The War has started to pick up, so here I am with a bit more of a quieted down chapter, maybe. Probably won't last too long. I did forget to mention when I did Archer's stats last chapter to include the author who created him. Assassinwriter, I apologize for that. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5: Causatum

Beacon Academy

Blake and Weiss sat on their respective beds, gaping at their respective Servants at their reports on the events of the previous night. It was mid-afternoon, and Yang and Ruby were out at the library, studying, giving them a chance to talk with their Servants outside of their mental links.

Saber was reclined in a chair, his feet up on a desk, as he observed his Master's body language and facial expression, hiding a smile as he did so, while Rider leaned against a wall, watching his own Master's reaction.

"Let me get this straight," Weiss started, " Saber and Archer's identities were discovered by each other last night, even though one of the biggest ideas of this war is for that not to happen, but to top it all off, you both knew each other on sight? That shouldn't be possible if the overseer's letter was anything to go by!"

Saber and Rider exchanged a glance, and Saber seemed to give Rider a pointed glare, causing the blond to sigh in defeat.

"Err… Pretty much, "Rider responded, "But could you please calm down a bit?"

Weiss huffed. "That depends, am I going to get some answers?"

Rider glanced at Saber. "Yes…"

Saber shrugged from his position. "She's your Master. You start."

"Well… You could say that we've met each other before," Rider started, glancing at Saber again, "The first time being on not so good terms."

Saber chuckled, Blake and Weiss shooting glances at him.

"So we were surprised by each other's appearance here," Rider continued, "We won't be fighting each other any time soon without direct commands since we're… friends, for lack of a better term."

Saber rolled his eyes, but otherwise had no comment.

"What are the chances of this happening?" Weiss asked.

"Not very high," Blake commented, eyeing her Servant carefully.

"Especially since we couldn't easily get to each other either," Rider said, raking a hand through his hair.

Blake raised an eyebrow, while Weiss placed a hand on her hip.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"We're… not exactly of this world," Rider said.

"I thought you two were Heroic Spirits of legend," Blake said, a look of slight confusion on her face.

Saber chose this point to fully join the conversation as he placed his feet solidly on the ground and leaned forward in his chair, a small smirk on his face.

"Heroic Spirits? Yes. Legend? Not exactly," he said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"We're not legends, for lack of a better word, of this world. Not really, "Rider said, "We are of other versions of this world, as the Throne of Heroes, from which we are summoned, resides in a place outside of time and space, allowing 'legends' from across all dimensions and time eras to enter."

"So what you're saying is that I won't be able to find any information on either of you or your origins?" Weiss asked, frustrated.

Saber was quiet for a moment before he replied, "You definitely wouldn't be able to find anything on Rider, but I can think of one person you know who would give you some insight on my origins, even if it's partial."

"Who?" Blake asked, curious to find out more about her Servant.

Saber shook his head. "I'd rather you didn't bother her. It's a touchy subject for her and her relatives."

Blake narrowed her eyes at her one or two possible clues, but decided to look into it later.

"What did you find out about Archer?" she asked.

"We managed to find out why he was so… aggravated, no, uneasy around Weiss," Rider replied.

"And?" Weiss asked, waving her hand for him to continue.

Saber and Rider exchanged a nervous glance.

"Are you positive that you want to know?" Rider asked.

"Of course I am," Weiss replied.

Rider sighed, shooting a glare at Saber. "Archer's true name is Max Rose…"

Silence reigned over the room for a few moments as the Servants let that information sink in.

"So, he's an ancestor of Ruby?" Blake asked half-heartedly, already guessing at the true answer.

"No. He's actually a son, although his full origins are… complicated," Saber said.

"How complicated?" Weiss asked.

Saber and Rider glanced uncomfortably at each other.

"I really don't want to get into it. Ask him next time we see him, because we will be seeing him again," Saber finally replied.

Weiss sighed. "Fine."

The four sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while after that, occasionally glancing at one another, but saying nothing.

Saber perked up after a few minutes, looking at the door. "Someone's coming. You know how to reach me if you need me, Blake." And with those words, he dematerialized.

Rider nodded and followed Saber's example.

Sensing that the Servants had also left the room to leave her and Weiss to their team, Blake looked at the heiress.

"They're hiding something," Weiss said, "I don't know what it is, but there's definitely a few things about themselves and their discoveries that they're not telling us."

"I'm sure they have a good reason for it," Blake said, defending the Servants, before the door opened, Ruby and Yang entering.

"Hey guys, did we miss anything?" Yang asked.

"Not really," Weiss replied.

"What'd you guys do while we were gone?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Nothing," the two Masters replied simultaneously.

The two sisters shared a look, but made no comment. The Faunus and heiress' changes in attitude had not escaped them.

Vale

Having nowhere else to go, Saber and Rider had decided to head into the city to try and find other Masters or Servants. Usually only Assassin would do this, but since it was still a long ways off from nighttime, and there were civilian witnesses everywhere, they had decided it would be safe to roam around, as an unspoken rule of the War was for it to remain secret from the public.

Saber had dematerialized his cloak temporarily, to avoid more scrutiny from passerby, as most who wore them tended to be Huntsmen, while Rider had gone as he was. They did, however, keep their weapons dematerialized as well.

"How long do you think we have until we spill the beans on everything?" Rider asked as he walked with Saber.

Saber was quiet for a moment as he thought it over. "It's hard to say, but I'm going to guess two more days at the rate this is going. Faster if any other Servants recognize us and call us out in front of them."

"And Ruby and Yang?" Rider asked, watching Saber's facial expression.

Saber sighed. "Tomorrow at the latest. I had hoped my Luck Rank would help with that."

Rider nodded in understanding before a flare of prana caught his attention. "Did you sense that?"

Saber nodded. "Let's go."

The two ran off in the direction of the docks, and the source of the prana signature marking another Servant.

Atlesian Airship

Ironwood sat behind his desk as his Servant, Assassin leaned against the opposite wall, both of them engaged in an unspoken staring contest.

"You want me to what?" Assassin asked in a flat tone.

Ironwood sighed. "I would like you to track down all of the other Masters and bring them to the ship so that we can end this war as soon as possible to avoid any chance of civilian casualties."

Assassin remained quiet, his expression unreadable.

"Assassin?" the general asked.

"What makes you so sure that this will end it so quickly, even if I manage to get all of the other Masters?" Assassin finally asked.

"If I have the Masters, the Servants can't and won't touch me, giving us the chance to quickly and efficiently end this war."

Assassin was quiet again. When he finally spoke, he turned his back to his Master, saying, "I may not like it, but it's still early in the war, and those Seals are precious. I will go through with your plan, but do you plan on killing the Masters if the Servants do attack, or they don't cooperate?"

General Ironwood was silent for a few moments before he replied, "Only if absolutely necessary, Assassin."

Assassin gave a small nod at the answer, dematerializing to go and start his task.

Abandoned Warehouse

Roman Torchwick was in a fairly good mood. He was out of prison, he had gotten paid again, and to top it all off, Cinder and her lackeys were still playing 'student' at Beacon Academy, meaning he wouldn't have to deal with them for a while.

He did, however, have to deal with the White Fang, and a notorious member of them as well. At least that was made up for by the presence of Neo and the oh-so-interesting Archer, as he had sent Lancer to distract the two Servants she had sensed in the city.

He sat on a crate, smoking a cigar with his cane at his side, when Archer walked over to him.

"Where's Lancer?" Archer asked.

Roman took another breath before puling the cigar from his lips. "What's it to you? I thought you were supposed to be doing another job anyways."

Archer waited for an answer.

"You really are annoying, kid," Roman muttered. Switching to a more clear tone, he said, "I sent her to the docks. She sensed two Servants in the city, so she asked to distract them, and I told her to go there so that they don't find this place."

Archer looked a little miffed at this statement. "And you sent her without asking my Master to send me as backup?"

Roman raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming on his face. "Don't tell me you actually care for her? That is one interesting love story, kid."

Archer glared at the orange-haired man. "That's not what I mean, Torchwick! She would only be able to win against a possible alliance of two Servants if it was Assassin and Caster, but we're not that lucky, or have you forgotten what Cinder said about you and your Servant when you first got back?"

Roman looked away. "Damn it. Go help her, I'll cover for you, just this once, and only because I don't need 'Her Highness' on my ass."

Archer smirked as he left to go to the docks. "Thanks, Candlestick."

Roman withdrew another cigar and pulled out his lighter. Lighting it, he said, "It's Torchwick, you asshole."

Vale Docks

Saber and Rider arrived at the docks fairly late, as they did not want to scare the Servant off, hoping to make contact with them. The sun had just set when they arrived, but instead of needing to search for them, they found the Servant to be standing in the middle of an open area of the docks, much to their confusion, as she had long orange hair, amber eyes, a long-sleeved red shirt, skinny jeans, and short red heels.

"I believe you were the one who sent out that burst of power?" Rider asked, revealing himself to her.

She smiled, causing Saber, who was still hidden in the shadows, to narrow his eyes at the strange familiarity. "Why does she look so familiar?" he thought.

"I would consider it to be more of an invitation, or maybe a challenge if you prefer," she replied.

"I would have hoped that we could talk," Rider said.

"We could do that," she said, "But I'm beginning to think that Saber might get restless from what I heard about last night."

Saber stepped out from behind Rider. "I'm not all swords and punches, you know."

She smirked. "Oh? That's not what Archer said."

Saber remained un-phased by that revelation. "He obviously didn't tell you everything then."

"Oh, I definitely did," a voice said, "She just likes to mess with people."

Archer materialized next to the mystery Servant.

"And seeing as we know your identity, Saber," he continued, "It's much easier to get to you."

Saber sighed. "You really want me to fight, don't you?"

"That was the idea, yes," Archer replied.

"Could we at least get your class name first?" Rider asked the mystery Servant.

"Call me Lancer," she said, a red spear materializing in her hands, and a grin appearing on her face.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…" Rider muttered.

All three of the so-called Knight Classes had arrived to the same place, and he had managed to join in on the coming fight.

Just as it had happened the previous night, the four stood off from each other, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

This time, however, Archer made the first move by firing several shots in Saber's direction before charging forward, a shadowy arm appearing where his left should be before turning into a sort of blade where the hand should be.

Saber deflected the bullets, and parried the solidified shadow away as Archer made to slash at him. The two then went into a high-speed duel with Saber slashing and stabbing, while parrying Archer's sword and deflecting his close-range shots. Archer, unfortunately, couldn't quite stand against Saber's swordsmanship. He wasn't the Servant of the Sword for nothing.

For that reason, Archer jumped backwards and began firing a barrage of varying types of rounds ranging from Burn Dust to Ice Dust to Armor Piercing, and everything in between.

Saber was hard-pressed to dodge the shots, but he didn't come out unscathed. His cloak was now looking a bit tattered at the bottom, and his clothes were a bit charred with a few small holes.

Archer didn't look much better as some of his clothing had some holes from Saber's earlier attacks. His cloak had also received some damage.

Noticing his cloak had taken an amount of damage, Archer gritted his teeth. "You just ruined my cloak! That had sentimental value you would never know!"

Saber raised an eyebrow. "Try me."

With those two words, their fight broke out into escalated ferocity, both sides trying, and failing, to take the other out for good.

Meanwhile, Rider and Lancer's battle was going slower compared to Saber and Archer's. Or at least Lancer was. Rider had summoned his hover board and was staying just outside the range of her spear, firing his pistols as he maneuvered the board quickly around her.

Rider then changed his pistols back to their rapier form and charged straight for Lancer, who leveled her spear to skewer him as soon as he got close.

Rider had been expecting that, and instead jumped off the board, flipping through the air as he struck her several times with his swords, and landed back on the still-moving board, slowing to a stop a few yards away.

"You're very interesting, Rider," Lancer commented, "I don't think I know many people who are as creative as that in combat."

Rider smirked. "I do my best, love," he said, an accentuated voice escaping him.

Lancer raised an eyebrow. "An accent as well? You really are more interesting than I thought."

They then began going back and forth, trying to outsmart the other in combat strategies, Rider using his rapier-pistols and hover board, while Lancer used her spear-rifle.

Not one of them was aware of what was happening at Beacon as they fought.

Beacon Academy

The premier academy for Hunters and Huntresses-in-training was dark. All of the students had retired to their dorms for bed, and the teachers had all finished their paperwork to do the same. Nothing moved on the campus except for the nocturnal animals from the Emerald Forest, and a shadowy blur that was making its way quickly through the campus.

Arriving at one of the dorm buildings, it quickly scaled the wall and made its way over to a specific window. Carefully climbing up onto the sill, Assassin revealed himself momentarily before stepping into the shadows and reappearing within the room. Gazing quickly around, he spotted four bunks, with a girl in three out of the four of them. He soon found that a light was on inside what he assumed to be the bathroom.

Holding out his hand, he summoned a long black blowgun, along with a bunch of darts with plumes of blue feathers. He carefully loaded one into the tube and stepped back to wait for the person to step out of the bathroom.

Assassin didn't have to wait long as a drowsy-looking girl with white hair stepped out of the door after a couple minutes of waiting. Before she could see him, much less respond to his presence, he had shot a dart at her neck, causing her to fall asleep quickly and fall.

He caught her before she could hit the ground, so as not to wake the other occupants of the room. Laying her down softly for the moment, he shot another dart at the girl with black hair, ensuring that she would stay asleep for a few hours before picking both her and the first girl up, stepping into the shadows, only to reappear outside, and disappear into the night to continue his mission.

That's the end of the chapter! Things are really starting to pick up, with Assassin more or less coming out into the open to some extent. I wonder if you guys can figure out Archer's Master. Be sure to leave reviews on your thoughts! Now, on to Saber's stat page!

Author: ShadowofAxios

Servant Class: Saber

True Name: Silver Aurelius

Alignment: Neutral Good

Master: Blake Belladonna

Stats-

Strength: A

Endurance: A

Agility: A+

Mana: B

Luck: C

Noble Phantasms: A+

Skills-

Class Skills-

Magic Resistance: B+

Riding: B

Personal Skills-

Instinct: A

Clairvoyance: B+

Eye of the Mind (True): B

Guardian Knight: B

Noble Phantasms-

?: N/A Rank: A+

Dragon Force: By unlocking the power of a Dragon, all stats go up by one rank (not including Noble Phantasms) and he gains a scale-like complexion around his eyes and arms.