Docks

Saber's blade clashed against Lancer's katana, both pushing hard against each other to gain the upper hand. They parted for a few seconds before clashing once more; causing sparks to fly from their grinding blades.

Saber was honestly surprised. Judging from Lancer's build, she did not expect the servant to have that much strength. He was only using one hand to guard against her whereas she was already at full strength. Lancer had barely broken a sweat, calmly observing Saber's movement throughout their exchange of blows. Saber followed up with a diagonal slash but Lancer seemed to have anticipated that, bringing his katana to bear, successfully parrying her blow. Saber grunted in frustration.

"Is that all you got? A pity." remarked Lancer as he allowed himself to fall backwards. Saber lost her balance and felt her sword slice through the thin air. Below her, Lancer pointed his index finger at the center of her armor, a green orb charging at the tip. Saber's eyes widened as she felt the mana build up and condense at that single point. In a desperate attempt to block it, Saber hurriedly shifted her blade to the front of her chest before Lancer uttered a single word.

"Cero" The energy orb fired, slamming straight into Excalibur and sending Saber flying. Saber grunted as she felt the heat and pain bearing into her despite successfully blocking the attack. Her armor was charred in places where the beam had dispersed, scarring the polished surface.

Saber did a backflip and landed onto one of the crates. It was less than five minutes into the battle and she was already pushed back. She had severely underestimated this servant.

Then, all of a sudden, Lancer sheathed his sword. Saber stared at him in surprised and demanded, "Our fight is far from over. I'm not beaten just yet!"

"I know," Lancer replied coolly "It's just that I have deemed you less of a threat than I anticipated. I have no need for my sword; my fists will do just fine for a girl like you. You simply are not worth dying by my blade."

Saber's eyes widened with rage. He was mocking her.

"Huuuarrrgh!" Saber leapt of the crate and swung her blade vertically at Lancer. Lancer dodged nimbly before swinging a round-house punch at Saber. Saber parried with her blade once more but her hands trembled slightly as she felt the vibrations course through her. "What power!" she thought to herself.

Lancer cocked back his other hand and slammed it straight into her gut, causing Saber to cough out blood. She leapt back; applying Prana burst to her feet and surged towards Lancer once more. Lancer's eyes widened for a second before he moved aside at the last second to prevent himself from being impaled. Saber noticed this and did a barrel roll, spinning her blade dangerously close to Lancer's face. The latter raised both his arms and guarded against the strike though it did send him flying into mid-air.

"You're mine!" Saber chased after him, swinging in her blade from the left. At this range, she thought, he won't have any time to block. She was right about the blocking but she failed to take into consideration an offensive strike. Lancer's left wrist crackled with red energy and in a swift motion he flicked it at Saber. "Bala"

Saber's eyes widened with shock as she recognized the attack. It hit her point blank in the face, crushing her nose bridge and burning her face. "Arrrgh!" she screamed as she hit the ground hard. Lancer did not let up and cocked his right arm back fingers outstretched, intent on impaling Saber when he landed. Saber's eyes opened just as Lancer's fingers were inches from her face. She rolled to aside, the fingers just barely scratching her face and drawing blood. "She's fast to recover." Lancer thought just as his hand impaled the ground where her head was seconds ago.

Saber rushed at Lancer again, swinging a wide arc with her sword only to realize that he had disappeared. "Where did he go?" She then saw a shadow cast over her. Lancer was standing on top of her blade!

"Impossible. Has he already figured out Excalibur's length?" Saber's thought were broken as she watched Lancer run down her blade and delivered a roundhouse kick to her head. Saber was sent spiraling into the cargo crates, causing all of them to collapse onto her. "You're finished." Lancer declared coldly as he moved in, hand cocked back to impale her. But this time Saber was ready. Having timed the duration of Lancer's previous strike, she knew exactly when it was going to hit. As soon as Lancer's fist neared, Saber bent down at the last second. Lancer's hand blew a hole in the crates whereas Saber slashed her blade upwards towards Lancer. "You're mine now!" Saber brought her blade up with as much strength as she could, slashing across Lancer's torso and chest.

Lancer's eyes widened as he felt her blade hit him. He had not been expecting this. Lancer was knocked a few feet back, clutching his torso and chest. Saber let a small smile creep onto her face. She had finally managed to hit him. Judging from where she had cut him, he would be immobilized at the least. There was a heavy price to pay though for that hit. Her chest armor was badly dented due to the force that Lancer's beam attack had delivered upon pressing against Excalibur. Her face was covered in burn marks and her left wrist was broken. "At least I got him."

However that was all for not. As Lancer got back up, Saber's eyes widened in fear and shock. "That's impossible." Lancer's body was not harmed at all save for his shredded hakama. Lancer simply brushed his chest where the sword had struck earlier before ripping off his shredded hakama. That was when Saber noticed something. There was a hole located at his sternum. By all logical sense, he should be dead with a wound like that.

"You," Saber narrowed her eyes "You're not human are you?"

Lancer just gazed at her, deep in thought. It was the first time someone had managed to avoid his strike at such close range. Even Kurosaki Ichigo could not dodge it.

"I take my words back, Saber." Lancer said emotionlessly. "It seems you are worth killing after all. I am of the Lancer class. Remember this for I will let you witness true despair." Lancer drew his blade once more; this time however he began to release a huge amount of killing intent.

"Don't blink, if not I will strike you down in a blink of an eye. It's about time I got serious." Waves of dark green energy began to emit from Lancer, each wave stronger than the previous. Lancer was going to go all out in this next fight. At this point, Saber was stunned and she felt a shiver down her spine . She was already having a hard time facing him and that was when he wasn't serious.

Just what kind of a monster was he?

Fuyuki Bridge

"Rider…." Waver began to whine as he felt tears already streaming out of his eyes. "Get me down from here, please." A few moments ago, Rider had picked up another servant's challenge from the docks. Although Waver agreed to find the servant, that did not explain why he was on top of Fuyuki Bridge. A slight misstep and he would fall to his death.

Rider took a swig from his sake bottle. "My master, we have the best view of the battle from here. Don't you find it safer to observe from a distance instead of being at the frontlines?"

Waver mentally noted the logic in Rider's words. Although he won't have to worry about being caught in the crossfire between the two servants already there, it won't make a damn difference if he fell to his death first.

"Rider, can't we watch from somewhere lower please!" begged Waver as he held on for his dear life.

Rider cupped his chin with his hand, deep in thought.

"Alright then! Since you are such a scaredy-cat, off to the docks we go!" Rider declared with a grin on his face.

"Thank good… Wait a second, the docks?" Waver fear instantly turned to panic as Rider's words sank in. "What happened to observing the battle?"

"Screw that idea. At the rate this fight is progressing, Saber is going to fall. That will not happen before I invite her to join me! Anyway,what better way to evaluate a servant then to engage them instead!" Rider brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling out a low tune. "Come forth! Raika!"

Waver heard neighing and then all of a sudden, he saw a horse materialize in front of them. It was a black mare that had modern equipment attached to it. The reins were replaced with motorcycle handles and the horse's rear had six bike engines attached to it. Since when ancient Japan had motorcycles, Waver thought to himself. However, his thoughts were cut short when Rider plonked him onto the saddle.

"Hold on tight Master! " Rider crossed his arms as he stood at Waver's back. "The Blue Dragon of the North has arrived! Prepare yourselves, servants! Let's party!"

As if on cue, Raika galloped forward, surging towards the docks. "Riderrrrr!" Waver screamed all the way whereas Rider just laughed and had a huge grin plastered on his face. 'YAHOOOO! HERE WE GO!"

Elsewhere on the docks

Kiritsugu Emiya and Hisau Maiya spied on the fight from somewhere amongst the crates and factories in the vicinity of the docks. From what he could see, despite Lancer's small body frame, his strength far surpassed Saber's. Although Saber had the advantage in speed due to her Prana Boost ability, Lancer didn't seem to be affected too badly. He was able to take everything that Saber had thrown at him and then some. Despite Saber slashing him across the chest, Lancer did not a shed a drop of blood. Like his wife, Kiritsugu could not recall any legend of a pale skinned hero who had iron-clad skin.

And those were Kiritsugu's concerns about Lancer alone. His Master was another matter altogether and he has not revealed himself till now.

"Someone has erected a barrier," Kiritsugu told Maiya over the microphone in his ear. "Probably the Master of Lancer."

"He is probably at the crane. It's the best vantage point of the docks." Maiya responded, turning her direction to face the crane.

"You think they will arrive, the other servants?" Maiya asked Kiritsugu who gave a grim smile in reply.

"I believe Saber isn't the only Servant to receive Lancer's challenge. Judging from the size of Lancer's "invitation", I am guessing all the servants have noticed. It's only a matter of time when they are here."

"Maiya, approach the Eastern Wharf. I'll come from the West so I can observe the crane and battle at the same time."

"Roger," came Maiya's reply before she hurried off to her position.

Kiritsugu then turned his attention back to the battle below him. "Show me what you can do, my adorable King of Knights."

Unknown to Kiritsugu and the other servants, someone else was observing the battle from a far. Archer stood crouched atop one of the crates a good 50 yards away from the battle. In her hands was a musket that had blue streaks and a holographic scope attached. Like the other servants, she had received the challenge as well. Although she was eager to head out to battle, Tokiomi had requested her to watch over the match instead.

"Master, I have Kiritsugu Emiya as well as the two servants in sight. Can I take them?" Archer's finger rested lightly on the trigger, ready to pull it at a moment's notice.

"Not yet," came Tokiomi's reply, causing Archer to remove her finger. "Keep me updated on the battle. We will leave Kiritsugu Emiya alone for now."

"Ok," Archer pouted. She wanted some action. It was cold and lonely up here on the crate. Down there, at least she had something to keep her preoccupied instead of doing recon-duty.

"Haiz…" Archer sighed. She was going to be stuck up here for a while.

Crane

Kayneth did not believe his eyes. Was that servant really of the Lancer class? From the way he fought and countered Saber's blows, he was definitely more suited to be a Saber. No, he would take that back. From the brute strength behind his attacks, a Berserker would be more benefitting of his status. This made Kayneth very ecstatic. It seemed like his servant was not as worthless as he thought after all.

Docks

Saber watched as the energy waves that Lancer was giving off began to dissipate. They started channeling themselves through Lancer's katana, causing it to glow a bright green and hum.

"Luz de la Luna" The energy waves immediately disappeared, revealing Lancer's new weapon. The energy waves absorbed by the katana had caused it to now take the form of a luminous green javelin.

"So that's his Noble Phantasm." Saber noted before she watched him disappear right before her eyes with a burst of sound.

"Where did he…" Saber glanced around, trying to locate Lancer only for him to appear right behind her.

"Too slow," Lancer remarked. As soon as he finished talking, blood gushed out from Saber's back, a clean slash appearing. Saber's eyes widened as she felt the pain kicking in and fell to her knees. "When did he?"

Lancer said nothing, swiveling his javelin and placing its tip against Saber's back. As he raised it for the killing blow, Saber used whatever strength she had left to apply Prana Burst to her legs, dodging the attack at the last second. As Lancer's javelin struck the ground, there was an explosion of mana, leaving a gaping crater where Saber last was. Saber eyes' widened in fear. If that blow had struck her, she would be dead by now.

Apparently, Lancer wasn't going to give her any time to rest. In another burst of sound, Lancer was gone again, this time reappearing inches away from her face. He thrust his javelin straight for Saber's head with the latter having only a few micro-seconds to dodge. The attack shaved off some of Saber's hair but what surprised Saber was that everything in the path of the javelin was scorched and shattered.

"What was that," Saber thought to herself as she readied her blade. Lancer followed up with multiple thrusts, all of which Saber barely dodged or blocked in time. Cuts slowly began to form on her body and her armor was beginning to chip where the thrusts grazed her. Lancer then swung his javelin in a wide arc at Saber. Saber leapt back in an attempt to gain some distance when she felt a shockwave slam into her gut. "Arggh!" Saber coughed up some blood and her eyes widened. That was when Saber noticed that Lancer's javelin's tip was glowing slightly and the air in front of her was also a slight tinge of green. "So that's how it works," realization dawned on Saber.

"I finally figure out how you Noble Phantasm works, Lancer," Saber declared with a grim smile on her face as she regained her footing. "If I'm not wrong, each time you strike, you channel your prana to the tip of your javelin and you can control when you do so as well. In addition, with each thrust or swing of the javelin, you release some of the prana into the air, creating a shockwave to hit enemies that are out of you range or to deal extra damage."

"Very observant of you Saber," Lancer remarked. "For someone who had taken a beating from it, it took you long enough to figure out its ability. However this doesn't change anything. In my next attack, you will fall."

Saber grimaced and watched as Lancer readied his stance, preparing to strike at a moment's notice.

Crates

Unknownst to both servants, Kiritsugu's eyes widened as he peered out of his scope. Lancer's revealed ability was truly frightening at the very least. A single intended hit was all it would take to kill Saber. To make matters worse, he could cause a potential lot of collateral damage, putting Irisviel at risk as well. He had to find Lancer's Master soon before things got out of hand.

Kiritsugu turned his attention to the crane where he had speculated Lancer's Master to be. True enough, according to the heat vision he was looking through; there was someone atop the crane. Kiritsugu began to take aim, his finger now resting lightly on the trigger of his sniper rifle. Then, all of a sudden, he heard a ripping sound coming from the west.

Kiritsugu adjusted his aim and turned in that direction. On top of one of the warehouses sat an infant draped in a black cloak, watching the battle as well.

"Assassin?!" Kiritsugu's eyes widened as he stared at the servant.

"Maiya, do you see Assassin on the warehouse?" Kiritsugu radioed over, hoping he was just imagining things.

"Yea, I do. Shouldn't Assassin be dead?" Maiya's voice was full of worry. They had not expected the servant to be still alive after that onslaught.

"Maiya, keep an eye out for Assassin. I'll deal with Lancer's Mas…" As the words left his mouth, Kiritsugu felt his hands feeling very empty. His sniper rifle was gone.

"How?" Kiritsugu immediately grabbed his spare rifle and zoomed in onto Assassin. In the servant's hands lay his sniper rifle, burning in black flames with Assassin shaking a finger at them despite his eyes trained on the battle occurring below.

"Shit." Kiritsugu cursed under his breath. Assassin knew they were there. The fact that he had not killed them all yet was that he wanted them to watch the battle unfold.

He was going to have to ride this out.

"Please stay safe, Iri."

Docks

Saber gripped her blade tightly. At the rate that this battle was going, she was the one that was going to die. She was out of stamina and Lancer was just getting warmed up. Her only option left was to unsheathe Excalibur and defeat him in a single hit. It was the only way to win. With that thought, her lips parted.

"Release the Wi…"

Before she could finish, blue lightning flashed all around them and a distinct battle cry could be heard followed by screaming. Both servants looked up and saw a blue samurai standing on a horse rapidly descending towards them. In front of the samurai was young man grabbing the reins till his knuckles turned white, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Both servants leapt back and an instant later the horse slammed its hooves onto the ground, generating pulses of lightning that scorched the earth. Saber, Lancer and Irisviel shielded their eyes from the dust cloud and burning asphalt. When they opened them, they beheld the samurai and his companion who was already foaming at the mouth.

"Both of you listen up!" The samurai held out his arms and declared. "Clean those ears of yours and all eyes on me!"

All three of them just stared at the samurai in shock. Who the hell was he?

"I have ridden across all terrains the world has to offer! I have defeated foes that would have made the earth tremble! Who am I? I am the One-Eyed Dragon, Date Masamune, Rider class of this Holy Grail War! Forsake the Grail and join me in the spirit of conquest and domination! All who submits shall be treated as friends, as my equal!"

Question answered.

Waver, who had finally recovered from his state of unconsciousness, grabbed Rider by his cloak. "Rider, what are you doing! First you drop us out of the sky into a fight, and then you reveal your name! Are you crazy!"

"Hell yea I am! I was crazy enough to miss out of this party!" Rider grinned madly and laughed out loud.

Saber and Lancer just stared at Rider with their jaws hanging till they finally recovered enough to speak.

"I refuse," Lancer laid out flatly. "I serve only one Master. His words are my command. Until he is dead, I will follow no other."

"Shit. And here I was hoping you would join me. What say you Saber?" Rider cocked his head in Saber's direction.

"Honestly Rider, did you interrupt our match just for that ridiculous speech of yours. Besides I am a king." Saber stared at Rider in defiance. "A king responsible for the well-being of the kingdom of Britain. No matter who you are, I refuse to lower myself to that of a subject."

"The king of Britain you say," Rider's eye widened in surprise. "Your legend spreads to lands as far as ours. Though I was expecting a man, not some young girl who is still wet behind her ears."

A tick formed on Saber head and she narrowed her eyes. Another insult. "How would you like to face this girl in battle then Rider?" She asked in a dangerous tone.

"That's the spirit! I am dying for some action here. Let's get this party started!" Rider grinned maniacally as he drew his own katana.

Suddenly, a new voice boomed out. "So, Waver Velvet, you were the one who stole my catalyst."

Waver's eyes widened in fear and he fell to the ground shaking like a leaf. "N-no way! It can't be him..."

Kayneth's smirk was almost audible as he echoed from a far. "I wonder what madness possessed you to steal my relic. I never expected you of all people to take part in the war, Waver Velvet."

Waver was sweating buckets now, his eyes widening even further as he gripped Rider's cloak. Rider was no longer smiling at this point, keeping strangely silent.

"How would you like me to privately school you?" Waver was already beginning to cry in fear as Kayneth continued. "It would be how mages kill one another. I would teach you all the pain and agony involved…"

"SHUT UP!" Rider roared, snapping Waver out of his fear. "Whoever you are, I take it you were to be my Master. Well here's a message for you. You are a coward!" Waver stared at Rider in surprise as the servant continued. "Only one who dares to ride and fight alongside with me can be worthy of being my Master. Though the boy is a nervous wreck, he has shown more bravery than anyone I have known. He is worthy of being my Master, a member of the Oushu army, unlike some spineless coward who only hides in the shadows."

Kayneth scowled at Rider's remarks. "It seems that it was a good thing that you stole my catalyst Waver, Velvet. You saved me the trouble of a disobedient servant. Lancer, kill them all."

"Yes my Master," Lancer spun his javelin once more, taking up a battle stance.

"Wait a second," Rider held his hand out, signaling Lancer to stop. Saber and Irisviel both stared at Rider. What now?

"A party of three is not fun at all. Don't you agree my fellow servants?" In a swift motion, Rider drew three more swords into his left hand. "Show yourselves, and let's have a riot!" Rider then threw the swords into three different directions much to the surprise of Saber and Lancer.

All swords hit their targets.

The first one sliced into the musket that Archer was aiming from, rendering the weapon useless. The second sliced the warehouse roof that Assassin was seated on, causing him to leap onto the ground. The third one landed right in front of Berserker who had just assisted Kariya to the docks.

A single thought crossed all their minds in that instant.

"How the hell did he know?"

Back on the ground, Rider just smirked. With this, six of the seven have arrived to join the battle.

Hi guys! Guess what, some lazy author has finally managed to piece together another chapter! In response to a pm, I have shown Lancer/ Ulquiorra's capabilities to the max against Saber. Poor Saber-chan. To the Bleach fans out there, sorry for messing with Ulquiorra's abilities regarding his javelin. Rest assure though, this won't affect his release stages. Stay tuned for the next installment whereby the docks battle continues. And now for the skill sheet for Archer.

Class: Archer

Spirit: Mami Tomoe (Puella Magi)

Armaments: Muskets

Alignment: True/Good

Strength: C

Endurance: D

Agility: A

Mana: C

Luck: B

Independent action: B

Capable of remaining in this world for two days without an established contract. Also capable of living on for a short period of time after suffering extensive damage on his spiritual core.

Archer's jewel provides sufficient mana for her to remain materialized in the world in the case that she has no master. In case of the need to use Noble Phantasms, the jewel is also able to supply the mana required though limited to once a day.

Item Construction: A

The skill to manufacture magical items

Archer can recreate as many muskets as she wants as well as designating the type of bullets they can fire

Clairvoyance: C

Connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons.

Archer is capable of keeping track of fast-moving object within a range of 4kms

Noble Phantasms

Musket Ballet: C++ ~ A+

Utilizes all muskets and fires them simultaneously from above. Similar to the Gates of Babylon, portals will appear behind the muskets, indicating that they are come from an interdimensional space. Upon firing, muskets will all fade away.

Binding Ribbon: C

Ribbons will appear out of the bullets that Archer fired and restrict the indicated target. Anything above Strength Class B will be able to break free after struggling.

Arms change : E~A+

Archer can change the type of ammunition fired from her muskets ranging from shotgun shells to cannon balls. However, this does not change the number of times each weapon can fire aka once.

Tiro Finale: A++ Anti Army type

Archer's ultimate and signature Noble Phantasm. Archer summons forth an enormous percussion lock cannon as a final attack. Able to fire it from any position and is triggered by Archer's mental link allowing her to fire it without touching the cannon or being separated from it. Attack consumes large amount of mana and more than twice a day usage will result in breathlessness and confusion for Archer.