Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate series or other related works. They are the property of TYPE-Moon. Please support the official release.
A/N: I would like to give a special thanks to RoseWarden for their feedback on the story so far and writing advice in general. If you've got the time, I recommend checking out their Fire Emblem Awakening fic Cycle.
On reviews:
-JUST MONIKA: I'm not going to spoil who Caster and Archer of Red are just yet, but I will say they do have a connection. Glad to hear you like the interactions Batreaux and Mordred have with each other. Mana Transfer, you say? Something like that cgi mana dragon/dolphin, probably. The original X-rated Mana Transfer? Well, I wouldn't say their relationship's quite there yet.
-northernlion196: Yeah, Gawain mentions potatoes as something 'the King and his fellows' would eat at one point in Extra/CCC, so it's just a Nasuverse history deal.
-KnightOfZaku: I wouldn't say they're acting like they're married yet. For one, they haven't argued about whether they should stop and ask for directions, ha ha. But seriously, good to know you like the story so far. Don't worry, Batreaux's going to be forced into the conflict head-on soon enough, whether he's ready or not.
-Taromaru: What ends up happening with Batreaux's Magic Circuits is still in spoiler territory. As for the weapon he made, I had something else in mind for a Mystic Code.
-Fleece Johnson: Noted on the pacing. Personally I'd thought it was beginning to get a bit slow myself. I'm hoping to take this story "off-rails" relatively soon, and Mordred seems like she'd want to fight Arturia again regardless of if she's ready or not.
Anyway, sorry for how long this took. It's holiday season after all, which means family to deal with. I also had finals to prepare for. Calculus, man.
Alright, let's begin.
.-.
I walk down the halls of the abandoned castle I call home, the stone floor freezing cold against the skin of my bare feet. The sword I carry in my hand is even colder. It should be too heavy for me to carry. It is. As strong as I am, the sword drags on the floor behind me, a scraping sound echoing through the halls. It is so cold it may as well be frozen to my hand.
It is Winter after all, a little cold is to be expected.
….Actually, it's more than just a little cold.
I hate it.
I hate Winter, I hate snow, I hate the cold. My feet are so cold it feels like they've looped back around to being on fire. My lungs are pierced with what feels like hundreds of icicles. Every desperate, ragged breath I take is pure pain. But I must stay strong.
Mother's coming to visit today! If I show her how strong I've become, maybe she'll let me play outside when Spring comes!
Eventually I drag my freezing, near-crippled body over to the main doors of the castle. They're made of solid steel. Mother replaced the old wooden ones at some point.
"To better defend us with, Mordred dear," she'd said.
But all they've done so far is make the room even colder. Sitting down is extremely painful, and the cold shocks into more of my body when I do. Today's training was really hard. I can't tell if the cold I'm feeling in the rest of my body is because of the weather or all the sweat that's frozen to my skin. My blonde hair is frozen over too. Normally, it shines gently in the light like gold, but right now the shine is from ice.
The candles on the walls provide my only source of light and warmth. There aren't any windows here, but I can hear the blizzard raging outside.
I hope Mother's alright.
….
Eventually I hear a wolf howl outside, and I know it is night.
Wolves.
How many of them have I killed now? I've lost count. They were deadly at first, facing a single one of them frightened me to now end. But I had to kill it in order to survive. Adrenaline won me through the first time. Now, I can bat them aside like nothing.
Now, it's the bears that scare me.
Since it is now nighttime, I painfully stand up and begin to slowly drag myself back up the three flights of stairs that lead to my room, to my bed.
Mother didn't visit today, but that's fine. The blizzard's gotten pretty bad. She probably had to find somewhere to stay for the night. I'm sure Mother will be here soon, and she'll tell me how proud she is of me.
….I wonder why Father's never come to visit me, either.
….Who is my Father, anyway?
I'm hungry.
.-.
My vision changes. It seems to be a few days later. It's still cold, but the blizzard seems to have died down and the sun is shining, so the castle has warmed, if only slightly. I hear the doors open and a woman call my name.
"Mordred? Where are you?" I would recognize that voice anywhere. Mother. A mix of joy and… apprehension washes over me. Mother sounded angry somewhat. I hurry over to her.
"Here I am, Mother!" I call out, coming to a stop right before her. Mother is a tall, pale and thin woman. Her hair is long and almost seems white. Her dress is black, and she wears a veil over her face held up by what seems almost like a crown.
I'd never say it to her face, but I think I must've gotten my looks from Father, whoever he is.
"There you are, you troublesome thing." The anger in Mother's voice has faded, replaced with cold indifference. I feel like I shouldn't know that yet. In my childishness, I mistake it for playfulness.
"How has your training proceeded? Surely by now you can handle a few simple wolves, yes?"
"Of course, Mother!" I respond immediately. "I've gotten really strong now! Soon even the bears won't be a problem at all!"
"Good." Mother responds. She walks into the room I was most recently in and towards one of the many bookshelves. The way she walks is otherworldy, almost as if she weren't human. Mother seems to almost float as she returns to her workstation with a pair of books. I can make out 'Chi" and "era" on their spines. She opens one of the books to a page near the middle and begins sorting some materials she'd hidden under an illusion spell, just to make sure I didn't touch them. It wasn't her true workshop. That one was underground.
"Umm, Mother?" I ask nervously. "S-since I've gotten so strong, would it be alright if I played outside when Spring arrives? Just for one day? Please?"
My voice sounds pitifully desperate. Mother turns to me and I can make out a flash of anger that crosses her fair face through her veil.
I instinctively cringe backwards, trying to keep my face as far away from Mother as possible.
It's useless. It always is. I should have known better than to ask.
I feel a sting of pain across my face, and my vision fades again.
.-.
Batreaux awoke with a start, air rushing into his lungs, body covered in a cold sweat disturbingly similar to ice. The blond looked around for a moment before realizing he was still on the plane he and Saber had boarded for Fuyuki. He slowly breathed out, casting a glance out the window on his right and running a hand through his hair.
The sea of clouds below him was an enthralling and relaxing sight. He'd never been on a plane before, much less on one heading for Japan. It was mostly an issue of money, but thanks to the generosity of Father Bianchi he and Saber had a fair amount of cash for their trip. It was already in yen and very well hidden in a secret compartment of one of the bags Batreaux had brought, leading to some questions about the connections the priest had.
Checking a watch he'd brought with him, (That didn't contain any secrets, to his knowledge,) he saw it'd been a few hours since he'd fallen asleep. The flight to Fuyuki would likely take a few more, leaving him with time to think on what he'd just dreamed about. Though it would likely still be night in Japan when they arrived.
At least, I think that was a dream. He thought. What the hell was that all about?
Oh, I should've told you that might happen, came Saber's voice over their mental link. Batreaux was a bit startled, but he looked over on his left to see where the Servant was sitting. The blonde looked at him the same way she usually did, leaning her head on one hand. Batreaux noticed Saber's other hand was gripping the armrest of her seat rather tightly, and though she hid it well, he could tell she was shaking slightly.
Did you see that too, Saber? He asked her gently. Saber nodded in response.
Yeah. Servants and Masters can share their memories with each other as dreams.
So then, what I dreamt about just now was…
Saber grimaced, though her left hand had relaxed. She no longer had a chokehold on the armrest. Yeah. Those were some of my memories from childhood. Heh. Not very pleasant, were they?
They weren't. It had only been a dream, but even though he had no control over what had happened, Batreaux saw, heard, and most importantly, felt, everything as if he'd been there experiencing it first-hand. Simply put, as far as the dream had gone, he was Mordred.
He felt the cold, the hunger as it had ravaged her body. He felt that all-too familiar mix of joy and fear when Saber's mother, Morgana, entered the castle doors. He felt the pain when that evil witch had dared to strike her child's face.
After spending some time with Mordred and learning she wasn't the cruel would-be tyrant history and legend painted her as, Batreaux admittedly felt on some level that maybe Morgana hadn't been that bad either.
But those doubts were crushed after what he'd just seen. And though the thought sickened him, Mordred's opinion of her family was leading him to now have doubts as to Arthur's heroism.
Batreaux narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth. He felt a kind of anger he hadn't felt in years.
Mordred, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. He felt a mix of emotions come from Saber through their link, and he was sure she could feel the anger he was experiencing as well.
H-hey, come on, it wasn't that bad…
I'm sorry Saber, he said, but I just can't believe that. I saw, felt your fear and pain when your mother hit you, the cold and hunger. All of it. Those 'living' conditions were utterly reprehensible.
Batreaux took a deep breath to calm himself and placed a hand on Saber's shoulder. He expected her to swat his hand away like she had when he tried to help her up in the fight with Rider, but she didn't.
If… If you ever need to talk about anything, I'll be more than willing to listen.
I said drop it, knave. Saber snapped back, and pushed away his hand with the tone of voice and term that always carried a thinly concealed threat of death.
For the sake of his own well-being, Batreaux complied with the girl prince's wish.
Alright then, let's talk about something else. …You know, Saber, Batreaux said, changing the subject, I just remembered I don't speak Japanese.
Mordred just shrugged. Eh, don't worry about it. If you really need to I can translate for you.
Batreaux turned in his seat to look at Saber and just stared at her. Okay, you being seventeen when you died I can buy, but how the hell does someone from circa-sixth century Britain know how to speak modern Japanese?
Heroic Spirits get information we need to work in the modern world from the Grail when someone summons us. I assume you can work out how not speakin' the same language as the people where the Grail is would be a problem yeah?
Batreaux wasn't expecting that, but he wasn't complaining. Though he did find the thought of Mordred Pendragon being a teenage girl that speaks fluent Japanese funnier than he probably should have. What was next, Saber was actually a magical girl like in anime? Well that's convenient.
Yeah. I only got stuff like that though. So I can help you communicate and not be a loudmouthed idiot that gets killed by the Yakuza or something but if you wanna try and pick up some Japanese girl, you're on your own.
Heh heh. Thanks, Batreaux replied, But that's not really my type. Saber grinned in response, the blonde deciding to see if she could get under her Master's skin again.
Oh? Am I your type then, Batreaux? He smirked back, expecting her to try and fluster him again.
Are you saying you want to go on a date, Saber? You know I'm a commoner right?
Saber flushed red and punched him in the arm. Relatively lightly, considering what she was capable of, but still hard enough to hurt and make her Master cry out a bit, which drew some weird looks from some of the other passengers on the flight. Idiot. She said.
Anyway, Batreaux began, rubbing his arm where Saber slugged him, I'm kinda worried about Elise. She didn't come home at all today. I left a note saying we'd be going out of town, but I'm not sure if she'd buy that excuse or not.
Saber crossed her left leg over her right and leaned back in her seat. Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about her. Batreaux raised an eyebrow.
Why's that?
Because your roommate is Rider's Master. Saber stated. An amused grin crossed her face upon seeing Batreaux's shock. What? You didn't notice? The energy Rider gave off was the same as what I felt in the apartment, and she has Command Seals.
Saber flagged down a stewardess and grabbed some peanuts from a snack cart, an action she would soon regret. After chewing some of the airline 'food', Saber's face screwed up in displeasure. She spat the peanuts back into the bag and hid it under her seat.
Bleh! That crap tastes worse than the shit Gawain liked! The hell?
Batreaux had been staring down at the floor of the plane, oblivious to Saber trying to scrub her tongue on her jacket. I think I knew since I got home that night, I just didn't want to admit it. Elise is one of the few people I can trust. I just don't want to think about fighting her. Luckily, we both seem to be on the same side.
You know that's not gonna last right? Saber asked him. Once the Blue Faction's dealt with, she'll be our enemy again. Can you handle that?
…Yeah, I can. Thanks Saber. I think I can trust you.
Oi, don't go soft on me now Batreaux, we've still got work to do. ….But anyway, you should get some more rest. I can't make any promises, but hopefully you won't have any more… dreams.
Yeah, good idea.
With renewed confidence in and sympathy for his combination Servant and lord, Batreaux drifted back off to sleep as he awaited their arrival to the battlefield, this time untroubled by visions of the past.
.-.
Archer of Red's physical form reconstituted itself as the power of his Master's Command Spell wore off. The feeling of teleportation was certainly an odd one. The cloaked bowman breathed out some smoke from his cigarette and walked forwards to the doors of the opulent mansion his Master called home.
Well, he thought, Miss Jesse's only got two left. Gotta admit, it's ironic for me of all people to be working for some rich brat, but that's life, I guess.
A woman with long turquoise hair in an expensive suit stood waiting for him in front of a marble pillar holding up part of the mansion. She looked towards her Servant, eyes hidden by sunglasses much like his were hidden by his hood. "Welcome back, Archer. Did you complete your mission?"
Archer shrugged his shoulders as he approached his Master. "You know I did, Miss. Otherwise you wouldn't have called me back with a Command Spell. By the way, are you sure you should be using them for things like that?"
The woman's expression did not change and she did not answer as she opened the door and the two stepped inside. The interior of the mansion was decorated with gold. An extraordinarily excessive amount of gold that would make even King Midas jealous. The lady Jesse served had quite expensive tastes. The sheer amount of wasted money irritated Archer to no end, even if he had gotten used to it by now.
Archer and his Master passed by a painting of their boss' late father, a man named Vinny, as they ascended the stairs towards her office. The woman in question had inherited the family…. business after he passed away from Terminal Seven the previous year. Her lack of surprise or sadness at the news had led several of her employees to question whether it was really the disease that did him in. But they suspected voicing those concerns would lead to their disappearance, and so remained quiet.
The door to her office was guarded by a man with short violet hair in the same manner of dress as Jesse, his Command Seals also obscured by gloves, his eyes also by sunglasses. He stepped to the side and gave a nod to the pair as he saw his partner approach.
"Lady Rachel is waiting inside for your report, Archer. For all our sakes, bring her good news."
Archer waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, I know, James. By the way, how's Berserker doing?"
"Which one?"
"The one that can actually talk to us and doesn't just scream some dead guy's name over and over."
"Beowulf is currently training the rest of Lady Rachel's bodyguards in combat tactics. They've made quite remarkable progress."
"With all due respect, gentlemen," Jesse chimed in, "We shouldn't keep Lady Rachel waiting. You specifically said there was something special she needed to hear in this report, so she will be most anxious to do so."
"Alright then." Archer pulled the cigarette he'd been smoking away from his mouth and crushed it his hand before placing the ashes inside a small pouch around his belt. The poisons and chemicals in the item had no effect on him and Servants like him, but he figured they'd be great for dealing with mortal enemies. And with a little bit of refinement and mana, well, who knows?
Archer stepped into the dark room that was Rachel's office. Just like the rest of her mansion, gold was everywhere, reflecting and refracting what little light was present throughout the room and leaving it brighter than a similar room decorated with less flashy materials would have been.
The woman in question sat in a revolving chair, a glass of wine in her right hand. Her long brown hair was draped over her right shoulder and she wore a ruby colored dress designed to highlight her beautiful features.
Rachel did not possess any Command Seals. What she did possess was a large amount of resources and foresight. While not exactly cautious, she knew enough about Magecraft and Servants to take measures against potential betrayal from the heroes her bodyguards had summoned, especially since she'd willingly left herself alone with one that likely would not be amused by her frivolity with wealth.
A powerful Bounded Field had been set around her mansion, with another set around her office, and yet another around her desk. On their own, these fields were fairly standard, but if a Servant were to pass through all three of them the combined weakening effects would prove quite problematic for them, and Archer wasn't a head-on fighter to begin with. Being a Servant, he'd still have an advantage over Rachel in combat, of course, but she'd have enough time to contact Jesse and have the woman restrain Archer with a Command Seal. Or worse, if she felt like it.
A lifetime growing up in a mage family that specialized in "behind the scenes" work had left Rachel privy to a large amount of information. She knew a Master could make new contracts should they lose their Servant and if they had enough mana to manage without the Grail's help, even summon more than one at a time.
And Archer knew he was expendable. Quite simply, unlike with her father, it was not loyalty that kept Rachel's employees in line.
"Archer. You've finished the task I gave you yes? I'm curious what the results of your investigation are. Especially the… 'unexpected interloper', was it?"
Archer sat down in the chair in front of Rachel's desk, careful to avoid the third of her Bounded Fields. "I'll give you the good news first," the hooded Servant began, "I've figured out who all the other Servants on our team are. The Assassin is Charles-Henri Sanson. The Rider calls himself Georgios, and the Saber is Mordred."
"So you did not finish the task after all Archer. You have not mentioned the identities of Caster and Lancer." Rachel narrowed her eyes and her voice took on a darker tone. "If you cannot even handle simple reconnaissance work, why should I not have Jesse dispose of you right now?"
Archer was unfazed by the threat and simply smirked. "Because the bad news is also the interesting news. Saber's Master is a man named Batreaux Westwood."
Rachel's eyes widened and she nearly choked on her wine. Not a pleasant experience to begin with, the sudden rush of a drink meant to be enjoyed slowly worsened her mood even more.
Or it would have, had she not been in temporary shock processing the new information. "Did you say Westwood, Archer? Batreaux Westwood? That pathetic worm was considered worthy by the grail?"
"Yep." Archer was enjoying Rachel's discomfort. It provided a nice substitute for what he really wanted to do with the mansion.
"And his Servant is Mordred, yes? I suppose it's only fitting someone like him would summon the Knight of Treachery." Rachel smiled and put on a more playful tone to her voice. "But Archer, why would you lie to me? You said that was the bad news, but it seemed more like good news to me."
Archer raised his eyebrows. He'd clearly misjudged what type of girl his Master's boss was when he assumed she'd be upset with this development.
"After all…" she continued with a wicked smile on her face, "Not everyone gets a chance to take revenge on the man who broke her heart, and I intend to make that fool suffer for it."
.-.
Meanwhile, outside of Rachel's office, James was trying to make small talk with his partner.
"So, we've been working for Rachel about a year now," the violet haired man began, "How would ya say she's been doing compared to her dad so far?"
Jesse simply stared straight forwards, the turquoise haired woman not moving an inch as she responded. "We spent over a decade working for Sir Vinny. It wouldn't be fair to judge Lady Rachel against his experience."
James waved his right hand. "Yeah, I know, but after a year you still get a general feel for how competent someone is, right?" Beneath her sunglasses, Jesse closed her eyes and sighed.
"Yes, and Lady Rachel has proven herself quite capable of running this business. I understand your skepticism, and we all miss Sir Vinny dearly, but we do not need to worry about anything."
So long as we stay in line and don't question anything she says, sure. "I don't know, maybe I just miss him a bit more than everyone else does. That man was someone special, ya know? The kind of guy you could just have a beer with and talk. Vinny was a real 'people' person." James shook his head and continued. "Rachel on the other hand? She's cold. Effective, but cold. You may not want to admit it, Jesse, but most of the people still alive here are only working for her cause they don't got a choice."
Jesse finally moved, turning her head to look at her partner. One could almost feel the room get colder as she stared at him. "Are you planning to betray Lady Rachel, James?" The violet haired man held up his arms and stepped back.
"Whoa now, let's not start talking crazy, Jesse. I may have liked her dad better, but I also like my blood being warm, you know what I'm saying?"
"Good. You seem to have your priorities in order."
James lowered his arms and clenched his right hand into a fist, a slight burning sensation emanating from his Command Seals. He'd have to make sure he saved one of them. After another few moments of planning, he widened his eyes slightly in realization. There was something important he needed to ask Jesse, regardless of his personal motivations.
"Oh, I almost forgot. We're eventually going to need to deal with that little 'side effect' of Berserker's summoning. Have you thought of anything yet Jesse?"
The cold woman nodded slightly. "Yes." She responded. "There's nothing to worry about. When the time comes, we will be fully prepared to handle it."
.-.
Fuyki, later that night
"Ahahahahaha! I win again, Saber!"
The voice of Berserker of Blue's Master, Illyasviel von Einzbern joyously rang out through her room, said hulking behemoth roaring alongside her. The silver haired girl jumped up and down, her red eyes shining. There was little trace of the loosely-contained psychosis she would so often and freely display before. It seemed that talking things out with Shirou instead of trying to kill him and learning that yes, their father did love her after all, had greatly helped in improving the aristocrat's mood.
Though, she'd technically also learned that her grandfather had lied to her, likely because Kiritsugu wouldn't have approved of the hellish experiments and trials the rest of the Einzbern family had forced his daughter through. Oh, Illya had plans to make Old Man Acht pay… but that could wait. First Berserker and I have to crush those mean Red Masters coming here to hurt my big brother!
Arturia chuckled lightly at Illya's antics, the sound like the song of an angel. "Yes, you did Illya. I don't think I'll ever be as good at this game as you are." Normally the former king would have been irritated at the least by her repeated losses, but this time was different. Arturia was quite surprised when she learned Illya was the daughter of Illyasviel von Einzbern, her dear friend and proxy Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
She'd also since learned from her current Master Shirou that her previous, the boy's adoptive father Kiritsugu Emiya, wasn't cold and unfeeling like he'd led her to believe. Or maybe the man had simply warmed up after adopting Shirou.
Perhaps I have misjudged Kiritsugu, she had thought to herself. Though she couldn't disagree more with the methods the legendary Magus Killer had used in the time spent as her Master, since being summoned by Shirou and seeing the kind of person Kiritsugu had raised him to be, Arturia had to admit to herself that at their base, purest form, the dreams they carried were similar.
Regardless, the realization had put her mind at ease a bit, and so for the moment Arturia was simply enjoying the time she spent with Shirou and his sister. It had been… far too long since she had a chance to simply relax like a normal person. Then again, Arturia supposed she wasn't a person, at least so far as the word's definition overlapped with 'human'.
Illya's laughter finally died down and she turned to look past Saber at Shirou. Originally, Illya wanted her big brother to sit next to her, but Saber had insisted otherwise, citing her 'duty as a Servant' to protect her Master. Illya was disappointed but ultimately relented. After all, she had tried to kill them recently, and Berserker felt the same way about his duty to Illya.
"Big brother, I want you to play with me now!"
"Sorry Illya," the red head replied, "But I don't know the first thing about this game." In truth, Shirou knew barely anything about video games in general. They weren't really something he spent a lot of time on. He was willing to learn if Illya wanted to play with him, (Partly for his own safety,) but he'd prefer to do that on his own time.
"Awwww, please!" Illya pouted. "Saber's gotten too boring to beat, Berserker's hands are too big to hold the controller, and Sella and Leysritt always just let me win!" Saber opened her mouth to protest in response but was drowned out by Berserker's roar. The Greek hero's legendary strength even extended to his lungs, as the roar was so loud even Arturia was forced to cover her ears. When Berserker finally stopped roaring, Illya looked over to where Herakles had moved.
Behind the window he was in front of was one of Rin's gemstone familiars, the bird shaped rock bumping itself into the glass over and over, making a little 'tink' sound every time. Before the others in the room could process the sight, Herakles shot his fist through the window and grabbed the familiar.
Elsewhere in the castle Illya called home, one of her maids, Sella, shot up from dusting off a chair, as if she could instinctually sense the glass shattering. The more emotional of the maid pair's eye began to twitch.
Back with Illya, Shirou, and their Servants, Herakles crushed the familiar Rin had sent effortlessly in his hand, then gave his Master a crumpled up ball of paper that had been attached to it, a fine dust falling off of his giant hand.
Illya blinked twice before accepting the ball. "Thank you, Berserker." The giant gave a low rumble in acknowledgement.
The silver haired girl uncrumpled the ball of paper and began to read it, red eyes darting left and right. "Oh, this is a letter from Rin. Ahuhuhuhu~ Of course, a familiar that crude could only belong to a Tohsaka mage." Shirou became interested upon hearing the letter was from Rin. The brunette hadn't spoken to him recently. He suspected she was still mad about him forming an alliance with Caster.
"From Rin? What's it say, Illya?"
"Hmhm. Read it yourself, big brother." Illya handed the letter to Shirou, who smoothed out the wrinkles from where Berserker had crumpled it a bit more before reading it aloud.
Emiya and Enzbern,
Though the circumstances of our current alliance cause me no end of displeasure, it is in all of our best interests, myself included, to pass on this message.
Recently, Archer located a Master and Servant of the Red Faction here in Fuyuki. Archer first noticed the two as they were leaving the Church, presumably to check in with Kirei. However, they were quickly approached by Lancer and after a short battle were forced to retreat.
"Lancer!? That guy's already made a move on the Red Faction?" Shirou recalled his encounters with Lancer of Blue, both on the same night. The first ended with him unceremoniously stabbed in the heart. The second ended much better, though only due to Lancer's Master recalling him. Saber was amazing as a Servant, at least to Shirou, but thanks to Lancer's Noble Phantasm, he'd clearly had the advantage.
"It would seem so, Shirou," Saber spoke up. "It is likely similar events as when I fought with him occurred for this new pair of Master and Servant. If I recall correctly, Lancer said he had orders to merely test me in our first encounter." Shirou nodded in agreement with his Servant and continued to read Rin's message.
After Lancer left the scene, Archer used his arrows to drive the pair towards the bridge over Mion River. They appear to believe they are safe for now, as Archer can confirm they are still on the bridge.
"Ahuhuhu~ The bridge over Mion River, hmmmm?" Illya's red eyes glinted and a sinister smirk spread across the young German's face. "Well Berserker, what do you say we go finish those two fools off and teach them some manners, hmm?" The towering giant roared in agreement and hoisted his tiny Master onto his back before the pair took off through the hole in the wall that was formerly a window, Illya laughing gleefully. Sure, the Giant Bridge was almost on the opposite side of the city, but with Berserker's speed, they would arrive much sooner than expected.
"Illya wait!" Shirou called out to his sister. "There's still more to the letter-" But he was not fast enough to prevent her and Berserker from heading into the night in search of their prey.
"sigh"
"Shirou, would you mind finishing Rin's letter?" Saber asked. The blonde swordswoman was unusually focused, her emerald eyes focused on the exit hole Berserker had made. "There may be information on who this mysterious Servant of Red is." If she were younger, less experienced, Arturia might have dismissed the chill she felt as simply the winter air. But Arturia Pendragon, the experienced warrior and ruler, the Once and Future King of Britain, knew better. The chill in the air was familiar to her somehow.
"Sure, Saber. We need to finish up here anyway. I don't want to be around when Sella finds the hole in the wall."
From the information Archer has gathered, the Servant of Red Lancer battled with seems to be a female of the Saber class. They are skilled with their weapon, yet prefer to swing around wildly like you'd expect from a Berserker class Servant instead. The Master is a Caucasian male, and inexperienced as a mage. It's likely his lack of experience is weakening his Servant like yours is, Emiya.
Originally I was also going to give you and Einzbern the go-ahead to eliminate them at this point, but Archer said something about this Servant interests him enough he wants to fight them personally. So, this time, just stay out of it, Emiya.
Warmest regards,
Rin
Shirou finished the letter and looked over to Saber, who had changed into her blue dress/armor combination outfit. "Well, Saber," he said. "Rin said to stay out of this, but Illya just ran off to fight. I know she can handle herself, I know Berserker's incredibly strong, and I know Archer's there, but…" His right hand clenched into a fist.
"Shirou," Saber began, "As your Servant, it is my duty to protect you from harm. Thus, I must insist we heed Rin's warning, and stay away from this fight. That said, I understand that even if Illya were not your sister, you would want to do anything you can to keep her safe." The former king drew forth her holy blade, still wrapped in her spell of Invisible Air.
"And so, if you wish to follow Illya into this battle anyway, I will not stop you. But I must urge caution. Even with Archer's report, we know very little of this Servant of Red's abilities."
Shirou smiled. "Thank you, Saber. Don't worry. We'll be careful."
And so Saber of Blue and her Master chased after their ally, to the area Archer of Blue said one of their enemies lay weakened.
.-.
Meanwhile, Ruler arrives at the forest on Mount Enzou, the saintess fully focused on the gates to Ryuudou Temple. An indigo haired samurai awaits, his robes and hair billowing gently in the wind as falling leaves sunder in two around him. The violet haired Overseer steps forward towards him with divine grace.
"Well now, what have we here? I assume you are the Ruler I heard would be coming to visit?"
"That I am, Assassin of Blue." Saint Martha responded. "Now then. There are a few questions I would ask of you and your Master."
Assassin smiled and drew forth his sword. "If it is answers you seek, Ruler, then you will have to best me first." Ruler's face twisted into an angered scowl.
"You seek a fight with me, Assassin? You realize in doing so you are violating the rules of this Holy Grail War?"
"That I do, Ruler. But humor me, if you will. It isn't often I meet someone who can give me a real challenge." Assassin settled into a combat stance, light of the moon reflecting off of his blade beautifully and menacingly. The breeze that had been flowing through the forest halted. For a tense few minutes, all was quiet. Then, Assassin spoke once more.
"And you, Ruler… have a head worth taking."
.-.
Fate/stay night: Dai Taisen
Episode 5: The War Begins
.-.
I would once more like to apologize for how long this took to get out. In addition to the previously mentioned issues, I haven't really been feeling well as of late. That said, I have a basic structure already planned out for the next chapter so that one won't take this absurdly long. There's like 3 fight scenes in it so we'll see how good I really am at those. I really, really, really hope I got the scenes with Mordred and Batreaux right, specifically her memories, and I really hope Shirou and Arturia were mostly in character.
Anyway, questions/comments/concerns in the review should you decide to leave one.
Good luck to anyone trying to summon Mordred or Fran in F/GO NA, by the way.