my older fics for Christmas even if I didn't release new content.
Last time on Fate Zero.
1. Assassin returns to the Church after trolling Saber like a boss.
Saber: Irisviel, what manner of personal skill is 'Swag'? I find it's rank of EX unsettling.
2. One of his Doppelgangers brings bad news.
Tamasassin: Caster be Nucking Futs yo.
3. And Kiritsugu PURPOSELY sets Kayneth up the Bomb.
Kayneth: WHAT THE FU-BOOOOOOOOM!
And now, on with the show!
Fate/Zero Requiem
An Alternate Tale of the Fourth Holy Grail War
Eighth Night: Setting the Stage.
'This has NOT been a good night…'Saber growled, the Proud King of Knights features marred with a scowl as she glared at her opponent, the clearly insane Caster, who had apparently mistaken her for some 'Holy Maiden' or other, going so far as to reveal his true identity to the world in an attempt to 'remind' her of their relation.
Not for the first time, Saber regretted the fact she wasn't a True Heroic Spirit. While her Legend and renown certainly gave her the RIGHT to become one, the fact that she was not truly dead meant she lacked many of the benefits other Servant's boasted, including, and perhaps most vitally, the encyclopedic knowledge of the Throne of Heroes when it came to identifying other Servants, limiting her to those Servants that had existed either prior or during her lifetime.
Not that it truly mattered, as Irisviel was a proverbial font of knowledge when it came to Ancient Legends. Indeed, as a Homunculus created specifically for the Grail War, you could say it was her purpose to know the story behind each and every Epic Hero that may or may not appear before her.
'If only her driving skills were as admirable…' Saber muttered treacherously, flinching as she recalled the manic speeds which her friend had directed the Mercedes Kiritsugu had arranged for them, the King of Knights vowing to never allow Irisviel behind the wheel again.
'If I weren't so befuddled over what happened at the Docks I never would have even considered it...' she swore to herself, ignoring Caster's insane ramblings as she tried to recall the events of the evening.
She and Irisviel had spent the entire day wandering around Fuyuki City, partly to draw out any of the other Servants and Masters, and partly thanks to Irisviel's almost childlike desire to see the world, an understandable desire, given how she'd spent the entirety of her admittedly short life inside the Einzbern Castle in the Black Forests of Germany.
Despite, or perhaps because of, Irisviel's childlike fascination with the outside world, Saber actually preferred playing escort for her True Master's wife. It was certainly more admirable than Kiritsugu's plan of action, namely hunting down the other Masters from the shadows.
While part of her could see the sense in such a thing, any general knows the value of reducing the enemies numbers before the battle was waged, Saber was first and foremost a Knight, and as such found such tactics despicable, which is why she had relished the chance to lock blades with Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, a fellow Knight and practitioner of Chivalry, and while she would admit the wound she had suffered at his hands was troubling, she could not fault the Knight of Fianna, indeed she found her respect for him increase ten-fold.
The same could most assuredly not be said for Iskander, the King of Knights' eyes hardening as she recalled how callously the King of Conquerors had intervened in their duel, how he'd senselessly asked them to cast aside their claims to the grail in favour of joining forces with him.
'As if ANY Servant would do such a thing…' she scoffed, her lips pursing as a vision of Camlann crossed her vision, only to pause as Archer's mask appeared before her eyes. Truth be told, there was something about the Masked Servant that made Saber uncomfortable. On the one hand, his words and actions were clearly not those of a true Knight, yet he clearly had some understanding of chivalry in his decision to not interfere with the duel between Lancer and herself.
Not only that, but he had chosen to aid her and had protected Irisviel when Berserker and Lancer's Master had teamed up, shielding her friend from harm whilst aiding Rider in driving off her attackers.
'Just who are you, Archer?' she wondered, emerald eyes clouding slightly as she tried to make sense of the enigmatic Knight, her cheeks flushing as the memory of the 'kiss' he had placed on her gauntlet sprung to mind "Geh-!"
"Oh! Jeanne!" Caster called out, his bulbous eyes widening with joy as he espied the blush adorning the normally stoic King of Knight's features "Have you remembered who you are at last? Oh, to think God would favour me so! Truly, this is the last day of the Grail War!"
"What do you mean by that, General de Rais?" Irisviel called out, Saber grateful for the interruption as she struggled to regain her composure, the Einzbern Homunculus frowning at the clearly insane Servant "Have you given up on the Grail?"
"It is not a matter of 'Giving Up', Mademoiselle." Caster simpered, placing a hand on his chest even as he gestured towards the scowling Saber "My sole wish was for the Holy Maiden, Jeanne d'Arc, to be resurrected. Since she stands before me, it is clear that the Holy Grail has already chosen I, her ever-loyal Gilles de Rais, as the victor without having to fight at all!"
Watching from the shadows...
"This guy's nuttier than an entire tree of Squirrels." One of Assassin's Doppelgangers muttered, dressed in a slightly grittier version of the Servant's outfit as he squatted in the bushes along with several others "I mean, seriously, why hasn't Saber just cut his damn head off?"
"Probably the novelty of it all." Another doppelganger mused, dressed in a blue version of the outfit, his fingers coming up as if to adjust a set of spectacles, only to pause as they encountered his mask "That or she's stunned by his audacity."
"Or she's being cautious." A Black-clad doppelganger muttered, his tone grim as he regarded the grip Saber had on her invisible sword "After that fight with Lancer and Berserker she isn't at her best. Normally that wouldn't be a problem against someone like Caster, but that wound she received from Lancer's spear keeps her from going all out."
The doppelgangers fell silent, watching the exchange between Servants from the shadows, having followed Saber and Irisviel at Assassin's behest, though given Irisviel's insane approach to driving they'd almost lost them a fair few times if they hadn't known their destination in advance.
The sound of metal cleaving through asphalt made them tense, Saber having finally lost her patience with Caster's ramblings and drawn her sword, the invisible blade carving a trench in the road before coming to point between the mad Frenchman's bulging eyes.
"That's enough of your rambling, Caster." the Knight of the Sword commanded, her tone devoid of emotion, sending icy chills down the backs of her unknown audience "If you continue to mock the wishes of us Heroic Spirits, I will cut you down without mercy."
"It's like Cornelia all over again…" the gritty doppelganger muttered, shivering slightly as Saber commanded the prone Caster to stand uo so that she could strike him down properly "Strike that, she might be WORSE."
"While I cannot fault her chivalry, she's wasting her breath." the Black Doppelganger muttered, drawing the others' attention to himself as he glared at the still prone form of Caster "Look at Caster's eyes. Those aren't the eyes of a sane man. He honestly believes her to be Jeanne d'Arc. No matter what she says to the contrary, he won't give up on that delusion."
As if to verify his statement, the mad flame in Caster's eyes disappeared, his features, which had been twisted with excitement gradually calming as he raised his head to look at Saber, the look of silent resolution in his eyes undiminished in the slightest.
With Saber...
"It seems mere words are not enough to break the spell he has placed on your heart, Jeanne." Caster muttered, his gloomy voice laced not with lament, but a low burning anger that threatened to engulf the world.
"Spell?" Saber repeated, her emerald eyes narrowing in suspicion as she glared at the deranged Frenchman, even as Irisviel blinked in confusion "What are you babbling about man?"
"That accursed Archer!" Caster swore, his rage making his already bulbous eyes expand even further, even Saber startling slightly at the sudden change in his appearance "Not only does he dare to make you kneel before him, but he has even gone so far as to ensnare your maiden heart with his deviant ways!"
"What are you prattling about?!" Saber demanded, her cheeks reddening slightly as the enraged Servant's words once again drew the memory of the kiss to the fore, her embarrassment not aided in the slightest by the faint giggle Irisviel couldn't quite managed to restrain.
"Ah! It is worse than I feared!" Caster exclaimed, eyes widening in horror as his mistook her embarrassment for confirmation "Oh! L'audace!" he lamented, his fists and teeth clenched as he doubled over in a fit of rage "This shall not stand! Rest assured, Maiden, I, your ever loyal Gilles de Rais, will not rest until I have freed your virgin soul from that foul swine's grasp!"
"I'm telling you it isn't like that!" Saber snapped, all composure lost by this point, wanting nothing better than to run the clearly insane Servant through, only for him to revert to astral form with a bow, disappearing into the night, leaving her with naught but the empty road to vent her frustrations on "Damn it all!"
Back in the shadows...
"Man, she sounds pissed…" the gritty one noted, grimacing as Saber brought her blade down with a roar of frustration, ripping another tear in the road ahead, one considerably larger than the one she'd launched at Caster "Looks like the boss hasn't lost his touch."
"We should follow Caster back to his lair." The blue Doppelganger opined, ignoring his scruffy comrade in favour of the black one, who merely inclined his head "With any luck, he'll lead us to his Master too."
"Agreed." The Black Assassin acknowledged, nodding his head even as he shivered at the recollection of the look in Caster's eyes moments before he'd vanished back into the ether, a stark contrast to the sobbing, hysterical wreck that been grovelling before the King of Knights mere moments before.
After all, mad or not, Baron Gilles de Rais had been a General in life, a leader of men and a devout follower of La Pucelle prior to her execution as a heretical witch. While death clearly hadn't done anything to staunch his loyalty, it certainly hadn't done his sanity any favours either.
And when you stopped to consider just HOW Gilles de Rais met his end, that made the bug-eyed Caster too dangerous to be allowed to just scuttle off into the dark.
"I'll follow him." A fourth voice opined, the gritty doppelganger smothering a yelp as he spun to face their pink-clad compatriot, who had apparently popped out of thin air "I'm best suited for the task, after all."
"Good hunting." The Black one offered, the Pink one vanishing in a blur of movement even as Caster faded away "Tamaki, you report back and wait for further instructions, Shougo, you're with me."
"You guys get all the fun…" Tamaki, whined, the gritty doppelganger looking on bitterly as the other two leapt off after Saber and Irisviel's car "I wonder if the ones following Lancer are as bored as I am?"
Kotomine Church...
"I see." Lelouch mused, his features troubled as he held his chin, the Tamaki Doppelganger's words having unsettled him somewhat "Gilles de Rais…that could certainly present a problem…"
While the timeline of this world may have been slightly skewed somewhat from his own, as a Hero summoned by the Grail War, he was afforded the encyclopedic knowledge of every Hero's legend and history automatically upon being summoned.
It was simply one of the perks of being removed from the cycle of rebirth. It was this that allowed him to query how the King of Knights could be limited to ONE Noble Phantasm, regardless of the limits of her class, and it was this that made Caster's identity so worrying.
It wasn't a question of his qualifications, as a devout follower of Jeanne d'Arc, Gilles de Rais most certainly made the cut for the position of Heroic Spirit. Had he been summoned as a one of the Knight Classes or even Rider, Lelouch wouldn't have given it another thought, and would've already devised several means of taking advantage of the man's apparent obsession with Saber.
However, it seemed that whatever quirk of fate that had allowed himself to be summoned had also seen fit to summon Gilles as Caster, an oddity in and of itself, though it meant he was dealing with Gilles de Rais as he was remembered after Jeanne's execution, during the time in which the grief-stricken Knight had sought out the dark arts under Francois Prelati who introduced the Baron to some of the darkest of hedonistic rituals that debased their victims in various, unspeakable ways.
'He definitely isn't someone we can allow to run free…' he determined, his features grim, eyes glittering like frozen purple gems as he 'recalled' how many of the pair's victims hadn't been of 'legal' age, even by the standards of the times 'the sooner we find his lair, the better.'
"You need me for anything else?" the doppelganger demanded, Tamaki's tone as crass as ever as he lent against the wall, Assassin unable to help the smirk that came to his lips as he turned to regard the shade of his most mercurial subordinate.
"Not at the moment, no." he assured the shadow, reaching out and placing a hand on the mask, causing the back to collapse upwards with a hiss "Good work, you can go rest now."
"About freakin' time…" the Doppelganger grumbled, his voice fading mid-sentence as he vanished back into the ether, Assassin gazing down at the Mask in his hands, a longing, almost wistful expression adorning his features, only to scoff self-mockingly.
'It wouldn't really be her…' he noted, shaking his head as he dismissed the mask, watching it vanish back into the ether as he turned on his heel and made his way back to the kitchen 'Even if it was, I doubt she'd want to talk.'
"Sorry about that." He offered, smiling apologetically as he entered, only to pause at the sight of Risei whispering urgently into the phone "Is something wrong, Father Kotomine?"
"We just got a report from the police." Risei revealed, hanging up the phone, a troubled expression marring the older Kotomine's face "The Fuyuki Hyatt was bombed a few minutes ago."
"Emiya Kiritsugu no doubt." Lelouch deduced, his expression darkening as he cursed himself for not acting sooner to alert Kayneth to the Magus Killer's presence, only to blink as he espied his Master's empty chair "Where did Kirei go?"
"He didn't say…" Risei murmured, his troubled expression turning to one of confusion as his son's Servant swore violently under his breath before tearing out of the kitchen once more.
Caster and Ryunosuke's Lovely Suite...
"Okay then…" Ryunosuke mused, the light from the solitary candle illuminating the blood staining his handsome features as the Master of Caster stared intently at the three rows of intestines, HUMAN intestines, that lay stretched across the long table before him, the ends disappearing into the abdomen of a little girl he'd hung on a crucifix Caster had placed on the table "Let's see here…"
Heedless of the agonized sobs of his unwilling assistant, Ryunosuke struck a tuning fork and held it up to his ear with his left hand, using his right to randomly poke at the intestines, only pausing when she gave an adequate response.
"So this part is 'mi'…" he mused, placing a pin on the corresponding piece of flesh, several identical marks having already been placed on the lengths of gleaming flesh, as evidenced by the girl's sobs.
By all rights, she should have died from shock, blood-loss or infection hours ago, which would've sucked, as then he'd have to start all over again and he'd just gotten the hang of 'tuning' this one, but fortunately Master Bluebeard had thought ahead and placed several healing and rejuvenation spells on her body prior to setting out to meet that lady-friend of his.
He especially approved of whatever it was he had done to her brain to keep her from numbing the pain, as it was hard enough turning a human into a pipe organ without the parts refusing to co-operate.
"One more time," he mused, humming 'Do, Re, Mi…' under his breath as he pressed down on the 'keyboard', only to pause as the sound emitting from the current 'key' differed from the one he'd marked down. "Huh…guess it wouldn't make the same noise twice…"
He mused, looking up briefly as the stench of blood permeating the air thickened, turning round just in time to see Bluebeard return. "Welcome back, Boss." He greeted, eager to share his progress, or lack thereof, with his partner in crime, only to blink as Bluebeard marched right past him, the emotionless mask adorning his face a stark contrast to the elation he'd worn when he set out.
'Must have gotten dumped…' he mused, sighing sympathetically for his benefactor, only to blink one spider-like hand emerged from within the folds of Bluebeard's dark robe to grip the sobbing girl by the head, his fingers tightening until they squashed the her skull like an over-ripe melon.
"Accursed Archer!" he roared, spittle flying from his lips as he ranted, heedless of Ryunosuke's cry of disappointment and the blood trailing down his arm "Bad enough that God bound her soul in life, now some nameless Fils de Pute dares to bind the Holy Maiden to him, going so far as to lock her true soul away where even my words cannot reach!"
'Huh…guess that Archer guy was making the moves on his girl.' Ryunosuke mused, not quite understanding the situation, as always, though it was easy to see that something Archer had done had made Bluebeard's reunion with his 'Holy Maiden' go sour.
"Ryunosuke." Bluebeard spoke up, snapping his Master out of his thoughts to find the bug-eyed Servant looming over him, his features calm, though there was still rage burning in the depths of his eyes "How many children are still locked in the cells?"
"…there are still eleven of them alive." Ryunosuke admitted, looking more like a kid that had been caught with his fingers in the cookie jar rather than a man guilty of kidnapping and murdering innocent children for his own amusement "Three died when I just played with them a little." he added petulantly.
"Only eleven?" Bluebeard muttered, his disappointment palpable, only to shrug offhandedly as he clapped his hands together "No matter, they should suffice for what I have planned. Prepare them for sacrifice."
"What…all of them?" Ryunosuke whined, eyeing his partner in crime with a look that bordered on betrayal, like a child who'd been told Santa wasn't real "But then we won't have any left for tomorrow!"
Contrary to the evidence, Ryunosuke wasn't a soulless killing machine. To him the act of killing was an art form, something to be savored, slowly, over time, to better appreciate the lives you took. As such, he found the concept of mass slaughtering to be completely abhorrent.
There was nothing to be savored in just tossing bodies aside so that they piled up into mountains, if that were the case he'd simply have stuck to watching natural disaster films or those over the top action movies where soldiers mowed each other down like grass before the mower.
"Come now Ryunosuke." Bluebeard countered, recognizing the reason for his Master's stubbornness, his features set in a twisted mockery of an angelic smile, as if reasoning with a petulant child "This isn't the time to be stingy. After all, did I not say that every life in this world belongs to us?" he spread his arms wide "Therefore, it is only natural that you need to have the right kind of attitude and a heart as generous as a king."
"I still think we should plan a bit on how we use them." Ryunosuke muttered, though it wasn't as if he had to fear any repercussions. After all, with Bluebeard by his side the odds of him being persecuted by the 'Law' was next to non-existent.
It therefore came as quite a surprise when the tip of a throwing dagger embedded itself in Bluebeard's face, catching the deranged Servant right between the eyes as he grinned at his Master, the bulbous orbs crossing hilariously to gape at the offending weapon in befuddlement before he let out a screech of pain.
"Boss Bluebeard!" Ryunosuke called out, distress lining his features as he stepped forward to help his benefactor, only to pull up short, looking down at his chest in surprise to find the business end of another dagger sticking out of it, his own hot blood trickling out of the wound, staining his shirt crimson.
"I've seen more than enough." a woman muttered, Ryunosuke looking over his shoulder only to find himself gazing at his own reflection in Archer's Black Mask, the servant giving the dagger a twist for good measure "Letting monsters like you live would be a sin in and of itself."
"Archer-!" Bluebeard managed to grit out as he stumbled against a pillar, his body already dissolving into the ether, his bulging eyes narrowing as he glared at the masked Servant "No...you're not Archer...no Knight class could have bypassed my defenses so easily...!"
"I never claimed to be anything of the sort." The masked Servant countered, her tone flat, to the point, though all the more mocking as a result "I simply chose not to contest the King of Conqueror's assumptions."
"Curse you!" Bluebeard swore, spittle and blood flying from his mouth, spraying Ryunosuke in the process, the fading Servant attempting to open his spell book even as his body slowly dissolved "May the devil take you, Assas-!"
Whatever Bluebeard had been about to call the masked Servant, Ryunosuke would never know, for at that moment his benefactor's head vanished, the dagger that had struck him between the eyes clattering to the ground as the deranged Servant's form dissolved into particles of light, the dying echoes of his shrieks fading into nothingness as Gilles de Rais once again left this mortal coil, not that Ryunosuke paid it any mind.
Oh, make no mistake, he was upset that Bluebeard was dead. After all, what kind of dick wouldn't bat an eye at the death of someone they'd come to consider a friend? However, at the moment, he was far too busy staring at his chest, from which the pure, captivating red, that glistening, vivid, fundamental colour that had driven him to end so many lives, human and otherwise, now spread.
"I see…" he muttered, a strange smile adorning his features as he ran his fingers, almost lovingly, over the blade in his chest, gazing at the blood that adorned them all the while "It's like the old saying goes: The darkest place is under the candlestick…"
He was still smiling when Not-Archer slit his throat with another knife, the masked servant leaving the redhead where he fell, before disappearing into the shadows, the sound of weeping children slowly silencing, replaced with the pitter-patter of little feet as one by one they were led out of the darkness and into the night.
Elsewhere...
Kiritsugu sighed, taking a long, satisfying drag on his cigarette as he walked away from the collapsing ruin that was once the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, ignoring the shocked, terrified cries of the civilians as they watched the tallest building in Fuyuki disappear into the ground as if it were being swallowed whole, the outside walls collapsing inwards on themselves as a cloud of dust rose into the air, spreading on the breeze to cover the stunned onlookers.
Obtaining the Blueprints for the Hyatt hadn't been much of an issue, nor were identifying the right load bearing walls and support pillars necessary to pull off such a feat. Kayneth had arrogantly used his money to acquire the entire top floor of the building, foolishly assuming, with a Magus typical arrogance, that anyone that wanted to get at him would do so through his, admittedly impressive, Atelier.
As something of an expert on bounded fields, more accurately an expert in slipping past them without setting off any alarms, Kiritsugu would be the first to admit that the Archibald's defenses were top notch, if not nigh-impregnable. Anyone stupid enough to challenge them head on, and lucky enough to survive, would've been completely drained by the time they faced Kayneth, if he deigned to face them at all.
Fortunately, for all Kayneth's preparation, there was no way he could have anticipated someone choosing to forgo his gauntlet in favour of destroying the entire building. No sane magus adhering to the laws of the tournament would. Genius or not, Bounded Fields or no, there was no way Kayneth, who was about as old school as you could get without walking around in a robe and staff, could have survived a fall from a Hundred and Fifty metres, especially not inside a collapsing building.
Someone else might have felt pride at such an achievement, might have stopped to watch their work unfold with a sense of accomplishment. To someone of Kiritsugu's calibre, however, such an act was simply another day at the office, though admittedly, the 'old' Kiritsugu probably wouldn't have alerted the authorities first.
'I'm getting old…' he scoffed, tossing his cigarette aside, a scowl adorning his features as he espied the sole remaining command seal adorning the back of his hand 'I wouldn't have let the enemy catch me off guard like that before.'
As much as he would've preferred to focus on locating Tokiomi, the threat Archer posed aside the injuries from the loss of his base of operations made the Tohsaka Master the most vulnerable target, with the loss of two command seals in a single exchange Kiritsugu had opted to prioritise eliminating Kayneth and Lancer over the other Masters.
For one thing, having fought with her already, Lancer knew the length of Saber's blade and could use that knowledge to adjust his fighting style accordingly. Likewise, thanks to the curse of Gae Buidhe, Saber couldn't fight to her fullest potential, and her Noble Phantasm was sealed.
'It doesn't change the fact that Archer is still the most dangerous Servant in this war thus far…' he noted, cursing the masked Servant under his breath as he pulled his phone from his pocket, hitting the speed-dial to contact Maiya 'A shield that can ward off a Magic Cancelling Spear, and Mystic Eyes capable of overpowering the Magic Resistance of a Saber Class…Just what kind of Servant did Tohsaka end up summoning?'
"That was surprisingly decent of you." A charismatic voice noted, Kiritsugu's eyes widening as he froze mid-step "Alerting the police to evacuate civilians…setting off the explosives in such a way that there would be no chance of debris injuring civilians…"
Kiritsugu swore, his muscles tense as he turned towards the voice, looking on with trepidation as the familiar masked form of Archer stepped out of the shadows, his cloak reminiscent of folded wings.
"It would appear that marriage has done you wonders, Emiya Kiritsugu."
Notes:
Not so heavy on the action this chapter either.
For those of you wondering, the bombing of the Hyatt, in this story at least, happened almost simultaneously with Tamaki arriving to give his report, so by the time Lelouch learned of it, Saber and Irisviel had already returned to the Castle.
I pretty much explained my reasoning for Kiritsugu to stick to the plan and focus on Kayneth above. One thing I like about the Magus Killer persona is that it's cold and efficient, and thus easy to write. As much as Kiritsugu would like to prioritise 'Archer's death, with Saber crippled by Lancer's NP, Kayneth is bumped up to the top of the To-Do List.
And now, a quick update of Servant stats! First in a while too! Some of you might have noticed a few changes here and there, this is because of several valid points being brought to my attention regarding 'Zero's Stats. Lelouch has his own 'independent' stats as a Heroic Spirit, and while he 'IS' Zero, Zero is not Lelouch, and so their stats differ in this regard.
Master: Kotomine Kirei
True Name: Zero/Lelouch vi Britannia
Sex: Male
Height/Weight: 178cm/?kg
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Strength: C
Endurance: D
Agility: B
Mana: B
Luck: B
Noble Phantasm: ?
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment: (The capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant.) C.
Independent Action: D: Capable of remaining in this world for less than a day without a established contract.
Personal Skills:
Bravery: B.
Charisma: A. (Zero only)
Expert of Many Specializations: A (Applies to one of his NPs)
Mystic Eyes: EX: Possession of Mystic Eyes capable of interfering with the outside world. (Geass: The Power of the King that commands Absolute Authority).
Pioneer of the Stars: EX
Noble Phantasms:
1. (Support-Unit): For some reason, His stats cannot be witnessed.
2. ? (Support-Unit): Can create Doppelgangers, which possess the personalities and unique skills of people he knew during his life. Due to their ability to operate independently, they cannot communicate over distance without assistance. A Doppelganger can be dismissed by removing or destroying it's helmet.
3. ? (Support-?): Can create a 'Shield of Light' to intercept attacks.
Also, for those who keep asking, yes, one of Zero's 'Doppelgangers' has C.C's personality and skill set. In fact, as Lelouch has actually been inside her mind, has seen her innermost thoughts, she's arguably the most 'complete' of the Doppelgangers he can create, but is still flawed and subject to the same weaknesses as the others.
And now for something a little different: Doppelganger Statistics. Basically, every time a Doppelganger is named, it'll get it's own stat page. Please note however that their stats won't be anything impressive, as like with Zero-Assassin, their stats reduce for every doppelganger summoned.
Since she's been named several times, we'll start with Sayoko.
True Name: Sayoko Shinozaki.
Strength: B
Endurance: B+
Agility: A
Mana: D
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm: N/A (As she is merely a part of Zero's own Noble Phantasm, Sayoko doesn't have access to a Noble Phantasm of her own.)
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment: A+
Independent Action: E
Personal Skills:
Disengage: C.
Martial Arts: A+
Projectile (Daggers): C.
Subversive Activities: B.
We'll cover the other Doppelgangers as we move along. Until then, Master Statistics update!
Emiya Kiritsugu - Status: Startled. Seals: 1. Servant Identity: Known. Base of Operations: Secure for the moment.
Kayneth Archibald - Status: Wounded. Seals: 2. Servant Identity: Known. Base of Operations: Kiritsugu'd.
Tohsaka Tokiomi - Status: Dead. Seals: 3 (Transferred to Risei). Servant Identity: Unknown. Base of Operations: Zerown'd.
Waver Velvet - Status: Mentally Exhausted. Seals: 3. Servant Identity: Known. Base of Operations: Unknown.
Uryuu Ryunosuke - Status: Dead. Seals: 3 (Claimed). Servant Identity: Known/Dead. Base of Operations: Known.
Kotomine Kirei - Status: On the Prowl. Seals: 2. Servant Identity: Unknown. Base of Operations: Known.
Matou Kariya - Status: Half-Dead. Seals: 3. Servant Identity: Unknown. Base of Operations: N/A.
With Tokiomi and now Ryunosuke dead, the Strongest Masters statistic wise are as follows:
1. Kariya retains his position as the strongest (statistically speaking) Master in the Grail War, though that's only because no-one's paying him much attention.
2. Waver rises to Second Place since he has three things Ryunosuke doesn't: A functioning Servant, a base of operations, and a Pulse.
3. Kirei rises to number 3 by extension.
4. Those who've seen/read Zero know why Kayneth is still here.
5. Same with Kiritsugu.
Whew, long ass chapter. How will this encounter between Servant and Master play out I wonder? In canon, Kiritsugu only used a command Seal once to summon Saber to his side. With this option prevented, how will he react to being cornered by 'Archer'? Tune in next time to find out!
SLAINTE!