Well, I don't own Fate/Zero or Kingdom Hears, which belong to their respective producers. Sorry, this took two weeks again. Well not much else I have to say, but enjoy this chapter as well!


Fate/Catalyst

Chapter 2: The Clash! Gathering of Heroic Spirits, Part 1

Week 1, Day 7

3rd POV

"Why did I snap like that?" pondered Heiwa, "It's really not like me to lose my cool…I guess I truly despise Archer's nature."

The blonde man was sitting at the foot of a tree in Fuyuki Central Park. The place became a second heaven to him after his rented home; the quiet atmosphere may be disturbing, but it felt peaceful and mystical once you get used to it. For now, he had to recharge his prana in preparation for the following battles.

His little brother possessed a considerable amount of energy in his body, but Kinto is not a reliable source. He couldn't really borrow from Kinto's supply at all due his little brother having the inability to transfer prana out of his body. The only real links that hold them together are the Command Spells and their mortal bodies given form by the Empty World's power. Besides, he had two other supplies of prana: the mana in the air around him and his own Magic Circuits. He wouldn't have to worry about running out of energy.

Heiwa calmly gazed out at the moon, thinking about the results of the battle with Archer. He already had a good grasp of what Archer was capable of. He most likely had a mechanism that enabled him to shoot out legendary weapons like bullets, with enough force to overpower even a Servant with A-rank Strength. And he got the feeling that this was not the only thing Archer was capable of. It was rather frightening to say.

But he would leave those thoughts aside for now. Next was Assassin. As a witness, it would be no doubt that Assassin was dead…but his instincts told him otherwise. No, not exactly the Instinct skill, but his own intuition and thoughts. If he recalled correctly, all Assassins were Hassan-i-Sabbah. Which ability did this Assassin possess? He would have to investigate further.

"I never thought this war to be easy, but this is ridiculous," Heiwa muttered.

He decided to simply get whatever rest he needed right now before moving on to the Matou household. The Servant still had to make a brief surveillance of that area.

"…The moon looks beautiful tonight."

The white crescent hung high in the night sky, shining down on this world, supplying it with the only light available. Now looking back at the tree he was leaning against, Heiwa began muse to himself. If this landscape had been altered to a grassy field, the background replaced with majestic mountains and a lush forest, and the full moon instead of a crescent hanging in the sky…

"…It almost looks like long ago."

=O=

That night, Kinto dreamed.

He dreamed of worlds, Hearts, and bonds.

A strangely-shaped blade appeared in his vision, nearly invisible to his eye. It took on a peculiar shape resembling a key. It was a weapon of unknown origin. It was the first ever of its kind. The key to all worlds lay dormant in this weapon; all hearts are connected to this weapon. It is neither light nor darkness. It is simply an empty shell of both.

"This is the Keyblade. With it, you hold the fate of all worlds in your hand."


Week 2, Day 1

Kinto drowsily opened his eyes from sleep. Last night, he saw his brother fighting some golden armor-wearing man. It was really an amazing sight to behold for the young Master; he never saw a Servant battle in action before, but his first time told him that this competition is definitely something he never experienced before in his life.

But that dream last night…what was that? It seemed all in all very strange to him. And what was weirder was that key-shaped blade in his dream. He felt like he had seen that weapon somewhere before. But where did he see it, and when?

"Geez, this is so confusing."

Kinto glanced at the clock and realized that he overslept. It was twenty minutes past the time he was supposed to wake up. It looks like he'll be arriving at school a little bit later than usual.

=O=

His brother wasn't at home this morning. Apparently, he left a note on the desk with breakfast prepared.

I needed to patrol the city again today. Eat breakfast and go directly to school. Do not come looking for me,OK? Head straight home after school; no detours. I'll be back sometime in the evening. Leftovers are in the refrigerator.

-Heiwa

"Must be because of the war," muttered Kinto as he walked down the street to his elementary school, "Geez, looks like life will be much more troublesome now."

The sky seems to be only partially cloudy today, as the blue sky was revealed and the sun shone from above. It was fair weather today. Too bad his brother had instructed him to head directly back home after school. Kinto glanced at his hand, which was still covered in bandages. It hid the Command Seals imprinted on his hand; he made the excuse that his hand had been injured, but the blonde boy wondered how long he would keep this act up.

This was a dangerous battle, and he didn't want anyone from school to get pulled into it. Even if they were outside Fuyuki, brother said that there was still the chance that Masters or Servants may come after him. He shuddered at the thought, as he doubted his own fighting ability for a moment.

"C'mon, Kinto, pull yourself together. Big brother taught you martial arts. Use that defend yourself," Kinto tried to encourage himself. "…Yeah, right. Martial arts ain't gonna cut it."

The blonde student let out a sigh. He just hoped that he wouldn't encounter any enemies at all. He was a kid, weak and inexperienced. Fighting morale may not be a good thing to have at a time like this.

But he needed it to survive.

=O=

Night has once again fallen upon Fuyuki. From the top of the Central Building, Heiwa gazed out at the grand city below him, keeping a careful eye out for enemies, especially Servants. As it turned out, daytime had been a busy day.

He went out to patrol the city but had to fight a group of Heartless on the rooftops of Shinto. It took a chunk out of his available time. He made a quick scan of a few more areas before finding new information. At noon that day, he was sure he felt the presence of a Servant nearby. And it was a strong one. Not like that of Archer's, but still strong.

Flashback (Start)

Wielder, dressed in casual clothing, walked around the streets of the Shinto district, bustling with people on the walkways and vehicles on the roads. After a surveillance of the harbor, Miyama district, and bridge, he was making his last patrol here. All locations were clear of suspicion or anomalies he had no knowledge of.

"It looks like I can head back in time for dinner," the Heroic Spirit of the Keyblade said to himself contently. "Now I just have to-!"

The Servant turned his head slowly to his right. About one hundred feet away from him, two people in a taxi cab emerged and began walking in the direction opposite of where he was heading. One of them emitted the extremely strong aura of a Servant. Wielder quickly looked over his options. Should he leave them be? He had confidence in his Presence Concealment, but then again he had a feeling that Saber might be able to see through it.

"…I'll follow them from afar. Just keep a fair distance between us."

Flashback (end)

Wielder remembered how the two simply wandered around the city as if they were touring it. The white-haired woman dragged them from one shop to another and even a museum one time. If they weren't enemies, the Servant might have felt slight comfort at the white-haired woman's joy. Even the enemy Servant disguised in a black suit cracked a smile a few times.

Though he wondered why the attire, but he didn't question it too much.

The two had gone through the entire populated area of the city. He would have watched a little longer if he hadn't noticed how late it was. But considering that the two wouldn't cause trouble for him too often, he decided to let them off.

This didn't mean he didn't observe their appearance and actions during that time. One thing he noticed was that the white-haired woman. She didn't seem…human. Her personality may say otherwise, but her features and aura were not normal. And either hand didn't have the Command Seals. They may not always be located at the area, but it was the most common. If the woman wasn't a Master, then he pondered what her identity could be.

Next was the Servant, but unfortunately he wasn't able to collect much information due to the cold exterior and concealment of much emotion. And there wasn't anything out of particular besides the strange attire. And it was hard to see, but the Servant appeared to be female despite the male appearance and personality.

"…Unfortunately, it wasn't much useful information," Wielder mumbled with a sigh.

But it looked like there wasn't much else left to do. He can go plan out an attack against the enemies, but this should be done with a little time. A plan can eventually arrive if he can get more information on the other Servants and their locations.

"Guess I should check the monitor."

He reached into a knapsack he had slung over his back and pulled out a screen that looked much like an iPad. But it only had one function: to link all cameras he placed in different locations to it. He had some experience with technology, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

"…Let's try these locations," muttered Wielder as he turned on the device. The screen lit up as the words loading were written across it. Then it cleared up to reveal a search bar. "…How about the harbor first?"

He opened a small compartment from the bottom of the device, which contained a keyboard when he pulled it out. After typing in the word, it searched as streams ran across the screen before several images popped up.

They were all viewing from the cameras he placed throughout the harbor on a trip there a few nights ago. He should thank his Item Construction ability and his own knowledge to make them so quickly.

"Hmm? What's this?"

From several of the camera screens, he could see the white-haired woman and the Servant from earlier walk into view. And only moments later did another Servant appear out of thin air. Most likely he was in astral form. Unfortunately, he didn't equip sound reproducers onto those cameras, so he couldn't hear their conversation.

"But if I know anything, this will turn out as a battle. I better go investigate."

But before he could turn off the device, he saw some the images shatter like glass before buzzing into static. He narrowed his eyes. Someone must have spotted

Activating the full extension of his Presence Concealment, Wielder took a running stance before surging towards the edge the roof and taking a massive leap into the air. Time seemed to slow as he shifted the position of his feet. Mysteriously, he seemed to kick off of solid air as he propelled himself forward.

"Flowmotion, soar."

He zoomed off in a white light as he repeatedly kicked off the air when bounding back and forth. In the night sky, he would almost look like a shooting star. His destination was the harbor, and the predicted time to the location was one minute.

=O=

However, the Servant stopped short from arriving at the harbor as he plummeted down the ground; despite the altitude he landed gracefully without creating any disfiguration upon the earth. He could feel the energy of bounded field being activated.

Whoever destroyed the cameras he set must be hiding somewhere, so he did not want to be caught.

Thus he had to find a location to conceal himself well. His level of Presence Concealment was not high enough to render him completely invisible to the eye like Assassin, so it would be better if he found a good hiding place where he could watch the battle and avoid being spotted.

Wielder concentrated his eyesight as far as he can. On top of the crane, barely seeable, was Kiritsugu. The blonde-haired Servant had a feeling that this man was responsible for taking out his cameras. The crane was apparently out of the option; he continued to scan the warehouses.

Further away from the field of battle, he managed to see a woman dressed in dark attire a further distance from the battlefield.

"Most likely an associate of that man up near the crane."

Thus, somehow he had to avoid being caught by either of those two. Astral form really would have been good in a time like this.

"Very well then. I guess I'll hide myself amongst the crates," thought Wielder as he eyed the massive containers nearby the battlefield. "Now I simply have to avoid catching anyone's attention."

Giving a nod of finality, he would have began to move toward his hiding spot if it weren't for the fact that he barely caught the appearance of the Servant out of the edge of his eye. Looking at the crane again, he gazed particularly on top of the crane itself.

He was greeted with a familiar shadowy figure and skull-like mask.

"Assassin? But how…I knew there was something peculiar going on. That event from earlier almost looked like it was…played out."

Now having to be more cautious, the Servant slowly moved through the shadows of the warehouses.


=O=

Kiritsugu was not happy with how things are turning out, but it had less to do with Saber and Lancer's duel. When he and Maiya had arrived at the docks, they arranged to spy on the battle from two locations. But as they made their way to them, they found something peculiar that he never expected to find.

Miniature cameras have been placed all over the harbor. Who had done them remained a mystery to Kiritsugu; he could not think of any of the other Masters who were capable of creating such devices or even using them.

Each one they passed by was destroyed with care, but it was still a confusing factor as to who did it. Seven Masters are in this Holy Grail War; all of them are magi, including him. He knew few of the participants that would use technology, and the only one he knew who could use them on this level was…

And that's not the only concern. Assassin is standing only several tens of meters away from his position. Kiritsugu had a suspicion that Assassin was still in alive somehow, but the situation he was in was troublesome. If he were to make a move, he would give away his position and get the Servant's attention. His life could be forfeit.

The Magus Killer had Maiya positioned to shoot Assassin at any time as a distraction; but if she wasn't careful, Assassin may take that as an assault. This was not a good situation to be in, but he had to bear with it for now. He would simply have to settle with keeping an eye on Lancer's Master.

=O=

Wielder, in the shadow of a group of crates, looked cautiously at the battle going on. He carefully analyzed each of the enemies' movements as they engaged in their duel.

The female Servant from earlier was apparently of Saber-class. The blonde man had been impressed by her fighting capability as a powerhouse, despite her thin frame as a small girl. Her attacks against the other Servant were fierce and incessant.

Her weapon was also fascinating, due to its nature as an invisible weapon. But he soon found out after looking closely that it was simply an incredible amount of super high-pressured wind encompassing a blade. He was able to see through the visible obstruction caused by it partially thanks to his Instinct. But it was nonetheless a weapon that fascinated him. Such a powerful bounded field, compressed into a small size that encompasses a single weapon; it amazes him.

Then there was the other combatant in this duel. From his appearance, it could surely be said that the other enemy was a Lancer Servant. And he wielded two spears simultaneously. This was a sight that Wielder did not see too often. It was particularly a unique fighting style to use, deviating from the typical usage of wielding a spear with two hands.

Yet, this method also provided benefits and technique that cannot be utilized with one spear alone. This allowed the Lancer, who appeared to be disadvantaged with wielding two spears, to counter the charge of Saber effectively.

Lastly, the spears appear to be covered in what Wielder recognized as talisman cloths. Amulets tags. Or whatever you wish to call them. He assumed that they were either to conceal the identity of the spears, seal their effects, or part of the actual Noble Phantasm. The first two reasons came to him as the most likely.

Both appeared to be evenly matched, or to Wielder's eyes it seems.

"Let's see how this plays out."

Irisviel was stunned at what was happening before her. The two combatants were moving far too fast for her eyes to even follow, only able to experience the shockwaves and debris being flung as a result of the battle. Thus a fight cannot be fought by the hands humans or magi.

"So this is the Holy Grail War…"

A battle where legends are reborn and pitted against each other; power that could shake the world itself; Irisviel could only stare in awe and wonder at the battle occurring before her.

Saber was experiencing a similar wonder, but it was on a different matter entirely. Her opponent wielded two spears, one long and one short. One of these two has to be Lancer's Noble Phantasm. She believed that the answer would soon come clear after several exchanges. The one that was better utilized must be the Servant's true weapon.

But she had been repelled so many times already. Saber assumed that this style of wielding two spears was just to confuse her; but she was beginning to have doubts about this already.

"Which one is it? The left, or the right?"

She would have to find out that answer quickly, or the Servant will end up going nowhere in this battle. But on the other hand, it was a pleasure to face such a strong opponent.

Lancer, however, was also being pressured by Saber's assault. His attacks, utilizing both long and short-ranges, should allow him to gain supremacy in this battle. How he was pushed into his current situation was Saber's sword. He could not see it.

This gave a disadvantage to Lancer, who could not judge the sword's length or any of its features. He had been relying on Saber's movements to determine her attacks' trajectory, but at this rate he could not form any surprise attack to deal a fatal blow to his enemy. Lancer could only keep on the defensive as he kept a distance from Saber.

"This woman is quite good…"

However, it saddened him that he had to fight for his life this early in the war.

Lancer countered a blow from Saber with his short spear before forcing her back with the lance in his right. Saber, undeterred, ran up the side of a storehouse and slashed at Lancer from overhead. The blow was once again countered and repelled, but Lancer went in for a killing strike as he lunged at Saber and thrusted his short spear towards her neck. The sword-wielding Servant blocked that blow with her invisible blade before she swung it at Lancer's torso. He leapt a short distance back to avoid it.

Saber went in pursuit with her sword, but leapt over a swing from Lancer's long spear, which tore the ground asunder. But that was simply to position Saber, as he thrusted his shorter lance forward; the spear had been deflected by her blade.

The battle continued as the area of the harbor they were in became devastated. When Lancer avoided an attack from Saber, her blade cut into the wall of a storehouse and broke it down. After another set of exchanges, Lancer tore the ground asunder again with his two lances; while Saber leapt back from the blow, chunks of asphalt flew into the air from the attack.

After a few minutes of this battle, the harbor was considerably wrecked by their attacks. Wielder was little bit downfallen at how one or two of his cameras had been wrecked by the two Servants; but he could always make more. He was more impressed by the performance of the two Servants, who have proven they were fierce warriors.

"I suppose a little collateral damage was inevitable with these two."

Through all of that damage, Saber and Lancer remained unexhausted and unscathed. They only glare at each other as they prepared for whatever move would follow.

"It not honorable to battle unannounced but," Lancer began to speak, "It is impressive how you fared so far without a sweat. You are one heck of a woman."

"You need not be so honest, Lancer," Saber replied with a smile, but undeterred in her stance, "Even without knowing your name, it is an honor to be complimented by a master of the spear such as yourself."

"That's enough playing around, Lancer."

All but Lancer tensed as they heard a cold voice echo throughout the harbor. Wielder glanced around; if he knew well enough, this voice belonged to Lancer's Master. It was impossible to trace the source of the voice, but Wielder's intuition points him often in the correct direction. He predicted the Master's position already; but for now, he will leave him alone.

"Don't drag this fight on any longer. Saber must be eliminated as quickly as possible."

The following words, however, drew a reaction from all Servant's present at the battlefield.

"I grant you permission to use your Noble Phantasm."

"Here it comes…"

Wielder had been waiting for this very moment. Lancer is going to reveal his trump card, or at least one of them. Prepared to make an analysis of the ability of the Noble Phantasm, he carefully watched the following events that were about to unfold.

"Understood, my Master."

Lancer then dropped his short lance right at his feet, shifting both of his hands to grip the longer spear. The amulets on the lance began to unravel as they disappeared into thin air. A crimson spear bared its demonic glory to the world as he directed the spear at Saber.

Wielder narrowed his eyes as he looked at the crimson spear. It gave off an ominous aura at its tip, the killing intent being directed incomparable to the start of the battle. This Noble Phantasm must possess a potent ability, but what could it be? He would soon find out…however, there was another detail that came to him as "off".

Judging from the fighting style earlier, this man was a master at dual-wielding spear. To suddenly shift to the entirely different style of wielding one lance was…odd. He couldn't put it in correct words, but something was not complete about this situation. There was something…missing?

Currently paying little heed to words between the two right now, the blonde man watched as Lancer ran forward and made a simple thrust of his spear towards Saber, who blocked it with her invisible-

Wielder had to cover his face a little bit from the large amount of wind that gushed out at that moment. But it only lasted a second as Saber quickly backed away, Lancer relenting to pursuit her. The Keyblade wielder quickly began to run through his thoughts on what had happened in that instant. Where did all of that wind come from? Was it from Lancer's Noble Phantasm? No…

"There. I caught a glimpse of your sword, Saber," Lancer coolly said.

"It was from Saber," realized Wielder. The spear Lancer held must have somehow disrupted the bounded field that surrounded Saber's blade. At this point, he had a good idea of what this Noble Phantasm's ability was, but he can't be sure yet. However, he did catch a glimpse of the true form of Saber's sword. It emitted a golden light during that moment. Wielder's instinct told him that the blade was incredibly dangerous.

Lancer immediately began to attack Saber with a series of fast-paced thrusts. The sword-wielding Servant was on the defensive as she tried to avoid as much as she could, but she eventually had to parry several of the attacks. This action once again disintegrated the wind around her blade. Avoiding Lancer's strike again, the spear tore into the side of a sword house and left a huge gash on it.

"Doesn't anyone try to reduce collateral damage?"

Wielder deadpanned as he gazed at the fight going on. Saber appeared to back away before rushing at Lancer, who thrust his spear one more time. However, Saber moved to the side to allow her armor to protect her from the attack as she moves in for a lethal strike. But she suddenly felt something wrong.

"…I knew it," Wielder thought as he witnessed the crimson spear pass right through the armor as if it wasn't there, drawing blood from Saber's flank. "A prana-cancelling Noble Phantasm, although it appears limited to simply the point of contact."

Saber, whose Instinct saved her from suffering a much more fatal wound, quickly parried one more attack from Lancer before backing away. She clearly felt the pain from the wound inflicted on her, but thankfully Irisviel casted healing magecraft. And apparently Saber has realized the ability of Lancer's spear as well.

"Lancer…your crimson spear can cut off the flow of prana."

But it wasn't powerful enough to completely undo the source of the magecraft, as Invisible Air and her armor are still in good condition. So she could only assume it works solely when in contact with the object.

"Your armor is made out of prana, Saber. If you were relying on that for victory, then I suggest you surrender now," Lancer recommended, "You're as good as naked before my spear."

Saber snorted at Lancer's banter. It was bothering for Lancer to already proclaim victory simply because he pierced her armor. Just because her armor was useless before this foe, it doesn't mean that she was out of options. And she proved that with her next move.

The armor on her burst apart into silver dust as it faded away into prana. With this action, she lost some of her defense; but it was traded in for an increase in speed, as the armor did not weigh her down. Saber held her sword in a new stance as she pointed it parallel to the ground in the direction behind her. She decided to use Invisible Air to propel her forward at high speed. With her current state, Saber predicted that she will at least go three times her maximum speed. Not only will that, but the prana she used for maintaining her armor be channeled into her use of Prana Burst, guaranteeing a destructive strike that will kill in one blow.

"If I can't block your spear, then I will have to kill you before it strikes," the knight replied before watching for the right time to propel.

"A bold move. So it's an all-or-nothing attack, Saber? I must say that I like this brave decision," Lancer congratulated as he slipped into a defensive stance, shifting the position of his feet on the broken asphalt he stood on. "Daresay, I planning for that."

Saber simply had a confident smile on her face as she replied, "We'll see after this strike, Lancer."

Wielder watched this soon-to-be clash from afar. It was true that the situation appeared to be an all-or-nothing assault. Either Lancer can catch Saber's speed and cut her down, or Saber will bisect Lancer in two. The bets would almost likely be placed on Saber winning this clash. But instead, the blonde Servant almost felt like chiding Saber for her overconfidence.

This confidence that Lancer displayed in the face of her attack was something he knew can't be ignored. The lance-wielding Servant must have a plan to counter Saber's attack. But what was it? Perhaps Lancer had a way to predict attacks, or maybe he can gain an increase in speed somehow?

"No, it must have something to do with a pre-prepared prop somewhere in the battlefield."

Wielder studied Lancer's movements very carefully, as the lance-wielding Servant was moving back a few steps. In preparation for something? Wait, something about the area Lancer was standing on looked…!

"So that's it!"

At the start of the battle, Lancer had been dual-wielding spears before shifting to one halfway through. He dropped the shorter spear on the ground before switching styles of attack…it was in preparation for a trap.

He started to receive suspicion from two facts: Lancer's mastery of dual-wielding and how the crimson spear's ability was unlocked after the talismans were unraveled. The talismans were used to conceal both the power and identity of the spear; if Lancer was a master at dual wielding…it should be his specialty. Therefore…

"That short spear was also a Noble Phantasm!"

Saber had launched herself towards at incredible speed, literally "flying across the ground". At that moment, Lancer kicked up the short spear imbedded into the ground, which began unraveling the talismans around it to reveal a malevolent yellow spear. Its target was Saber's neck. Saber's eyes widened as she tried to move out of the spear's path.

And so the end result was this. Saber had managed to avoid the spear from targeting her neck, but it had ended up nicking a small gash on the underside of her left arm. But at the same time, she landed a cut on Lancer's left arm.

After tumbling across the ground to gain distance from Lancer, Saber got up and glared at Lancer.

"You really won't make this easy…but I do admire that," Lancer said as the wound on his left arm was healed.

Saber couldn't feel her left arm right now. The last attack had cut a tendon that linked to her thumb, rendering proper usage of her grip null. But this shouldn't be a problem, as Irisviel was providing back up as a healer.

"…Irisviel, I require healing."

"I have…I have, but…," Irisviel tried to say through her confusion, "Saber, your arm should already be healed. Your current state should be one of full health."

"Nani?!" Wielder thought shocked, "A state of full health she says…maybe this is the ability of that yellow spear."

At this moment, Lancer then decided to drop his masquerade already, having revealed both his Noble Phantasms. He bent down to pick up the yellow spear from the ground, and Lancer began to speak.

"It's good that you realized your armor is useless against Gae Dearg: Crimson Rose of Exorcism. But it was mistake to discard it. You would have avoided Gae Buidhe: Golden Rose of Mortality."

"Gae Dearg and Gae Buidhe…I see now. His face…it has a mole on it, doesn't it?" Wielder realized as he watched from his hiding place, "If that's so…then he must be…"

"The first of the Knights of Fianna…So the Grail gave me the honor of facing you, Diarmuid of the Love Spot," Saber said, feeling honored to face a knight like herself.

"Diarmuid Ua Duibhne…this war has brought forth such unique people," Wielder mused to himself as he recalled reading the tale of this knight. His name was well-known in Celtic legends, especially in the narrative known as The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne. He read that story once before; however, the ending was sad, with Diarmuid being left to death due to his lord's resentment.

"That's the pleasure of the Holy Grail War…but it is I who should feel honored. No Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail could ever mistake that golden blade for another," announced Diarmuid, "I must be pretty damned good if I were to land even a single blow against the King of Knights."

"King of Knights…wait, does he mean?"

Wielder couldn't believe what he heard, but Lancer had clearly called out Saber as the "King of Knights". He found that fact surprising. Who would have known that this young girl was the world-renowned King Arthur? If he didn't know who he was, then he must be an idiot.

"Arthur…Arturia? Let's settle with that. Arturia Pendragon and Diarmuid Ua Duibhne…these two will be my enemies this war it seems. Couldn't ask for better foes."

"So, now that we are both acquainted with each other's name…"

Lancer twirled Gae Dearg in his right hand before assuming a dual-spear-wielding stance. "Let's continue our duel as knights. Or perhaps you believe you have a disadvantage with the wound on your arm?"

Saber materialized her armor again as he held her blade ready, not showing any signs of backing down.

"Nonsense. It's shameful that you concern yourself over a mere scratch."

"Prepare yourself, Saber. I will come out as the victor."

"Only if I do not win first, Lancer."

Wielder suddenly felt something rapidly approaching. If the lightning that struck down on the battlefield only moments afterward wasn't an indication.

Saber, Lancer, and all others present whipped their heads in awe and shock to the southeastern sky. A flying chariot pulled along by grand and majestic bulls flew in a line straight towards their direction.

"ALALALAIE!"

"The heck is that?!" Wielder thought. A chariot was flying through sky on top of…lightning? This was absurd in many manners; most at present had something along this line of thought as the chariot descended to the ground, landing right in between the path of Lancer and Saber.

"Both of you, cease your battle! You stand in the presence of a king!"

This new Servant spreads his arms out as his majestic presence filled the area. He was dressed in bronze armor and a majestic red cape. His fiery red hair and overbearing stature added more to his grand aura.

Lancer and Saber gazed warily at this new presence. He had no intention of attacking him, but he was intervening their duel. For what purpose he was doing so was the only reason currently holding them back from making any move towards the newly present Servant.

"I am Iskander, King of Conquerors! In this war, I am of the Rider class."

Everyone, if not already, was now shocked at the words that came out of this man's mouth. He willingly revealed his name to everyone present here; this was absurd since it would give him a great disadvantage.

Lord El-Melloi gritted his teeth as he realized that this was the Servant he was originally planning to summon; that was, until a student of his, Waver Velvet, stole the artifact he was going to use for the ritual. How did this Servant get summoned?

His answer came to him as a small figure rose up from the chariot. It turned out to be none other than Waver himself. The young boy was literally screaming at Rider.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you idiooooot-GAH!"

Waver got flung down from a flick to the forehead by Rider.

"This is just too wild," Wielder mentally complained. A Servant who was apparently proud and confident enough to proclaim his name to his enemies; Rider was one of those few odd figures in Wielder's book.

"And this is just the beginning of the war. What the heck does the rest of this war have to show me?"

[Chapter End]


And that was the end of the chapter folks! Pretty exciting, don't you think?

OK, I admit. This really wasn't anything different from the canon. If any of you were hoping for deviation…then…just don't push your luck too much, OK? Anyways, look forward to the next chapter, people!


Class: Lancer

Alternate Classes: Saber

True Name: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne

Master: Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Parameters

Strength: B

Mana: D

Endurance: B

Agility: A+

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: B

Class Skills

Independent Action: C

Lancer is capable or remaining in this world for one day without an established contract. As a Lancer, this unique skill usually possessed by Archers can be considered an extra benefit.

Magic Resistance: B

Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by high-level thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for him to be affected.

Personal Skills

Disengage: C

Lancer can reliably break off from heated combat. Also has the ability to return an unfavorable battle to the first turn and return technique stats to their defaults.

Eye of the Mind (True): B

Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduces an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long as there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

Mystic Face: C

The mole under Diarmuid's eye produces a strong charm spell, causing any woman who looks upon his face to fall in love with him. The effects can be nullified with high enough magic resistance, such as Servants and accomplished magi.

Noble Phantasm

Gae Dearg: Crimson Rose of Exorcism

Rank: B

Type: Anti-Unit

(Same as canon)

Gae Buidhe: Yellow Rose of Mortality

Rank: B

Type: Anti-Unit

(Same as canon)