Chapter 2

The morning before the summoning of Archer...

Assassin had decided to accompany both Sakura and Shinji to school that day. Well, not exactly. It was more like watching over them while staying out of sight. Rather than his traditional assassin's robes, he decided to mimic Desmond Miles and wear a grey hoodie jumper, a pair of jeans, and some running shoes. He could see why Desmond liked to wear them, they were fairly comfortable. Besides, a more modern attire is far more useful for blending in with a modern society. Even in Fuyuki City, he would easily pass for just another foreigner. It also helped that his abilities allowed him to avoid detection from other Servants.

One of the interesting things that Assassin noted was that Sakura had immediately gone off to someone else's house rather early in the morning before school – to the home of one Shirou Emiya. It seemed rather evident to Assassin that, after listening in, that Sakura liked Shirou, and that Shirou was a nice young man. Taiga Fujimura, on the other hand, who was also there, was apparently Shirou's 'caretaker'... And quite frankly, she was one of the strangest adults that Assassin had ever seen. She was also apparently a teacher at their school, which puzzled Assassin greatly.

It was fairly early in the morning. The clubs started early, and both of the Matou siblings were in the Archery Club. As Assassin watched from a nearby 'perch', so to speak, he noticed Shinji attempting to chat with a girl with black hair, apparently one Rin Tohsaka, whom was also a magus, and the last surviving member of one of the only two magus families in the city. Assassin had made a note to investigate whether she also had a Servant later on. However, Rin blowing Shinji's attempts at flirting and telling him right to his face that she really, really didn't like him got a chuckle out of Assassin. Despite being a potential enemy, he liked her already.

As much as he wanted to see Sakura and Shinji practice their craft, Assassin decided to get a better picture of what Rin Tohsaka was like, sneaking around as he tried his best to listen in on any conversations she had as she went into the main building. However, he was quickly distracted when he noticed Shirou, alone, in one of the classrooms, examining one of the heaters...

Much to his surprise, Shirou demonstrated magecraft by using 'structural grasp magecraft' to analyse the heater and easily figure out which parts to fix it. No wonder his friend Issei was waiting out in the hallway. Magi were secretive by nature, after all. However, there was supposed to be only two families of magi in Fuyuki, which made Assassin re-evaluate what he already knew. Even Shirou could be a potential enemy, though it was unlikely.

This would be a long day.

Luvia held on to her cat seat for dear life. Right now, Rider, currently helmetless, was driving a sports car along the mountain road, with her as a passenger. Normally she'd take a limo, but this was the sort of thing that suited the F-Zero racer much better. And he was going at full speed. Well, as fast as a Servant with A+ riding skill could find manageable with a vehicle like this.

And Luvia was both absolutely terrified and having the absolute time of her life.

Eventually, when Rider stopped at the end of the road, which had a very nice view of the city, Luvia was able to finally recover from the experience. Rider smiled, looking to his Master, "You wanted a demonstration of my riding technique, well, there you have it! Sorry if it was a bit much. I haven't had opportunity to bring the best out of a vehicle like this in ages."

"DOITAGAINDOITAGAIN-" Luvia suddenly blurted in excitement, only to catch herself and sigh, "Oh, I apologize, Rider, I lost my composure in all that excitement..."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Rider laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's not the Blue Falcon, but it's a great car! Nice of you to buy it for me."

Luvia laughed, "Oh, believe me, I don't tend to overspend, but sometimes it works to spare no expense."

"Heh," Rider chuckled, placing his hands back on the steering wheel, "Now, you wanna head back home the same way, or take in the view?"

"Oh, I think I wouldn't mind relaxing for a moment, as exhilarating as that was, I don't want to exhaust myself," Luvia remarked.

"Fair enough, then!"

That evening, as Shirou Emiya was walking home, he spotted someone waiting up the hill on the road ahead. The white-haired girl with red eyes who had been waiting for him smiled, and casually passed him by, and as she did, she spoke, "You'll die soon if you don't summon it soon, Onii-chan."

As soon as a confused Shirou was out of sight, Illya walked over to her Servant, who was waiting near a light post. Samus Aran was not wearing her Power Suit, but rather, she wore a blue shirt, jeans, and running shoes. She was not strictly 'Beserker' now, not without her Power Suit. "Was that quite so necessary, Illya?"

Illya giggled, "I had to meet him face to face."

"You do realise I still don't approve of what you want to do with him, right?" Samus asked her, with a chuckle. She had spent the last two months getting to know her Master, familiarising her with the capabilities of her Power Suit, and planning out what they were going to do with the war. The two had warmed up to each other quickly, and Illya appreciated the older woman's company, almost like a the big sister she never had. Samus appreciated the different familial role, she had already played surrogate mother, and it didn't work out so well for her in the end. However, she insisted on cautioning her about what to actually do with Shirou, after all, she suspected the boy wasn't as worth her ire as she thought.

"He stole Kiritsugu away from me! I'll never forgive him for that!" Illya pouted.

"Now, now, Illya? What did I tell you? There's always two sides to every story," Samus chuckled, walking along the street with her. "Perhaps you should just spend some time with him, find out the true story. I don't like the old man's story, to be honest. Something's up. Your father couldn't have abandoned you for no good reason, if he really did care about you."

Illya nodded silently, mulling over what her Servant said. "But you're still going to fight, right?"

"Oh, hell yes. Just promise me you won't make me rough him up too badly. And by 'too badly', I mean keep him intact. Without missing limbs or organs, by the way."

"Alright, alright, fine," Illya pouted, causing her Servant to chuckle.

"That is what I have discovered, Master."

That evening, in Sakura's bedroom, Assassin had informed Sakura and Shinji of what he had been up to that day. Alongside his discovery of Shirou Emiya being a magus, he had also eavesdropped on Rin's summoning of Archer.

Shinji scoffed, "So Emiya is a magus? I can't say I don't envy him. Do you think he's an enemy?" Sakura was silent, looking down at the floor, sitting by her bed.

Assassin shook his head. "My Eagle Vision indicated him as a neutral party. If he was aware or interested in becoming a Master, it would have marked him in red or gold."

"Well, your 'Eagle Vision' is certainly useful, I'll say that," Shinji chuckled darkly, and looked over at Sakura, "But I don't want to take chances. Sakura, you should stop going over to Emiya's place."

Sakura said nothing in response. Assassin could only pity her. How could this girl like such a horrible sibling? Shinji muttered something, and left the room, allowing Assassin to moved over towards her. "Master. Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, thank you, Assassin," Sakura smiled softly, as she looked up at him. "Please, don't take things so hard on nii-san. I know he has a temper, sometimes..."

"You shouldn't let him hurt you like that, Sakura," Assassin replied, taking her hand, revealing the bruise that Shinji had inflicted on her in his anger. "I would only attract your ire if I were to tell you what I really felt about him."

"No, no, I understand... Nii-san is the sort who isn't liked that much by other guys..." Sakura said quietly. "But... Thank you. I know you're only trying to help... But I can handle it on my own."

"If you say so," Assassin nodded, standing up, and walked towards the door, stopping briefly, "Goodnight, Sakura."

"Goodnight, Assassin," Sakura smiled back, as the Servant closed the door behind him.

The Florentine Assassin took a moment to briefly scan the house using his Eagle Vision. As he thought, both Shinji and Zouken were marked in red. Shinji thought himself an 'ally', but Assassin knew he was detrimental to their success. Zouken was blatantly bad news, but for what reason, Assassin was not sure. He needed to find out, somehow. There had to be some kind of skeletons in one of the closets around here. He made a mental note to investigate the whole household when everyone was asleep.

However, what disturbed him most was that Sakura didn't even register in his Eagle Vision. A quick check when she wasn't noticing made sure was she definitely there, but the problem is that there was absolutely no glow around her. Not only could Assassin not see her through obstacles, but he couldn't even see a glow even with direct line of sight. This was troubling, but much to his irritation, there was no discernible reason why this would be.

This was an absolute mess, and the war hadn't even begun properly... He thought to himself, If only I didn't have to deal with problems on my own side rather than on the enemy's...

That next day, Archer had restored Rin's living room to the state it was before, and even made her tea. Normally Rin would not accept anyone else making her tea, but the tea he made was so good that she decided it didn't matter. She wanted to take him around the city and have him familiarize the with the layout and environment. Archer noted that he could easily do so from a high vantage point, but he figured there was no harm in doing so, even if it meant Rin were to skip school as a result.

Eventually, she brought him to a rather desolate park, composed of burnt trees and grass. It was deserted, and with good reason. "This was the site of the Great Fuyuki Fire 10 years ago. A horrible tragedy caused by the previous Grail War."

Archer frowned, nodding. He was in spirit form right now. "How could someone so heartless cause something like this?"

"Nobody knows the exact circumstances," Rin shrugged, "This was near ground zero when the Holy Grail appeared in full form."

"I've seen such tragedies on greater scale, it's fortunate the fire didn't burn the whole city down," Archer mused. Some things I can never forget... That I wish I could.

That evening, Rin took Archer to the roof of the tallest building in the city. Archer scanned the landscape, "It would've taken less time if we did this in the first place."

"There's only so much you can see from here, you know," Rin said, with a chuckle, admiring the view as well. "There's so much of the city I can't make out from such a long distance."

"Even without my magnification optics, I can easily see the furtherest distances with exceptional clarity," Archer remarked, continuing to look around. "I can count the tiles on the bridge."

"Eh?! You really are an Archer," Rin blinked. She really wished she'd stop underestimating her Servant like this.

"There is no role more suited for me, despite the fact that I don't use a bow," Archer replied. His right lower arm reformed into some kind of 'arm cannon'. "However, my abilities are best used against Servants, rather than enemy Masters."

Rin blinked, "But fighting an enemy Servant is more difficult than fighting a Master."

"That's true, but my X-Buster enables me to copy the abilities of my enemies," Archer replied, shifting armor colours in demonstration. "The X-Buster is a Noble Phantasm by itself, my Variable Weapons System is more of an ability than a Noble Phantasm. It has its own risks, as you stated, but the reward is greater than simply killing an enemy Master. I could also copy an enemy Servant's weapon or Noble Phantasm by prolonged contact, but considering my class, that is unlikely. I have many copied abilities stored from the time I was alive, but they can't compare to Noble Phantasms."

"You... You can copy an enemy's weapon, even their Noble Phantasm?!" Rin gawked. "Wow... Okay, I concede, it's riskier, but it'll be worth it, right?"

Archer smiled softly, nodding. "You can definitely count on that, Rin. Look, I can explain the full details of my capabilities when we get back to your place."

Rin nodded, looking over the edge one last time. She saw someone looking back up at her. She recognised him. No... There's no way he could see her. She was sure of it. She shook her head, heading back towards Archer.

Rin and Archer were on their way home, but they quickly ducked into an alleyway when they saw two people on the pathway ahead. One was Sakura, who was looking a bit nervous. The other was a golden-haired foreigner with red eyes, wearing a black jacket, pants and shoes, and a white shirt. Rin frowned, whispering to Archer, "Is that foreigner a Servant?"

"That's difficult for me to say," Archer said frankly. "He has a physical body, meaning he's definitely not a Servant... But he's also showing unusual readings from my sensors."

Then Sakura and the man stopped talking, and the pair went on their separate ways. Rin and Archer decided to leave as well.

Assassin frowned, as he watched the golden-haired man leave. Something was wrong. He had heard the entire conversation, and what he heard troubled him. He had told her to "go die right now", and his behaviour indicated he was familiar with her in some fashion. As well, his Eagle Vision indicated that not only was there no glow from Sakura, but everyone within a certain radius of her had no glow from her, either, as if something about her was interfering with his Eagle Vision – in this case, Rin and Archer. He thought it was the same with the man talking to her, but then when the man left, it was readily apparent that his presence was also interfering with his Eagle Vision.

Both Sakura and this man had something in common. But what?

He decided to confront the man directly, following him, and soon silently drawing his sword, the point right at the back of the man's neck. "Who are you, and what was your business with Sakura?"

The golden-haired man smirked, turning around slowly. "So you're Assassin. I didn't even notice you. That's an impressive ability. But you can't figure that out? Pity. I'm not going to give you all the answers. But I think there might be someone who might. Ask old man Zouken. After all, I bet he's the one who made that girl into a 'fake Grail'."

"If you know so much, then there is no point holding that information back. I have the upper ha-"

"Gate of Bablyon."

Assassin's eyes widened, as he jumped back, immediately diving behind cover as multiple swords narrowly avoided skewering him. There was a wall of weapons behind the golden-haired man. This was no ordinary human, or even a magus... Was he a Servant? Assassin had little time to ponder this, as he was forced to move, his cover obliterated by more projectiles. The golden-haired man found his evasion somewhat amusing, as Assassin made his escape, dodging the weapons that were normally not meant to be used as projectiles. As he escaped into the night, he could hear the chilling laugh of the man with the thousand weapons.

Those were Noble Phantasms. Every single one. That person was a Servant, but how could anyone hope to defeat a Servant with so many Noble Phantasms? Assassin shuddered at the thought, as he headed to check up on his Master...

When they arrived back at the manor, Archer wrote down a list of his specifications to start off. "These are my default specifications from back when I was first created. I've had some adjustments here and there over the years, but it's still fairly accurate."

Height: 160 cm (5 ft. 3 in.)
Weight: 57 kg (125.4 lbs)
A.I. Age: 14-15 years old

Armor part:

Interior Skeleton: Reactive Super-flexible Armoured Skeleton which reduces 93 percent of damage.

Body Skin: Lightweight "Titanium-X" alloy.

Head part:

Broad-range Eye Camera: See more times than a human can see.

Ultra-sensitive Voice Recognition System: Can hear ultra-sonic waves. Normal humans can't hear it.

Voice Generation Device: Made by HAYATOM Inc. X's voice is born of this device.

Body part:

Accumulative Energy Generation Device: Stores solar energy. Can generate the necessary energy for X's power.

Ultra-Compact Fuel Tank: A large quantity of (Micro-Fusion) fuel is stored in the ultra-compact tank, in order for X to be active in places where he cannot receive solar energy, such as underground or underwater, becoming a power source when the solar energy runs out.

Central Control System: X's second "brain" which controls the exact movements of the whole body.

Arms part:

X-Buster (Mega Buster Mark 17): X's most powerful weapon. Converts the solar energy to fire out a high powered plasma shot.

Energy Amplification Device: Amplifies the energy in the X-Buster, to release a more powerful charge shot.

Variable Weapon System: Can use special weapons, by acquiring an opponent's DNA data.

Legs part:

Full Auto Balancer (Gyroscopic Stabilisation System): Can land cleanly in any area, from any kind of state.

Emergency Acceleration System: Accelerate in a blink of an eye, can dash at enormous speed.

Rin looked over the list as she sat at the table, her jaw open. "Wow... I've never even heard of any of this kind of technology! 'Titanium-X'? Is that even a thing?"

"You'd be surprised," Archer chuckled. "However, I can't store solar energy nearly as efficiently anymore as a Servant, so you're still my primary source of prana."

"And isn't a second brain a bit excessive?!"

"Not exactly. It's just a secondary system that handles more complex and precise movements that would otherwise require utmost concentration on my part. I can achieve near-perfect aim in a split-second, for example," Archer explained. "It's useful for allowing me to not really think so much about how I'm going to perform my movements in the heat of battle, especially when things are stressful and there'd otherwise be a greater margin for error."

Rin was dumbfounded, but she understood regardless, rubbing her temples. "Geez... We magi don't normally bother with technology, but..."

"I'll try and get you up to speed to the best of my ability," Archer promised, with a nod. "Now... I have a second 'Noble Phantasm'..."

"A second?! I thought Servants only had one!" Rin said, surprised, her eyes widening.

"That's not a strict rule, some Heroic Spirits can have up to three generally. Perseus, the hero who slew Medusa, had a total of five in his arsenal, but I digress," Archer replied, "In life, I had a variety of armor upgrades I could use that Dr. Light had created for me before he died. Unfortunately, right now, it seems I can only use one set at the moment, but that's not so bad. The armor upgrade sets increase my capabilities, but also will be a major drain on your prana. The strongest armor set would be the equivalent of having a Berserker-class Servant draining you at the very least, and even if I could use it, I only want to use it when absolutely necessary. As well, I can't switch sets quickly, I either have to do it outside of combat, or when my opponent doesn't have enough time to attack me while I'm changing."

"Right, I understand," Rin nodded. By comparison, this was fairly easy to follow. "I think I can take it, though."

Archer chuckled, "Well, seeing as how you're an exceptional magus, I'd be disappointed if you couldn't."

Rin blushed lightly at that compliment, but shook it off, "Anyhow, Archer... What kind of hero were you, in your time?"

Archer's smile subsided. He looked down at his tea, "I was a 'Maverick Hunter'. Technically, I'm not a Reploid. I'm the template that was used to create Reploids. Dr. Cain discovered my capsule, woke me up, and, next thing we knew, there was more machines like me. Robots who could truly have choices over their own lives, as Dr. Light envisioned. But then, things started to go wrong. Dr. Cain was a brilliant man, but he was no Dr. Light. The reverse-engineering was, well, imperfect, to say the least. Some Reploids started to go insane, due to all sorts of malfunctions in the electronic brain. The Maverick Hunters were created to keep the peace, to round up the defectives... And terminate them, if need be."

"You don't sound too happy about that last part," Rin frowned.

"No. I'm not," Archer shook his head. "Back then, I was hesitant to take lives. I wished there was just another way. Anyhow... A strange red Maverick was found in a warehouse, and after a brutal fight with Commander Sigma, he suddenly became docile for no apparent reason." Archer chuckled, "Funny how that turned out. That red Maverick became one of my best friends, and closest allies. His name was Zero."

"Zero?" Rin blinked. "X and Zero... Sounds like complete opposites."

"You have no idea," Archer laughed, but then sighed. "But then things got worse. Sigma suddenly went insane, and started a Maverick rebellion, and took a chunk of the Maverick Hunter corps with him. The Maverick Hunters were in disarray, and it was up to me and Zero to stop them. We'd eventually figure out that Zero was the source of the whole mess, he had a virus that passed on to Sigma, who then became the virus itself. It's a long story, I won't bore you with the details, most of it is pretty foggy, anyway. But Sigma just kept coming back. Again, and again, no matter how many times we took him down. A couple of centuries of fighting, and there was no end to it. Eventually, Zero sealed himself in a capsule to contain and destroy the virus inside of him for good. And I ended up having to fight alone."

"How did you stay sane over all that time?" Rin blinked.

"I'm not quite sure how I managed to completely keep it together," Archer replied. "But eventually... I just stopped caring about sympathy. And then the worst came, even after Sigma was finally gone, another madman took his place, and caused a disaster on a scale nobody could've imagined. 60% of humans perished, along with 90% of Reploids. Zero came back in a new body, and we defeated that menace together. I used my own body as a seal to lock up one of the beings responsible. Zero went back to sleep. And when he woke up, I was but a cyber-spirit, only able to guide and assist from the sidelines. He managed to bring about the happy ending we all had thought was impossible, and I could finally rest in peace. But the cost was innumerable. In the end, even if you can bring peace... It's on the bodies of billions of innocent people."

Rin had no idea what to say to this. She had heard a legend of a warrior who had lived through an unprecedented genocide, and had his own ideals shaken to the core. "I... I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's alright, you needed to know," Archer sighed. "The people called me a hero. I guess they're right, without me and Zero, things would've been worse. But it came at a terrible price. You can't save everyone."

"Maybe not," Rin smiled, with a chuckle, "but if you were admitted into the Throne of Heroes... Then your sacrifices were not in vain after all. You created an example that others could follow and aspire to, no?"

"As long as they can learn from history, I'm content with that," Archer smiled softly. "Anyway, Rin, you need to rest. Your prana needs a recharge. And... Thanks."

"Well, I don't want my Servant being all sulky and all," Rin looked away, blushing lightly, as she got up from her seat, "It's nothing, really. Goodnight, Archer."

Oh, so she's one of those types, Archer thought to himself in amusement. "Goodnight, Rin." I swear, Palette would have a field day.

"So. I guess I wasn't expecting someone to have the gall to put up a bounded field in my school."

"Yeah. It's a weak field, but I don't like it. There's no reason to put a bounded field in a place like this."

Neither Archer nor Rin were particularly thrilled the next day when they came to school, to find an easily noticeable bounded field around it. No magus in their right mind would start a fight in a place with so many people. It was incredibly suspect. However, further inspection of the field later that evening, when everyone else had left, revealed a disturbing fact – the bounded field wasn't an alarm. Instead, it was meant to knock out anyone without a magic circuit within its bounds.

"It's a complex mark," Archer said, examining the source of the field inscribed on the floor of the school roof. Whoever made this was good. Very good.

"I can drain the seal, but I can't destroy it," Rin frowned. That was going to be problematic. "This seal... It's gotta be for feeding a Servant prana from humans, isn't it?"

"Definitely," Archer nodded in agreement.

"My master is not terribly thrilled about this being here, either."

Rin and Archer immediately got to their feet, hearing the male voice. Assassin stepped out of the shadows, "Rin Tohsaka, I have no intention of fighting you or your Servant at this time. I am disgusted by such tactics, myself. I am above harming innocent people."

"So are we, but don't concern yourselves with this thing. We'll take care of it."

Now there was another pair on the roof. Bazett and Lancer stood at the edge of the roof. Bazett adjusted her gloves, "But I can't complain when it's attracted two Servants and a Master."

"Oh, great, this is going to get ugly," Archer grumbled, "Master, we can't fight here. Not enough space."

"Yeah, bu-WHOA!" Rin was suddenly picked up by Archer, as he dashed straight for the other side of the roof, his leg boosters kicking in, and leaped off the roof to the ground below. Assassin followed suit, using the trees to get back down to ground level. Bazett and Lancer were not far behind. When they reached the courtyard, where there was much more space...

"AHA! Finally! We meet again, Tohsaka!"

That would be the eager laugh of Luvia, who had also arrived, with Rider beside her, "I couldn't find you at your home, so I looked everywhere for you! And here you are!"

"Edelfelt," Rin grumbled, as Archer put her down, "I had a feeling you'd show up sometime. Do you want me to kick your ass again?"

"Oh, please, you couldn't even touch me!" Luvia smirked, "Rider and I will beat you and your pathetic Servant! What the hell are those, armoured tights?"

"They're not tights, you skank!" Rin snapped.

"Rin, I-"

"Quiet, Archer. I'm speaking for you."

"SKANK?!" Luvia snapped back, "Figures, coming from a flat-chested nobody!"

"These are NOT FLAT!" Rin said, nearly about to show her own undergarments, when-

"I think you're both idiots," Bazett said, as she and Lancer approached. Lancer remarked, "They are both rather attractive, though."

Rin and Luvia both blushed, and Archer facepalmed in response. Assassin was content with watching the impending fight, and Rider spoke up, "Hey, hey, ladies, I don't think calling each other names is going to help."

"Certainly not, apologies, Rider, I lost my composure," Luvia spoke up politely, but briefly glared at Rin before looking at Bazett, "Bazett Fraga McRemitz, I presume? I had heard from my sources that the Association would send you."

"Seems you're well-informed, Luviagelita Edelfelt," Bazett smirked. "But make no mistake, I have far more experience with hand-to-hand combat than you do. Let your reject of a Servant do the fighting, otherwise I'll kill you."

"Oh, she did not just say that," Rider smirked, hand on his sidearm, "You're not gonna let that stand, are you, Luvia?"

"Oh, great, a Fraga magus? That's the last thing we need," Rin grit her teeth. The members of the Fraga clan normally didn't leave their seaside home, but the ones that did were often known as deadly enforcers who could use Fragarach, a Noble Phantasm that could deflect any attack and effectively turn it against the user. Not good.

Archer armed his buster, and Lancer took hold of his lance. This was going to be a problem. Rin and Archer were practically sandwiched between Luvia and Rider and Bazett and Lancer. There was more than enough space to move around, but Rin was at risk. Archer quickly devised a tactic, figuring it might be risky, but his options were limited. His armor changed to a yellow scheme, and his buster charged up, before thrusting both arms to the sides, "Electric Spark!"

Two walls of electrical energy were unleashed in both directions, forcing both pairs to scramble out of the way, as Archer picked up Rin, and dashed to another position where he could focus more on one direction, as he launched electric spheres from his X-Buster at the enemy Servants. Luvia and Bazett began to engage in hand-to-hand combat, and while Bazett was indeed experienced, Luvia was no slouch herself, utilising a fighting style which was best described as pro wrestling.

Lancer attempted to close in on Archer, who left Rin near the trees to hide, and then opened fire with his regular buster shots. Both of them relied on range to battle, Archer moreso. However, he found that Lancer wasn't entirely limited by range, as he had to shoot down multiple projectiles, such as thrown knives and axes, while his opponent tried to get close. It was currently a stalemate, and Archer considered using another weapon if Lancer got in clo-

Then came something unexpected. Archer and Lancer both barely avoided being run over by a large blue blur that had been speeding at them. The blue object drifted around, and it was easy to make out as some kind of futuristic hover-race-car, and it was being driven by Rider, being used as a makeshift weapon. It was undoubtedly his Noble Phantasm. The vehicle came around for another pass, spinning rapidly, and Lancer's attempt to damage it with his lance had little effect, in fact nearly knocking it straight out of his hand. Archer frowned. This was a problem. Rider's vehicle benefited from the open space as well, and it was fast. There had to be some way to damage it.

Then things froze, when all three Servants realised that someone else besides Assassin was there.

Whoever it was, he sprinted into the school building, forcing both Lancer and Bazett to give chase. It was a student, which puzzled both Rin and Archer, who also rushed after them. Who would stay here at this hour?

"What on earth...?" Luvia also gave chase, forcing Rider to dismiss his vehicle and start running after them as well.

Shirou Emiya dashed through the halls of the school as fast as his legs would allow him. He didn't know why he didn't just rush out into the street rather than go back inside, but no point crying over spilt milk now. He eventually was forced to stop in a hallway to catch his breath. "Ah... I think I-"

"Lost 'em?"

Shirou's face went white, as he suddenly found himself with a blade run him straight through, right through his heart. He was shoved right to the floor, as the perpetrator laughed maniacally, "Oh, you should've seen the look on your face! Oh, they're coming... Best make myself scarce! See you in hell, kid!"

The attacker then jumped out the window, as Bazett and Lancer arrived. Bazett, shocked and angry, snapped, "Lancer, after him!"

"Yes, Master!" Lancer agreed, and leaped out in pursuit. Bazett was ready to jump out, herself, just as Rin and Archer arrived. Rin grit her teeth, "Oh, hell... Emiya! This isn't good...!"

Bazett paid no point to it, as she left, and both Luvia and Rider turned up as well. Luvia gasped, "Oh, no, this is bad! I was simply going to hypnotise him to forget about all this!" She at least she had standards, wasn't like she liked having innocent people killed.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this... He's still alive, but barely..." Rin took out her father's pendant, and started her spell, "If I can reconstruct his heart..."

"But that'll take an intense amount of prana, it'll drain the pendant completely," Archer advised, "Are you sure?"

"It'll work... But this idiot owes me one..."

A couple of hours later...

"Ugh, I can't believe he escaped," Bazett grumbled, as she climbed back through the window, "And now we have to deal with a body... Great..."

"Um... Bazett?" Lancer spoke, looking down at the floor. "We have a problem."

"Wha-" Bazett looked down. The floor was clean, and there was no body to be seen. A quick examination via runic magecraft allowed her to find out... "So one of the other two magus must've repaired his heart... And he got up and left?! What were they thinking?!"

"I'm surprised the attack didn't kill him instantly," Lancer remarked.

"Wait... Tohsaka called him 'Emiya'. No... It can't be..." Bazett frowned, "Lancer, we're going on a hunt. He might not be some ordinary bystander, but something much, much worse."

"Not a bad place, Tohsaka," Luvia remarked. She and Rin had arrived at the Tohsaka household, agreeing not to fight each other for the rest of the night, after Rin had successfully repaired Shirou's heart. Besides, the war hadn't officially started, anyway. They had decided to hypnotize him later, when he had recovered from, you know, having his heart stabbed through.

"It's what little I have left. That stupid priest kept selling off the family possessions," Rin grumbled.

"I agree, Kotomine is a strange man indeed," Luvia nodded in understanding, as they went to the living room. Rider made them some tea. "Don't be mistaken, Tohsaka, we're not friends, now, or anything. I wanted to see my rival's home for myself, that's all. You know that student? Emiya, you called him?"

"Yeah. He's not in my class, but-" then Rin froze. "Oh. Crap. Edelfelt, you said that woman was with the Association?"

"Yes, why would you-" then Luvia froze. "Oh. Oh, dear. If she discovers there's no body..."

"Then she's go after Emiya... Gah, why was I so stupid?! Archer, let's go!" Rin began to run, as did Luvia. Both Rider and Archer sighed simultaneously. This was going to be a long night.

Shirou stumbled into his living room. His chest was still hurting like hell, and he felt absolutely nauseous. His heart felt like it was going to open up any second now. That's to be expected, after effectively dying. He needed to relax. Fuji-nee and Sakura weren't in the house, so-

Then the lights went out, and a bell sounded. Shirou frowned. The bounded field had activated. There was an intruder, at a time like this? Was the bastard who stabbed him coming for another go? Shirou picked up a nearby poster left by Fuji-nee. It wasn't a steel pipe or anything, but it had to do. For once, he was able to use reinforcement successfully, enabling him to use it as a makeshift 'sword' of sorts, as it was now effectively as hard as steel. And a good thing too, as a woman forced herself through the front door, and stepped into the living room. "So you are still alive. Figured. Is your father Kiritsugu Emiya? The Magus Killer?"

Magus Killer? Shriou was confused by this statement. "Kiritsugu was my father, yes, but I have not heard that title. You're from the Association?"

Bazett's eyes narrowed. Lancer was quickly by her side in a heartbeat. "So you are a magus?"

"To be perfectly honest, not a good one," Shirou replied honestly. "The only thing I can do is reinforcement."

"Alright, then, show me what you can do." Shirou was surprised by Bazett suddenly swinging punches at him, forcing him to deflect with his makeshift weapon, before striking back at her, but she blocked the strike with her fist. "Not bad reflexes. But if you're the son of the Magus Killer, I don't think I can let you live."

"The hell?! I haven't done a thing!" Shirou objected. He needed to escape. This wasn't a good place to fight. If he could get to the shed, it would be a much better spot to find stuff to use against her... He deflected a few more strikes, before leaping out the window, smashing the glass, and got up as quickly as possible to deflect Lancer's spear, as he came down after him.

Then Bazett landed after him, and swung a roundhouse kick that sent Shirou flying. He crashed right by the shed, and he stumbled inside, trying to find something, anything...

"Give up!" Bazett snapped, coming straight after him, and kicked at Shirou, who responded by opening up the poster, stopping the kick, but also ending its reinforcement, making it useless. Shirou stumbled back, quickly cornered by Lancer and Bazett. He was going to die, again. Ugh, this isn't fair, damn it! There's got to be a way-

Then a flash of bright light appeared. Both Bazett and Lancer were surprised, as a figure suddenly attacked them both with an invisible sword, forcing Lancer to deflect, and as the figure pressed her assault, the pair immediately retreated outside of the thread. The girl turned around towards Shirou, looking down at him. Shirou, in that moment, was astounded by this girl's incredible beauty, her regal armor shining in the moonlight.

"I ask of you: Are you my Master?"

To Be Continued