Fate: All Riders.
Chapter 11: Buckle up.
Emiya Kiritsugu should have been mad, furious and disappointed yet none of those emotions showed on his face. Instead it was cold indifference. After telling him of the day's events Saber had expected the man to blow up and yell at him for endangering his wife perhaps throwing in something about being so friendly with the enemy. Yet all he did was nod in acknowledgement before walking off. It was almost unsettling.
Did he not care that his wife almost died? Was he not worried for the one he loved?
Feeling a hand on his shoulder Saber turned to face Iri.
"That's his way of saying thank you." She smiled. That was a rather strange way of putting it. "He won't say it out loud but he probably is happy that you kept me safe." That made sense he supposed but it still didn't wash away his uneasiness.
Walking through the new house Saber nodded in appreciation towards the architecture. In life he was a wanderer, such places were fairly rare for him to find and even during his richer years he was more used to mansions of more western make. This was a fine house, a traditional place with lots of room, it felt warm.
If he had to use one word to describe the place it would be 'Calm'.
"If he seems upset he's probably still sad that you aren't Kind Arthur." She teased.
It had become a sort of a running joke between the two of them. It was clear that Emiya didn't resent him for it but it was fun to imagine the man pouting at not getting what he had wanted. Regardless Saber still felt somewhat responsible and wondered how much better the king of knights would've done in his place.
"He's probably sad that he had to send back Avalon to your family." He joked. Without King Arthur the sheath was nothing but an expensive paper weight.
It was at this moment a certain floating red hand decided to enter the conversation.
"From what I've read about that Avalon thing it would've made you invincible, it was stupid of him to send it back so soon." There was no real proof that the noble phantasm would've done that or would've even worked for Saber but Ankh seemed to insist that with desire anything was possible.
"Well whatever the case we now have a new base of operations, a step up from a café right Ankh?"
"Anything is a step up from camping outside you dumbass." He snapped.
Eyes widening Saber got defensive. "Hey nothing's wrong with camping! It's better than nothing you know!"
Irisviel simply giggled, the two of them were really close to each other and it was adorable to watch them talk.
Soon the discussion simply faded into a more sombre atmosphere.
Despite not knowing Rider all that well there was no denying that the hero was a good person, perhaps more so than any other Servant in this war.
If nothing else he was the most honest.
"Is Emiya going to kill Waver?" Asked Saber.
Though she looked uncomfortable Irisviel eventually shook her head.
"He's going back to England I think, as long as he doesn't stay here he shouldn't become a potential threat and Emiya should leave him alone."
She didn't exactly sound too confident.
It could go either way honestly.
The Magus killer was the kind of man who would never leave anything to chance.
However the man would always try to be efficient as possible, in this case he'd have to weigh if it was worth killing the boy or not.
"You idiots, Rider's former master is going to be fine!" Snapped Ankh. "The Emiya guy has more pressing matters to worry about like that Berserker thing, why spend time getting a potential threat when an already existing one is around!?"
Despite the argument putting the 'Waver' worry to rest both Saber and the Einzbern were not calmed down by the revelation. Worrying about Waver was their way of trying to forget about Berserker, the monster was terrifying.
To take down the Seven Legendary Riders as they were called alone inside what was basically the enemy's home ground along with all of the assassins was intimidating.
Even if the remaining Servants in the war had decided to team up victory was not certain.
Even with its frightening power Emiya only seemed to accept it. Everyone else, Saber included was afraid.
"How can Master stay so fearless and brave? I'm a Heroic Spirit and even this is a bit scary." Iri shook her head and smiled.
"Kiritsugu is more afraid than you think." She began. "In fact I think he's terrified of what will happen." The way she said it was so certain, it could be nothing but truth.
No words were spoken for a while leaving Saber with those thoughts and the task of taking the rest of the luggage into the house.
Sola was afraid, the monster had just destroyed that other Servant with such ease that it's power seemed absolute. It wouldn't be so bad if Lancer didn't seem so uncertain as well. Pacing about the blue Servant looked deep in thought. Well she couldn't see his face but she assumed that he was deep in thought. He was afraid as well, she could tell even if he didn't say anything. She couldn't blame him.
"Lancer?" Upon hearing her voice Lancer perked right up.
"Yes Sola? Is there something you need?" He asked casually.
He was trying to look unafraid, it was all an act so she would calm down. The fact that he tried made her happy regardless of the result.
"Well uhh…" She began unsure what to say now that she had his undivided attention. Clearing her throat she continued.
"Well I was thinking about Berserker." A few moments of silence loomed over the pair.
"Thinking of another Servant? Well I'm jealous!" He said after a moment. Sola blushed and narrowed her eyes.
"This isn't a joke Lancer, that, that THING is a monster!" She was angry, she knew Lancer was just trying to cheer her up and make her feel better but his life was at stake, he should be thinking of himself not her!
"We have to find a way of beating it we have to-" Suddenly she was cut off as a finger was pressed against her lips.
Even though it was through an armoured glove it made her blush.
"It's alright my Master, I've been thinking it over." He began. "We'll just have to find the other Masters and ask them to team up against him, if worse comes to worst I'll just have to show everyone my noble phantasm."
"Your noble phantasm?" Now that she thought about it she never had asked him about that. Perhaps if she knew what it was she would become closer to him.
"It's a powerful technique, something that is very close to me you could say." His voice was suddenly nostalgic as if he was no longer there. It was as if he was now thinking of another time, his own time if Sola's guess was anything to go by.
"It's something I could never do alone, just know that you will never be alone." He was serious; throughout this entire conversation he had been serious.
It took Sola a few moments to realize this but he was indeed serious, not once did the blue Servant make a pun about fishing.
It almost pained her to see him like this, so she decided to fix that.
"Promise me one thing Lancer." Looking into her eyes the Servant nodded.
"Anything for you Master." Kneeling he took her hand.
"When this is all over…. Can you take me fishing?"
Kotomine wasn't the kind of man who asked for help. However judging by his Intel on this Berserker fellow he had come to the conclusion that he didn't have enough strength to defeat the monster on his own.
His sudden comment on joining forces with Lancer and Saber had left his own Heroic spirits surprised.
Assassin simply tilted its head in confusion while Archer was slightly more vocal.
"You don't seem like the type who asks for help." Archer began. "Not that I'm complaining or anything but…"
"Asking for help is simply another action and method used to achieve an end goal, killing an enemy and making allies is no different." Walking out the door Assassin followed.
"So I'm guessing we're heading over to that Emiya guy first? You seem to be pretty obsessed about him."
Shaking his head the priest answered.
"No, Emiya isn't the type who accepts an alliance unless something can come from it. If we can secure the help of Lancer he'll join due to the increased rate of success." That and the Master of Lancer seemed less likely to attack him on sight.
"See what I mean? Even without talking to the guy you already know how he's going to act!" Archer then threw his arms in the air. "Obsessed I say!"
Kotomine simply broke out into a light jog.
Setting up a meeting point between two masters wasn't hard.
Having them both attend was also easy.
Getting them to trust that the other wasn't setting a trap was infinitely more difficult.
The fact that both Masters had done something like that in the past was not overlooked.
So it was rather Ironic when the meeting place turned out to be the old docks.
That said the potential benefits far outweighed the risks to the degree that one side knew that the other couldn't afford to botch the deal.
Two figures emerged from the shadows.
A female and her Servant of the spear, Lancer.
Possessing Kayneth had been easy enough, Sola only had to convince her fiancé that they had to hide the fact that Lancer could possess her for battle. If they thought she was an external force then their foes would waste time looking for a hidden Master that was not there.
On the other side of the clearing Kotomine Kirei made himself known with Assassin by his side.
Raising an eye brow Sola did find it strange but wasn't surprised at the fact that the white Servant in front of her was still alive. Though she saw several supposed 'Assassins' die in front of her previously it was assumed that the deaths were either faked or inconsequential as it was likely that this Servant could multiply himself somehow.
Nodding the priest stepped forwards as his white armoured Servant stood alert.
"Sola Ui, Master of lancer." He proclaimed. "I asked to meet you here to determine the details of our alliance."
Shifting his weight the blue Servant stepped forwards.
"Sorry, I don't trust priests." Despite his harsh words they were said in a light hearted way. "A man who does not know the touch of a woman can't really be a good man right?"
Feeling that this was a waste of his time he frowned. "I had a wife and a child with her."
Sola already knew this, her husband drilled the fact into her brain before the war had even started giving her titbits of information about the other potential combatants, anything to give them an edge.
Lancer however was clearly not prepared for such an answer.
"Though I am a man of the church I have not sworn to a life of celibacy." He continued. "But let us not speak of such things; we are here to discuss our situation with Berserker."
Situation. That was putting it lightly.
"Well, I don't see any reason why we can't just put aside our differences, lay down a net and see what we catch!" Always with the fishing puns.
"You suggest we lay a trap for him? Ambush the Servant perhaps?" It wasn't a bad idea but considering the amount of raw power Berserker possessed it still felt half baked.
"Not quite, you see between all of us we have three Servants." Kotomine showed no emotions to this comment. "IF and only IF we can get the Master of Saber on our side!"
Walking over to his Master he continued. "The Servants don't have to beat Berserker, we don't have to face him head on like Rider had done, all we have to do is distract him long enough for you and that Emiya fellow to take out the Master." It was a rather basic plan honestly.
"How can we get Kiritsugu on board with such a thing? He'd only accept the truce to use us." Kirei didn't actually object to the idea but he was somewhat curious as to why the Servant was speaking for his Master rather than the other way around.
"Well of course he'd use us!" Explained Lancer. "I'm using you, you're using me! We're all using each other to get rid of another threat! Equal exchange as I've been told is something that magic users are big on are they not? Lose a worm and gain a fish!" That metaphor didn't seem fair however everyone there understood the sentiments.
It didn't take long for Kotomine to nod.
"Very well I accept, we shall speak with Emiya together then."
"Just one question Kotomine." Pausing for a moment the priest nodded for the Servant to continue.
"Where is the Gun man?" He asked. "Don't think I've forgotten about the fight with him and the horde of Assassins on the docks, he's yours isn't he? An Archer if I don't miss my guess."
There was no point in lying at this point.
"Yes he is mine but what makes you say he's Archer? Archer was my former teachers Servant, the large demonic beast with the golden bow remember?"
"Ahh yes but that wouldn't explain the dragonfly fellow that could almost swim as well as me." Though curious Sola had not asked about the Gun wielding Servant to gain the priest's trust, however it seemed Lancer had other ideas.
"Of course he had those cards, if I remember correctly he had a way to manipulate the Assassins into that big dragon thing, one can only assume his cards can do much more than just that."
Suddenly a blue figure shimmered into view.
"Hey you shouldn't ask so many questions you big liar, you're just IMAGINing things." Lancer froze at those words. "Don't expect people to show you thier hand just because you ask alright? Because who knows, maybe I already know yours." Lancer backed off in silence.
This Gunman's words worried Lancer and thus his words worried Sola.
"Well just don't breath of word about me to that Emiya fellow alright? I'm sure we'll be great friends." If Kotomine was annoyed by his hidden Servant's outburst he didn't show it. All he did was nod and walk off.
All that was left was for them to recruit the Master of Saber, such a meeting would be long and arduous but if everything went according to plan then there would be a chance to take down Berserker.
"Yes!" Both Lancer and Kotomine raised an eye brow at the answer. They didn't expect such a quick answer from Emiya.
"A trap seems like our best shot." He began. "Saber, Lancer and Assassin will hold off Berserker while Kirei and I can find and eliminate the Master." It was a sound plan. Standing behind his Master, Saber stood ever vigilant as his red, yellow and green armoured form seemed to compliment the other heroes in the room.
Though he was naturally talented Kariya was not a good mage, even with his strong blood. Years of neglect towards his magical studies had left him somewhat unthreatening. The fact that he could even produce enough Prana to fuel any Servant raised an eye brow.
The change in power was no doubt due to Zouken's influence and though no one in the room knew exactly what that entailed it was assumed that the method was distasteful.
Coming from other Magus this was a rather large insult.
"As for bait we only need to come together in public, we've already discovered his mental state is unstable enough to attack during day light." The fact that this threatened the secret of magic was left unsaid. Everyone was expected to know this already.
"From what I've gathered he's working on a time limit and wants to eliminate as many Masters as quickly as possible. That is how we'll draw him out." Lancer at this point had decided to cut in.
"We can use the docks again, it's a very familiar place to us all and if we let our Prana spill like blood in the water he'll no doubt come swimming our way." Emiya frowned at that comment. He disliked fighting on terrain that was familiar to his enemies.
This included Lancer and Kotomine, there was no telling when either of them would decide to betray the other.
There were too many opportunities for either of them to have set up a trap.
"No, the docks are already rather damaged, I'm sure repairing it any further would be a hassle." Saber felt somewhat uncomfortable, attacking a Master directly seemed unethical. However he couldn't see any other way to defeat Berserker.
Looking around Lancer sighed. "Where's that white haired angel anyways? I really wanted to talk to her but all I got instead was a middle aged guy with stubble." Sola's face went red and simply glared at her Servant.
Everyone was hiding something.
"The details don't matter, all we have to do is pick a location and beat him right?" Saber interrupted.
"It's not that easy Saber." Began his fellow Servant. "We have to plan-"
"But that's just it isn't it? You don't trust each other at all! The more time you all spend planning the more time it gives everyone else a shot at turning on each other!" Emiya simply raised an eye brow, he knew his Servant had a cunning side to him but this was still rather Naïve of him.
"If we can't trust each other than we've already lost. We can only focus on one enemy at a time so today we'll fight Berserker." He stated looking at the white armoured form of Assassin. "But tomorrow we'll go back to fighting each other deal?" Everyone remained silent.
"Well I'll cast my lot in with you." Lancer spoke out.
Kotomine was next giving a simple nod and with that the alliance was struck.
"We should move tonight…"
Saber had noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The red helmet he wore provided him with enhanced vision to the point where he could spot even invisible enemies.
A strange outline was revealed to him, a figure wielding a gun stood by Kotomine as if watching over the man.
The dragon fly Servant from the docks! Was this him? Who was he?
Revealing his ability to see invisible figures or Kotomine's 'secret' Servant at such a critical juncture would be a mistake.
It was the choice between having an unstable ally over having another enemy.
As dangerous as the decision was Saber knew that they needed every piece of help they could get their hands on regardless of how dangerous they were or how many secrets they carried.
Desperate times called for desperate measures after all.
Though he remained silent his mental link with his own Master alerted Emiya that something was wrong.
However being as paranoid as he was the Magus Killer felt no different than he ever had.
If anything his own Master was most likely the one who would betray everyone else first.
After the meeting Emiya would be told of this hidden Servant.
It was an unspoken rule that everyone here was using everyone else.
Masters use their Servants to grant their wish.
Servants use their Masters to grant their wish.
Everyone kills each other for their own wish.
Such was the nature of the Holy Grail War.
It was cold despite the clothes he wore. Kariya sat in the corner of an alley, anyone passing by would pay him no mind. Despite his appearance he was hard at work searching for the other Masters. His stomach boiled with pain as swarms of insects scoured the city for any signs of magic. Though he was in pain it did not hinder him at all.
After experiencing the strain of using his Servant everything else seemed almost trivial in comparison.
Hunger didn't feel so bad anymore yet he still ate.
Drowsiness didn't seem to cloud his mind yet he still slept.
Pain felt so far away that it might've been another person's problem.
Considering his state of health it might have been the case.
Peeling back the sleeve of his shirt he studied his Command Seals.
"Twenty seven." He counted once more. "Twenty seven Command Seals." He repeated to himself.
He burned that number into his mind. Keeping track of his Command Seals would save his life, rationing and using them would require careful management much in the same way a soldier would remind themselves how many bullets they had left.
His Servant remained silent ever present and somewhere nearby.
He felt safe in its presence. It was strange, he was starting to become more and more comfortable around the monster, even if it decided to go nuts and kill it's Master Kariya had no doubt that he'd be okay with it.
It was just in the things nature, it was inevitable.
Perhaps he was comfortable being around a monster because he himself was one.
The sounds of footsteps was ignored, people often passed this alley way, it was nothing special.
Regardless Kariya covered his Command Seals once more.
Not to preserve the secret of Magic but rather because he felt possessive of the marks on his skin.
They were his.
He had killed for them.
He had taken them.
He had earned them.
They were his.
The footsteps however didn't pass the alley way or his resting place, instead they became louder and closer.
The bugs within him couldn't feel much magic so whoever approached him was unlikely to be a Magus. He knew that people could mask their prana but he still was not concerned. If it was another Magus or even Master then his Servant could take care of it.
If there was a Servant nearby he was confident that his insect familiars would find them.
No one could mask such power unless they were Assassin and that Servant was obliterated.
At least that's what he thought. His body was still so tired; thoughts of fear or even rage were muted.
The footsteps stopped right in front of him.
Opening his eyes Kariya was greeted by an orange haired youth. If he didn't know any better he'd assume that it was a friendly soul here to help him. His pitiful state occasionally would warrant such a response.
But he knew better, the man in front of him was a killer.
Berserker stayed in spirit form, even if the man in front of him was a murderer the bugs he held in his body would be enough to dispatch a single man.
"Hey!" Greeted the orange haired man. "The name's Uryuu Ryuunosuke!" Though he seemed friendly enough Kariya noted the knife in his pocket.
"I saw those patterns on your arm before and I thought they looked familiar." Raising an eye brow Kariya paused. Had this Ryuunosuke figure seen another Master nearby?
"Are you a demon summoner?" That was a rather strange way of putting it but he couldn't say he wasn't. Who was this man? Was he really just another civilian?
"Because I'd like to make friends with you and the demon!" Confusion began to take hold. "I used to have a demon friend, but then he got kicked by a guy named Rider." Wait a second was he…
"But I still have these symbols and markings on my hand!"
Kariya had not said a word from the beginning and now he found he couldn't even start.
Did the Holy Grail really pick a random non-Magus figure to be a Master?
Well then again the Grail did pick him, he had no room to complain.
He would never be friends with such a person but that didn't mean he couldn't use him.
Though Kariya was no manipulator anything was fair when the future of Sakura was on the line.
"Friends huh?" Both monsters simply smiled as a Heroic Spirit watched.
Omake! What if Rider was Fourze?:
"RAAAAWWWR!" Berserker as his name implied was mad. Both Lancer and Saber took up defensive stances yet even such measures held no meaning against such strength as the best fought them to their limits.
Archer simply stood in the shadows smiling.
"An insanely strong monster as always." He murmured.
Then a fire ball from the sky hit the earth separating all the combatants giving both Lancer and Saber some much appreciated breathing room.
As the smoke cleared an unconscious Waver Velvet was revealed along with what appeared to be an astronaut with his legs in the air and his head against the ground.
Saber suddenly spoke up. "Wait where have I seen this before?"
Getting up the white figure picked up his Master roughly by the shirt and proceeded to dust him off.
"Careful Waver, you got a bit of dirt on you man." His Master of course did not reply.
"RAAAWR!" Screamed the Berserker enraged that the battle had been interrupted.
Turning to face the abomination the Servant of Waver Velvet paused before dropping his Master.
"I'm Rider and my name is Kisaragi Gentarou" he shouted. "And I'm the man whose gonna befriend ALL RIDERS!" Pounding his chest he then thrust his fist towards Berserker as if pointing towards him. It was then that the fist began to glow gold, what was this power?
Saber was the first to speak up. "That's…. that's a noble PHANTASM!" Who was this guy?
The twisted figure glared at Rider before charging forwards, Rider didn't show any intention of moving or dodging.
Lancer and Saber both braced for the worst when a white light enveloped them both.
Sitting up in the Sniper's nest Emiya frowned in confusion.
"Did Berserker just fist bump and shake Rider's hand?"