Yo! I'm back for the final part of Night 3.
Anyways, gripes about Gae Bolg…yeah I could have done that better. In my defense, Naruto, despite his superhuman reflexes, wouldn't have enough time to deflect the attack with only a half a second window of opportunity. He won't be able to even swing in time under that time constraint. Why he was able to deflect Gae Bolg many times after that is because he had time to do so unlike when he needed Rho Aias to protect Shirou and Saber.
So…hopefully that's justified.
Disclaimer: first chapter
Night 3 part 3
"I ask-" Archer said pensively, "Are you the one who kidnapped my Master?" Shirou stiffened at Archer's tone of voice. The man didn't show any hint of humor, nor did he wish to indulge in it. His voice sounded Knightly, full of regal accents and predominance within his words. Caster stepped back; Archer's honed finesse struck her, however, there was this strange, familiar feeling that she recognized, yet couldn't describe in words.
This Archer acted a bit too much of a Knight in Caster's eyes. While Archer is a part of the three Knight classes, Caster thought that from what she'd witnessed of Archer's puzzling personality that he of all people would never act this serious. Her calculative eyes stared deeply into Archer's own; the desire to unravel this enigma intensified as Archer spoke again.
"I ask again," The volume of Archer's voice rose, emphasizing his question, "are you the Servant who kidnapped my Master?" Archer continued this charade, if only to entertain himself. He knew this Servant's identity, yet chose to play around with it to give Caster discord within her mind for what he would do later.
"And if I am?" Caster asked in return, "What would you do to me, Archer?"
"We are enemies." Archer answered simply, "If you are not the one, then I still need to kill you because you are an enemy Servant, a threat to my Master's safety." He drew a shimmering longsword reflecting moonlight like the surface of a tranquil lake. On the blade's fuller, black etchings of fairy letters stood out in contrast to the silvery blade. The guard arched up in the shape of a wide letter 'U,' and there was a chain intersecting the handle and guard to give it a distinct appearance Caster could easily recognize. She stepped back slightly, fearing the Holy Sword wielder and the sword-
"Arondight…"
"Indeed. With this sword, by the name of Arondight, I shall slay thee, Princess of Colchis!" Astounded by the reveal of her identity, Caster flew away from Archer. Her cloak displayed the Mana coursing through to fuel her magical attacks. She fired off a barrage that only slightly hindered the Knight's advance. With expert swings, Archer deflected shots, and aimed them at others, causing chain explosions that hid him from view. At that moment, Caster rejoiced slightly; Archer didn't expect those attacks to be explosive, and let himself get engulfed into the blast radius.
"Sir Lancelot… why are you Archer class?"
"No time to dawdle!" Archer yelled from above; his form took shape of a silhouette blocking moonlight, "En garde, Caster!" With a hammering force, Archer swung down on the airborne Caster, who resorted to guarding with a magic circle as her shield. The sword forged by Fae radiated purity unlike Caster had ever seen in a long time. The Unfading Light of the Lake slowly tore through her defenses, and shattered it after cutting halfway into it. Caster retreated away from striking range.
With some space now open, she returned her to her counterattack of firing yet another salvo of Mana beams. Archer, in midair, could not dodge it without stable ground or surface. To alleviate himself of that, he projected a giant sword, simple cross-shaped, double-edged, only larger; much larger than his body. He stepped on the surface of the blade, then sprung off it to leap over Caster's attacks and close the gap she created once more. The streaks of light pass underneath Archer, and as seconds go by, Caster's frustration grew. Archer went for another hammering strike, and this time missed by a hair's breadth. The silver sword blurred from sight along with its wielder. Surely, he had to have landed any second, yet didn't make a sound. What kind of Knight wearing metal boots doesn't make a sound when landing?
"From behind, Caster!" Archer yelled. The woman had no time to react, and the sword plunged her right clavicle, or collarbone in layman's terms. Blood spurted through, coating the sword in red channels of life fluid. Archer leaped off from the ground behind Caster. So when his lunge struck true, Caster was pushed forward toward's the temple's walls, where Archer planned to impale her. The blond Servant of the bow knew he couldn't kill her with this attack despite the power of his blade.
It's foolish to fight a Caster within their territory after all.
The woman impaled by Arondight dispersed into purple mist, making Archer blinded for a crucial moment. From underneath, Caster fired a violent beam, which engulfed the Knight because of its raw power fueled by Mana from the denizens of the city. The attack could easily be A+++ ranked, but Archer knew how to withstand that blow. The force of the attack made him rise up further in the air. When the attack fizzled out, Archer form in Caster's perspective looked like…a humongous shield with Kanji characters circling the surface of the defensive instrument? Caster had no time to think because its kite shape retracted to a reasonable size, then attached to his left gauntlet before it disappeared.
Archer created another sword to lunge at Caster with a skydiving stab. The woman swiftly and gracefully evaded the obvious strike, but did not expect the crater that came with her opponent's landing. Dust and debris rise and rain down. The landing was a ruse as Caster sensed the Archer class Servant was beside her mid swing. Caster managed to dematerialize to miss the attack. She reappeared over the temple's gate with her Thaumaturgic offensive spell at the ready.
"Who are you Archer?" She demanded. Shirou, spectating this whole battle, wondered that as well. If his Servant was the Knight of the Lake, then how come he's never heard of his multifunction Noble Phantasm? His tactics weren't that of a respectable Knight either; he was an assassin in Knight's clothing, and it was a terrifying prospect to know his Servant was a practical warrior.
Hidden Skill
Mistaken Identity: A
Effect: Enemy Servants will mistake Archer's identity whenever two conditions are met: Archer uses another Servant's Noble Phantasm and not show his true Noble Phantasm, Kyukiseki (Kyuseki for short), to his opponent. The skill deactivates only when the opponent realizes a contradictory action Archer does in comparison to the Noble Phantasm's owner, or Archer uses Kyukiseki.
"You should know me; I am wielding a famous Noble Phantasm." Archer replied slyly, getting a rise out of Caster.
"No Knight would ever be as dishonorable and pragmatic as you! No Knight would ever stab an enemy in the back! And I've never heard of Sir Lancelot to be capable of creating swords!" Caster argued. "Arondight is supposed to be wielded by a warrior with the utmost exemplary characteristics of a Knight. That is Sir Lancelot! Not you impostor bearing his sword!"
"Oh? And what would you know of the honorable Knight? The Knight disgraced himself because of his adultery. What would make this Knight honorable?" Shirou noted Archer's use of third person, but continued to listen. Archer pointed the blade's tip at Caster, "This sword is mine, Caster. I don't need to explain myself to you."
"Enough of your mind games, Archer!" She waved her staff, signaling her beams to fire at the impostor Knight. Archer withdrew Arondight to reveal another Holy Sword, a blinding white, double-edged sword without a guard. Its standard form from hilt to point was shaped like a kite, beveling quickly to form its narrow and sharp point and edges. The sword's navy blue hilt, handle, and fuller gave a sense of gentle terror because Caster once more recognized this Noble Phantasm.
"Let's finish this, Caster!" He roared while swing the sword wreathed in blinding crimson flames of the sun. The beams of light wither under the Holy Sword's power. At the aftermath of Caster's strike, Archer stood behind a small wall of flames. He pointed his sword at the enemy Servant, "With this blade of the sun, I shall smite thee!"
"What are you?!" Caster demanded in full-blown fury, "Are you the personification of the Knights of the Round?!"
"Who can say, but me? Do you feel betrayed, Medea?" He got an answer in the form of a beam striking his face full shot visibly made the Servant of the bow bend back, and both Shirou and Caster thought Archer died from that clean hit. Archer's back hit the ground with a heavy thud. He lay motionless on the battle-torn temple grounds, and his head smoking from the blast.
"Hah!" Caster scoffed, "This is what the Knight of the Sun can do?"
"Shut up for a moment, will ya?" Archer groaned despite his head still being covered by smoke. He wiped away the smoky particles hindering his vision. Much to Caster's surprise, Archer bared no semblance of a burn mark caused by the blast; only his visor, obliterated by Caster's surprised attack, left Archer's face. "Ow…could you warn me when you try to blast my visor off? It's a gift." Caster would have retorted, yet could not do so under Archer's scrutinizing glare. Many years of being betrayed allowed the woman to see past the glare to notice the man before her also experienced deceit. She lowered her guard. Archer raised an eyebrow at that.
"You're like me, it seems." Caster said to her enemy. "You've been betrayed before. I can see it in your eyes."
"So? Is there supposed to be some grand meaning from that?" Archer asked while dusting off his face of remnant dusty residue. "Sure I got betrayed, but I got over it."
"You…got over it?" Caster asked as if testing the words.
"Yep. I don't know why women in general like to hold grudges, but you seem to take the cake for the biggest grudge in history." Caster snarled at seemingly ignorant words uttered by Archer. "Sure you got used and dumped, but that means you could have been the better woman, and acted mature about it. While it's natural to get furious about your circumstance, you were a princess, a woman with status and etiquette. You should have been mature through it all, and not hold a grudge like that."
"And who are you to lecture me, Archer?"
"Because as a fellow individual betrayed by one close to me, I chose to move on. It was a hard transition from denial to acceptance in that he may be lost forever, but I managed."
"And how does your betrayal hold against mine, Archer?" Caster asked angrily. "Yours seem insignificant to the lecture you're giving me."
"He stabbed me, his best friend, to gain power. He deserted our military, and he did so to get revenge on his brother, who killed his clan." Archer answered calmly. "What's your excuse? Get mad over some warrior who forgot about you? Bah. That guy wasn't worth your time if he blew you off like that. Seriously, even under that hood and horrid attitude, you are quite the beauty. A shame Jason chose that daughter of Corinth over you." Had she been of sound mind, Caster would have lowered her staff. She understood that Archer complimented her, but one man's actions could not force her to reconsider her ways to redeem herself of the atrocities she experienced in her life.
"Rgh! Ατλας!" Archer felt paralyzed the moment she uttered that spell. He recognized it as one of the abilities his Archer told him about; the spell that renders the victim immobile under a certain area due to the change in air pressure increasing drastically. A gigantic blue magic circle emerged from overhead. With nothing to do, Archer begrudgingly let the attack go along its course lest he reveals his true combat potential. A veritable condensed lightning storm shot down from the circle. In a flash, the area was bathed in electric blue hues caused by the storm. When the light exposure returned to normal, Caster looked in surprise to see a purple energy being's arm covered the area above Archer.
"What's this? Giving up so soon, Sir Gawain? I would have thought the Knight of the Sun would fare better against this witch. Or that your infamous ability to talk your way out would help you stop her from killing you." Caster twitched at the demoralizing title, but stayed her hand.
"Nice to see you, Assassin." Archer greeted. "It seems you brought your Master this time too. Did she get bored staying in the shadow like oh I don't know…like an Assassin?!" Assassin retracted the arm, diminishing into thin air. His black cloak fluttered in the wind…yet there wasn't a breeze at all! He had to be using some ninjutsu to make that cloak move!
"Says the Knight using assassination techniques." Assassin scoffed. "Master, meet Archer, the Knight of idiots." Archer looked over to where Assassin bowed to see Luviagelita Edelfelt in her normal, blue european dress. The woman's blue dress was accented by pure white lines and frills, and her shoulders were puffed out and restrained by a laced, white armband. "As you can see, he's a far cry to the actual Knights of the Round." The girl chuckled lightly.
"It seems you've bagged yourself an interesting Servant, Shero."
"L-Luvia-san?!"
"Indeed." She curtsied to him, speechless like the day he saw Lancer and Saber fight in the cover of night at school grounds. "I'm Assassin's Master, which also means I'm your enemy in this Grail War, Shero-kun." She would have said more, but Caster shot another beam aimed at Luvia. Assassin picked up his Master, and jumped out of the way.
Archer turned to the hovering woman with death beams as a regular attack, and hollered, "Is there anything else you can do other than shoot beams of purple light? If not, then you're quite a disappointment of a Caster. Heck, I have more things than a light show. I can make clones, summon contract animals, use elements..." He started counting off his techniques while gesturing how many he has through finger counting. He babbled more and more and Assassin beside him palmed his face; he was utterly embarrassed to have been partners with this cocky idiot.
Assassin slapped the back of Archer's head, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Usuratonkatchi!? You were being Gawain, but you've gone back to being your idiot self again! You need to keep up your appearances, Archer!" His reprimanding fell of deaf ears.
"Oi! Let me do my thing, Teme!"
"I wouldn't be doing anything if you hadn't acted like an idiot and told your abilities!"
"Who are you calling an idiot? You're the worst kind of moron if I ever saw one! You were willing to-"
"Oh don't you start with that again! That was way in the past!"
As the two Servants fought in a battle of verbal intensity, Caster stared at what looked to be the most amusing display of rivalry in front of her. The two completely forgot she was there despite her warning shot she just did a minute ago, and merrily continued their argument against each other. Shirou looked astounded to see his Servant acting like a teenager against Assassin, who should have been more level headed. Assassin's Master held an amused face; she had heard of Assassin's rival to be Archer. To see her Servant this worked up is an honorary treat to Assassin's old life.
"Shut up, Teme! I got this under control!" Archer shouted to the infuriated Assassin.
"Like hell you do! You don't even know the tactical advantages of hiding your name and abilities!"
"Hey, I know their advantages; I just don't give a crap about them! I'd rather yell my name out to the whole world than listen to your advice! Besides it's not like they asked what my name was?" Archer's anger peaked at the moment, and he reflexively drew out Kanshou and Bakuya. "I fight my own way, you have your own, Sasuke!"
More than livid by the fact that his rival revealed his name, Assassin said, "You incurable moron! Naruto, I'm going to gut you for this!" At that moment, Shirou dodged a falling piece of roof tile. Because this happened, he wasn't able to hear his Servant's name; he only heard the '-to' at the end. Assassin pulled out his longsword, and directed the point at Archer. The blond saw this as an act of war, and so he gripped his weapons tighter.
'So Archer's name is Naruto…' Her mind became bombarded with the general summary of Archer's legend, and finally knew who this man posing himself as a Knight was. 'Shadow of Heroes, what an amusing title you have…'
"Do you wanna start our rematch here then?" Archer suggested. Assassin's brandished weapon gleamed bloody red under the moon's reflecting rays of light. Archer's swords shimmered under the same light, making this standoff look like a battle one would see from a action movie.
"Damn right we are!" Assassin roared in uncharacteristic rage. Both took fighting stances, and readied themselves to lunge at each other's throats. Caster felt left out of this battle once Assassin entered the battlefield; it wasn't polite to ignore her like she was an opening act!
"Teme!/Usuratonkatchi!" The rival pair charged at each other with their swords. The Reborn Sword of Victory clashed with the Kindling Garden of Flame. The two blades bearing the affinity or element of fire battled for dominance. Each meeting resulted in fierce and powerful explosions that pushed both swords back into starting swing position. Both jumped back, and readied their next strike after sheathing their blades. Assassin's left hand surged forth lightning that did not harm him. In front of him, Archer held that strange orb of twisting violent energy. Shirou and Luvia heck even Caster could feel the elements were being made not gathered from their Od or the Mana out in the open. Whatever this energy was, it could compete with Prana easily.
"Rasengan!/ Chidori!" The two Servants disappeared, the sound of lightning and the fierce, battering winds were the only things that could be heard. It was their clash that showed where the two were. The attacks stand at a deadlock, lightning versed the wind; moreover, this deadlock persisted so much that the ground both Archer and Assassin stood buckled and broke from the extreme repulsive force of the contending attacks. To break this stalemate, Assassin made his other hand spark lightning. Archer wasn't fazed. Using his left hand, Archer copied Assassin's move. The difference between the two was the fact that Archer's lightning was red.
Archer put the right side of his body forward, allowing Assassin only one certain area on his body. The Assassin was forced to overpower Archer's attack instead of stabbing through his body. The two sources of lightning met with electrical output soaring higher than before. Archer was visibly being pushed back, but he had other plans.
He fused his attack with his red lightning, making an all new attack Assassin had yet to see despite their time together as rivals. However, there was another, smaller piece to this attack that only Caster and Assassin noticed. Water molecules from the air gathered around this attack as well, and if Assassin didn't know any better, Archer was using Storm release. The orb became the attack's core, and the lightning was the coating that protected the core. Archer stepped forward, thrusting the attack as he yelled, "Storm release: Galvanizing Helix!" The attack fought back against Assassin's double Chidori, yet despite both Servants' efforts, the deadlock could not be broken. The resounding explosion rocked the mountain, yet did not shook Fuyuki into panic.
Saber, still at the bottom of the mountain, tore through the ranks of minions Caster summoned. She heard the sounds of battle, the explosions, the clash of metal, and resonating Excalibur experienced. She realized that Archer was using one of the swords her Knights used. Begrudgingly, she allowed Archer to desecrate her Knights' honor by letting Archer use it to confuse Caster. With the Holy Swords under his beck and call, he had rights to using them no matter how much he sacrileges her fellow Knights' honor.
It was only at the entrance that Caster's forces were concentrated. Once through, Saber had no problem tearing through the golems. Archer's clone was there to help, so it had gone faster than she predicted when she had been fighting by herself. The clone dispelled after Saber had gone through the wall of golems. Saber sprinted up the stairs leading to the shrine. Skipping four to six steps with each step, Saber managed to outrun her persistent and insignificant flies attempting to follow her. She neared the first platform of the shrine when Magical traps activated. The magic circles fire off beams of light Caster used against Archer. Thanks to her Magic Resistance, she tanked through the traps and kept on moving forward. The sight of blue lightning triggered memories from both this war and from the future. Saber ran faster with extra vigor and worry in her steps. If she had to guess two people, it would be Medea or Sasuke, and she would rather have Naruto fighting Medea rather than his rival.
At the Tohsaka residence, Lily stood at attention. In a white nightgown that accentuated her femininity to levels a goddess can attain, she reached for Caliburn. The sword that declared her King vibrated nearly imperceptibly. She felt the sword tug her hand to her left, towards the city. Whatever the cause of this resonance was, she would find out for herself. She quickly equipped her battle dress and armor, then left the residence in the dead of night to pursue this anomalous occurrence.
Leaping as fast as the wind, Lily ran through the streets of Fuyuki city nightlife. She passed stragglers roaming the calm sidewalks of the city while in her Astral form, allowing her to sneak past mortals like a ghost. The deeper she ran into the city, the more she realized the source of the resonance wasn't coming from inside the city, but rather from the top of the mountain, where she identified an exceeding amount of Prana in the general area of the landmass. She was sure that this was a sign of a battle, so she hurried even more, reaching speeds of a motorcycle, a feat she didn't think possible. She supposed it was Invisible Air aiding her in lowering air resistance, so she did not pay attention to it enough; her priority was to discover what was causing Caliburn to act so…energetic.
"Burn the air!" Archer roared as he held the sword horizontally, and moved his other hand to the blade's point, igniting itself like a blade of fire. Assassin stuck the enemy during this moment, but his sword could not cut the Holy Sword. The flames Rozu emitted coiled around the burning sword, robbing Assassin's weapon the striking power he needed to overpower Archer. The orange Knight's garb turned golden yellow, and he pushed Assassin back with a swing of his sword. He stepped forward with his left foot, firmly planted, and leaned forward with his arm soon following his motion. "Blade of the Devoted!" Assassin moved out of the sword's range when the burning sword struck ground. The ground crumbled under the power. Flames erupted from the point like a short-burst laser before completely exploding the ground before Archer.
"Too slow." Assassin muttered from behind. The sly Assassin gripped his longsword tightly, and swung it full force.
Archer's back glowed gold. Suddenly, golden chains sprouted violently, aiming to ensnare the hasty Assassin. The dagger-sharp edges of the chains swiftly homed in on the retreating Servant's position. Assassin had to juke and dodge smoothly in order to not get captured by the chains. Be it from the ground or air, Assassin managed to narrowly escape the chains without the aid of his special eyes.
One chain managed to wrap around his leg, and it tugged strongly, pulling Assassin's foot from beneath him. Archer yanked his rival, and hoisted him over his head before unceremoniously slamming him down into the ground. The chains retracted in haste as soon as Assassin stood firmly, unfazed by the attack. However quick his recovery may be, he was forced to bend back to avoid a horizontal slash of energy. Assassin narrowed his eyes; he knew this maneuver. Once he regained a proper position, he spun counter-clockwise, allowing him to fully avoid the vertical slash of energy cutting where he used to be. Shirou gaped at the fact Archer could make projectiles of energy from two kicks. Just what hero was he to obtain such an unnatural skill?
Assassin slashed in front of him, expecting a quick follow-up to the attack. It wasn't a surprise to feel resistance. Assassin successfully locked Archer in place. In Archer's hands, gone was the sister sword wielded by Sir Gawain, and replacing the Holy Sword was pair of Kodachis meeting Assassin's blade.
"I'm surprised you still haven't used your eyes for the battle, Assassin." Archer stated as he attempted to overpower his rival with the lightweight pair of weapons.
"Saber taught me to be honorable in a fight." Assassin replied simply.
"That woman?" Archer wondered incredulously. "You do realize that she unintentionally acts gallant, right? She's an Emperor for crying out loud."
"Yeah. But still, it's one of the things I learned from her by watching." Assassin emphasized. The Servant took a step forward. "I'm actually going serious on you."
Archer took his own step forward in challenge. "Yeah? How's it feel to work for your victory?" He asked. "Makes the blood boil hotter, right?"
"It's electrifying." Assassin answered eagerly. His rival donned the look of a skeptic, but recovered quickly. Archer supposed that Assassin's Saber was more of an influence than he thought.
Archer smirked, "Glad to hear it. How about we take it up a notch?"
"Gladly."
Both Servants broke off their deadlock by jumping away from each other. However, it was pointless because the two clashed not a second later. The two ran past each other, making contact only with their weapons, attacking each other, making an orchestra of metal striking metal in a hit-and-run style of battle.
Shirou and Luvia were astounded by the display of equal power the two combating Servants performed. Archer's versatility and skill was negated by Assassin's knowledge of Archer's battle habits. Each attack was met head on, and each time their strikes made contact, dust and rubble picked up. Archer's rapid and rhythmic strikes with his Kodachis were steadily blocked or deflected by Assassin's blade.
Archer stomped his foot forward, and brought his swords forward, pouring most of his strength into the attack. His opponent used his weapon to intercept the attack. Assassin expected to meet Archer's attack again, but was genuinely surprised when the Servant exploded into a cloud. He didn't expect the metal knee coming for his face, allowing him to get smacked by metal that sent his jaw and gaze up to the sky. This Archer dispelled into another cloud, allowing another Archer to launch himself at Assassin with his right fist cocked to smack the Servant to the floor. Archer closed in on Assassin, and his fist burst forward to punch his rival.
Instantly, Assassin redirected Archer's punch with a swift movement of his left hand. With nothing else to do, Assassin amused himself by sending his forehead to clash against Archer's own. Archer exploded, signifying its existence as a clone. Assassin frantically searched for his opponent. Left. Right. Front. Back. Up? Reflexively, he chose to pour chakra into his feet and summon a compact version of the purple being to protect his chin. Not a second later, Archer broke through the ground with his fist leading the charge towards Assassin's chin.
The impact visibly cracked the aura of purple surrounding Assassin's chin. If it was any other person, the victim's jaw would have shattered upon impact. If not for Assassin's Susanoo, then he would be left with a broken jaw for quite a while. The ground Assassin stood on bulged upwards to follow his feet. Purple arms anchored Assassin to the ground while Archer equipped a pair of…and hip armor jetpacks? The green particles it used to propel Archer seemed to equal that of a rocket taking off.
The ground gave way. Archer's planted fist sent both him and Assassin skyrocketing to the stars. Shirou and Luvia were star-struck at their respective Servants. For an Archer, the Servant could be sly or overwhelming through the use of his various equipment. As for Assassin, he could stay in the front lines and stay open because he could has the sword skills of a Saber. Both were adept fighters that both knew their abilities in and out.
Archer flew into the sky when Assassin's chin slipped off his fist. To keep his advantage, Archer fired off chains from his back. Assassin had yet to recover, so he was easily caught by the golden chains binding his body. The orange Knight chucked his rival to the ground, making a crater as soon as Assassin's bounded body met earth. The chains were quick to disperse. Assassin could moved soon after the chains unwound all over his body.
"Dynamic Entry!" Assassin quickly remedied the next attack with a simple sidestep. In his left hand, a Chidori crackled to life. The attack's electricity easily made contact with Archer's armor to spread throughout the Servant's body. The black-clad Servant brought his sword forward, slashing past his opponent in a flash of veil of roses. Armor, shredded and torn, slowly repaired itself, yet it was slow enough that Assassin swung full force into a spinning slash that struck multiple times on Archer's unprotected body.
Archer rolled on the earth. Silver chunks and shards of metal floated around him, and pieced together his armor. "Nice reaction, Assassin."
"With a straightforward attack like that, it's bound to get avoided easily."
"True." Archer projected two lances uneven in length. In his left, a short gold spear wrapped in purple cloth situated itself in his firm grasp. His right bore a longer red spear wrapped in the same cloth. "Shall I test your reaction time against these two spears then?"
Assassin smirked and used his left hand to give a 'come hither' gesture. "Come and try, Archer." Archer's growing grin only widened with the prospect of the challenge. Archer twirled his new spears to display his eagerness. The Servant stepped forward, the grin never leaving his face.
"With pleasure!"
Archer pursued offensive pressure whereas his rival took to defense. The long reach of the red spear made Assassin focus on it. However, half of his attention focused on the other spear Archer held. Something irked the Assassin when it came to the shorter spear. With Archer's versatile and unpredictable modus operandi, Assassin could only hope to guess when that yellow spear come into play. Assassin deflected all and any oncoming thrusts from Archer's red spear for minutes, and slowly but surely, his stoic face expressed annoyance. He was waiting for that other spear! When will-
His vision was blinded by the glint of gold closing in on his eyes. The Assassin quickly parried the attack. His eyes visibly widened when Archer wasn't in front of him. "Who's too slow now?" Assassin didn't know what was happening behind him, but he didn't need to know that his rival planned on skewering him with both of those spears. Assassin's right hand reached for his chokuto and brought his left behind him to block the upcoming strikes.
His face, looking back at Archer from his right shoulder, was suddenly kicked to make him face his left. "Leaf Hurricane!" The impact sent him spinning to the floor, where he was struck a second time, effectively launching him up. He flipped backwards several times before feeling a devastating and familiar kick. Assassin rocketed off into the sky with Archer just behind him.
'This attack! It's-'
"Remember this attack? Lee told me he wanted to finish that fight all those years ago, so this is is my way of granting his wish!" Archer's chains wrapped around Assassin's body tightly. Under the binds, Assassin couldn't so much as struggle. The two flipped over, their heads pointing to the ground. "Primary Lotus!" Archer pulled his arms, spinning both of them like a mini tornado as they plummeted to the ground.
"Like hell am I going to let this slide!" Assassin roared. His eyes brought out his Mangekyo Sharingan so that Susanoo would emerge. From his body, the aura surrounded him like a second skin before exponentially growing to help him escape Archer's chains.
"Hoh? You're going all out now? Then don't mind if I do the same!" Archer's eyes turned red, and his canines gained a sharp edge to them. The chains grew in number and size, and the constricting bind began to squeeze tighter, visibly shredding through Susanoo with its vice grip. Assassin gritted his teeth; he couldn't do anything because the ground was only seconds away. The two Servants made contact with the ground, exploding violently like a volcano. The temple atop the mountain was nothing more than a wooden frame that lost its front. The plaza amounted to nothing more than a smoking, burning crater in the ground.
Amidst the debris and dust, the two rocketed off the ground to take the battle to the skies. Because screw gravity right?
Caster, who was forgotten like a piece of the background, was stunned by the raw display of power. This Naruto and Sasuke pair entertained her greatly. She stared at the Masters. The boy obviously hampered his Servant's true capability by being a sorry excuse of a Magus while the girl didn't need to have her Assassin. Caster did not hesitate to decide that she wanted both Assassin and Archer as her Servants. Their power may be overwhelming and unnerving, but her Master was fine. She warned her Master to leave the area because she expected destruction.
Just not of this capacity and intensity.
Lightning crackled in the sky. The already cloudy night became even more cloudy with the lightning storm that appeared out of nowhere. Red lightning snaked around the clouds, and a hint of blue shot straight past the cloud to strike the temple's roof. A wall of red surged to the other side of the cloud. The spectators, including Saber (both Lily and blue), stared at the light show of nature fighting itself.
"Archer…?" Lily asked herself. Caliburn shook wildly in her grasp. She looked down at her sword's thrashing that eventually lead to the sword's point directing itself at the unnaturally formed lightning storm. The onyx storm clouds flashed red and blue, but soon a new source of light emerged. Gold and bringing a sense of warmth, Lily could recognize the Noble Phantasm. "How did he manage to find a Holy Sword?" She asked to no one. The cloud glowed gold nearly entirely. Lily reflexively took a battle stance. The cloud bursted like a ballon as a horizontal line of pure fire scarred the skies. A second later, the night sky imitated a napalm bomb run -only a hundred times larger and deadlier.
The Masters participating in the War instantly perked at the sound of Archer's devastating attack. Shinji Matou snarled knowing the sound could only come from Archer's Noble Phantasm. Rin, who awoke recently, frowned at the use of a Noble Phantasm at such close proximity to the city. Illya's handmaidens bared no shred of emotion to express their opinion on the matter, and decided to report this to their Mistress. Kuzuki, Caster's Master, wordless observed the chaos over the peak of the mountain. Kirei scowled at the work needed to be done tonight to silence the masses who saw the spectacle; he would need backup on this one.
Since it exploded over Fuyuki city, every civilian woke up or looked up at the sound of explosive, thunderous sound. Those awake witnessed the sky burning like the surface of the sun, yet didn't feel threatened by the heat nor the sound. To them, it seemed like Kami was raining judgement over a fool. To the sensical lot, they panicked -naturally so- and called the police. To the drunk lot, they believed that whatever beer they drank was amazing if they got a light show like this during their buzz.
In the city, Rider observed the aerial battle and the carpet bombing of the sky. Whoever Archer was fighting, the opponent seemed powerful enough to make Archer use a Noble Phantasm. The attack that broke the cloud revealed a burning sword and a diving purple giant narrowly evading the attack. What struck the Servant was the thing Archer stood on.
'A dragon.' She went into her Astral form and returned home for the night. She had seen everything she needed to. She would not interfere for she would only be cannon fodder between a fight of titans. Shinji could get mad all he wanted, but her common sense would override her Master's order to eliminate Archer on sight.
"Magnificent!" Gilgamesh cheered while sitting on his flying vehicle, Vimana. "The more you fight, the closer I am to remembering your identity. Keep raging on, Archer! For when the time comes, you shall feel the wrath of a King!"
Lancer stared impassively at the fireball in the sky. It could only mean that Archer was fighting someone of equal strength. He had yet to meet Assassin, but Lancer had only one possible identity that could force Archer to use a devastating Noble Phantasm. 'So he's here… Were you two summoned to destroy the Grail?' Lancer asked himself.
Saber sensed a nearby Servant, her counterpart. Not wanting to risk an encounter and her cover being blown, she entered the forest to reluctantly trek down the mountain. She tried her best to hide her presence without the aid of the Assassin class skill, and managed to do so when Lily ran up the stairs without paying any mind to her surroundings. "Naruto better hurry up." Saber said to no one in particular. "I don't know how long my cover will stay around my counterpart."
Archer and Assassin were back on ground and-
"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Two fireballs merged into one inferno. Assassin charged in without any foresight on what could happen next. His sword penetrated the wall of fire only to meet another wall. Dread filled his heart. He let himself act too hasty, and now Archer is going for the counterattack. Damn that shield of his!
"None shall escape!" Archer declared ominously. "Empty sky form…" Assassin brought out the giant purple arm that covered his front from the imminent blow of Archer's swift counter. "Winter's riposte!" Not soon after, Archer sped past Assassin with a gleaming katana with a handle wrapped in green leather and a strange guard that locks the sword in its sheath. The arm Assassin used to protect himself with froze upon meeting the sword's metal. The Servant himself could not react in time as Archer returned to attack for a second, third, fourth, and fifth time. The sheathing of the blade signified the end of the combo and the destruction of the ice accumulated on Assassin's body.
Archer stood a ways away from Assassin, the katana firmly grasped inside his right had. His stomach growled as a way to break the silence that came after his attack. In a serious voice, Archer recited a chant.
I am the orange traffic cone.
I am the scion of the Red Hot Habanero.
I am the just Fishcake.
With blade in hand I shall reap the ramen of this world, and cleanse it in the acid of my stomach!
I am Naruto! My hunger has come!
Shirou coughed, rendering him unable to hear Archer's name. "…" Overbearing silence invaded the battleground. Luvia's eyebrow twitched. Caster seemed to reconsider her idea of making Archer her Servant. Assassin…
"You have a very peculiar Servant, Shero." Luvia looked underwhelmed as she stated the obvious. "What catalyst did you use to summon such a Servant like him?"
"I didn't. Apparently, we were compatible."
"I see."
"Is there a Servant trading system in the Grail War?"
"I'm afraid not, Shero."
"…I expected and feared as much."
"You IDIOT!" Assassin yelled to his opponent. "Are you even taking me seriously?"
Archer responded in violent kind. "Of course I am, jackass! I used…was it…one, two…" He mumbled, counting off how many Noble Phantasms he showcased in this one fight. "Five or six Noble Phantasms? Give or take?"
"It doesn't mean you break tension by giving useless speeches like yours!"
"Hey! That was a great speech! It was recited by a white Samurai that had more audacity to claim 'The end' came whenever he fought!"
"And I can see you do him great honor." Assassin answered mockingly. "Making a parody of someone's speech. You are a riot…" His monotone face disobeyed his amused and snarky remarks. Archer raised an eyebrow at Assassin's uncharacteristic remark, yet tidied quickly to be replaced by a smile.
"I see my friend has corrupted you quite a bit, Assassin."
"Much better company than you were, Kanshiha (Observer/Sentinel)."
"Ow. That actually stings, Hōrō-sha (Wanderer)."
A beam shot at the gap between them, silencing the two. "Are you two quite done?" Caster questioned. "You've ruined my territory quite extensively, and so as its owner, I must tell you to leave." Her request was humbly denied; two distinct lightning bolts shot where she would have hovered.
"You dare interrupt our bout, Wench?" Assassin snarled. Archer placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "What? You're on her side now?" The blond Servant glared at his friend, ceasing any form of complaints from the man.
"Caster." Archer started. "First of all, you kidnap my Master, and harmed him. Then you proceed to harm Assassin's Master. It's only out of our immature and long-time rivalry that we let our emotions run wild. So…thank you for getting us two battle-hardened warriors back into focus." Archer's right hand made the same orb attack, but its shape gained something more. Like a giant Shuriken, Archer's attack spun wildly as if he wielded a weapon of the god of wind. Assassin himself concentrated his left hand to summon a titanic beast of lightning.
"I completely agree." Assassin added. "Thank you for getting us back on track. It would be bad to wipe the mountain off of the planet had we continued at that pace." Caster twitched slightly. "Of course, it wouldn't be the only mountain that would fall victim to us. Heck, maybe we would even end up in the city. Just imagine the damage we would cause." Imagine Caster did. If she had these two as her Servants, she would win against Berserker easily. With power to flatten mountains with ease, surely they could annihilate that demigod summoned by the Einzbern homunculus.
"Hah! Surely you jest. You think you can hit me with those attacks?" She goaded the two Servants. Assassin's eyes gained a challenging spark whereas Archer's grin turned into a ferocious sneer.
Archer muttered, "Then let's see you…" as he took a step forth while bursting in golden flames.
"Outrun this in a flash!" Assassin finished, his left hand pointing itself towards Caster's hovering body. Both charging attacks barreled to the Servant, unable to react in time. Though in that extremely small range of time, Archer barely beat the beast of lightning by a mere meter. His Rasenshuriken behind him melded together with Kirin; the combined attacks resembled a ethereal azure tornado propelling Archer towards Caster.
"!" Caster flinched during this frame of time. She could see only the blinding holy glow both Archer and the upcoming attack produced. Like a light sent to banish darkness, it seemed determined to exterminate Caster. Using her High-Speed Incantation, she prepared herself to make a body double whilst whisking herself away from this untimely death.
"Now face the Howling Squall!" Archer's arm surged forward like a boxer launching a straight punch. Caster gave no sign of resistance, and allowed herself to be devoured by the compacted storm inside Archer's palm. Usually, he would hear the the unpleasant sound of contorting flesh and the sight of skin and blood spraying outwards as the attack's abrasive properties continued to shred a person right through their guts; however, the sheer output the combined attack gave just…obliterated Caster's midsection as if nothing was there. Wind and lightning shred and burn muscles, tissues, ligaments, yet Archer knew all he did was destroy a doppelgänger.
When he landed, he dismissed that strange aura surrounding his body. His clothes color reverted to normal as well. The man sighed and placed his hands by his hips. "Mimicking Sorcery I see. I guess Magecraft from the age of gods has that exception eh?"
"Annoying is what it is." Assassin spoke hostilely. "Go lick your wounds, Caster. Even you know you haven't gone unscathed by that attack." He turned to his Master. "We're done here. Let's go, Master." He disappeared into his Astral form.
Luvia chuckled lightly. "You know, Archer…Assassin was such a worrywart. He sprinted all the way until he got here to help you in the nick of time." She heard her Servant's objections, yet ignored them to amuse herself.
"Feh! Him? A worrywart? Might as well give him a crown and a lighter color scheme to make him Prince Charming in Knight-in-shining armor then." He walked to his Master casually, not even batting an eye to his rival, who did the same. The two knew that the help was much appreciated and didn't need a verbal form of thanks to go with it.
"Eh? Now that would be something to see. Assassin, were you like that at some point in your life?" Her Servant denied the speculation. Luvia frowned because her form of amusement shot her down so coldly. She turned to Archer again, "Assassin says that you only get one. Next time we meet, depending on our situation, we will fight again. Farewell for now you two. The night is still young, and I need my beauty sleep."
"Well by all means, you may leave. No need to tell us you're leaving."
"Well okay then. Bye!"
"Wait!" Shirou interrupted. "Why don't we stick together? We caused quite the ruckus, and no doubt some Servant-Master pair will think they're lucky to score an easy win. I-"
"Shero-kun…are you trying to be my escort for the night?"
"Ah! N-No that's not what I mean."
"Master. You can serenade the lady another time." Archer snapped. He patted his stomach. "You owe me dinner. I wasted my energy saving you, so I need nourishment. Ramen would work, but maybe meat would be a suitable alternative."
"Archer! I'm not flirting with her!"
"Sure you aren't. Just like how I'm not hungry right now."
"What happened to your food supply?!"
"I ran out." He said simply while shrugging his shoulders like it's no big deal. His facial expression, bland like a loaf of bread, showed how true his answer was.
"What? Seriously?" He shouted, which in turn caused the girl to chuckle lightly.
"When you fight as hard as I do, you tend to need a ton of food to return energy levels back to normal."
"Gah…sometimes you are a hassle, Archer." Shirou groaned in exasperation. The two continued on, leaving Luvia and Assassin to stare at the two oddly compatible pair. She left in silence to let the arguing duo to work out the Servant's dilemma.
"Are you sure you should leave that worried Master of Archer's?"
"I have you, don't I?"
"True. Still it might give a blow to his pride." Assassin said. "He thought he was more capable of protecting you even though you yourself could best him easily."
"A rare charm." Luvia answered. "To have the pure, naive outlook of a hero…that's his charm." Luvia explained. "Now. Can we get home faster? I'd like to sleep soon." She quickly felt an arm cradle her legs and another clutch her shoulder. Swept up so easily, Luvia shrieked lightly because of her surprise.
"Is this adequate, Master?"
The lady composed herself swiftly. Her stupefied face easily reverted to that of a calm and regal girl unfazed by this turn of events. She brushed her hair away from her face and scoffed, "Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from my Servant. Let us be off, Assassin."
Assassin sighed lowly. "Your wish is my command, Master." He jumped away to head for the estate. Deep inside, he wondered how Nero felt about him doing this to his Master. A bridal carry is supposed to be a rather intimate action done by two smitten individuals. Sure he didn't feel anything for his Master, but he'd rather do this than wrap his hand around his Master's waist or give her a piggyback ride. Still, the bombastic Emperor might not like this. She could achieve Sakura level volumes easily, and he knew her well enough to make a big deal about this insignificant conduct. 'Hn… Nero, I hope you're not watching this.'
All the while, Lily watched the Edelfelt Master retreat from the area. Her sword stopped rattling. She pouted because she was unable to see the full fight, and how Archer used her comrades swords against his opponent. She wanted to speak to him about what he'd done to recreate those swords, but did not find it in her heart to ruin Master-Servant bonding time. From what she could see, Archer's Master was wounded quite considerably, but still fine. She surmised that the boy was kidnapped, and Archer was there to rescue him. She saw Archer give his Master a fresh set of clothes, then decided to leave to pursue her questions at another time. She would report her findings to her Master, and see what she could make of the facts.
The Emiya Master and his Servant walked to the oriental side of town, where restaurants were mostly occupied the city. Archer somehow got a costume change to look like a professional man just finished work. He got the whole ensemble: a clean, buttoned, long-sleeved, collared and cuffed, shirt, a black suit jacket draped on his arm, a loose red tie, black slacks, and a pair of red-framed glasses to finish off the outfit. The Master wondered how his Servant got that outfit; however, with what he saw tonight, he would not question Archer's capabilities.
The two sat inside a restaurant open twenty-four owner was an old man most likely in his late fifties, but he could still cook as well as he did in his prime. While waiting, Shirou remembered what Archer had to go through. On the way, after Archer's wardrobe change, the Servant gained the attention of many women those still lingering extremely late at night. Many approached him, but the Spirit ignored them. He didn't mean anything rude by it, but it might have been the wedding ring on his left ring finger that might have set off any women from further pursuing him.
Archer ordered his meal, and got it rather quickly. Surprised by the speed and size of the meal, he said, "When I said meat was a good alternative, this is not what I had in mind. This is so much better!" He stared at his meal, a bowl of meat, oil, an egg, and rice underneath. "This kind of meal is amazing! It takes understanding to accept it as a whole, knowledge to set the proper pace, courage to attack the mountain of meat, and dedication to keep on eating. Don't mind if I do!" Taking his chopsticks, Archer happily gobbled his meal at record speed not even the owner could believe. Shirou's left eye twitched at the insane speed his Servant ate. Hoping to satisfy his Servant with a huge meal, he and Archer went to a still open restaurant that has a insane meal in its menu. It's name is…
MEGA BEEF BOWL!
Archer slammed the bowl, empty and ridiculously clean, and yelled, "Another!" The Servant's booming declaration shocked the restaurant owner. The man was in slight awe that this foreign stranger could finish the monstrous meal at record time. The owner quickly dispatched his best employee to fetch the customer another bowl. The response was quick, and a young lady in a red apron and white dress uniform with short navy blue hair in a bob cut and mostly covered by a white headscarf.
"It's on the house. For being the new record holder of finishing the bowl clean, your previous order and this one are free." She said almost monotonously. She made a curt bow before taking her leave. Archer gave his thanks, and prepared to eat his new bowl.
"You're not seriously still hungry, are you?" Shirou asked his Servant.
"Of course I am." Archer replied. He didn't let the conversation go further than that. He dug into his meat treasure trove to once again sate his stomach. He happily ate his free meal with no worries or such clouding his head. He should be worried about forgetting something important, but he dismissed it in order to prioritize his stomach.
The restaurant's door chimes rang. "Oh. Taking a midnight break, Chief Satonaka?" The restaurant owner asked. "Do you want the usual?"
"Yeah. Thanks. I'm starving over here." The chief, no doubt a woman, answered with her growling stomach chiming in to help. "Add a large cup of soda too. I need the fizz to keep me up."
"I'm still surprised you're not religiously drinking coffee for a woman your age, but sure. Here's your cup." He handed the woman a dispensable cup so she could pick her choice of drink. She walked to the drink dispenser to choose her beverage when Archer finally took notice.
The woman was a brunette with a bob cut that ended by her neck. She had a police hat that loosely rested on her head, a slung a blue officer jacket over her shoulder to show off a sweaty buttoned white shirt that hugged her female assets nicely. Archer narrowed his eyes at the sight, pleasing to the eyes, but shook his head to continue inspecting this woman without perving on her. She wore a business skirt of decent length that showed off her black thigh high stockings and black shoes.
"By the way, Satonaka-san. Someone broke your record tonight."
"Eh? Who?"
"Why the this hungry business man." He pointed to Archer, in mid chew. "He's on his second bowl too."
"Eh?! Really? What's the time?"
"Ten minutes and sixteen seconds." The owner answered. "He beat you by ten whole minutes."
"Eh…so does that mean I have to pay now?" The chief of police asked. Amused by the question, the owner shook his head. "Really? That's great!" The woman glared at Archer menacingly, "I'll beat your record, newcomer!" Unaware that there was a record, Archer only waved while he continued eating. Shirou himself had a light meal of curry as he attempted to mimic a turtle. When the two were finished, the woman received her bowl at that moment. The Master-Servant pair left quietly, but not without a tip from Archer. The chief of police stared at her bowl, determined to beat Archer's record, but would fall short for a long while.
"And where have you two been?" An irate Saber interrogated from behind. The two men turned around to see a casually dressed Saber with her arms crossed and her face bearing an expression of fury.
"Dinner?" Archer answered. "Anyways, It's good you're here, Saber-nee. You can take Master home. I've some business to finish here." Saber noticed the slight hostile tone in his words. The woman guessed that a Servant might be nearby, and did not waste any time to leave the premises.
"Come back safely, Archer." She said.
"Hm? Please. I'll be fine." Archer replied dismissively. "It's you and your cover that I'm worried about. I sensed Lily nearby, but somehow went off my radar. Either she went in her Astral form and left as soon as the battle was over, or she's stalking someone." Archer's explanation put Saber at slight alert. Archer could see Saber tense up, an action unnatural to see, and wondered what he could do.
"Saber." Shirou started. "Let's go home. I trust Archer enough to let him do his own thing. If he was summoned as Archer, then he had to be somewhat insubordinate and independent during his lifetime." Saber softened when Shirou stated the fact. Still, she gave Archer one last look before they marched all the way back home. "I expect you to come back in one piece, Archer." Shirou said to his Servant, who was scratching his ear using his pinky finger.
"Yeah, yeah. Go on you two." The male Servant waved at them before disappearing into his Astral form.
Archer reappeared on a skyscraper rooftop, where his potential enemy took position at the moment. The place was tall enough to mostly survey the city from the vantage point, so he made a mental map of what he saw to synchronize his known knowledge of the landscape to this one. "Hiya, popsicle. How's your cat, Berserker?"
"I've no need of your jokes tonight, Archer."
"Eh~ But it's so fun to poke at the tiny dragon." Archer whined. "It's so cute to see you flustered over my words." Illya scrunched her face at the demeaning word 'cute.' She was a mini Magus, sure she'll admit that, but she's isn't cute at all; she's menacing, she's powerful, and she could sick Berserker on him right now and end his life no matter how many lives her Servant loses.
"Don't try to charm me, bastard!" Illya yelled. "I'm your enemy."
"A potentially beautiful enemy." Archer corrected.
"Eh?"
"I know why you're a cute, little shortcake. All that Prana in you deteriorated your growth. You can't look your age because your body is focused on storing that Prana inside you. From what I've seen, you have your mother's looks, and your father is lucky to have her as his wife."
"Don't talk about my parents like that!"
"Order rejected." Archer said. "Anyways it's a shame your beauty is hidden inside you. You're merely a product made for this War." Archer changed his tone. "So? What did you want with me, Einzbern?" Archer asked with his back facing an irritated Illya. "If it's about wrecking part of your forest, then I apologize. Lancer was trying to kill my Master. If it's something else, then enlighten me on the matter." Archer drew his Noble Phantasm and stabbed it on the ground. He grabbed his scrolls and tossed them aside along with the giant scroll sealed on his back. He even dematerialized his armor, leaving himself mostly defenseless to the untrained eye.
"You've a lot of confidence to disarm yourself."
Archer scratched the back of his head, "Well. You seem to want to hold a conversation this time. You even have Berserker on a metaphorical leash at the moment so you can have this conversation." He didn't tell her that he still had his Projection to work with. Illya scanned the Servant suspiciously. He knew she ordered Berserker to stand by until she felt threatened. "So, once again, enlighten me."
"My handmaidens saw what you did over Mount Enzo." Illya spoke firmly. "A Noble Phantasm of that caliber could have at least stolen several lives from Berserker. Why are you holding back, Archer? Why allow us the time to lick our wounds when you can handle yourself against my Servant?"
"I told you. I want to protect you. Your Servant being alive is one way to do so." Archer answered. "Besides, you said that you don't feel the corruption inside you, right? So it means there is someone who has made another incarnation of a Lesser Grail who holds the corruption."
Illya snarled. "You keep talking about corruption! What is so corrupt about the Grail? You, Servant, know nothing-!"
"In the third war, the Einzberns, tired of losing, subverted the rules they created and summoned a never before seen Servant Class, Avenger." Archer spoke without missing a beat. "Avenger, without any distinct skills to set him apart from the rest, was weak, and the first casualty of the war. It's through Avenger's death that the subsequent Wars are corrupted. Avenger's identity, Angra Mainyu, All the World's Evils, would corrupt the Grail so that each wish granted will inevitably cause a massive loss of life. Your father, Kiritsugu, destroyed the Grail to terminate this corruption. In doing so, he effectively caused the Fuyuki fire, and caught the ire of your Grandfather when your father returned to retrieve you from the Einzbern household. Your Grandfather refused your father to let him meet you."
"That's a lie!"
"Now that went off topic." Archer admitted while completely ignoring Illya's interjection. "Now for why I chose to protect you… Alaya ordered me to destroy the Grail. Vague, I admit, so it only meant that it didn't care about what I do as long as the job is done. So I'm taking the liberty of finding the location of where the Greater Grail will manifest, and destroy it so that you won't have to be a sacrifice. At least that was before you told me you didn't hold the Grail's corruption. If there is someone else is holding the corruption, I have to find and destroy the vessel."
"Your logic doesn't make sense. You're basically saying that if anyone else is the vessel, you would kill them in a heartbeat."
"It does seem like that. But here's the thing…Einzbern homunculi are the ones made into the Grail's vessel. So why would there be another vessel out there?"
"That…"
"It means someone is trying to take you out of the equation in order to have their own wish granted. Which potentially means they actually want to end humanity and possibly the world as we know it. Or they actually don't know the possible consequences of their actions."
"So where are you going with this?"
"I have a way to help you stay in the game, and something that might help you look your age. Question is, do you trust me well enough to allow me to stay close to you for a short period of time?" He turned to her. "So? What do you say? Temporary alliance or not?" He outstretched his hand. "You may place your terms."
"Really? Are you that confident that I won't stab you in the back?"
"Just do it. I'm sleepy."
"Then my conditions are as follows: Don't engage Berserker or attempt to harm me until the alliance is void, you will reveal this method of fixing my appearance without trying to in any way sabotage it to kill me, you will act as my scout to find out what the other Servants are doing. Those are my conditions."
"Fairly simple." Archer said with a yawn. "My conditions: Meet Shirou Emiya, learn what he knows about your father, don't attack him, and…I get a bowl of ramen after each debriefing." The Einzbern raised and eyebrow at the strange request. Most of it was aimed at trying to fix a relationship that wasn't there. Why would this Servant do this? She was abandoned! Replaced by an orphan in that fire that ravaged the city! She won't believe the lies Archer spouted about her Grandfather withholding her or that her father attempted to retrieve her. She would get revenge in the only way she knew how! Clenching her teeth, she gave her answer.
"I can't-"
"Family is important." Archer said. "I know the feeling of being abandoned. I was an orphan, who never got parents. I only received disdain for most of my life." Illya stepped back when she heard the Servant snarl. "As I grew older, I found people I could call family despite not being my blood relative. Brothers, sisters, grandfather, grandmother, father and mother, none were truly family by blood. They were there for me, a boy not their own kin. And when I found out there were still members of my clan alive, I felt the same as you are: enraged, hatred, and so on. I wanted to shout at them, maybe even hurt them out of spite. My clan, whose value is to prioritize family over all, abandoned me!"
"…"
"My sorrow created by my childhood, led me to believe that they were heartless. Until one of my surrogate sisters smacked me with the flat of her blade. She wanted me to talk to them, to understand them. Only then did they find out that they never knew I was alive. They knew I was about to be born, but never alive because of a tragedy in my village."
"So then-"
"I'm saying that you have to meet with your little brother." Archer said softly. "You need to understand each other. Don't live a life of pain and revenge, Illya, because your little brother is innocent in this matter. With what time you have left, you must spend all you can with family. And trust me when I say that what your Grandfather did does not warrant him as family."
Illya looked down, unable to decide. Archer brought some good points, but she can't just turn on a dime. "Give me time…" She never received a verbal reply. Archer already left. Her silent Berserker told her that Archer smiled as she said those words.
"What shall you do, Master?" Berserker asked after materializing.
"I'm not sure. But what about you, Berserker? He just gave us an anecdote."
"Not enough information, I'm afraid."
"I see… Well let's return home. I shall make my decision whenever I'm ready."
"Understood."
Here's another chapter, and the final part of Night 3. I may have done some questionable things like some of explanation of Archer's motive and explaining the corruption of the Grail, or even pieces of the fight. If so, please point out the flaws because really, I'm not well versed into Nasuverse technicalities.
I hoped you enjoyed it.
So review, follow, favorite, and blablablah.
This is Azure signing off.