A/N: Thanks for the positive reviews people! Sorry if I don't get creative with the titles, but I doubt you are here just for that. By the way, each of the summoning scenes had a hint as to the Servants identity aside from Roland, who was obvious. But I'll let you figure that out. So without further ado, here is Day One.
Day One
December 22, 2124
Taiki was still amazed. It had been three days since he summoned Roland the Paladin. He was just like the legends described him. He was polite, a bit laid back, friendly, and charismatic. Saya's luminescent blush could attest to the latter, though she furiously denied it.
What those same legends failed to mention, however, was the knight's black hole of a stomach.
The entirety of the Tohsaka family watched in amazement as Saber devoured everything that was put in front of him. So far, he had eaten two entire pots of rice, five pork chops, three whole fish, seven heads of broccoli, used up an entire bottle of sauce, drained six bottles of sake, as well as three bottles of western wine. And he showed no sign of stopping.
Hanako, the family cat, kept her distance from the Servant out of, what the Tohsakas assumed, fear of being added to the menu. They unanimously agreed that the cat was the wisest among them.
Taiki, Saya, and their father simultaneously shuddered as they watched the food disappear. The grocery bill would be going up immensely for the next week or so. The three mourned quietly for their soon-to-be-lost funds as they ate what didn't get absorbed by the knight.
After five more agonizing minutes, Roland finally put down his chopsticks and leaned back, a task made easier by the fact that he was not wearing his armor anymore. Instead, he was dressed in a more modern outfit consisting of a red long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. Originally, they were going to have him wear some of Taiki's spare clothes, but he was bulkier than the magus, so they were tight on him. Before Taiki and Kariya could speak, Saya was already dragging the knight out the door to go shopping. He briefly wondered if some of Taiga Fujimura had been spliced into his sister at some point.
The Master had a sneaking suspicion that she had wanted to parade Roland around in front of her friends. He had pitied the paladin for a second before sitting down to watch TV.
When he had come back nearly seven hours later carrying a mound of bags, Roland looked traumatized and vowed never to go shopping with Saya ever again unsupervised. He had then asked, almost begged, Taiki to use a command seal to make it physically impossible. One look at Saber's haunted expression almost made him do it. Understandably, Saya was put out by this, though it had been dampened by the enormous grin she had on her face when she walked into the manor.
As he remembered, the magus couldn't help but smirk. Roland's eyes shifted to him, "Something amusing, Master?"
Taiki shook his head, "No, just recalling your excursion yesterday. You never did say what happened." This time he kept his mirth to himself as the knight's face went pale. Petty, yes, but Taiki wanted to get at least some revenge for the Servant emptying out the pantry.
"Master, for both my sanity and yours, I suggest that it stay that way."
Taiki let a knowing smirk appear on his face, "Let me guess. Short skirts and a breeze?" He noted Roland's left eyebrow twitch. To his amusement, he also saw that Saya's face had turned a bright red, "Personal space issues? I know that Saya's friends can get a bit touchy with guys they like." He should know, he had been on the receiving end before.
The paladin gave his Master a warning glare. Taiki saw out of the corner of his eye that his father was barely containing his laughter. People always did say that he took more after his father than his mother.
"Master, I believe we should start looking for Servants tonight." Roland then stood up abruptly and headed out of the room.
"You never got laid, did you?" Taiki asked bluntly, doing his best to hide his trolling face.
As soon as that sentence was uttered, the knight managed to find the one loose floorboard in the house and promptly tripped on it. The magus and his father fist-bumped, and Saya was apparently too stunned by the question to reprimand them.
Roland scraped up as much of his dignity as he could before standing up, keeping his back to the family. He did not want them to see that his face had gone bright red, "I fail to see how that question applies to our current situation." He paused, "And for your information, women were throwing themselves at me almost constantly."
"I'm sure that your skills as a mighty knight of the Holy Roman Empire allowed you to escape unscathed." Taiki retorted. Roland muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "Not always." The magus let the comment go by, "But on to other things. Apparently a few days ago, a bunch of high school girls got attacked and killed."
"A sad thing to hear, but murder is a product of society." The knight thought for a second as he sat back down at the table, "However, you would not bring this up to me unless you believed it pertained to the Grail War."
"Correct. There were three victims. The first was two days ago, and the others occurred yesterday. I didn't find out about the others until a few hours ago."
"So far, it sounds like a human serial killer," Roland remarked.
"I'm not done yet," Taiki held up a finger, the universal shut up-and-listen sign, "All three were found completely drained of blood, removed through bite marks."
"A vampire, then? But they exist outside of the Grail's influence anyway. Perhaps one simply migrated into your city," The Servant countered.
Kariya shook his head, "No, as the Second Owner of Fuyuki, I would have known if a Dead Apostle powerful enough to risk acting so brazenly had come into my land. Besides, there was a bounded field set up around Fuyuki twenty years ago to keep them out. It's tied to the leyline, so there's plenty of power, and it doesn't drain enough to damage anything living in range."
Taiki interrupted, "Also, there are records of a similar event occurring in the Fifth Grail War. Apparently, the Rider that was summoned was forced to do so by her Master because he couldn't supply her with prana. But most of her victims lived through it."
"Unless Vlad Tepes III was summoned, or the Rider from the previous War was summoned, we can count out most of the classes except for Assassin or Caster," Kariya scratched his chin, "Any insight, Roland?"
The knight shook his head, "This does not match up with any of the Hassan-I Sabbah, nor any incarnation of Zabaniya."
"How do you know?" Taiki asked, curious.
"You forget, Master, two of the Peers were converted Muslims. Fierabras and I had many theological discussions after he joined us, and the topic of the guardians of Hell came up occasionally. The Grail provided me with information on the Assassins," Roland replied, "Besides, the Hashshashin hated vampires as much as the Catholic Church does. They would never resort to such actions. Even they had standards in that regard."
"Alright, so we're dealing with either a vampiric Servant, or an incompetent Master. I'm sincerely hoping for the latter." Taiki noted the look on his father's face, "What is it Dad?"
"I'm thinking. If we are limiting ourselves to Servants that were seen as vampires in their own legend, then that narrows it down quite a bit. Obviously, there is Vlad Tepes, but I highly doubt it. The real one did not partake in blood-drinking nor was he a vampire, contrary to popular legend. That leaves only one other," He winced, "Elizabeth Bathory."
Saya paled, "Oh hell."
Taiki suppressed a shudder, leaving Roland confused, "Who is Elizabeth Bathory?"
"The most prolific serial killer in history. She's no hero, at least not in the traditional sense." Kariya explained, "She was a Hungarian countess who lived in the late sixteenth century, later known as the "Blood Countess." She believed that drinking and bathing in the blood of young maidens would preserve her youth and beauty. She lured in and killed nearly seven hundred young girls from the lands around her castle to fulfill this purpose, under the guise of using her castle as a boarding school. These recent murders only reinforce my suspicions."
Roland's expression darkened, "How was this allowed to occur?"
"Aristocratic privilege. Legally, it was well within her rights as the ruler of her lands to do so. The government of Hungary didn't move until she started targeting the daughters of other nobility. After that, she was quickly apprehended and sealed inside of her own castle to starve to death, and her accomplices were executed."
"A fitting fate for one such as her. And you suspect she was summoned for this war?" The knight inquired.
Taiki leaned back in his chair, "At this point, it's all conjecture. She's the most likely given the evidence and the demographic of the victims, but we won't know for sure until we confront the killer." He rested his chin on his fist, "Fortunately, if we are dealing with the Blood Countess, then she is limited on what class she can be. She was no warrior, nor was she a magus, just a bloodthirsty aristocrat. However, if she is an Assassin, that means it will be hard to find her on account of the Presence Concealment skill granted to the class. Or she may have something completely different, only the Grail knows."
He paused, "And for that reason, we'll need bait. She prefers young, virgin girls."
The gazes of everyone shifted to Saya. Her eyes darted back and forth between the three others, "No. No nononononono. Hell no. There is no way I'm doing that." Slightly panicked, she struggled to find a reason to deny it, "B-besides, how do you know if I'm still a virgin?"
Both Taiki and their father gave her a flat look, and her brother responded, "Because you've never had a boyfriend, not to mention that most guys are terrified of you."
"Alright, I'll give you that point," She huffed, "But there is no way that you are getting me to go along with this. Absolutely none."
Ten minutes later…
"How the hell did you talk me into this?" Saya moaned as they walked down the dark street.
Taiki non-chalantly replied, adjusting his coat to make sure that his pistol was still hidden, "Because I promised that you could take Saber out shopping again tomorrow?"
"You threatened him with a command seal, didn't you?"
"Yup," the magus smirked. The look on the knight's face had been priceless, such that he had taken a picture of it on his phone for posterity, "Of course, I'll be going with you this time. I don't think that he would appreciate being left alone with your group again, and I really don't want to antagonize him at this point."
"Prepare to be groped again," Saya added with a knowing smirk.
"Don't remind me," her brother rolled his eyes, "Your friends are really bold, and I really hope they don't pass that on to you. I don't think that Saber could handle it."
His younger sister let out a very unlady-like snort. At least she was somewhat calmed down from her previous hype. The pair finally came to a four-way stop.
Taiki looked her in the eye, "Well, you know what to do. If you get jumped, activate the gem, and we'll come running," he spared a glance behind him, where Roland stood in astral form.
Saya nodded nervously before heading off. The older brother sighed. Even though he suggested the idea, he still didn't like it. Or more precisely, he didn't like that he had to use his sister as part of the plan. The more he thought about it, the more that he considered the plan very magus-like. It was cold, and done to get results.
"Come on, Saber. Let's get up somewhere high, so we can keep an eye on things." He was careful to only refer to Roland by his class when out in public.
Said task was extremely easy considering that the number of skyscrapers in Fuyuki had increased exponentially in the past century, as well as their size. It was to the point where one could not see the sky while standing on the ground. Getting past the security for those skyscrapers was another matter entirely.
And entirely irrelevant. Roland simply jumped up to the top, with his Master in tow. When they reached the roof, Taiki pulled his coat closed, both to ward off the cold, and to activate the runes inscribed on the inside.
He had always preferred winter, though definitely not because of the cold, but rather he had more clothing to put runes on. The clothing he was wearing right now had enough protective power that he could theoretically fall off of the fifty story building he was standing on right then and survive the impact with only a broken arm or leg. Not that he wanted to try out that particular feature anytime soon, nor did he want to explain to curious onlookers.
Taking out a pair of binoculars, he settled down on the edge of the building and waited.
He hated waiting.
To say Saya was terrified would be an understatement of the highest proportion. She was being sent out as bait for a being that could tear her apart as easily as tissue paper and wanted to drink her blood. Nevertheless, she kept going, managing to successfully reign in her fear.
She heard something flutter nearby, and whipped around. Seeing nothing, the teenager slowly turned back around, only to find a pair of blood red eyes barely five feet away from her. In that moment, her heart almost burst from surprise. She fumbled around in her pocket for the sapphire, but it slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground.
At this point, she was too terrified to move. Saya could only quake in fear as the Servant stalked towards her. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
Only it didn't come.
Instead, there was a loud crash as something metal collided with her to-be attacker. She opened her eyes again, to find a large man adorned in dull grey plate armor that fully concealed his features. Wielding a shield and longsword, he stood between Saya and Assassin. All was silent for a moment, except for a strange ticking noise, seemingly originating from her protector.
The helmet turned towards her for a second to glance at her before turning back to his foe. Saya managed to get a better look at her.
It was definitely Elizabeth Bathory. She looked nearly identical to her painted portrait, except that her hair and eyes were a darker red. Dressed in a tight black dress, she looked more like she was about to go clubbing than fight in a deathmatch.
Before she could think about much else, Elizabeth screeched and slashed at the knight. Her claws raked against the armor, leaving deep scratches in it. A loud whirring sound echoed as the warrior reacted by trying to bash her with his shield. Assassin deftly moved out of the way just in time to duck to avoid the sword swing that followed.
By now, Saya had regained her senses and scrambled to pick up the gem. As soon as it was in her hand, she activated it.
Taiki's head shot up as he felt the pulse of prana, "That was fast. Let's go." He didn't hesitate to leap off of the building, trusting Roland to stop his fall and get him the rest of the way there. The magus couldn't afford to be fearful of anything at the moment, not when his sister's life was on the line.
He felt rather than saw Roland grab him and lift him. The street below became a blur as the pair homed in on the gem's signal. However, it wasn't quite what they were expecting.
Instead of finding his sister in the grasp of the vampire, Saya was on the ground watching the fight unfolding in front of her, too terrified to move away. While looking at the combatants, he both had questions answered and new ones to ponder. Assassin was definitely Elizabeth Bathory, but her opponent was a mystery.
As soon as the pair landed, Elizabeth immediately abandoned the battlefield. Two against one were most certainly not in her favor. However, she got in one last strike before leaving.
Her left hand latched onto the side of the helmet and tore it from the knight's shoulders, revealing nothing underneath. Rather than fall down like any reasonable headless being should, the knight simply swung its sword at her once again. Backpedalling as fast as she could, the vampire quickly darted away, back into the shadows. Her superior speed and agility would ensure that she got away.
When she was gone, it simply reached down and picked up its fallen head and put it back on its shoulders.
Roland already had Durendal in hand, pointed at the knight, "Who and what are you?"
The grey helmet turned to regard the paladin, and then projected an Italian-accented male voice, "I am no undead thing, if that is what you are wondering. Saber, I presume?"
Feeling ignored, Taiki spoke up, "I guess that you just saved my sister, so I thank you for that."
"You are Taiki and Saya Tohsaka, correct?"
"Yes," the magus answered slowly, his hand reaching for his pistol.
"Then your thanks should be short-lived. I have been told to kill you, specifically," the helmet turned to Saber, "Master's orders, you understand."
By the time that the second half of the grey knight's sentence was spoken, Roland was already swinging Durendal at it. The armored being brought its shield to bear, but the holy sword cleaved completely through it and the arm underneath just below the shoulder. An iron shield barely a centimeter thick was not going to stop a blade that could cut nearly half of a foot into a block of iron.
The two halves of the shield clattered to the ground with the arm, leaving the suit of armor unbalanced for a moment. The paladin took the initiative and quickly sliced off the other arm before whipping the blade up to where the neck would be.
"Now, who are you?" Roland asked, scowling. He was more confused than angry at the moment. Who was this being that did not bleed, nor feel pain from losing limbs?
The suit of armor chuckled, "Well played, Saber. I figured that this automaton would be no match for the Knight of the Sword. Especially one such as you, Roland. You really should have done something to conceal your weapon, it's too recognizable. Or at least it was for me." The armor awkwardly bowed, "I am Caster, though I will not tell you my name. That, you will have to find out on your own. Until next time."
"Next time?" Taiki said out loud before feeling a spark of prana from inside of the armor, "Saber, move!"
The Servant leaped back and grabbed up his Master and Saya, getting just out of range before nearly four pounds of C7 explosives went off. The shockwave was enough to briefly deafen Taiki and his sister.
As soon as he was set down, Taiki turned around to survey the damage. The remains of the automaton were nothing more than ash. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he sent a thought through his Master-Servant connection, Nothing left here, let's head home. That blast disintegrated the remains.
Rider was a king. But he was a king without subjects, and that would not do. So he now found himself kicking down the door to a rundown warehouse on the docks. The King had seen people come in and out of the building, dressed in similar clothing.
Inside were nearly twenty people, ranging from sixteen to twenty years of age or so. Immediately, he was surrounded. Most of the members were armed, though not with anything more than knives and lengths of chain. However, the man that Rider assumed was the leader had a pistol. Which was aimed directly at his head.
"So, mind telling me what you're doing in here, asshole?" the gang leader sneered. The weapon seemed like a toy in the large man's hands.
Off to the side was another, smaller than the leader, who muttered to the first one, "I don't think you should do that boss. I got a bad feeling about him…"
He didn't get to continue as the gang leader's free hand punched him square in the jaw. The shorter man staggered back, rubbing his chin, "Alright, alright, I'll shut up now." Softer than most could hear, he whispered, "Your funeral."
The boss turned back to the intruder, "Again, what the hell are you doing here, asshole?"
Rider's red eyes moved from the lackey to the leader, "I am here to take control of your group."
The other man blinked, and then used a pinky to clean out one ear, "I'm sorry, I think I misheard. Did you just say that you were going to take over my gang? You and what army, you skirt-wearing freak?"
Faster than most of the people in the room could blink, Rider had moved and was now gripping the top of the leader's head with his right hand. With a single jerk, the man's head was removed from its mooring. Dripping blood onto the concrete floor of the warehouse, he held it aloft for the others to see. Then, the Servant crushed it like an over-ripe melon.
"I need no army to kill you," Rider looked around the room, blood splattered all over him, "Any other questions?"
The lean man from before raised his hand, and was immediately judged as being the bravest and possibly dumbest among them by the others, "When do we start?"
Rider smirked, "Now."
Name: Roland the Paladin
Class: Saber
Stats-
Strength: A
Agility: A
Endurance: A
Mana: C
Luck: C
Noble Phantasms:
Durendal
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Unit
Durendal is the holy sword gifted to Roland by Emperor Charlemagne. Forged by Wayland the Smith, three holy relics were placed into the hilt to provide the blade with three miracles that made the blade indestructible. It does not require prana to keep the edge sharp. Weapons made of lesser metal cannot stand up to it, though Noble Phantasm-level weapons can block it.
?
Rank: ?
Type: ?
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: A
Riding: B
Personal Skills:
Bravery: A
Charisma: B
Instinct: A
Name: Elizabeth Bathory
Title: Blood Countess
Class: Assassin
Stats-
Strength: D
Agility: B
Endurance: C
Mana: C
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm:
Čachtice Castle
Rank: B
Type: Anti-Army
Originally the castle which saw the torture and deaths of so many young women, it now takes the form of a bounded field. Starting at a small thirty feet in diameter, it steadily grows as it absorbs more and more blood from people caught inside of it. For every ten people drained, Elizabeth gains a permanent one rank boost to Strength, Agility, and Endurance, and her healing rate increases.
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment: C
Independent Action: C
Personal Skills:
False Vampire: A
Due to not being a true vampire in life, as a Heroic Spirit, Elizabeth Bathory acquires some of the traits of one. She has a weakness to sunlight, and cannot operate during the daytime without risking damage, nor can she stand against holy weapons. She can gain a temporary boost in Strength, Agility, and Endurance by drinking blood directly from a human, with a timespan of about twelve hours. If she goes for more than one day without drinking blood through normal means or her Noble Phantasm, her abilities will begin to weaken. It also provides her with a weaker version of the Mystic Eyes of Enchantment that are common among true vampires.
Mental Pollution: B
Surgical Procedure: D
A/N: Alright, thanks for being patient and reading! Sorry it took me nearly a month to finish this chapter, but I am not a very prolific writer, and now I have final exams coming up. With that being said, don't expect much until about midway through December at earliest. Well, review please!