AN: Damn, it has been ages since I've written anything for this collection... Oh well...
Lancer
Still half-blind from the bright flash of light that announced the arrival of a Heroic Spirit to the mortal plane, Kayneth Archibald could already see that his plans for the Holy Grail War were once again foiled: even though he was sure that the catalyst he used for the summoning were the legitimate remnants of mystical swords Moralltach and Beagalltach, he didn't get the Servant he was aiming for. After all, the famous master of spears, Diarmuid ua Duibhne, wasn't known to have long hair and a pair of huge boobs.
"I'm the Servant Lancer of this Holy Grail War." A strong female voice announced. "I shall be under your command." As his vision restored, Kayneth finally saw whom he had summoned. It was a tall and rather beautiful woman with bluish-silver hair and red eyes. She was wearing a black military dress uniform. Interestingly enough, her only visible weapon was a short sword hanging in its sheathe from her hip on the left side. There were no visible spears or lances anywhere on her person.
"Who are you and what have you done to Diarmuid?" Kayneth asked in a barely restrained rage: why nothing went as he planned in this cursed Holy Grail War? First, some bastard had stolen his catalyst for summoning the legendary King of Conquerors, and now his back up catalyst didn't summon him the Heroic Spirit it was supposed to.
"I do not know anyone who goes by that name." The female Lancer-without-a-lance replied. "But I swear to you as my lord that I shall obtain the Holy Grail for you." She promised, and though she did no grand gestures, it was clear that she was not saying those words lightly... Lord El Melloi let out a sigh. Despite being easy to anger, he knew that losing his cool wasn't especially productive, doubly so when the things happened already and, thus, nothing could be changed anymore. Letting out another sigh, he took a glance at this strange Servant's stats. And, well, he had to admit that while this woman was not Diarmuid ua Duibhne, she was powerful. Her very race made it clear that she was an exceptional fighter... Maybe, just maybe, the War was not lost for him just yet...
"Do see to that." Kayneth said, before turning around on his heels and walking out of the room. He needed to update his plans for Grail War. Again. Once he was out of sight, his fiancee, Sola-Ui, who had been present during the summoning, spoke, addressing to the Lancer:
"Don't mind him too much, he is just angry that his plans got foiled by the Fates. I'm sure that once he calms down, you two will be able find some common grounds." She said. After a pause, she added: "I'm his fiancee, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, and I shall be supplying you with additional prana during this war." The silver-haired lady of the war in front of her nodded.
"Thank you, I appreciate your assistance."
~/ *** \~
Saber cautiously moved through the loading area of an abandoned dock: an enemy Servant was lying in wait somewhere here, and the British swordswoman knew better than to expect that Heroic Spirit to actually be, well, heroic. And while she hasn't ran into any traps yet, there were no guarantees that there indeed were none prepared for her...
Finally, after a few tense minutes of navigating through the maze of crates, Saber entered a rather large empty area. There, she finally saw her adversary: a silver-haired red-eyed woman that appeared to be in her early twenties. And the clothes she was wearing – a black-and-gold dress uniform that had a distinct 'the thirties' feeling to it – made Saber think that this Heroic Spirit was a pretty recent addition to the Throne of Heroes. Alas, the knowledge of the modern world that the Grail gave her during her summoning had nothing that might let her start deducing her opponent's true identity.
"Someone has answered my challenge, huh?.." The mysterious Servant spoke to herself. Then, she turned her attention to Saber: "I, Lancer, shall be your opponent tonight. Let's do battle!" And with those words, she summoned her armaments while ethereal-blue flame engulfed her form. Her weapons of choice, however, made Arturia question the truthfulness of the other Heroic Spirit's introduction: cutlass swords and machine guns were NOT the primary weapons of lancers... Oh well, it was not like this oddity changed anything about the about-to-commence battle.
"I, the Saber of this Grail War, accept your challenge, Lancer." The blond swordswoman announced as she swapped the black business suit she was wearing previously for a blue armored battle gown. "May the strongest one win." She proclaimed, her own sword, hidden behind wind magics, pointed towards the silver-haired Servant of the Spear. Lancer replied her with a nod.
For a couple of seconds, neither moved, as if they were waiting for some signal that only they could perceive to start their battle. Then, Saber charged at her opponent, using prana burst to accelerate to some insane speed. Yer, she that wasn't fast enough to make it completely impossible for the red-eyed woman to target her with that grail-enhanced machine gun. And the King of England wasn't exactly eager to find out, whether her conjured defenses would really be able to withstand the might of a Grail-enhanced firearm...
Finally within melee range, Arturia swung her sword at Lancer, who managed to parry it with her cutlass. They exchanged a few more strikes, before disengaging for the moment. And Saber had to admit that while she was a more skilled swordsman, her opponent wasn't a novice either. What's more, Lancer actually was a bit stronger and faster. Which, coupled with her ability to attack at range, made her a not an easy opponent to fight.
Pushing that thought aside, Saber concentrated on the 'now' as she launched another attack against the Servant of Lance...
From atop the nearby bridge, a giant red-haired man wearing ornate bronze armor with furred red mantle thrown over it watched the battle taking place in the docks.
"Look there, boy!" The said man called loudly to a comparatively-small dark-haired teenager that was clinging to the beam a few feet away from him. "Look at that battle! Look at all that power – that is the Life!" There was a moment-long pause, before he continued: "Our original plan was to wait for other Servants to answer the Lancer's call, but I can wait no longer! We shall join this glorious battle now, boy!" Rider called as he drew his short-sword and slashed the very air in front of him, thus summoning the Gordius Wheel.
~/ *** \~
Several days passed since the battle in the docks, and Lancer still was a mystery to the team Einzbern. Saber had fought against her for awhile that day, yet the silver-haired woman never used any weapons besides her cutlass sword and her machine gun at the time. Why was she even summoned as a Lancer? And, why she was using such a 'modern' hero too? - while Heroic Spirits from the present or even the future could potentially be summoned, none had been in the past three Grail Wars...
Right now, though, the mystery of Lancer mattered little to the Servant of the Sword: Caster had gone off the rails and began openly attacking the civilians for his sick purposes. He had to be dealt with posthaste, and the Grail War Overseer called for his prompt execution.
Alas, Caster wasn't unprepared for such turn of events and had a whole army of disgusting slimy tentacled monsters at his command – and as Saber quickly learned, he could summon more of those indefinitely. Thus, even if individually those things were weak, even an overwhelmingly powerful Servant like her would eventually succumb to the death of thousand cuts if she kept fighting. And Saber had to: not only because neither she nor her master could really bring themselves to abandon the kidnapped children, but also because the mad summoner's had her completely surrounded.
Suddenly, an explosive beam of blue light hit the sea of alien beasties, vaporizing hundreds of them in an instant and proving Saber with the much-needed respite. And as she turned to look at her savior, Arturia saw Lancer.
And this time the silver-haired woman was clearly showing why she summoned as one: no longer she was wielding her cutlass and her gun into the battle; instead, she armed herself with a huge jousting lance, which was seemingly cut out of a single large crystal that seemed to glow with inner power, and a large round buckler of the same material. That, coupled with the bluish battle aura she was producing, made her look like some Norse goddess. Or, perhaps, a Valkyrie.
"Save the children, Saber." Lancer spoke as she threw a pair of those tentacled things away from herself with a mighty swing of her her lance. "I'll take of Caster and his abominations." Arturia replied with a nod.
Lancer
True identity: brigadier general Selvaria Bles, the Blue Witch
Series: "Valkyrie Chronicles"
Age: 22
Sex: Female
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Strength: B+ by default | A+ as a Valkyrie
Endurance: B by default | A+ as a Valkyrie
Agility: C+ by default | B as a Valkyrie
Mana: A
Luck: E-
Independent Action: D
Eye of the Mind (false): C
Eye of the Mind (true): C
Battle Continuation: A
Military Tactics: B → Selvaria is a brigadier general after all...
Charisma: D+
Magic Resistance: E by default | B as a Valkyrie
Riding: E → can ride horses and operate a car or a tank
Noble Phantasms:
Valkyrur flames: A+, anti-unit (self). Selvaria can surround herself with mystical blue flames that significantly boost her already great strength and endurance. Additionally, these flames will grant her protection from the weaker forms of magic. Finally, as long as she is in her Valkyrie mode, Selvaria can use a suicidal technique called 'final flame' that generates an incredibly powerful energy blast ranking as an anti-fortress attack.
Ruhm: D, item. A heavy machine gun that is one of Selvaria's signature weapons. Now upgraded with magical bullets and unlimited magazine.
Ragnaid armaments: B, item. The infamous ragnaid shield and huge jousting lance that Selvaria wields as a Valkyrie. The lance allows her to fire powerful energy blasts that can one-shot even heavily armored war machines like battle tanks from a great distance.