Fate: All Riders.
Chapter 8: This is an understatement.
Backing away from the large, white mechanical monster Lancer wasn't exactly sure how to react. However his following comment illustrated the feelings of everyone there quite accurately.
"Well this escalated rather quickly." It was somewhat of an understatement but it worked well enough for now.
The blue gunner that was called Archer was apparently still alive and judging how he interacted with Assassin it wasn't too far of a stretch to assume that the two heroes knew each other before they had died.
It was likely that they were both Assassins in life owing to the fact that one was literally called that and the other could turn invisible.
Such theories could wait, for now Lancer was running for his (and his Master's) life.
One Assassin in a straight fight was rather easy, casual even.
A group of seven was challenging but manageable.
Seven Assassins with an Archer who had just recently activated what looked like a combined Noble Phantasm?
That was less manageable.
Leaping to the top of a large steel storage container Lancer believed himself to be somewhat safe. He was of course wrong. In the brief time that he let his guard down an explosion had thrown him off his feet sending him right into another steel container.
With a resounding *CLANG* he soon removed himself from the metal noticing that there were two dents in the side of the container. It appeared that this was the same box that he was thrown against when the dragon fly hero had shot him.
"To be caught twice by the same net, things aren't going very swimmingly." Rolling to the side on instinct another explosion had blown a hole in the concrete which he was just standing by.
The large white dragon machine was throwing explosive capsules, it kind of reminded him of a certain train that he used to ride on.
If he used his Noble Phantasm now there was a very good chance he could take Assassin down right now. However Archer was still an enigma, using his trump card now would most likely leave him open.
He had to escape, there was not much chance of anything else, he had to create an opening.
Until he could figure out how Archer worked, it was pointless to fight him.
Speaking of Archer where was he?
Ducking Lancer rolled to the side into cover fully expecting to be shot from behind. It seemed that his precaution was unneeded as nothing had come of it. Still the thought did put him on edge.
If Archer had indeed gone invisible again then it was possible that he could launch a sneak attack at any moment.
Another explosion rocked his vision, the steel container he hid behind was now replaced with a smoking crater. Assassin's noble phantasm was interesting and it was powerful but it didn't seem like a weapon an Assassin would really use honestly.
It was simply too flashy and loud.
Perhaps this wasn't Assassin's ultimate weapon, perhaps it was Archer's, perhaps his power involved subverting others? Another explosion pulled the blue hero from his thoughts, he was starting to run out of useable cover.
If this kept up it was possible that civilians would start to notice. You can't exactly start throwing around dozens of exploding barrels and be subtle about it.
"Master, I'm going to try and use one my ultimate attacks, it's not my noble phantasm but it'll reel in quite a bit of Prana so be ready for it." He warned.
Kotomine had thought of just about everything. The area was within a bounded field, a very subtle one that used very little power. All it did was prevent sound from leaving the area, very useful and the priest was glad that he had the foresight to use it before setting his now failed trap into motion.
Regardless he allowed his 'Assassins' to continue the battle. Or was it more accurate to say his single 'Assassin' at this point? The collateral damage was getting intense and thus the priest and the Archer had long since left the immediate battlegrounds. Overlooking the area from a warehouse a few blocks away Kirei wondered if Lancer would fall.
Despite the obvious upgrade Archer had given his other Heroic Spirits the power they exhibited was disappointing. It was still immense in its own right yet Kotomine expected something impressive in a Noble Phantasm.
"This is the first time I've ever done that on a Secondary you know?" Added Archer from his side.
Frowning Kirei diverted his immediate attention away from the battle.
"Secondary?" He asked hoping that his Servant would elaborate.
"Yeah Secondary, like uhh a hero who plays Second fiddle to the main hero of the legend." Archer explained. Kotomine nodded in understanding.
"Like Little John to Robin Hood." He replied.
Wait, first time he had tried this on a Secondary?
"You've done this to main Heroes then?" That implied that he had done this to multiple main heroes of multiple legends. Was Archer some sort of god like entity that bestowed power upon famous figures throughout history? Was he a figure not too different from the lady of the lake that bestowed Excalibur to King Arthur?
Several explosions in the background continued to be ignored.
"Yeah I've pulled this trick on a few Main guys before." Pausing for a moment he corrected himself. "Actually I'm wrong, I have pulled this on a Secondary before, a pink guy. I was obviously the main character of that legend." The priest could almost picture the smirk beneath that helmet.
"He tried to steal my shtick about being a passing through Rider but I still have that title." Kotomine squinted at his Servant. Archer's statistic's popped up in his mind, yet none of them revealed the title of 'Passing through Rider.'
He decided to remain silent on the subject.
Looking back towards the battle Kotomine scanned the combatants. It seemed that removing himself from the immediate danger most likely dissuaded Emiya from appearing. If he knew the Magus killer on any level then he was sure that the man would come in once it appeared victory was certain.
Thus the only way to bring Emiya out into the open was to expose himself. It was risky but the drive to meet such a person urged him forwards.
"Archer, we're going in." Hopping off his vantage point Kotomine strafed to the side.
Shrugging the blue Heroic spirit soon followed wondering what his master had in mind.
"You are quite the formidable opponent!" Announced Lancer as he continued to hide behind his rapidly diminishing cover as Assassin continued to blast it apart.
"But with my trump card I will defeat you! Hook line and sinker!" The voice he used sounded confident; it was as if the outcome of the battle was already assured.
A card holder materialized in his hand, moving it towards his belt buckle lightning began to charge his weapon.
Sola could feel the prana move from her servant to his weapon. It was significant but not to the point of breaking.
'Full Charge'
Warned the belt once enough power had been transferred.
Glowing with power the lance was ready to be used.
And then the card was shot out of his hand and into the dirt.
Fading into existence Archer's invisibility worn off.
Bending over he quickly snatched the card.
"Oh, it's been awhile since I've gotten my hands on this ticket, or should I say 'Your' universes ticket?"
Archer knew what the card was? This was bad news, or it would've been if said card wasn't a noble phantasm directly attached to Lancer.
Dodging to another piece of cover Lancer avoided another explosion courtesy of Assassin.
Snapping his fingers the card that Archer held dissolved into golden dust.
Well it should've at least, it didn't in this case.
"Sorry but as a thief in my legend I've always been able to keep my hands on whatever treasure I've found unless forced away from it."
Okay this had escalated from bad to just plain horrible.
Lancer now had a seven servant machine of destruction throwing explosions at him and a stealthy secret Archer after him. To top it all off he didn't have his train card anymore! Without it he couldn't access his most powerful weapon.
Turning tail was the only option now but it was far from safe. Being in the body of his master made him too nervous, made him second guess himself, it made him less effective.
It was honestly kid of nostalgic.
"Master, without that card I fear my combat potential will sink, I'm not sure if we can live through this storm." He spoke gravely.
Sola had the resolve to die already, to die with her love in battle…
It was romantic and grim. If she could die with Lancer she would accept it.
No.
No.
No.
She would not accept it.
They would not die together, they would live together!
"Master?" He asked out loud feeling something off. "What are you doing?"
Forcing Lancer's hand to rise into a fist Sola spoke through her own mouth.
"Lancer!" She began. "I Sola-Ui command you…" Lancer's weapons was still glowing with power, she only had one shot at this.
"I command you to claim victory with all your power!" And thus the spear had left his hand.
Crashing down against Archer's chest he became trapped by a transparent blue hexagon, a manifestation of Lancer's might no doubt!
His hands moved quickly, dropping the train card he pulled out one of his own.
Running forwards Lancer avoided the oncoming explosions that Assassin sent with almost casual ease. His agility augmented by the Command Spell!
Struggling to operate his gun Archer tried to wrench himself free from Lancer's grip.
Dashing forwards Lancer leapt up to deliver what was to be a lethal kick.
Finally inserting his intended card into the gun Archer squeezed the trigger.
'Attack Ride… B-B-B-BARRIER!'
True to the announcement a force field of sorts erected itself between Lancer and it's user.
Breaking the defence, shards of the barrier were launched in all directions. With Lancer's foot smashing right into Archer's chest it seemed that the thief was all but finished.
Staggering backwards the gun wielding Servant kneeled winded from the assault.
"It seems if I didn't bring that defence up in time I'd be finished." He said staring at Lancer warily.
"I can't keep going so I'll be leaving now…" With his Prana exhausted from boosting his defences he inserted another card.
'Attack Ride…. Invisible!'
Dashing forwards Lancer quickly retrieved his card before dismissing it into golden dust.
Assassin had appeared to have left as well whether on his own initiative or otherwise was uncertain.
"Well that went well…" Lancer said trying to liven up the mood.
Saber's master did not appear but that didn't mean it was a total loss. True Archer was heavily injured and his Assassins extremely fatigued with himself drained of Prana. But they did learn where Lancer's master was. She was with Lancer.
It was unorthodox but effective. Battle with Lancer simply meant that he couldn't end things quickly by assassinating the source of Prana. Things were further complicated by the fact that Lancer's master could continue to activate and use Command Seals.
Speaking of Command Seals it seemed that he was able to force her to use another one. Overall this battle could be considered a minor victory if nothing else.
In addition another piece of news was revealed during that battle.
The voice that came from the Master when the command spell was used wasn't that of Kayneth rather it was that of a female, no doubt his wife.
"Archer, Assassin, how are you all holding up?" He asked as he made his way back home.
"No permanent damage master but I don't think I'll be able to fight for a while." Archer answered.
"We're fine, just lacking in Prana, we ask that Archer warn us before he tries that trick again." Spoke one of the Assassins. Despite being numerous in number the group had decided to elect 'Nago' as their main speaker.
"Hey I did warn you it'd hurt right? That and the pain did pass." Archer quickly pointed out.
"Yes but the pain did stun us, the surprise could've given the enemy time to attack us."
The priest simply listened to the argument and more questions began to arise.
"You knew who Lancer was, the fact that you took that card holder was a clear indication, now tell me who was he and what does he do?"
"Long story short he's a demon, genie thing that grants the wishes of the people he possess so he can go back in time to ruin the time line but unlike all those other demon, genie guys he decided to be a good guy so now he runs around in a time travelling train to beat people up using a wimpy kid as his host."
This was clearly a joke and Kirei didn't like being mocked.
"Archer, time travel is true magic, are you telling me a Lancer is capable of true magic?"
"Yeah sort of, but it was mainly the train." A silence passed over the group. One of the Assassins spoke up. He sounded almost serious.
"A train? That's stupid, now a dragon castle? That's a different story!" Wait what?
"Assassin, are you telling me that you to have access to true magic as well?"
"Well not me but a friend." This was getting ridiculous.
"Now you'll be telling me that one of you have access to the second magic and can turn into other heroes from different dimensions."
"No only Decade can do that." That just raised more questions. "I just summon them." That actually explained a few things, it also confirmed one of the many theories Kotomine had cooked up.
Regardless of what Lancer really was he had no other information. Archer was technically the most accurate source of information on the Heroic Spirit. It was almost depressing.
For the time being Kotomine would have to rest and cease combat for a time, unbeknown to him this was true for all Masters and Servants of this war for one reason or another.
Himself due to fatigue and low levels of Prana.
Rider due to the same reason as above.
Lancer due to the same reason in addition to only having one Command Seal remaining.
Caster due to being dead and simply non-existent.
And Berserker due to his Master's deteriorating health despite his large store of Command Seals.
Out of every Servant and Master combination Saber was the healthiest.
Despite this Emiya and his Heroic Spirit were both too busy to fight.
"So uhh not that I'm complaining or anything but why are we moving?" Asked Saber as he moved another box to the car.
"It's because we're compromised." Replied Iri smiling. "Kiritsugu says everyone will know where we live so now we have to move so that they don't know."
Nodding in understanding Saber continued to move the boxes around content with the menial labour he was assigned.
"Oi EIJI! Hurry it up! We don't want the enemy to get the drop on us!" Shouted a disembodied arm.
"Ankh, please stop calling Saber that, someone might know him!" She half-heartedly scolded. It was kind of nice to see someone calling Saber by his real name even if it was dangerous.
"Oh? So what about me then huh? What if people know who I am?" He had a point, what if people knew who he was?
It was quite the dilemma, then again a floating red hand was fairly unique anyways so if anyone knew who he was they'd be able to identify him by appearance alone anyways.
"Well maybe we should have you just travel with us in spirit form maybe?" It was probably the best solution and short of being possessed again there wasn't much choice.
Fading out of existence the floating hand simply clicked his tongue in annoyance. Or at least made the same sound as a tongue clicking, it was honestly quite hard to tell with a disembodied hand.
Both Maya and Kiritsugu were absent from the work, they had apparently gone off to scout their new home to see if that too was compromised yet.
For a while Saber continued to work in silence before stepping into the car to drive. Despite his earlier disposition his face now wore a depressed and trouble expression.
The directions were rather straight forwards and with his skill in 'Riding' and his earlier experience in life he easily navigated the Einzbern forest to the main roads.
Though Saber wasn't the most vocal person around this silence did worry Irisviel to the point where she looked to Ankh for advice. Of course he remained silent in his spirit form compounding her worry.
"Saber?" She asked.
"Hmm?" He replied keeping his eyes on the road.
"Is there something wrong you want to talk about?" There was a long pause, only broken up by the sounds of cars passing by.
"I don't know." He replied honestly. Iri simply waited for an explanation.
"Emiya seems to be a good guy but… he does bad things." He started. "I mean, I guess I understand why he does it the way he does but he doesn't even show any regret or remorse, it's almost like he's…. empty." The last word was spoken with a measure of dread.
Irisveil frowned at this assessment but then looked away sadly.
"Kiritsugu is the man I love." She began. "I think he does everything for a reason, I think he holds everything inside, I think it hurts him…"
Saber frowned at that.
"He believes he's doing the right thing, not only that but he believes he HAS to do it, please don't think any less of him Saber."
Another pause washes over the silent pair.
"I can't blame him for doing what he does, I just don't like his methods." He began. "But if he really is hurting inside then I guess I'll have to keep on helping him."
'Dumbasses'
Announced a voice in both of their heads.
'That Emiya guy, he's broken.' Ankh began. 'Hell he's probably even more broken then you are Eiji and that takes effort! I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to kill his wife to save two people!'
It was a dark thing to say.
"Ankh!" Eiji protested. "That's not right! Emiya isn't a monster, he'd never do anything like that!"
Before he could voice himself even more he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay Saber, even if Kiritsugu decided to kill me for the greater good I'd accept it." She told him with a sad smile. It was almost as if she was ready for this eventuality.
No saying it was an eventuality implied that it may or may not happen; it was as if she knew it would occur and was simply accepting it as truth!
Saber didn't want to accept it but if Iri did then he had no choice.
He'd accept it for now, but he didn't have to like it.
Iri didn't want to leave things like this, she wanted her Servant to get along with everyone.
"Saber?" She asked quietly. "Why don't we visit a park tomorrow and get some ice cream to eat?"
Surprisingly it wasn't Saber who answered.
"EIJI WE'RE GOING TO THE EAT ICECREAM TOMORROW!"
Returning back to base Lancer found himself very tired and drained. Sola even more so. The average human body in this day and age wasn't meant to move and fight at the level of Heroic Spirits.
Despite losing another Command Seal Sola remained content if somewhat worried. She was happy that Lancer had fought alongside her but couldn't shake the feeling that she was simply holding him back.
"Lancer… I-" Before she could voice her thoughts Lancer interrupted her.
"Hey Sola, how about we go out on a date?" Her face flushed at the sudden question.
"Bu-b-But we can't!" She stuttered in embarrassment. "Y-you'll leave your armour for me?" She asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
"Nah, if I do that people will panic, I have a better idea." He stated.
"I can possess Kayneth, his body is probably weak from injury but I'm no stranger to possessing weakened forms." He continued. "That and the exercise might do him some good! I'm sure he'll be happy to go out on a date with you, even if it's just his body!"
Sola was somewhat conflicted, on one hand she'd have to be seen with her detestable fiancé, on the other hand she was used to acting like she enjoyed it. That and it would actually be Lancer.
"I-I'll ask Kayneth if it's alright." Making her way off into the ruined building that they called their hideout she left Lancer behind to guard the entrance.
Eventually she entered the room.
"Uhh Kayneth? Are you awake?" She asked timidly. There was a brief pause and just when she was about to leave an answer called out.
"Yes, Sola what is it?" The voice was filled with betrayal yet he still loved her, he couldn't control how he felt.
"Uhh…" How would she ask him? He would get jealous if she was too forward but then again that wasn't so bad, she would be spared the awkwardness of dating Lancer in Kayneth's body. If things went forward and Lancer possessed Kayneth then the Servant might find out what she had done to get the Command Seals.
"Lancer wants to possess your body again, for scouting purposes, we'll be using a date as a cover." Kayneth considered her words carefully.
She had all the power here, so why was she so nervous? He already knew of course, she was in love with Lancer and would do anything for him.
But as a man in love he too would do anything for his fiancé. After a few moments he gave his answer.
"Alright, tell Lancer he can possess me, we'll go out tomorrow."
Sola wasn't sure if she was nervous or ecstatic at that news.
And thus another day passes…
Rider was strange, Waver knew that much already. He was however unprepared for how strange his Servant really was.
Walking through the park Rider kept himself in Spirit form, apparently using his ultimate noble phantasm had drained his reserves immensely. Though he was incorporeal he still managed to annoy Waver enough to convince his Master to take a walk outside for fresh air.
To have a Reality Marble meant his way of thinking, his perception of the world was so warped that it could manifest itself physically into this realm.
To have such a strong belief that justice would persevere was admirable, naïve and childlike. Yet after seeing his Servant and those other Heroic Spirits fight it was hard to believe that justice couldn't win out in the end. It also made him more curious to his Servant's history.
Yet despite his constant research Waver couldn't find any book referring to anyone that fit Rider's description.
This lead Waver to one conclusion, a suspicion he had since the beginning.
That his Servant was from another universe.
Last night Waver dreamt of battle.
He dreamt of upholding the ideals of justice, of allies and a loved one's death.
Despite this he continued on with stronger resolve. He dreamt of moving forwards, never slowing down. Always becoming Stronger. He dreamt of a desperate battle, one where all hope seemed lost yet he still emerged as the victor.
It was Rider's dream. Kamen Rider Stronger.
Shaking his head free of that memory Waver never told Rider that he had seen his memories.
Yet despite seeing it firsthand there was little to no context.
"Rider, about your legend, what was it about?" Rider decided to give his master the abridged version.
"A bunch of bad guys screwed my best friend over so I pretended to be bad as well, they upgraded my body, I then kicked their asses! That's the long story short anyway."
Waver raised an eye brow and sighed.
Even in life his Servant was reckless, if his entire legend was built around him being stupid and accomplishing the impossible then it meant Rider was a very interesting Heroic Spirit indeed.
Yet despite Rider revealing part of his story Waver knew that it was more complicated than that.
The walk in the park was refreshing and the violin that one of the street performers was playing on was quite nice. It was a sad but hopeful tune, a skilful musician to be sure. Waver wasn't much of a listener of music but even he could appreciate such sounds.
"Master, there's another Servant nearby." Waver froze, there was no choice he'd have to run.
"Where are they Rider!?" He asked mentally scanning the area.
"…. I think they're over by the ice cream stand Master." Turning his gaze back he spotted them, how he had missed the Einzbern surprised him though something was off. Her hair for one was now slightly more…. Red. She was rather sneaky, dying her hair red as a disguise!
"Waver Velvet!" A familiar voice behind him announced.
Frozen in shock Waver slowly turned his head to see his teacher Kayneth out in the open with his fiancé hanging off his arm.
Also since when did he have blue high lights in his hair and wear glasses? Was this an attempt at disguise as well?
Rider thought this was all quite amusing.
"Haha, Waver I've changed my opinion of Lancer's Master, he seems quite lively!" Waver couldn't even bring himself to apply his palm to his face.
Kayneth soon spotted the Einzbern and her Servant.
"OH SABER! Good to see you!" Saber upon being called turned his head in surprise.
"You!" He shouted in amazement. "You're Lancer's Master! Thank god you're okay!"
"EIJI!" Shouted the Einzbern in what seemed like frustration. "Damn it you idiot!"
Kayneth simply smirked. "Well it seems we all have dates except little Waver here!"
Saber or Eiji as he was called was simply too relieved to object to that, Einzbern seemed too angry and was about to voice her objections when Waver interrupted him.
"Wait what?" The simple statement summed up his feelings quite nicely.
"Waver, Waver, Waver, as your teacher it is my job NO my DUTY to help you reel in a girl!"
"Wait what?" Repeated Waver. Kayneth never behaved like this.
"You remind me of another useless boy I once knew!" He said looking suddenly quite nostalgic.
"Wait what?" The joke was starting to get stale but no one could really protest.
"First I must assess your normal abilities, this first attempt will most likely end in failure but after that I'll be sure to give you plenty of feedback!"
Dragging him along with super human strength Kayneth scanned the area for the perfect catch.
"The best way to learn how to swim is by throwing one into the deep end!" Pushing him forwards Waver practically stumbled into a pair of ladies.
"OUCH sorry Miss, my uhh teacher is not usually like this." He said quickly apologizing.
The absurdity of the situation made him forget that he was in a free for all death match for a wish granting artefact.
"Hello Waver Velvet." One of the girls spoke. Wait she knew who he was?
"Uhh have we met before?" He asked nervously.
"Oh you'd know us as Assassin." OH SHIT! The violin player in the background chose this moment to reach the finale of his wonderful song by plucking the string to close things off.
Staring back at Saber and Kayneth for help all he saw was the pair giving him the thumbs up as if to encourage him. Clearly they had no idea that the two women in front of him were both Servants.
Somehow he knew that Rider was to blame for all this.