Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
Different Fates
Chapter 21
"We're being followed."
"I know that!" Lancer replied irritably, jumping over the treeline towards the isolated house along the edge of the city that Bazett and he were using as a hideout for the war. "Who is it?"
"Caster probably." She replied. "My familiars have spotted thirty-six golems moving towards the house from three directions. We'll get there before then, but we'd still be surrounded in minutes."
Lancer snarled. "Typical magus…" he said angrily. "…never bothering to get their hands dirty and having others do it for them."
"I'm right here you know."
Lancer's eye twitched. "Present company exempted…" he said as he leapt over the threshold. "…you and that girl obviously don't mind the dirty work."
"Obviously…" Bazett said as she was carried into the living room and placed on the couch. "…Lancer, head into the workshop and go to my desk. Open the third drawer down on the right, and get the case sealed in lead. I'll need that to patch myself up…though with that said I don't think I'll be able to help you out with Caster's thugs."
Lancer shrugged and did as Bazett asked him to. A minute or so later and Bazett untied her tourniquets, and began to work on her severed hamstrings and ignoring as best she could (for the moment) the blood dripping down and staining the carpet. The bounded fields' increased draw broke Lancer out of his observations. "They're here." He said, placing his lance over a shoulder.
"Can you handle it?"
Lancer looked at Bazett unhappily. "Hey, hey Bazett…" he said. "…where's the respect? They didn't call me Culann's guard dog for nothing you know?"
"Didn't you kill his guard-dog and had to take to its place until he got a replacement?"
Lancer laughed at Bazett's reply and grinned at her. "Alright I'll give you that much." He said while walking to the door. "Still, if I could substitute for a mutt I should be more than able to fight off a bunch of walking rocks."
"Don't underestimate Caster." Bazett warned. "Golems aren't easy to make, and most magi wouldn't use them en masse like this. Whoever he or she is, Caster's obviously not like most magi."
"Obviously…" Lancer said, and then he stepped out of the house.
Most of the golems stood in front of the house, silently waiting for the bounded fields to be brought down before launching their attack. Bringing down the bounded fields was entrusted to five golems, who stood at the corners of the property, blue lines glowing across their bodies as Caster worked to bring the bounded field from a distance through them.
Normally someone of his calibre could have brought them down with only token effort, but given he was working with substitutes it was taking a little longer.
"Hey there…" a harsh voice asked, and one of the golems working on the bounded fields looked up. A crimson spear stabbed through its eye and destroyed its head, its body bursting into flames as the weapon was withdrawn. As gems and ashes crumbled down on the ground, the same red lance from before was thrown the air and through another golem's head.
Again the golem burst into flames even as Lancer jumped forward, grabbed his weapon, and then somersaulted back into the property. Using the house's roof as a springboard, he jumped to the other side of the house and landing on a golem's shoulder he struck its head off. He them jumped off as another golem tried to punch him, the blow missing and sending sparks and hot ash flying as the golem merely disintegrated its crumbling ally.
Lancer landed nimbly on the ground, immediately surrounded by yet more golems. Lancer grinned, tensing and then charging forward. One golem was already going down before they could begin responding, and Lancer took two more golems down before taking down another one of the golems working on bringing Bazett's defences down.
"Is this the best you can do Caster?" he taunted.
And then he narrowly avoided a blow from a golem, jumping back and then again as a golem attacked from behind, rock and dirt spraying into the air as a stone fist buried itself into the ground with inhuman strength. "They got faster!" Lancer thought with alarm, and then a grin stretched across his face. "Finally…!"
Even as he thought that the golems charged his position, Lancer waiting until the last moment to jump up and over the press, striking one golem's head off on the way before landing and turning. A stone fist narrowly missed his face, sparks flying as his spear struck off a golem's body in an oblique fashion.
More fists came at him, Lancer dodging and parrying in a circle. Still with a grin on his face, Lancer fought all out, red flashing through the air as it stabbed and cut into stone and magic. Stone chips and ash flew through the air as Lancer carved his way through the press.
"Barely worth a calling a workout…" he boasted.
And then the bounded fields went down.
"Eh?"
And then five golems punched their way through the wall and into the property, lumbering towards Bazett's house. "Oh hell no!" he spat, charging back towards the house. One golem managed to position itself in the way, and threw a punch at his face.
Lancer easily avoided it, crouched down and speeding fast back into the property. One golem went down with its head crushed from behind, Lancer engraving runes on the front wall before jumping to another side of the house and destroying another golem. He threw his spear and destroyed a third, engraving yet more runes on the wall.
Running forward he retrieved his lance and ran around the house, cutting out a golem's legs from behind it, and crushing its head with a foot while engraving more runes on the back wall. And then jumping over the house, he landed behind the last golem – the last to have broken into the property so far – as it walked through a wall and into the housed, and stabbed it from behind. With a snarl he twisted his spear and broke the golem apart into burning ashes.
He then placed more runes, this time on the air. "Lancer…!" Bazett said as she ran into the room, exposed legs bruised and slightly-swollen. "We've…"
"I've got this!" he interrupted while running past. "Stay inside…!"
"Lancer…!"
Lancer burst through the front door, and threw his spear through the head of a golem over the property threshold. The next golem behind it was reduced to burning rubble from a single punch by Lancer, who then placed a final set of runes on the air. "Burn…!" he shouted.
The runes flashed along with the other runes he'd placed elsewhere on the property, and then flames hungrily roared up, water turning to steam, plants turned to ash, and rock flowed like water. "Lancer…!" Bazett shouted from inside the house, the flames kept at bay by Lancer's runes. As if on cue, Lancer leapt over the flames and landed in front of her, a bit singed but otherwise unharmed.
"That wasn't so bad." He said with a grin, and Bazett scowled.
"Now is not that the time for jokes." She retorted. "There's more on the way."
"What?"
"Caster's persistent." Bazett replied. "My familiars have a hundred golems heading our way, along with a small number of airborne types. Whoever Caster's Master is, they either have a vendetta against me or they're that desperate to force us to tell them who you are."
Lancer smiled. "Should I be flattered?" he asked.
"This is no laughing matter!"
"No it isn't." Lancer agreed. "So, what do you want to do? I could beat them the old-fashioned way, but it'll take time and…"
"That's too dangerous." Bazett interrupted. "You could probably beat them, but then again…"
She trailed off, and Lancer's expression turned dark. "I'm not afraid to die." He said. "So you shouldn't…"
"That's not what I…you could get overrun and…well if you get overrun there's nothing really between them and here…"
"Just use a command spell if that happens." Lancer shrugged. "Or do you want to run?"
"Do you?"
"Running doesn't suit me."
"Neither I…" Bazett said. "…damn it…we'll have to take the risk. Lancer, use your Noble Phantasm's other function, and get rid of those damn things in one blow."
Lancer whistled and threw a cocky salute at Bazett before heading back out.
The golems marched along the deserted edges of the city to avoid both detection and overly collateral damage. Caster himself didn't care much for damage or the lives of civilians, but his Master did, and more importantly to him, so did the Overseer of the conflict.
Getting sanctioned for drawing too much attention or causing too much damage didn't suit his tastes.
As the golems advanced towards their target to reinforce the failed first wave – the Lancer much like the Archer showing surprising skill (for their classes) at magic – they detected (or in the case of the airborne golems saw) something or someone running at them with blinding speed. From the safety of his workshop, Caster increased the magnification of one of his airborne golems' 'eyes', and confirmed the approaching runner as Lancer.
And then Lancer suddenly jumped a stunning fifty meters into the air, the force of his kicking off of the ground leaving craters behind him. More concerning to Caster was the enormous amount of prana Lancer was channelling, and the sinister red glow of his lance. And then his eyes went wide behind his golden mask.
"Gae Bolg…!" Lancer shouted, throwing his lance. There was a blazing surge of prana, and then to Caster's consternation all contact with his golems ceased.
Complete annihilation…but then again…Gae Bolg: Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death…I guess that answers who Lancer is…
Caster stood silent, contemplating how it had cost him over a hundred golems to obtain this information. Hopefully they would be able to formulate a strategy to take advantage of the fact and not let his creations' sacrifice go to waste. With that thought in mind he glided away, towards his Master's chambers.
The girl lay in bed, tended to by her dolls. There were four of them now: Clare, Helen, Ophelia, and Cassandra. The first two were only as tall (and appeared) as children, whereas the latter two had the appearance of full-grown women. All had short-cut blonde hair and wore Victorian maid uniforms in blue and violet. "Any change?" Caster asked.
"Nothing as of yet…" Cassandra replied. "…however this is not an unusual recurrence. Mistress Rin usually recovers by morning, and we have her under observation in case things turn out differently."
"I understand." Caster said with a nod, turning to leave. "Inform me when she wakes I've something important to talk to her about."
"Understood…"
Caster nodded again, and then left his Master's room.
"…so if x equals fifteen…" Shirou Emiya muttered while labouring over his math homework in his room. "…y should be…five…? No wait, that can't be right."
Sighing Shirou turned to the wall-mounted clock and winced at the time. "Of all times to catch a cold…" he thought glumly about Ayako. Sighing again he rose and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water to drink. "…I'll finish this problem, and then go to bed. Not much point in cramming the entire night only to fall asleep during the test itself."
As Shirou raised the glass to his lips, he found himself suddenly aware of his surroundings. It wasn't something he was unused to, or even unaware of, both his status as a magic-using vigilante as well as his past experiences (one experience as a child in particular) giving him a sense for impending danger.
As such Assassin was surprised when his target managed to sidestep his dirk, the hooked dagger instead stabbing into the refrigerator with a hiss of ruptured piping and leaking coolant. Surprised and outraged, Shirou threw the half-empty glass of water at Assassin who easily swatted it out of the air. "Trace on…!" Shirou shouted, tracing a copy of Assassin's dirk and throwing it back at him.
Surprised at the enemy's skill, Assassin threw himself back, flipping over and allowing the dirk to fly over his head. "What the hell are you?" Shirou shouted, grabbing his set of kitchen knives and throwing them at the masked killer with surprising skill.
Surprising for both of them: Assassin because his enemy was just as good at throwing knives as him, while Shirou because he hadn't thrown knives in the past.
Was it his archery skill?
Unknown to them both, by tracing Assassin's weapon, Shirou had copied Assassin's skill at throwing them and adopted it for his own. "Composition reinforced…!" Shirou said before throwing an iron pan at a dumbfounded Assassin.
And then he ran off, with Assassin in pursuit. A trio of dirks flew at Shirou's back, who threw himself flat just in time. The next instant and he was scrambling to his feet, and running to where he kept his bow.
"Sharp reflexes…" Assassin thought. "…Master…this boy is stronger than you led me to believe."
"He fight well and he know when to run as well." The old man responded telepathically. "Hmm…even if he is up against the weakest of the Servant Classes to think he could fight you on equal terms thus far…"
Assassin felt no offense at his Master's words, as the truth was not something to be denied, merely accepted. To deny truth was to live in delusion, and delusion was weakness. Only by accepting truth could one overcome weakness and truly become strong. "...nevertheless…" Assassin heard his Master. "…surely this is not all you are capable of, are you Assassin? You, the Old Man of the Mountain bested by a boy less than twenty years-old…Assassin, show me your strength. Show the boy what it means to face the Grand Master of Assassins."
"I understand my Master."
Assassin turned a corner and caught Shirou's arrow and threw another dagger at him. Again the boy evaded, but Assassin moved quickly, closing the distance and forcing Shirou to jump sideways. Out of balance, he was unable to completely avoid Assassin's next volley, the dirk cutting a shallow but painful wound into his side.
Shirou fell with a crash, but he didn't let go of his bow. And he was able to quickly get up, only to be kicked through a window and out onto the ground. Palming a full handful of dirks, Assassin threw them at Shirou as he lay prone on the ground. Shirou rolled out of the way and onto his feet and to Assassin's surprise he traced and fired two arrows at same time.
Assassin dodged them both, jumping forward onto the yard, and then to a nearby tree and up the roof and then back on the ground. He kept throwing dirks, covering Shirou Emiya's body in shallow but painful wounds. "Trace…trace on…!" Shirou spat…and fired what seemed like dozens of arrows in a shower of carbon death.
If he could smile, Assassin would have. As he contorted and spun through the air, avoiding the boy's arrows lancing through the air, he found that he couldn't deny the boy's talent. He knew little about magic, but he knew enough about death and the battlefield that he could tell that even now, when the boy could barely keep up with him, the Old Man of the Mountain, the boy had barely tapped into his full potential.
Who knew how much more powerful the boy could become, with the proper tutelage?
He could see why his Master was so interested in the boy.
After all, only one Servant was left to be summoned. And if he could summon that Servant, and the boy paired off with Assassin's Master's unknowing granddaughter, they could have a force capable of going toe-to-toe with Tohsaka's red archer, or even El-Melloi's King of Conquerors.
The Saber Class after all, was the most powerful of Servants.
It's time to end this.
Landing on his feet, Assassin palmed his daggers and threw them at Shirou. He threw them one set at a time, and then he threw a single dagger. Shirou dodged the first two sets without getting hit by a single one.
The lone dirk stabbed into his bow, jamming the mechanisms of the compound bow. As Shirou's eyes widened in horrified shock, Assassin closed and kicked him in the gut. The boy cried out in pain as the air was knocked from his body, and he was thrown backward and threw the door into a nearby storehouse.
Undeterred, the boy – after a moment spent clutching at his stomach – got to his feet…and was promptly elbowed in the face by Assassin with the crunch of breaking bone. Again Shirou was thrown back, clutching at his bleeding nose.
Assassin made to step inside…and was brought to a halt by the sight of a glowing summoning circle behind the boy. And then three red symbols appeared on the boy's hand. "Those are…!" he thought.
"Well done Assassin…" his Master suddenly spoke to him. "…now…kill him…use your Noble Phantasm, and force Emiya over the limit."
Assassin didn't hesitate. Considering his Master's interest in the boy, using Zabaniya would seem contradictory, but then again…Zabaniya could be countered either in full or in part by sufficiently high magical resistance. Considering the boy's talent…
…Zabaniya might be what was needed for the boy to reach his full power…at his current level of course.
Assassin unfurled the bandages on his right arm, and to Shirou's horror tore free the horrendously-mutilated appendage that had been sewn to the Servant's shoulder. A heart-like object appeared in the mutilated hand, and Shirou's eyes widened.
That's…
"Zabaniya…" Assassin said, crushing the heart. "…Delusional Heartbeat…"
Shirou Emiya fell forward, eyes growing heavy at the dull pain and complete lack of a heartbeat in his chest. As his vision grew dark and foggy, he thought of his sister, of Ayako…and of his father.
When I was boy I wanted to become a Hero of Justice.
Dad…
Saving someone's life means not saving someone else's life.
Dad…you gave up on your dream…so I'll pick it up for you.
Is that so now? That's good to hear.
Shirou, breathing hard, clenched his fists and struggled to rise. The pain in his chest was all but unbearable, spiking and more painful than when Assassin had used that curse – Zabaniya that's what he called it – earlier and drowning out even the fiery pain of his magic circuits alight across his body.
If Assassin could have raised his eyebrows he would have. And he most certainly did not miss the throbbing flares of the boy's command spells, in-sync with the dull flashing of the magic circuit behind him.
Assassin was no magus. He'd no understanding beyond the most basic of the summoning ritual. But somehow…the boy…he was sure he'd crushed the boy's heart…but the boy was alive…and was just a heartbeat away from summoning a Servant.
He charged forward, prepared to tear the boy's heart out and take it for his own.
"Is this it?" Shirou thought, time slowing down as the masked monster came at him, unable to muster the strength to run much less dodge. "Is this how far I can go? Just this much…? Will I lose everything without having changed anything? Without having saved anyone…? No, that…I can't let that happen!"
As those thoughts crossed his mind, the summoning circle flashed a blinding white, a figure materializing in the centre and then charging at Assassin. And while Assassin could defend against wind-based attack…that close and at that speed he barely had the time to evade based on instinct, much less cast his protective spell.
And in any case the boy had summoned a Servant. Considering his Master's orders, it seemed it was time to retreat. He had accomplished his given task after all, and nothing more would be gained tarrying in enemy territory.
Not to mention Saber out for his blood for injuring her Master.
As for Shirou, he stayed on all fours for a while, breathing hard as the pain in his chest slowly, painfully, but steadily died down. As the pain sank to a throbbing, but bearable level, he looked up and at his saviour.
She was a young girl, probably no older than he was or so she appeared. Gauntleted hands lay at rest at her sides, an armoured dress of deep blue gleaming in the light leaking through the door, just illuminating the runes embossed in blue on her breastplate. Her hair was the colour of gold, tied into an elaborate bun behind her head and framing an alabaster face with bright green eyes…
…Shirou could not deny that whoever she was…however she got there…she was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. And despite his relationship with his childhood friend…he would not go back on those words.
"I ask of you…" the girl said, speaking up for the first time. "…are you my Master?"
"All seven Servants have been summoned." Kirei Kotomine said to Gilgamesh with a supercilious air.
"Humph…" the King of Heroes scoffed in disdain. "…you shouldn't sound so satisfied Kirei. Even if the King of Conquerors worthy of respect he may be is here, there is little satisfaction to be found if she is not here."
Inwardly the King of Heroes knew that there even if Saber – his Saber – was not summoned, this whole war…the whole world even…would be worth it all if he had been summoned.
Enkidu: the Chain of Heaven.
He wouldn't say that aloud of course. It would not do for lowly plebs to know of the King's thoughts unless he deemed it necessary. And he had not. And Kirei, useful though he might be in conducting this little farce that called itself the Holy Grail War, neither needed to know nor was worthy to know of the King's greatest desire.
"I am quite confident that it is she." Kirei said with a smile. "And I am confident that her Master is Emiya Kiritsugu's son. There is no other left in this city capable of being a Master than Emiya Kiritsugu's son. And the only Servant left to be summoned is the Saber. Furthermore, given Einzbern's Servant, it would seem that Emiya Kiritsugu did not return her catalyst to the Einzbern otherwise they might have used it in this war. After all, the destruction of the Grail in the previous war was not the Servant's fault, but Emiya Kiritsugu's."
"So you say…" Gilgamesh said coldly. "…very well I will accept your reasoning for now. But if you are wrong Kirei, I will have you take responsibility for it. But assuming you are right, that boy, Emiya, he'd best know his place. I will tolerate his being…Master to Saber for now, but when the time comes I fully intend to take what is mine. Therefore if he takes…liberties with her, then I shall punish him accordingly."
"That is of course your privilege, King of Heroes."
Gilgamesh smiled. "So it is." He said. He stayed silent for a while, tapping a finger on an armrest while in thought. At length he gave a nod. "I had thought of passing judgment on that treacherous filth whose very face mocks Saber's own, but if she is here, it would be remiss of me to take from her the opportunity to pass judgment on one of her own. She was after all the King of Britain. I will allow her to put that traitor down. And then…"
"And then…?"
Gilgamesh gave a laugh. "We shall see." He said with a smile. "After all, when all is said and done, Saber is the King of Knights, and that treacherous dog is a mockery of her, a false King of Knights she might even be called. And no matter how others might dissent, fakes, mockeries, and replicas cannot surpass the true and the original."
"It is as you say, King of Heroes."
A/N
It should be obvious who Assassin's Master is.
Gae Bolg has two active variations: the first is the famous 'always pierce the heart unless you're lucky' ability, and a second, anti-army attack that can pierce all but the seventh layer of Archer's Rho Aias.