Chapter 1:
XxXxX
"*YAWN* Fucking jetlag."
"Language!"
"Give me a break, Artoria. I am tired."
"Then why did you book us a late night flight on economy?"
"I was being a dumbass and trying to act all cool and stuff."
The pair were certainly an odd sight to see for most, but not the weirdest one that has ever set foot on Haneda Airport. A young latino man wearing a strange black jacket with the message 'By Any Necessary Means', opened on the front to let see his black t-shirt. And a blonde haired woman, cute as a button, wearing a beige trench coat with a distinctive hat.
The duo had already gone through immigration and picked up their baggage, now they were going to look for transport towards the train station to arrive at their final destination. Fuyuki.
But the young man just felt tired at the moment, and looking at some nearby televisions showing worldwide news just made him blanch each and every time. Especially when he saw one of the headlines.
'Smithsonian Ransacked - Thieves Still At Large'
Looking at the simple, yet elegant collar hanging from Artoria's neck, he relaxed a bit. yet he still needed to touch the piece of cloth on his jacket's pocket just to be sure. It all acted as a safety blanket for the harsh reality he found himself in.
"Why the hell did I skip Stress Defense?" he was lamenting in his mind, his expression constipated. In his old life, from the other side of the computer, he may have said he took a cool and collected approach to all this, but now that he was living it in the flesh, he realized how out of his depth he truly was. Every breath he took felt as if-
A delicate hand interlaced her fingers with his. He noted that his heart stopped beating so violently. Looking down to meet his companion's eyes, he saw pity. It made him feel like total and utter scum for dragging such a gentle soul on this mad adventure, but her mere presence also made him feel like he could throw hands with Superhuman Orion.
"You are running on fumes as it is, you can rest on the train ride, but for the moment, just put one foot in front of the other and let's keep going forward," despite her innocent looks, Artoria knew what to tell him.
He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. "One foot in front of the other," without even opening his eyes, the duo had already made ten steps before the man focused once more on what they were doing.
Artoria sent her partner a small smile, glad that she could prevent another panic attack for the time being. It felt as if everything would go right fo-
The man halted immediately, and his eyes widened in surprise and incredulity. "(Que chingados…?)" slipping into his native tongue didn't matter for Artoria, she was able to understand him even if he started speaking one of those 'Star Wars'.
"Rigo?" she asked her partner in doubt, before looking at what catched the man's attention.
It was a young man, 19 at most, wearing a button-up shirt under a green sweater. He was a foreigner too, looking at both a folded map and a guidebook. He looked lost. He was also one of the participants of the Holy Grail War, one of the three survivors of this one, and future Lord El-Melloi II, Waver Velvet.
Rigo's expression was not so dissimilar to someone swallowing a bitter lemon. He was weighing his options here. "(A la chingada). Let's do this," he gave the struggling youth a slight nod, to which Artoria understood the hidden meaning.
Artoria cracked the knuckles of her left hand, and her form seemed to phase in and out of the corporeal plane, before it settled once more. Meanwhile, Rigo took out his own guidebook for simple phrases in Japanese and started walking at a fast pace towards their target, all the while feigning ignorance of his surroundings.
Artoria started to count with her fingers. "3…2…1…"
PAM!
There was a swarm of activity as the two men were collecting their respective bags in a flourish of motions, giving each other slight apologies, while Artoria confidently walked towards the rather sturdy suitcase of the young Velvet. She bent from her knees until the suitcase was a couple of centimeters from herself, and slightly touching the lit, she made it open. Rummaging through its contents, she found a wooden box resting on the middle of clothes, and opening the lid of this one too, she found a red piece of fabric being protected with fervor.
She made a gesture to her partner, which he wordlessly obeyed and passed his own piece of red fabric to her. The change was quick and without any inconvenience. Rigo helped Waver up to his feet, muttered a quick apology, and ran out of the airport.
Only once they were on their transport to the train station did Artoria show Rigo the piece of fabric she switched out of Waver's suitcase. He smiled slightly, although it didn't fool Artoria for a second. She could still see the terror in his eyes lurking under the surface.
XXX
"...protector of the holy balance!"
FUISSSHH~!
Waver had done it! He had finally summoned his Servant, of that, he was sure. He could feel the pull of the Familiar on his own reserves, and see a silhouette through the smoke that his summoning had provoked. His clothes were a bit dirty from the blood of those chickens, and some of them may have gotten a couple of scratches to his hands before he did them in, but it was all so worth it. He was officially a participant of the Fourth Holy Grail War. That should be enough to show to those snobby nobles back at the Clock Tower.
Now he just needed to either win, a highly impossible goal and as such, one he would leave as a last option; or not be one of the first participants to be eliminated and go back home alive, with all his limbs intact if he could manage.
Then he remembered that Professor Kayneth, the very same man he stole his catalyst from, was also participating in, and would more than likely connect the dots together once he finds him participating.
He felt as if soul was just drained from his body.
Then his Servant finally spoke.
"I am Europa. How you do?" a…surprisingly stunning blonde woman asked him from the summoning circle. She wore a white dress with red hems and some golden accessories, plus a golden tiara on her head. She then put a thoughtful expression. "Ahh, let's see…right, what was it again? Ri…Riden…!" she exclaimed with a satisfied smile. "That's right, Riden! I have materialized under the Riden Class!" she boasted.
"...don't you mean Rider?" Waver asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering if he botched the ritual in some way, before immediately clasping both hands over his mouth in sheer panic when Europa looked at him with intense eyes.
He was sure that she was going to vaporize him at any mo-
"Hmm, that's wrong?" she went back to her relaxed state, a confused look adorning her features now. "It's not Riden, but Rider?" now she blushed in embarrassment, and Waver suddenly stopped having fear of her and felt bad with himself for making her look ridiculous. "Oh my, *ahem, once again. I am Europa, materialized under the Rider Class. I am one of the concubines of the Chief God Zeus. Please let's get along, Master," her smile was warm, and for a moment, Waver felt like a kid all over again, spending his summers at his grandparents house in the countryside.
Good times for him.
He will wing this thing for the moment. At the time, he will need to study the history behind his new Servant. He felt like he could do this.
XXX
"Hmm, hmmm," Artoria was studying the work of Rigo on the summoning circle.
The shape was acceptable, and his arrangement of ancient language was as good as he could without too much preparation or studying. They were also on top of one big Leyline, this temple could hold if put to a test, but it wasn't necessary for them. Now Artoria just needed to do something herself.
She took off her collar, the one that Rigo had put into her care. The chain on itself wasn't such a big deal, just some cheap metal, it was the jewel, the important thing. After all, how many diamonds out there were navy blue?
Artoria carefully deposited the diamond at the very center of the summoning circle, a slight smile on her face. "So much trouble for such a small package," she muttered with a bit of mirth, before stepping aside and letting Rigo do the rest.
Rigo waited patiently for Artoria to give him a thumbs-up, and once the small blonde gave him the signal, he activated his Magic Circuits as he was taught.
A camara, with its trigger pressed, waiting for the…
FLASH
Rigo opened his eyes wide, feeling the still unfamiliar sensation of his own Magic Circuits heating slightly under his skin. It wasn't the sensation of a hot iron piercing through him, more like a slight warm-up before a game. He still had a lot to do if he wanted for the process to be as smooth as possible. It would be necessary for a life-or-death situation.
He extended his left arm forward, feeling the Holy Grail reacting to his intentions and sensation not unlike that of a tattoo being printed into his hand. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.
Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time.
Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.
Let my great master be the ancestor.
Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall. Close the four cardinal gates.
Come out from the crown. Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom.
– I shall declare here.
Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be with your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.
If you will submit to this will and this reason…… then answer!
– An oath shall be sworn here!
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!
– From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!"
FUISSSHH~!
There was a violent explosion of wind in the courtyard, yet the two witnesses to this phenomena were unperturbed. Their hard looks were set into the summoning circle itself, and the lithe figure standing in the middle of it.
Most of their features were androginous, with a face that could belong to either a man or a woman. But, the budding breasts were more than enough evidence to determine the gender of this figure. Red eyes looked at Rigo with a tone of curiosity, yet she still wore a smile and spoke.
"Servant Archer, Sita," she declared in a soft voice, her pigtails swinging slightly in the wind. "I am not sure if someone like me can be of use to you, but…I will do my very best!" Sita declared with conviction while grasping her hands. She looked like a puppy, to be honest.
Rigo took a deep breath. This was it. The moment he was waiting for. He just hoped that his will remained strong for the harsh challenges that were soon to come.
XxXxX
Something new. We will see where we go from here.
Spoiler: Build
Starting World: Nasuverse
Starting budget 365
Intensity
Me and My Girlfriend(s)(PvE) 0 [365]
'Extra' with 10 additional cost -10 [355]
Bindings
Company Stamp free [355]
Lures
Sticky Fingers -5 [350]
Faerie Feast -10 [340]
Other Controls
Command Seals free [340]
Home Perks
Pocket Space -5 [335]
Pocket Apartment -20 [315]
Home Security free [315]
All Roads Lead to Home -10 [305]
Talents
Everlasting Talent -10 [295]
Soul Talent -10 [285]
Wild Talent -5 [280]
Martial Talent -10 [270]
Defenses
Information Defense -25 [245]
Trace Defense -100 [145]
Defenses discounted for retinue members 20 [165]
Misc Perks
Exit Stage Left -5 [160]
We Will Meet Again -15 [145]
Pursued by a Bear -40 [105]
Sexual Calibration -2 [103]
Companions bought -100 [3]
Artoria Pendragon (Caster)(T7)[buy] from Servants - Caster
Btw, I am using the Interactive version of the Catalog for a change. It is fun to try it out