I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

Darkness, Ice and Fire

The journey did not take long. Not a word passed between them as they went up the flight of stone. When they finally reached the final step, they paused, taking careful look of their surroundings. The temple courtyard was bathed in moonlight, looking calm and serene. Not a soul to be seen. But they knew, it only looked so outwardly.

"Be on your guard, Master," warned Saber as she turned round to look at him, "We do not know which Servant has laid claim to this place.

"Saber... is there any way for you to check to see if the monks are alright?" he asked. Now that he thought of it, there was no way they could go in unannounced or unnoticed. If anything, he would be facing many angry people should he get caught 'breaking in and entering' so to say. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

His Servant shook her head. "It seems we are at a disadvantage. I suppose the best course of action would be for me to go in myself and check," she told him as she turned to make her way to the main building.

"My, my, guests at this hour of night? Whatever would people think?"

Startled by the nonchalant voice, the pair turned their attention to the left side of the courtyard. Standing right in the middle was a woman. Her red hair was short but arranged elegantly. Clad in a grey robe; it had black and blue trimmings at the skirting. Gold and white trimmed the shoulders and chest. She had black sash around her waist and a rigid collar going as high as the cheeks on her face.

"What a poor host I must be. Welcome! What may I do for you today?" she said with a smirk as the two took a step towards her, "Or maybe, what can I do to you today?"

"Which Servant are you?" asked Saber as she raised her hands, grasping her hidden sword in front of her.

"Well, you must make a fine guest at parties," she quipped, "But, since you asked, I'm Caster. Nice to meet you, Saber."

The grip on her sword only tightened. Shirou then asked, "Do you intend harm to the people here?"

"Why no, young man. Why would you think that?" she replied, sounding quite surprised, "They would have been quite welcoming of me. It would be bad taste to simply burn them for nothing. I actually quite like them."

"And why are you killing people in the street?" pressed on the red head.

"And what's wrong with killing a few ruffians?" was her reply, quite nonchalantly, "Bullies extorting money from the locals and causing a ruckus? Why wouldn't I get rid of them? Given how nice the locals have been, I don't see why I shouldn't return the favor?"

"But you can't! Surely there is another way..." protested Shirou but he was immediately cut off.

"Another way? Hah!" she laughed at him, but looking at the Servant, "What a naive Master you have, Saber." Looking back at him, she stated, "Making use of the ley line and breaking apart Mystic Codes for power can only do so much for me. With my new Master unable to provide for me, I have to turn to other sources. Now if only there were more bandits and robbers wandering around the countryside..."

"You cannot do this anymore!" he shouted passionately, horrified by what she was saying, "They are people too! They have their own families! Their own lives to live! I cannot allow you to take that away like that."

Caster's lips thinned to a line and her eyes narrowed. "And who are you to lecture me, little man," she said calmly, a bit too calmly, "Who are you to simply order me around? I do not take too kindly to threats. I tend to... burn them away." Looking to her fellow Servant, she asked, "What of you Saber? Surely you can understand the need to..."

"My apologies, Caster, but I have to disagree," interrupted the blue clad Servant, "Yes, I can see why you would need to do so, but as a knight, I swore to protect the people. And so, I cannot allow you to endanger them any longer."

"I see... well then, I'm afraid you will have to die here," she stated before raising her hands and muttering something aloud.

"I wont let you," Saber declared as she immediately charged, already feeling the power in those words. Caster could not do anything as the invisible sword cut her at the waist. Then, laughter echoed through the courtyard, causing the pair to look around in confusion.

"You thought it was that easy?" Caster shouted at them condescendingly, "I am more than prepared for you, Saber!" Suddenly, many more Casters appeared around them, seemingly filling the courtyard. "If you want to try and find me, go ahead. I will be done long before you could ever kill me," they announced gleefully as all the Caster's raised both hands and started chanting.

Shirou froze in place, not knowing what to do. Galvanized by urgency, Saber started slashing.

The wooden doors swung open with ease. Warily, the pair stepped inside the church. It wasn't as lit like their previous trip. Only a candle illuminated the place, lighting up the altar area, casting numerous shadows all round the pews.

"He doesn't seem to be here," muttered Rider as he looked around. He still felt that something was wrong with the place, but didn't know what.

"The priest is probably at the back somewhere," Luvia replied, her eyes darting to a door off the side, "Let us check there."

"That would not be necessary, Miss Edelfelt."

That one moment, their eyes were looking at the side door, yet the voice came from the altar. Surprisingly enough, the priest was there.

"There wasn't anyone there earlier," the Servant whispered to the blonde, "Where the heck did he come from?"

"Why are you here? Surely you aren't here to give up your rights as a Master, are you?" questioned the priest as he slowly stepped around the holy place, "I thought your family wanted to redeem their honor in this War."

"That is not the reason I am here, Father Kirei," she replied respectfully; it wouldn't do well to get on the mediator's bad side after all, "I am just here to ask a few questions."

"Ah, then I must turn you down. As mediator, I am not allowed to give out the particulars of the other Masters," he told her as he stepped off the raised platform, coming to a halt as he held his hands behind his back.

"That... is not what I meant either," Luvia said with a frown, wondering why he was saying all these things, "First of all, I wish to confirm something. You are the Tohsaka senior apprentice, are you not?"

"... it seems you still remember what she said that other night," the priest stated after a moment of silence, intently gazing at her, "Yes. I am her senior. I was apprenticed to her father many years ago. Why do you ask?"

She decided to go straight to the point. "I wish to ask about the previous War," she declared, "As senior apprentice, I would have assumed that you were privy to your teacher's plans."

"Indeed I was," he confirmed, "It is a bit odd to ask such questions. You make me curious." He then began to smile, just a little. Though slight, it was quite unsettling. Yet she did not let it show, since she was decidedly making progress with the questioning.

"Perhaps, if you do not mind, tell me of Caster from the previous War," she pressed on, but was rewarded with a rather odd answer.

"Caster? You wish to know of Caster?" he repeated.

She nodded; something was beginning to feel off about the priest. The unsettling feeling was increasing. And to her surprise, the man chuckled, as if in mirth. "Do you find my questions amusing, Father Kirei?" she asked, feeling quite tense.

"Yours is a curious case, Miss Edelfelt," the priest said with amusement, "In the dead of night, you come with curious questions. It makes me wonder, where did you hear of such things that make you do this in the first place?"

"Forgive me if I do not tell you, Father," she said, narrowing her eyes, "I am afraid that I am obligated not to tell you..." She trailed off when the priest raised a hand to stop her.

"You do not have to tell me. I believe I know already," the priest replied with a sudden smirk; she took a step back by reaction, "And I'm afraid I have to make sure that you do not leave here at all." Suddenly, a black and misshapen thing emerged from the ground at the foot of the priest. Crackling sounds resounded around them as a multitude of more taller versions of the things suddenly rose up among the pews.

"We have to retreat," she told Rider, a flood of alarm ringing in her head.

"I don't think we have enough space to get out," he replied as he stole a glance behind. A number of the things had sprouted out and were in the way of their exit.

"My apologies, Edelfelt and Rider, for your journey ends here," declared the priest serenely, as if speaking to a troubled person, "Goodbye."

The shadows surged forward, almost too fast to follow. She barely heard Rider saying, "Get behind me!" as he flung something at them. There was darkness... then all was white?

She moved and swung; simple, graceful movements. Not a breath wasted. Not but a single step with each swing. And yet, there seemed to be too many Caster's to cut down. It was like for every one she cut down, two more appeared. Saber grit her teeth and stepped forward again.

A cry of victory was let loose and all the images faded out, leaving a single Servant left on the other side of the courtyard. She had a satisfied smirk on her face as a glowing magic circle seemed to write itself out on the ground.

"Well, it seems you didn't make it, Saber," she gloated proudly as the Servant of the Sword tensed up, ready to charge down on her, "I wonder which elder elemental I pulled out, hmm?"

As smoke started coalescing and swirling inside, Saber yelled and charged. The smoke began to lose its shape when the Servant struck it and much to her surprise, her invisible sword was fended off, metal clashing with metal. Within the clearing circle was not an elemental, elder or otherwise, but a human. Dirtied light blue hair fell in long locks around his head, some of it tied up in a top knot. He was half naked, wearing blood red pants and woven slippers. The only armor he had were blue colored wrist and shin guards. A long length of chain wrapped around his left guard, the other end connected to a large, triple bladed throwing star.

Everyone was still, the air silent, the presence of the newest addition to the War being processed. "Please tell me where is my elemental?" started Caster with a minor frown, "If not, I'll send you to the Nine Hells myself."

The man shrilled with manic laughter and said , "I... am Servant Avenger." He turned to her and said, "I am here... Master..."

"... attack Saber," she finally ordered after a moment of thought, her smirk once again gracing her face.

More laughter was let loose as he threw his weapon, the thing arching through the air. Saber started to bring up her sword to block when it suddenly disappeared. Her eyes widened before her instincts told her to block from below. She swung in a wide arc and metal clashed with metal as Avenger suddenly burst out of the ground weapon first like a ghost. The Servant frowned, clearing remembering the tricks that Assassin from the previous War put her through. With a yell she struck back.

Ice. Solid, white ice. If she wasn't in so much danger, she would have thought it a marvelous sight. She never did see what Rider threw out, but she had to guess that it was only temporary. Then, she noticed the two peculiar beings that floated down towards her Servant. She didn't know what they were or what they were made off. They resembled mechanical constructs... dolls? Puppets perhaps? Was he a hero that first dabbled in their creation? The first time man researched puppets?

"Ha, it's good to see you ladies again," her Servant greeted with a grin, with the puppets replying in tinkling sounds that she could not understand, "But, we have to leave right now. We've only stalled the guy for now." The both of them nodded. Then, a strange thing happened the moment they linked hands. They spun around in the air and began folding into themselves. Parts shifted and transformed inside and outside; the puppets slowly merged into a...

"A motorcycle? This is your mount?" she said in disbelief. Just who was he? Surely motorcycles did not exist during ancient times...

"Stop griping and get on," he said with urgency as he got on, "The ice won't hold for long. Listen."

Sure enough, the slow sound of cracking was starting up around them. This must be the only time that skirts are a minor hindrance, she mused offhandedly as she seated herself behind him, her Servant revving up his ride in preparation.

"Hold on tight... and keep your head down," he advised her. She responded by clinging on tightly to his waist, just as the ice wall shattered and the shadows broke through. That whole time, noise level of the motorcycle crept higher and higher, signifying the ever increasing power. With a single twitch, the brakes were taken off and the mount went full throttle, instantly tearing through the weak wall of shadow that separated them and the church doors. All that was left behind was a rapidly melting trail of ice.

Steel rang as Avenger tumbled away, the invisible blade deflected away with a snicker. He went down as close to the ground as possible, throwing out the metal star in front of him, whirling forward like a saw blade.

"Caster is toying with them," muttered Assassin to himself as he remained hidden behind the entrance of the temple.

Saber dodged to her left and swung downwards in smooth motion. Rather than biting flesh and blood, Avenger's image split into two neat pieces before fading away. She then found herself with a face full of slipper. She stumbled backward, wiping her face with one hand.

"...I ...I-I think I... have to help," Sakura said after a long silence. Her voice then became resolute, "Yes, I have to help. If Caster decides to stop playing... yes, I have to go to Senpai."

The Servant of the Sword shook her head with a growl and narrowed her eyes. His body was twitching constantly as he eyed her through his disheveled hair. He continued to snicker, as if he were taunting her inability to hit him. He shuddered and leaped at her. She swung in a wide arc, looking confident that she would be able to take on the attacks. That would be assuming he wasn't able to gauge the length of her sword. To her surprise, he burst into bits of faint smoke and she saw him leap at her again from the same spot. She narrowed her eyes and charged at his former position, assuming he would repeat the move again. When he didn't appear, she suddenly spun around and blocked the spinning metal star. At the same time, he also burst out of the ground. Taken aback, she could only move a hand in the way. The blade cut through the weaker, leather cover of the gauntlet, drawing blood. With a shriek of glee, Avenger tore his weapon out and went back a few steps, neatly avoiding another attack.

"Very well. How do you want to do this?" Assassin asked, curious as to how she would reach here in time to help. Avenger seemed to have an edge over Saber with his trickery and guile.

"Saber!" Shirou yelled as Saber stumbled backwards, still able to maintain her guard even though she held her invisible sword with one hand. He turned to Caster and shouted, "Stop! You've made your point. We'll leave now!"

"Shirou! I can still..." began his Servant's protest but was drowned out by the sound of laughter.

"Please, don't worry, Assassin,"she told him in earnest, "Since I can guess the area through your sight earlier, half of it is already done. Just... be ready to protect me when I reach there."

"Me? Stop? When Avenger is assuredly running circles around Saber?" Caster questioned with amusement, "I think not!" And then she smiled eagerly as she held a hand up, "You know, I think it is time for me to teach you a lesson." A small sphere of bright orange appeared in her outstretched hand. "I don't even need to use my specialty to deal with you,"she gloated as she pushed her palm forward, aimed at him. The ball streaked straight towards him. He stumbled over backwards.

"Shirou!" his Servant shouted as she prepared to intercept, but Avenger stepped in and started slashing wildly. "Out of my way!" she roared in apprehension as she deflected every blow.

Right before his own eyes, Assassin watched as black circle opened in front of the boy and out shot his Master. He smiled behind his mask as she gestured in front of her, palms facing forward, bringing up a wall of darkness to block the fiery explosion that came from the orange sphere. "Clever girl," he muttered as his folded sword materialized in his hand.

The riders made their way down the lonely road, up to the last turn, where he stopped. "I think I put enough distance between us," presumed Rider as he waited for Luvia to get off.

"... The Tohsaka use a gem magecraft similar enough to my family's," the blond Master muttered with a frown as she stared back to the general direction of the church, "How did that priest... There is no way anyone could control those... things... with such ease. Something must have happened to him in the previous War."

"Well, this is a real big mess we landed ourselves in," stated Rider, the eidolons vanishing into a faint blue mist as he got off, with a faint glow under his sleeve, "I mean, Archer already told us not to tell him. I guess this is worst case scenario that she expected."

"... I wish you didn't bring that up," she mumbled before letting out a sigh, her shoulders sagging only slightly, "Admittedly, this was a setback. I suppose we can return to Shirou's place for the night and..."

She never got the chance to finish it as Rider suddenly spun around, weapon at the ready, and swung upwards. With a crash, the spear was tossed into the air and much to her surprise, it floated a bit before flying back to it's source.

"What?," sounded her Servant in surprise as he spotted their attacker. He called out, guessing the Servant class, "Hey, Lancer! We need to tal-" The other Servant left no time to talk as she dashed forward, leaving Rider to a hasty defense.

Luvia, having ran to the side as to not get in the way, had her own problems. "An enforcer!?" she yelled in surprise as she dodged a flurry of kicks.

"Oh? A kid?" she heard the red head muttering, "Then again, still another magus. At least now, Lancer is finally taking interest in this."

"Oh? Is that why we haven't seen them since Lancer attacked Shirou?" the Edelfelt heir thought as she jumped back to avoid the enforcer's attacks, "Hmm, red hair... Irish accent... ah..."

"Bazett... Bazett Fraga McRemitz," she stated aloud, causing her attacker to pause at her recognition.

"Oh? I'm surprised you would know of me," the Irishwoman said, her hands still up and ready to attack, "Regardless, I intend to win this War and nothing you say can change that."

"Wha? Wait! I wish to..." and Luvia wasn't able to finish when the lower part of the Enforcer's pants suddenly glowed and she found her opponent a bit too close for comfort. She went to ground and rolled to the side. A second to pause and to look behind, the tree that was directly behind her snapped in half.

"Huh, so you wish to ignore my words?" she muttered, her anger slowly rising. Her hand slipped into a hidden pocket and drew out a few gems. Just as Bazett launched herself at her, she shouted as she threw out the precious stones, "Here! Allow me to knock some sense into you!"

The ground shook with the resulting explosion.

Shirou stared, mouth agape. With Avenger stopping Saber from coming to his aid, he thought he was going to die. He saw his life flash before his eyes; his family, his friends... and then Sakura came out of the ground and put up a black wall between them and Caster's spell. The spell exploded and roared but the flames merely flickered out from the sides of the barrier, showing how sturdy it was. The girl sighed before turning to him.

"Senpai..." she said, giving him a sad look. He wanted to say something, but any words of comfort wouldn't come out. He looked to the side, ashamed of his lie. He did so as keep her safe, but here she is, protecting him instead.

"Senpai... our talk can wait," she said further as she dropped her hands, the wall dropping in sync, "Right now, we try to survive."

Nodding, he got to his feet as the violet haired girl turned to face Caster. Avenger seemed to have backed off and was now standing next to his Master. Saber walked over to him, still holding up her sword with one hand while keeping the other by her side.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said the Servant of Magic, her frown marring her face, "Yet another intruder decides to appear. This is starting to get annoying."

"Good evening, Caster," Sakura said politely as she bowed, much to Shirou's and Saber's surprise, "Forgive my senpai and I for entering unannounced. If you would please forgive us and allow us to leave, I would truly appreciate."

"...At least this one has manners," admitted the Servant with a raised brow. After a pause, "Your little trick is a curious thing. Show me more, and maybe I'll be a lot more forgiving."

"Ah, thank yo-"

"Avenger, attack her," ordered Caster, all emotion all gone from her face.

"WHAT!?" shouted the two.

"By your command," the Servant of Vengeance replied before sending his throwing star into the air, the weapon somehow disappearing into a black hole.

"It... it's alright, Senpai," said Sakura, as the weapon appeared behind her, "I came prepared." A burst of darkness behind her saw Assassin deflecting the thrown blades aside as she held her hands out in front, palms facing down.

"In creation and in death, there is only shadow and darkness..."

There was a sudden tingling of the senses when she chanted that. Her hands went down. She turned her palms up and her hands rose. In front of her, a dark, thin blob rose out of the ground. Her hands went round to the sides and then went down again. The dark thing expanded and grew, forming a humanoid shape. It's hands were held up as it floated in mid air for a moment before it descended to the ground, landing on its legs. It then stood in an odd stance.

With a shriek, Avenger charged forward. Noiselessly, the shadow puppet mirrored his movements, seemingly gliding across the courtyard effortlessly to meet its opponent.

Commentary:-

Oh boy. Lot's of stuff happening tonight. But first... Hello, everybody! Welcome back to New Game Plus. Well, it seems we are having two separate incidents at the same time. On one side we have Luvia and Rider going to see Kirei, of all people, to talk about the Fourth War. It did not end to well. On the other side, Shirou and Saber bumping into Caster at Ryuudouji Temple. Not exactly the best time to do so. Coupled with multiple surprises, things start to get very interesting.

And now, what you've all been waiting for. Caster.

Servant - Caster

Identity - Qara (Last name not given)(Not that I know off anyway)

Game - Neverwinter Nights 2

Strength - D
Endurance - C
Agility - C
Mana - A
Luck - C
Noble Phantasm - A

Skills

Territory Creation - C

Item Construction - D

Magic Resistance - E (Item)

Nature of a Free Spirit - A, Caster absolutely resents the notion of discipline and restraint, and is highly emotional enough to react badly to any attempts to severely control her. Caster will ignore any orders given to her, even with the usage of the Command Seal. Requests, however, will be entertained. Asking her politely is a lot more favorable to her. After the offending Master uses up the Command Seals, she will happily cremate the offending magus.

Arcane Spellcaster - A, Sorcerers are spellcasters born with an innate knowledge and ability for arcane spells.

Metamagic Feats - EX. Caster is able to alter her style of spellcasting to suit the situation. Feats that modify the spells themselves cannot be used simultaneously with each other.
Combat Casting - Caster is able to concentrate on casting spells while being fully aware of the actions of the opponents.
Spell Focus/Greater Spell Focus (Evocation) - Caster has a greater affinity to spells from the School of Evocation, so spends less time concentrating on the spell itself and more time concentrating where the spell lands.
Empower Spell - Caster's spells become more destructive.
Spell Penetration - Caster's spells ignore Magic Resistance of rank D and below. (Item)
Extend Spell/ Persistent Spell - The effects of Caster's durational spells last from half a day to a full day.
Silent Spell - Enables Caster to cast spells without the verbal component. Wordless casting.

Noble Phantasm

Robe of The Archmagi, A Sign of Trust - A. Self. A gift given to her by the Knight-Captain. A durable robe that passively assists in spellcasting and grants minor resistance to spells.

Blessing of the Flames, Chosen of the Firelord - EX, Self. It is said that Caster's true power is actually much more devastating than what anyone else could imagine. This was actually inspired from deleted content that was related to her from the original game. The name itself was taken from Kossuth, the deity she supposedly follows, though she never did give any indication she did so. Both things might be linked, hence this special skill.

Ah ha! Know we know why Rider's stats appeared first. Well, I hope you enjoy reading the latest chapter. Tell me what you liked and didn't like in the comments. Please Read and Review. Would you so kindly?