Fate: All Riders.

Chapter 7: It's everyone else's fault.

The pain was unbearable and his right arm itched. Kariya simply gritted his teeth, despite the agony that he felt throughout his body he couldn't help but scratch at the Command Spells that littered his arm. He thought that by now he would be used to foreign things being jammed into his body yet the red markings itched like hell. Perhaps his father had implanted them this way on purpose for his own sick amusement.

The itching would sometimes come and go, at other times it felt like his arm was on fire. Compared to the pain he felt in his organs it was simply annoying. But it was the kind of annoyance that you simply couldn't ignore.

As of that moment his spleen seemed to just decide to metaphorically implode on itself leaving the pain more noticeable then the itch. Keeling over Kariya clutched his stomach as the bugs within him ate at his body.

"Damnit!" he swore clenching his jaw. "I wish it would stop hurting!" The willpower and the frustrations behind his words were powerful enough to activate one of the many Command Spells he had in his possession and for the first time in ages Kariya did not feel pain.

Standing up in wonderment he looked around in confusion before the itch in his right arm forced him to scratch it again. Looking down to get a better view of the annoying Command Spells he could see that one of them was beginning to fade. His eyes widened at the implications.

The amount of Prana he was sending to his Servant was reduced to nothing yet the Heroic Spirit didn't waver from existence, it was as if something else was powering the Servant now. It was as if the Holy Grail system had heard his wish and found that the easiest way to complete it was by sending Prana.

He was still in pain of course, something foreign that didn't belong in his body crawled inside his guts and skin. Luckily the pain of having his 'Circuits' being used to their limits no longer applied to his current state. For the time being the bugs inside of him were content to more or less lie around.

If that was the case then this was just a temporary solution. However it was one he'd continue to use.

Now that his mind was freed from the fog of overwhelming agony he found himself more alert to his surroundings. No longer distracted with pain Kariya believed that he was more prepared for the upcoming battles. Now that he was more determined than ever he confirmed his silent promise.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'm going to save you real soon." He would not put this power to waste.

Kotomine frowned, the war was a mess. His father and his teacher both laid dead and a man not fit to be called a Magus never mind Master could debatably be considered the biggest threat due to the sheer amount of Command Spells he possessed.

Before the war started in earnest he was informed of the excess seals that previous masters had left behind. Despite this knowledge Kotomine dismissed it when he was told that it was Kariya who had slain his father. He simply assumed that the man didn't have the expertise needed to transfer the seals.

However according to one of the Assassins he had sent to spy on the man he now had a multitude of Command Spells covering his right arm. The Master could have hidden this fact but apparently he constantly rolled up his sleeve to scratch them. Another piece of Intel to note was that the Matou appeared to be in less pain than usual.

There was one conclusion to all this. The man had gone to his father for help and was now using the Seals to power his Servant. To use such an important resource for prana felt so mundane and wasteful. However considering how much of this resource he had in stock it wasn't exactly a bad idea and in hindsight it wasn't a bad strategy either.

If Kariya continued to use such methods to alleviate his pain then eventually the Command Spells would be reduced or completely used up leaving the last standing Master with nothing to pillage. This obviously wasn't the man's intent but regardless it was something to keep in mind.

The longer he let the Matou wander around the less Command Spells he would have by the end of the conflict.

Berserker was another issue, in spirit form the thing was impossible to track. From all reports it was most likely a passive ability that the Servant used subconsciously. Without its mind it was impossible that the thing was doing it on purpose.

The other fact was that despite all of the reconnaissance he had performed Kotomine was still ignorant to what Berserker's appearance was. The Servant was always in spirit form or simply in a place that his own Servant was absent from.

All that he knew was that this Servant was a stealthy Berserker that could infiltrate his mentor's defences well enough to surprise the man that had laid them down. However the lack of information could easily be fixed.

"Archer." He called as the blue faker appeared behind him.

"Yeah boss? You needed something?" The blue hero was casual and though he didn't seem to like the idea of people ordering him around Kotomine found it was easier to do so if you worded it as a favour or question.

"We don't have anything on Berserker except reports of the aftermaths of his appearances; if possible I'd like it if you could send one of your summons to attack the Matou to force it into existence."

The point of the attack wasn't to kill Kariya obviously, all Kotomine wanted was the capabilities of the Servant. Having a Hero that could create expendable (If Prana expensive) Servants was a blessing in that regard.

Leaning against the wall Archer let out a sigh. Looking to the side he shrugged.

"Sure why not, if I'm gonna get the Grail I'll have to fight him eventually." Fading away he left.

Moments passed when one of the Assassins appeared. Though Kirei couldn't tell the individuals apart just by appearance alone he made an effort to learn their names regardless so he could delegate tasks to the most fitting individual. Judging by the way this one stood and walked the Servant before him was Otoya Kurenai.

"Yo Master, you think it's such a good idea sending that guy off by himself? You should send one of us to keep an eye on him or something." Kotomine didn't like the man honestly, he was always so bright and happy, his very existence seemed wicked.

"No Assassin, I don't have to take such measures, you must remember that as his Master I am able to track his location regardless of position as long as we are linked."

Scratching the back of his head the white armoured soldier spoke.

"I know but what if he somehow tries to pull something on you, none of us would be there to stop him." It should have been nice to have someone worry about your well-being and Kotomine knew that. Yet despite this he still felt nothing and it plagued his mind to no end.

"It's fine Assassin, I am perfectly willing to use my Command Spells to have him commit suicide if it comes to that, besides I have a job for you and your associates." Turning aside the priest grabbed a folder.

"I need you all to accompany me on a mission, Emiya Kiritsugu is a dangerous man, if I know him then he's probably going to take advantage of my situation with the Matou and kill me when I'm distracted." Shaking his head Otoya denied it.

"Pfft, the world doesn't resolve around you ya know?" He joked. "I doubt the guy is obsessed with you as much as you are with him, I mean if you swing that way it's okay but try and keep it professional at least." Kotomine frowned again, he didn't like where this conversation was going.

The priest simply could not find the words to retaliate. It was said that without a catalyst to summon a specific hero you would simply summon one that would match your personality the best.

If he managed to summon multiple Servants would that make him a complicated man with many layers? Did some small part of his mind reflect this Otoya fellow?

It was doubtful, to have pleasure after all was sinful and Kotomine liked to believe that he was a man of god, free of sin.

"If we are not too busy with Emiya then we shall rendezvous with Archer after he has finished his recognisance, by then I assume we'll have enough information to approach and combat Berserker effectively." It confused Kotomine to no end. Assassin was a Servant, a tool to be used in this war. Why was he explaining things to him? Was it because it was more convenient than having the Heroic Spirit question him constantly?

Assassin simply shrugged and dutifully followed his Master.

"Well why don't we go for his hideout then? That forest place?" Kotomine shook his head.

His Servant either had a short attention span or he was just trying to annoy the priest on purpose now.

They said patience was a virtue.

It was a virtue that Kotomine practiced often around his Servant.

"You were there when the Archibald had entered the forest and you yourself said that Lancer had left with his injured Master after thirty minutes or so." He began. "The best time to attack was at that moment, however as you know I was busy with preserving Tokiomi's corpse, after the assault by Lancer it's most likely that Emiya has either relocated or strengthened his defences, either way we don't have the resources to attack him directly yet, which is why we'll have to bring him to us."

Powering Berserker with a single Command Spell seemed to work wonders. However Kariya knew that once that power ran out he'd either have to use another Command Spell or just tough it out. Considering the fact that his Servant was in spirit form this wouldn't be a concern until later on. Sending his bugs out Kariya needed to find the other Masters, the quicker he found them the quicker Sakura would be out of his father's sick hands.

However it seemed using his insects still required a measure of prana, the power from the Command Spell only seemed to feed his Heroic Spirit. Thus the pain returned though he had to admit the strain on his body was much less debilitating then powering a Servant. To be honest he was used to the discomfort by now, the very fact disturbed him greatly. It wasn't too long before his bugs managed to find someone of note, it wasn't a Master though.

Instead he had found a Servant, the concentration of power was unmistakable. Tensing up he quickly called out Berserker, without his Heroic Spirit he would be a sitting duck. No matter how long he had been Master of his Berserker Kariya still could never get used to the things presence.

Instead of the gold dust that accompanied all of the other Heroic spirits when they faded in or out of existence Berserker simply stepped through the same greyish, white miasma that covered his form. Now that the Matou thought about it he wasn't even sure what gender his Servant was.

Suppressing the reflex to throw up he clenched his jaw. Focusing on something other than the abomination next to him Kariya distracted himself by trying to find the other Servant.

However it seemed his search was not only short lived but somewhat unneeded.

Coming around the corner a white figure appeared. Judging by its appearance Kariya assumed that this was Assassin, his bug familiars had managed to spy the Heroic Spirit fighting Archer earlier in the war. However something about this Assassin was slightly different, for one it had red eyes and a sword.

"Please return that life to god!" Assassin announced. Roaring in retaliation Berserker's eyes burned with unnatural green. The ground shuddered in response and for a moment he could swear that Assassin was afraid.

Lunging forwards towards the stunned hero Berserker's hand glowed with an awesome power. Reality rippled for a moment as his arm began to burn bright with pink ethereal energy. Taking a swing the attack created a sonic boom as Berserker's fist quickly passed the sound barrier.

Desperately dodging to the side Assassin managed to mitigate some of the damage which only destroyed his left pauldron. Leaping backwards the sword became a gun, it appeared that he believed his chances would be improved at long range. However the white hero was sadly mistaken.

Increasing the distance between the two heroes Assassin pelted Berserker with bullets to no effect. The sparks that flew from his opponent's body might as well have been special effects for all the good they did. Berserker continued to mindlessly charge at Assassin.

It wasn't that Assassin was faster than Berserker, it was that he was just smarter. Jumping to the side the white hero continued to put obstacles between the two, lamp posts, traffic signs, car's whatever was convenient. Where a sane man would simply go around and take the faster path Berserker took the slower if more direct route.

It was a stalemate of sorts. Berserker could not catch Assassin and Assassin could not hurt Berserker or so it would seem. Roaring in frustration and anger Berserker stopped moving to vent his rage.

Reality seemed to warp around the crazed hero for a moment. Swinging his fist towards the ground the area seemed to glow pink for a moment. The following shockwave smashed the road launching Assassin into the air. Leaping to follow his prey Berserker roared in triumph. Surprised at the sudden change the white hero could do nothing as Berserker's glowing pink fist flew up to meet him.

Taking the brunt of the force on the chin Assassin quickly crumbled into golden dust as the unnatural energy was dispersed into his body. This was the first time Kariya had seen Berserker fight against another Servant, it was a rather terrifying. Somewhere in the distance several car alarms were set off.

Landing back onto the ground Berserker then patted his hands down brushing them side to side. The motion was so well practiced that it looked like a habit, even without their minds people still stuck to routine it seemed. Perhaps it was a trick of the eye, the Grey fog that surrounded his Servant did make it hard to see such things.

After a few seconds of studying his Servant Kariya then realized that he could still detect another Heroic Spirit nearby.

Narrowing his eyes he tried to broaden his senses, perhaps it was Saber, Rider, Lancer or Caster. After killing Assassin those were the only options left. Using his bug familiars he had already been alerted to Archer's demise, he had very early in the war kept surveillance on the Tosaka house hold. To tell the truth he was still ignorant of Caster's death, Kariya had neglected to have his bugs follow anyone else and even when his mind had cleared up from the lack of pain the idea couldn't be used as their locations were now unknown to him.

However despite his paranoia of an imminent attack the Servant quickly left. Sensing no huge presence of Prana nearby Kariya finally allowed himself to relax leaving his own Servant to fade back into spirit form.

With his mind relatively free from agony he began to think. It was possible another Master had teamed up with the Master of Assassin but considering the lack of attacks it was probably more logical to assume that the other Servant was simply observing the battle, waiting to ambush the weakened victor.

However since Berserker had destroyed his opponent without taking any injury to himself perhaps the third party didn't like their chances.
Whatever the case it meant that another Master knew what Berserker looked like. Kariya was using the phrase 'looked like' very loosely here.

Looking down at his Command Spell covered arm he wondered if he could order his Servant to become sane and reveal himself.

Before he could weigh the pros and cons of such an act he began to feel a familiar pain as the bugs inside him began eating away at his body and mind once again.

The draw of Prana had returned and was now powering Berserker. It was lucky that his Servant was in spirit form, he didn't know if he could've taken the sudden shock of powering a physical Heroic Spirit with that much Prana. It seemed that the juice from the Command Spells were drained faster during battle, he would have to ration them carefully.

With the idea of removing the grey fog and his Servant's insanity firmly gone from his mind Kariya limped away for a place to rest.

The Assassins had been gathered, it had only taken a few minutes. Despite having below average parameters they were still Heroic Spirits, entities that far surpassed the average human. Hidden around the immediate area only one of them was visible and standing next to Kotomine, hopefully the plan would go off without a hitch.

Looking around Kirei noted his surroundings once more. Situated in the first real battle of the Grail war the docks were cornered off by construction equipment. It seemed that he would have to bother those very same workers once more. In the absence of his father and any solid news from the association Kotomine had taken it upon himself to become a pseudo overseer for the war. The job however was closer to that of a janitor. A battle would be fought and he would fix the collateral damage, if the damage was too extensive he would hire others to fix it and hypnotise them all to do it and forget about it later.

So here he was waiting for Kiritsugu to appear, hopefully his own presence here would hide Archer's movements. Knowing Emiya this place was probably under surveillance, possibly with the Magus Killer lining up a shot with his sniper rifle, worst case scenario was if Emiya had found a way to plant explosives all around the area. The priest knew he was a good fighter but the ensuing confusion of an explosion wasn't something he would look forwards to.

With his link to Archer he could feel that the Servant had just used a large portion of Prana, probably to summon a Servant. How the mechanics of his ability worked was beyond Kotomine though he swore that he would study it at a later date if time permitted it.

It had been almost half an hour now and yet not a single sign of Emiya had appeared. Then suddenly a large concentration of Prana could be felt, it was another Servant.

This one wasn't even trying to hide itself, did Kiritsugu plan on distracting him with the Heroic Spirit?

"I can't believe someone else is using my trick." A casual voice called out. "You could be original or at least pretend to come up with the idea yourself but using the exact same place?" Walking around the corner Lancer revealed himself.

"Are you even trying?" This was not part of the plan but he had none the less predicted it.

Frowning Kotomine sent a mental note to his hidden Servants.

"Find Lancer's Master and end him." Hopefully it wouldn't take too long, Kotomine couldn't afford this delay.

A few tense moments passed as Lancer sized up Assassin. The former stood leaning on his weapon casually while the later clenched his fist studying his opponent's every move.

Deciding to break the silence the blue hero finally spoke up.

"Mind if I reel you in?" Launching himself forwards Lancer soon found his weapon batted to the side as the Assassin that was standing right next to the priest leapt into action.

Lancer was surprisingly slow for someone of his class despite being leagues above any human in the modern age. At the same time this applied to Assassin as well. The supposedly two more agile Servants in the war were only considered normal compared to other Heroic Spirits when it came to speed. However despite this they easily compensated with other strengths.

Both of them appeared to be well experienced in battle, able to read each other's movements and strikes. Though Assassin was obviously losing he still held his own even as Lancer scored another strike against his chest. It was strange however, it seemed that the blue Servant was holding back, the prior reports on Lancer painted him as a much faster fighter.

Kotomine estimated that if Lancer was fighting at full strength then the only way Assassin would survive would be by fighting defensively. As it stood the Assassin in front of him was 'Jiro'. Though he seemed to be quite the level headed individual in his civilian form, in battle he was much more ferocious. Foregoing any defence for any strike he could launch.

Stumbling back from the latest attack the Servant growled in frustration, he couldn't seem to get a solid hit on his foe.

Lancer laughed. "To see an Assassin fight like this is quite fun." He teased. "Perhaps you should slither away and hide like an eel?" Letting lose a more bestial growl the white hero ran back into the fray, his pride as a Heroic Spirit would not allow him to retreat.

Continuing to frown Kotomine continued to request updates on the Master of Lancer.

"Where is he?" He asked. "As far as I can tell this Servant does not possess the independent class feature, his Master must be nearby even if his Servant isn't fighting at his full potential." A slight pause answered him before the reply came back.

"Lancer appears to have come by himself, we cannot find any physical evidence of any Master nearby." Something was wrong.

Kirei was still a safe distance from the fight (safe being a relative term when it comes to a fight between Servants) but even so his danger senses began to scream at him.

At that moment Lancer had ducked under one of Assassin's kicks only to grab the Servant's leg and fling him across the battlefield and into an orange road cone.

Bringing his spear up into a throwing position the weapon flew towards the priest. It was too fast and Kotomine didn't look like he was going to dodge it in time.

Still dazed by the earlier attack the Assassin that was fighting could do nothing but yell a warning. The other Assassins were too far away to do anything.

One of them wasn't even wearing his belt.

A loud clang and Kirei was flung against a container, the force however was low enough that no dent was made, it did however hurt a lot. The spear had been hurled into another direction as well, something that Lancer quickly fixed by jumping to the side and grabbing.

A shining object was smoking in Kotomine's hand; it was a golden knuckle duster.

To combat a noble phantasm you had to use a noble phantasm yourself. He was only human however and thus in a straight fight he would certainly lose against Lancer, luckily he was still able to deflect an attack and stay on his feet.

If he had used one of his black keys Kotomine had no doubt that he would certainly have died as his weapon would have surely shattered against the spear.

The Ixa Knuckle as his Servant's had called it was to be his trump card. Studying his Assassins Kotomine had eventually come to the conclusion that this noble phantasm was one of the few of its kind that could be wielded by non-servant individuals. It kind of reminded him of a certain Irish girl he knew.

If what his Servants had said was true then using this device to its full potential was both dangerous and ill advised. Apparently the thing had a time limit of sorts that for some reason didn't apply to Heroic Spirits. Frowning he realized that the trap was ruined already, mentally calling Otoya he handed the device back to the Servant, Emiya would not be caught by surprise now.

Transforming another Assassin was added to the fray. Where was Emiya?

Speaking of Masters that had yet to appear…

Sola was ecstatic, to think Lancer had the ability to possess his Master! It removed the most vulnerable part of a Master, Servant team and made the two that much closer. If Lancer were to die then she herself would of course be killed but that was pretty much true regardless of whether she was being possessed by her love or not.

However it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, it was also rather embarrassing. To have Lancer quite literally in her body was something that quickly overloaded her imagination reducing her to a metaphorical state of liquid arousal. It did make her wonder what her Servant looked like, a question that she had asked earlier before the battle had started.

Lowering his gaze he started. "Oh I look like an ugly monster, a red ugly peach looking monster." He replied with a soft voice. "Such a burden it is to possess such an unsightly face, if only I looked more handsome like a turtle." He was such a sensitive kind soul. It made her love him that much more. With her love she promised to heal his wounds.

"Lancer! Watch out more Servants!" Sola mentally yelled. Lancer didn't need any warnings but he did appreciate his Master's worry, soon he was swarmed with identical looking Heroic Spirits.

Taking up his weapon he quickly made a broad sweep keeping them at bay. Up until now Lancer had been holding himself back, he simply didn't want to strain his Master's body more than he had to.

Prior experience had told him that it wouldn't kill the person he possessed but regardless it would certainly make them somewhat sore the next day. The main reason Lancer had held back was because he truly did not want to treat a female body so roughly.

But if he didn't she would probably be destroyed by the oncoming fists.

Kicking the nearest Assassin away he smirked. Lancer had expected something like this from the beginning. What kind of Assassin would fight head on? Surely a hero of deception and stealth would have a trick up their sleeves.

Despite the increased numbers the fight was still stacked in Lancer's favour. For all of their coordination and team work Lancer was used to fighting against such odds. Conversely despite losing the Assassins were still managing to hold their ground, it seemed that they were used to fighting stronger individual enemies.

It would take a long while and the battle would be arduous but without a doubt Lancer believed he would win.

Then a voice interrupted the battle.

'Final Form Ride.'

The artificial voice announced.

'I-I-I-IXAS'

Multiple blue Servants revealed themselves as their invisibilities had worn off. Was this another trick of Assassin?

"The pain will only last a moment." The blue heroes all echoed.

Plunging their hands into each of the white servants the seven white heroes began to convulse and change soon coming together to form some sort of huge mechanical beast.

The multiple blue heroes then faded away, the real one appearing next to the priest.

"Hey Master, I hope you don't mind me helping." Who was this blue Servant?

Omake A what if story?

Kotomine was smiling. In front of him laid the prone form of a red haired boy. Behind him the grail.

He was going to have fun killing the son of Kiritsugu Emiya.

But before he could finish the job laughter interrupted his blissful thoughts.

"Who's that? Where are you?" he shouted to the unseen intruder.

"RIGHT HERE!" Leaping from the Grail the green eyed, red masked Rider appeared.

How was the servant not corrupted? How did he even get inside the grail? How long did he wait there?

"DAMN YOU V3!" was the only phrase that came to mind.