For anyone expecting more action, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Same old. Don't own. Not making money. Rights belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 4: He Who Seeks Knowledge, Seeks Victory
(11:00pm Friday, Einzbern Fuyuki Castle)
Kiritsugu looked out the window and sighed in relief as Iri pulled up to the castle. Pleased that she had made it back safely, he moved downstairs to greet her. As they hugged, he noticed Saber looked angrier than before, and slightly nauseous.
"What happened?" He asked Saber, who looked away for a moment as he wondered how to answer.
(x/X\x)
(2 hours ago, Fuyuki Highway)
Arthas' riding skill told him so much about the car they were in. They told him how it can go 7.5 miles to the gallon. They told him how it has central locking system and side airbags. Mostly, they told him how the car has a maximum safety speed of 150 miles per hour. On his world, this was impossibly fast.
And Irisviel was going past this limit.
"This is so much fun Saber." She laughed as they drifted around another corner and barely missed scraping the railing. "Kiri never mentioned how much better it was going fast."
Why did I let her drive, Saber thought as he gripped the seat as hard as he could. He wished he wasn't the Lich King so that he could at least pray to Him. Praying to yourself is both weird and useless.
"By the Light, I ask of you. Though I have not been faithful to your creed, if you wish me to seek redemption then allow me to survive this horror of steel and force I am trapped in." He prayed to the Light as another barrier went past close enough to touch.
"Look Saber." Irisviel said as she pointed ahead. Saber looked up, and if he was alive his blood would've run cold. A gap in the barrier leading to open air, and on the other side was the rest of the road they were on.
There's no way she's this insane! He thought to himself. But apparently she had a death wish, because she did not deviate from the gap. The car revved higher as the wheels had nothing to grip, and the trees shook far below the airborne vehicle. For several moments, it seemed that the car wasn't going to make it before finally bouncing on solid road again.
Saber was not afraid to admit he might've squealed a bit.
(x/X\x)
(Present Time, Einzbern Fuyuki Castle)
"From now on, I'll be the only driver on this team." Saber finally said as he headed inside. Iri sighed, her dreams of more driving fun crushed.
"I don't think Saber liked my driving." She said as they followed him. Emiya glanced at her for a moment.
"You jumped that gap on the highway, didn't you?" Iri could only giggle. Sighing, and pleased he hadn't been in that car, Emiya headed to the dining room they had chosen to meet in. Saber was lying on a couch, resting from his traumatic ride. Maiya was finishing setting out their information while Iri sat down next to Saber. Emiya stood at the head of the table, hands resting on the surface.
"Time to discuss the first match." He said.
(x/X\x)
(Same time, Forward Unto Dawn)
Unknown to Team Emiya, Team Velvet was doing the exact same thing. They stood around the briefing table, a list of all known servants and masters, as well as their photos, taken either by Rider's helmet or hacked documents.
"Right, then. While I admit that didn't go quite as planned, we still managed to acquire some more intel on our opponents." Cortana said as she walked around the list. "First up is Saber. His swordsmanship is very impressive, his armour is tough enough to withstand the Warthog's armour-penetrating rounds, and his sword seems to heal him."
"He used what I would guess to be necromancy. That does fit in with his armour style." Waver said
"Given the appearance of his Master, Saber must be with the Einzbern Family." He continued. "Their homunculi are well known for their albinism."
The list linked them both together.
"Next is Lancer and her Master, El-Melloi." Rider said.
(x/X\x)
(Fuyuki Castle)
"Lancer is definitely a threat to us. Her Noble Phantasm seems to revolve around switching between different sets of abilities, what she calls Paradigm Shifts." Emiya said as they pulled up the photo he had taken of the woman.
"She seems to need to touch the white tattoo to throw spells." Saber said. "And I noticed that each shift changed her offence and defence. Her attacks were harder during Commando than Ravager. Furthermore, her attack style seems to focus on staggering her opponent in quick succession, before launching a heavy flurry of attacks."
"She needs time to cast stronger spells, and she seems to be able to cast only a few spells in a row before recharging." Iri said. "Her ability to heal herself is troubling, as is her ability to reinforce herself. I also think her first spells may have meant to weaken Saber, but were blocked by his high Magic Resistance."
Emiya nodded, glad they got so much knowledge from this fight. He tapped the picture of a tall blond man in a blue coat wand white gloves. "What do we know about her Master?"
(x/X\x)
(Forward Unto Dawn)
"He was my teacher back in at The Clock Tower." Waver answered, his face burning as he remembered his laugh. "He thinks he's so great because he comes from a ten-generation Magus family, while I'm just a third-generation. He's arrogant, rude, and doesn't respect anybody. But his magic is powerful. He's probably the strongest Magus in this war."
"Sounds like you two have history." Cortana said.
Waver nodded. "Power comes from the bloodline. Someone who's part of an old bloodline will always be stronger than someone like me. I wrote a thesis on how a Magus could increase their power through effort, experience and knowledge. But El-Melloi laughed at it in class and tore it up, calling me an idiot. But I showed him. I stole the catalyst that summoned you. I got to be a Master in the Grail War. And once I win, I'll use the Grail to show everyone they're wrong."
"You're going to wish to show them they're wrong?" Cortana asked. "To show you're strong enough?"
"Well, yeah. I could wish for more magic power, or something."
Rider interrupted. "Sir, with all due respect, that idea's stupid."
Waver flinched at that. "What? How dare you!"
"If you want to prove them wrong, then follow your thesis. Become better than them through knowledge and effort. No one will respect you if your power is handed to you on a silver platter. You have to prove you're worthy of their respect."
"You… you think I could do that?" Waver asked. "But I'm only a third-generation. I'm not strong enough."
Rider stood still for a moment, before reaching up to his helmet. Twisting it slightly, it hissed as he removed it. Underneath it his head had a Buzzcut and was pale, like this was the first time in ages he had removed his helmet. Strangely though, despite his height and mass, his face looked like he was only a few years older than Waver.
"I'm 21 right now, but as a child I was already a soldier. When I was six, I was chosen to be part of the UNSC's latest project, the SPARTAN project. There were 75 of us chosen, and we were put through the meat grinder to become the best. High-level classes, brutal training exercises and lethal combat training. We did that for 8 years. After all that, we were augmented with bioengineering. 30 of us died from complications while 12 others were washed out for one reason or another. I remember intense pain at every step, like I was being drowned in fire or acid or spikes." He grimaced as he remembered the pain. "We fought against insurrectionists, aliens, monsters and worse. The 33 of us that survived were slowly dwindling with every mission. Yet I never gave up. I kept pushing forward, no matter what the odds were, no matter how bad things got, no matter that some of my superiors despised me for what I was. It took an advanced spaceship belonging to god-like beings exploding to finally put me down for good. I earned nearly every medal the UNSC had for my actions. And I would've tried even if I was just a regular soldier." He placed a hand on Waver's shoulder. "Never stop trying. If someone say you can't do something, then keep at it until you succeed. And I will do everything I can to ensure you survive to prove them wrong."
Waver smiled. Rider had a point. He was only a few years older than him, but he had been fighting all these threats and going through hell when he was even younger. He survived nearly everything that got thrown at him through training and determination. If he could keep going through that, the so could Waver.
"Alright Rider." He said smiling as the servant put his helmet back on. "Let's prove El-Melloi wrong. Let's win this thing through skill and knowledge!"
(x/X\x)
(Fuyuki Castle)
"Caster's magic is very impressive." Saber was saying. "He would probably be on par with Antonidas, one of the strongest mages of my time."
Emiya agreed with him. To create such an earthquake and then a massive sword with but one word is unbelievable. "Normally I would think of him having come from the Age of the Gods, but given that many of the spirits we've seen are unlike anything before, he could've come from a completely different world."
"Judging from his actions," Maiya said. "He seems to be naïve enough to think wars can all be stopped with words alone. We could use that to launch a surprise attack."
"I'd caution against that." Saber warned her. "I had a mentor like that once. He would always try to negotiate with an enemy, but when they attacked he would kill every last one he saw. I have no doubt that Caster would attempt to annihilate us all if he had to."
"What were those little creatures floating around him?" Iri asked. "They looked adorable."
Emiya looked at the photo of Caster he took. Though there were many of them, and the glow made it harder to see, he could identify there were only four different types of creatures. One was always rounded like a rock, brown, and with blue eyes and spiky tails. Another was red and yellow, with spikes jutting and making it look like flames. The third was an ocean blue, always looking like it was some sort of sea creature. Finally the forth was purple and white, with parts shaped like wings on it.
Saber tapped the picture. "If his magic is similar to human magic in my world, then these four types must represent the four elements of Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Given the immense mana flowing through them, they must be able to improve his spells. I would recommend targeting these creatures to try and weaken him."
"What about finding his master?" Emiya asked. He could appreciate Saber's tactical mind.
Saber shook his head. "These creatures have enough mana to sustain him without a master, so we'll have to go for him anyway. Perhaps we could form a partnership with other servants until his demise."
"An idea to consider. Now on to Archer."
(x/X\x)
(Forward Unto Dawn)
"We already know he belong to Tohsaka." Cortana was saying. Next to her was a model of Archer. They noted how Archer appeared to be some kind of cat-like being.
"He's a skilled marksman, to have landed a blow on Private Phillips." Rider said, remembering when Phillips had exploded from the shot. "His weapons seem to utilise a combination of plasma and metal bullets."
"I had a suspicion about his weapons from your description, Waver." Cortana said. "But this fight confirmed that his weapons use some form of matter generation to appear in his hands. That puts his technology even higher than the Covenant."
"How many weapons do you think he has?" Waver asked.
"Unknown. Soldiers of our world carry two weapons, three in a pinch. But with matter generation, Archer could be carrying dozens of weapons or even hundreds."
Waver gulped. If Archer could carry hundreds of weapons, the Tohsaka had obviously gotten a powerful servant. "Do you have any way of carrying more weapons?"
Rider nodded. "I can call a drop-pod from the Dawn, loaded with the weapons I need. However, I can only carry two weapons to maximise my skills, and anyone who knows how to work them can grab them too. With his agility and jetpack, anything hard-hitting enough it a sitting duck, and anything fast enough isn't strong enough.
Waver sighed. Just when he thought he had a powerful servant, the others block him at every turn.
"Let's focus on another servant." He said. "What about Berserker? He seems to have a grudge against Archer."
"Actually, what he said was 'Nothing personal, but my master despises your master.'" Cortana said. She started scrolling down the list of potential masters. "Given that we have identified nearly all the masters that leaves Berserker with… The Matous." She pulled up a list of Matous in the city. She had Zouken Matou, Kariya Matou, Byakuya Matou, and Shinji Matou. They looked at the list and gauged each name on the list.
"Shinji's far too young to be a master, not when there are others to choose." Rider said as he tapped the name. It faded away as they ruled it out.
"Word in the Clock Tower is that Byakuya doesn't have a single magic circuit, so he's out." Waver said as he tapped his name.
"Zouken could be the master, except that no one's heard from him for some time. For all we know he could've died of old age." Cortana mentioned.
"Pull up relevant files of Kariya Matou." Rider said. A clock appeared on screen as Cortana hacked the Fuyuki Administrative system. Soon a picture was forming.
"Right then." Waver said. "According to these files, Kariya was a childhood friend of Aoi Zenjou, now Tohsaka's wife when Kariya left the city. A Magus wouldn't abandon their bloodline and their magic unless they had a very good reason for it. Aoi had two daughters, Rin and Sakura, who Kariya saw on a regular basis everytime he came back to Fuyuki. A couple of weeks before the Grail War started, Sakura Tohsaka became Sakura Matou. Kariya must've entered to get back at Tohsaka for something or other."
"No one has reported seeing Sakura since the adoption, likely because the Matous are abusive or something." Cortana added.
"The Matous are nearly magically dead according to rumours, and Sakura is recorded as being very magically gifted. That must be why the Matous adopted her. As for putting her up for adoption, as a rule the magic crest of a family can only be inherited by one child. This would be seen as the humane way for both daughters to become mages."
"So the Matou home is likely abusive, leading Kariya to abandon his home, his magic and his love to escape. He finds out that Tohsaka gave Sakura to the Matous, and hates him for putting her into that lifestyle. He becomes a Master for reasons unknown, and plans to at least take Tohsaka out of the running." Rider summed up.
"Well, this'll help us understand Berserker's master, but now we need to assess Berserker himself." Waver said as he stretched.
"He seems to be completely organic, but is definitely not human. I would compare him to the Flood in such a manner."
"Agreed. He seems to have incredible regenerative powers and can adapt on the fly. That adaptability could also include become resistant to anything that hurts him. If we were to attack him, we would need to hit with something new and not let up until he's dead."
"While it breaks the rule on not alerting the authorities, I would highly recommend hitting him with several MAC blasts until he's destroyed. He won't be able to reach us from the Moon and we if we can't kill him we could still do significant damage to him."
"Given their rivalry, we could team up with one to kill the other." Waver mentioned. Rider nodded.
"Good idea Sir. Now, let's focus on Assassin."
(x/X\x)
(Fuyuki Castle)
"We can confirm that Assassin is indeed alive. He must have a Noble Phantasm that lets him survive such attacks." Emiya started playing the footage their spy camera caught of the attack. They got to the point where Archer threw the grenade when he paused the video. "Maybe if we slow it down we just might…" He muttered to himself. Then they got it. Right before the point the grenade exploded, Assassin flickered and disappeared as the grenade exploded.
"So that's how he did it. A holographic projection to fool enemies."
"But why did he not attack that night?" Saber asked. "With Archer thinking he killed Assassin he wouldn't have been watching the grounds again. Assassin could've snuck through a window and slit Tohsaka's throat. Unless the aim wasn't to kill, but to make everyone think he had been killed."
"Assassin's master, Kirei Kotomine, was Tohsaka's apprentice up until two nights ago, when the war would've started. Most likely the two are working together."
"Acquiring information for Archer so that he can choose the appropriate weapon." Saber nodded again as the thought came to him. It was brilliant. It was proof that Tohsaka needed to be eliminated sooner than later. He can only do so much from range. "What about Rider?" He asked.
Emiya put out the photo he had on the strange vehicle and its rider. "His vehicle looked like something from the future, as does his armour. He appears to be able to summon a gunner to operate the turret, but we don't know whether he can summon another."
"Given the brutality of the war, it would be next to useless to have only one gunner is he was killed so easily. Most likely he can summon another and merely didn't want Archer killing him again. I could summon a mount that could keep up with him, but I would need to destroy the vehicle as quickly as I can before it destroys me."
Emiya smiled. They had a much better understanding of the other servants. Now they just needed to eliminate the biggest problems.
There we go. Now we get to hear Rider's story. I changed canon a bit and had it that he didn't survive destroying The Diadact, so that he'd be in this story. If he seems a bit OOC, I'm sorry for that. But in 4 games all we know is that he's a soldier, and I think that he would want his commanding officer to put in his best. Furthermore, his previous experiences would give him a greater advantage over Berserker. I mean, he'd fit in with the Flood pretty well.
Saber could tell that the Djinn were sustaining him because he had a large knowledge on magic. Having been tutored by a hero who tried negotiations first, he has first-hand experience in the might of nice guys.
And that's it. See you guys next week.